Q4 Finish a long goals

I did well on my Q3 goals, but I don't really expect to be so successful with my term 4 goals.

I think people in the northern hemisphere get more productive as they move towards Christmas because it's winter and they tend to stay in doors more.

We are just the opposite down here in New Zealand and Australia - summer is coming and the evenings are getting warmer and lighter. Add to that the fact that the school year is wrapping up, and we have lots of school related functions to attend.  My older son just got accepted into the course he wants to do at University next year (Bachelor of Software Engineering), so there are big changes ahead as he prepares to move to Auckland in February.  

Anyway, here are the things I would like to get finished in Q4:

1.  Dresses x 3

I've decided to sew myself some new dresses and tunics this year.  I'm using Tula Pink extra wide backing (Free Fall) for two of them, and a Cotton and Steel print for another.  I made most of the first one last week, but I just need to add the tie backs and hem it now.

2. Christmas Tree Etui

This is another addition to my Gingerbread Village.  I stitched the first panel back in January, and only picked it up again last week.  It would be lovely to have it ready by mid December.

3.  Christmas Tree Quilt

This is another great design by Wendy Williams of Flying Fish Kits.  I've had the pattern for months, but sometimes you just have to wait until the Christmas spirit strikes.  I made a small start on this at our guild retreat in September. It's wool felt applique so also involves a lot of hand sewing.

4. La Passacaglia

This definitely won't be finished in Q4, but I do want to keep working on it. I'd love to have the quilt top all finished by 31 December, or at least 31 January. Then I'll have to think about how to quilt it.  I'll definitely do it by hand, but I'm not sure about what type of design I'll use yet.

This is a slightly different arrangement to the photo I posted last week, and I've changed my mind again since I took this photo.  I haven't started joining the top section yet, so I'll just keep shuffling them around until I'm happy with the placement.

2015 Finish Along - Q3 goals

Well, it's time to think about what I want to finish in Q3.  The answer to that is "lots of things", but thinking about it practically, this is what I hope to finish:

1.  Haunted House
This is an embroidered Haunted House from The Victoria Sampler. The pattern was only released about Halloween time last year, so I couldn't make it for Halloween 2014, but it will be ready for Halloween 2015 for sure.  It may look like I'm almost finished, but assembly takes days of fiddling around with glue and pins.  I want it to be perfect, so I'll be taking my time to get all of the sides even before I sew it together.

2.  Scrappy Bear Paw quilt
You can read more about this quilt here.  A number of people from Capital Quilters are making quilts like this for our guild's 30th anniversary.  Mine is all pieced and I've started hand quilting it. I just need to finish the hand quilting and attach the binding.

3.  Tree quilt
This quilt is my first art quilt.  Jenny Hunter, the designer, was the guest speaker at our guild meeting in June.  She bought along her original version of this quilt and I really liked it.  She also had packs of precut shot cottons for sale, so I bought greens and yellows because they were a bit different for me.  I've already started quilting it on my new Bernina and I'm really enjoying it.

Jenny Hunter's original quilt - Trees Mini Quilt

4. Spinning Stripes
I wrote about this quilt in my last post here. Now the top is all sewn together, and I just need to quilt it and bind it. I'll add it to this list so it doesn't get ignored. Shirley suggested that we quilted along the stripes, so I'll give that a go.

The Finish Along linkup party is working well for me. I finished all 4 things on my Q1 list which was here, and finished 3 out of 4 things on my Q2 list which was here.  Anyone with a blog or Instagram account can join up and share their goals. Adrianne is running the Finish Along this year, so see her blog On the Windy Side for all the Q2 finishes here.

I'll keep you updated on my progress as the quarter progresses.

2015 Finish a Long - Q2 goals

It's time to think about what I want to get finished in Q2. Mmm, so many options.

I'd already decided that 2015 was my year to work on WIPs and I'm going quite well so far. I finished all 4 items on my Q1 Finish a Long list, and although I have started some new projects, I am exercising restraint and not plunging into everything that looks appealing.

So Q2 - what's it to be?

1. Finish my crochet ripple blanket which is almost done. This blanket is about 1.7m tall so will cover me nicely in bed (yes - it's just for my side of the bed).  I still need to do a few more rows and then there are 3 rows of border right around it. I think the border will stop the sides from stretching so I do want to do a border.

2. Crochet another smaller blanket to have on my knees in the evenings - does that make me sound old?  Or just cold?  I think I might use a different pattern this time - maybe the Cosy Stripe pattern by Attic24. I'll also be using some different colours of the same wool I used above. I want to use up all the scraps, but also inject some new shades.

3.  Finish "Your Place or Mine?".  The long armer can't start work on it until Mid May, but I might have it back by early June, and that gives me time to put the binding and a label on it before the end of Q2 on 30 June.

4.  Stacks of Colour.  This one is a stretch goal, and probably not going to be achievable, but my thought is that if I write it here I will at least start on it this quarter. I want to hand quilt this quilt with Perle 8 in a water drops pattern - overlapping circles. That quilting pattern seems quite appropriate because it's been raining for 3 days now. It can keep me company as we go into winter.

I think that's enough for one quarter. Of course I've got a lot of other things on the go, but I don't think any of them will be finished by 30 June. I do aim to make progress on them though so some of them can join on my Q3 list and be finished by 30 September. I already know that my top priority for Q3 will be my Haunted House which simply must be ready for Halloween.

Celtic Snow

On Tuesday night I finished my Celtic Snow embroidery. It's a wonderful design by Nicole of Northern Expressions Needlework.

my Celtic Snow by Norther Expressions Needlework

I've been working on this piece since July 2014. Although I have done other things in between, it's been a long journey with this one. It's the biggest cross stitch I've done in the last 10 years. It's 15" x 15".

with an A4 piece of paper for comparison

I always stitch with a hoop because it keeps the tension even. I did all the stitching before I started adding the beads because I knew the beads would prevent me from using the hoop. After I'd done all the beading in the centre with the hoop, I put the piece onto my roller bars so I could continue to add the beads. It wasn't easy working on the roller bars because the linen is quite a loose weave, but I got there in the end. there are 1,400 beads in this piece!

When I'm attaching beads I always go through each bead twice to make a X. That holds the bead straight. I also keep all the beads going in the same direction. That did result in some unpicking because sometimes I accidentally turned the piece 90 degrees. There's no obvious top or bottom, the design is symmetrical. In these cases I tie a piece of coloured cotton at the top, but I must have ignored that at times.

I really felt thrilled when I woke up the next morning and took it off the roller bars. I gave it a light press, took some photos and dashed off to the framers. I took along a piece of dark fabric because I knew their padding was white, and I didn't want white behind the linen, I wanted a dark colour.

The framers will be finished in about 3 weeks and I'll be excited to see how it looks.

For the embroiderers out there:
- the fabric I used is Midnight Tryst 28 count linen from Hand Dyed by Stephanie. It is beautiful and gives this piece a dark mysterious background. It's the shade Nicole used in her sample and the photo on the pattern. Nicole used much finer linen, but I've given up on anything finer than 28 count. If I'd chosen 32, 36 or 40 count linen I don't know if I would have ever finished.
- I used the recommended Overdyed Silks from Dinky Dyes - lovely pastel shades.
- I couldn't get all the exact beads, so substituted to those available locally.
- I bought the pattern from 123Stitch.  It's really cheap - less than USD 20 - so I just don't understand people who rip off these designers by posting the pattern online.

This was the 4th and final item on my Finish Along list for Q1. It means I'm another step closer to getting back to my la passacaglia which I'm excited about. I'm now an administrator of the group on facebook (Millefiori/ la passacaglia English Paper Piecing) so I keep seeing everyone else's progress. I'm itching to get back to mine, but have one more long term project to finish first. Aren't I being good?

Another finish - my Mini Medallion

Well, I feel like I'm on a roll here. That 2015 Finish Along that Adrienne is hosting on her blog On The Windy Side has certainly spurred me into action.  That and my own New Year's resolution to finish more than I start this year.

So I'm very happy to share with you my finished Mini Medallion quilt.

This quilt started back in the middle of 2014 when I saw someone else's centre block online. I had received some fat quarters in a give away, and thought they would be perfect for a small quilt like this. I also thought it would be useful to learn some patterns that I could transfer over to the Possum Magic quilts because they were medallion quilts too.

Funnily enough, although I liked the fat quarters I received, I had never used those colours before, and they didn't really match much in my stash. I naturally added a few more fat quarters (as you do when you win something) and now they have grown on me and they are creeping in everywhere!

The Mini Medallion pattern was designed by Chrissie of Sewlux, but released month by month by Clover and Violet. You can find the final pattern here, with links back to all the previous patterns if you're interested. The final pattern was released in November, so I guess it's not too bad that I finished my quilt in March. There are plenty more people who started but haven't finished yet.

This quilt along is the reason I joined Instagram. I had resisted up until that point, but I wanted to see what fabrics everyone was using, and there was no traditional linkup, so I had to join Instagram. I'm so glad I did now, because I've not only met lovely quilters, I've also met a lot of embroidery people from all over the world. Yes, it can be a time waster, but I find I'm looking at Instagram rather than magazines or non fiction books. It's a huge source of inspiration for me, as well as a way to connect with like minded people.

I hand quilted my mini medallion because I like the extra control it gives me. I used different
coloured Perle 8, and some regular quilting cotton. I used a blue washout pen to mark quilting lines.

The backing is a lovely fabric called Seeing Spots by Michael Miller. I bought 2 metres of it when I saw it really cheap in a shop. It ties in so well.

Finally, some shots to show how difficult it is get good help around here:

Quilts stats:
Finished size 36" x 36"
Backing Michael Miller Seeing Spots

I'm linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday and WIP Wednesday.

2015 Finish a Long - Q1 goals

This is the first time I've entered one of these Finish a longs. I don't particularly like 'stretch goals', but since it's Adrienne from On the Windy Side running it this year, I have decided to dip my toes in the water and see how it goes.

I wrote lists of my stitching goals and quilting goals a few weeks ago. That made it quite easy to pick my projects for the Q1 Finish a long.

So here they are:

1. Halloween mini. This quilt is quite small (about 15") and is the closest to done, so will probably be the first finished.

2. Kaffe Christmas tree. I have backing, binding, and batting, I just need to hand quilt it and put on the hanging sleeve and binding. Shouldn't be too hard to finish this one.

3. Mini Medallion. Again, I have everything I need, I just need to do it. I want to put a hanging sleeve on this one too.

4. Celtic Snow. I want to put one embroidery project on this list because I have so many I want to work on and need to get some finished. This will keep me focused on getting one done. There are literally 1,000 beads to sew onto this one yet. Yes, that's right, 1,000 beads. I'm not going to start working out how many I need to do each day to get it done, I just need to start sewing them on.

So that's me for Q1. Let's see how I go!  Thanks Adrienne for the motivation and accountability.