January NewFO Time - Arctic Star

I am so excited to start a new quilt and have been showing you peeks of the fabrics etc. It wasn't hard to go with the colours of the original quilt, I mean look at this pic....penguins are just meant to be teamed up with blue and grey.

{source - Design Seeds}

The pattern I am working on comes from Homespun,an Australian publication, and this pattern is in the October 13 issue. I have been working on the project for the month of January so not all of this post content was done in one day.....I am not that diligent!

Week 1

Being a lazy weekend around here, I decided to start cutting my fabrics.  Generally I am really
BAD and tend to not read any instructions but instead I just look at the picture, glance at square sizes and start cutting - following the diagram (as above) - but to find how big the squares are for this quilt, I had to really look for them in the instructions which meant, for once, I did do some reading and then I just got totally confused.  Excitement was turning to consternation at this point.

Whaaaaaaat? I don't understand......oh, they want you to twice cross cut squares to make  triangles to sew to other triangles! Now, I don't know about you but I never sew triangles together. Much rather sew squares diagonally onto the end of rectanges, even if there is some fabric wastage, so I had to make some slight adjustments to the pattern for that part.  Aha, that looks alright! and that wastage I was talking about.....well I have plans for those offcuts later.

Then reading further down for the cutting instructions for the middle of the block I was aghast to be told to cut out teeny tiny 1 3/4 inch squares to sew together to make the 16 patch square block. Wouldn't it be easier to do this using the strip method?

So with the correct measurements jotted down in my journal, I will forget about the instructions at this point and plod ahead with my own methods. I cut 1 3/4 strips, sewed two contrast strips together and then I cut this strip in half  and sewed it together again so that when I cross cut, I had four 1 3/4 inch squares already sewn together.

 and here is my finished 16 patch block ready. I am sure this is a much better method than sewing all those little squares together.

Week 2 
One Arctic Star block complete - 1 down.....15 to go!

but before I continue......I think it is time for some more fabrics

and now I am confident that I have enough of a range to make the blocks interesting. Oh but wait, I have been tempted again.........Ok, now I have enough

And before I knew it, I had 4 blocks which is enough for a row but I am going to resist the temptations to sew this row together until all 16 blocks are done.

Week 3
With a number of blocks finished I decided to turn my attention to the one area that was giving me heart palpitations every time I thought of doing it.  Wavy line sewing!! but first I had to freestyle cut a wavy line through these two layered fabrics (which are Tilda fabrics btw)  EEEEK! better have a steadying cup of coffee first.

If you look closely you will see that I did draw a line because I was worried that I would have an indecisive moment while cutting and make a mess but I actually didn't follow the line once I got going. Oh, the relief of getting it done and it turned out ok.....but now I have to sew the two edges together. Another cup of coffee?

 

 Maybe not......lets just get this done with. The whole time I was sewing the two edges together on the sewing machine, I just couldn't imagine how they would come together ok but LOOK....they did! So now I need to sew the other two pieces and these will become the snowy hills for my appliqued penguins.

Still a fair bit to get done so I must be off to get another block done. I am determined to be more organised to get things done this year so look out for further posts about this project.


I am linking in  to the 2014 New FO Challenge with Barbara's at Cat Patches.  

Also linking in with Lets Book It at Vroomans Quilts

Other posts related to this New FO
The Inspiration
Fabric Choices

Go along and check them out or even think about linking in as well.  The more the merrier!

 

A few more stitches done

If you are visiting for "Grow your Blog and Giveaway" please click HERE.


Today was my Sew and Chat group and here is what I worked on...Tail Feather BOM - Block 4

 I already did this part of the block the night before

I used a Frixon pen to mark the stitching lines so when I press the stitching, all the black marks you see at the moment will disappear under the heat of the iron.

I think I can get the stitching done on this one before the end of the month......fingers crossed......and then I will have completed everything on my January Calendar.

Oh Yummy!

If you are visiting for "Grow your Blog and Giveaway" please click HERE.

I do occassionally get into the kitchen and do a little baking but the star baker in our house is Miss M. She is fearless and will try anything. As she was having a movie night with friends, she decided to treat them with cupcakes. Vanilla Sponges with Whipped Chocolate Ganache........oh, the aroma of baking was almost too much!

She made two sizes because the idea was to have bite size cupcakes for movie night and she just made a few of the normal size with the rest of the batter.

When I saw these in the cake tin, I just had the urge to take photos but I was not game to touch these delicate little ones so I popped one of the larger ones onto a plate and snapped a few shots.

Infact I took more photos than I needed to... so how about just one more

Don't you wish you were having one? Well guess what, I am!! One of these beauties did not fit into the cake tin so Miss M left it here for me to enjoy later on. Lucky Me :)

Now off to work some more on my NewFO and polish off THAT cake......oh, I'm just kidding....I ate it ages ago!

FNSI and UFO done!

If you are here for "Grow your Blog" please click HERE. And there is a Giveaway too.

Have I shown you my Blue/Green table topper?

 I made it a few years ago now but only got around to quilting it when I got AVA.  It was the first quilt I attempted to fmq on my machine and I am really delighted with how it turned out.

