A nearly finished quilt

FQR is next week and the plan is to hand over my Siblings Together quilt. So after finishing the top last week, I was hoping to quilt it on my day off on Tuesday but I didn't go further than basting it. So yesterday I decided that I wouldn't go to bed until it was finally quilted. I didn't use any fancy pattern, just straight lines really but I got there. And it is finally quilted.

Now the quilt is quite big and in the interest of time, I thought I might try to sew the binding by machine. I normally sew it by machine on the front and by hand on the back but I don't feel I'll have the time by next Saturday so I will give it a try and see.

This week I also tried to make a key pouch that I am planning to make as my sample swap items for FQR (yes I know it is next Saturday). But Heidi has written a great tutorial and they are quite easy to make.

I was planning the Eiffel Towers at the back too but got confused! Never mind, this one will be mine because I love it! So this is my first OPAM for July, yeah!

And I am also planning to make those as teachers' gifts and possibly for the Strawberry Swap so I should be making more soon!

And of course, with Adrienne's challenge of one block a day, I have finished all 10 of my Bead on a String (I made 9 this week). They aren't all perfectly round but at least they are!

I also made 2 more Diagonal Bars so I now have 7.

My Mod Mod Along blocks are coming along nicely finally!

I am doing well this month as this makes my grand total of blocks at 19 for the 350-blocks challenge (9 more this week!)

Linking to Whoop Whoop Friday, Design Wall Monday, Anything Goes Monday, Building Blocks Tuesday.
Celine

Finish Along - Q3 list

The first 2 quarters are over already, so we are already half way through the year, time to plan for Christmas soon :-)  but first time to plan for Quarter 3 for Katy's Challenge

1 Work bag for myself - started years ago but stopped because of a zip fear! - this one is on my list since the beginning of the year so I am really hoping I'll eventually pick it up and finish it...

4. Bag for Maud -started 5 years ago...

6 My Siblings Together 2 Bee quilt - top is finished -  this one is on my list since the beginning of the year and I should really aim to finish it to hand it over at the FQR, now that's a deadline!

7 September in the Hexagon - need to be quilted, top pieced. -  this one is on my list since the beginning of the year so I am really hoping I'll eventually pick it up and finish it...

8 New school bag for Mr Cars - fabric and pattern selected and the old one has a hole in the bottom so I should really make him one for when school starts again in September

9 Dance bag for Miss Strawberry Shortcake - fabric and pattern selected 

10 Triangle Quilt take #2  - all the triangles are cut so maybe I could finish it for my Mum, unless I keep it as a Christmas present.

11. Cat Quilt - hoping to finish this one to give to my mother-in-law as a belated birthday present when we go over in the summer

12. Teacher's presents (4) -  fabric picked and pattern picked. I was initially planning sewtogether bag but I have lower my ambitions now and will attempt this lovely key pouch by Heidi.

13. Sample swap for FQR -  key pouch 

14. Wiksten tank  - to be started at FQR and finished promptly if I want a chance to wear it!

15. My Auntie's purple quilt - UFO from 5 years ago

16. Flower power - to be finished promptly so I can gift it to my Grand-Mum for her 85th birthday

17. Spools and bobbins - to be finished promptly so I can gift it to my Grand-Mum for her 90th birthday

18. Book bag for Miss Baby who will start pre-school in September

19. Dumpling swap - Ocean 

20. Super Swap - zippered pouch

21. Strawberry swap - secret item

22. Name tag for FQR

23. It's a Sister's Thing swap - secret sewing

Well, I guess I should stop here... probably a far too ambitious list... but hopefully I'll cross the most important ones in time. Watch this space.
Linking to Finish Along Q3.
Celine

I have been sewing!

Yes indeed! I guess Adrianne's one block a day challenge has forced encouraged me to take time to sit at my machine. And I decided that my one block a day would be a block for me, not a bee block or a swap block, not a block that I am doing for someone's quilt but one for me. So for now, I have picked the Mod Mod Along blocks as I have fallen so far behind. I have completed the January, May blocks and one April block and that's all. I need to make 10 Bead on a String (February), 3 Irish Star Chain (March), 11 Diagonal Bars (April), 6 Sunrise (June) and some Spokes (July).
So far this week or these first 5 days of July, I have completed 4 Diagonal Bar blocks

 and one Bead on a String (and I am hoping to make one more today ;-) )

And while I was working on these blocks, I have also progressed quite a few other projects.  First I have finally finally finished my block for Christa for the Stash Bee

and I also finished my last block for Siblings Together 2 quilt so I finished putting together the quilt top yesterday. I now need to quilt it and bind it in the next 2 weeks, wish me luck.

