When I showed you the Christmas things I forgot to show you what Youngest had bought me for Christmas.  The above is a decoration which is now on the sewing room door. 

He also bought me this.  A mug with pictures of DH, Eldest, Youngest, Treacle, Evalyn and Owen on.  This is one side

This is the other side.

By the handle it says this!  I loved it and it is now in my sewing room as I would not want to use it and it get smashed so it now holds my small scissors and other sewing notions.

Now I promised you some quilt talk.  I got this as a quilt planner for this year for my quilting.  I love Tilda fabrics and I am hoping this will keep me on track.  With that I have taken pictures of all my UFO’s and will show them here and have them on my blog and hopefully as I complete them I will be able to show you.  So this is a bit of a picture heavy post.

I had this lovely Autumn panel which was going to be a wall hanging and started off well with the free motion quilting and then ran out of the cotton.  I had some more and loaded my machine with it not realising that it was a completely different thread and below is what happened!

So I have been slowly unpicking it to re-do it with the correct cotton!  So UFO Number 1.

This is the cloth I used on my Quilt Stall at our Carnival and DH loved it and said I should make it up into a quilt, so on holiday last year I added some borders to make it a full size quilt and bought the backing fabric and need to sandwich it and then quilt it.  UFO Number 2.

I had a panel left from a baby quilt I made for Elijah and it looks like treacle so I added a white border and then a doggy border and am going to make it into a bag so we can take Treacle’s things in it to the Kennels when she goes on holiday.  UFO Number 3.

This is the material for a boy quilt which I bought two year’s ago so not really a UFO as I have not started it but I would like to get it done.  UFO Number 4.

These two lots of fat quarters are to make cushions for the two small cushions I have in our hallway.  I have an Autumn set and a Summer set and a Christmas set, I just now need a Spring set (the yellow) and the red set for winter.  UFO Number 5.

This was a Mystery quilt from Nottingham Patchwork Group  which as you can see I have made some of the bocks and the others are cut out so definitely UFO Number 6.

These are the blocks I made for my Red, White & Blue Blog Hop hosted by Madam Samm years ago.  I need to do some more and make them into a small lap quilt.  UFO Number 7.

These were going to be baby blocks but I only got them half done!  UFO Number 8.

Left over blocks from Girlfriend’s Quilt so need to do something with these.  UFO Number 9.

Now this is an interesting conundrum.  This again was a mystery quilt from the Patchwork group and we got to choose the fabric ourselves and I loved Lavender and purple but when I finished the blocks and sewed it together DH hated it!  He said it was too old fashioned so it has been left in the bottom of my basket. 

It doesn’t help that the flying geese are all different sizes and the border is not straight either!!  But what do you do with something you don’t like?  It’s not big enough for a lap quilt and it really is not good enough to give away so throw away?  Let me know what you think.  UFO Number 10.

These are not UFO’s but another aim is to make some Christmas things each month so that I don’t have a rush when I am busy with everything else.

Another aim really.  I made this bunting for the show and it is now in the sewing room as well as the Christmas lights!!!  Anyway I would like to make bunting for Spring, Autumn and Winter (this one is Summer colours) and change them as the seasons change.

This is my basket which Girlfriend and Eldest bought me two Christmases ago which I keep my UFO’s in.

This is a moan really and I don’t suppose that anybody from the Starbucks Corporation reads my Blog but I was not happy this year that there were no red cups!!!  I mean it’s a Christmas institution!  I always have tea and then wash the cups out and use them in the sewing room.  I drop the pins in here as I am quilting and then put them back in their proper clip box. 

I have clip boxes in all sizes and love them.  As you can see these three, one has bobbins in, one has pins in and the bottom one has new needles for my machines in. 

Sorry it has been a long post but that is what I am going to get working on after Evalyn’s quilt is finished and before I start a scrap quilt!  Hands up all those who hate doing sewing repairs?  I have a few of those to do as well and keep putting them off but need to get them done and out of the way!!! 

DH and Youngest were out at swimming last night so I started quilting Evalyn’s quilt.  Once I get in my sewing room, time seems to disappear and before I knew it, it was 10pm!!  Will try and get some more done later.  Today is house jobs day and tomorrow we have to take the decorations down 🙁 and clear up and I have a basket of ironing waiting as well.  Sunday is the swimming Open so we will have to be there at 6.30am and it won’t finish until about 5.00pm! Oh joy!

Have a wonderful weekend and Epiphany Sunday.

Hugs, Susie xx

As you know New Year is not my favourite bit of the whole Christmas celebrations, Monday morning ish and all that but it is inevitable.  Over the years I have made resolutions which of course I keep for about a week and then completely forget about them as life takes over, so last year decided on a goal which seemed a little better.  My goal was to do some quilting everyday which worked out okay during the winter months but come spring and summer didn’t always happen.  So this year I am modifying it to do some quilting every week in the hope that I can get something done each week.

  I am still trying to get my UFO’s finished and that will also be my aim this year along with making a scrap quilt for myself.  I also have another smaller quilt to make but I can’t say too much about that just yet.  I can now show you pictures of the Christmas presents I made as they have had them and loved them.

Two years ago DH’s Aunt passed away who we used to see a lot and who the Boys knew as Grandma.  Her three daughters, Kathryn, Judy and Elaine all looked after her and they always called her Flo.  When I was making Evalyn’s new quilt I bought a lot of fat quarters in different colours and styles and you will see why when I show you that but I realised that two of the fabrics, made by Lewis & Irene, were called “Flo’s Little Flowers” so I just had to make them Table Runners made of these fabrics.

One of the runners

All three

The back

A close up of the block

A close up of the back

All three together again.

They loved them and I am very pleased how they turned out.  The green square you will see from the close up of the block is daffodils which were Auntie Margaret’s favourite flower and we had them at her funeral. 

Talking of Evalyn’s quilt, it is now sandwiched and pinned so I just now need to start quilting it, but as it is twin size it will take a while to get it done on my machine but I am hoping to start it today and get it done by the end of next week.  Goal 1!

I also have on my sidebar Mr Happy from the “Mr Men” and “Happy is my Deafult setting for 2017”.  When I look back 2017 was not the best of years for various reasons and my hope is 2018 is going to be better but that’s the thing you just don’t know so we can only go forward with hope, so this year my setting is “Hopeful and Happy for 2018”.  I saw a very good article written by Sir Richard Branson about his tips for happiness in 2018, you can find it here https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/my-tips-happiness-2018.

I hope everyone has a good year, now off to do some sewing.

Hugs, Susie xx

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