A Quilt in a Day. And Other Stories.

 Yes, I made a quilt yesterday. From start to finish. It's all done. But first those other stories.

As you know, I was off to Embroiderers Guild for a few hours. That was fun, stitching and chatting with the other ladies and seeing all the beautiful works.

I made some great progress on my Bring Me Flowers stitching.
Finishing off this piece that had stalled with only a little left to do.

Next, I turned my attention to the smaller flowers.

All four were completed. 

I'm very happy with my progress, though there is still a long way to go.

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While I was there, I had a look at the sales table. Members can donate items to the table, and any proceeds go to the club's funds.

I found this beauty hiding amid some pieces that required completion.

The stitching is complete, but it needs to become a something. 

I'm thinking maybe it could become a very pretty pin cushion? 

How would you use it?

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After club I paid a visit to the supermarket then headed home. I'm not sure what made me do it, but I decided to stop at the Sallie's op shop. It's been a while. They have new management; the place is less cluttered and feels brighter and airier. The stock has been rearranged a bit; things are easier to see. The craft section had moved along a little and was also much tidier than it used to be. Look what I found tucked into the bookshelf hiding amid a bundle of old magazines. 

Oh Wow!  At $4 it wasn't staying in the store.

Will I ever be brave enough to make it? 

Not today, but we shall see.

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Now, I promised you a quilt in a day.....

After getting home I put away the groceries, had a quick lunch then headed into the happy room. I've had it in mind for a week or two to pull out some of those ready-made blocks I acquired in the $20 paper sacks. But when I went digging in the drawer for some of them, I came across a package of purple. I bought this back in 2023 in an op shop.

I had previously used some of the original bundle to make up this quilt in the same year.

Yesterday the remainder of the bundle had its day.

I played sudoku on the floor with the remainder of the precut squares. Cut two more and started sewing.

I pulled two fabrics from stash for border auditions...

The ditsy purple flowers came in a $20 paper sack.

Janice agreed it was the right one, so on it went.

That very dark purple right at the top of the audition image was also in one of the $20 paper sacks.

I was going to cut four pieces for the borders, then it struck me that the off cuts from three sides might be enough to make the final piece. I'm trying to use up some bits and pieces, not make more...

After making up a Franken batt, and also a Franken Back! 

That plain looking purple in the middle? That's from a $20 paper sack and the piece at the bottom is an offcut from the back of the memory quilt. And of course, the piece at the top is the ditzy flower used for the border.

It's only small, a crib size, so I opted to crack on and quilt it on my desktop machine, using the serpentine stitch, over the ditch.

I even got the binding sewn on before I had to cook tea.

Then after we had eaten, I got it closed!

It was getting dark by then; so, I opted to wait for a daylight photo shoot. 

No trees today, it is pouring down. The garden is loving it, I'm sure. I'm glad I don't have to go out anywhere today and I can get to the sofa on the deck for a quick photo there.

Tada!

A quilt in a day.

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What's on the agenda today? 

Well, I'll need to iron yesterday's laundry, then I'll go where the muse takes me.

That does seem to work better for me at the moment rather than planning ahead or trying to chase goals. 
I'll let you know, once it's done. LOL

Three whole days off!

 (Shhh, don't say it too loud, someone will hear me and take one of them away)!

What to do with myself? 

I started bright and early today, the laundry is on the line, some chores have been completed and soon I'll be off to join the ladies at Embroidery guild. 
I'll be taking along Bring Me Flowers, by Gail Pan. 
If you remember it was a BOM back in 2021.
I made a start back then, stitching the first few flowers, but then stalled.

It will be good to make some progress on this one.

I have all the fabrics I originally sorted for it all set aside in a project box. Blue and green fabrics, to go with the blue and green threads I had selected. I'll show more once more progress is made.

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And like I don't have enough projects to be getting on with, one of the ladies at quilting club had the most beautiful pencil/project case. Closer inspection and her own admission revealed that she had purchased it from one of those Chinese stores for pennies and had embroidered and appliqued a beautiful panel to stitch onto the front. (I tried to get an image, but it's very blurry, sorry). She was working on a panel to sew onto the back.

Inspired I purchased this one.

It's quite spacious, with a few pockets inside.

Just right for a small project.

I can't guarantee that I'll get around to making a pretty panel anytime soon, but that is the idea. 

One more chore before I head out to have fun for a few hours. 

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A Quilting Finish.

 Two whole days off! 

I was awake bright and very early yesterday, so sat quietly doing some cross stitch while I waited for Tony to surface. Once he was up and about, I got busy. The washing machine was put to work, the chores were done, then it was time to play.

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I loaded a quilt onto the frame and got busy.

Most of the fabrics in this top nod toward our love of sewing and stitching. The rest just blend in and play nicely. The squares were a charm pack that was in my stash. They were put together last year.

Yesterday, it was quilted. 

There were lots of interruptions, so it took a few hours.

There were distractions too.

The wedding cake tree looks stunning at the moment.

I had all the windows wide open,
and two bumblebees came in for a look. I made sure they found their way out safely.

But in spite of all the goings on I got the whole thing quilted.

I used my favourite pantograph. The meander that has featured on so many of my quilts.

The binding went on mid afternoon.

I didn't quite get it all closed by hand, before we went out to a BBQ at a colleagues place.

But only one corner remained with a few inches either side. It really didn't take long to do that little bit this morning.

Then as it is another beautiful Kiwi day, I went outside for a photo shoot.

The holder upper is busy playing his games and chatting with my brother online, so I had to get creative.

On the rocking chair. It's been a while.

Peeping up through the branches of the wedding cake tree.

Everything outside is so green and bursting into life.

Finally, I came back onto the deck to get a picture showing the backing afbric.

Another of the fabrics from one of my $20 paper sacks.

It was just wide enough to be cut in two and sew the selvedges together to create the perfect back.

And there you have it. Another quilt ready to be donated.

What to do today? 

The chores are all done.

No grandies visiting today.

My time is playtime.....

I'll let you know what I decide on. 

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A very Busy Day.

  With only one day off this week, I have to make the most of my me time.
So, I started bright an early, heading onto my happy room before 7am.
After a very quick tidy up I got on with pressing, measuring, cutting and sewing.
The first job was to get the binding cut and onto the memory quilt. 

Closing by hand would be a job for later. 

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I moved swiftly on to the next project. 
Borders!
For Down in the Garden.

On they went.

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Next!

I pulled out the thistle cross stitch and turned it into a needle book.

Using an off cut from the memory quilt as the lining. I had a dig through my recently acquired box of felt pieces and found the perfect colour.

Tada!

It's a finish.

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I quickly moved on to preparing mounting boards for the Emperor.

After my 10.30 appointment with my Chiropractor, I decided it was time to settle into a comfortable seat and do some finishing. It didn't take too long to complete the fiddly task of lacing the cross stitch and backing fabric onto their respective cards.

The front and back were whip stitched together before I added a chenille edge. 

And Tada!

Another finish.

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At 3pm I pulled the memory quilt into my lap to close the binding by hand. And now it's done.

As it is a beautiful evening, the holder upper was persuaded to step outside for a quick photo shoot. 

I've ticked a couple of my goals off the list today. 

It's been a good day.

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I might cross stitch for an hour or so after some tea.

Then back to work tomorrow. Early starts, so no time for my 15 minutes in the morning, but I will get a longer lunch break, so I'll make up for it. 

Lots of Little Bits.

 Work has been busy with extra shifts, and more to come. So not a great deal of energy for pulling quilts around at the moment, but I have been keeping myself busy. I seem to have developed a starting disorder! Though I've had some finishes too.

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You know of course that I have finished stitching the Thistle cross stitch in my lunch break at work and I have been taking a free mini kit to keep me busy. I'm happy to say there has been some good progress.

Can you tell it's supposed to be Santa? I'll keep him going in my breaks.

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Having completed the Emperor I needed another wee something for the mornings before work, and maybe to take along to club. I went digging through my boxes of small projects and found an adoption that might be a quick finish.

This dimensions kit is named Kitchen Collectibles. There were some threads with it, but not all. I tried to match them up to the areas that are not yet completed, then gave up, found a conversion chart and pulled my own threads. This one will keep me busy for 15-20 mins before work. Though not this coming week as the boss is away so I have to step up into her role, so that means earlier starts. 

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Still on the hunt for something to take along to Embroidery club I pulled out an old stitchery. Well not that old. Gail Pan's Bring Me Flowers. I have stitched some of the pieces, but many, many more need to be done. They have not even been traced yet. 

I do have some blocks ready to go though. 

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I also pulled out another cross stitch thinking it might do for club. It's been getting louder and louder recently.

I decided it would be a good idea to just make a start. Then spent two whole evenings stitching away on it. I'll share more another time.

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As well as the Emperor finish, I also have another very quick finish.

I pulled out this Fuchsia keyring.

I told myself I would just make a start and take it along on Monday. I stitched the whole thing on Thursday, in between chores. LOL

It does have a keyring to go into, but I'm waiting for the holder upper to be a gluer upper, as the back keeps popping off. LOL

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And finally, as though I don't have enough to be keeping me busy I saw an ad online for this....

Of course I had to purchase it, especially as it was from the new store I discovered in Christchurch. 

I don't plan on doing any of these this year but never say never!

I think maybe I'll do a few of them next year as my family gifts and swaps. 

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So there you have it. My love affair with cross stitch and stitchery continues.

I will get back to the quilts I promise.