Category Archives: Quilting

April 25, 2025 · 2:25 pm

English Paper Piecing Progress

Hexagon progress

I have been working on my hexagons (English Paper piecing) – it is very relaxing and doesn’t require anything special (magnification, hoop, etc.). I want to get to a piece that is 40cm by 30cm so I can make the Slow Stitched Huswif – from L’ucello. I already have the pattern. Once I have the base, I am going to embellish.

Originally I was using a guterman cotton thread to sew the hexagons together, but I have swapped to a aurafil 50wt cotton 2846, and it does seem to be a bit easier to make small stitches (less visible from the front).

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Filed under Cricut, Embroidery, English Paper Piecing, Patchwork, Patterns, Quilting

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April 2, 2025 · 6:19 am

English Paper Piecing

I was exploring the different things I could do with my Cricut machine and I thought I could use it to cut both the paper templates and the fabric for English Paper Piecing.

I used the offset feature to add a 5mm seam allowance to the fabric hexagons. It works well, very accurate paper and fabric shapes. It would work for applique as well.

My plan is to make fabric using the hexies and then add stitching (embroidery) to them.

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December 27, 2023 · 2:18 pm

2023 in Review

Finished Objects 2023

I was a bit more successful this year.

I am going to try to have modest goals next year

  • Finish my Dame Nature Du Printemps cross stitch.
  • Start working on my fabric book of special things – I have quite the collection. I just need to get it clear in my head how I am going to tackle this.
  • Finish my christmas socks and my cashmere socks (one of these is already finished)
  • Knit something with my Advent Calendar yarn.
  • Baby clothes quilt (I am rethinking this whole project – more on that later)
  • Historic Sampler Course (I am doing the Historic Sampler Course at Thistle Threads, so I plan to design and then create a sampler unique to me).

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Filed under Cross Stitch, Cross Stitch, Embroidery, Knitting, Machine Embroidery, miscellaneous, Patchwork, Quilting, Sewing, Sock Knitting

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July 11, 2023 · 6:55 pm

New Project Bag

I am determined to turn my stitched pieces into something useful – rather than framing them. Hence the needle book and now a project bag.

The cross stitch is cinnamon stars by Plum Street Samplers. I quilted around the cross stitch, lined the bag with mushroom fabric and added a zip.

This bag is enormous 56cm by 50cm, which means my largest Q Snap should fit.

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Filed under Cross Stitch, Cross Stitch, Embroidery, Fabric Stash, Quilting, Sewing

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May 16, 2023 · 6:57 am

The Quilt is Finished!

Sampler Quilt is finally finished

I have decided that this is my year to get things finished. I have finished my Gingerbread House and now (finally) I have finished Miss A’s Sampler quilt. I started working on this in 2013, so only ten years in the making.

I used my embroidery machine to do the foundation piecing, which mean digitising and testing each block, and I had a smaller hoop then, so each block was four smaller blocks that then had to be joined. Anyway this quilt stopped me quilting altogether.

I made each block completely, front, batting, backing and quilting and then joined the blocks using a zig-zag-stitch (and covered the stitching with bias binding).

The next project on my to be finished list, is Miss P’s blanket.

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Filed under Digitizing, Foundation Blocks, Free Motion Quilting, Patchwork, Quilting

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April 25, 2023 · 3:54 pm

Quilt Update

Attaching the binding

I have almost finished Miss A’s quilt – just the binding to go.

After watching this video, I managed to finish my continuous binding (it did take four attempts). The really useful piece of information was knowing that the overlap had to be the same length as the width of the binding strips.

Now I just need to turn it to the back and sew it down. I still haven’t decided whether to hand sew it or machine sew it.

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Filed under Foundation Blocks, Patchwork, Quilting

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March 7, 2023 · 2:14 pm

Project Update

I have been working on some of my projects.

  • Gingerbread House (Top Left) – I have almost finished one section of the roof and then its just the other roof section. I am only working on this at my stitching group, so it’s months from completion.
  • Cinnamon Stars (Top right) – I have worked on this for a few hours this week. While watching the movie version of Brideshead Revisited and a new SBS series Vigil. I was watching Vonna’s floss tube yesterday and she mentioned that she only ever uses size 22 needles (regardless of the linen count), so I thought I would give that a go.
  • I have joined A Bee in the Bonnet’s Golden Honey Sock club, so the yarn (bottom left) is for the first pattern. I have since made it into a ball and started knitting the swatch.
  • More progress on covering the joins of Miss A’s quilt. It’s physical hard to man-handle the quilt through the machine.

There will be no new projects until some of these are finished.

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Filed under Canvas Work, Cross Stitch, Cross Stitch, Foundation Blocks, Knitting, Machine Embroidery, Movies, Quilting, Sock Knitting

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January 18, 2023 · 1:31 pm

Working on the quilt

Quilt progress

I am determined to get this quilt finished. So determined, I am not working on anything else. I started in 2013 and now I just want it finished. I have joined all of the blocks, and now I am covering the joins with bias binding. At first I planned to make the strips, but in the end I bought it (50m of the stuff), but I think it saved me a bit of time.

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December 28, 2021 · 1:16 pm

2021 in Review

A Year in Review

This year I concentrated (almost exclusively) on Miss A’s blanket. So, apart from that, I really didn’t finish much.

One pair of socks, a chicken (and a duck), and I worked on A’s quilt and my halloween cross stitch.

Next year I will be working on Miss P’s blanket, so once again not much will get done.

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Filed under Cross Stitch, Cross Stitch, Foundation Blocks, Free Motion Quilting, Inkle Loom, inkle loom, weaving, Knitting, Patchwork, Quilting, Sock Knitting, Weave

September 30, 2020 · 6:36 pm

Sampler Quilt

Quilting

I am back to working on my Sampler Quilt – one more block to quilt and then I have to put the thing together. I am embarrassed about how long this thing is taking – 7 years and counting (and it has put me off quilting).

I am determined to get it finished.

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