Leo’s Mane Sew Along

Sunday 27 November 2016

Sunday Stash and Stitching

I haven’t got any real progress to show, since the actual stitches aren’t that visible. But, the birds have their tails all finished and the bird on the left has its wing all finished, too. So there has been considerable progress made on this block today.
Another Sunday worth of stitching should take it to needing more pieces prepared. I really can’t say that I’m looking forward to doing all those circles. And then there are the top knots on their heads to do before I can finish stitching down their bodies. And little tiny triangles of beaks. It is more than official..... I’m insane.......
We a sewing day for the guild yesterday, from 9am to 8pm. I didn’t arrive until 10, but stayed until the very end. There was quite a lot accomplished, which added some numbers to my stash busted column.

Used this week:                                    2.5 yards
Used this year:                                   81.8 yards
Added this week:                                    0 yards
Added this year:                              77.45 yards
Net stash busted:                               4.35 yards

I’m linking up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

Sunday 20 November 2016

Slow Sunday Stitching....

Well, not so much stitching as preparing for stitching. I put My Tweets up on the wall to get an idea of the colour balance, and what I should use for the tails in the next block.
I noticed that I have a lot of pink tails and purple tails, and also a couple done in shades of yellows and oranges. So, what I’ve chosen for the next one is shades of reds, with just a touch of blue and purple added in.

This is blocks number 10. I spent most of the afternoon cutting pieces and prepping them using the liquid starch and non meltable mylar method. There’s enough here now, that I can get a start on the stitching. I’ve found that I like doing the birds first, before adding in the flowers.
I’m going to link this up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching. After that, it just might be time to tidy up from all the cutting I’ve done, have something to eat, and then actually do some stitching.




Sunday 13 November 2016

Sunday Stash and Stitching report

I seem to be back in the groove of stash additions and also Sunday stitching. I finished up block nine of My Tweets today.
Next week I can start in on getting ready for block ten. I’ve been doing some more playing with McKenna Ryan stuff, too.
Would it sound crazy to say that I find the tracing and the cutting and the intricate placing of the fabrics relaxing? Because I do.
I had some new fabrics come in this week. Some was for a workshop that I participated in on Saturday. What a great time we had. It was led by Lorna, over at Sew Fresh Quilts. I got a start on doing her Forest Friends design. I finished this birds block, and got the pieces cut for four foxes. This is going to be a long term project, considering there are lots of other things that have to be worked on and finished around here, but it sure was a lot of fun to get together with a great bunch of quilters on Saturday to play with fabrics and animals.
I have a commission quilt to do, as well, which is going to take priority for the next while. We are having some new graphic designs done for Eagle’s Wings Quilts, and the designer, rather than being paid in cash, has asked for a quilt as payment. She wants this design Bravo Indigo. I’m adapting it to make it larger, and eliminate the flip and dew triangles.

Fabric used this week:                            0 yards
Fabric used this year:                        79.3 yards
Fabric added this week:                       15 yards
Fabric added this year:                    77.45 yards
Net stash busted:                                1.85 yards

I’m linking to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching and to Judy’s Stash Report.




Monday 7 November 2016

Design Floor Monday

I’m plating with McKenna Ryan fabrics and designs today. I just love her stuff. I don’t very often buy kits. But one of the vendors at our quilt show had kits for one of the newer quilts, called Aurora Ridge. Since I love the fabrics she uses in her pieces, and try to purchase them in order to do her stuff, kits seemed very appropriate. These are from Sew Creative, a store in Mt Brydges, about a 20 minute drive from her. The kits were very well prepared, and I’ll be buying the rest of them for this quilt. This was the easiest block of the four I have in my possession.
It took about 3 hours this evening to get it all traced onto the fusible web, cut out and fused onto the various fabrics, and then cut out of the fabrics and fused onto the background fabric. I am very much looking forward to doing the rest of them.
I’m linking up to Judy’s Patchwork times

Sunday 6 November 2016

Slow Sunday Stash and Stitching report

I’ve pulled an old project out from the black hole beneath the stairs- My Tweets. The last time I worked on this was in February of 2014. I am hoping to work on this for the rest of this year, while I wait on supplies for another English Paper Piecing project. I put the last of the stitches into block number 8.


Then  I took out what I’d already done on block 9


and then prepped some more pieces for it. There are 2 more leaves to go onto the bottom on either side of the point of the heart, and then this one will be ready to finish stitching.


It’s been ages and ages since I posted a stash report, mostly because for the longest time there wasn’t anything going in or out.
This gorgeous, sweet little face just might have something to do with it. Given a choice between spending time playing and cuddling with her, or sewing, I’ll take our little Abbie every time.

And then there’s our little Avery, who isn’t so little any more. He was down visiting with us last weekend, and we’re hoping he’s coming next weekend, as well.
He’s 5, and in big kids’ school. How did he get to be 5 and Abbie get to be 10 months so incredibly fast?

But the last several weeks have seen some movement in the stash department, so I thought I’d post one, and get it going again. I’m not sure if it will be weekly, but certainly more often than every other month like it’s been the last little while.

Used since mid September:                    12.8 yards
Used this year:                                        79.3 yards
Added since mid September                        1 yards
Added this year:                                    62.45 yards
Net stash busted:                                   16.85 yards

I’m linking up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching and Judy’s Stash Report









Wednesday 2 November 2016

WIP Wednesday....

Geese Around the Tulip Patch is finished, or at least the top is. Here it is hanging off the end of the deck.
This is one of the few times in my quilting life that I have started a project and kept working at it until it was done, without starting anything else. And, to top it off, I kept with my goal of doing the label at the time of the finish, before making the backing.
This means I can actually piece it into the backing, rather than having to hand sew it on after quilting. I do these up in the Electric Quilt software, and then print them onto printable fabric sheets. Now all I have to do is make up the backing and get it quilted.
I’m linking up to Lorna’s Let’s Bee Social and to Finish it Friday in celebration of this finish. Now, to decide how to quilt it.......