Stitching Wishes for October

The weather is delightful and I am starting to feel a bit more like myself than I have for the last little while.  However, I am still going to keep my wishes (not goals) fairly simple and with a bit of luck there will be some bonus projects, like happened last month.

Firstly, Betty sent out the next fabrics for her group quilt.  The instructions were to make the prescribed block using the fabrics provided and select a contrast from the floral fabric.

No worries, I could quickly whip that up.  Job done……….then I read the instructions properly……. no green!  Blast!  Jack the Ripper to the rescue.  Oh, and we were to include an additional square of the contrast fabric and I had used a strip. Doh!  Lesson - read the instructions properly…..Well I had, but not when I went to actually make the block.

Here we go again.  Job done…..and sent off in the post this time.

It’s so nice to be able to tick something off nice and quickly.

Now to my other wishes.

The final number for the Chookshed Challenge is #3.  After all my swapping around during the year, this is:

“SASHIKO PROJECT - I have a couple of Sashiko panels that have been stitched.  It will be good to get at least one of them into a completed project.”

These are the two panels I am looking to play with.  I’m leaning towards the ribbon one.

I have a project in mind and bought this fabric while at the Braidwood Airing of the Quilts last November.  I’m thinking it will pair nicely with the ribbon panel to make a tote bag of some description.  I still have to decide on a pattern.  I think the design of the fabric will be too close to the scallop Sashiko panel to be effective.  I will have to come up with something else for that panel at some stage, and I also have a few other small motifs to use somewhere as well.  All in good time.  No pressure.

I don’t have anything on the go for Rainbow Scrap Challenge at the moment.  The colours for this month are brown and black.  Maybe nothing will happen.  Maybe it will.  Once again, no pressure.

I have made good progress on my knitted top.  It is looking very wonky here, so will need a good blocking once finished.  As it turns out, I will have oodles of yarn.  Up to just before the cream stripe only took two balls.  It is knitted very loosely, so I will definitely have to wear a cami underneath.  With a bit of luck this will be finished by the end of the month.  It is knitting up very quickly.  I have a few ends to weave in and need to work out what I am doing with a few stripes to transition to the cream yarn.  Hopefully, it will be something that I will wear.

Yesterday, I was at a bit of a loose end as to what to take to my stitching morning, so had a bit of a look in some project boxes and discovered where I had traced off a couple of the free patterns that Anni Downs provides each Christmas.  This one is from 2021 and I have 2022 traced off as well.  I have stitched 2023, but 2024 is still just the pattern.  There seems to be quite a few Christmas redwork pieces in the box, so I am thinking that at some stage they may be transformed into a Christmas quilt.  Not this year, but it would be nice to get at least this panel stitched.

You may notice that I have an embroidery hoop sitting with it.  I’ve never been comfortable using one, but decided to have a go when I stitched the little dog bookmark recently.  I just grabbed a small one that was earmarked to be used as part of a Christmas decoration.  Being so small, I didn’t mind it.  So, I thought I would have another go this time.  I even ratted around the drawers of odds and sods in my sewing room and found some cotton tape to wrap it, like Mum always told me to do.  I think the last time I would have used this tape was when making a lampshade in high school.  You never know what is squirrelled away and may come in handy one day.

We’ll see how much I end up achieving, but I am feeling inspired to get a wriggle on.