Spring into Autumn

Good evening everyone,

I have been quilting! YIPPEE!

I love this Hi-De-Ho charm pack from Moda so much. It’s bright and cheerful and this quilt is making me happy every time I look at it. I added Moda Bella Solids in Amelia Lavender for the border, binding and cornerstones plus two five inch squares of each of Amelia Lavender, Sunshine (yellow) and Michael Miller’s Zillion Hearts (pink) to make up six more HST pairs.

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The quilting is simple stippling, my favourite to do and also to look at.

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These colours are great for wherever you are in the world. In the Southern Hemisphere you are stepping into Spring. Perfect! Here in the Northern Hemisphere we are just into Autumn. Although we’ve had a couple of lovely days of sunshine here, it does get a wee bit gloomy for my liking in Autumn. Finishing this quilt has brightened my autumnal day 🙂

Avis x

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Is it a mug rug?

Good morning everyone!

What a glorious sunny day it is here in the North East of England. I hope you are all well and that crafting is keeping you happy. For me, it’s just been work, work, work these last couple of months so I’m very pleased to be back here with my crafty friends at last.

I finally had a day off yesterday and decided to finish a little project that I’d started weeks ago. Those of you who read this blog regularly will know that I don’t like scraps of fabric. If I make something, I cut the pieces in the most economical way and often achieve no-waste projects. It takes an awful lot of planning but the pleasure I get from having used every square inch of available fabric makes me very happy.

So, not having any particular project in mind, I decided to get rid of a few scraps. I had several strips of blues leftover from bindings so I split them up the middle and began to sew them together not knowing what it was going to turn into. Before long I had two different rectangular blocks that I thought would make a nice mug rug or maybe a mini quilt table topper.

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It is actually rectangular in real life Smile.

Well, just before the binding was sewn on I had a brainwave (which doesn’t happen to me very often). My tablet could do with a case! So I turned it over, grabbed some more scraps, made a lined pocket and HEY PRESTO! It’s a tablet case Smile.

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I also added a fabric tie.

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Look at that wobbly edge at the bottom. That happened because I stretched the front block as I was attaching the lining Sad smile. I used nice thick wadding/batting to protect the screen.

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I think I like the back the best.

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Here’s my tablet, all snug as a bug in a (mug) rug Winking smile

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Some of you may remember my previous scrappy playtimes. Here’s a quick reminder.

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All proof that you can make it up as you go along. Have fun scrap busting! I did Smile.

Avis x

Spring is in the air!

Hi everyone,

Spring is definitely in the air here in the sunny North-East. We must have had at least a whole week of sunshine over the Easter holiday!

Sunshine makes me want to sew bright colours. So here is my latest creation. I hope you like it. I tried to make the coloured chevrons pop using two shades of the same colour for each band and it seems to work.

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I densely quilted the white areas and contemplated quilting with the relevant colours on the chevrons but decided against to keep it crisp. Less is more Smile

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The colours are actually much brighter in real life.

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Following the last post about my red, white and blue sampler, I received some emails about machine stitching the binding. The method I used was to prepare the binding strips at two and a quarter inches wide. Press in half along the length. Sew the binding to the front of the quilt through the raw edges of the quilt and fabric strips. Turn the binding to the back so the back edge is just past the front edge of the binding (you will be able to feel this). Sew to the back with a zipper foot and take care not to catch the front of the binding with the stitches. I didn’t use pins. I never use pins! There is no need. Just keep an eye on it. It’ll be just fine Smile

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That’s it for today. I’ve just received a parcel and can’t wait to get inside!!

Avis x

Scrappy Stars

Hi everyone! I’ve been such a busy girl in the sewing room over the last few days which means I have a new quilt to show you.

I made the quilt top some time ago and stored it in my box labelled “To Quilt”. I already have a tutorial at the right of this page showing how I made the stars. I know there are several other ways to make this star block but my idea this time, was to use a complete charm pack plus dark and light solids.

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I split the charm pack into 20 light and 20 darker squares and paired the light ones with burgundy solid and the darker ones with ivory.

