350 Block Report - December's Report

December's total is 24.
I started with a pieced top to this pin cushion.

Followed by another one

I have been working on my Fire Island Hosta quilt which is hard to break down into blocks 1 completed pieced leaf and 8 spikey sections.  Plus 6 New York beauty block for a total of 15 for this project this month.

7 ringlet blocks for a little wall hanging and 3 flower that go with this project.

1 large English paper pieced block which I turn in a cushion.

1 Flying geese test block for my Temperature quilt.

This month's total is 29.
So I haven't done as well as previous years but at the least I did finish the year on a little high of passing this month's total. I can start next year in a positive position.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

My Temperature Quilt Block Tutorial.

I have been preparing to start my Temperature Quilt on the 1st January. I am using the flying geese block. So if you are tempted to join me here is a tutorial on my block.

Cut 2 x 2 1/2" neutral squares and 1 x 4 1/2 xx 2 1/2" coloured  rectangle from the your  Temperature legend to match the days high temperature.

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the neutral squares.

Put a square on the left side of the rectangle as per my picture.

Sew along the outside of the line. See how my stitched line is just touching my drawn line.

Trim the corner off with a 1/4" seam allowance. Fold the neutral triangle back to reform the rectangle.

Press.

Place the other square on the other corner , making sure your diagonal line running from the centret to the bottom right corner

Sew on the outside of this line like you did with the first corner. Trim the corner off leaving a 1/4" seam allowance from the stitched line.
This completes your block.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

December's One Monthly Goal Completed

Now I must admit I selected an easy finish for December, as we all know how crazy this time of the can be. Here is my post on the project I set for this month.

So know I only had to finish the two table runners off, it didn't matter too much that I have had hardly any time to sew this month. Though that is a shame, I couldn't spend more time sewing.


In the end I did get them completed. It did help that they were Christmas presents.

I have linked my post up with Elm Street Quilt Party post so you can pop over and check out how everyone did this month.
I would like to thank Patty for hosting us this year. It has seen me miss the mark a few time but on the whole the goals I have set got done. So I am looking forward to seeing what I get completed in 2019.
You are welcome to join us next year. It is very satisfying when you set yourself goals and complete them, no matter how small they are. It is up to you.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching 

Cynthia

Cottage Gardens Threads Field Journal Club

Another new club for us in 2019 is                                                     Cottage Gardens Threads Field Journal Club.

If you are familiar with Cottage Gardens Threads you know it is beautiful colour range and how good they are to work with. New to this brand this is a great way to collect their thread over the course of one of their Clubs.
In this club each month you receive
4 Cottage Garden Threads Variegated 6 stranded embroidery thread
4 pieces of Liberty of London Fabric
4 Pre printed botanical stitcheries on hanky linen
4 Journal pages
The cost is $40 per month plus postage if you need it.

Optional Kit availible in 3 colourway is $150 and includes
Pattern and materials for the Field Journal ( excluding the A5 binder)
Pattern and material for the zippered pouch
8 cm polished timber hoop
Exclusive  Field Journal Thread Kit containing 9 new CGT threads

Colourways for the Field Journal are Brown, Red and Purple but you need to order this kit when you sign up if you want the optional extra.

Here's is a letter from Katie from Cottage Garden Thread that explains thing in more detail. Click Here to view.

If you have any questions let me know, I hope you are as exciting about this club as I am. It is a great way to collect the Cottage Garden threads and expand your stitchiries knowledge. If there is enough interest we can arrange some sessions in store involving this club. So if you need help we can help you, or if you get stuck we are on hand to help. Let me know if you are interested.
 PS please note all prices in this post are in Australian dollars, if you are overseas and would like to join us please let me know and I can work out the cost for you.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and bright 2019.

It is time to spend some time with your family and friends. I look forward to sharing more of my adventures in 2019.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia 

A New Leader Ender Project

Patty over at Elm Street Quilts has been making a temperature quilt this year using hexies. I am very tempted as I could do with a Leader and Ender Project for 2019. She is considering doing another one next year and has some ideas on it here if you want to check it out.

