WIP Wednesday

Another busy week in which I got one of my WIPs finished off and made substantial progress on some others.

Stringen' Em Along. 
I got this quilt finished off in time to count it in my Stash report for the week Yay.

En Provence (Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt)
I worked steadily on this for several days and finally got the top together last night. Now to make a back for it! I ended up with heaps of the white/neutral 4 patches left over. I must have seriously miscounted. I will probably work on incorporating them into the backing.

It was only after I was showing a friend this photo I realised that I had put the top border on upside down. Oops

Surrounded by Scraps 
This Charlotte Hawks latest mystery quilt. Clue 2 was released on Feb 8th (here) in the US which was Thursday in Australia. I worked on it straight away and was pleased to get it finished Friday. Now to wait till March for the next clue to come out :)

Hexagon Quilt
Today at Patchwork a couple of friends helped me load the Hexagon quilt onto the quilting frame at our Club rooms. The idea was that I would get it set up to quilt tomorrow but I got started on it and since the others didn't mind me doing it whilst they were there I kept right on and got it finished. We had a few issues with the quilt backing - getting it to load properly - I had appliqued a strip of hexagons to the back and it meant it didn't stretch as much as the rest of it. We managed to get it relatively straight and it just meant that I had to carefully monitor it as I fed it through to make sure it was all sitting straight. I still have to trim off the excess and get the quilt squared up. The binding is all ready made and ready to go. I plan to machine it on so it won't take too long to getting it finished (hopefully by this Sunday)


I've been working away on some messenger bags for the Comic Con stall. I got 4 made yesterday and now I am out of magnetic clips so can't make any more till the ones I order arrive.

Hope you all make good progress on your WIPs this week.

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WIP Wednesday

I finished the Norwegian Table runner I was working on last week and it was included in my Sunday Stash report. I admit to rushing to finish it so I had something to put in the report. It chipped a little off my deficit for the year.

A to Z quilt
This is going to be my "entry" in this year's A to Z challenge in April. They haven't released or revealed the logo or the sign up etc for this yet but I am getting in early! This is the web page for when it starts. At this stage I have chosen the blocks I will make for each letter (or at least I have put a few for each letter into my selection folder)  I am using 12" finished blocks. One is going to have to go on the back in any case as that will make a 5 x 5 block design (60" plus borders)

This week I have made A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H - go me. I don't plan to show the pictures or tell you the names of the blocks I have chosen to make for each letter, as that is what I will do each day in April. I can tell you that I am making it totally scrappy and using my pre-cut  fabric scraps as much as I can. That is actually slowing me down a bit as I hunt through my scraps for enough of the colours required. Like I said its totally scrappy and may end up looking like clown vomit but whatever.

I would absolutely love to have the entire quilt finished by the end of April - quilted bound and labelled but not sure I am that good. Having 8 blocks done (my aim for January) is pretty good start. 

I have done no more on my En Provence quilt since I finished off the 1/4 square triangle blocks last week. I still have to trim them, and the rest of the units so... one day.

I have had 3 more small finishes this week. Back in 2015 my 2 FGs (Fangirl ie daughter and Fixit Guy ie my husband) and I went to Malaysia to visit her host family from when she was an exchange student in 2003. One of the activities we did whilst there was to do a batik painting class. We came away with a picture each and some batik fabric (off the bolt) purchased separately for me to turn them into wall hangings. This week I have finally got the 3 of them done. I am pleased with how they turned out although part of me wonders if I should have done the framing in the same fabric (at lease for Fixit guy's Rooster and my spray of flowers) so they could hang together. But I didn't . So now they don't match and I really don't mind.

 I will probably hang them in the loo's or the like. It was a bit of a paint by numbers type activity and in my case my teacher took over a lot anyway. Still it was good to have them all done. Fangirl's sunflower has gone down to her in Brisbane.

I have started the units for the first clue of Charlotte Hawks mystery quilt. I have finished the nine patches and have started the 4 patches... I might get them done this afternoon or tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow. Its Australia Day - 26th January so its a public holiday and our usual activities aren't happening sooooo. its Australia Day Sew In #ADSI.

Hopefully you have made progress this week with some of your WIPs too.

Linking up with 

WIP Wednesday

I've had a busy few days sewing this week.

Last week Charlotte Hawkes released the cutting instructions for her mystery quilt that begins in January. I got it all cut over the weekend. Its called "Surrounded By Scraps" and you can find details here if you would like to join in.

The 4th clue in En Provence, the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt for 2016 came out on Friday - very late in Australia so I didn't even look at it till Saturday but had no chance to work on it till Monday. I blogged about it here 

Today at Patchwork group, between having a super yummy morning tea and lunch to celebrate Christmas, I worked on the piano key border for Handwork Heritage. I got the borders done - there is oodles of it. I got a bit carried away.

I also worked on "Stringen Em Along", my Bonnie Hunter String X quilt. I got the borders on it - I went with the same fabric I'd used as my background. And then I made the binding. I decided on a scrappy border. I might have gone with a binding in the lavender background fabric if I'd had any of it left but I'd used it all up. Again I went a little crazy and I think I will have enough binding fabric for a couple of quilts!!

Just yesterday I heard that my niece is having another baby, due in May. This will be the 3rd grandbaby in just over a year for my sister and followed on 3 weddings in 6 months - they overlapped somewhat. Given that she only has 4 children that was good going. The single childless sibling is not feeling any pressure to join the club!!

Anyway - my baby quilt choice this year has been the sparkle quilt pattern from Missouri Star quilt company. I had some left over pieces and so this evening I have been working on making a quilt for the expected bub. I have the 9 star blocks made and working on the off setting borders now.

I also worked on the Craftsy BOM quilt that I have been working on - the Amy Gibson one (2012 I think) I didn't start it in 2012 but it has been a long slow cooker one. Anyway. I finished off the quilting on my domestic machine and got the binding on. Still have to do the label but since I haven't come up with a special name for it nor a place for it to go I am not in a hurry to do that. (No photos yet... perhaps for Stash report on Sunday)

Hope you have made some progress on your projects this week if that is what you have wanted to do. But maybe you have been prepping for Christmas not sewing. Whatever you have been doing I hope you have enjoyed it.

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En Provence Clue 4 Progress

I was later getting to start this clue than usual. It wasn't till today that I was finally able to get to start it. All for good reasons mind you. Our daughter, Fangirl arrived home Saturday midday for the holiday. Saturday (when the clue is effectively available here) was taken up with getting ready to see her and then enjoying her company. Sunday was busy with church all morning, then guests for lunch and some more in the late afternoon. I didn't actually get to do more than look at the clue till late this morning. I had started to cut fabric in preparation for another mystery quilt that I am going to be participating in that starts in January. I had started cutting for it on Thursday and wanted to get it finished before starting this clue. This mystery is called "Surrounded By Scraps" by Charlotte Hawkes and is due to start on January 11th.

  

So that delayed things even further. Eventually this morning I was able to get started.

I had a few mix ups. To start with I cut too many of one of the side triangles. Oh dear. And then I found that I had cut a heap of them too small. Rats. It means I wasted a heap of fabric as I had to cut new ones.....and I'd already cut too many. Oh well I might be able to use them in another quilt block (or I can put them into stuff the dog bed pillow I'm making).

I worked on the clue from midday today and by dinner time I had them all done. They have ended up a little small so not sure what I did wrong. To be honest most of my blocks this time around have ended up a bit small. I suspect it must be my 1/4" foot. I've always been slack at checking accuracy. I am hoping that I am going to be able to fudge it if they are all a little small. I still have to trim the tag ends off.

Linking up with Mystery Monday Linkup Part 4