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I used the patches as a kind of grid to position the swirly quilting.

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I didn’t actually like this charm pack very much when I opened it up but I think it coordinates really well with the solids I’ve chosen.

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I like to use a solid fabric for the back as it really highlights the quilting. This leaves no room for errors!

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The binding is also ivory solid, sewn to the front by machine and hand-stitched to the back. I hope you like it Smile

I’m linking up with the February Made It Challenge over at Woolhogs. It’s just a bit of fun but if you want to win a gorgeous prize, enter your own February finishes. Maryanne has pulled out all of the stops again to bring us all a fine bunch projects to ogle. Hop across and take a look for yourselves NOW! If you want to enter, there’s only a few days left so get a move on 😉

Happy stitching,

Avis x

A new finish and a special announcement!

Good afternoon everyone Smile

I hope you are all feeling well and enjoying some form of crafting today!

Some of you will remember this patchwork top I made a little while back during my pinwheel addiction 😆 Well, I’ve just got around to finishing the quilting and binding this afternoon. Click here if you want to see the original post showing the individual pinwheels.

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I love the spotty binding!

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It’s fairly dull and dreary here today so the photos are also quite dark but I’m sure you get the idea. There are still a couple of pinwheel quilt tops waiting in the wings (my storage box) to be quilted. I’m sure it won’t be long before I simply have to finish another one.

Now, for my special announcement…..drum roll pleeeese!

I have some news, exciting news for me!! I have a new blog. I’ve been thinking for some time that this patchwork and quilting blog was becoming a mixture of all of my favourite crafts which was not the original intention at all.

So…..I’ve created another blog for “all things NOT patchwork and quilting” and you can find it here.

It will take me a while to get it all nice and organised the way I want it to be but if you want to take a look, there’s another new finished project for you to see over there.

You’ve all been so wonderful over the last year and a half, leaving lots of lovely comments and sending emails, not to mention “following”. So I’d love it if you would “follow” me on my new blog too. My new blog is in no way a substitution for Oh Sew Tempting, it’s just a way for me to keep this one exactly as the title suggests….all things patchwork and quilting. Oh Sew Tempting will still be here as usual. Have you noticed I haven’t mentioned the name of the new blog yet? Ha-ha! You’ll just have to go and find out.

I hope you won’t be able to resist Smile

I’m linking up with Woolhogs for the monthly Made it Challenge. Always worth a visit!!

Have fun,

Avis x

Irish Chain Quilt

Happy weekend everyone Smile

I’m very happy to present my 19th finished project this year. It’s a Double Irish Chain design (or a Triple Irish Chain if you prefer). I’ve wanted to make this traditional pattern for years and somehow never got around to it. However, I always knew I’d be using my beloved Moda Bella Solids when I did. This one will nicely cover a twin or make a great topper for a double bed at 74 x 54 inches and it will soon be for sale in my shop.

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Family and friends have commented that it reminds them of the colours of the sea, so the quilting just had to be in waves. I wanted to ensure the quilting didn’t compete with the strong geometric design and solid colours so I hope I’ve achieved that.

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I adore a white binding but on this occasion, after much thought about all three colours, I decided it had to be the darker blue.

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Can anyone suggest a name for it?

Well, I now have the whole weekend free to play…..I mean sew Smile I’m off to look in the finished quilt top box to see which one has popped up to the top of the pile. I hope you also get lots of time to craft this weekend.

A-quilting I must go!

Avis x

Playing with my new toy!

Hi everyone 🙂

It has been a while since I’ve been able to do any sewing so I have a little something to share with you all that I’ve kept hidden from view for a few weeks. There’s a time when we are all far too busy to be sewing and blogging so I put this quilt to one side after taking the photos, knowing that there would come a time when my blogging withdrawal symptoms would kick in.

Little did I know that I would be getting a new toy to test when writing this post. You will see that I’ve been playing around with the photo settings, frames and suchlike. You could say I’m a bit new-fangled 🙂

You may remember a few weeks ago that I became addicted to making Trip Around the World Bargello-style quilt tops. If you can’t remember, you can see them here, here, and here.

