Design Board Monday #18 - On Wednesday

I am a 'tad' late with Design Board Monday...or should that be Design Board Wednesday? Unfortunately, the beginning of the week was a tough one for me and I was plagued by migraines. I am not feeling so nasty today so I think I have turned the corner.

I will add a link below so if you still want to join the party...you are most welcome to.

I haven't done any sewing since the weekend when I added some more stitches to 'A Country Tea Party'...and I also created two new pages for my BOM progress for ACTP and Flowerville.

 The banner is done and I have also started on a plate of cupcakes....don't they look yum?

Have you any "needle and thread" projects to share?

• Link will be open until Sunday 31.1.2016.
• link anything that you are working on this week or over the past week....needle and thread is all it takes.
• Please add a link back to Bits 'n Bobs as part of your post (why not get the button code from the side bar to paste into your post)
• Please make the effort to visit other link users and leave them a comment to make their day! Don't forget me! I like comments too!

Stitching!

I just wanted to show the stitching I did for FNSI.....I finished off this little poppet and her very own 'lil teddy.

I just loved stitching the lovely flower in her 'hair'. My satin stitch is really going well on this block.

Here is the progress I have made on a whole.

Thanks for your words of support both about my brief hospital visit and also the fire situation.  I did take my stitching with me to hospital but because I was wired up to all sorts of sensors for a sleep study, it just wasn't going to happen.
As for the fire situation...some parts of the state had a bit of rain overnight but not enough and the Fire Alerts Map still shows an awful lot of fire zones. I think the rain helped with the smoke haze though as it is looking much better....here's the proof.

Taken at sunset last yesterday.

 If you don't  already know, Design Board Monday is live tomorrow....please come and take a look....you may want to join...or you can visit the participants and see what they are up to for the week.

 

Friday Report - My Needle is Threaded

*Please Note - FNSI Results will be posted on Sunday....I do hope you will come back and visit then*

The BOMs are coming in really fast at the moment....just when I thought I had caught up, I suddenly realise that I am a couple of months behind with all three of them. Blocks 4 & 5 of Flowerville are waiting for my attention as well as months 5 & 6 of Brookfield.

Right now I am concentrating on catching up with A Country Tea Party by Libby Richardson. Block 6 arrived in the mail earlier this week and I had only just started stitching block 4....Oh My!

When I last blogged about this stitchery, I had mixed up my thread boxes and so only had one thread that was compatible and didn't get very much done...just the little blue bird. When I got home, the stitching really got underway and a week later, I finished this block, when I  joined a new sewing group at Timeless Designs.

I have to say, some nights, I just couldn't put it down and stayed up until 2am....stitching.

It really is the cutest little block....well they all are... and so now I am onto Block 5.

Block 5 is the central block of the quilt and is twice as big as the other blocks so far which means I am reaching the half way mark of the stitching.

I started stitching the teddies in this block just a couple of nights ago and they are really taking shape now.

I was so thrilled with how the satin stitch features turned out...although it is a bit easier when the fill in shapes are bigger.  I am going to continue working on this for FNSI*

I say Friday NIGHT Stitch in...but...I have an overnight observation in hospital tonight so I am stitching this afternoon to take my mind off the event...and the fact that our air outside is full of smoke from the bushfires up north.

I have posted about this today on Cath@Home

 *I hope you will be joining up with FNSI tonight. Head on over to join up or visit some of the blogs there...starting tomorrow. I will put up my FNSI Results on Sunday 24/1/16

Design Board Monday #17 - Secret Stuff?

Good Monday Morning to you! Do I sound particularly cheery today.....maybe because I have made some progress on that baby quilt which also means I am on my way to completing my 100 Day Challenge

But for now, lets get to Design Board Monday...

Now I wasn't going to show off this quilt until it had a bub laying on it but.......yea, what the heck, here it is and if 'Granny G' is reading this, I hope she can keep a secret!

  
I was going to sew all the squares together first but I just couldn't wait to see how it was going to look when joined so two rows were joined.

Then I got on to finishing all the centre blocks and started sewing those together....before too long, I had all five centre rows.....so time to start sewing the rows together.

It is interesting to note that I read a blog tutorial titled...."Make a Quilt in 30 minutes" which was also a raggy quilt and wondered what they are on!.....it took me 30 minutes alone to make the 3 squares for each row! Are they over achievers? I don't think I am an under achiever....maybe I am just the tortoise....slow and steady wins the race!  I still have a 3 rows to attach to complete the centre and then I will create a border of half squares.

In this photo, I flipped the completed section over so you can see the cuddly minky on the back....it looks a bit yellow in this picture but it is actually an off white colour.

I have also done a fair amount of stitching on my 'A Country Tea Party' block 4 and as usual, now that the tracing is done and the stitching is underway.....I am loving the process....which is of course why I do stitcheries! Block 6 arrived this week......I think I am falling behind! I also received the 6th package of 'Brookfield' so I will have to pay a little extra attention to that as well.

