The trees have turned white

The trees have turned white and not just because there is a tonne of snow on them. They are actually white. I know that sounds bonkers. I can't quite explain it, but it is as if someone had dipped them all in icing sugar. It is the most beautiful thing. I wish I could capture it on film for you to see but my attempts have failed miserably!

Anyway onto the sewing. I have started making Rose Star blocks. Here is my first one. It took quite a while to put together so this will not be a fast project but will be something I can work on on these cold dark nights.

Hope you are all staying warm.
Carolinex

November snow

December already and the snow arrived with a vengeance yesterday. The small people are overjoyed and spent a long time playing in it today. It also means there is a little bit of light today, sunshine even. It won't last long but boy is it good to see it!

November was a pretty busy month, a couple of cushions and lots of bee blocks. Linking to Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day

Happy December

Caroline

Bees and Monsters

I have been getting all my bee blocks done this week. The weeks seem to be passing super quickly (is that a sign that I am getting old?). These are for Jessica in Stash Bee. I was the bee angel this month so made 4 of these blocks.

I thought I had loads of orange fabrics but it seems I am running low, time for a shopping trip I think.

This next block is for Katie in We Bee Modern Too. I really like the colour scheme she chose.

And finally I made some big fat kisses for Bee Blessed. These were super blocks to put together, really fast and easy.

And as for the Monster, mentioned in the title well that would be me. We seem to be in sleep regression hell yet again. I thought they were supposed to sleep by age 3 - oh no not in this house. The best time in the world to be awake is between 1am and 3am! Off to consume another jug load of coffee - only another 10 hours until bedtime!

Carolinex

On a roll

I am becoming slightly obsessed with cushions at the moment. A few weeks ago inspired by Jess' fabulous blocks I made my own Tippencanoe panel.

I didn't have any plans for it, I just wanted to practice some paper piecing and have some unadulterated sewing fun (sad but true). I turned it into this cushion yesterday.

I think might make a few more!

Hope you have a happy sewing weekend. Linking up with Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Carolinex

Brown

Ok, so I know that not everyone is a big fan of brown. It is, I have to admit, not my favourite. But I think that is due to a childhood in the 70s and parents that thought mustard and brown were good colour combinations. Anyway, my sister (she got to wear pink and blue) does like brown. I wanted to make her a house warming gift and made this star cushion.

I actually quite like it. I used some Denyse Schmidt prints and a Starflower pattern. I wanted it to be quite sturdy but still soft so used interfacing and batting. I am hoping it will go nicely in my sisters new home.

Caroline x

Octoberfest!

Wow, November already! My big finish this month was my Granny quilt. It has already become a favourite snuggler. I did manage to make a few other bits and bobs and so here is my quilty Octoberfest.

Linking up with Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day

Happy sewing

Caroline

Bloggers Quilt Festival

This is my first time entering a quilt into the Bloggers Quilt Festival. I haven't finished many quilts this year but thought I would enter my most recent finish - my granny quilt. I finished it last night!  I even managed to get some photos of it this morning as the sun shone for the first time in weeks.

Here are some of my favourite blocks.

Quilt Stats

Measurements: 44 x 60
Fabric: Scraps from stash
Quilted: machine quilted by me with an all over stipple

This quilt has taken some time to finish but I love it and am so pleased it is now done!

Happy weekend

Caroline

Grown up bag

I have finished my Mouthy Stitches Tote and guess what it actually looks like a proper bag, you know like one a proper grown up person would make and use! I love it!

Bag front

Bag back

A little bit of hand stitching around the stars

I tried a bit of hand stitching around the stars with some perle cotton. I have never used it before and I am now a convert. I love the way it makes the stars kind of sparkle.
Wow I made a grown up bag!!

Carolinex

Happy Days

The kids asleep by 7.30pm, a glass of wine and some crochet - Happy Days!!!

Bags

I have been making bags this weekend. I am lucky enough to be in the Mouthy Stitches 2 swap and I wanted to do a couple of practice runs before I make my secret partner's tote. I needed to make sure I could make the bag! So here is my first attempt. I made it using one of my ribbon star blocks which have been sitting around waiting for me to do something with them.

