Gifted Gorgeousness - October 2024

It's hard to believe that I have done so little crafting this year but my blog is certainly testament to that.

Nevertheless I have a Gifted Gorgeousness (GG) Update. GG is hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching and it is an opportunity to share any stitching related gifts that we have sent or received.

I've taken part in an Autumn exchange so I will have that to show next month but in the meantime here is my progress on the Lily of the Valley biscornu that was gifted to me by Clare. My progress has been slower than I would like but I'm enjoying stitching this.

Lily of the Valley Biscornu - Faby Reilly

Fabric: 32ct Natural linen

Threads: Recommended DMC threads

Part of the reason for so little cross-stitching is that most of my time was taken with making a quilt for my sister's friend who is currently undergoing cancer treatment. This was gifted to her in August. I made the quilt smaller than the pattern design as I wanted it to be more of a body length throw. I'm so taken with this design that I would like to make it again for a king size bed.

Half and Half Twist - Missouri Star Quilt Company

Fabric: 1 Layer Cake Wildflower Batiks from Island Batik, 

Moda white background and border, 

Method: Machine pieced and hand quilted

Fabric: Backing fabric, Wildflower Batiks Ginko Leaves Purple Blurple

Gifted Gorgeousness - May

Our Internet has been erratic this past month and the telephone company seem to be no closer to solving the problem, whatever the problem is. This will be a short post as I wish to get it up while I can.

First up is a quilted throw that I started back in late November. I followed Jenny Doan's tutorial (Missouri Star Quilt Co) on how to make this Double Friendship Star quilt. The recipient received it last month and was delighted with it. I admit I was pleased with it too.

Double Friendship Star - Missouri Star Quilt Co

Front

Double Friendship Star - Missouri Star Quilt Co

Label and close up of quilted star

Double Friendship Star - Missouri Star Quilt Co

Back

My other item of Gifted Gorgeousness is my long delayed start to Tea with Honey. This is a Travelling Pattern which Jo has passed on to me. After debating which colour fabric to use as I had no Light Sand Cashel linen I settled on Flax. Then I discovered that Light Sand is also know as Latte! I'm glad that I'm happy with Flax as I would hate to restart this project. Oh, I've just noticed that I've missed some stitching in the green border. I must fill that in first thing later today.

Tea with Honey - Just Nan

Fabric: 28ct Zweigart Flax Cashel linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads

If you are not familiar with Gifted Gorgeousness which is hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching, you can find the full details of how it operates here.

Gifted Gorgeousness - March 2020

Most of my March work has been for me but I finally quilted and finished this cushion cover for my sister. The cushion top has been completed since April last year. I have no idea when she will get it as all my local post offices are closed during the coronavirus restrictions in France. At least it is something that will keep :)
For further information on how Gifted Gorgeousness work, all the details can be found here on Jo's Serendipitous Stitching blog.

Gifted Gorgeousness - May 2019

Where has the past month gone? It seems no time since my last Gifted Gorgeousness post. Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching where we display the crafted gifts we have made, used or received. Full details about how it works and how you can join in can be found here.

The hand quilting on Holly's baby quilt is about half done. It will be now be put away for a couple of weeks as I won't be around to work on it.

Holly's baby quilt

Fabric: 'TAO' Modele Depose, 'Black Tie' Oasis Fabrics

design 60-137, teal fabric with orange/white stripe

My main focus recently has been stitching this Good Luck card for my sister and our mum's dog, Sonny. They took part in the dog World Agility Open Championships at Ermelo (Netherlands) earlier this month in the N. Ireland team. She and Sonny didn't win any prizes but they managed to reach one final which I thought was good given that this was their first time in an international competition.

Poodle on dog walk frame - design worked from a scanned photograph

Fabric: 32ct Jobelan Sunlit Pool, The Crafty Kitten

Threads: DMC- 318, 3799, 3787, 931, 927, 612, 677,

738, 728, 402, 950, 841

Gifted Gorgeousness - April 2019

It's time for my monthly Gifted Gorgeousness(GG) report. If you are not familiar with GG, it is an opportunity to share our gifted craft items that we make and receive. It is hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching and full details of how it works can be found here.

Since I haven't posted regularly over the past month, I feel that I have quite a few things to share with you. So here I go!

First up is my Friendly Stitcher's Stitcher's Day exchange. My partner for this exchange was Martina.
She sent me this beautiful biscornu, threads and a tape measure.

Stitcher's Day exchange received from Martina, Friendly Stitchers

I stitched a needlecase for DJ but forgot to take a photograph. However you can see it here in DJ's April Gifted Gorgeousness blog post. It's at the end.