I like the idea of a high temperature quilt and using my batik scraps box for it.  Now to work out a scale and colours to match the scale and a block to use. You have to think 40 + degree will have to be a dark red working iis way down to a orange as it get cooler. Blue would be a good choice for the cold temperatures, but do you go dark blue for the really cold temperatures or do you go the other way so the light blue is the coldest so that you could the slip in white/cream, so you could include below zero temperatures. As I type this post up over a couple of weeks, I have got this far with the scale. We don't get day time temperatures under 10 degrees very often, maybe once even few years. That is why I have started at 9 degrees and you need to remember I am in Australia where we don't use fahrenheit, our is in degrees celsius. A slightly different system.
9- 15 degrees Purple
16-20 degrees  Blue
21-25 degrees Green
26-30 degrees Yellow
31-35 degrees Orange
36-40 degrees Pink
40+ degrees Red

Then I  needed to work out a block.  Patty used hexagons for her quilt but I was thinking I need more structure in my design. I want to be able to look at it and know that section is at that time of the year. I am thinking about using the Flying geese block. The temperature colour will be the middle and can point up if the temperature is climbing or pointing down if the temperature drops. My thinking is if a colour is assigned in 5 ( 10- 14, 15-19) and we have a few days in a zone I can point the block in the direction the temperature is going. That will give me more information.

I thought if I do them in vertical rows of 7, so you can see the week and work left to right on the quilt with a sashing strip when I need to start a new row. Something like this is my thinking, but there may be some changes along the way.

Now I can do some preparation ready for the beginning of January.  I can cut  plenty of the scrappy neutrals and cut some reds and oranges and a few of the other colours ready to go in to my project with a notepad to record the temperature in case I don't get to sit down at the machine every day.

This should be an interesting experiment, you are welcome to join me. When I start I will share some more details on my sizes and block method, but it is not rocket science. This is a simply block for a reason we don't want anything to hard, though I did toy with a harder block. Maybe if I enjoy this I may consider it for the following year.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

New Aurifil Club at Cynthia's Ark

We have a new club starting very soon featuring Aurifil threads. It has been a while since we had a thread club.This will be an ongoing club, you will become a member which will get you a discount on your Aurifil threads when you need to stock up.

The first month you will receive your first spool of white with your case which holds 12 large spools of Aurifil threads at the special price of $20 plus postage if you need it. After the first month you can select the colours you want in your collection from our stock at 20% off our normal retail price. Now if there is a colour you want that is not in stock please let me know and I can add it to the next order. You can also choose between the 50 and 40 weights. This club is ideal for customers to pop in and select what they want from our new Aurifil stand, but if you are not able to do that you can still become a member and I am happy to ship your thread to you. What I will do, is with your first month I will include a list of colours in stock for you to choose from and then you just need to let me know your selection.  Plus with this club you don't have to limit yourself to just 1 spool of thread per month. You can if you want, let's say you have run out of your favourite piecing neutral but you want a special colour to quilt a quilt you can order both and as a Cynthia's Ark Aurifil Club Member you will receive 20% off both.

We are just waiting on the stock to arrive which shouldn't be too far away now. So I am now taking pre orders for this club. We have limited spots for this club and it is filling fast. You can visit my website, ring me or pop in to Cynthia's Ark to secure your spot in our exclusive Aurifil Thread Club. Plus the will be a few surprises along the way, exclusive to club members only. 

 Please note Paypal is not available for our clubs due to fees and people abusing the system. If you don't have a credit card and need to use Paypal there will be a small surcharge added. This is much to my disappointment that I have to do this. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Any questions let me know.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Fire Island Hosta Workshop

On Sunday we had Elizabeth Chadwick in store for part 2 of our Fire Island Hosta Quilt. It was a busy day there was a lot to get through, so we can continue on our own and finish our quilts. Some parts are more challenging than others but with Elizabeth's guidance we are making good progress on our quilts.

Some progress pictures on the quilts. They are all going to be stunning when we finish them.

I will keep you all updated on our progress, well at least my progress.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

2018 - 350 Block Report - November

4 leaves for my Fire Island Hosta quilt and there is 8 half blocks completed (not counted here)

2 more Table runners completed as 1 block each I know the second one isn't finished in this picture but my tablet has died with the completed picture. So just take my word on this one.

1 block completed for my mum's quilt

9 flower blocks for a cushion

1 more spiral table runner.

I did make 288 HST but they belong in the above scrappy blocks that still need to be made. So they can't be counted yet. Plus I did sew the 12 background blocks for my Folk Flower Quilt now I need to do the reverse applique to complete. So hopefully there will be a flood of finished block one month soon.

Also I have been doing lots of ruler work quilting, hence the lack of block production.

This month's total is 17.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

December's One Monthly Goal

We have reached the last month of 2018 and it is time to set our last goal for the year. What to choose? There is plenty I have to do but I would like a big finish for the year. Something that has been hanging around too long. With that said, it is December and how much time will I really have to work on a big finish.
In the end I decided on this pair of table runners for my sister as her Christmas present.
They are well underway, so I should be able to complete them if not my sister may get an IOU for Christmas.

Pop over and check out what everyone is working on during December at Elm Street Quilts. I know I will be.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia