Last craft item finished!

On Wednesday evening I finished knitting the pink and lilac beanie I am putting into my Shoebox.

Here it is, bright and girly!

 

 

And here it is again, beside the knitted Shoulder bag:

 

 

 

I think it's fascinating how knitting two colours together gives you a completely new colour.

Look at the contrast between the beanie and the bag, yet the lilac and pink yarns are the same!

 

 I have now finished all the handmade items I intend to put in my Shoebox so it's almost ready to hand over at the special Church Service on 1st November. A few sweets to buy when I am in town tomorrow and then it's done.

And, no last minute rush!

 

Last night I completed hand sewing the binding on my Wonky Stars quilt.  I am going to try to photograph that today but it rather grey and overcast so we'll have to see.

With a bit of luck I'll write another post later today.

 

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!

No I am not fighting the battle of Agincourt with Henry V, I am fighting the Battle of the Post that will Not Appear!

So in the spirit of " Let us try again one more time" .......... Here we go!

Last night I spent a frustrating hour trying to get my post published.
Three parts to it: my knitted Christmas Bell, the little knitted shoulder bag and 2 more Spider web Blocks.

First of all the whole post seemed to be OK, then mysteriously the first part about the knitted Bell disappeared and it seemed as though the last 2/3 of the post was OK, so I re-wrote and published the bit about the Christmas Bell.  THEN I discovered that that was the only piece of the whole thing that had been posted. At that point I admitted defeat, the computer had won, and off I went to bed.

New dawn, new day, so I am going to try again. My generation was brought up on the maxim; "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again'!

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

At the weekend I knitted a pretty little shoulder bag to add to my Christmas Shoe box.  It uses two colours of wool that you knit together which gives a pretty marbling effect.  I chose a deep pink and a lilac.  Together they create a completely different colour.

 

Last week I made  a Spider web block for my Patchwork Group's quilt that we are making for one of our members.  It was then decided that we needed more blocks so I offered to make two more. 

 I enjoy making these blocks and as I already have a stash of strips they are quick to make.

Here's the two extra I made yesterday afternoon:

 

Nice and bright and scrappy, just what I like in a quilt - and, more importantly what the recipient of this quilt likes.

I also trimmed my Wonky Stars quilt and sewed on the bindings.  That's ready for me to hand sew whilst I'm at my Patchwork Group on Thursday morning.

I have just looked back at the To Do List that I posted on 19th September.  I'm really rattling through that list.  Once the binding on Wonky Stars is sewn and I have finished knitting the beanie I started yesterday whilst watching TV, I will have ticked them all off the list.  Hurrah.

Now I am holding my breath as I try to publish this post. Here goes!

 



 

 

Working on WIPs and making a list

I am working on two baby quilt WIPs.  Making good progress as I haven't had a lot of time for sewing this week. Visitors with two young children so we had to move a lot around in the house, get out the travel cot and folding bed etc. Now I am tackling the washing!

So, here are the quilts:

 

The one on the left is the Noah's Ark quilt, all trimmed and ready for the binding ( which is already made too)

 

The quilt on the right, with its bubble gum pink sashing is being hand quilted with Perle thread.

 

Here's one of the blocks I have quilted:

 

 

Noah's Ark is for a baby boy, expected any day now and A Star is Born is for a baby due in a month's time ( if it's a girl!).

 

I have been thinking of Craft Projects that need to be done:

 

1.  Finish both Baby Quilt WIPs

2.  Finish making the blocks for my String Quilt ( which means cutting a load more strings first)

3.  Make some QAYG String blocks I have promised for Jan (Sew Many Quilts Too Little Time)

4.  Make 2 Spider web Blocks for a Group Quilt

5.  Make a little drawstring bag for my Christmas Shoe Box appeal gift

6.  Knit a beanie and a little shoulder bag for the Christmas Shoe Box.

 

Hope to tick off the Noah's Ark quilt asap!

 

Off to do some more Perle hand quilting.  Leaving re-jigging the house until tomorrow!

 

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Another NEEDLEBOOK & SCRAP VOMIT SWAP posted

A busy couple of days, some sewing and a little knitting and I parcelled up my 3 sets of Scrap Vomit squares for the Swap. 

The SV Swap was organised through Gnome Angel (gnomeangel.com ) but managed via swap-bot which worked like clockwork!  As soon as the deadline for registering as a participant expired I received an email linking me to their website and discovered the names and addresses of the three people I had to send my sets of squares to.  This was the International Swap and 80 people had signed up for it.  My three partners were from three different continents........ Europe (Germany), Australia and North America (Canada).  All very exciting. You can keep track of who has sent their packages via swap-bot and I know my Canadian partner has sent her packages out.  What I am not sure about it whether the folk I send to actually send their sets to me.  We shall find out when our Postlady, Julie, starts popping packages through our letterbox!
This swap reminded me of when I was about 11 years old........ a very long time ago!...... when I registered with the girls' comic School Friend for a penfriend living in another country.  I was really disappointed when I ws given the name of a girl living in Yorkshire! However, we happily corresponded for about fifteen years and then, sadly, lost touch.

I have had quite a productive few days, managing to finish another little Crumb Quilt and I am ready to bind another one.  I have also sandwiched the Siblings Together Project quilt, a job I heartily dislike.  Difficult to do as I don't have a large table or a hard floor so I crawl around the bedroom floor trying to pin the layers together without getting loads of creases.  Very tiring and time consuming!  Anyway, it is now ready for me to start the hand quilting. 

My church is again taking part in the Samaritan's Purse Shoebox Scheme.  You pack a Christmas paper-wrapped shoebox with gifts for a child in parts of the world where they wouldn't receive any Christmas gifts.  You decide whether to make up a box of little gifts suitable for a boy or girl and the age range you have aimed the parcel for.  Gifts can be little toys, toiletries, warm hats, scarves, gloves, etc. We were provided with a knitting pattern for a simple Beanie and I have enjoyed making two so far. They look very pretty in the variagated white/pink/mauve wool I chose. I'll make a few more which can be popped into other Shoeboxes.  I now need to shop for some little gifts, hair slides, crayons, soft toy etc.  Good fun, the sort of shopping I enjoy.

 

We are going to a family wedding on Saturday which should be great, a lovely chance for a family get-together.  One of the bride's cousins is Helen who has been so kind and supportive during the past year since my cancer diagnosis. She loves knitting and sewing so as another little "Thank You" I have made one of my Strawberry Needlebooks to give her on Saturday. I'll pop some pins and needles inside too.

And another photo showing back and front.

 

Off now to get ready to go to a friend's for coffee. Haven't seen her since she returned from holiday so lots to catch up on!