WIP Wednesday

Welcome back!

Quick post today (such a busy week!)  It came to my attention that it's been some time since I last shared an update on my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt.  I'm currently working on the final month's set of blocks but it's been slow going (but going).

How adorable is that little ladybird family?

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

Wow, is it seriously Wednesday again already?  Amazingly, I got some extra stitching done over the weekend and that means more progress on my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt.

It's shaping up nicely.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

Just a short post to share with you today my most recent progress on my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt.  I really like the simple elegance of this block.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

It's been a while since I shared a WIP Wednesday so without further ado...  I present further progress on my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt blocks.  Another block finished and a new one freshly started.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

Until next Wednesday...

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

I think it may have been a few weeks since I've shared a WIP Wednesday but here it is.  I've been continuing to work on my final set of embroidery blocks for my Nice People, Nice Things quilt.  Progress has been slow since going back to work after the summer holidays but there you go.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

I'm excited to announce that I've finally started on the final month blocks for my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt!  Last weekend I stitched up the first picture block - so cheery.

 One down, eleven more to go!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

 

WIP Wednesday

Welcome back to another WIP Wednesday!

I've been continuing to make more progress on my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery blocks and have completed the phrases for month #8 - whoot!

Nice People, Nice Things - phrases #8

I always find the phrases harder to get through than the pictures because let's face it, they're not nearly as interesting or pretty as the pictures.  But they're done and just one more month's worth of blocks to go.  In the home stretch now!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Yup, it's that time again - WIP Wednesday!

I've been stitching away here and there and it's been adding up:

Nice People, Nice Things #8

Yes, that's right - month 8's picture blocks are completed!  Just one more month's worth of picture and phrase blocks left to go...and then I'll need to decide what/how I'm going to proceed from there (I sense fabric shopping on the horizon!)

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

Now your turn!

WIP Thursday

I'm about ten and a half hours behind in sharing my WIP Wednesday with you but when I remembered it was Wednesday (evening), I realised I had forgotten to take photos of my current projects while the day light was still good and strong so decided to wait for decent(-ish) photos.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  So here we go:

I've been doing a bit more embroidery for my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt.  I finished off the text for the back of the 'party time' block.

'Dance like nobody's watching - sing like nobody's there - love like there's heaven on earth'

And then I must have really jumped on the band wagon because I sat out on the balcony in the blissful sunshine one morning and stitched up the next picture block from start to finish!

Laughter

Now, I have an old friend from Canada arriving to visit me for two weeks on Sunday so not sure how much attention the blog will be getting while he's here.  I know what you're thinking - it's not been getting much attention already!  And you're correct but that's the beauty of summer holidays, isn't it?

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Hi, folks!

Just a quick WIP Wednesday update for me today.  I got a little work done on the weekend on my current Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt.  I'm starting to run out of orange floss, though, so I'll have to make another shopping run soon.

I'm hoping that I can make a trip to the quilt shop soon to buy the correct white to continue work on my layer cake sampler quilt - I bought 3m of white about a month ago, started cutting into it when I got home and then realised it's not the same white I used for the rest of the quilt.  Le sigh.  Hopefully the white I need won't be sold out...

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Well, despite all the baby craziness going on, I have managed to make a wee bit of progress on my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt designs.  Ironically, I started stitching up this party-themed block while keeping my friend Alice company and distracted during the first stage of her labour.

Partytime Front

Needless to say, there was much to celebrate over the weekend.  The matching saying for the back is a bit on the long side so not sure how much I'll get done by next Wednesday but we'll see.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced:
 

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello and welcome back!

Whew, it's been a long time since I last blogged - over a month (sorry about that, honestly)!  Real life has had a full rollercoaster of ups and downs lately.  So as not to bore you with the details, here's the Coles' Notes run-down: end of school year, report writing, new job accepted (squee!), sick and dying kitty (not squee).

Okay, moving on to WIP Wednesday...