Biggest daughter was very pleased to pose with it.

and this is what you get if you ask the 3 year old to pose.

 

It was a super pattern to put together. I now need to decide exactly what piecing pattern to use for my partner!

Happy sewing

Carolinex

Teeth and travel

Bit of a tricky week here. Smallest daughter had a bit of a tooth trauma, cue plenty of blood and a trip to A and E (she still has her teeth at the moment but we may lose a couple of them, thank goodness they are only milk teeth). I was hoping we could get her through to at least her 3rd birthday before we had to take her to hospital but unfortunately she likes jumping on the sofa too much!

I seem to have spent rather a lot of time smooshing up food. But today I managed to put together this passport holder for our trip to the UK tomorrow.

I used this pattern by one shabby chick. I used a velcro closure just because it was all I had available.

It was a super pattern and it was fun to put together. Fingers crossed it will help me keep track of things as I negotiate the two little terrors to Heathrow!

Carolinex

Almost done

Almost, almost, almost done. The granny is now quilted! The end is in sight. I did an all over stipple in the white bits and hand quilted in the ditch around the centre square of each granny. It was a bit tricky at points but I really enjoyed the process. Here is a little look.

I am undecided on the binding but I suspect it will probably be pink as requested by my 4 year old boss who will eventually own the quilt.

Caroline x

Grannies, grannies everywhere

Ok, so these crochet granny squares have become a slight obsession. I am definitely going to make a blanket. I have made another 7 squares this week.

I think I might need some more wool!

I have also been working on my Granny Squares quilt. I have at last finished the blocks and have managed to sash them this week. I just need to add some borders and the top will be done. I started this quilt in March so it has taken a while to get to this stage. I am really pleased now with how it is coming together.

I am linking up with Catherine at Knotted Cotton. Today is the inaugural slow blogger linky party. There is no doubt about it I am a slow blogger!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend.

Caroline

Hooked

After 2 weeks holiday by a very large lake we are back to civilisation. We spent a lot of time swimming, running and fishing, feeding ducks and lots of time in the sauna. You just can't beat a wood smoke sauna and then a jump in the lake!

I couldn't quite face the gazillions of purple hexies I still need to make for my sanity quilt so thought I would teach myself to crochet instead. The first attempts were pretty ropey as you can see.

But now I am hooked on these little granny squares. I wonder if I can make enough for a blanket!

Carolinex

Thank you

First off I wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful advice on my troublesome HSTs. I think I might actually be doing them right now!  I remade my 2 blocks and although not perfect they are so so much better. To celebrate I made this little pin cushion with the leftover bits.

I have had to wrestle it away from the 2 year old, apparently it makes a great throwing thing! Here she is making another grab for it.

Carolinex

The Curse of the HST

I think the HSTs have defeated me.  I have to be honest I struggle with them but today I have had to walk away from the machine before I throw something. The block tutorial is great, it is clear and easy to follow. I should be able to do it but for the life of me I can't get the block to work. I just can't do it.  Just look at that one on the right, aaaarrggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

How many times can I unpick and resew before I finally give in. Today I really hate pesky triangles!!

Hope your Sunday is less frustrating.

Caroline

Tetris

First I wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful response to my turn on the Lets Get Acquainted Blog Hop. Everyone has been so supportive and I am so pleased I took part. Thank you all for hopping by!

This week I have joined the Tetris quilt along being held by Melissa over at Happy Quilting. I made the first block and I am hooked. I can't wait for next week's block.

It is certainly going to be a bright and cheerful quilt!

Happy Weekend.

Caroline

Lets Get Acquainted Blog Hop

Wow, so it's my turn on Beth's fabulous Lets Get Acquainted Blog Hop. It has been a fab hop, with so many great tutorials and blogs and I am so excited about being involved.


I am Caroline and I live in Finland with my husband and two little girls. I started blogging in January and have been quilting for a few years. However, it has only really been in the last year that I have started trying new things and learning new techniques and have found the wonderful world of quilting blogs. Here are a few of the things I have made.