I finished Just Nan's Snowflowers. It is a gift for one of my mother's friends. I couldn't find a suitable custom-made frame so I laced it to this canvas frame and covered the back with the fabric the easel is standing on. My mother is very happy with it, so I hope her friend will be too.

Snowflowers - Just Nan

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart Exotic Orchid Belfast linen

Threads and embellishments: Recommended DMC threads 

and Just Nan embellishment pack

I finished the Llama baby quilt that I was working on and it is now with its new owner.

Simon's baby quilt

Fabric: Llama 801, Atacama 801 and Inca 801 by Indigo Fabrics

supplemented with navy and white fabrics

I've started my next baby quilt which is for Holly. Each of the blocks have been stitched and I now need to stitch the rows together. These colours are quite vibrant so I think I will choose something for the binding which will tone it down.

Holly's baby quilt

Fabric: 'TAO' Modele Depose, 'Black Tie' Oasis Fabrics

design 60-137, teal fabric with orange/white stripe

Before starting the quilt, I did some tester blocks which I also used as an opportunity to try applique with fusible webbing. I made these blocks into a cushion cover top and when it is completed I'll gift it to my sister.

Selection of fabrics in stash

Finally, a quick reminder of the gifts I sent and received in Needlecraft Haven's Easter Exchange.

Needlecraft Haven Easter exchange from Julie

My gifts for Astrid

That's everything for this month. Until next time, enjoy your crafting.

Gifted Gorgeousness - March

It's time for my monthly report of Gifted Gorgeousness (GG), organised by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching. For full details of how GG works, read this.

First up is the baby quilt that I have been working on. I've almost finished the hand quilting which is a simple cross hatch. For some reason the final section seems to be taking forever. I really have to concentrate on it this week as I want to post it on Saturday. Yes, it means that I won't be doing the housework as thoroughly as I should but it's only temporary.

Simon's baby quilt

Fabric: Llama 801, Atacama 801 and Inca 801 by Indigo Fabrics

supplemented with navy and white fabrics

I have finished stitching Just Nan's Snowflowers. The colours are so delicate I find it hard to take a photograph that does this piece justice. I've ordered a frame online and as soon as I get that it will be laced up and inserted. I haven't enjoyed stitching this as much as I thought I would, as I found it difficult to get the #8 perle cross stitches to lie as well as I would like. On the plus side, the recipient will receive it in plenty of time for her birthday.

Snowflowers - Just Nan

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart Exotic Orchid Belfast linen

Threads and embellishments: Recommended DMC threads 

and Just Nan embellishment pack

So what will be next? I have some Easter stitching which I am completing for an exchange and I will be starting another baby quilt. The baby is due this week, so once I know whether it is a boy or a girl, I will be able to make my fabric decision.

Happy New Year and Wrapping up 2018 finishes

First of all, Happy New Year. I hope that 2019 does not fly by as quickly as 2018 did. Last year just passed so quickly. We had a number of visitors throughout the year, especially during the summer and I think that, coupled with our own travels meant that time passed quickly.

I'd like to show you the quilted cushion cover that I finished just in time for Christmas. The design is Daybreak from Jaybird Designs. This was a trial run before I make the cushion with some daschund print fabric that I bought in the summer. I'm so glad I did as the finished cushion with border is approximately 50cm (around 19.5 inches) square! Ideally I want a cushion cover that is around 45cm (18 inches) square so I have reduced the templates to get closer to that on my next cushion cover. I didn't do the maths upfront because I lacked confidence that I would get it right because Daybreak is a hexagon design. I only made the necessary adjustments to make it a square when I got to that point and then I wanted my border. I felt it needed a border to finish it.

Daybreak - Jaybird Designs

My final finish of 2018 was a first for me - a pair of knitted socks! Many thanks to Julie (Julie's Stitchyknitter Journal) for her encouragement and Winwick Mum's easy to follow Sockalong instructions and YouTube videos. I've already got wool line up for my next two pairs of socks. I learnt a lot about using variegated wool while knitting these which I will hopefully use in the future.

Berger de France - Goomy 50, shade Imprim Prun

Gifted Gorgeousness - May

I'm just back in time from an extended holiday to post my May Gifted Gorgeousness update. At the beginning of April I posted about a baby quilt which was ready for hand quilting. It's finished and it is now in its new home in Canada. 

Fabric: Moda Big Sky, Bears-Teal and Mustard; Makower Linea Zinc;
Makower linen texture Sunflower; Makower Essentials Tiny Dots light cream;
unknown brown/grey fabric and Makower Linea Ebony for backing

I enjoyed making this quilt a lot and I love how the colours complement each other. Once again, thank you Rita Norton for the inspiration. So great was my enjoyment, I've already decided on the design and fabric for my next quilt. Details on what I'm making will follow in a later post when I'm ready to start that project.

