Blue and white patchwork quilt - progress.

I started a quilt last year and made fairly good progress at piecing together the blocks...and then I came to a standstill. Since Christmas I haven't really been in the mood for sewing and most of my projects have sat in boxes waiting for attention. Now, with the advent of Spring and the lighter nights I have felt inspired again and determined to get my many sewing projects moving forward.

This week I finally finished piecing together the blocks for this quilt. I love blue and white together and I allowed myself a little bit of pink in this one as well. It was a lovely feeling to reach this stage and lay them out according to how they're likely to be stitched together.

And here's Lily deciding whether to do a spot of re-arranging.....

Posted by Stephanie.

A spot of cross stitch. By Stephanie

I recently bought a few cross stitch magazines from a charity shop and was very taken with this pattern. I think its success is due to the designer utilising lots of different coloured threads and using very effective back-stitching, particularly on the robin's chest..

This is what the finished article should look like...

 

 Here is the pattern - I really have to concentrate on the parts where there are similar colours!

And here is what I've done so far. I'm enjoying working on it and there's no rush as it's going to be a Christmas present for my mum - the robin is her favourite garden bird.

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Covered notebook. By Stephanie.

I adore stationary and am a sucker for notebooks. I find it difficult to find plain-papered ones though - but recently found some in a supermarket of all places. The paper is nice quality but the cover left a lot to be desired.....so I thought I'd have a go at making it more personal.

Piece of wool and matching cotton inner selected...

Felt for decoration in my favourite greens and blues....

Box of threads at the ready....

I stitched my cover design and then pinned the wool and cotton together for sewing....

The notebook slips into the folded cover....

And here's the finished piece. I adore the colours, and the wool and felt combination make the book lovely to handle.

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Winter warmers. By Stephanie.

I still seem to be taking a sabbatical from stitching, but I've been enjoying knitting - and browsing in the wool shop in town. I bought some lovely 4-ply last week for a pair of gloves. It's such a long time since I made anything in this delicate yarn but I have fallen in love with it all over again - I adore the neatness and fineness it produces. I chose a gorgeous teal colour which goes nicely with my favourite boots!

 The knitting pattern is one of many vintage ones I've collected over the years - I really like the picot edging on this pair - it makes them seem quite lady-like and elegant.

I've just made my thumb on the first glove, so here's my progress.

 Previous to these I'd made some Aran mitts with a cute owl motif worked into the cabling. These are nice and thick and slip over gloves for extra warmth.

Posted by Stephanie.

Christmas baubles

So prior to Christmas I made a handful of cards for friends and family.

I was planning to make some matching baubles to give as presents aswell but somehow the time ran away from me and I only managed to finish the cards.

 I started by drawing out a circle.

I cut out lots of little fabric squares.

And I stuck them to the cards creating a patchwork effect.

I made quite a few of them, in different colour schemes.

Then to finish them off I hand stiched around the bauble in matching colours and added a cute little bow.

I love making my own gifts and cards, and I hope people love receiving them!

Harriet

Post - Christmas post. By Stephanie

With Christmas now out of the way and gifts unveiled, I thought that I could now safely share a couple of the things I made without giving away any secrets!
For my friend Rosie I made a cushion cover - a simple envelope opening at the rear and made using lovely ditsy-print cottons. I made up a hexagon pattern and stitched it onto the cover with invisible thread. I've never made a cushion cover before but it is definitely something I will make again.

For my friend Kath I ran with the Leeds Rhinos theme, which never fails with such an ardent fan! I made up a large tote bag and embellished it with a blue and yellow block called the Patchwork of the Crosses, which was new to me. It is an extremely effective block and I would love to make a quilt consisting entirely of the pattern but it was fairly time-consuming, so I doubt that a larger-scale piece will ever materialise.

Just as a daft gift, I also knit this hot water bottle cover. I like the challenge of thinking up gifts I can create in blue and yellow!

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A quilt is born! By Stephanie

After working on this snowball quilt for half of the year, it is finally finished and I shall be handing it over to my friend this Friday. I'm hoping it will be her favourite Christmas present!
I have previously posted photographs and progress updates, so it's lovely to now show off the finished piece. I love the navy blue sheet which forms the back and border. I didn't trust myself to manage a neat job on the machine, so I hand-stitched the borders and corners and I think it looks ok.

Here goes....

It's always a bit strange to spend so much time on a project and then give it away - but this is being given to the first friend I made when I moved to Leeds and she's very special to me. It was a pleasure to make this for her and love went into every stitch.

Posted by Stephanie.