A Busy Little Bee.....Is Me!

Wow, It is a hive of activity around here.  There are boxes packed, ready to be packed, ready to be sealed and so many more that need to be constructed, ready for packing. My house looks like a disaster zone.  There are piles of things organised for packing, bags of no longer wanted stuff for St. Vinnies or the Salvo's, bags of rubbish for the tip ....... my mind is going crazy in the chaos!  I need a break so how about I tell you about what other more enjoyable activities went on here during the month of November.

I had quite a full month of sewing during November starting with a Bargello that I did as a class. I have always wanted to make a Bargello but always thought it too complicated but this one was made with one fabric. I am sure you have seen this fabric before, especially if you read my September NewFO post,

 They had run out of it at my local but I happened to be at another Quilt shop and saw it there even though I wasn't looking for it in particular.  When I had bought it, I called up my local and put my name down for the Bargello class. 

The first part of the class was to sew the fabric "closed" along the long edge and then the cutting began.

This is the cutting diagram.  It looks awfully complicated but I soon got the hang of it and made sure I marked it as I cut the various strips.  Lots of concentration needed here.

It was also very important to number the rows as they were cut. This would be very helpful later on when the sewing began.

This is where I got up to in the class.  Kim showed me the best way sew the strips together into units and the best way to press the seams. It is starting to look really good isn't it?

When I got home, I just couldn't leave it alone so spent the rest of the afternoon in the sewing room sewing all those strips together.

I have to tell you, this was the most fun I have ever had sewing a quilt together.  It was like a jigsaw puzzle and at it grew, it just became more beautiful.  I have finised it to flimsy stage but it is packed away now and I will not get back to it until after the move.   Watch this space!

The other project I started in November was this twist and turn log cabin. This was a project I did with my Sewing Sisters.

I made a design error with this one as I initially thought I would start with the white in the middle and work out to the darker tones but during the class, with all the talk about starting with dark in the middle, I lost track of my own thoughts and ended up with a stark white square in the middle.  I think I could stitch a snowflake there (in blue) and it could not be so detracting but Claudia says I should wait until I have finished and if I use white borders inbetween, it might look completely different. While I am at it, let me show you my other Sewing Sister's work.

From L to R: Marilyn, Zita and Lorraine.  We all had the grey as a common thread but were told to use different colours for the second colour combination.  Interesting that Marilyn and Lorraine went Autumn tones and Zita went the cooler tones same as me. Lorraine and Zita have not only finished these table runners but have both made second ones too.  Equally stunning.

I am linking in to Cat Patches - November NewFO Challenge. Barbara says this is the second last link party EVER, and I am so sad about that but let's face it, I now have a whole lot of UFO's to finish for 2015!

I also promised to tell you about my Challenge Quilt....or did I? Anyway, here is a preview.

 Now,  it is another busy day. Callie has to go to the vet this morning as she has an allergic reaction (probably a green ant bite) and looks more like a Sharpei than a Labrador. Here is a photo from last time this happened.

....and lets face it, those boxes are not going to pack themselves!