Blast from the past

Since I was tempted to the dark side (well at least the sticky side) by the lovely Roxanna Pallett of Hannah's Room, I have been layering my quilts by using 505 spray glue.  This works very well for smaller quilts, but when I decided to layer up my Sarah Fielke 'Happy Days' quilt, I thought it would be better to tack it together.  

So out came my wooden planks, I extended the dining table, found my big doll needle and set to.  Here it is nearly completed with lime green thread!  Now I have to decide how to quilt it. Shall I quilt each square individually according to need, or go for an all over pattern?  Thinking caps on! 

Bitting and bobbing

I have been doing quite a bit of sewing recently, but bits and pieces.  I have quilted my brown bag quilt, and am currently sewing on the binding.  That will be number 3 of my UFO challenge quilts done, and since it's still March, I'm bang on schedule! 

Can't resist a bit of mindless sewing, and the Mile a Minute is always a favourite for this.  I made these free form hearts as well, to add a bit of structure to the blocks.  That's always fun. 

My Down the Rabbit Hole quilt is coming along.  It was a struggle to fit all 26 circles on here.  I planned it out carefully with some paper circles, but obviously I didn't plan it carefully enough!  It'll be fine.  Flowers are organic, and sometimes grow in front of each other or very close together! 

This quilt is now a top.  I put part of the border on a while ago, but wasn't sure the turquoise border was right.  I got it out of the drawer, and it looked good, so I sewed the rest on.  I've got some backing for this one, so maybe it'll get quilted soon. 

And here is another challenge in progress.  The stars were made in 2015, but I couldn't work out what to do next.  I've decided on an appliqué border with trailing vine and flowers.  I'll just bond this as I have enough appliqué on the go at the moment! 

A finish and a surprise!

Back home now, safe and sound, and happy to be back in my sewing room.  While the washer was humming, I dug out my 2017 UFO Challenge list to see what was next.  (I know I haven't done the February UFO yet, but that needs some thinking about, so I thought I'd do the March one instead, and then at least have two quilts done.). Number 12 is next and that was a lovely Linus top donated by Madeline which just needed layering and quilting.  Easy! 

It was Madelines first attempt at patchwork, and I don't know how she could bear to part with it.  At least it's now out of the cupboard and will provide a lovely hug for some lucky young person. 

Then I started to work on my Sarah Fielke 'Down the Rabbithole' BOM.  The first part is a circle with forty rays.  Yes, forty!  That's a recipe for a potential bra cup rather than a flat circle!  Since my record on accuracy isn't very extensive, I was pleased that Sarah gives a clever tip.  Make up the first quarter (just 10 strips) and then check to see if it covers a right angle.  If it's too big, take smaller seams and if too small, take larger seams.  I made my first quarter and nervously checked it against my ruler. 

What a surprise!  It couldn't be better! 

Here is the completed circle, as flat as a pancake!  Now, it may not be completely circular, but at least it's flat!