350 Block Report 2016- November's Report

Here we go for November.
One octagon block. It got done then I have misplaced it so no picture.

What happened after the first octagon block Oh boy not a lot.
I must say in my defence there was my cousin's wedding which involved a trip to Sydney then a week later another cousin turned 40 so a big weekend of family time with the other side of the family.

 Then I got to do some sewing and I completed the remaining 11 blocks from the Sew It Together Sew Along. I have cut the sashing strips ready for me to join the blocks together.

2 more Octagon block

The last 3 Reproduction Christmas Sampler blocks done.

2 test blocks for a secret project for next year. Sorry no photo at this stage.

Lastly 9 neutral four patches. There will be a lot of these to come I think.

So the total for this month is 28.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

En Provence Post #1

It is that time of the year where we have our fabrics selected and we are all ready to start Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt. This year it is En Provence and here is my fabric selection for this year mystery. I am working with my batik stash this year. I haven't work enough this year with batiks so it is time to pull some out.

Clue 1 was released after Thanksgiving and we get to start with our neutrals and make lots of neutral four patches.

Some strip cutting. They are all different lengths but I will pair the strip with similar lengths together.

I am having a go at spinning my seams too. So far so good.

Here is the first batch of neutral four patch blocks. Not sure at this stage how many I will be making as the plan is to make mine a little smaller than Bonnie's. It will all depend on the layout. So I will be making fewer block each step and after the reveal I will make the balance of what I need.

Now it is not too late to join in. Here is the link to Bonnie's post on this year's mystery, where you can find the details to get you started. http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/p/en-provence-mystery.html
Until Next Time
Keep Stitching
Cynthia

Sew It Together- Lucky- Handmade Sew Along #7

Now all the half square triangle units are finished including the trimming I set to work sewing the blocks together.

A good chain piecing session with good results missus the one I stuffed up and required some reverse stitching to fix but at least I spotted it before I sewed it into a block. Easier to fix as part of a sub block than a completed block. Too much reverse sewing would have had to be done if I missed it.

This is what the blocks look like when they are completed.

 Only 11 more blocks to go.

Yes they are large at  16 inches. It will make a decent size quilt once the sashing are added, even with only 12 blocks.

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Happy Dance Time

It is time for a little happy dance as I have finished another project of this year list. It is my Quiltmaker Mystery Auld Lang Stitches quilt from 2015 finally done. There is still a lots more projects to finish but this one is on my 2016 Finish Along Q4 list and on my Project Uninterrupted list. So it can be crossed off and I can move on to the next one. I am sure there is one ready for pinning and quilting. I can see an opportunity to do some more FMQ with the rulers in my quilting future. I am enjoying the exploring the possibilities with these rulers and I have a new one to try.

 Back to this finish and I used the 6" spiral ruler only on this quilt which is in the sampler set. Now you can purchase the Westalee Design Ruler foot and ruler from my shop if you are interested to move into the world of FMQ with rulers.

 Have you used rulers when you FMQ? I would love to hear your thoughts on them. Do you love them?  Do you have any issues using them?Do you want to have a go at using them and not sure where to start?  Any thought would be appreciated.

I have this one in my sight next. I can see all those squares with a design in each one. I just need to decide on which ruler/template I want to use.  It will be on top of my 2016 list.
I have linked up with the rest of the 2016 Finish Along Gang so pop over and check out what they have finished.

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Sew It Together- Handmade -Lucky Sew Along #6

I am over trimming half square triangle units. There is a lot  of them in this quilt. Even trimming some, sewing some together in to sub blocks then back to trimming was getting to me. I sure it will be worth it.

My neat piles of trimmed HST units ready to be sewn into sub units. 

It is so easy for me to twist the order and sew them together wrong so what I do is make a block up correctly and I lay it under my extension table on my machine. Then way I can lay the next block over the top in the correct order.

 Here is a taste of what the blocks will look like when they are sewn together.

I am very happy how they are looking with the grey background rather than a white. I can't wait to see all the blocks together and than add the sashing to them.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

A Trunk Full of Quilts 2016

Over at Whims & Fancies we are celebrating our finished projects. Last year I shared my Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt, which is very special to me. This year I haven't finished anything on that scale. So I thought I would share my latest finish. This quilt was an easy quilt to create as the blocks are made from half square triangle units. The quilting on it was a totally different story. I have been learning to use rulers with my Westalee ruler foot and the circle ruler. It has been a learning curve plus throw in a machine that breaks down halfway through quilting it into the mix. It took me 6 months to finish the quilting.

