What I'm Working On

Gosh it feels like ages since I posted about my own sewing! It's been such a busy September - so many new classes to kick off and lots of lovely sewing for everyone to enjoy!

It does mean that my sewing takes a second seat for a few weeks, but that doesn't mean that I'm not making behind the scenes! My little snatched hours or minutes of sewing each day is what keeps me on an even keel. I need to sew everyday otherwise it just doesn't feel quite...right? Do you know what I mean?

I have had a few big projects that I have been working on behind the scenes over the last few months.

My Swoon was made alongside the ladies at The Wendover Sewing Bee through the spring and summer this year. Swoon is a great, super-sized project. I've wanted to make this quilt for ages and ages so doing it as a quilt-along with my group was a great way to give me in impetus to get on with it. Swoon is a great project - it's super efficient fabric cutting and piecing method but it is a big project and at times I did wonder if I would love it as I was making it. I usually gravitate towards scrappy projects that use lots and lots of fabrics. Swoon uses a limited palette and so each fabric choice feels a bigger deal. There were a few blocks I didn't love as much as the others. However, determined to make a big bed sized quilt I pushed on and decided to take advantage of Long Arm Jenny's super rate for Swoon and get it long arm quilted. I choose a big petalled flower design and I just love love love it! There's been a long few evenings binding around a 90 inch square quilt but it's now on my bed snug and cosy and ready for the weather to get chilly!

I must be getting ready for autumn, as the process of making my Swoon prompted me to dig out a project that I pieced many years ago when my little girl was a baby. This quilt is from a pattern called Single Girl by Denyse Schmidt and is a modern interpretation of a classic old pattern the Double Wedding Ring, Each circle is made up of individually shaped segments that come together to make the squared circle, unlike a double wedding rink these circles don't interlock. I made this quilt using treasured Liberty fabrics that I had collected over many years before the top was made. I think this quilt has been 10 years in the making from fabric collection to final quilting!

The quilt top languished in a wicker basket for about 5 years from being pieced. I spent a year or two procrastinating about how to hand quilt it. I drew on a design then changed my mind and drew on another. I was starting to loose confidence about how to finish it. It has huge expanses of plain fabric and it scared me then about how to quilt it. It was so precious - all those Liberty scraps - that I reached a halt and it went away into the basket and I didn't really think much about it in the intervening years. I usually always finish my quilts - I have only 5 unfinished bits of work, and usually they are just paused not stopped! I decided to finish it. I made a back using this wonderful springed floral extra wide backing that we have in The Workroom at the moment. I decided to get it machine quilted - to just get it finished at last!

However when it came to getting it quilted the curse of the singe wedding ring procrastination struck again and I just couldn't find the perfect pattern that I had in my mind. Poor Jenny - I must have discussed every possible pattern in her enormous repertoire!! In the end Jenny suggested the perfect pattern - lovely modern 'bubbles' which make the most delicious texture on my lovely quilt. I picked it up yesterday and I just couldn't be happier with it! Now an even bigger binding job - this quilt is 108'' by 108'' - good job there's some good evening weekend TV in the autumn! Jenny now has this pattern available to choose so if you think it would be perfect for your quilt top too do request it!

I'm also working slowly towards the completion of my Arundelle Quilt Top - I'm so excited about this quilt and I plan to hand quilt it between now and Xmas so it's ready to hang in my hallway at Christmas - delicious thought x I'll share some proper pictures when it's finished and talk about my design. I 've so enjoyed designing and making my own pattern again, it's been a little while since I felt the urge to design a whole quilt.

Lastly - I just couldn't resist the new Denyse Schmidt Hadley fabric that came in to the Workroom. I've dug out lots more Denyse from my extensive stash(!) and am just starting to cut out for a flying geese quilt. I've made lost of individual flying geese for quilts in the past but have never made a complete flying geese quilt. Autumn is the perfect time to work on one don't you think? It maybe my Retreat Day project I think - even more delicious thought!

**Which reminds me - there are 2 spaces opened up on the Retreat Day on Sat 18th Oct if you weren't quick enough to get a space when we first opened bookings**

Lastly my hand sewing project of choice at the moment is the last push on my StarFlowers Summer EPP. I'm filling in the edges which is laborious but I'm almost done. I do feel that I have to get this made before the weather changes! Obviously I have autumn/winter EPP plans waiting in the wings for the cold weather!!

Phew! I do have quite a lot on after all don't I? And that's not even the list of potentials quilts that I have ruminating in my mind and little piles of fabric are starting to form towards them - that'll be another post another day!

What are you working in this Oct?