Hand Piecing Bedside Table Project

I finally found a use for the edge strips of batting that I have been so reluctant to toss out. Another hand project! 

I piece wider strips of batting to use in Linus quilts. Ever frugal, I feel the batting is so expensive (I buy a bolt) that I'm reluctant to throw anything out.  These little gems are made from scrap users system  2 1/2" x 4 1/2" pieces, with (at the moment) an old polycotton sheet that was my mums, for backing: I'm going to vary the backing  as I use things up and throw in the odd surprise to add interest. Always scrappy! The blue stripe is an old shirt. I anticipate a lot of odd stuff will find its way into this quilt. 

I have decided that quilting isn't necessary as the batting is caught by the stitches as I sew the borders down around the edge. 

You can find the basic instructions for this  quilt as you go project at Stitch with Rachel on Youtube. I'm not using the template, eyeballing is working! 

There is a little stash on my table for bedtime bingewatching: I don't do sitting still at all. If I have to fidget, it may as well be productive. 

I'm using an EPP whip stitch to join the blocks with strong quilting thread in pale yellow, it blends with the cream backing and it was the best option in the stash.  The Aurifil thread I'm using for the piecing won't be strong enough.

I use silk pins with small heads to hold the sandwich as I stitch. Small quilting needes are better as the thread sometimes catches on the pin heads, but I don't want to drop teeny needles in the bed at night when the lighting is poor! 

I started joining the first two rows yesterday.  I couldn't face another tub of stuff accumilating, so this one is continuous assembly. 

It has been heavily overcast here, sorry about the dull photo quality! 

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Linky: Finished (or not) Friday

Rainbow Scrap challenge

Oh Scrap!

2024-the Year of the Finish #2

My phrase for last year was 'the Year of the Finish'

It went reasonably well, 27 craft projects completed. I only started one quilt (which meant so many added to the list! ). 

I am continuing the theme this year, focusing on getting quilt tops together, so at least I know where I'm at and I won't be overwhelmed by tubs of projects. 

Here are some I completed last year. 

This puzzle quilt was on my bed during the winter. I made it from leftovers from another one, pictured below. Using a neutral as an alternate block made assembly much easier. 

I finished this little table topper chess board from precut 2 1/2" squares. 

This was a housewarming gift for a friend. I love the pieced backing, lots of orphans and offcut backing strips. 

This 100" square quilt was my granddaughters first big girl quilt. Made from 2" strips. She insists there must be another like it somewhere in the world! We play I Spy with it. 

I made and yarn bombed lots of jellyfish, they are mindless TV projects. 

I love this decaying harbour, it has so much character. 

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I am still ironing strips and assembling crumb quilt squares, made form over 10 years of bits and pieces.  

I KEEP FINDING MORE!

All the orphans and scraps will make lovely crumb quilts, which I would love to use as backing. 

I am trimming to 10" squares. 

It's definitely something I should have been working on regularly, instead of stuffing the strips into tubs! 

This weeks audiobook is a free Librivox reading of Anna Karenina, on Youtube

Say hello, I'll drop by your blog xx

It's been a while....

 Many projects have been worked on since my last post, some have been finished😇, most not. 

You can catch up with me on https://www.instagram.com/sussex_gansey/

I have been taking stock of my crafting tasks in the last month or so......things have got out of hand!  It has been a useful exercxise whist recovering from back injury. I am trying to get as many of the quilt tops together and finnished as I can, to eliminate all the boxes and baskets of bits. I'm counting plastic storage donation  as a win! 

I have  way too many four  patches from   2" and 1 1/2" strips, made as leaders and enders.  These four patches and pinwheels which I sewed up this week from pre-made scrappy four patches  and red  pre-cut triangles  will be pieced into Patches and Pinwheels, a free pattern  on Bonnie Hunters blog page. They need pressing first, along with a lot of other stuff!  This project hasn't  scratched the surface of the four patches. It will probably be a gift. There are enough scrappy four patches for two quilts and I have more precut triangles......slow and steady😏

I have lots of small four patches and 1 1/2" strips from another project.   I had tried out scrappy houses a while ago, so I have made 15 six  patch strips like this with  what I had. Thats another small pile out of the way. 

