My Main Goal for March

My main goal for March was to complete the little pouch designed by Anni Downs that was our project at Scrub Stitchin’ in 2024.

There’s nothing like a deadline and accountability to get me moving. If it wasn’t for making this my goal for March it would be sitting there until who knows when.

I worked the little stitcheries in January 2025 and then started the wool appliqué in August, but that is as far as I got.

I can’t say I’ve enjoyed making this project.  Part of that was the fact that there was a tiny mark on the main fabric.  There was plenty of fabric, but Murphy’s Law prevailed and I cut the pouch from the end with the mark.  Doh!   You can’t see it now, as I created a tiny bee to cover it.  One fortunate thing was that, purely by chance, the little trail now comes from behind the button.  It was meant to be.

In the end, just to get it completed, some of the hand stitching became machine stitching.  This was due to the incredibly wonky and crooked stitching that I was doing.  I just wasn’t happy with my work.

Anyway, it is done and I am now happy with how it has turned out. 

First layer unrolled.

Fully unrolled.

And the back.

I’m very happy to tick this one off the list. That is eleven UFOs completed so far this year.  My aim was to complete twelve, so I think I may have to revise that number to something a bit higher.

Batik Fish For Scrub Stitchin’

It’s time to start getting serious about what projects I’m going to take to work on at Scrub Stitchin’, which is just on a month away.  

The first project is to finish the applique for the Batik Fish Quilt.  I last worked on this project back in 2024, so it’s time it progressed.

Before I did anything, I thought it prudent to actually see where I was up to and to make sure I wasn’t going to replicate anything too much.  They are looking good together.  23 blocks down, ten to go, by my calculations for the size I want to make.

The most time consuming part of this is to work out the colours for each fish.  Yesterday, I traced the patterns, selected the fabrics and fused the papers to the fabric.

This morning I fused the fish to the backgrounds.  This it the fun part where you see them start to take shape.

The one thing that unites all the different fish in this quilt is the consistent eye.  What a difference an eye makes. I was watching this as I pressed and thought I would show a couple.

Yes, a fish, but no personality.

Let’s add the first layer.  Creepy and looks way too big.

Now to add the pupil.  Suddenly, it all works and the fish comes to life.  You could have fun with the placement of the eye and the pupil within the eye to give different expressions, but I’m just keeping it simple and consistent.

Now, let’s look at the block that Mick has been badgering me to add to the quilt.  He was quite insistent that there be an angler fish.  Considering that he has claimed this quilt, I thought I’d better see what I could create.  They are an ugly jolly thing.  This is the best I could come up with, that would be easy enough to applique, without being too cutesy.

First, with no eye added.

And with the eye.  That’s much better.  I can’t say I’m looking forward to stitching down all those teeth.

Once they were all fused it was time to select the threads.  There you go, all ready to take away with me.

Of course, there was a big mess while getting organised.  You’d think with all those threads that I would have everything that I need, but no, I have to go shopping for a couple, as they were just about run out.  Are threads on special this week?  No, that was last week…..naturally.  I will pop out and get the ones I need for this quilt and have a list of the other ones that are about to run out, so I can replenish them when they are next on sale.

Anyway, I’m happy to have one project all ready to take away with me.  Now to get onto the next one.

My March Wishes

I seem to have gone missing in action.  While we were away, we had surprisingly poor internet coverage, so I will finish my travelogue very  soon.  I will also do a recap of what we got up to during February soon as well.

Today, I will share my wishes for the current month of March.  We will actually be home this month and I have a lot I wish to achieve, so I need to get cracking.

Firstly, to my stitching wishes.  These are extensive, as I have so much I really want to get either completed or prepped ready for Scrub Stitchin’ next month.  We will be heading off early, so I really want to get things done this month.

MY MAIN MONTHLY GOAL

This time the main goal I want to complete is the Anni Downs Pouch that was our Scrub Stitchin’ project back in 2024.  For some unknown reason, I haven’t really been enthralled with making this item, which is strange, as I love Anni’s projects.  As I get more done I am starting to like it more.  Anyway, I really want to finally be able to take it for show and tell this year.  I still have to complete the appliqué and stitchery before starting on the construction.  It will be worked on at my stitching days and once the RSC blocks are done.  

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

The colour this month is red and it is the easy, obvious thing to get out of the way first up.  I have my three projects that I am working on, which are pretty much prepped, ready to go.

BETTY’S SCRAPPY STRIPS

I have two more strips to make.  They aren’t due until June, but I want to deliver them to Betty at Scrub Stitchin’.  The outstanding colours are orange and red.  That ties in nicely with RSC, which is a bonus.

USING ELLY MAY

Having quilted quite a few quilts now, I am quite happy with how I’m going.  So far, I have only used the basic version of the software.  Now it is time to start using the next level.  The main reason for this is that the design that I want to use on the bright fish quilts is only available on the Pro version.  Nothing like a deadline to get you going.  I really need to throw together a quick and easy baby quilt to have a practise on first.