I will admit that I haven't had much motivation to craft recently with all of that (^^^) stuff going on.  I'm hoping that with the summer holiday now underway that that will change.  I've been continuing to progress on my Nice People Nice Things embroidery quilt, mostly stitched in the sunshine of my balcony with Oskar for company.  Here is my latest completed set:

Front

Back

Please excuse the wrinkles and PJ bottoms.  ;)

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

I seem to have a number of creative irons in the fire lately but am making very slow progress on a few of them.  Last Saturday was quilt guild day (which means I did get some sewing done) and we joined in a silk and wool felting demonstration.  It was good fun and I came home with this handmade flower:

I also worked on a special (secret) project - can't say more than that right now but here's a sneak peak:

And finally, I found a bit of time to finish cutting out my 8" squares for the Layer Cake Sampler QAL going on over at Material Girl.  Yes, I'm about two weeks behind and should have four blocks done by now but since I wasn't using a pre-made layer cake, it took me a bit of time to dig through the stash, choose fabrics and then cut them to size.  But that's done for now and I have 36 of my 42 blocks and a good start of background fabric to keep me busy for a little while.  Hopefully I'll have those four blocks done by next week.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday...

Pinspiration Sunday

Well, here we are back at Sunday.  I can't believe I've successfully blogged for nine consecutive days!  It's amazing what you can get done when work doesn't get the in the way.  Sadly, that will all change with returning to work tomorrow...  But let's not dwell on that just yet.  Go grab your hot beverage of choice and we'll enjoy some photo love.

Currently:

* watching - nothing good on the telly
* reading - Still Alice
* making - nothing today (break!)
* eating - stir fry & noodles
* drinking - water
* wearing - jeans & long-sleeve top
* weather - clear, 4C
* feeling - accomplished
* wanting - to start a quilt-along
* needing - to go to bed early
* planning - a little self improvement
* thinking - just 8 more weeks to Easter break...
* loving - my re-arranged living room (more on Wednesday)
* enjoying - Canada's Olympic gold hockey medal WHOOT!

And now on to the pins!

When Bali Met Sochi

Want to continue getting your Olympic fix even though the Games have officially closed?  Try this beautiful batiks quilt inspired by the 2014 Winter Games artwork.

Layer Cake Quilt-Along

I just found this great sampler quilt-along by Material Girl.  All of the blocks use HST and are very quick and easy to put together.  The plan is to make two blocks each over ten weeks and late-comers are welcome.

Cat Lady Embroidery

Are you a (crazy) cat lady or one in the making?  Then you might like these cute Internet-inspired free embroidery patterns.

Handbag Inserts Pattern

If you love having different handbags but hate the transferring of your stuff from one to another, here's the solution - handmade, of course!

Mission Concepcion

I'm totally in love with triangles!  I love this yummy orange and turquoise triangle border paper and the popped-up effect used to add dimension.  So cool!

Our Little Snug Bug

Remember I said I love triangles?  I really like the visual triangle and little bits and bobs clustered on these floating triangles.

Interesting Bits by Julie Kirk

Julie Kirk sells these fun little ephemera packs on her Etsy shop.  If you like ephemera, these could be a great option - paper, embellishments, bits and bobs, etc. and all co-ordinated to work together.

Shaped Word Clips

Lawn Fawn has some fun new shaped word clips in super pretty colours.  There are a nice variety so go check them out.

Holiday Glimmer Palette

This is such a pretty champagne-like colour palette.

WIP Wednesday

Wow - busy, busy day in a busy, busy week!  So that means I have things to share with you today.

Let's start with my very slow-going embroidery quilt: Nice People, Nice Things.  As I have probably mentioned more than once, I started this quilt several years ago and although I love embroidery work, I don't sit down at home and work on it very frequently.  It's normally my go-to project for quilt guild days and Haberdashery work but sometimes I get the bit between my teeth at home, too, which has been the case during the break and that means I've finished the month #7 blocks!  Hurray, hurrah!

I really enjoyed stitching these blocks - the handbags, flowers and butterfly were among my favourites to make.  I've already transferred month #8's designs onto their fabrics so I can start the next batch soon.  Slow and steady wins the race...

I also spent the day with friends Ingrid and Birgitta planning a new quilting project, which all three of us will be creating together.  I can't give too much away just yet but suffice it to say that we decided on a pattern, bought fabric (sooo pretty!) and even got the blocks started.  So that's off to a great start.  Here's a little sneak of the fabric choices...

And finally, I chose a background fabric for my Persian Pickle project but I forgot to photograph it to share.  I'll try to remember to do that tomorrow, provided the sun is co-operating better than it was today.  I tried a few different colours and then some black but nothing was really pleasing me - they were either too flat or didn't work well with the random fabric swatches we're using.  Then I found a rich brown with varying undertones of pinks, creams and blues so I'm hoping that will work well.

WIP Friday?

It's been a while since I made a WIP Wednesday post and it seems it's going to take a while longer still...  I had every intention of posting this on Wednesday but the day just got the better of me.  However, better late than never, eh?

So I have a few little projects to share with you today.  First up - I bought my fabric for my Haberdashery club's Persian Pickle Club project!

I'm sure you're not surprised that it's orange.  I did try to find something with a geometric pattern but no such luck.  My second choice was a large retro floral print on a lighter tint of orange but as we're only providing 15cm square pieces to each other, I felt this smaller pattern worked better for the size.  We'll be swapping our fabrics next Tuesday so stay tuned for the big reveal of all the different fabrics chosen - so exciting!

Second up - it's been a while since I shared my progress on my Nice People Nice Things embroidery quilt.  It's been slow going but it's coming along, little by little.  I actually ran out of pink floss the other week, which set me back some but then when I finally managed to get down to the shop and buy more, I got the bit between my teeth and sat over two nights and stitched a bunch more to catch myself up, which felt great.  I'm very nearly done another month's set of picture and text blocks.

I also have a scrapbooking LO partially started, which I'm hoping to get back to work on and finish this weekend but I'll leave that for another time.

Right, off to finish watching the Winter Olympic games opening ceremony!

Pinspiration Sunday

Hello, everyone.  It's been one of those grey, dreary and rainy Sundays, which has meant Oskar and I have curled up in bed and I've been busy, busy, busy online.  That should translate to more to share here on the blog shortly.  Now, go grab your hot beverage of choice and come join me in snuggling up for some photo goodies.

Currently:

* watching - Restoration House Nightmare
* reading - McCall's Quick Quilts - Nov/Dec. issue
* eating - toast and peanut butter
* drinking - water
* wearing - PJs
* weather - rainy, 7C
* feeling - peckish
* wanting - to stay curled up at home
* needing - to start making my Christmas cards
* planning - to finally buy new trousers tomorrow (I hope)
* thinking - I should have bought groceries today...
* loving - having ordered a new box of goodies from 2Peas!
* enjoying - a quiet afternoon at home

And now on to the pins...

Scrappy Chevron Picnic Quilt

Super simple quilt of chevrons and rectangular blocks.  Lovely, cheery colours, although I question using white for a picnic quilt.  ;)

Basting Tutorial: 1x3" Boards

Are you (like me) short on space to lay out quilts for basting?  This might be something you want to have a go with, then - basting using two 1x3" boards, which can be set up on a kitchen table.  No more crawling around on your knees or aching back.

Embroidery Panel

How gorgeous is this rainbow on black embroidery panel?  It makes me think of some celestial nebula.

Journaling on Self-Portrait Pages

Tips from 2Peas Garden Girl, Jill Sprout, on journaling about yourself; a topic that many scrapbookers find challenging but is - IMO - so important.

Freckled Fawn Flair

Freckled Fawn is now stocking their own flair and boy, are they cute!  Four sets to choose from currently, each set contains two flair.

Freckled Fawn Cork Frames

Can't get enough cork on your scrapbook pages?  Check out these cute stamped frames?  I might need this set for my next up-coming birthday.  :)

Recolour Staples

Such a simple but great idea for recolouring staples instead of buying pricier coloured versions.  Keep this in mind for your Christmas cards and layouts this year!

Cello Tape Photo Transfers

I still need to try this technique - works for any magazine pictures and certain types of printed pictures.

Poppy Tones

And in honour of Remembrance Day tomorrow, I'm sharing this beautiful poppy-inspired colour palette.  My most heart-felt thanks and appreciation to all of those who have served; to those who possess the strength that I do not.