This and that in Quilt Corner

My June focus quilt project has been badly neglected, and I think it has to do with the fact that it is machine work and not hand work……..
Tomorrow is another Monday, and I promise to give my focus project at least 2 hours, and then some daily attention until the quilt top is done.

Instead I have been stitching - another block for Best Friends Forever quilt above,

and a miniature ABC sampler.
I am not sure what to do with it next, but it is up on my peg board right now, looking good :-)

I just bought this vintage coffee table table cloth on an internet auction. I love it so much and I am looking forward to do some stitching on it, but I will let it wait until the winter I think, as I have other projects that need more attention first.

Above you see a quarter of the table cloth - and from what I have been able to find out, it is from the 1960s or early 1970s,

I plan to do it with black floss only, to create a more timeless look.
If you know anything about this design and when it is from, please let me know :-)

Hanne

January tally

I have as much as 5 finishes in January - I am doing a happy dance!

1 cushion, 1 table runner, the Plus quilt, a knitted skirt and a set of embroidered napkin rings.

4 of the finishes was started before New Year, and the only new start this year is the Plus quilt.
All in all it has been a very happy month in Quilt Corner, and I have enjoyed myself very much.

I have laid some plans for focus projects in February too, and I hope I can see them all through.
I am looking forward to see what the month of February will bring!

Hanne

Happy new 2016!

Wishing you the very best for the new year 2016, wherever you are!

Here we have some quite cold days, bringing the special clear winter light  and the beautiful frosted branches we can get here sometimes during winter.

Like earlier years, I like to start the new year with some finishes, and I do have a plan for 2016 that gives room for finishes and starts in a good mix.

My plan for 2016  is * 1 for 1 + 6 *
For every start there must be (at least) one finish + 6 other WISP / Ufo finishes through 2016. 

The napkin rings above is an old blackwork in red kit that finally was finished the other day -
so so far, 1 finish for 2016 - not bad!
The napkin rings were fun to do, but if you are in to cross stitch - blackwork, you will also know cross stitch is rather slow work, and I sort of lost interest at some point, being my curious self.
I bought the embroidery kit at Lappemakeriet a few years ago.

I planned to have these napkin rings ready for Christmas in 2015, but no such luck.
As the décor in my home goes well with red all year, all year napkin rings they are. They fit well in the candy (godis) bowl and the bowl fits well on my kitchen window sill above the kitchen table,
so one can grab a napkin whenever one needs one.
They make me smile daily too, which is a good thing :-)
I love to decorate with functional things!

I know I have a backlog to take care of on this blog from late 2015 - but instead of getting overwhelmed, I am jumping in where I am, and will eventually catch up :-)

Wishing you a lovely day!

Hanne

A wonderful long weekend!

Last weekend my sewing group went on our annual 4 day retreat.

We book in to a hotel not to far from Oslo, buying an all inclusive conference pack - 3 meals a day + 2 conference rooms - one for sewing, the other one for setting up design walls.

I brought 3 projects:
An old Ufo-BOM for sewing machine + hand piecing - Alle Fugler by Northern Quilts
A pair of socks on my knitting needles
My red cross stitch project

I did make some progress - the stitchery on these blocks were already made.

I did make a few threads every day on my red embroidery - it was perfect for winding down at night before bed, in my room, or as here, as my morning thread(s) before going to breakfast, seeing the day waking up and checking Instagram.

This year's project that we all do together was a nice mini bag.

I like the mini bag, and I made mine without handles. We all worked from kits, and I can see some improvement that I want to do next time I made one.

And what happened to my knitting, you might think?
To be honest, nothing much, not a stitch!

My friend Gretha has uploaded more photos from the retreat, if you want to see what we were up to through the weekend.

I am already looking forward to next year - same time, same friends, same place :-)

Hanne

I'm having fun with handwork Ufos

I feel a bit like a juggling artist, but I can assure you - never a dull moment here in Quilt Corner these days!
I am only working on my Ufos - which is great.

Some stitchery and English paper piecing - on the Cornelian quilt,

Some cross stitching and crewel work - I really had forgot how slow cross stitching really is - but I do enjoy the process.

 

And finally - I un-knitted half a sock that did not fit, found myself a better pattern and am soon having a pair of nice fitting socks instead of a knitting-Ufo :-)

   Hanne

A busy week, daily threads, and an Ufo finish

Really taking to heart how many hours of work that are hiding in my Ufo-boxes,
I dug out the Cornelian quilt blocks, and have done daily threads on the 2 remaining stitchery blocks as my daily thread(s) this week.
Daily threads do pay off, and now all the stitcheries are done.

Through the process I have decided I will alter the finished quilt a bit, and I therefore can now say I am done with all the stitcheries.

As much as I love blue, it will still be nice to put the blue DMC floss away for a while ;-)

I have been working on this quilt for 2 years, and I am now aware of what stopped it in its track:
The finished quilt is to massive for my taste - not to big - just to massive, and I am doing something about it!

I have dug out one more project to move forward by daily threads:

These Crewel work napkin rings looks so good.
They are very slow work, but I would like them finished in time for Christmas!
I think I can do it :-)

One has to have some starts too, right ?
The red table topper / candle mat is badly sun faded, and I would like a new one in time for advent.
In fact, I would like to make more than 1, but I am doing 1 at a time :-)

And finally - A Finish :-)
Dear Husband wanted another Sew Together Bag for his computer bits and bobs.
It was put to the side when it did not meet a travel deadline of his, but now it is done and he is happy!
It is in daily use - it does not get much better than that :-)

Hanne