What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Although there hasn’t been much slow stitching taking place during our Lockdown, I have been slowly knitting away.  I’m not a fast knitter by any means, more of the “slow and steady” type.    My first finish was – wait for it – my very first pair of socks!  They turned out a little large, but I’m not undoing them and starting over.  They will be fine keeping my toes warm at home worn with my slippers, after all, winter is just around the corner here in my part of the world.  Just so you don’t think I’m ...

I’ve been stitching up dark green this week, and it’s that time again to share what we have made for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  This time I’ve made three more butterflies, and here they are, waiting to join their other colourful cousins in the butterfly collection.  This is a pretty little block, especially with their feelers added, and will make a nice girl’s donation quilt, I think.

Three dark green butterflies

Then it was on to the Checkerboard blocks, using dark green again. Can you see the little kiwi peeping out?  There is not a great ...

My Sampler top is now finished, once I had decided what to do with the border.  Although I had some floral fabric left, used in each block, it wasn’t enough to go right around.  I know, I thought, I’ll make some four patches, using  shades of red which tone in with the colour of the focus fabric.

Four patches

Once again, I had help when I was measuring up the borders before pinning each one in place.

A helping hand from Gemma

 

Job done – borders attached

Today I’ve prepared the binding, always like to get that done ...

I’ve been working away this week assembling my rather old (from year 2000) swap blocks into a top.  These have been tucked away in a crate all this time and only now get the chance to come out and be liberated.  Row by row the blocks have been sewn together, adding pale lilac sashing.  And as I usually do, while stitching my main project, I do leader and ender sewing as well.  In this case, assembling blocks for a donation quilt, it’s amazing how quickly these get stitched up.

Sashing strips and leader and ender sewing

With the ...

It’s been a while since we ventured out of the house on a trip, that I felt I had to “dress for the occasion”.  Clad in my blue face mask and a pair of disposable gloves to keep my hands clean, I was dressed and ready for action!  I must admit that I felt like a nurse – but on reflection, I wouldn’t have the patience for that profession.

 

Ready to go

I was on a mission, not to buy food supplies, but something much more serious.  I had used up my supply of cream thread for the sewing ...

Looking back, it  seems that April has been a very productive month.  Mind you, we have all been in Level 4 Lockdown here in New Zealand, just moving to Level 3 with similar restrictions, so hardly any tripping around at all.  I remember that I often used to comment on my lack of stitching endeavours, saying something like “not much time for sewing as we will be away in the caravan this weekend etc”.  Well, during Lockdown that hasn’t happened for a while and all weekends lately have been spent at home, including Easter and Anzac weekends.  So….. a ...

Here we go again, another week, and another dice roll.  Oops, don’t think it happened last week, but who’s counting these days?  This week I will be working on number one from my List of Six, my neutral strings blocks.  This was started quite some time ago, so I’m pleased to have it to the top of the list again.  I had stitched a whole pile of neutral string pieced blocks, made ages  ago when I started on “Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll”, a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt.  This was as far as I got with the quilt ...

While browsing my favoutite blogs the other day, as you do, I came across this great idea from Cynthia, on her blog “Quilting is more fun than housework”.  It was all about how she made a cover to put on the handle of supermarket trollies - read about it here.  So practical, I just had to have a go myself.

Mine started with a small table topper made with New Zealand designs which I previously used in the caravan.  That will do, I thought.  Gemma decided that of course I wanted her too in the shot, isn’t that why I ...

The month is rolling on and I’ve completed my last lot of blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  This month the colour is light/bright blue and I've been working on my two selvedge projects.  Quite simple sewing, I’ve made a blue selvedge block which will join the other colours to eventually become a bag.  And another little selvedge spool block – I’m making this to hang in my sewing room (spare bedroom in reality).

Last blue blocks for the month

Wonder what colour will be chosen for May?  Guess we will just have to wait and ...

I blame Jocelyn who writes as Canadian Needle Nana for this, check out her version of Christmas Coins here.  Such a great idea, I thought, so why not make something similar for myself.  All the Christmas coins were small scraps and strips hanging around, some longer than others, wider strips, and narrow ones too, so nothing Christmassy was cut from stash at this stage.  I’ve never been what you would call a scrappy quilter, so with mixing up all sorts of colours and designs, and different widths too, this project was a real adventure for me.  Originally this started ...

It’s our beautiful Birman Gemma’s birthday and she has turned two.  I had originally planned a little afternoon tea with a few friends here at home to celebrate, but that of course can’t happen during these Lockdown times.

She’s grown from this little cutie…..

To this grown up cat

We had a bit of extra excitement when we took delivery of our first foray into Lockdown shopping.  This took us a while to organise,  lots of time on the lap top,  and we finally found a spare delivery spot, a week later than when we placed ...

Its now Week Four of Lockdown and I'm still keeping myself busy, pottering around.  Lately I’ve been working on assembling my blocks from the Temecula Tiny Tree stitch-along from late last year.  As already mentioned, I’m doing my version a little differently, mainly because I really didn’t want to stitch tiny blocks of 2 3/4in unfinished!  So my tiny tree is already growing.

Of course Gemma wanted to help, jumping up on the bed as soon as I laid the quilt top out to see how it was looking.  I don’t have a design ...

Easter 2020 has been and gone, and it was quite a different experience for all of us in Lockdown.  A few Easter buns were eaten but there was a mild panic when I couldn’t find where I had put the peppermint marshmallow Easter Eggs.  After looking through the pantry a couple of times, they were finally tracked down.  What bliss, an Easter Egg to nibble on after dinner.  It doesn’t take much to make us happy these days, does it?

Easter Saturday was a different day, as we had to drive up to Palmerston North Hospital (50km each ...

There’s quite a bit of “slow stitching” on this project, all stitched some time ago now.  I’ve spent the last few days putting it all together, using a pastel stripe for the sashing strips.  “Under the Sea” was a Block of the Month stitchery designed by Willowberry Designs in 2010.

Under the Sea

The blocks contain all sorts of whimsical sea creatures.  I rather like Josephine Jellyfish with her pink bow and purple tendrils.

Josephine Jellyfish

Another hour or so over the long weekend and I had the small quilt layered and pinned.  Plus the binding prepared.  It ...

Teddy bears are playing their part by bringing a little joy into people’s lives as we live in the Covid 19 Lockdown.   The teddies have been placed into windows around the country, and all around the world too, a fun idea to keep children entertained as they go for a walk with their parents around their local streets.   There are no children in our village, but many of our neighbours go for a daily walk.  Big Ted is doing his best to cheer our neighbours up a little as they walk by.

Big Ted in our window

Big Ted ...

It's Day Six in Lock Down and there was some rather urgent sewing to do, I needed to make a couple of masks.  Thanks to Dot for providing the pattern, no physical contact, it was safely left in our letter box for me to collect.  Did I have any elastic, I wondered?  It’s not something I use a lot these days.  This elastic must be rather vintage, it cost the grand total of 95 cents back in the day! 

These masks should have been an easy make, after all, Dot whipped then up in no time at all ...