When I bought the machine I purchased a Superglide foot.  It read well and is ideal for quilting over appliqué.  However, I have since read that several people have had the foot break when using it.  I need to test that out too.  Apparently, the height above the machine bed that you position it makes all the difference.  

If all goes well, I should have (fingers crossed) another three quilts quilted.

KNITTING AND CROCHET

This month I wish to knit a blue beanie in the same pattern as the oatmeal one.  I have decided that I will keep that one for me, even if it is a little on the large size.  The blue one will be for Mick, to replace the one I accidentally shrunk.  This has a deadline, as I want to enter it in the local show.

STITCHING DAYS

I can work on the Anni Downs Pouch and the ribbing of my beanie at my stitching days.  The chart section of the beanie needs too much concentration.  I also have a secret project happening, which I can work on then as well.  Fingers crossed, I may have a quilt to bind as well.

15 MINUTES A DAY

If I am to get all that done I really need to do at least 15 minutes a day.  So far, I’ve done very little.  

Unlike last month, when my goals were rather vague, this month they are rather specific.  Hopefully, they will all be achieved.

NON STITCHING WISHES

1. Try a new recipe.

2. Read a book.

3. Have a fun day out. (I don’t really think this will happen in March.  We’ll see.)

4. Help at the church fete.

We’ll see at the end of the month how I go with everything.

I’m Swooning Over My Swoon Quilt

This quilt has been in the pipe line for a very long time.

Camille Roskelly released the Swoon Quilt pattern back in May 2011.  It kind of went viral, along with the various Bonnie and Camille fabric ranges.  I really liked it all and wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

Fast foward to January 2015.  I participated in a fat quarter swap and the fabrics I requested were, not surprisingly, Bonnie and Camille, with the Swoon Quilt in mind.  I received a variety from different ranges, but they all went well together.  I just had to add a couple more to make up numbers.

There were quite a few designs that were striped or directional and I didn’t want those fabrics to look broken up or going in different directions, so I tweaked the block pattern to suit the fabrics.  It turned out well.

Then, it all sat and waited.  I couldn’t decide what fabric to use for the background.  Procrastination at its finest.  Eventually, I found the one I used.  Not a solid white or grey, but with a nice low volume pattern.

I finally made a start in December 2021.  Then, I made blocks on and off during 2022, finally completing the quilt top in January 2023.  I even worked on it at Scrub Stitchin’ in 2022.  You can read about the progress here, here, here and here.  

While piecing the blocks, I had stitched extra half square triangles.  After the top was completed I even started to use those offcuts to start a Leader and Ender project.  Sadly, it hasn’t really progressed from this state.  I will get back to it one day.

Originally, I had considered using the Quilt as You Go method to construct the quilt.  However, after purchasing Monique I changed my plans and intended to quilt it “once I was good enough”.  Another that remained in the “To Be Quilted Queue”.

Now that I am comfortable using Elly May, it was time to finally finish this quilt.  The question was what design to use?  Having looked at lots of Swoon Quilts on line there ares some stunning custom quilted versions using rulers and free motion.  Very, very nice, but not going to happen on this one.  I just want to finally get this quilt finished and be able to put it on our bed. There were versions with swirls, florals and feathers, but none of them really grabbed me.  If not being custom quilted, I felt it needed movement, but the blocks need to be the stars of the show, not the quilting.  

Therefore, once again, I chose to use the Baptist Fan design, which creates a nice texture, with curves to counteract the straight lines, without dominating the quilt.  I’m really happy with how it turned out.  

I used yet another wideback that was sitting in my stash.  I’m really getting through them at the moment. This one worked well with it.

It is a rather large quilt and too big for my resident quilt holder upperer to manage, so I recruited a couple of ladies at my stitching group.

This is a nice fresh quilt to have on our bed in the warmer months.  It will get used straight away.

QUILT INFORMATION

Measurements - 80" high x 80" wide

Pattern - Swoon by Camille Roskelly.  

Fabrics - Bonnie and Camille from Fat Quarter Swap 2015

Quilting Design - Baptist Fan

Batting - Bamboo/Cotton

Backing - Wideback from Spotlight in stash

Thread - Glide - 10000 White

My February Wishes

February will have a bit more going on than January, so my wishes will be tailored accordingly. 

MY MAIN MONTHLY GOAL

My main goal for the month is to finish my Swoon Quilt.  The top was completed in January 2023. Another quilt that was added to the quilting queue for when I was brave enough to quilt it on Monique. The binding had already been prepared, but there was no backing fabric with it.  Fortunately, there was a suitable wideback in the stash. Now is its time to shine.

