Craftsy BOTM 2012 Catch up 4

1. Craftsy BOTM 17, 2. Craftsy BOTM 18, 3. Craftsy BOTM 19, 4. Craftsy BOTM 20

The September and October Blocks were really completed in November - I had got that far behind.  But the fabric was bought so I am going to get this quilt finished.

Septembers blocks involved curved piecing, with the Chain block pattern and Cleopatra's puzzle block.  I tried a special foot for curved piecing (like my tools/toys) but with lack of experience and at this size it was a no-go.  I will probably return to this foot when trying a larger curved piece, but for these blocks I went with the plenty of pins method.  Once all the pieces were pinned the sewed up quickly. At least the templates and my small rotary cutter made quick work of the cutting for these blocks.

The October lesson involved paper piecing - which I found quite fun but needed a little planning up front to ensure the fabric pieces were large enough and placed in the correct areas.  The blocks are Friendship Circle and Circle of geese (template for this were designed and provided by piecebynumber.com).

Craftsy BOTM 2012 Catch up 3

1. Craftsy BOTM 13, 2. Craftsy BOTM 14, 3. Craftsy BOTM 15, 4. Craftsy BOTM 16

July saw me getting a little behind, but I got on track when I saw that it required (well not really but it was a good excuse) for a new tool.  It was the month of Dresden plates - one tradional and one a little more contemporary.  As I didn't trust myself to be that accurate with a homemade template, I treated myself to a tool for guidance - nice and quick with a mini rotary cutter.  I think the best bit was picking out all the different fabrics and mixing them up for the traditional plate.  I could see myself playing with my scrap fabrics and producing a cushion cover or a few blocks for another quilt this way.

August (well October/November) was a return to basics with some star blocks - Ohio & Double Star. Covering quarter square triangles and introducing flying geese in the double star block.

A Wizard Birthday

This year's birthday outfit from Mummy Bear Maker.

A little gift for myself

Amongst all the various treats and gifts I have received for my birthday was a lovely pampering break at a nearby spa.  I decided to continue with the relaxation with this lavender eye pillow for my yoga sessions. The treat was completed with a piece of hand dyed silk satin from my stash.

Craftsy BOTM 2012 Catch up 2

1. Craftsy BOTM 9, 2. Craftsy BOTM 10, 3. Craftsy BOTM 11, 4. Craftsy BOTM 12

The block stitching starting getting a little slower during the early summer, but were more or less finished within sight of the month there were introduced. In May I looked at the wonky log cabin. The really wonky one was a revisit for me to crazy patchwork land. I did some crazy patchwork in the early days of my City and Guilds course. One piece I did the base my machine (ans was frowned at by not slip stiching it all by hand), this time I refrained from adding embroidery - I think the Amy Butler prints are embellishment enough! June returned to something a little less complex in the form of modern 9-patch blocks. Not amazingly exciting but a good chance to return to some of the seam matching techniques from previous months.