That is what my Design Board looks like this week......now, how about you?

• Link will be open until Sunday 24.1.2016.
• link anything that you are working on this week or over the past week....needle and thread is all it takes.
• Please add a link back to Bits 'n Bobs as part of your post (why not get the button code from the side bar to paste into your post)
• Please make the effort to visit other link users and leave them a comment to make their day! Don't forget me! I like comments too!

Happy Stitching!

This week I am also linking up with:

New Friends, Stitching and Purchases

I had a trip into Hobart today....to sew with my lovely new friends at Frangipani Fabrics.  I sat next to such a lovely woman and we chatted non-stop. I remember her from the first time I joined them and she is one of those people who you are instantly drawn to and would love to be good friends with (has that ever happened to you?).....but then she didn't come along for a couple of weeks, and I didn't go for a couple of weeks and on a few other occasions, she sat way down the table....today, we found ourselves neighbours while we stitched and I was right.....she is someone I could definitely be friends with.

And when I say stitched........I mean only a few meagre stitches!

It turned out that I somehow got my project boxes mixed up.....so I had some teddies to stitch but I had the threads for Flowerville and there was only one colour that is compatable with both.

That meant that I also had too much time to wander through the shop and found a few irresistible fabrics.  I do love the choice of fabrics at Frangipani so it is lucky I am on the loyalty programme because it turned out I had a $10 saving....here is what I bought.

Some cute fat quarters....I just love the reindeer one! and I scored a freebie for buying 4....see how they tempt me?

I also picked up 1/2m each of these fabrics......another baby quilt in the making here and I will shop my stash for sashing and borders.

While I was in Hobart, I walked down to Spotlight for some boring stuff like Whisperweft and a couple of new pillow slips. The walk from the carpark took me past Threads and I quickly popped in to have a gander......BIG MISTAKE! What did I clap eyes on....non other than the pattern for Lynette Anderson's Scandinavian Christmas.....be still my beating heart! Everytime I have seen this pattern completed on the internet, I regret not buying it when I had the chance years ago and I actually thought it was no longer available. If you don't know the pattern, here is a pic.

Threads sells quite a few Lynette Anderson patterns and her fabric range and while I was looking at it, the shop owner called out that there was 20% off all Christmas fabrics so I started to look for some that I could use for the pattern.....then she came over and pointed out the Scandinavian Christmas fabric kit....and mentioned that the pattern was also 20% off....well that settled it!

 

 I received something very practical for Christmas.....like a gardening trolley....so I decided that I would get it as a belated Christmas Present to myself.

There is nothing wrong with that, is there?

DBM #16 - Ready to Stitch Again

I am really taking this new years fresh start to heart....and fulfilling my resolutions....here is one of those resolutions that I completed this week......preparing BOM blocks for stitching.

 I made a start on Friday night and got back to it on Saturday....finishing off on Sunday.

I had two 'A Country Tea Party to trace. There was a small block and the large central block....I guess I must be halfway through the BOM now.....no letting up yet.

After tracing them onto the fabric, I had to iron on the whisperweft. I had a moment of panic when I got it out of the drawer as there is not much left....but it is adaptable to being pieced onto the back so I just managed to get the 2 ACTP blocks and a Flowerville block prepped.

The Flowerville block doesn't need tracing....it is already pre-printed on the fabric and I received two new Cottage Garden threads for the BOM.

I just happened to have these little crystal glassware items and a heart shaped wreathe out on the dresser (waiting to be put away) and I decided to use them as photo props.....I think they give such a feel of romance and femininity to the pics.

And now I have to work towards this:

my inspiration - pictures from the patterns I am using

 Happy Stitching to ME!

Do you have any Happy Stitching to Share.....or piecing, knitting, crochet....anything with needle & thread?

• Link will be open until Sunday 17.1.2016.
• link anything that you are working on this week or over the past week....needle and thread is all it takes.
• Please add a link back to Bits 'n Bobs as part of your post (why not get the button code from the side bar to paste into your post)
• Please make the effort to visit other link users and leave them a comment to make their day! Don't forget me! I like comments too!

Happy Stitching!


  

Linking up this week with:

A Step in the Right Direction for FNWF

I know some of you are linking in from Friday Night With Friends so I am really sorry to make you wait this long to see my results, but, here it is now.

FNWF is always the little boost that I need to get me back on track....Thanks Cheryl! One of those projects that I have been avoiding was to trace the next block of A Country Tea Party

It is all ready to be stitched now but I didn't do that on Friday.....instead, I cut some more blocks for my latest project....

It is a very basic design as I want it to be more of a cuddle blanket...this is the inner section and I will put a border, of sorts, on later.  Callie seems to approve...

Hahahah....she looks a little sheepish here but I clicked the shutter just as she blinked. Poor old girl, she is 10 years old now and is looking so aged around her face....she is still as active as ever though.

Why don't you head on over and see what everyone else got up to....that's where I am going to be!