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE AND BETTY BLOCKS

The colour this month is Green.  It won’t take me too long to get these pieced.  I have plenty of green scraps to make the crumb blocks and to make Betty’s strip.

USING ELLY MAY

The Swoon Quilt is the only goal for the month.  It would be nice to do some more, but any will be a bonus.

STITCHING DAYS

I really don’t know what I will work on.  Now that my Christmas tree skirt stitcheries are done I have to made a decision. I’ll let you know at the end of the month.

KNITTING AND CROCHET

Once again, there are no plans set in concrete.  I have a few options that I will consider, but I do want to work on something.

SECRET STITCHING

I have something in the back of my mind that I think I would like to make, so would like to make a start this month.

15  MINUTES A DAY

Of course, I would like to work on something for at least 15 minutes each day.

As you can see, my goals are rather vague and fluid at this stage.  Hopefully, there will be plenty of progress to share as the month progresses.

NON STITCHING WISHES

They are pretty much the same as usual:

1. Try a new recipe.

2. Read a book.  I still haven’t finished the half read one sitting beside my chair.

3. Have a fun day out.

4. Finish my jigsaw.  It didn’t get finished in January.  It really needs to be completed so we can reclaim the dining table.

It is a short month and we will be heading away for a few days, so we’ll see how we go with everything.

Wensleydale Quilt is Finished

My main goal for January was to complete the Wensleydale Quilt that I started at the beginning of November as a part of the Quilted Chicken stitch along. I finished the blocks at the end of December and then pieced it into a quilt top on New Year’s Day while joining in on a Chooky Zoom sewing day.  My goal was to have it completed, but that was dependent on whether or not I felt confident enough to quilt it on Elly May.

It had been hanging, patiently waiting, on the design curtain until Tuesday.  After successfully having quilted three largish quilts I was ready to tackle this one.

I wanted to use the Baptist Fan design, as I had done on the William Morris Quilt, but smaller.  I also got brave and used different coloured threads on the top and the bobbin.  The gold looked great on the top, but not on the backing.  The warm grey looked great on the back, but flat on the top.  As there wasn’t a great deal of contrast between them I was game to give it a try and it worked well.  Phew!

The backing I used was a fabric I had actually put aside to use on the William Morris Quilt, as it is a William Morris design from the V&A that was at Spotty many years ago.  I had bought six metres, so still have a little more left over.  Anyway, I thought I would like to use the better backing fabric on this quilt, so swapped the backings.  The next choice was the binding.  The colour of the binding on the William Morris quilt suited this one as well, and fortunately, I had bought enough at the time to be able to use that fabric here.  Win, win.

We took the quilt outside for the quilt holder, but it is actually a bit too wide to successfully display.

He still did a great job.

I’m so happy to have this quilt completed in just three months.  It had been on my wish list, but not a priority, so it is really a bonus to have it done.  Now to wait for winter to put it on our bed.

QUILT INFORMATION

Measurements - 74" high x 66" wide

Pattern - Wensleydale by Jen Kingwell.  Foundation paper pieced.

Quilt Along - Quilted Chicken, who also has a PDF cutting list for FPP.

Number of Fabrics - 300 different fabric designs in top, plus backing and binding, all from stash.

Quilting Design - Baptist Fan

Batting - Bamboo/Cotton

Backing - V&A William Morris fabric from Spotlight many years ago

Thread - Glide - Cleopatra on top and Warm Grey 4 in bobbin

Binding - Ochre Homespun left over from William Morris Quilt.

And Another One - William Morris Quilt Completed

This is another quilt with a back story.

It all started back at the very first Scrub Stitchin’ in 2018.  Dale brought along some bits and bobs to destash and among them was a pile of charm squares, mainly in William Morris fabrics.  I like William Morris fabrics, so they came home with me.  

So, now that I had them, what to do with them?  I decided early on that I would like to set them with hour glass blocks, but what colour?  It turned out that at that first retreat our goodies bag was an ochre coloured paper bag and the colour looked rather good next to the fabrics.  Now, to find a similar coloured homespun.  Spotty didn’t have anything and there wasn’t really anything local.  I did have a suitable low volume cream floral fabric to go with it.  Therefore, it all waited patiently for a couple of years.  

In 2021 at Scrub Stitchin’ there were some destash fabrics from Diddles.  I gave some blue floral striped fabric a home.

Eventually, in January 2022 I found a suitable coloured homespun in Spotty, so problem solved.  I then got stuck in and made the hourglass blocks…and it sat for a little longer.

Meanwhile, the fabric from Diddles proved to be perfect for the first border in this quilt.  The outer border fabric is a William Morris print that I already had in my stash.  Like I said, I do like William Morris designs.

In 2022 I took the bits and pieces back to Scrub Stitchin’ to make into a flimsy.  It came together easily and I was very happy with the result.  I then made the binding and packed it all away until I felt confident enough to quilt it on Monique.  Well, that obviously never happened.

