Jennie's Threads

Have you seen the Splendid Sampler? It launched in February: two blocks per week from a variety of designers using a variety of techniques. When I first heard about it and thought I might join in, my plan was to just make a few of the blocks I liked. Well it turns out that although I don't like all the blocks, I like an awful lot of them. So far 43 blocks have been released and I've made 22: I'm hiding one cause I don't like it and there's one that will appear in a few sentences time! Whilst I'm enjoying the variety of these blocks, there is a niggle of doubt that they won't work very well together in a finished quilt. That's the reason I'm making each block a single colour, in the hope that a rainbow layout in the final quilt will add much needed cohesiveness. I've just made up the above collage, and I'm optimistic. There have been some straightforward rotary cut and foundation pieced blocks. I particularly loved these two blocks I

Sometimes there is no logic involved in why I put a project down and ignore it for a few months and just as little logic as to why I pick it up again. It's been months since I really worked on my La Passacaglia quilt but this weekend I picked it up again. My large rosette made entirely with fabric from Carolyn Friedlander's Architextures range (one of my all time favourite fabric ranges, now greatly diminished in my stash) was so close to being finished I have no idea why I didn't. On Saturday I got it finished and it only took a few hours! I love it. And a huge thanks must go to the oodles of people over on Instagram who made my weekend by liking it! On a roll, and I finally went back to one of the smaller rosettes. I had cut enough star pieces to make this with 8 stars, but after piecing 3 of those last summer I decided I didn't like the contrast and stopped at a much smaller rosette. In the intervening months it's grown on me, and yesterday I finally ad

It's been a while since I made any blocks - I've been working on the Sunrise quilt for Baby - on Monday I got it pieced: Yesterday I got it quilted, and I've sewn down half of the binding, so hopefully by the end of the week I'll have a finish! Today I sat down to the #365blocks: the last one I completed was the block for 10th March. So two weeks to catch up. Today I focused on the most recent blocks - it meant I could enter this week's link up, and to be honest, they looked easier! I'll work on the mitred corners tomorrow. Maybe. I enjoyed these blocks - nothing too complex, all turned out more or less the right size, I like my fabric choices except for the busy blue one... The green block on the left is called Pineapple flower which is appropriate for this week: one of the myths for inducing labour is to eat pineapple: further checking online would suggest that in order to get enough of the chemical that could have an impact, I'd need to

It's been a slightly sparser week in terms of blocks this week. I was really pleased that I was pretty much up to date on the Farmer's Wife blocks, with the exception of a few that I want to replace. Then I ran out of the white fabric I've been using. I sent a sample off to the shop I bought it from, discovered it was Makower 001 plain white, and asked for 7 metres (I have a sashing plan that is fabric hungry). The shop didn't have 7m but promised me a trip to her wholesaler this week. Unfortunately it seems that the dye has changed and rather than being a slightly off-white white, which I've been using, it's now a white white. Bugger. So I've bought the half metre they still had in stock, and I've taken a risk on some Ebay fabric - the listing said only 3m left so I'm praying it's an old bolt and is still the off white (if it isn't then 3m of white fabric is hardly going to go to waste...). And then once I've pieced the blocks, I'll

I know that the WIP Wednesday link up isn't happening any more, but I'm going to try and keep up with it, as a prompt so that I do actually blog. One of the reasons I'm blogging less is because a lot of the sewing I'm doing at the moment is 'just' blocks, and I worry I might bore you. But this blog is as much for me as for you, so prepare to be bored during this year of the block. On the plus side, at some point, next year (or more likely the year after) there'll be a few (hopefully) fantastic quilts coming out of this block drive! First up my first block for a new project. A few years ago I came across the Basic Grey fabric line 'Sweet Serenade'. I liked it, but it's not very me. But that didn't stop me buying a few fat quarters. It then struck me how perfect it would be for a good friend, who in making her subtle hints about a quilt had mentioned "beach colours". I'm pretty sure that the blue is sea-y and the peach from this

I've been plugging away at this quilt and have made some really progress over the last couple of weeks: parts 1-4 are now complete and work has started on 5 and 6. This has turned into quite a strange project for me... I love the process of making it - it's proving to be a real workout for my quilty brain - I'm not working from the templates unless there really is no alternative; I'm making up the foundation patterns for certain elements, and I'm working out my own cutting instructions (rather than reading the instructions two or three times to realise that I've just read the cm measurement....) and I'm having a ball! I'm picking out some of my favourite fabrics, and finding some lesser used fabrics I'd forgotten about. But I don't actually love the quilt. It turns out that pure scrappy is just too much for me! But despite this I look forward to working on it, I'm looking forward to quilting it. I just might not have it on display when

