I'm Back!

26 days on a cruise ship - bliss. Had a wonderful holiday, picked up some fabric and did a bit of hand stitching, but now I'm back playing catch up. With Moda Blockheads 7 starting while we were away, that is the first project to start. With the first four blocks released, I started with block one. 

I had no idea what colours I would use, or what I would be making, but that will come. I chose purple as my colour, as I want to use purple for the next photo strip for the wall.

Blockheads 7 is themed 'Friends and Neighbors'. Block 1 (of 30) is Spring Walk by Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique.

 

Block 2 is 'Twinkle' by Amarilys Henderson and it involved foundation paper piecing. I don't mind FPP now - but it was so frustrating when I first started using FPP, many years ago. 

New blocks come out each Wednesday.

That's it for this week. Check out what others are doing:-

Link Up Parties for Inspiration: 

Finished(or Not) Friday – Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Fridays - Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Wednesday Wait Loss - The Inquiring Quilter

So Scrappy 

Future Projects

What a busy four months! Sold our car and caravan, repaired and prepared a house for sale, sold it, and started renovating our back yard.... AND planned our next holiday. No wonder I haven't been able to spend much time in the sewing room. Maybe this week.

I tend to do the same challenges / sew alongs /projects each year, with the different one offs in between. This year I planned to finish off some  tops that had been on the shelf for a while - of which I did finish a few. The first sew along of the year for the past 6-7 years has been the Focuscutting Sewalong. This year the shape was a square. Usually the shapes make a hexie, and a square (above) doesn't fit my 'hexie' quilt, so I'm not as enthusiastic about it this year. I've made a few, and have a few more to make - they will be holiday sewing. 

Another year long project is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I really enjoy using up scraps and 'crumbs' to make little bits and pieces. I usually make them as leaders and enders when sewing different projects. This month the colour is yellow.

Block Mania is another monthly project that I like. I don't do a lot of the blocks but when something comes up that I like, I make it. This month the theme is 'Night Sky'. I subscribe to The Inquiring Quilter and I really like the block that Jennifer has designed. I found this fabric, but might go a little darker for the sky. I can see me making a number of these blocks, each one a little different. But for tomorrow, just this one.

A FaceBook Group I follow, Moda Blockheads, is starting a new project the end of September, so I'll be making some or all of those blocks. A new block comes out each week. I'll start this after the holiday.

And last, and probably my favourite, is Bonnie Hunters Quiltville Mystery. I love sewing pieces each week and seeing how the pieces all come together. I've made this mystery every year since Orca in 2011. This starts in November.

Link Up Parties for Inspiration: 

Finished(or Not) Friday – Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Fridays - Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Wednesday Wait Loss - The Inquiring Quilter

So Scrappy 

 

What I've Been Up to....

I've been trying to get the 'fairy quilt' finished before going on our next adventure. I have been using Moda Blockheads 6 patterns. I cut out the pieces and lay them on a board ready to sew.

 

Like many Blockhead blocks there are various variations, and I liked to make it my own. I also don't like to waste fabric, so the little triangle the I cut off the blocks will go towards making a doll quilt.

The next block was a little confusing. I cut all the pieces and started sewing, but it didn't make sense.

The finished block is not like the original block, but I am not unpicking it and remaking the block. I like it just the way it is.

I ended up with left over pieces - and I have no idea where they should have gone.

So I only have the outside border to go. That will have to wait until the New Year - Bonnie's mystery quilt is starting soon.

We are off on our next adventure soon, so it will a few weeks until my next post. 

Link Up Parties: 

Finished(or Not) Friday – Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Fridays - Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Put Your Foot  Down - Quiltery 

Fairy Panel Quilt Update

We went on a road trip down south to visit family and enjoyed a few weeks travelling regional town. I took some hand stitching with me but did very little. Now we are back home I'm looking forward to working on the Fairy Panel Quilt.

I'm using Moda Blockheads to surround the panel ans will put inner borders to get the sizing right. I love the way so many different blocks can be made from one block pattern.

Here are some variations of block 9.

 

I'm looking forward the heading downstairs to sew.

Link Up Parties: 

Finished(or Not) Friday – Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Fridays - Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Put Your Foot  Down - Quiltery 

Wednesday Wait Loss - The Inquiring Quilter

Beauties Pageants - From Bolt to Beauty

Finished and Started.......

