Espritpatch

I have kept to the #blockadayjuly challenge quite well so far, and this means that I am finally catching up with my Mod Mod Along blocks. Over the last week to 2 weeks, I finished my Diagonal Bars blocks (I made 5 more) the Irish Star Chain and I started making some Spokes blocks, I have now 4 - 5 more to go I also managed to finish my Lucy Bee block for June, finally and my Bee Europa block for May and also my Little Blog bee block for July as well as make 2 new cat blocks but I put the wrong borders on so I will have to redo the borders!. So that's an additional 17 blocks and a grand total of 36 blocks for July so far for the 350-blocks challenge - wow! Linking to Whoop Whoop Friday , Anything Goes Monday , Design Wall Monday , Building Blocks Tuesday . Celine

Last week-end was the annual Fat Quarterly retreat in London and for the first time this year, I took part in the festivities and attended the Saturday sessions. Early start, late finish but a very very good day. Lots of sewing, chatting, socialising and some shopping too! In the morning, I attended Rachel's class to make a Wiksten Tank top. We didn't quite get there but nearly. I have the hem and binding left to sew on my top. We spent a long time learning about how to fit the pattern and how to measure the pattern and ourselves accurately which was so valuable. I spent the afternoon in very good company with Jen Kingwell as a tutor for her marvellous Green Tea and Sweet Bean class. And this was my NewFO for July, a modest start but a start of a long long term project! We even had the chance to admire, touch, feel her own gorgeous quilt as well as her Gypsy Wife quilt. I didn't progress that much but it was so good!  In the sample swap, I rece

So today was finally the last day of term for the kids, the summer holiday has officially started and it will be very short with just under 6 weeks off. And of course, last night, I was frantically finishing the teacher's presents. I made some little  key pouch es from Heidi's tutorial (similar to the one I made last week for the sample swap at the Fat Quarterly Retreat). In total I made 10 of these little pouches: 1 as a trial that I kept for myself, 3 for the sample swaps, 5 for the teachers and 1 with strawberries for my Strawberry Swap partner. And for the teachers I also made some little mug rugs. I shamelessly copied an idea from Colette Moscrop to make some pages from the kids notebook but with fabric pens. The kids wrote their message on their homework page! And I made this cute paper pieced hedgehog for Miss Strawberry Shortcake's teacher as she was in Hedgehog class this year and free-motion around the hedgehog. and just some free-motion 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

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 sch

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

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 Sewi