A Letter to My Daughter

It is finished....I am late posting it..

I started working on this in March 2021 - just after the Homespun magazine was available and it was finished by September 2022.

Designed by Natalie Bird - there was a panel of stitcheries - which are done - but I left them off the quilt as they have a cream background and I used greys.  I also have 16 hexie flowers that were made to be part of the quilt - but they will all be made into a wall hanging or smaller quilt....one day....

I made a few Susan changes - not too many.

FNSI - October

Gosh, a month goes so quickly!

And I do NOT need to be reminded that Christmas is hovering around the corner!

I got an early start to sewing on Friday - I traced the shapes and cut the applique pieces for Letters to My Daughter as the October patterns are released . . no magazine yet . . so I took an educated guess and cut the backgrounds 2" bigger in case ... and traced the lettering - ready for a sewing day on Sunday.

I dropped in for a short Zoom Chat with Chookyblue - and did a bot of work on the pages for the latest ABC book - they are now sewn together and ironed - just 28 buttonholes to go and it's done.    (Aren't I grateful for a machine that does them easily and nicely???)

I hope everyone else had a fun & productive night - or if you took it easy - a fun night.

Thanks Wendy.

Friday Afternoon/Night Sewing

It's not FNWF or FNSI - but I sewed !!!

My employer has given us all a short day today - and again on 24th September - for our "Wellness program"  -  the idea being we take time off to chill/relax...or do what we want I guess.

So - of course, I sewed!!!

The "shut down" time was 2pom - I finished about 3.15....packed up the laptop - as it occupies some of my sewing desk - and got started on the August / September blocks for LTMD.
They were fairly well along the track - and I had to remake one block in the elephant block...it was quicker than "reverse sewing" it . . .but both are done now.

I can now patiently wait for the October issue ...wonder how I will fill in my time??

Happy Sewing all

Retreat 2021

I had a list of "To Dos" for my retreat - and as explained before - it didn't happen.
I was able to sew most of the weekend - but normally there would have been a lot more than a weekend to sew - so I have tried to follow on with the list since the Non-Event.

MY #2 was to finish the ABC book for my new grand daughter....- I'll do a separate post about that.

Tonight I completed #3 on the list - the June/July blocks for Letters to My Daughter.

I created my own Project board - like we do every year at Mt Alford - so now there are 3 on the "Done" side.

It certainly wasn't the same missing out on the fun & friendship - but it is not the end of the world.

A Letter to My Daughter

I started this project earlier in the year - I had a bundle of fabrics that I thought would work well - added a few from stash, then remembered a bundle of greys and blacks that bestie and I had talked ourselves into last year....so I added the greys for the backgrounds. I have bought a few more - not many

The pattern is available in Homespun magazine and this time I did an electronic subscription (to save the bulk of the magazine - and the quandy afterwards - do I keep these or not?)

I joined the Facebook group and this gives me a "goal post" to aim at.   It's not a competition - but trying to get each month's blocks done before the next publication does "encourage" me to keep at it.

I posted my finished Blocks 1 and 2 there - but not on my blog.

So here are blocks 1 and 2

I have finished Blocks 3 & 4 now.

That bee block had a LOT of stitching in it - mostly now it's just words.

As I'm keeping to a limited colour palette - my bees are black & blue - not yellow.

I thought I should at least check to see if bees do come in a variety of colours...

Yes they do (phew lucky me!!!!)

From this web site I see:

The varieties of blue bees include:

• 1. Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria)
• 2. Cuckoo Bee (Thyreus nitidulus)
• 3. Blue Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa caerulea)
• 4. Blue Banded Bee (Amegilla cingulata)
• 5. Blue Leafcutter (Hoplitis fulgida)

I know this all a bit too factual, but I am planning on giving #1 Granddaughter this quilt - (she isn't born yet....) and I will make up a little story/book to go with it.

Now I can get back to all the other important projects.

FNSI - May

Whoo Hoo - time for sewing!!!
Tonight is FNSI - hosted by Wendy who is having a birthday this month - so it's a special FNSI.

Pop over here to check out the deal & the links for everyone....and there is a free stitchery design...so go & have a look.)

DH was out watching the footy - the right team won - Phew!!

I sewed....(what else???)....working on A Letter to My Daughter.

I had finished the stitching part of these blocks - apart from the birds' legs....

so I finished off the applique and pieced one of the blocks.

The second one is ready to go - so I'm sure I will get that done over the weekend...then I will have a few days being up to date - but I'm sure the next edition of Homespun isn't too far away.

Happy Sewing

Saturday Sewing

I'm not at Scrub Stitchin' @ Baradine this year with Chooky and friends - but I'm watching from afar- they are having drinks for me - and I am sewing cyberally!!!

I told Chooky I would let her know what I do . . .LOL

Only a few hours of sewing today - I made all but one of the cross blocks for Letters to My Daughter (calling it LTMD from now on) ...- I did another count when I was finished - seems I can't count properly (would you believe I am trained as an accountant???) - so I will need one more....I will leave it now - and wait & see what I need.

(organising photos in blog posts is so much harder these days . . .grrr)

I also stitched the lemon peel blocks.

Tomorrow I am out at one of my sewing groups - working on a project that is supposed to stay under wraps until each reveal day - the next one is mid May...so I might just show a teeny bit...

Chooky - I hope you had a great day today - I know it will be sad to say goodbye ....Hugs to you & all the tribe.

FNWF - April

Happy to join with all my cyber friends sewing on Friday Night - or whatever time you can.

Tonight I finished off the last of these hexies for Letters to My Daughter.  

I also did a bit of prep on blocks 3 and 4...ready for sewing later on.

I do hope you were able to get some sewing done - it's a great de-stressor!

Thanks Cheryll 

Friday Night Sewing

Somehow my brain was thinking "Friday Night Sewing" is on . . . .FNSI was last week and FNWF is next week....so....apart from my usual night time sewing - it was nothing special.

My brain is a bit splattered at the moment . . lots of stuff happening and I am probably more stressed than I realise....or care to admit.

I took the dog for a walk tonight - something my husband usually does - and instead of dropping the "doggy poo" bag in the bin - I threw in my keys.....Not a pleasant experience to retrieve them - but fortunately, there was a stick nearby with a handy dandy little bit sticking out at the end.  I retrieved them and picked them up in a clean doggy bag and sterilised them when I got back home.

But onto more pleasant things.

To cut a long story short we went to DD2's place for a pizza dinner & the AFL.
DH's team were playing DD2's team.
I am not into watching sport..especially football, so I sat in the corner with my light and my glue stick.   I had cut the hexies to make 11  half inch hexie flowers.....for a project that I just had to get into because everyone else was . . .apparently.  It's a BOM - Letters to My Daughter (though it may be Letters to my Granddaughter - due in July) - designed by Natalie Bird and made available through Homespun. 
In total there are 13 hexie flowers needed - though only a couple for this month, but I thought I may as well go ahead and prep them all...well almost all . . .LOL...so this where I got to tonight.

BY the way in case you care - DH's team narrowly beat DD2's team...it was an interesting game ...if you like that kind of thing - better than a walkover!...Obviously a lot of wrong calls by the referree.

So, even if it wasn't a formal Friday Night for Sewing - I did and I hope you got to do something you enjoy doing.

YAY - it's the weekend and next week is a short week.  Boy - do I have a lot of sewing planned for Easter . . . shame its only 4 days...I could do with 4 weeks!