January WOOFAS

I'm linking up with Cheryll today for my January WOOFAs.  She has a Mr Linky doodad on this post

where you can see what everyone else has been up to for the month.  I had a few finishes and made progress on other projects, too.  

It snowed a little today.   Just enough to stick to the grass and trees, not the road....and just enough for a bit of a background for a WOOFA.  This is All Hearts Come Home For Christmas , a complimentary  pattern by Hatched and Patched.  I made a few changes, including the wording (I know you figured that part out) and it was finally finished today.   All it needed was a hanger (nothing flash, just a piece of dowel and ribbon).

Scatter Hearts by Shepherd's Bush has been hanging around for a couple of years.  The french knots at the bottom replaced clear beads and rather than a fancy finish, which I thought would be a bit much with the bright pink, it was finished as a little pillow.  All ready to go out tomorrow for the month of February with other Valentine projects.

For the past few years, Cathy Habermann  of Hands On Designs has been sharing a complimentary  cross stitch design around the end of January/early February on the blog.  This is last year's.  Also destined to be part of a February display.  

Just over 100 stitches were put into In Harmony, a Dimensions kit, designed by Colinn Bogle.  (I didn't count the stitches.....that would cut into stitching time!   Just finished a 10 x 10 square, plus a few more random stitches.) It's probably about 2/3 complete.  It's one of those projects that I wonder why I ever stopped stitching on it.  Despite being on dark blue and 16 stitches per inch, it is a very enjoyable project.

The Jo Sharp fitted cardigan is coming along.  This is the second time it's been on the needles.  The first time around I managed to knit two left fronts!  This time I decided to do it in the order laid out in the pattern.  The back is finished and one front is part way through.  It's a really enjoyable knit.

The HST quilt is back in the WIP box after an enthusiastic start, which is fine, as there's no time line on this one.

Same with Geese Around The World.  The four blocks are pieced, then I ran out of oomph.  It will call to me again sooner or later.

These two pincushions in the making started their lives a few years ago as blocks for a quilt.  They sat lost and alone until tonight, when I had a spare 15 minutes and started to be transformed into pin cushions.  Orphans quite often end up as a random block in the back of a quilt, but these are a perfect pin cushion size (3 inches).  

That's it!  Thank you, Cheryll, for taking the time to organize the WOOFA challenge.  This month has been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to February...whatever I work on!

1/26/20

Bailey has been working deep into the night on his crochet blanket.

Scrappy hearts from "made fabric".  Not sure what these will become.  They're small and it was one of those 3.30am ideas. lol. This is one of my WooFA projects.

Made a start on hands On Design's Love Is Kind.  It's a freebie on  the website.  The fabric is a scrap of 25 count Dublin and the thread is an oddment of Second Hand Rose by Cottage Colours from an old Little House Needleworks kit.

Happy Australia Day to the Aussies.  Happy Sunday to everyone!

Bailey was not impressed with being a model tonight.

Cheryll over at Gone Stitchin' (link in my quilting blog roll.  Can't get the link to work) made a lovely set of bowl cosies.  I liked them so much I had to make a couple!

Friday Night With Friends

I'm joined for this month's FNWF.  

This is one of my favorite designs by Little House Needleworks.  It's on my list for part of my spring decorating this year.  So, I thought it was about time I got a wriggle on and put some more stitches in!

The silk didn't look right.  It's much murkier looking in r/l.  

Neither did the purple, which looked murky, too!  Pink is next.  I'm quite happy playing around with different colors until it's right.

During a bit of pink pondering,  this mini Geese Around The World received a bit of attention.  It's the 3rd one.

Another is on the basement door.

The pattern is from Sarah Fielke's book Quilting From Little Things.  The pic is from the book.

The one I'm sewing now will not have a border, as the rest of the fabric is earmarked for another mini, which will sit on the pantry door, opposite the basement.  

A bit of time was spent flicking through quilt books, looking for a new start.  This one's from 1999 and has a small quilt from The Chook Shed Quilt Co. Which I started pulling fabrics for.  

It's Chooks In Clover.  Their patterns are a lot of fun to make and as my needleturn skills are rather rusty, I think it's a great time to start a few!

7/1/2020

It's a cold, rainy day today.  Perfect for reading and drinking tea from my favorite mug.  I don't go back to work until the 14th, so why go out if I don't have to!  A Left Handed Quilter recommended this book and about 50 pages in, I don't want to put it down.

There's a good chance some stitches will be put into this piece for DH.  It's my oldest cross stitch wip and there's about a third of the design to go before back stitching.  16 count dark blue aida makes it hard to see the holes, which is why I purchased an A4 size light box to sit under the table hoop.  The light shines right through and the light box is small enough so I won't be dazzled....theoretically, I've not tried it yet! lol

There may be some crocheting on Bailey's blanket, too.  This is a practice piece...and I need a LOT of practice! lol  Which is ok.  Bailey won't complain about the ripples and wonky stitches.  It's all because of the Gunnhild throw in Arne and Carlos' book Knit and Crochet Garden.  I'll have a new obsession set of skills and a way to use up leftover yarns.  There's a video here.

This little brown house may get the beginning of a makeover, too, with some white paint.  There's a few more houses, of different sizes, which DH's dad made floating around.  I think they'll look lovely  together after a repaint and something stitchy added to them.

DH's mum or aunt made this over twenty years ago and it was never finished.  It may be stuffed and become part of a display, too.

There may be some unpicking too.  The blocks of the purple quilt have two different seam allowances!  Probably how it became a UFO in the first place.

I hope you have a lovely day and can find some time to put a stitch or two in somewhere.  

1/5/2020

Christmas ornaments are down.  Winter ornaments are up, including this fq with straight line quilting between the patterns.  It was perfect as  a little wall hanging and will be moved to a door when....

....this larger panel is finished.  It's about 80% done.  

 Licorice All Sorts is hanging on my craft room wall.

Started joining leader and ender pairs.  No idea where this project is going, but am sure something will come to me bofore they are all joined!

These were stuffed and pompom trim was added to the boot.  I started stuffing from the back about 5 years ago, as it looks more even on the sides, so they were probably my oldest UFOs!

DH and I forged a couple of icicles to test them out.  We're both pretty pleased.  I get the less strenous part.  I heat the metal, either by sticking it in the gas forge or heating it with a braising torch.  DH does all the beating.  It's a lot of fun.  We've been doing it for a few months now.  Next on my list is to have him teach me how to braise.  :)

FNWF/WOOFA

Thank you, Cheryll, for organizing the first Friday Night With Friends for 2020.  This project is also a WOOFA (Working On Or Finishing A....UFO), also organized by Cheryll.

This has been a UFO for a couple of years and it's time for it to shine!  Tonight I pressed all the HST blocks that were finished.

Chain pieced the blocks that needed it.

Pinned pairs of blocks ready for joining.  I have about 12 quilting projects which are WOOFAs, the biggest being a queen sized bed quilt and the smallest is a hexagon flower.  My plan is to at least touch on one each month for the rest of the year.  If they get finished, great...if they don't that's ok, too.  At least they will see the light of day.  I had a lot of fun sewing this one tonight and wondered why it became a UFO.

I had some company via email tonight, too.  Last year I found a long lost bloggy friend quite by chance at the end of last year.  I've been smiling ever since.

I'm looking forward to catching up with other FNWFers over the next few days.

Sue