If you are unfamiliar with Gifted Gorgeousness, the idea is that you post about your stitching/crafting which is either a gift or made from items you have been gifted. It is hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching and full details of how it works and how to join in can be found here.

Ready for quilting

Recently, in our wider family, a baby boy was born. This was just the excuse I needed to make a quilt. Originally I planned to make a scrappy design but when I saw this finish from Rita Norton, there was no going back.

So after converting my dimensions from inches to centimetres, here is my quilt (or play mat) based on Rita's design ready for the quilting to commence. The finished size will be 100cm x 120cm. I just love those bears.

Fabric: Moda Big Sky, Bears-Teal and Mustard; Makower Linea Zinc;

Makower linen texture Sunflower; Makower Essentials Tiny Dots light cream;

unknown brown/grey fabric and

Makower Linea Ebony for backing

A friendship exchange

Yesterday was opening day for Needlecraft Haven's Friendship exchange. The exchange was organised by Clare (Aimetu's Stitching).

I received my parcel from Julie of Julie's Stitchyknitter Journal. Her parcel had a purple theme as the flower for February is violet. This was ideal for me as purple is my favourite colour. In addition to some purple variegated threads and a friendship saying on slate, I am now the proud owner of Miss Violet, one of Julie's knitted rabbits.

Friendship exchange gifts from Julie

My partner was Christine. I stitched a friendship card, made a patchwork mug rug and included some threads. The chart for the card is a free design from Le Chalet des Pérelles and can be found here.

Un peu d'amour et d'amitié - Le Chalet des Pérelles

Fabric - 32ct Belfast white lined

Threads: Recommended DMC

Mug rug with using the friendship quilt block

Everyone made and received a lovely variety of gifts in this exchange.

Gifted Gorgeousness - May

It's time for Gifted Gorgeousness again. This is hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching. Each month on (around) the 15th, we post about a project that we are stitching which uses anything that has been gifted to us or which we intend to give as a gift. If you'd like to sign up, you can find out more about it, here.

I haven't touched Halloweenies during this past month but I managed to progress some patchwork. As a result I have a finish and a WIP to show.

I finally finished the doll's quilt last week and it is now with its new owner. Her dolls love it, she tells me :)
It was definitely a learning experience on this small quilt as I made a few errors such as making my binding too narrow. Oh well, live and learn.

Over the past couple of years I have received fabric in exchanges with Mouse (Tales of a stitching mouse) and Deb (no blog). I am using them to make a dilly bag (a small bag) for myself. Is there another name for this style of bag? I can only think of dilly bag. Please let me know as I am interested in that type of thing.
I like my mix of red and whites. All being well, it will be finished for the next update.

Contrasting fabrics

The lady who leads our patchwork group asked us to use strong contrasting fabrics when making our schoolhouse blocks. With this blue polka dot and white combination I think I achieved the contrast. This was all stitched and quilted by hand and though I lost interest at one point with stitching so many pieces together, I'm pleased with the final product. This has been finished as a small wall hanging.

One of my friends said that the polka dots made it look as if it was snowing. I think I agree.

Schoolhouse quilt block
Finished size - approx. 33cm x 32cm

Next week we are using fabric scraps which are any length and at least 3cm wide to make blocks. I have no idea what to expect from this exercise, so watch this space.

Miniature hexagon quilt finally finished

I feel as though I have taken forever to complete this miniature quilt but it is now finally finished. I am pleased with the end result even though I can find fault with my work. My next task is to find a suitable wall hanger for it.

Design: Josette, found in Magic Patch hors serie, no.91, 
'15 quilts miniatures'
Fabric, Moda charm pack  'Icicle kisses'

Joyful World SAL and a little quilting

I finished August in the Joyful World SAL this week. This one was special to me as it reminded me of my father's last dog. He was a great canine friend. I was pleased with how my lazy daisy stitches came out. Usually they never lie as I would like.

August, Joyful World SAL - The Snowflower Diaries
Fabric: 40ct Newcastle Vintage Mocha
Threads: Suggested DMC threads

I've made progress on quilting my hexagon quilt.

Design: Josette, found in Magic Patch hors serie, no.91,
'15 quilts miniatures'
Fabric, Moda charm pack  'Icicle kisses'

Since it is just the inner and outer edge of the centre rosette that is being quilted, it is not obvious in the above photo what I have done. So here are a couple of close-ups. I'm finding it hard to produce even stitches.  I've read in Kathleen Tracy's latest Sentimental Quilter blog post about Tiger Tape. This is supposed to help you learn to space your stitches evenly. I'm tempted to give it a try but I suppose what I really need to do is just practise and be patient.