The blue one is now finished 🙂 I quilted a watery ripple pattern and decided, in the end, to sew on a white binding rather than the blue I’d originally chosen. Here is the finished patchwork top.

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Close ups of the quilting pattern.
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The best bit…..the binding. You all know I love to hand stitch the binding, really I do!

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Here it is draped over the sofa 🙂

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I really enjoyed making this one. I hope you like it too.

You may also wish to take a peep in the gallery of all the lovely black work from my Mystery Blackwork Stitch Along. The stitchers in the group have sent photos of their beautiful work for everyone to see. We are currently on stage five of six.

Thank you to everyone who has sent photos for the gallery and for all of the lovely comments and emails. It’s lovely to hear from you 🙂

Now, all I need to do is the categories for this post and I can publish it. I hope all of the links work. If not, I’ll put them right on the laptop.  Wish me luck!

Have a wonderful crafty week 🙂

Avis x

Quilt as you go mug rug tutorial

This is my favourite way to make a mug rug as there is no need to quilt it at the end.

You will need:

Backing fabric 11 x 9 inches

Wadding 11 x 9 inches (you may wish to use heat resistant wadding but do not use polyester wadding as it will melt onto your iron)

Five strips 8 x 2.5 inches

Binding 48 x 2.25 inches, folded and pressed in half with wrong sides facing.

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Lay the wadding on top of the backing fabric.

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Position the first strip, right side up, about one quarter of an inch from the right

hand edge.

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Sew in place using a quarter inch seam through all three layers.

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Turn the work so that the strip is positioned to the left.

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Lay the next strip on top of the previous strip with right sides facing.

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Sew a quarter inch seam through all layers down the right hand side of

the strip.

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Lift the second strip and press towards the right.

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Like this.

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Place the third strip on top of the second strip with right sides facing.

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Sew a quarter inch seam through all layers down the right hand side of

the strip.

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Lift the new strip and press to the right.

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Continue until all five strips are attached. Then sew down the right hand

side of the final strip.

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Then sew along the top and bottom and trim all the way round to make a

rectangle.

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Line up the raw edges of the folded binding strip with the edge of the mug rug.

Leave about 3 inches before starting to sew a quarter inch seam down the side.

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Stop sewing one quarter of an inch before the first corner.

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Pull the work away from the needle area of the machine. There is no need to

cut the threads. Turn the work to this position.

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Lift the binding and finger press in this position. The fold should make a

45 degree angle and the raw edge should be in line with the right hand side

of the work.

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Keeping the fold in place, bring the binding down in line with the next raw

edge of the work.

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Continue to sew from the very edge of the work to the next corner and

repeat until all four corners are done. Stop sewing about three inches

before the finish.

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Overlap the ends of the binding strip and cut so there is a half inch overlap.

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This bit is quite tricky! Sew the ends of the binding, right sides together,

using a quarter inch seam.

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Finger press the seam open then continue to sew the rest of the binding

to the mug rug. Turn the binding towards the back of the work.

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Hand stitch the binding to the back, folding to make the mitred corners.

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Ta-da!

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Just testing Winking smile

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I’ve also made table runners, toppers, cushion fronts and place mats using

the ”Quilt as you go” method. It also works well for small jelly roll strip quilts.

If you want some extra challenge….use diagonal strips, maybe of different

widths.

Three for the price of one…..sounds good to me!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Without further ado, I really need to welcome all my new followers this week, many of whom have found my blog via Claire, my wonderful cross-stitch friend in France. I know you are all waiting for the Mystery Stitch Along and I hope you can wait patiently for just a few more days 🙂 I’m very excited about it as I’ve never organised a SAL before and I know there are already several people signed up. Hopefully, Claire will correct me if I make mistakes 🙂

