2020 Wk 1 - Hexie Round

The Hexie Round is getting really rather big - to sew one hexie on at a time is a lot of holding a big flimsy, so I've been making it easier for myself.

I have tacked what feels like a zillion pieces, and sorted them into light and dark - and here are the darks for the next round.

I've stitched them into rows about a dozen hexies long (wide?) - the next round needs 14 on each side

I've now speed-dated the strips - first attempt:

But these two blues are too similar to be next to each other

So I can slide the row along and separate the blues.

I can add the extra hexies to the row or to the flimsy, and I'll probably do the same with the two circles of light hexies - speed-date them and add them to the darks then add all three rows to the flimsy in one go

And I thought I'd share some of my gorgeous Christmas pressies

And the prayer weaving we did at the Christingle service on Christmas Eve

And the penultimate gingers - two of these for Niki's teacher friends

2019 Wk 52 - copying quilts.

You may remember I made a whole load of Gingerbread men for the Chertsey Museum ladies: I also made some for bloggy and real friends,  but I couldn't show them until they'd been delivered!

Now I can!  They aren't actual copies of the quilts (or knitting) that my friends have created, but I hope they gave the recipients a laugh as they unwrapped them!

First is for Amo -it's her "Scheepjes Crochet-a-Long, Rozeta, based on a stained glass window." from this post

 

This is the original that inspired it

Next is one for Plum based on one of her many sampler quilts, in 'her' colours - so many quilts to choose from but I decided to represent this one

This is the original that inspired it

Next is one for Sharon who doesn't blog but made a gorgeous quilt, finishing it at Crafty Church

This is the original that inspired it

Fourth is for Avril to represent this stunning quilt

This is the original that inspired it

And fifth is a paler version of this quilt that poor Kathy had to make twice as the post office lost the first one

This is the original that inspired it

The next one is for Janine - a very old post , but a very lovely quilt that is now mine so I thought it very appropriate!

This is the original that inspired it

Finally here is one for Jackie - with her crochet ...

2019 Wk 52 - Merry Christmas and happy New Year

I thought 'd finished work!

I added some more hexies to my Hexie Rounds

I made myself a rope bowl

I made some German Christmas stars

One of the Stitch ladies brought some thick aluminium foil from Germany.  Cut eight circles, and snip in 3/4 to the middle 8 times

Twist the outer arcs around a pencil to make a point (well, 8 points)

Like this, then snip two small squares from an elastic band.  Thread a needle, and sew through elastic square, 8 pointy circles and then a final square of rubber, and pull tight!

 I embroidered some initials onto linen napkins for a customer

 I machined the binding onto the Kaffe Fassett quilt

I embroidered a name onto an already made brick I-spy quilt for a friend who has just become a grandma

and then I discovered these two have wondered off somewhere - and I was planning on gifting them tomorrow!!!

And wouldn't you believe I have no white felt left!

2019 Wk 52 - Crafty Church

This month's Crafty Church was mostly making Christmas decorations!

I was taught how to make these fun decorations

And Daisy, Ellie and Rosie (who taught me) and their mum made 6 large versions between them and then joined them together to make this mega star (about 20" across)

Tara made this *tiny* Christmas scene from a kit

And Lynne is working on this in secret as a Christmas gift for her daughter

 This kept me warm on the way to church - tank you Janine - I love it!!!!

I popped into my LQS last week.  I've known Helen for (we worked out) at least 23 years.  She has a log cabin in the front garden - it's a shop and workshop.  I have spent many happy hours there, but she and her husband have put the house on the market and plan to move to the south coast for retirement - the shop has now closed :-(

I help the retirement fund I bought a few bits and pieces: some shocking pink spraytime for the Kaffe Fassett quilt

 some Sashiko stencils for a class I'm teaching next year

A beautiful teale fabric and some brown spraytime to go with it, a few meters of dark blue, some sky and some random FQs

And I think I'm ready for Christmas - woohoo!

2019 Wk 51 - a day in my happy place

I actually had pretty much a whole day to sew on Thursday - unheard of!!!

And my extra fabric from Janet Clare arrived too so guess what I did!!!

It’s all cut and speed dated, the pieces are mostly joined into strips, and I am loving it!!! The (few) free motioned pictures are included, and the fabrics are all chosen to remind me of my father, the family holiday cottage south of Bergen, and Bergen itself.  There will be enough fabric left over to make a smaller one for my step mum too

And Luna clearly gives it her seal of approval!

This was supposed to be the last Christmas pressie - a bag for the tiles for a favourite game of Lisa’s

But then I got the urge to make rope bowls.  I hadn’t made a totally scrappy one before, I’m really happy with the result.  Niki can use it for bathroom stuff,  food or rubbish!!!

And then I made a much subtle one for Lisa. I’ve bought her a crochet pattern and the wool for Christmas and I think this will be a good size basket to keep it all in.

What I don’t understand is how they decide for themselves what shape they will take! I swear I made these the same but they came out very different shapes - at the end I decided Lisa’s needed handles too

One of husband’s nieces sent me this pic - I made a sack for her oldest daughter Chloe ten years ago when she was a baby - and now one for the much younger new little sister Olivia

And this arrived in the post from Jackie.  I’m sure the inside will be awesome, but at the moment I’m happy looking at the outside - it reminds me of our “small world” that hangs in my bedroom

2019 Wk 50 - Christmas nearly here!

I'm starting to feel a bit Christmassy - shopping nearly finished, food ordered for next Saturday, just one more pressie to make - no panic yet!!!

The first two Hexie flowers from the December swap have arrived here, and mine have been posted off

There is an advert on TV at the moment for a scary series starting soon.  I shan't be watching it, but I did get a subliminal glimpse of a patchwork something, so I got husband to video it and then play it back very slowly.  I think they may have been a number of Christmas Stockings - the first is a variety of Irish Chain, and the next one is Suffolk puffs / yoyos.  I do like the IC, its been a long time since I made one, is it time for another one (I cant do any more on the Janet Clare quilt I've started as I need more fabric - it's coming soon!!!)

Thinking out loud . . . Can you do a hexi flower Irish Chain?

BRB

And this is why I don't get much sewing done!

I think you kind of can, and even if it's not an Irish Chain, I rather like it!  Thinking low volume for the negative spaces