I keep thinking it's Wednesday, but no, it's only Tuesday, and it's also astonishingly mild too. I was out in the garden without a coat on! Makes a change from shivering in layers of thermals and woolies during the recent freezing cold weather. A bit of blue sky and warmish weather really does lift the spirits. I've noticed the days are getting ever-so-slightly longer too. There's the not-too-distant promise of light evenings and spring flowers. Speaking of flowers, the perfume from these blue hyacinths is gorgeous. Nicer than any scented candle. In other 'news', I've been making progress with this scrappy patchwork. It's had its binding attached, and is waiting to be quilted. I know using my sewing machine for those quilt lines would be speedier, but I like the softer look hand stitching gives. The binding's as scrappy as the patchwork squares. I've jumbled up colours and patterns, so there's everything from plain material to Christmas fabric to florals and African wax prints. Below is a reminder of the backing I chose, complete with appliqued birds. Apart from this, I also finished off a little coin purse, adding a button and a piece of cord with a tassel for the fastening. I think the black cord was from upcycled clothing, but can't for the life of me remember what that was. I've also stitched away at this embroidery. But I'll explain more another time as there's a lovely account on Instagram that's behind this, and I want to tell you about that. That's all the nonsense I have to say for now, so thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy your day.
To add to my seemingly never ending list of works-in-progress, I've started making a fabric bowl. Or should I call it a fabric basket? I'm not sure. Anyway, I've made the odd bowl or two before, like this blue & white one that I keep cotton perle in. I decided to use upholstery material, which has both advantages & disadvantages. On the good side, it has a certain stiffness, which helps the bowl stay in shape. On the irritating side, the kind of material I'm using frays like mad, and I'm forever picking up threads off the carpet. The bowl's a simple construction, and I've used a circle of cardboard covered with brown felt for the base. It'll look much better when I've embroidered and stitched into it. I've made a start on that, and appliqued on a rectangle of plum coloured velvet for extra interest. When not stitching, I've been catching up on my reading. I finished C J Sansom's 'Dark Fire'. Real...
Your scrappy quilt is really lovely. It's interesting to see the scale - I hadn't realised how large the blocks are! Beautiful makes as ever :)
ReplyDeleteHi - thanks for commenting - and for complimenting my quilt. I initially made blocks about 6 inches squares, then grouped 4 of the same colourway together to make the larger blocks. It's taken a while to get this quilt backed and with its binding, but finally the finishing line is in sight. That'll be one less To-do on my endless To-do list. I really wish I could be disciplined enough to start a project, see it through to the end, then start the next. But I suppose my brain doesn't work that way! I always have several things on the go at any given time.
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