The SAL will be open to everyone, the more the merrier. I would absolutely LOVE IT if some of you could maybe try blackwork for the very first time with us. You have 12 days to sort out a piece of fabric to stitch on. Any cross stitch fabric will be suitable. My preference is for 14 count aida fabric but you can choose. My design is about 60 stitches square so make sure your fabric is big enough. Also, you will need some embroidery floss. Traditionally, blackwork was stitched in black, I bet you hadn’t guessed that already 😉 You can stitch in one colour, or if you prefer, a selection of colours. Some of Claire’s SAL members have used variegated threads and they look lovely too. We will be stitching with only one thread, unlike cross stitch where we would normally use two threads at once. I will provide the chart for my design FREE of charge. So, there is something for nothing! Don’t you just love that idea? I will reveal stages of the chart every Friday and there will be about an hour of stitching per week if you want to keep up 🙂 You can send photos of your work in progress to me (email address at the right of the page) and I’ll open, and regularly update, a stitchers gallery. So, watch this space……only 12 days to go!

A couple of my previous blackwork finishes are here and here so now you know what to expect 🙂

In the meantime, I declare another quilt finished 😀 Yesterday, I decided I would quilt whichever work in progress was at the top of the box of patchwork waiting to be quilted.

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I’ve named this one Picnic Pinwheels because the fabrics are the colours of the most beautiful flowers in the garden and the size, at 54″ square, is perfect for a picnic rug. I made the quilt top about a year ago at the same time as I made this one and this one. They are all from the same layer cake by Moda called Santorini. Not one scrap of the layer cake is left. I like to challenge myself to leave no scraps. I love the colours and the bold prints which I cooled down by teaming them with my most adorable Moda Bella solids.

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I know I make a lot of pinwheels but look at them. How can I cure this addiction? Do I really want to be cured? Nah! I think my Picnic Pinwheels could be the eye candy in my conservatory for the next few months. I’ll be spending a lot of time here, sewing in the glorious daylight, hopefully hand stitching the binding of many more quilts (still my favourite pastime ever!!).

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So, don’t forget to sort out your fabric and embroidery thread. Be there or be square a week come Friday 🙂

Have a wonderful crafty week! I’m linking to the Made It Challenge over at Woolhogs. Pop over and take a peek at all the goodies made by other bloggers this month 🙂

Avis x

Something to look forward to…..it’s a mystery!

Happy weekend everyone!

Where did that week go? I hope you are all well and happy and you are getting lots of lovely sunshine as we are, here in the UK.

I have a couple of small finishes to share with you this week. You may remember my Strawberries and Cream post here. I’ve now finished the two table toppers. The larger quilt top will have to wait a little longer 🙂

First up is the scrappy one.

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I think it might work well with the plain side up for a change. Two for one……bargain 🙂

Next, the hexagonal kaleidoscope strip style one.

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I played safe with the quilting here.

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Also, binding the unusual shape was a new challenge for me but I found there was very little difference to binding 90 degree angles. You all know how much I love to bind 😀

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So, I had fun, fun, fun! I hope you have all had fun this week too 🙂

My Starry, Starry, Night quilt has been entered in this months “Made It” challenge at Woolhogs. You can pop over and vote for your favourite projects, which are not all sewing and quilting, and visit lots of lovely blogs.  The nice thing is that the winner is chosen at random. The voting is just for fun 🙂 So enjoy!!

Some of my regular readers will know that Claire recently introduced me to blackwork embroidery. You can see a couple of my finished pieces here and here. If you visit Claire’s blog you will see lots of progress from all the stitcher’s on the latest “Stitch Along” here. There are still a few stages to go. What a difference a change of colour makes.

Also, today I’m letting you into a little secret 😉

In a few weeks time, when Claire’s SAL is finished, there is going to be a Mystery Blackwork SAL here. It will be a small project, designed by me and it will last for about 6 weeks, with the chart being released in installments. That’s the mystery part! So, you all have plenty of time to sort out some embroidery floss and a small piece of aida fabric. You could also use linen or evenweave or your other favourite cross stitch fabric, though there won’t be any cross stitches. I’ll give more details later but would love to know if you’d like to join in the fun. I expect the stages to take about an hour per week to stitch so everyone will be able to find time to stitch along.

It’s going to be another busy week ahead for me. I hope I manage to get time some time to sew.

Thank you for all your lovely comments and emails. They make me very happy 😀

Happy crafting!

Avis x

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