I haven't blogged in a week, but that does not mean I haven't been sewing. I just figured that actually you didn't need to see each block as I completed it. I have been sewing up a storm - first up: blocking! The Farmer's Wife quilt: I've made further progress with 8 blocks: this brings to 28 in total and all of the blocks scheduled in 2015 are now done. I do still have 6 blocks to make to be properly up to date, but I'm getting ever closer! If you're a real Farmer's Wife fan, you may be observant enough that you don't recognise the block bottom middle. That's because it's not in the book. The block that should be here was called daffodil, and looked like...well....a daffodil. I really don't like it - along with most flower and basket blocks. As this will be my quilt I'm substituting such blocks with some of my favourites from my Blocks Pinterest Board . This particular block is called Urban Churn Dash . The 365 Challenge qui

Apologies if you read my post from yesterday with the background as to why this particular quilt has made it back to the top of the pile this week - I'm going to repeat myself. I have a suitcase containing not quite half my fabric stash, which I keep under my desk. The rest of my stash is in its cupboard. Upstairs. The logic is that for this quilt I don't want to plan too far ahead. I just want to grab the next fabric that speaks to me. I can't do that going up and down the stairs. But at some point my beautiful daughter, who is already stealing and reading my magazines before me, will suss out the contents of the suitcase, and it will no longer be safe. I am very careful not to have it out and open in her presence. This fabric stash needs to be rehoused soon. My Mum is coming to visit in mid-February and she's very good at folding and organizing my fabric stash with me, so here's the plan: finish piecing this quilt top before she arrives. I'm about ha

Happy new year! I have so many plans for 2016! Today I'll share with you the most unrealistic: I may have gone mad, but I've decided to join in with the 365 Block Challenge ... a block a day for the  year. And I'm pleased to report that one week in and I am still on track - I have eight blocks (7 days and one bonus)! Apart from the bonus block we received on day one, all of the blocks have been very straightforward, even if they are only 3" x 3" finished. Unfortunately I have a feeling that the blocks will become more complicated and I will inevitably fall behind! If you follow the link above, you can see the full sampler. It will finish at 90" x 90" and there's no sashing to bulk it out! These first three months worth of blocks all fall in the dark border, so I'm using a variety of black prints as "backgrounds". I'm then picking random fabrics from my stash with a vague idea of doing a rainbow. And possibly not repeating a

Last week I was looking for a black and white jelly roll that I know I have somewhere and I've seen recently.... needless to say I couldn't find it. But whilst hunting through the yet-to-be-unpacked boxes (why is it that 9 months after moving, it's my sewing stuff that hasn't been completely unpacked?) I found an embroidery kit. It's a Rosalie Quinlan design that I bought at least two years ago (I think) and it hit the spot. Just the night before I'd been sat in front of the TV itching to do some embroidery, but Mia's advent calendar was finished and I didn't fancy working with the huge frame which my other long-term embroidery project is on.... This packet included the design pre-printed onto linen, and the thread. All I had to do was add the interfacing, and start sewing! Add to those advantages the following: no colour changes - it's all stitched in two strands of Cosmo embroidery thread; no complex stitches - much as I enjoyed the chal

I'm still working on these nursery hoops for Mia and I've got a few more finished since I last shared... in March! And I've got them on the wall. Brolly girl: this is a pattern by Tartan Kiwi and I just love it. I reduced it to 70% and used up every last piece of the light blue fabric to make it big enough to fit in the hoop!  I made a second one for me which turned out to be a mini mini mini quilt and now hangs on my quilt wall. The umbrella theme continued with a small Forever Friends cross stitch - I complete this years ago (maybe 7 or 8 years) and it has sat in a box with other unloved cross stitch all this time. I finally mounted it in a hoop and it fits right in! The next two were very hard work - honest. Isn't this Art Gallery print pretty? And it fits perfectly inside the hoop. I added interfacing to give it a bid more body and that was it! And this uses some Heather Ross fabric which @sleepinsarah sent me - I believe Moo has a matc