Some more stitching and patchwork

Rather oddly, life has been both quiet and busy at the same time over the past couple of weeks. Nevertheless I made some time for stitching.

I've finished the stitching on February's Joyful World SAL.

February, Joyful World SAL - The Snowflower Diaries
Fabric: 40ct Newcastle vintage mocha
Threads: suggested DMC threads

March's Joyful World design is close to being finished. All being well that means that April's design could be stitched before the month of March is over.

March, Joyful World SAL - The Snowflower Diaries
Fabric: 40ct Newcastle vintage mocha
Threads: suggested DMC threads

During the past week, I went back to working on my mini hexagon quilt and discovered what I had suspected. Not all my hexagons are perfect so I'm doing some minor adjustments to make edges fit as I stitch. At least with hand stitching, I feel I have more control over how the hexagons stitch together.

Design: Josette found in Magic Patch hors serie, no. 91,
'15 quilts miniatures'
Fabric: Moda charm pack 'Icicle Kisses'

A Mado Patchwork blog post (in French) on the finished quilt can be found here.

Busy, busy, busy ...

I think I've fallen into the trap of trying to do too many things at once and making little progress on any of them!

Since I had little opportunity for stitching last year, I seem to have been trying to make up for lost time, particularly in regard to sewing exchanges. I've had three on the go at once - perhaps not one of my better ideas. I posted two of my exchange items at the beginning of this week. One is a Spring themed item for my Needlecraft Haven partner and the other is a Stitcher's Day item for my Friendly Stitchers's partner. I will post pictures when the items have been received. I'm also doing an Easter exchange and I've started stitching an Easter card and Easter shaped ornament for my Needlecraft Haven partner. I have until the beginning of April to complete that.

In the meantime I am making progress on pieces for myself. First up, Just Nan's Patience Sampler - I've only stitched one and a half rows since I last showed it. Hopefully I will be able to get a better photo next time.

Just Nan Patience as at 18 March 2014

I've made quite abit of progress on my quilt. I finished machine stitching the green/yellow squares and still have to finish machine piecing the red/yellow/burnt yellow squares. However, I got enough done to do a provisional layout to see what it will look like when finished (see below). What I have learnt from this design is that trying to get points right, is enough to make you want to pull your hair out! While not 100% perfect, they are almost there.

My Animal Farm Quilt - taster layout

I'm ready to sew

After cutting 463 pieces, it's time to get the sewing machine out and start joining the pieces together on this quilt top. Hurrah! Given that the animal panels have been my inspiration, I'm thinking of calling this quilt 'My Animal Farm'. With all those triangles, getting the points right will be important. As a relative novice, I found a useful tutorial on making practically perfect pinpoints by Anjeanette Klinder. It can be found in her blog, here . I wonder how much sewing I will have completed by next Saturday.

463 pieces of fabric waiting to be stitched

My next big quilting project

I went into town yesterday and bought material to go with a 2 metre animal motif fabric that I got last year in a remnant sale. I'm looking forward to starting this in my patchwork group. When finished, it will be a quilt for a single bed. It will keep me busy for the next few months.

Single bed quilt material

Quick and easy pincushion

Well that was the idea - something quick and easy. I decided that a hand stitched hexagon pincushion would fulfil both criteria, but I didn't take account of the fact that I'm a slow stitcher. However, after a couple of days, here is my new pincushion. Since it is just for me, I stuffed it with orts and scraps of material left from other projects rather than fibrefill. From doing this project, I've learnt that I need to be more precise in making my hexagon templates.

Hand stitched Hexagon Pincushion
Design source: Discovering Patchwork, BBC, 1977

Housework neglected for some finishes

Housework took a back seat this week (not that I needed much encouragement) as I was determined to finish the cot quilt that I have worked on for the past year. In addition, I also needed to stitch a scented sachet for an exchange at my local sewing group last Thursday. I've had a month to do it but for some reason it got squeezed into the final two days. Sound familiar? Here are my photos of the finished items. Unfortunately they are not as good as I would like as the lighting is too dull to get a decent photograph.

Design taken from 'Romance' by Emma Coutancier, Burda Patchwork, No.32, Autumn 2012

Design is 'Petit Bouquet' taken from 'Minatures au point de croix' by Françoise Prax

Now I have two exchange pieces to stitch as well as continue to work on Just Nan's Patience Sampler. With doing so much stitching in January, it's very likely that February will be a quiet month craftwise.