Second Half

Hi everyone,
This is the second half of the post I started yesterday.
First up is cross stitch. This ornament is from the Prairie Schooler Just Hatched book #107 stitched with the recommended DMC threads.


back view



next is a Lizzie Kate design finished as a pillow. Design is from the first series of Flip its



a very small start on Sunflower Bell Pull - an oldie but goodie by The Drawn Thread



and an equally small start on The Red House Sampler by Brenda Keyes



now for some pretty gifts I have received. This teeny tiny mermaid swam all the way to Spain from France. To give you an idea of just how miniature this little pillow is I laid it on the post card it came with



it is stitched on impossibly high count linen and the mermaid tail is even done in specialty stitches!


next is a beautiful crazy patchwork needle book done in silk fabrics from my dear friend Caz in UK


back view



Thank you so much Caz I really love it.

I'm no quilter but I decided I would have a go at a lap quilt. I saw the pattern here and I thought it would be easy. It probably is but there are so many points and junctions to match up and some of it is on the bias so I'm just not finding it easy.
Anyway here are my 16 patch blocks done in two older lines by Three Sisters for Moda. One is Simplicity and the other is Aviary.

and here's how the X blocks are going to look


We were in UK at the beginning of May to visit family. My daughter and I came across a shop called Sally's Shabby Chic where the owner was rescuing old furniture from the dump and upcycling chairs, dressers etc and giving them a new lease of life.
I loved the chairs that she had painted white and covered in Cath Kidston fabrics.
Anyway, there were lots of vintage bits and pieces and I spied an old embroidery which I was admiring when the shop owner told me I could have it.
It is stitched on a good linen fabric. I think it is charming and plan on having it framed.


I don't buy many magazines these days but this one caught my eye

so I bought it because there were three projects in it that interested me.
One is this miniature quilt by Camille Roskelley which I have bought fabric for


there is also a Union Jack pillow pattern and this cute dog that I'd love to make but really, how many more projects do I need?



So I think that's just about it. Thanks for visiting my blog today and thank you for all the lovely comments received on my previous post.
Margaret

Two for One

Hi everyone,
Well, there's rather a lot to show this time so I think I'm going to split this post into two.
Starting off with a skirt I made after seeing a sew-along on Daisy's blog and being inspired to do a bit of garment sewing.


The pattern is McCalls 3341 as used in the first series of the Great British Sewing Bee.
Of course by the time I bought my fabric (on a recent trip to UK) and got it sewn up everyone else had finished but I enjoyed it for all that.
I was so pleased with the skirt that I decided to tackle a dress next which is presently at the cutting out stage

The fabric is inside out - much nicer than it looks here.

I've done quite a bit of knitting and spinning.
Last time I showed some fibre I was spinning and here's the shawl (details on my Ravelry page) I knitted up from the spun yarn



and I've spun some merino silk fibre into this very soft and smooshy yarn. The colour is not showing up very well on my monitor. It's a kind of rich blackberry colour. I'm not sure what I'm going to knit with it yet.


Margaret asked to see a picture of my spinning wheel so here it is.
Isn't she pretty?



Now on to the knitting.............a pair of socks were finished a few weeks ago



and here's a very small start on the Entangled Vines cardigan I've started


So I think that's it for this knitting/sewing post. I'll be back tomorrow with the cross stitch.
Thanks as always for visiting :)

Margaret

A few finishes for April

Hi everyone,
I didn't have any cross stitch content at all in my last blog post so I decided to bite the bullet and do some finishing so that I would have some to show this time.
I stitched the pieces for Blackbird Designs Tulip House Stitching Companion when the book A Stitcher's Journey first came out. Can it really have been 2011?
Because it involved painting and finishing a box I put it off but in the end it wasn't so bad.
Here is the top of the box. I used the recommended R & R linen and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads.


Inside - it wasn't easy to get the pincushion to fit the compartment but I did the best I could and it looks no worse than the model in the book. The fabrics I used for the finishing are Beach House by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics.



I think you should be able to click on the pictures for a close up view if you wish.

The next finish is even older. Digging deep into the box I came up with this Lizzie Kate Flip-it design. I think there have been several Flip-it series but this was maybe the first. Anyway, I finished April and May into little pillows.
Here's April and I'll show May next time



I've been making a bag (of course) and this one is The Prairie Tote by Stephanie
at Loft Creations. The pattern is a PDF download which is available in her Etsy shop and is very reasonably priced.
Fabrics used are Robert Kaufman Black Washed Denim and regular quilting fabric from the Hometown line by Sweetwater.



Back view is just slightly different as I was using a charm pack for the patchwork blocks.