I will add to these as I cut more strips. More on the pressing pile.

I have also worked on the scrappy strip block pile, making up the strips, pressing cutting, making up the blocks for trimming to 10" square.  So much to cut and press! 

Old clothing, edge strips, uglies, orphan blocks, wonky blocks, crumbs and chunks, selvedges, ribbon from christmas gifts, it all goes in. 

Linked to Quilting is more fun than Housework...: Oh Scrap! : Strings

These are the leader-ender  broken dishes I have been working on for a couple of years, cut from 2" strips, now being pieced into blocks. I think I have enough for a top. I'm not sure how to set them, side by side, or borders? 

I have been grateful for the things I have finished this winter. This picture is titled Unmade Bed- a puzzle quilt, a ten stitch blanket and a 16 patch leader ender quilt, along with the duvet. Cozy!

Archie the grandpup approves when I sit him

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These are some of the projects I have worked on in the last few months.....

there is much more going on.....

I put these completed  blocks togeather last week. I really like this one, it will be a gift. 

This winter, I put togeather two of these blankets with crochet, made from scrap yarn. the squares are double sided, nice warm pockets , it's very heavy. These took 16 years: I remember when I tried the first square.  As you can tell, I don't do sittting still really. 

I have made and yarn bombed  many jellyfish from scap yarn and buttons.

Much more to come! 

Thanks for dropping by.

💕

Knitting finish

 

This weeks finish: newborn cardigan in Red Heart Lisa Colour, Pattern from Sirdar

Knitting update

There has been a lot of Granny  knitting in the last year!    

More items are finished, but not sewn up, update soon!  See the finishes tab for more. 

fi

Babydoll!

Well, whoever would have thought that I'd make something like this! 

I had two rambunctious boys. Now I'm a grandma to Ellen. 

I miss her so much at the moment. I have looked after her every week for 18 months, now I haven't seen her for two months because of lockdown, so I have been sending her little presents through the post. xxx

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Three finishes today

Two sock puppets and 11th of the batch of 40 charity quilts I have to do

Charity quilts update

I have one more bound and ready.  This one is backed with a donated duvet cover . 

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And the next, layering in progress....

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The last three flimsies of the current batch have been webbed.  

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The webbing of my bow tie quilt  is in progress...

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A little bit of cutting-I found this block a while ago, loved the sample and have been cutting the strips for a while. It looks complicated though it is only HSTs and four patches from 1 1/2'' and 2 1/2'' strips. 

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And of course, MORE binding. It has been a week of record temperatures in the UK, so sitting with a quilt on my lap hasn't been an option for most of the week! 

I got this silver thimble in a house clearance. It is marked 'James Walker the London Jeweler'. 

A little bit of research told me that they were given as a free gift with wedding ring purchases.  It came from the house of a 90 year old bachelor!  Maybe he had a romantic disappointment. They used to make thimbles in much smaller size increments, this one fits me perfectly.  Shortly after, I bought another antique one in the perfect size from Ebay.  

Charity quilts

At the moment I'm working on 40 lap quilts for an old folks care home. I have had a lot of stuff hoarded for charity quilts but lacked the enthusiasm to do more than one every six weeks or so. Now I have a definite goal as there are 40 residents.  

Most of the flimsies are done, I finished webbing these tops and putting on scrappy  borders today. I cut the borders at 2 1/4", same as the binding. I love a scrappy binding! 

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A sample batch of 6 have been delivered, including these .

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I bound these two this week

There was a hiccup with this one, I cut the backing tooo small, so some orphan blocks came in handy! 

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These broken dishes blocks are my leader enders, cut from 2" strips 

I have been doing these for months now and have quite a stack, the aim is a queen size!