2014 - A sewing summary

Looking back at the projects I have finished this year, I was pleasantly surprised that the number seemed comparable to last year, especially as my sewing mojo was missing for most of the summer. Somehow I seem to have completed six quilts and various other small projects (a few of which were dispatched to their recipients without photos being taken).

As well as the quilts, I made 14 tote bags, 6 notebook covers, 4 iPad cases, 2 pairs of baby boots, 2 pairs of PJ trousers, a pair of PJ shorts, a cutting mat and shopping bag to use at the Festival of Quilts, and a few sewing sundries. Of all the projects, I think my favourite was the little hexie origami pouch with its covered press stud.

My long term 5/8" hexie project has also grown a little compared to last year.

2013

2014

As well as sewing, I attended three shows (Quilt and Stitch Village, Festival of Quilts, and Knitting & Stitching) and enjoyed learning new techniques at their various workshops (fabric postcards, hexagon quilts, wonky log cabins, and tailoring methods). There was also quite a bit of shopping done at the shows, but with these exceptions, I managed to stick fairly well to my fabric fast until about two weeks ago.

I've already made a few plans for 2015 and I am not back in work until 5th January, so I hope to make a start on my first project of 2015 very soon. As this year draws to a close (or as a new one starts, depending on when you read this), I'd like to thank you all for taking the time to read and comment on my ramblings and to wish you happy sewing for 2015.

Late arrival

These little baby boots were made at the beginning of the month, but I was unable to share them on here as they went AWOL with the Royal Mail and took three weeks to make their way along the M62 and arrive at their destination. Just when I thought I would have to make another set, I got the news that they had turned up.

The pattern is a simplified version of the free Shwin&Shwin pattern (I omitted the accent pieces and the interfacing) and I hand stitched the sole lining so that there were no raw edges inside.

The outer fabrics are Kokka heavy cottons and I used fleece for a cosy lining. The soles are made from some slipper gripper, chosen more for its cuteness than its non-slip properties given the age of the recipient.


This was a quick and fairly simple project; cutting out all the different pieces was probably the longest part, other than waiting for them to arrive.

Goals for 2015

Kerry (who blogs at blog.pennydog.com) has posted her sewing goals for 2015 and is hosting a linky party, so here are my five goals/plans for 2015.

1. Make a quilt for my husband
We've decided on the Star Plus pattern, and, if I swap some smaller blocks for a larger block, I've got all the fabric. There was no reason not to start this straightaway but then goal 2 came along...

2. Make a quilt for a new great nephew
I found out that another great nephew will be making an appearance in January, so I might have to get this Nautical quilt made for him before starting goal 1.

 

3. Start something from the Millefiori quilt book
I've done a lot of EPP with hexies this year, so maybe it is time to try some different shapes.

4. Try some free motion quilting
My quilts so far have all been quilted with a walking foot, though I have added spirals to my straight line options. Perhaps 2015 will be the year I put the FMQ foot onto my machine and manage to make my attempts at feathers look less like cabbages that have gone to seed.

5. Restart my fabric fast
I've recently broke my fabric fast big style, but I will be restarting it again in January (note, I've not said January 1st - I might need to look at some sales and purchases of Liberty lawn will still be allowed).

It will be interesting to check back in a year's time and see how I did.

Wonky Crosses and Wobbly Spirals

I think this quilt is my final finish of 2014. It’s another quilt for Project Linus and the starting point was a pack of red squares I bought from the Project Linus stand at a quilt show.

There were 24 squares in the pack, but I managed to lose one, hence the “feature” blue square. The crosses were cut from two charity shop 100% cotton shirts that were amongst the many I bought when I started quilting.

It is backed with a layer of fleece and the quilting is my new stand-by pattern of an off centre spiral.

I’ve hand stitched the binding to the back, but as this is for Project Linus I’ve decided that I will reinforce the bindings on this and my other charity quilts with a line of machine stitching.

From fabric fast to buying binge

In January I started a fabric fast and though I gave myself a few exceptions (mainly for Liberty lawn), on the whole I have managed to stick to it. I’ve resisted the temptation of many online sales and tried to buy only for specific projects and only when at shows. Unfortunately, with just two weeks to go, I have fallen off the wagon spectacularly and in the last eight days have bought 14 metres of fabric to stash.

It started last week when I needed half a metre of grey fabric to bind a quilt. I went to my local fabric shop (which unluckily or luckily depending on how you see it happens to be Abakhan) and came out with the half metre of grey but also two metres of Downton Abbey fabric. Both were from the bargain baskets where craft cottons cost ~£22/kg and the Downton fabric worked out at £3.60/m! (If you’re not familiar with the Abakhan bargain baskets, there are some photos of the very baskets in this news item on their website.)

Next to break my fast was some Priory Square by Katy Jones which started arriving in UK shops last week. When I saw the designs, the “You are here” map print immediately caught my eye. One of my friends grew up in an area shown on the map and I knew I had to get some to make something for him. Less than 48 hours after it appearing on Simply Solids website, two metres had been ordered and delivered.

Yesterday, Abakhan’s ground floor reopened after refurbishment (it was closed for the first part of this week) and so I went along in my lunchtime to take a look. I didn’t come away empty handed. More Downton fabric was spotted and purchased.

Today I found out that another great nephew is on the way and I fancy making this boats quilt for him. Of course, this meant I had to get some fabric for the background and so it was back to Abakhan. I found some that looks very sea-like and I am hoping that the directional print doesn’t cause me problems when making the HSTs.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t all I bought today. I also spotted four more Downton fabrics and a piece of Animalia Splendor from the Art Gallery Fabric’s Safari Moon collection. As the Art Gallery Fabrics cotton is so fine, it works out at an astounding bargain of £2.80/m.

Today was my last day in work before the Christmas and New Year closure and so I hope this is the end of my fabric purchases for 2014, though a certain shop’s sale does start on 27 December!