It is not the largest quilt I have finished this year but it is my creation.

Have a look at the other entries in a A Trunk Full of Quilts 

http://www.whimsandfancies.com/trunk-full-of-quilts-2016/  

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

What did I do with the centre of the Kool Kats panel I cut up?

 On Saturday I was asked what did I do with the centre piece I cut out of my Kool Kats panel for my Crazy Cat Quilt.

Remember I share a post on making my Crazy Cats quilt by cut up a panel and creating an original quilt last month.

 

In the end I had the centre part of the panel with some leftovers from the border strips. From these I create a Kool Cats table runner just perfect for the cat lovers out there. I dug into my stash for the backing fabric and leftover batting pieces which I often sew together to create larger pieces. Don't waste them I sew the larger piecing together for small quilts and if they are smaller than 10" square they go into my duster bag for dusting cloths. Lastly I found some blue binding leftover from another project to bind it with.

The panel is still available in my shop if you want to purchase one.

 Until Next Time

Keep Stitching 

Cynthia

November's Project Uninterrupted Day.

The first Saturday of the month means it is Project Uninterrupted day at Cynthia's Ark, in store and online. So anyone can join in as long as you are sewing. Here are some of the projects being worked on this month.

There was 7 of us in store including me on Saturday working away, some harder than others. That is allowed. Chatting, eating and drinking are allowed in moderation. The best part is you can work on whatever you like. So we see all different projects each month. It inspires us to finish what we are working on so we can start new projects. That is how the cycle works, doesn't it!

We had three working on their Pemberley quilt, two work on Christmas candle mats, one working on her Catch me if you can quilt and me squaring up HST units.

Now we have two Project Uninterrupted session a month, the first Saturday of the month 10am -2pm and the third Sunday of the month 10am - 2pm. Bring your project with your lunch. Tea, coffee and water available. No teacher, this is a sit, stitch and chat group. The Saturday group is full but I do have spaces available in the Sunday group. Bookings are essential as there are limited spots available. Only $10 a session.

Now I hear some of you say I can't get to the store, that is fine you can join our Project Uninterrupted Facebook group and stitch with us online. Just click on the above link to join. Each Project Uninterrupted day I post what I am working on and ask for you to share what you are working on. Plus you can post at other time your progress, see what others are working on, share your knowledge, learn something new, give a opinion if asked and more.
I would love you to join us.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Sew It Together Lucky-Handmade Sew Along #5

So I made all my half square triangle units and there is a pile of trimming to do.

What does a girl do? Well this girl does it in batches. I just don't have the patience to do it all at once. I trim a batch then I do something else (In an ideal world that would be sewing but often other things need my attention) But I did sew 1 quarter blocks together so I gOT a little taste of what the blocks are going to look like with the grey as the neutral.

Hopefully I will have these all done sooner than later.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching or Trimming in my case

Cynthia

A 2016 Finish Along Finish

This quilt was a play with half square triangles and the blocks come together really quickly as they are large. Only four blocks were made so to make a larger quilt would be easy.

The only thing that has held me back finishing this quilt was my machine broke down about halfway through quilting it. Then it took 8 weeks before it was returned repaired and I just didn't have time to sit down and finish quilting.

A couple weeks back I did finish the quilting and did the first part of the binding. There was a lot of ends to tie off and bury in the quilt, so it has taken me a little while to finish it completely. Now finally can say it is finished.

This will make the second finish off my 2016 Finish Along Q4 which means I have double my finishes for this quarter. I only finished 1 quilt last quarter, which I was very disappointed in myself.
I have link this up with the rest of the 2016 Finish Along gang so pop over and see what they have finished.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

350 Block Project -October Report

What have I sewn this month.
4 Christmas Sampler blocks from September that I didn't finish. Plus the 4 for October. 8 in total.

Another block for my Forget Me Not quilt.

I put together this Crazy Cats Panel quilt for a total of 12.

1 more Octagon was made.

Plus 64 hourglass blocks I had an afternoon of fun just sewing.

So this month's total is 86. 
Not bad I must say.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia