Winter's On Its Way . . .

I met Sylvia the other day (in real life !! ) and we were comparing notes on projects in the works. She's ordered these fantastic scarf kits from Anni at Hatched and Patched. Aren't they great? And with days suddenly turning quite cool here, it's the right time of year to be using them. I just love the little danglies on the ends!

And we are both going to be working on Lynette Anderson's Scandanavian Christmas quilt. I'm not committing to which Christmas, but hoping for this year!

What projects have you got in the works?

Dishcloth Quilt

I started this quilt at a retreat with Susan Smith (of Patchwork On Stonleigh) about 2 1/2 years ago. It was one of the first projects I did that was scrappy - prior to this they were all your '5 matching fabrics' variety. This one made me step outside my comfort zone a bit, and started my love of scrappy quilts. I've done it as a quilt-as-you-go. There's still a pieced border to go around the outside, but it's starting to come together nicely.



There's a bit of embroidery, some applique and a few other goodies on here. On this plain block I've appliqued a little crocheted basket that I inherited (in a cabinet full of doileys) from my Nan. I didn't know what to do with it, but I knew I wanted to use it on something - and this ended up being the perfect project for it. As with all Nan's doileys, it was starched to within an inch of its life, but it sits well on the quilt.



I've used many shades of raspberry, with a little pink and green thrown in for good measure. The green stands out a bit in the photo, but I think once the border goes on it should all tie in nicely. There's not too much left to do on this one, so it just may get finished sometime soon!

Crockenbouche

This fantastic crockenbouche was the cake for our niece's birthday.



It looked great . . . and it tasted pretty good, too! A special cake for a special girl.

Hexagon Quilt & Hexagon's Pair

My "Hexagon Quilt" ended up being a bigger project than I originally thought.

I fell in and out of love with it several times over during its construction.

But in the end, I was happy! And this, I believe, was the beginning of my fascination with hexagons.



The quilt is 67" x 88". The hexagons are 7 1/2" at the widest point and there are about 100 in the quilt.

There are some pieced ones . . .

Some plain ones . . .

Some appliqued ones.

I used a crazy mix of bright fabrics, which in the end are a bit too bright for on the bed. But we've used it as a picnic quilt, which is kind of nice.

I made a pieced backing for the quilt (the first time I'd done this kind of thing), but when it came right down to it, the backing ended up as a quilt in its own right - the "Hexagon's Pair" quilt.



It's 79" x 96". This quilt incorporates squares . . . some full size (almost 9"), plain ones . .

Some 4 patch . . .

Some 9 patch . . .

Some bordered squares.

This 'start cutting and see what you end up with' approach was way, way outside of my comfort zone, but I'm really glad that I did it. I ended up with only the tiniest of scraps left over. That in itself was very satisfying. There's something about using almost every last thread of fabric in a project . . .

Wonderful Colour

How's this for a feast of colour?



This little critter was making quite a meal of our grape leaves . . . and given that it turned out to be an ornamental grape vine (which was somewhat disappointing - seems we have an ornamental plum as well, so no real fruits for us!) I'm glad that the leaves can be put to good use!

And how fantastic are the markings along its body? Isn't nature a spectacular thing?

The colours remind me of my Tropical Delight quilt.



Funny, I'd always thought of this quilt as a summery one, but I guess it crosses the seasons . . .

Charleston Progress

I've started the applique for my Charleston Rhapsody . . . and so far, so good.



I didn't really think about all the points on the triangles when I first saw the pattern - what I saw were all the hexagons (have I mentioned you need 842 of them?).



But there are a few points. Still, I'm making good progress and enjoying it.



I've been making progress with the hexagons, too. They are just an easy distraction when I want to stitch, but not really concentrate too much.

What's happening in your world?

Autumn, Lovely Autumn!

I love this time of year.

Crisp nights.

Glorious days.

A feast of earthy colour.

And the leaves. Oh, the leaves.

The promise of change.

The beauty of now.

Fascination with Hexagons . . .

OK, so I've come across Barbara Brackman's blog, which has provided some very interesting reading - well worth a look, if you get a chance.

Anyway, she has a couple of interesting posts about hexagons . . . and I was just blown away by a picture of a quilt by Mr Albert Small's quilt from about 1935 . . .



This is his first quilt. The hexagons are 1/2" and it took him 14 months. Not bad for a first attempt!!!

It seems he was quite industrious when it came to hexagons (among other things) and the NUMBERS, the MIND-BOGGLING NUMBERS had my head spinning.

Check out this link for an interesting story about a man who rose to the challenge of his wife's quilting group!

A Weekend of Stitching

Well, over the long weekend, amongst all the relaxing, spending time with family and a bit of pottering in the garden I managed to get some stitching done.



This is from the 'Our Home' pattern which I won from Lynette Anderson. It is a really lovely pattern.

The original pattern has 'Welcome to Our Home' stitched across the "grass", but I'm not sure that that's what I want on mine . . . I don't think it will be hanging near the front door, so the words, for now, will remain absent. So, this is a completed (almost) project for the weekend. It feels good to start and finish something in a reasonable time frame. It's a different head space from the more longer term projects I have on the go at the moment.

Did you get any stitching done over the weekend in your world?

Thought for the day . . .

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
-Pericles

Makes you think, doesn't it? What are you weaving into the lives of others?

Look What I Won . . .

I entered a competition on Lynette Anderson's Blog and I won!

This little parcel of goodies arrived in the mail . . .



It's one of  Lynette's new patterns called 'Our Home'. It a little applique and stitchery and is just gorgeous!




And what about these buttons? They are soooo cute!



Thank you so much, Lynette. Guess you know what I'll be stitching over the weekend . . .

P.S. You should go to Lynette's blog and have a look at her new quilt called 'Scandanavian Christmas'. This one I am definitely doing!