It's a while since I've done any crochet so when I saw the crochet along here
I decided to have a go and I made two
I used Drops Paris yarn for this one



and assorted dishcloth cottons for this



The only other crafty thing I have to show you is the Blue Faced Leicester fibre I'm currently spinning. I'm looking forward to seeing how the finished yarn looks



Some baking has been done this week .............

bread rolls



and banana and walnut muffins



Finally, I thought you might like to see the pictures I took while I was out walking this afternoon







As always a big thank you for your continued visits to my blog. I'd like to try to post a bit more often so we'll see how it goes.
Margaret

March Round Up

Hi everyone,
It's time for another update and, as ever, it's a bit of a mixed bag of different crafts.
The first thing I have to share is a bag. This one is by the Norwegian designer AnnAka and the design is called På Quiltelaup
I had these Amy Butler fabrics in my stash for years and am happy to have finally used them up.
Being in Norwegian this pattern had me beat a few times but I was doing an online sew-a-long with friend Carol and together we figured it out. Carol has a lovely blog here



I added an inside zippered pocket to the lining

and found a nice button for the biggest Prairie Point on the front of the bag. This was sewn on after I'd taken the pictures.



Still with the same designer I made a pouch from this pattern which I've used once before.



I plan on making a few more of these.

Another pouch...........this one is an oversized version of the Open Wide Pouch from the Noodlehead tutorial




Outer fabric is Socks the Fox by Michael Miller and I used a chevron print for the lining



Onto the knitting now I finally finished this cardigan





A pair of socks



and even a pair of gloves using leftover yarn from the cardigan. I have never knitted gloves before and wanted the challenge. These will go to my daughter who spends a lot of time at the ice rink.



For anyone interested details of yarns patterns etc can be found on my Ravelry page

Finally I thought you might like to see a lovely little gift received from Carol who I mentioned earlier. This covered notebook is so very pretty. Thank you Carol I love it :)



I'm sure that those of you who come to see the cross stitch must be wondering where it is but I'm afraid there is nothing to show this time. I have a few finishes that need to be turned into something so will leave those for another time.
Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my previous post which was the book blog tour for Stephanie's new book Uncommonly Corduroy. The e-book winner was #19 Dolores in Canada.
As always a big thank you for your continued visits my blog and for the kind comments that you leave.

Margaret

Uncommonly Corduroy Book Tour

Hi everyone,
You may have noticed the Uncommonly Corduroy Book Tour Stop button in my sidebar this month. Today is my day to host the tour and I've been looking forward to doing a review.
The book is by Stephanie at Loft Creations it's her first and there are 17 beautiful projects that are showcased using a mix of the softest corduroy and regular quilting cotton.
The photography in the book is just stunning. Many of the projects are named for family members and it's fun to read how each title came about.
The front section has tips for quilt making, bag making and there are tips on using corduroy.
As those of you who have already sewn one of Stephanie's patterns will know they are clearly explained and a dream to follow.
I was lucky enough to play a very small part in testing a couple of the bag patterns. The first is a medium sized bag called Just Jane. Below is the bag Stephanie made with the picture as it appears in the book.

"Images from Uncommonly Corduroy by Stephanie Dunphy, Martingale, 2014; used by permission. Photos by Brent Kane. All rights reserved."



and here is the one I made. I only wish my pictures were as good as the ones in the book!
The bag I made uses a mini charm pack by Moda but you could easily use your scraps for this project.



I also pattern tested the Sister Sharon purse. Here's the picture from the book which is also shown on the front cover




and here is one I made using regular quilting cottons



and I also made it a second time with the button accents using the corduroy fabric.



back view



Any of the patterns in the book can be made in regular quilting cotton but if you've never tried sewing with corduroy then I would encourage you to try it. It is beautiful to work with and there are so many gorgeous corduroy fabrics to choose from.

To see all of the images and projects in the book go here

So now for the good news. Martingale have very generously offered a free copy of the E-book version to one of you.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me which project in the book is your favourite and why. I will draw a winner on Tuesday March 4th.
Good luck everyone and as Stephanie says "corduroy is not just for pants" so I hope you'll give it a try.
The book tour continues with the last day being tomorrow

Book Tour Schedule:

February 19 -- Stephanie at Loft Creations
February 20 -- Martingale at Stitch This
February 21 -- Candace at Squash House Quilts
February 22 -- Carrie at A Passion for Applique
February 23 -- Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski
February 24 -- Char at Cloth Stitched
February 25 -- Mary at Needled Mom
February 26 -- Linda at The Quilted Pineapple (Linda will be sharing up close and personal details about quilting on corduroy)
February 27 -- Margaret at A Sampler of Stitches
February 28 -- Ulla at Kotkarankki

Thanks for visiting my blog today.
Margaret

Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner of the e-book was #19 Dolores in Canada.