I did big free form spirals in the 6" blocks

I quilted lengthened swirls on the appliqued shapes in the border

 and on the border, I just did continuous swirls to fill the space.

It might look a little messy up close but as a whole, I really like it. Just needs the binding to be done, which I sewed on the night before, and for FNSI I am going to finish sewing it on by hand.

I used my VERY favourite tool for attaching the binding  I always used to dread doing the binding because joining the ends was such a hit and miss pain for me but this tool is genius.  It is totally fail proof.....or is that fool proof....anyway,  The Binding Tool has earned its place in my creation station.

So on Friday night for FNSI, while watching the *swoon* Clive Owen movie "Derailed" in the bedroom (cause Hubby was watching the cricket) and resisting the bar of chocolate in the fridge, I finished off my blue/green table topper.

The (hopefully) arty shot above and then the tabletopper in place on the dining table. I just got a thumbs up from Hubby.....he likes it!

 

Grow Your Blog and Giveaway

I am participating in the Grow Your Blog 2014 Party organised by Vicki at 2 Bags Full and hope to meet many more bloggers from around the world by visiting their blogs and, hopefully, as they visit me.  To participate, I need to tell you something about myself and my blog.

Hello and welcome to my little slice of blogland. My name is Cath and I come from Brisbane, Australia. I have been married to Hubby for just over 27 years and we have three children who no longer call this house home (see side bar). I am desperately waiting for all three of them to fall madly in love, get married and have children so I can sew for the "little treasures" too. In the meantime I dote on my two furbabies, Callie and Lila.

photo taken by Samantha of The Wanderers & the Wolves

I have been blogging since late 2011 and mostly like to blog about my stitching and quilting escapades. I am overwhelmed with BOMs, WIPs, UFOs  and blogging my progress motivates me to finish them off although I can't resist starting another project which starts the cycle all over again.  I love to add photos to my blog posts, so expect to see a heap of those.

some of my work in progress

From time to time I get the urge to try something new other than quilting. Maybe some crochet, baking or creating something from my Pinterest account (a huge source of inspiration for me). When I do this, I like to share the process with you.

Click Easter Egg to see more

My Creation Station also features a fair bit in my blog (well it is of course where I do alot of my sewing).  I am constantly trying to organise and improve the area so if I come up with a new idea, I will also blog about that.

If you want to explore my Creation Station click here or head to the tab at the top of the page

Its NOT all about sewing. Every year I get to travel overseas to visit my mum who lives in the UK. My blog is usually quiet during this time as I find it difficult to blog on my iPad but my camera is always with me as I explore and on my return, I do my best to share my travel adventures with my blog readers with photos, history titbits and the silly things that happen to me. Don't worry, I won't bore you with pictures of people you don't know - just castles, cathedrals and other must see tourist attractions. Here is one example of my last trip.

I love flowers, birds, nature, taking photos, cooking for my family and much much more which means, if anything interesting happens in my everyday life, I've gotta tell YOU. I manage to blog no less than 3 times a week inbetween the sewing, stitching, walking the girls and working at my part time job.

memories of the Melbourne Flower Festival

I also love to give things away so before we get to todays GIVEAWAY, let me fill you in on my new Yearly Giveaway.  Last year, I had Giveaway 2013 and I had so much fun I have decided to do it all again for 2014, giving you all the opportunity to win a once a month prize.  Please head over to the Giveaway 2014 tab to find out more about how it works.

Back to today's GIVEAWAY. Please leave me a comment and let me know a) if you are a first time visitor or a regular follower of my blog and b)what you liked most about my blog. Everyone who visits Bits 'n Bobs today will go into the draw whether you decide to follow or not......you just have to  comment and PLEASE make sure you are not a "no reply blogger". I will leave the giveaway open until the 2nd of February (unfortunately, I can't leave it open for longer as I am going away in February and want to get it sent off before I leave). Here is what is on offer:  A stitchers wallet made by me. The front has been candlewicked with a floral design and the back is hand quilted. Inside I have included  some pins, needles, buttons, scissors, tape measure, embroidery threads and a cute little postcard pattern. Oh what the heck, I will also throw in a piece of fabric, just dying to be embroidered, and a cute little embroidery frame to display your work when you are finished.

Outside

Inside

And that, my friends, is all about me.  I hope you enjoyed visiting my blog today and if you are a first time visitor, I hope you will take the time to explore and maybe come back for another visit sometime. Of course, you are more than welcome to follow me on a regular basis too.


 

Getting Ready

Tonight is FNSI with Wendy over at Sugarlane Quilts. There is still time to sign up if you haven't done so already.

I have made the binding for my Blue/Green Table Topper and will be making it my task for the evening and then I will have completed my one UFO for January.

Just be aware that I will only post my FNSI report on Sunday as I will be  posting my "Grow your Blog" post later and it runs into the 25th. I don't want to confuse matters.  Don't forget to come and visit me tomorrow though.....I have a giveaway happening and to visit the other blogs taking part, head on over to 2 Bags Full