The herd is complete

Having completed my skulk of foxes for my Fancy Forest quilt, it was time to complete on my herd of rabbits.

I had to make 16 of the fox blocks but the rabbit challenge was easier as I only had to complete 8.

Oh no!  There's only 7 in this image.  One of my rabbits has run away.

It turned out to be the grey rabbit with the white ears.  He had decided to stay behind at the sewing machine but he has now returned to the herd.

I don't usually give names to blocks but this rabbit was made from a fabric with an overall floral design and so I have called her Rosie Rabbit - she may well be the herd leader.

Rabbits completed, I am taking a break from this project until next month when I will be doing the owl blocks - probably the most complex of all the blocks so I will be glad when I have completed.

Butterfly Blocks

With my daily musings on the internet it never seems hard to find quilty things that inspire, in fact, much more than I could ever contemplate completing in my lifetime.

The butterfly blocks featured here came my way via a swap group It Seams Unlimited on Facebook.

All the piecing (except for the yellow centres) is oversized so that the components can be trimmed back.  This makes for better accuracy in the completed block and makes them look quite sharp, at least I think so.

The butterfly blocks are 9" square when complete.

The current swap (block pattern included in this link) is for the butterfly block if you are interested in participating.  You would need to join the It Seams Unlimited group first to tag along.

Georjah is looking for swaps of a minimum of 4 blocks.  This is a centralised swap with Georjah receiving and mailing all blocks so return postage needs to be considered if you live outside the USA.

I have decided to give it a go, so it will be interesting to see what comes back to me as a result of the swap.

Gifts for Wwoofers

This April it will be two years since we first welcomed Wwoofers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) into our home and hearts.

They come to us to help maintain our property and in return we provide accommodation and meals.

Through this organisation we have met people from Japan, Switzerland, England, Austria, Germany, Sweden, USA, Canada and France.  It has always proven to be an exercise greatly appreciated on both sides, if return visits are anything to go by.

At the end of this month we have two German girls coming who were with us a while back.  They have travelled the South Island and on their return have requested to come back to us.  We will gladly receive them.  They, among others, have proved to be very willing workers at our place.

In appreciation of their time with us we like to send Wwoofers away with a small gift that won't take up too much room in their baggage but will provide a memory of their time in New Zealand.

We make them mug rugs - something to have their coffee or tea on with a snack.

We like to think that when they return to their home country and resume their work or study life they will use these and remember their experiences in New Zealand.

Op Shop Fabric

You never know when some fabric might come in handy.

I bought some yardage of this pink cat fabric from an op shop more than 12 months ago at the right price.

There was no purpose in mind when it was purchased but I felt sure there would be a use for it one day.

Recently Linda had the opportunity to make a couple of community quilts.

The pink fabric has found a home at last.

I framed the panel for her with orange fabric and when she finished the machine quilting I finished it with magic binding.

The cat fabric is brushed cotton.  Along with the batting it has become a soft cuddly quilt.

Some of the pink fabric remained and Linda thought it would be a nice idea to make it into a dolly blanket - so that is what I did.

Not a bad use for some fabric that had been sitting in our stash for a while.

Linda still had some time to make a second community quilt and so I used the rest of the orange fabric to border the panel.

We had some grey polar fleece for the backing.
Cotton batting was used and again we have another snuggly quilt for a young person.

When using the orange fabric I had to resort to adding some 4 patches to make it all fit.

In turn this meant that the magic binding I like to use would not be suitable as it is wider and extends more into the border, therefore losing the effect of the 4 patch.

Back to regular binding which was nice to do for a change and it worked well in this instance.

P.S.  I have not shown the quilts in their entirety.  Linda made them and I am leaving it for her to blog about them if she wishes.

My Skulk of Foxes

When I referred to groups of foxes having different names on a recent post, cousin, Cheryl, said she liked the name - a skulk of foxes, so skulk it is.

Having said that, yesterday I was able to complete on my 16 foxes for the Fancy Forest quilt, so my skulk is complete.

Now on to the rabbits.  I have already completed 2 and have 6 to go to make up my 'colony' or 'nest' of rabbits.

The foxes are gathering

We have visitors at the moment so there has not been much in the way of stitching happening for me.

Today, there was a window of opportunity so I set myself the task of completing the 16 fox blocks required for my Fancy Forest quilt.

I had made a start on block 14 before I had to finish for the day.

A bit of trivia from Mr Google - A group of foxes is referred to as a skulk, leash, or earth. Not sure what title I should give mine.

The foxes seem to endear themselves to me as each block is completed.

I especially like these red and grey fox blocks.

I wanted to keep within the autumn tone theme I had set myself so that meant 16 different fabrics needed to be found.

To achieve this I had to add extra seams to some pieces.

I could have chosen to repeat some colours instead but preferred the challenge of finding 16 different fabrics.

Worth it to succeed in using my stash rather than buying more fabric, which I am trying to avoid.

Bloom Quilt

Last year our Sweet Pea group embarked on a cheerful scrappy quilt called the Bloom Quilt by Lori Holt.






Lori has made a special set of templates for the floral blocks.






We have enjoyed seeing the results as the quilts are being completed.

 Fiona is talking to Rochelle about her quilt as you go finish.

I didn't manage to capture all of Andreena's quilt but the vibrancy of the colours she chose are very evident.

Debbie has been busy quilting Trish's quilt for her.

As with all of our group projects, I am always fascinated by the different results according to individual colour preferences.

Sweet Pea Sewing Group

Our fortnightly Sweet Peas sewing group has started again this year.

Usually, when we meet, there is quite a bit of show and tell, but this time nothing.

However, Fiona brought us a bunch of lovely roses, fresh from her garden.

Maybe no show and tell but we are really enjoying having these flowers at our place.

UFO?

Recently we had bush fires in the Taupo area and in the morning we had an unusual sunrise.

I took this shot from my bathroom and when I looked at it I thought maybe I had sighted a UFO (top right hand corner) but it turned out that I had caught the reflection of bathroom lights.

Learning, always learning

For a while now I have been wanting to learn a little about stitching down raw edge applique with a very small zig zag stitch.

I have been making some table runners for around the house and Samelia's Mum had done a table runner that was the inspiration for my attempt at this form of stitching.

I used Invisafil 100 wt thread for the zig zag stitching and set the stitch to 1 wide by 1.5 long on my Janome.

As a beginner in this form of stitching I was quite pleased with the outcome.

I did match stick quilting for the background and ended up with a runner that was just the right size for a chest of drawers in Linda's bedroom.

Some Laura Ashley sheeting fabric made a nice, colour co-ordinated backing for this household item.

More on Fancy Forest friends.

 There are 6 different blocks in the Fancy Forest quilt and I have now completed at least one of each.

Our forest friends need a little foliage as well and so we have a Thistle Plant block.

Last but not least is the Firefly.

What fun I could have with this block, with all the different colour combinations that could be used for the wings.

I have since made two more fox blocks and I need to make at least 12 more for the full size quilt so we should be firm friends by the time I have completed on this challenge.

Something special

 When we heard that the mother of a good friend of ours had passed away, Linda asked if she would like us to make a memory quilt using fabric from some of her mother's clothes.

Lesley Anne had to be very patient once she gave us the clothing as I pondered which garments might be suitable and what pattern to use to show them off.

The pink fabric featured in the inner border and corners was cotton but all the others were stretch fabric so stabilisation was required.

Another good friend of ours, Trish, had lent us a pattern of hers which featured ladies dresses and so, in the end, this is the result.

One example of what the dresses look like.

I tried to use features within the fabric where ever I could.  In this one I used the bolder white stripes as a highlight within the skirt.

This was one of the stripey stretch fabrics I used in a number of ways in the different dresses.