I finished the second last row of Between the Lines, row 2 - Roundabout. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Only one more row to do, then finishing it off. I'm in the process of making that last row this week. I'm starting to enjoy foundation piecing.

I started the 2025 Moda Blockheads 6 this week. Block 1 is designed by Vanessa Christenson and named Regatta. There are many different colour combinations and variations of the block, so it took some fiddling with different combinations to decide on the final block. This is my 6th Blockheads, BH1 is still in a box waiting to be sashed and finished off. 2,3,4, and 5 were made into quilts - and I think I finished most of them. I'll have to find photos of the finished quilts and post them.  

This year my first project for BH6 will be a collection of wall-hangings for the stairwell at home. I will include photos, so like a photo album. As this years blocks are all 9" I might make the second project as a large border around a fairy panel.

This is block one - the first column of the wall hanging will be reds. 

Link Up Parties: 

I'm going to try a new browser to see if I can upload this blog on parties that I haven't been able to upload to the last month or so.

Finished(or Not) Friday – Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Fridays - Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Put Your Foot  Down - Quiltery 

Wednesday-Wait-Loss –  The Inquiring Quilter.

Messy House Update No. 6

I have been finishing off a few projects and started working on Moda Blockheads 5. Above is block 1 from Group 2. If you look in past blogs you will see the Christmas picnic rug and the purple blocks I made for Group 1. I am way behind on group 2, but did manage to finish block 2 this week.

I also made the green modern triangle block that I felt was needed. It does make a difference, now I need to decide the order I will place them and how to finish the top.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour for June is blue. Lucky I have my blues out for MBH5.

Link Up Parties: 

Wednesday-Wait-Loss – The Inquiring Quilter

A Pageant of Finishes – From Bolt to Beauty

Finished(or Not) Friday – Alycia Quilt

Off the Wall Fridays - Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Put Your Foot Down - A Quiltery

Sew and Tell - Melva Loves Scraps

Friday Catch-up

This week was mostly spent quilting the Christmas picnic rug, while I watched YouTube and caught up on Paramount, Stan and Netflix. I really don't mind half of my sewing room being converted to a 'cinema room'. I didn't have a lot of time in the sewing room as I had computer issues that had to be addressed.

I did finish one of the focus cutting sew along blocks - block 7, D for dog.

The rest of the time was quilting. I sandwiched the quilt last week and this week I took the fact that this was for us, to practice my quilting stitches.

I found it easy to think of quilting stitches for some of the blocks, but some were hard, and I ended up doing different patterns within the one block - that's fine, it's for us.

I did have fun and think I am getting better at the quilting part. The label block I made using some Christmas embroidery that I had sitting in a box for a few years. Perfect for this project.

I started with the centre block and quilted around the eight other blocks leaving me with the outer edge to quilt. I had planned on making binding for the edge, however, when I finished quilting I found that there was enough of the backing fabric to fold over as the binding, so that's what I did.

 

I am very happy with finished quilt, now to wait until December to use it.

 

This coming week I will be back sewing Moda Blockheads 5 and leaders / enders will be the yellow Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks - after I clear off my cutting table.

Link Up Parties: 

Wednesday-Wait-Loss – The Inquiring Quilter

A Pageant of Finishes – From Bolt to Beauty (on a break until May)

Finished(or Not) Friday – Alycia Quilt

Off the Wall Fridays - Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Put Your Foot Down - A Quiltery

So Scrappy  - Scrap Happy Saturday

Blockheads Block 4 and Focus Cutting Sew Along

 

 

Weather is starting to heat up - hotter than usual for early spring - and it is lovely to be downstairs in my cooler sewing room. Although I haven't had a lot of time down there with Nanna duties and a guest staying in the adjoining guest room. I did manage to do last weeks Blockheads block - Block 4 Super Scrappy Star designed by Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilts. Above is my purple version and below is my Christmas versions.

 I did have more time for hand sewing and caught up, again, with the Focus Cutting Sew Along.

Week 21 - Freestyle Pink

Week 22 - vertical lines

Week 23 - horizontal lines

Week 24 - diagonal lines

 Week 25 - freestyle lines

Week 26 - yellow motif

 Week 27 - yellow sections

 Week 28 - yellow pattern matching

 Week 29 - yellow freestyle

 Week 30 - animals motif

Maybe I'll be able to spend more time in the sewing room in the next two weeks.

Link Up Parties: 

Wednesday-Wait-Loss

Off the Wall Friday

Finished (or Not) Friday

Peacock Party