Learning to Stitch - Cretan

Well, I've been carrying on trying out the new stitches in Sharon's The Stitch Files. This time I have given Cretan Stitch a go and here's the results of my experiments:



I put off trying this stitch, thinking it looked difficult, but it has been my favourite so far, surpassing even the good ole blanket/buttonhole stitch.

I love the way it looks over the ricrac, though not sure how secure the ricrac would be...so maybe a few beads or sparkly things to hold in place would do the trick. Mmmmm...ricrac and beads and sparkly things :-)

Back in Black (and red)

Well, I finally got round to completing the flying geese borders for Gman's red and black quilt. I am loving the way it looks so far but it's not quite big enough yet, so not sure what to add to bring it up to size...any ideas?!? It is wide enough, but needs to be longer, so looking at adding top and bottom borders.

Aliens, Alveva and A Bit of Stitchin

This weekend, me and mum popped over to nearby Feltwell to check out the Alveva Quilters exhibition. It was held in a farm barn and was fffffffreezing but was a really special show. There was a range of different quilts on display, some hung from the beams which looked lovely, as well as a couple of trade stands. I didn't spot any liberated or free pieced quilts but was delighted to see several stunning scrap quilts, as I much prefer scrappy to overly coordinated. And the home-made cakes were delicious :-)





As far as my own projects go - I am up to 36 blocks quilted (out of 80) on my Jacob's Ladder and have just started sewing hexies together for the first spike on my star. I have nearly finished the flying geese border for Gman's red and black quilt.

Oh yes, and I have decided to try my hand at some embroidery. Sharon, over at Pintangle is running a series of "stitching files" and I have downloaded the first six with a view to putting together my own folder of stitching. I have made a start by making samples of buttonhole, herringbone and chevron stitches, as well as collecting examples of these to inspire me.





Oh, and I made this alien mini-quilt for Waif from one of his drawings, using backstitch:




I know I have a very long way to go but am enjoying the process as well as being part of the Stitchin Fingers community, where there is lots of inspiration to be gleaned.

A Sunny Afternoon

And I was able to complete the next "ring" of hexagons...

Still here!

It's been a busy few weeks and sewing has been on a bit of a back burner but I have been beavering away on hand quilting my Jacob's Ladder quilt (30 blocks down, *only* 50 more to do :-)). Struggling a bit with sewing my hexagons because I really can't see well enough in electric light to do these accurately enough, and chances during daylight hours to sew are few and far between!

After laying out my house blocks for Waif's quilt it was looking like the village needed a couple more houses so I knocked these up:




The first one is "too much caffeine house" and the second one is clearly inhabited by a jazz musician ;-)

I think the gaps will be filled with trees, stars, and random bits and pieces. I found this tutorial on tree blocks, so think I will be giving that a go.

Ring a Ring o Hexies

Another ring added:

Hexagons

I promised a picture once I had the next "ring" of hexies on and here it is:



Been too busy for blogging...but hope to resume normal service soon :-)