Tail Feathers Block 3

  Yesterday I was able to get outside and take some pictures of Tail Feathers block 3.

This little stitchery is called Bird Statues.

Each block has an Applique Bird. 

 My favourite part of block 3 is the Tree House stitchery.

After dreading satin stitch for so long, I have actually started to enjoy these sections ... as long as I do them during daylight. (Even with a lamp I find it too hard to see at night time!!)

Here are the first three blocks all sewn together ... a sign of progress.

Back soon with block 4.

A Little Retail Therapy

 From Sarah ... patterns from Figtree Quilts and Thimble Blossoms to use up some of my collection of jelly rolls and layer cakes ...

 and Lynette Anderson's Scandanavian Christmas pattern set. I've had my eye on this one for a while .. love the red stitching with the applique.

 

 From the Quilt Patch in Launceston ... fat 8th rolls of Rural Jardin. This range is rapidly becoming my new favourite.

 I took some pictures of some recent stitching but they were so awful I'm going to have another try today while the light is better. I'm NOT a fan of winter and the cold, grey days that accompany it!

Tail Feathers Block 2

While on holidays, most nights I've done some handstitching on my Tail Feathers blocks. These are the mini-blocks which go together to make up block 2.

Applique Bird

  

 Bathing Beauty

Nesting Pods

... and the completed block.

Most of the bits for block 3 and 4 are are also finished .... just need to find the time (and energy!)  to sew them together.

Today I've been trying to get the house clean and tidy before going back to school on Tuesday. As usual the holidays have flown by ... just as I start to relax, it's time to start preparing for the next term. 

I had a fun day out in Launceston and Exeter on Friday with my Friends in Stitching and fellow Tassie bloggers Vicki, Sarah, Roseanne, Cathy and Leanne. We visited some quilt shops, ate yummy food, shared some show and tell and talked a lot. FUN. 

 

Pink Heart and Colorado Beauty

This stitchery heart is from Rosalie Quinlan's book A Stitch in Time. I like the look of the variegated pink thread on the white Kona cotton. Last time I tried to do chain stitch I gave up in disgust! This time I perservered and can definitely see an improvement.

 The fabric on the back is from the Caramel Town range by Lecien.

While on holidays I've been trying to catch up with a few projects (and NOT start any more new ones!!) This block is called Colorado Beauty. Now I'm only one block behind in our Friends in Stitching BOM.

Will share some more bits and pieces soon.

Finished!

I have a finish for June ... my Friends in Stitching birthday quilt. Lynda sent me the fabrics and spool block pattern in February so I'm quite pleased to have this project completed well inside the 6 months allowed. The only fabric I added was the dotty sashing fabric ... think it works ok. I was able to use up most of my scraps in the border.

The quilting is very simple ... mostly in the ditch except for in the plain pink sections.

 

The backing and binding are both Simplicity .... leftovers from previous projects.

 

And as you can see it has been throroughly scrutinised by the resident quilt inspector!

Bye for now.

Thank You Roseanne

This is the oh-so-cute bag Roseanne made for me in our Friends in Stitching bag swap.

I used Allspice Tapestry in the bag I made Peg and amazingly Roseanne used the same range for mine. 

 

 

Love the rice-rac around the heart and the pretty appliqued blue bird.

The pattern is called Fruit Salad and is a Natalie Ross design.

Aren't these pink handles cute? Must learn how to do that.

Thank you Roseanne ... I love my cute new bag. Been working on a few bits and pieces .... will share some pictures soon.

A Bag for Peg

This is the bag I made for Peg in our latest FIS (Friends in Stitching) swap. Our bags had to contain either needle-turn applique or stitchery AND a trim (frill, lace, ric rac etc). 

I used a  Simply Pretty Bag pattern by Threadbare Creations, substituting a stitchery block from Rosalie Quinlan's Little Patchwork Village for the pieced star block in the original.

The fabrics are a mix of Allspice Tapestry and Patisserie. I like to mix ranges up a bit sometimes.

The strips are all 1 1/2 or 2 1/2  inches wide so it's a good pattern for using up bits of leftover Jelly Rolls and Honey Buns.

 

I was lucky to find this button hiding in my 'shabby' button collection .. just about matches the ric-rac perfectly.

Looking forward to making another one soon ... it looked so nice hanging in my sewing room!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend .. Vicki, Sarah, Roseanne and I are meeting at Latrobe tomorrow. A visit to a quilt shop, lunch and some more bag reveals are on the agenda. Should be fun.

FIS Birthday Quilt

My Friends in Stitching Birthday Quilt is ready to be quilted.

I borrowed the stitchery for the centre block from a Bareroots pattern ... 

just changed the wording.

Hopefully it will get quilted over the weekend so I can count it for this month's OPAM.

Short and sweet tonight! Will be back soon.

Tail Feathers

 After months of procrastinating Tail Feathers is finally underway with block 1 completed today.

 

 I enjoyed stitching each of the mini blocks. This one's called 'Tree of Delight.'

Even the satin stitch was fun!

 The block below is called 'Those Love Birds.'

 

  A mix of stitchery and applique keeps it interesting and I LOVE working with the Patisserie fabrics. Nine blocks to go!

Tomorrow I'll be posting a parcel off to Peg for our latest Friends in Stitching swap. Photos soon ... I promise.  This week is the last week off term in Tasmania so fingers crossed I'll get this blog active again during the holidays.