Now that I have Elly May, it was time to get it quilted. I wanted to try out a Baptist Fan quilting design and this looked to be an ideal candidate to try it on.  

The traditional pattern really suits the quilt.

Initially, I had planned to donate this quilt but have now decided that it will stay with us and be a couch quilt, as it suits our old club lounge beautifully.  We've had this vintage lounge suite since we bought our first house over 40 years ago.  It is affectionately called "The Sunken Lounge", but we love it.

QUILT INFORMATION

Measurements - 67" high x 57" wide

Pattern - None, just made from charm squares and hourglass blocks.

Quilting Design - Baptist Fan

Batting - Bamboo/Cotton

Backing - Cream paisley wide back from stash

Thread - Glide - Cleopatra

Binding - Ochre homespun

Mick continues to be my ever patient quilt holder.

I’m on a Roll - Secret Garden Quilt Finished

Yes, another UFO already ticked off the list for this year.  It is such a good feeling.

This is another fairly simple quilt that was started last year.  As you can see, it is still a bit breezy here, but not as bad as yesterday.

The history of it starts quite some years ago, when I bought a little pile of fat quarters at a market in a village near here.  They were from the range “Secret Garden” by Sandi Henderson.  They are a lovely quality and nice colours, but most were large scale designs, which may account for them being sold on.  Anyway, they have sat in my stash for too long, so it was time to get them used.  The sashing fabric was a destash from Brenda at the August retreat at Baradine in 2024 and seemed to pair well with the fat quarters.  The backing and binding are the from the same yardage that I used on the Five and Dime Quilt that was also a long time stash fabric.  So, this was a great stash buster.

I pieced the quilt top at Scrub Stitchin’ last year and since then it has just sat, waiting, in its tub.  This was another ideal quilt to work on while I get used to using Elly May, my long arm machine.  

I found a nice big design that suited it well.

For the life of me, I cannot get my phone to photograph the fabric colour correctly on the backing, but you can see the quilting design well here.

This shows it better.

Once again, I have to thank my patient quilt holder, seen here modelling his latest fashion accessory, as he informed me.

The quilt will be donated.

QUILT INFORMATION

Pattern - The pattern I used was another freebie. This one is called Courtyard Quilt and appears to be found on various sites.  I found my version here.

Measurements - 76” high x 55” wide

Quilting Design - Spiral and Paisley e2e

Batting - Cotton/Poly

Backing - Fabric from stash

Thread - Glide - Cool Mint

Binding - Backing leftovers

Five and Dime - My First Finished Quilt for the Year

I’m so happy to have completed my first quilt for 2026.  It is a very simple quilt entitled “Five and Dime”,  as it is designed for five inch squares and ten inch squares.  As you can see, it is a bit breezy here today.

This quilt started out from some gifted strips of fabric.  I wanted to use them rather than just add them to the stash.  I found this simple pattern and then searched for a contrast fabric.  

The pink is left over wideback.  I chose the green, from an op shop, for the outer border, but as you can see, I didn’t end up adding it, as the quilt was already a good size.

I cut everything out and kitted it up to take to Scrub Stitchin’ last year, where I got all the pieces joined into pair and laid them out on the design wall…….and it has been sitting in a tub until last week.

I pieced the top together last Saturday, while joining in on Chooky’s Zoom session. Yes, two weekends in a row.  Happy dance.

On Thursday I prepped the backing and batting in readiness for a quilting friend’s visit on Friday.

It turns out that one of my quilting group friends has the same long arm set up as me and hasn’t been game to use it.  Therefore, she came over for the morning to get a bit of a lesson from the “expert”.  I say that very tongue in cheek, as I’m just learning.  YouTube is my friend.  Anyway, we got the quilt loaded, chose a quilting design and got it started.  She now feels much more confident to have a go with hers and has a big list of YouTube channels to watch.

Elly May played nicely.  This shows the quilting pattern well, but the colour of the fabric looks nothing like this photo.

This photo shows the true colour.  I used leftover backing fabric for the binding, which I attached by machine.  The backing fabric is some that has been lurking in a tote for many years.  It has the date 2006 on the selvedge.  I bought a heap of fabric on clearance at Spotlight not long after I started quilting. I paid $60 and came home with well over 60 metres of fabric.  It has come in handy on many projects over the years, and yes, there is still plenty of it left.

The quilt will be donated.

Anyway, here are the details of the quilt, for my information:

QUILT INFORMATION    

Pattern - Five and Dime - a free pattern by SeasonedHomemaker.com

Measurements - 71” high x 55” wide

Quilting Design - Daisy Panto Leah Day e2e

Batting - Cotton/Polyester

Backing - Fabric from stash

Thread - Glide - Pink Rose

Binding - Backing leftovers

Yep, it was a bit breezy.  Thanks Mick for your patience.