We had some fun sewing theme fabric that would have been from her mother's era that we used as backing for the quilt.

A bit of cream binding and some of Linda's lovely quilting to finish it and we were finally able to present Lesley Anne with her long awaited quilt.

Hazel joins the clan

Today Hazel Hedgehog joined the clan of forest friends.

These blocks seem to take on a life of their own once the eyes fall into place.

Elizabeth Hartman has done a wonderful job or creating each and every block and her instructions are excellent.

Once again I am on a stash busting exercise.

I did not want to buy any fabric for this project and so have gone for autumn colours with a cream background.  So far so good as I have plenty.

A Little Bit of Fun

During the past few days I have been having a little bit of fun stitching some animal/bird blocks.

Yesterday I realised how far I have come since hip surgery and how comfortable I feel when standing cutting fabric and also sitting at my sewing machine.

The surgeon is pleased with the outcome and so it will be nice if I don't have to spend and more time in hospital for many years to come.

Back to the blocks - for sometime now I have been contemplating whether or not to take the plunge and buy the Fancy Forest quilt pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

Linda and I shared the idea with our Sweet Peas sewing group and some of us will be doing this as our project for the year.

To get us started I thought I would make samples of the six different blocks and so far I have the foxes above as well as these two rabbits

and one of the owls.

I love the almost stern look on the owl's face.

It reminds me of our Burmese cat when he gets cross with us.  He can have a bit of a look like that too.

A little bit of fun for today and there is still more to come - Hazel Hedgehog is next.

The things that cats do

Oh the innocence of a cat's face.

I needed to put the binding on a quilt and had it all set up by the sewing machine to start stitching.

At that moment Simba arrived and made himself comfortable amongst the folds of the quilt.

There was no moving him.  He settled down for a big sleep.

A couple of hours later I returned to do my job without a cat on the scene/quilt.

Second Time Around

A month later I returned to hospital and this time surgery happened and I was home again within three days.  All is well and I am required to be patient so that everything can heal up as best is possible.  Another 5 weeks and everything should be back to 'normal', we hope.

The cats are usually here to greet me when I have been away but not this time.  They were conspicuous by their absence, as if to say, 'You have left us one too many times.'

I settled in for the evening in the lounge with Linda and eventually Hershey came and collapsed into my lap as only he could.  I think I was forgiven for ever leaving home in the first place.

Simba's Turn

Hershey, Linda's chocolate cat, provides us with lots of photo opportunities but this time it was Simba's turn to cat scan my latest quilt.

At the moment it is hanging at our local quilt show:-

I am so pleased with the outcome.

The quilt design is from a pattern by Jenny Petigo called Urban Nine Patch.  With the colours I have used, this one is known as Tutti Fruiti.

Linda took great care to choose appropriate threads for the different coloured fabrics in the quilt and with her modern quilting style this quilt really has pizzazz.

Keeping the Vigil

Ever since he heard about my pending visit to hospital Foxie has been keeping a vigil for me.

Yesterday I found Hershey decided he needed company.

Still waiting for a definite date from the hospital - at this stage it may be mid October.

A Trip to Hospital

Yesterday we had a visit from our friend, Andreena, from our Sweet Pea group.

She came with a collection of presents in hand from our Sweet Pea group.  They knew I was scheduled for hip surgery the next day and these were gifts of comfort for me. So lovely and practical too.

Included with the goodies a basket of chocolates to encourage the nurses to look after me.

This morning, I left Foxie and flowers on my bed to welcome me on my return.

Little did I know my return would be sooner than I knew. I had been given instructions to prepare for surgery in the afternoon meaning I could have an early breakfast. However, when I was being checked in at the hospital it soon became apparent that I was scheduled for morning surgery.  I had been given the wrong information, oh dear.

Home again, home again with Foxie waitIng for my return.

A totally frustrating incident, but followed up with an apology from the hospital and I am now being rescheduled for the end of the month so not too long to wait to do it all over again.