W.I.P.S - getting ready for the holidays.

Last thursday we woke up to snow, then the rain came and it warmed up this past week.  This is what the park looked like yesterday.  Green, the snow was all gone.

As Christmas is approaching fast, a few things on the list got done as well.

The mani-pedi pouches are finished.

Christmas cards posted.

Advent caledars have gone up, the count down is about to start.

Little touches, with festive cheer is popping up all around.

Interesting centerpiece on a dining table.

Another quick project.

Working on the weekend, to finish it in time.

 

You-tube is a wonderful invention, especially for learning how to create something in a new way.
Loom Knitting is quick and easy.You can watch it here.

Hats, can be whipped up in no time at all.

Gifts for Birthdays and Christmas have arrived. Projects for next year, this will bust a lot of scraps...

 This Bargello, got basted, ready for quilting.

This pattern always amaze me, it is a feat of engineering.  Taking twenty fat quarters of fabric, cutting it up and sewing it together, then repeating the process, until more than 1700 pieces are sewn into one rectangle.  Not only is it unique,  it fits.   The most extraordinary thing, is the fact that it lies flat and  it works.

Last but not least, a LightScape, which is a perfect tribute, to all the lights which have gone up. All part of the anticipation of Christmas coming up.

All the letters to The North Pole, is keeping not only Postman Pat busy, but Santa and his helpers too!

The music, which gets our toes tapping and cheering everyone up, from young to old.  Our cat has a favourite.  Even animals know what they like:  All I want for Christmas, is a Hippopotamus
The Love and affection we receive, when this song plays, is priceless.

Christmas is coming.

These have been on the list for a long time.

Before we know it, time is running out and Christmas is here again.

These creative Christmas ideas crossed my path while visiting different events and places.

 Rug Hooking.

The Recipe.

Good intentions and a time is all that is required.  Next step, deciding on the next project and you are set to go. I had to make some Christmas Stockings, so I looked for a pattern I have from years ago. Pulled fabric which I bought for it at the time and the two fabrics from last year, with some scraps.  As part of my decluttering plan for my sewing room, sewing up those scraps into projects.  One project a time.  Bits that cannot be used for this, will be cut into leaders and ends.

After hours of fun, the original recipe(pattern) turned out to be a guide,  at best.  Here is what the original in the magazine looked like.

  This is the end result, nine Christmas stockings in total. Leftover fabric, nil.

Baseball and polka dots, what do they have in common?

Polka dots is a personal favourite, they come in all sizes.  They are round,  so there should be nothing to them, yet they still hold their own fascination.  Growing up with brothers, one tend to play, all sorts of sports: Cricket, Rugby, Rounders to name but a few.  Then came Tennis and Golf.  Moving to North America, introduced us to Baseball and Hockey, Basket Ball and LaCrosse, to name but a few.

Both baseballs and polka dots are round, so I love them both.  They can fill in and be just the right balance when one need a neutral shape in a quilt. This is the backing to a quilt.

All the blue on this quilt, was stipple quilted by machine.

This blue has not been quilted yet.  Only the hand quilting around the animals. This anchors the design.

The borders quilted.

When the quilting is done very close to all the shapes, they pop up, which helps to create a 3D effect.

The Completed Quilt Top, next step the binding.

 The binding stitched to the front of the quilt, ready to be turned over to the back for stitching down.

 Binding done, with the embroidery finished, this was done after the machine quilting.

The sleeve at the back of the quilt , was stitched in place, before the binding was attached.

The sleeve was slipstiched onto the back of the quilt, to lie flat.  This hides the sleeve and the quilt can be used as a wallhanging or a quilt, in the nursery.  The star should always be the baby!

                                                        Welcome to the World, little one.

Reflections, projects on the go.

The baby quilt is finished and my sewing room is in need of order.  When I am busy with a project, creative chaos reigns.  Once a project is completed, leftover bits are rounded up and bundled up to be packed away.  Leftovers, which will be pulled out in the future to create another project.  The good thing about keep the same bits together, speaks for itself.  It allows maximum use of those leftovers, no hunting around for bits when one want to use them.

This Quilt top needs to be basted for quilting, it has been sitting in a pile for almost ten years.

Hearts-a-Flutter, is also in the same boat, so with Winter weather fast approaching, it will be another top to prepare for quilting.  I always make the binding, once I make a top, so everything is ready for when the quilt is quilted. A quilt, finished, means less clutter in my sewing room, so the aim now, is to free up space.

 This Christmas Angel is from a project on the go, so it will receive some more love.

 It may take a while, eventually everything gets finished.

Dear Jane is now being worked on once every two weeks. 

It will be a while before all the projects is done, every finish is a win, no matter how long it takes!

Trick or Treat......

 Halloween.  All the kids had fun trick and treating.  The candy was collected, parents walking with the little ones, from door to door and before you know it, all the children had a stash of sugar treats to last them until the next holiday, Christmas.  The little ones are the best, their costumes are sweet and they are truly what makes it a fun holiday.  Way to go, little Miss Super Spidey (Spider Woman)!

The Dye Run:

This quilt had an issue with dye running, I was planning on unpicking all the hand quilting and then washing the top with some special soap.  It is not a small quilt, so I have tried to forget about it for a while.  Then, while at Makers Club, a new friendship group, I spotted something on a table.

I had nothing to lose, so I decided to give it a whirl.  It worked to a fair degree, the quilt in question is 104 inches square.  All the dreary grey colour on the creams came out, however that pesky blue did not.  It is still there, but the overall result, is something I can live with.  The quilt will still go back to get a wash with my first option, from the quilt shop.  I think the combination of both products might do the trick.

 This is what it looks like now. 

Feathering your Nest.

This is a second quilt for a new quilter.  It is from a kit, bought at Quilt Canada 2016.

 The Completed Top.

 The blocks was created by fussy cutting them from a printed panel, then sashings of different widths were added to some blocks.

 Mitred Corners created the final borders.

 Pieced blocks with triangle squares and squares.

 Nine-patches.

 Single and pieced borders.

All the borders sewn to the top.

For a new quilter, this is an amazing feat. Just using the skills she learnt from the Kitty Quilt, going forward and using them to do her next quilt, show what a quick learner she is, WOW!