Challenge set by Win, almost 103 years old!

Towards the middle of last year my dear Patchwork friend Win (103 years old in a month's time) set our Group a Challenge.  She had found a scarf pattern which used a 100gm ball of DK yarn.  She asked a friend to buy a ball of yarn for each of us in the Group and photocopy the simple pattern.

I was so busy sewing and lots of involvement with the family and knitting for a friend's baby that I'm afraid the Challenge was put to one side. However I recently started to knit the scarf and it is now completed.  It's really nice, one of those scarves that wrap around your neck and fill the gap between sweater and coat collar.  I've decided to gift it to Liz in NZ to use during the winter.
It was so interesting to see the pattern evolve as I knitted my way through the ball of variegated yarn.

I'll definitely make more of them, perhaps for gifts for friends.

Yesterday I made 4 more QAYG String blocks for Jan in Australia.  Now have 6 to send her soon.
I have chosen darker/stronger colours for these 6 blocks as I know Jan always needs blocks for men and boy's quilts. They measure 10.5" square.

Getting ahead - February's Lotto blocks

I so enjoyed making blue and yellow Lotto blocks for the Sunshine Guild that I decided I would make some blocks using the February colour, Red.  This is a colour I rarely use (not sure why) so as a result I have almost no scraps.  I rooted through my fabrics: found two new FQs, a few assorted strips and a few 2.5" squares.  I also found a larger piece of striped fabric, the main colour being yellow with various coloured stripes.  As a few were red stripes I thought I could include that fabric.


I love making Star blocks so this time I used Bonnie Hunter's Maverick Stars free pattern and made 3 pairs of matching stars.

 

By then I only had scraps left (apart from some of the yellow striped fabric).
I made this block using strips framing a scrap square of fabric which I think I was sent in a swap years ago.

Then I used another of the black and red strips to make this one:

 

Combined the red 2.5" 4 patches with 4.5" squares.  In order to make these I had to cut into yardage, the only fabric I have in my stash that contains red - a piece depicting little red elephants which I intend to keep for backing a baby quilt - one day!

The red elephants feature again in this second block.

 

The only red scraps I have left are a few strings and a few 2" x 3" rectangles left over from making the blocks with the Chinese writing strips.

 

So, 10 Lotto blocks ready to mail to Tammy in Texas tomorrow. Knowing how few bits of red fabrics I owned I am amazed that I managed to eke them out to make so many blocks.

 

Just proving the old adage: "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" is alive and well.

 

Another baby born - another quilt gifted

My best friend's new grandson was born last week. I recently found out that the expected baby was going to be a boy and I already had two boy quilts in my stash. I decided which one to gift to little Albie , made the label and sewed it on. Now it's ready to wrap up and put in the post tomorrow.

I made the quilt back in October 2014 and it finally has a new baby to enjoy it.
The original quilt was called "Fairy Lights" from a pattern by Ruth Buchanan. But I have renamed it (at my husband's suggestion) "Magic".  Little Albie made a very protracted entrance to the world and his Mummy must have felt it was "Magic" when he finally chose to be born!

 

The quilt measures 42" square, a perfect size for a Playmat or snuggling quilt.

 

Proof  I have been steadily working through my scraps is that I only have scraps from the border fabrics in my stash.

Little gifts

My New Zealand friend asked if I could make her a new bag for her to house plastic carrier bags.
Made it this afternoon using some Amy Butler fabric.  It's fully lined with a proper casing so it should be sturdy.  Based it on the Pink Penguin Drawstring bag tutorial.

Yesterday I made 2 x 10.5" square QAYG string blocks for Jan in Australia.
See her blog Sew Many quilts too little time
to find out what marvellous work she does making countless charity quilts, many of them from donated QAYG blocks.  She uses 2 sizes of blocks: 10.5" and 12.5".  I hope to make a few more in the next couple of weeks. Trying to use "man coloured strings" as I know she is always looking for blocks suitable for men's quilts.

Off to cut some small scraps up into 2.5" and 1.5" squares for my stash.

First quilt finish of 2018

I had been asked to make a commission quilt back in August last year for a baby due in January.
I had made the top but was waiting for baby to be born and named so I could applique her name on the front and quilt it. Baby Ebony was born on 5th January and I worked hard on the quilt, finishing it on Thursday evening ready to hand over to Ebony's Aunty Jo who had asked me to make it. I did that yesterday and was thrilled at Jo's utter delight when she unfolded the quilt.  It's odd how nervous I am when I make a quilt to order - I'm always unsure of my colour and fabric choices when I am trying to follow the customer's requirements. Jo had asked for grey to be included and for it not to be "too pink and girly". I was pleased with the finished quilt and just hoped Jo would be too. Icing on the cake for me when I saw her obvious delight.  Phew!!

Here it is:

Ebony's Quilt entitled ( at Jo's request) "Miracle".

And close ups of the appliqued name panel:

 

I used the grey border fabric for the backing and binding too.

I hadn't made Tumblers before and really loved them and will make baby quilts with them again.  I liked hand quilting with Perle around the inside of each Tumbler.

The quilt finished at 38" x32".

 

 

Sunshine Guild Lotto blocks

I read about Lotto blocks on Cathy's blog (Sane, Crazy, Crumby quilting) and signed up to make some for the sunshineonlinequiltyguild.

This month they're asking for 12.5" blocks using blue and yellow fabrics.
You make matching pairs, one to be used in a charity quilt, the other going into a pile of Lotto blocks, name drawn for the winner of those blocks.

I have made 3 pairs:

Log cabin style

Chinese Coin style, two pairs

 

 And one extra

I have used quite a few scraps and chunks for these blocks which I enjoyed making.
Linking up with Angela's So Scrappy Blog.

Posting the blocks to the USA tomorrow.

Spot the Difference

Most weeks my GD and I do the Spot the Difference puzzle in our Saturday newspaper. With all this practise you would think I would be quick to spot mistakes.................. not so yesterday afternoon when I included the 4 blocks I had made for the Californian fire victims' Block Drive in my NYE post.

Later in the evening I looked at the photo I had put onto my flickr page and immediately spotted the mistake.  Amazing how a camera helps to focus your eyes.

So, spot the difference:

Yesterday's block

( Sorry the picture has turned itself around  - use the watering can to help orientate yourself)

Today's block    

 

And now all four with the HST sewn in the right way

 

Much better! I'm so pleased I spotted my error before I mailed the blocks to the USA.