February Done and Dusted

 Goodbye Feb you hot month, I will not miss you. This was a lovely sunrise that I captured. The garden is struggling it has been so hot and dry.

I finished the top of my No 2 in the Chookshed Challenge and I am very happy with it, it will hopefully get quilted very soon and gifted to our friend in Wollongong who always lets us stay at her place when we go down adn she is letting Dave live there half the week while he's at work. This is a free pattern by Lella Boutique, I started it at Scrub Stitchin last year and finished it in February.

I have been binding like mad while watching telly finishing quilts that will be going in the Gunnedah Show this year, the first is the Kinship Fusion quilt whish was a sewalong as a block a day for 100 days run by @gnomeangel. I started it in July 2019, finished the top at the end of 2019 got it quilted last year and now it's a finished quilt

The fabric shop in Gunnedah is closing but the had a sale I spent February and March's fabric budget on some widebacks, neutrals and pretty colours to go in the stash. I truly don't know why it doesn't get smaller haha.

    

This quilt was a stash buster that was meant to be a rainbow style but I got carried away cutting yellows and oranges, I have a box of green waiting for the white to be cut too. It is finished.

My SAHRR quilt has stopped it was too hot to sew when the rounds were announced I have them cut they will get done this month I hope.

February Goals

Sew for 30 minutes a day 21/29 not bad

Year to date sewing for 30 minutes 45/60

Reading - no books finished 

Bye

January Finish

 The first month of the Chookshed Stitchers 2024 Challenge is No 6 and this was the bag kit form Scrub Stitchin last year. It is finished, I used some bag wadding to stiffen it but it's a bit too stiff and was very hard to turn through and also pull up the draw strings, never mind, next bag I might just use it for the base. I did a quick crosshatch quilting design on the bottom sides and back and just a few straight lines on the bottom of the front. 

I have 3 lists this year, one list I finished the bag in previous posts which has now been gifted and the third list is quilting of which I did none this month it has been way to hot.

As a challenge to myself this year I am sewing 30 minutes per day for January I did 26/31 so not bad.

SAHRR24 Border 1

 Stay at Home Round Robin Border 1

Wendy from piecefulthoughts was in charge of the first border and she chose the signature block. My centre block didn't measure the right amount to do a full border of signature blocks, indert learning curve here, so I just did corner signature blocks. 

In other news Dave found this on Saturday morning it's the scratched, by cats, and partially rotting, by the ants and the extreme heat that we've had, remains of a brown snake!! I hate snakes, I am so glad he found it and not me. it looks like the snake was attacked by the cats and was trying to protect it's head, apparently that's their thing and it must have got stuck, it's half in one of our raised garden beds this one is the chooks spinach bed.

These are the blocks I have done for January Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

SAHRR24

 I'm attempting to do the Stay at Home Round Robin this year, this is my centre block which is the neighbourhood block from Scrappiness is Happiness book by Lori Holt.

We have baby pineapples!

January

 Oh my it is so hot, I think I'm melting.The last week while Dave was away at work it was too hot and humid to sew, bugger. We got a nice lot of rain Wednesday evening and Thursday morning so that was good. I have finally finished this book, Cloud Cuckoo Land, It was an interesting book the characters were great but like his previous book it was a while(last 100 pages) before they all came together. I was determined to finish it and I think it took me about 5 weeks to read.

Another one that took a while I think I just wasn't in the mood to read over Christmas but this was another great book by Kate Morton.

                                                                                                                           

Then this book took me 3 days to read it was great .

The stray kittens are growing up and they are very cute as all kittens are, playing around the yard destroying flowers haha.

I am thinking of joining in the Round Trip sew a long with Emma Jean Jansen, I'm thinkiing of using this bunch of Tilda that I have had for a few years.

While we were delivering some pickles and sauces to Somerton Pub to sell I was looking at their renos in the dining room and there was some quilts and cushions there for sale, these were the only ones Dave got a photo of, I had left my phone at home, They match my top nicely. Maureen that used to own Stitch Between the Bridges in Tamworth is the publicans mother, small world.

This scrap extravaganza is now a finished top, I started this version of Everything goes by These Clever Hands in 2019 before we moved and then my computer crashed along with a lot of patterns, that I thought I had backed up but didn't, so I  got the container with all the bits and got it finished. Even though it was all stash it didn't really make a dent.

Livvy boy thinking he is being helpful

My first finish for the year is a bag for my niece, it was to be a Christmas present but I didn't use the right stiffening so I re did it and will get it to her soon.

My no 6 project is going nicely the embroidery is almost done so I will hopefully get to it this week and finish it off.

That's enough rambling I'm going to make sauce, I am sick of tomatoes and zucchinis.

Scrappy Challenges.

I am going to do this challenge properly this year, last year I tagged along at the end.

So far my plan is to make 16 patches and also a bow tie block in the months colours, maybe something else I'm not sure.

Also I have challenged myself to sew for 30 minutes per day, so far I'm a 100 percenter.

The Chookshed Stitchers 2024 Challenge number for January is 6 so that would be the bag from Scrub Stitchin. best get to it

These are the books that I borrowed and read last year some good, some great, some meh! I know I read a few more but didn't document them.

Christmas Zoom

 Yesterday in between pickling beetroot I joined in on The Chookshed Stitchers zoom.

Deana has set a challenge for the year, so with all good intentions here is my list of 10

1) Down the Rabbit Hole -I have only done the middle block and I don't expect to finish this quilt but if some gets done it's a bonus.

2) Cottage Blossoms- This is a free pattern by Lella Boutique, I have 6 of the 12 blocks done.

3) EPP month- haha pick one...

4) Panel Quilt- I have a few panels that I have bought over the last year and this month I will work on one.

5) Basket Quilt- I have made 12 blocks so far it will be a throw quilt.

6) 2023 Barradine bag- not started yet

7) Braided table runner- not started yet.

8) Christmas Project- I have a couple of Anni Downs kits to make.

9) Chandelier Quilt- This one may be made from Kaffe or Tilda or Tula who knows.

10) Red work quilt- Rosalie Quinlan design, I bought last week and started yesterday.

That should keep me busy.

In the last month we have harvested a million Zucchinis, cucumbers, chillies and now the tomatoes are starting. I have stocked the cupboard with Pickled Cucumbers, Zucchini Pickles, Beetroot and Tomato Chilli Garlic sauce is starting.

Bye