And I made a few more cats for my Cat Quilt: 2 more red and one more yellow (and I also unpicked and corrected one of the red one which wasn't the right size...)

So I would say it has been a good start for the month with already 10 blocks done for the 350-blocks challenge. Now I'll go for now, I am off to sew my block of the day!
Linking to Whoop Whoop Friday, Anything Goes Monday, Design wall Monday, Building Blocks Tuesday
Celine

Quilt-alongs, swaps and others

I know, I know, I am incorrigible! I always promise to myself that I will keep at my current projects for now and look away at the announce of a new swap or quilt-along but equally I am so weak, and I want to share the joy as well, in case you haven't discovered them yet. So lately I have signed up for Michelle's swap "Its' a Sister Thing"  (so I will get a lovely new fabric-mad sister, what could be better?)

I am planning to try and sew along to Mary's FloweringSnowball Along.

I am as far as cutting the paper templates at the moment

And also Debbie's Postcard Sew-Along

I am very very tempted by Diane's Celestial Stars Quilt-Along

And I love Adrianne's new challenge of #oneblockadayjuly. So I made this block last night for my Mod Mod Quilt Along that I haven't progressed for so long...

Enough for now I guess, I better get sewing. Maybe I have tempted you to try a few?
Linking to Needle and Thread Thursday, Brit Sewing Linky Party.
Celine

June in review and goals for July

June has not been a very productive month in the sewing room really. It started with Mr Cars' First Holy Communion which turned out to be a fantastic week-end with friends and family followed a week later by a workshop on chocolate with my friend, which prompted me to spend lots of time playing with chocolate (instead of fabric!). So I tried to redeem myself towards the end of the month and tried to work through some of my list! Here is what I have managed finally to cross off.

1. Make my Siblings Together 2  May and June blocks - all done and the bee is over for this year

2. Mod Mod Along blocks: Beads on a string x 10, Star Cross x 3 and Diagonal Bars x 11 - no progress 

3. Finish off my blocks for the You've got Mail wall hanging - need 4 more envelopes - very little progress, I haven't even finished another block

4. Finish Maud's bag and my work bag - no progress

5. Catch up on my + and x blocks (12) - no progress
6. Make more Farmer's Wife blocks - no progress

7. Finish central medaillon of my Midnight in the Oasis and make more border blocks - no progress

8. I love Lucy international block (May and June) - May done, June just started

9. Stash Bee block (May and June) - May started, June not started

10. Little Blog Bee block (June) - done

11. Bee Europa blocks (May) - started

12. Start another Triangle quilt like the Triangle Quilt Along - my NewFO challenge for June - cutting all done (285 triangles), I have decided that this one will be a Christmas present for Mum so it will needs to be finished by December and will probably be parked for now.

13. Continue working on my Cat Quilt - 4 more cats so that's 11 in the family so far

14. Start working on my Grand-Mum's birthday present with floral blocks - Lazy Bums challenge for June and this is also going to be my pick for June for A lovely Year of Finishes - centre of quilt top done

15. Make my flower hexies for the Inchy Hexie Swap - done

16. Work on my Teacher's gifts - not started

16. Continue working on my Once Upon a Time Sampler - steady progress on my morning commute

350-blocks challenge: 31 block, yeah!

1. Mod Mod Along blocks: Beads on a string x 10, Star Cross x 3 and Diagonal Bars x 11, Sunrise Blocks x 3, July blocks

2. Finish off my blocks for the You've got Mail wall hanging - need 4 more envelopes 

3. Finish Maud's bag and my work bag 

4. Catch up on my + and x blocks (12) 
5. Make more Farmer's Wife blocks 

6. Finish central medaillon of my Midnight in the Oasis and make more border blocks

7. I love Lucy international block (June and July) 
8. Stash Bee block (May, June and July) 

9. Little Blog Bee block (July) 

10. Bee Europa blocks (May)

11. Continue working on my Cat Quilt - need 19 more blocks

13. Continue working on my Grand-Mum's birthday present with floral blocks Lazy Bums challenge for July (again) and this is also going to be my pick for July (again) for A lovely Year of Finishes
14. Make my flower hexies for the Inchy Hexie Swap (July)

15. Make  Teachers' gifts - probably keyring pouch from Heidi's tutorial
16. Make a Wiksten Tank at the FQR
17. Start a Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt at the FQR - one NewFO for July
18. Finish my Siblings Together quilt
19. Make my sample swap items for FQR
20. Get started on the Flowering Snowball quilt-along - one NewFO for July
21. Get started on the Postcard quilt-along - one NewFO for July

22. Continue working on my Once Upon a Time Sampler 
23. And if there is some time left :-)) dig out my purple blocks for my Auntie to try and finish the quilt I planned to give her 5 years ago... so I could finally gift it to her in August... one can dream

Maybe I should stop here, not sure that leaves me any time for some sleep;-)
Linking to A lovely Year of Finishes, NewFO challenge, Fresh Sewing Day.

Celine

My newFO for June and some lovelies in the post

June is nearly nearly finished and until yesterday I hadn't touched my NewFO challenge. I got all the fabric I needed out of my sewing room last night and spent some time cutting. I had chosen to start another triangle after my Mum hinted not so softly that she really really liked the one I made to my friend in April and that she would really really like the same one. I had lots of leftover of fabric anyway so I got back to the cutting board with the leftovers and a few extras from my stash to cut a grand total of 285 triangles. I cut my first row wrongly (well not according to Paula's instructions) so my finished triangles will be slightly smaller than last time that's why I cut more. I have selected a total of 19 fabrics and I have between 5 and 30 triangles of each fabric and I am planning a 19 x 15 triangles quilt this time.

I initially thought I'd finish the quilt (or try to) before mid August but that's unrealistic with all the other projects I need to finish so I will target December and make it a Christmas present for my Mum. I am hoping I'll keep to that timing.

I also finished my hexies for this month Hexie Inchy Swap during my travelling over the week-end ready to go to Leslie

and I received some lovely stepping stones from Heidi.

And also 3 gorgeous extra New York Beauty blocks from Robin for the Stash Bee, she didn't go for the easiest patterns.

Talking of which I am still working on my May block and haven't yet started the June one, oops... Trying to decide on which arrnagement, although I think I am going to go for the coral centre.

Linking to NewFO challenge, Building Blocks Tuesday.
Celine

A problem and (hopefully) a solution

My A lovely year of finishes and Lazy Bums challenge for June was to make a quilt for my grand-Mum's 85th birthday (earlier in the month) with some floral blocks I collected a few years (2010-2011) back as part of a swap/BOM. My Grand-Mum doesn't go in the garden much anymore but she had a huge garden with plenty of flowers when she had her garden. She also lost her husband, my Grand-Dad earlier in the year after more than 65 years of marriage. So I am hoping my little quilt will cheer her up a little bit.

I got the blocks out (20 of them, 6.5' squares) and tried to figure out how to use them into a quilt.

Although I wasn't planning on a king-size quilt, I knew 20 x 6.5' squares weren't going to yield a big quilt, more a wall-hanging size. Of course I had scraps of fabric left but I wasn't sure how much. So I put my thinking cap on and decided that putting those blocks on point and finding some fillers would maybe work.

Because time is limited (but not the number of projects ;-)), I thought I had to keep it simple if I hoped to see that quilt finished any time soon.
So for the filler I decided on a box in a box (not sure about the "official" name of that block) using my most colourful fabric until I realised I wouldn't have enough for all the fillers!

So I made my fillers for the centre of the quilt with my most colourful fabric: 12 of them.

and 8 with another fabric for the sides and corners, planning to I then cut in half or quarter depending where the triangles are going

All the blocks together for this top:

So this is not finished of course and won't be by the end of June but I am so glad that I have got my blocks out, found a plan for my quilt and work on it. I am now planning to frame the centre with a narrow white strip before adding a "fancy" border but I need to first sit down and do the maths! My ulitmate goal to finish this is end of July when I should see my Grand-Mum so I'll try to keep at it and not bury it for another couple of years!

So that was another 20 blocks for the 350-blocks projects this month.
Linking to Whoop Whoop Friday, A lovely year of finishes, WIP Wednesday, Anything Goes Monday, WOW.
Celine

Finally a few blocks

So as I said in my post yesterday, June is disappearing at the speed of light and I have hardly touched my sewing machine.... I had great plans for the month but I don't think I will cross many things of my list.
Anyway, I finally finished Ana Maria's blocks for the I love Lucy International Bee

I also made a block for Aneela to send to Christa

and I finished my 2 Siblings Together blocks for Sue for May

and the June trip-around the world ones for Teresa

I made a friendship star for the Little Blog bee

I love how the dots meet in some of the seams:

I also made 4 more cat blocks for my quilt: 1 red, 2 yellow and 1 orange.

So that's 11 blocks so far for June for the 350-blocks challenge and only a few days left....

Linking to Anything Goes Monday, Building Blocks Tuesday. Brit Sewing Thursday Linky, Needle and Thread Thursday.
Celine