What is your favourite quilting tip?
Measure, measure and measure your fabric again before you cut it! The number of times I have been caught out because I thought I had measured something correctly but haven't.


What is your favourite blogging tip?
Don't feel pressured into making things specifically to blog about. When I started blogging in January I felt I needed to make new things every week just so I could blog about them. I soon realised I just can't do that. I don't have enough sewing time for a start and I want to enjoy the sewing and blogging time I do have.


Favourite fabric?
Well this is a really tough one, I think my all time favourite is Momo's Just Wing It. I loved it in aqua and in red. I don't have much left and will be a little bit sad when it is all gone.


Favourite book?
Many moons ago when I lived and worked in London I had a crazy hour and half commute on London Underground to and from work each day. Boy did I read a lot of books during that time (if only I had known about English Paper Piecing then). I read everything from classics to sci-fi, modern literature and anything I could get my hands on really. One of my favourite's is Peter Hoeg's 'The Woman and the Ape'. I have read it many times and still love it. The book I am reading at the moment is Andrew Kaufman's 'All My Friends are Superheroes'; it's funny, easy reading.


I thought I might also give you some random facts about me;
- I cook an amazing chicken saag curry.
- Although British I have not lived in the UK for 6 years and my children have never lived there.
- I used to work for Prince Charles.
- I know how many layers of clothing you need to stay warm at minus 5, minus 10 and minus 25 degrees celsius.


So, if you have got through all that, here is my tutorial for this hexie mugrug. 

You will need:
-  Fabric scraps to make your hexagons (the sides of mine each measure 1").
-  Hexagon papers. I created mine from here.
-  1  10" x 7 1/2" fabric piece for the front of the mug rug.
-  1 piece of fabric for backing 10 1/4 x 7 3/4" (I cut mine a little bigger and cut down when binding).
-  1 piece of batting 10" x 7 1/2".


1. First I made 11 hexies by cutting out my paper hexagon pieces from my printed template and then basting the fabric to them.

2. Lay out your front fabric and decide where you want to place your hexagons. I settled on the final picture below as the layout for my mugrug. Make sure you have at least a quarter inch margin between the edge of your hexies and the edge of the front fabric. You don't want to lose any of your hexagons when you attach the binding later.

3. Now sew your hexagons together. I sewed mine together in rows and then sewed the rows together.

4. Press the hexagons really really well and then carefully remove the basting stitches and take out the paper pieces.

It should now look like this.

5. Now sew your hexagon pattern to your front fabric. I sewed around the edge of the hexagon pattern using a scant 1/4" seam.

6.  Once you have attached your hexagon shape, baste your mugrug and decide on your quilting pattern. I quilted random straight lines from the corners of each individual hexagon.

7. Add your binding and then you are all done. Ready for a nice cuppa and a cake!!

Thank you everyone for getting this far and a big thank you to Beth for organising the blog hop. Don't forget to visit the other fabulous blogs that are hopping today.


 Kati at Kati's Quilting and Sewing
 Claire from Sewing Over Pins




Caroline 

Bubbletastic

I have been playing with circles this week for Karen's block in We Bee Modern Too. They so remind me of bubbles.

I had a lot of fun with these. They are really summery and who doesn't like bubbles.

Hope you are having a bright and happy weekend.

Caroline

WIP Wednesday

Back to normal everyday life after my trip to the UK. It was lovely to see the folks and meet my new(ish) nephew. I admit it was also lovely to have some time away from the little ones! Anyway, I thought as it was Wednesday I would show you the progress I have made on my hexies. Here are the four completed panels.

I ordered some Kona Purple from Cindy at Fluffy Sheep Quilting last week (absolutely brilliant service, fabric was here in 2 days!!) and am now making a shed load of purple hexies to encase the pattern panels. Now this could take a bit of a while because I figure I need at least 300 of them. Mind you it is amazing how many I can make whilst getting my two year old to sleep!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday.

Carolinex