Stitching and sewing

The Splendid Sampler blocks sometimes take their time, like this one,

or allow an easier way of doing, like this fancy machine stitchery instead of doing it by hand.

Some blocks are easy and take very little time

compared to some others that require more.

This is my newest finished block, so I'm just a little behind schedule. 

The next block is tiny paper piecing again, not my favourite type.

My peonies before the big rain that filled them with water and they were bent all the way down.

Peppermint Candy

Last week I was getting frustrated, I was working on a quilt that can be finished next year in February at the earliest, and knitting a scarf in fingering weight yarn and a simple lace pattern that still requires my full attention. There was no hope to finish any project in the near future. I looked around in my piles and project boxes, and found six red and white blocks with large polka dots. They were left over last year when I made this quilt for my exhibition at the Villa Cooper.

I had a larger quilt in mind but decided to keep it smaller, perfect for a little girl. All the other fabrics were still stored in that box so it didn't take long before I had cut and pieced a twin quilt for this one. Here it is:

There was enough polka dot fabric left for a border just like in the other quilt, and I will make the backing in the same red flannel, and the binding in the same red. This way the two quilts will be the same size and a perfect pair, if someone needs two quilts for two kids.

We had several days of hard rain and chilly weather, so I knitted another pair of socks in two grays.

The sun is out again, and today it will be up for 19 hours. It doesn't really get dark here at all at this time of the year, but naturally in six months we are paying our price for it. Here is a link to a beautiful diagram with the dawn and dusk times.

The warmth and the sun opened the first of my pink peonies

and the wagtail found a perfect watch point to keep an eye on their babies on the lawn.

Have a nice Solstice day!

Creative designing and some new blocks

This morning Mr K. was packing for a short trip to Sweden, for a casting competition. He asked if I had a piece of fabric I could use for something he had in mind and needed, today. Well, as you know I save all kinds of rest pieces, and had a long and narrow scrap of green fabric I had used to make summer trousers for our youngest, many years ago. Mr K.'s suggestions for this project were quite useless, so I did some thinking and soon the scrap of green fabric had turned into this:

I added the flap because I wanted the contents to be safe.

His casting rods will now be safe and unscratched. He has such faith in my skills in the sewing room and still he is every time so surprised when I can fulfill his wishes, be it a simple pouch for a reel or a tailored fly fishing vest with 19 pockets and ten zippers.

Best of all, he remembered to pack every rod he will need there. 

I have been busy with the sampler blocks this week. The Splendid Sampler button on my right sidebar takes you to the QAL's website, and there you can find all the patterns, 34 by now plus many bonus projects, for free.

This is finally my block number 20, using a piece of the antique cushion cover I showed in my previous post.

I'm working on another stitched block, number 31, but this flower was a quick one:

I use the blanket stitch of my Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 870 Quilt for the applique.

The selvedge block was an easy one, and I could finally use at least some of the selvedges I have been saving ever since I saw the most wonderful dress .

The newest block, Lemonade, was a bit scary. I have only sewn a couple of curved quilt block seams in my life, and didn't like them, and didn't do very well. It was in a class,  for a very ugly cushion cover I never used. I'm taking this quilt-along as a learning process, so I thought I'll keep sewing those two seams until I manage to produce two 2" squares. I have enough of those fabrics. To my great surprise, my first attempts were, after being ironed, quite acceptable. So, here is my Lemonade: