January finished!

Here are my January blocks all finished!  I've sewn them together- but my picture of the whole thing together seems to have disappeared- sorry!  I am having a really hard time putting this project down (like I see some other people has as well...)  But I'm not going to tell you which block I am on now..... I am having a lot of fun though!!!!

Hope everyone is having as much fun as me!

Anne Heidi

January Blocks and Row Finished

Last night I finished my January blocks and row.  Here they are.  Very hard to get the whole row in the picture.

and a closer up picture,

January Chocolates and Daisy block

This quilt is way too much fun to work on.  Once I get started I don't want to stop.  February blocks are traced and almost ready to be stitched.  Happy stitching everyone!

Lori
Leaskdale, Ontario, Canada

Cold and Frosty Finish

Good Afternoon everyone.

I finished stitching the Jan and Feb blocks together this morning. I took them outside for a little photoshoot - it was a very cold and frosty morning here in the UK today. I made just one change - to the hot chocolate block. I'm not a big fan of hot choc but I am a huge fan of coffee so my mug is a mug of hot coffee instead.

The first picture is of my top and bottom borders. Thank you so much for the reminder to make these now as I'd totally forgotten and wasn't planning to make them until the end.

The second picture is of the Jan and Feb blocks stitched to the December blocks. Each time I make a new block I think it's my new favourite, they're all lovely.

I'm itching to start on the house block now but will hold off a little while and work on a couple of other projects first of all. I don't need much encouragement to stitch the blocks themselves but being part of the stitch a long is definitely keeping me on track stitching the sashings and borders together.

Nancy's blocks

Here is a pictures of the last three blocks I stitched, I did two of them just the past week and half way done with the seventh. Half way there and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!! I hope everyone else that hasn't finished yet will pick them back up in time for next Christmas. The closer I get the more excited I am to finish this little beauty.

Nancy

POSTED BY CHOOKYBLUE

January done

So exciting to show that I have finished January's blocks. If only I could keep up with Fiona and some of the other clever girls who are so organised! Wish some of my other UFOs were finished!

It has been very inspiring to see everyone's progress.

First month done

Yes ! December is done !!

And it IS hard to take a picture of such a long row, Fiona !!
I'm in a hurry... some chocolates are waiting for me ! :)

Florence

The best Chocolates in our house...

I finished my chocolates today, not eating them, just stitching them. I've got the rest of my February blocks prepared... just need to get time to stitch now.

Shez progress

 I finished this block yesterday and now have it all pressed.I am not very good at needleturn so hopefully i will improve as i go.

I now have 2 blocks finished for my SKOW quilt,and my 3rd is nearly finished as well,this quilt will be for my grand-daughter Madie, and she has picked the fabrics for this quilt.

Another hot day forecast for today so stay cool everyone.

cheers Shez

POSTED BY CHOOKYBLUE

My Favourite Things Quilt

I'm having a bit of trouble putting this quilt down at the moment !!   Last night while I was watching the ladies final of the Australian Open Tennis, I prepared and ironed on the March blocks so they will be ready for stitching when I feel like it!!   I've never been this far ahead on a stitch a long project before ..... so while I'm on a roll ....... preparation is halfway there!!    Is anyone else having trouble putting it down???    I'm loving everything about this quilt!!    Fiona H xxxx

January finish

Nice to be moving along with this quilt. Thankyou ChookyBlue , a lovely way to note ones progress.

One of my favourite chocolates was `Cadbury` roses chocolates hence the rose background fabric. Sad to say I can`t eat these anymore as lactose in tolerant.

A close up of my daisy. Lovely to see these in the garden in the summer. We haven`t any in ours this year.
Have a lovely day. Till next month.
Happy Stitching, Clare.

Tiny little blocks

I found a little zip lock bag with some tiny pieces in it and nearly threw it out.

But I decided to do a little investigating and then made these.



 

They are the small blocks for the sewing block due in May

 

Everyone is making some lovely quilts

and I am enjoying seeing all the variations.

Happy stitching, Sharon

Catching up ..........

I have been lucky enough to have had a couple of days off work this week and I have spent it with my sewing machine. All the family knew where to find me if they needed anything (usually food!)

This is my progress so far........................ 

 Sorry it's not the best photo - I was struggling to find somewhere to hang it

(thanks Chicka for a loan of your bed)

I'm hoping that means I can be marked off for December?

I'm off to finish January

Until Next Time - Happy Stitching xox

A Question Answered

Fiona @Dragonfly-crafts asked an excellent question today about exactly what you need to have the month officially completed. I have answered her in the comments, but thought I would post this here too so you can all see it easily in case anyone else has a question. (Chookyblue, feel free to correct me if I have it wrong!)

the plan!

To have the month completed you need to complete and show all of the blocks allocated for that month. Each month has some applique blocks, some blocks of squares, and a block of strips and squares. They don't have to be joined together, but can be if you like. You'll notice that the top and bottom blocks of strips and squares are allocated to February and March and won't be able to be joined until everything else is finished. Hope that clears everything up. Keep up the good work girls! I know just from the glimpses you have been showing here on the blog that these quilts are going to be gorgeous! Must get back to mine.

Kris P

Just a question

I was just doing up my list of what to get done when....

I'm reading the left hand side of our blog page and noticed that September is for piecing all blocks together....

But am I right that we don't get our letters beside our names until our blocks are put together in our long strips.

Then I understand October is for Quilting.

thanks for clearing things for me :)

December, January, February ..... all done!!!

Wow .... what a great day I have had!!!  Stitching away happily ..... and this little baby didn't let me down!!    This has been a great workout for my new friend "Bliss"!!

And so now Miss Chooky ....... what have we here????    December, January and February (yes .... that's February's bottom binding hanging over the line there too!!)   Whew!!!!   Now I can get onto some other projects I have to do in the next couple of weeks and not worry about missing February deadline!!    Thanks Chooky for cracking the whip ..... I have had a fantastic day!!   Amazing what you can do with a day away from the office and no phones ringing!!

And by the way ... is it just me or is everyone having trouble taking photos of such a loooooooong project????   I took it over to the next door clothesline .... the wind was blowing .... the puppy was wanting to help .... and this is trying to get it to stay still for just a moment!!    At least the rain had stopped!!    Happy stitching everyone ....... Fiona H xx

What was I thinking?

You'd think I would know better...heaven knows I've done enough of these SALs with Chookyblue to know that she doesn't give out ticks until the entire months work is complete!

I don't know whether I was ignoring the instructions, or misunderstood, or what, but I somehow thought I would get away with doing December and Januarys blocks without the border strips!

Silly me!

Anyhow, after reading the blog post below and coming to the horrifying conclusion that I was officially behind (heaven forbid!!!) I got off my butt and put those strips on quick smart!

Could I please, even pretty please, have December and January blocks after my name Chookyblue?

(Please tell me I'm not the only one who did this...feeling a bit silly LOL)

TTFN

Susan

(aka suzitee)

http://www.stitchscrapsew.blogspot.com/

My Favourite Things Quilt

I'm not working today so have a day at home and have allocated a day of "My Favourite Things"!!  I'm hoping that by the end of the day I will have these blocks together with the stripped borders and that Chookyblue will give me a tick for December, January and maybe even February!!!   I'm celebrating 3 years of blogging with a giveaway which closes at midnight on 30th January 2012 - if you want to take a look click here!!    Hoping to see you tomorrow with some more progress!!   ..... Fiona H xx

Up to date

Hi Ladies
yay i am finally up to date, for a couple of days anyway.
See, my border and sahings are all in place, although don't look to close as one of my sashings is sewn on the wrong side, i will blame it on the extremely hot weather and don't tell Suzitee as i am not unpicking it. (unpicking is not in my sewing vocabulary) Luckily its a tone on tone and quite hard to see.

I have also finished my January blocks and although i did have a thought to change the chocolate block to cheese i left it alone as there are a few other blocks i will have to change.

Now if only i can get up to date on all my other projects i will be one happy girl.(I'm dreaming).

If you live in QLD i hope you are not getting to wet or flooded out and if you live in Perth-as i do, stay cool, and to all the Aussie ladies, Happy Australia Day and to everyone else Happy Thursday.

Linda

Just to let you know, I'm still here!

And I'm still working on December's blocks! Which would be admirable if I was learning needle turn appliqué, but I'm raw edge machining this quilt people!!!

This is my suitcase block. It's going to say "the beach at sunset". I do like the beach, but I mostly only travel to my local beach, hence the suitcase change.

And this is my cup of tea block. (I don't drink tea. Or coffee for that matter.) But I do stitch! A lot!
I'm working on the other blocks too. My umbrella block features an umbrella, and is finished. Phew!

I'm busy stitching and hope to have December finished soon. We are moving house next week, but I know that sewing and stitching will be fitted in around the moving because it's what keeps me sane and everyone here loves living with a sane wife and mother!

For more of my sanity check out my blog at here

Kris P

No jeans for me !

Last october I received a fabulous gift for my birthday !!

A princess skirt !!

I met Marie, a very gifted designer in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines during our european quilt exhibition in September 2011.
Marie makes sooooooooo beautiful dresses !!
I asked her  to make a pink skirt for me. I chose the fabrics and colors and... here it is !

Can you see the lovely lacing-up in the back ?????
She made me the black top too !!

I LOVE this skirt so much that I asked Marie if I can put it in my SKoW quilt.
She's so nice ! She gave me a sketch and little samplers of the same fabrics of my skirt...
and I make this :

 

Now I can tell you my deepest wish... to get the whole wardrobe of Arwen !!! ( you know the Elvish girl...) Of course it will need to be resized... but... all we need is DREAM !!!

Florence

January is finished

Ta Da here is January's blocks all sewn together and some

of February 's blocks

and here is Decembers blocks with January's

sashing aready sewn on

Can you add January to my name please Chooky or Kris

Updated Panel

Here is my reworked panel.

and the bottom border

which should bring me up to the beginning of March.

Sammie

AKA Mama Bear

Slow But Steady

Chookie has cracked the whip so I'm sharing my blocks. Two done so far - one in the final stages - and I'm still plugging away. We had a loss in the family and a very serious illness over the holidays so I'm behind. I'm confident I can catch up soon. I'm actually enjoying the challenges of appliqué!

This is my first appliqué ever!  So much fun!

And this is my second appliqué ever! Woot! I changed the text - I love dancing in rain puddles!

They photographed rather dark.  I'm using traditional needleturn for the larger pieces and spray-starch appliqué for the smaller ones. I'm changing my patty cakes into cup cakes, but the frosting has gone a bit wonky.

Chookie, just a FYI, it's going to be a long time before you can update the sidebar for me. I'm using charm packs. I'm waiting until the end to cut up any leftover charm squares into those small sashing squares.

Thank you, everyone, for inspiring me!

Cheers!

Elisa

 

Finally I am back in the game...

November last year I jumped out of the starting block, full steam ahead on SKOW. I did one block and then I don't know what happened ... Oh thats right Christmas.

So finally I am back in the game and trying very hard to catch up.  Just wanted to share "patty cakes" and "old blue jeans" blocks with you.  I don't know why I waited so long to get back into it, these blocks are alot of fun.  And with each block I fall in love with this fabric even more.

Oh well no resting for the wicked... its back to stitching for me.
Love me :-)

TTS at the Dapto Show

Just wanted to share this with you girls.

My TTS quilt won first place, in the Christmas Needlework section, at the Dapto Show on the weekend. Yay!

It's not the best photo (taken with my phone), but good enough to see my certificate. I'm so pleased.

a cracking update..........

Hi Girls

Hope those needles have been busier then mine..............

Just an update here..............sorry for delays in updating everything etc

Kris Life at Rosemary Hill got the blog job............

she has been great.............so your posts will get a comment from me or Kris sometimes both of us if all is going well..............I got a little snowed under but finally the sidebar is updated.

&&&

A couple of girls have dropped off..........one doing the quilt with an offline group (different goal posts to ours) and the other 2 have decided they have other stuff they need to get done instead. Which is fine with me just let me know if things have changed. These changes freed up a few spots on the SAL blog.

I found my waiting list and added a few new girls to the blog..........also added a couple more girls to the waiting list...........

welcome to the new girls...........

&&&&

&&&

Now the "WHIP" is being "CRACKED"........me especially........I have started but not made much progress so hoping that will change very soon.........the last month or so has been a blur...............when I was updating the sidebar I went from the 17th Dec to now and there are LOTS of girls who haven't done posts...........some have been great sharing there progress..........lots of motivation but really being part of the SAL is being part of the blog and get a post up once or twice a month would be fantastic.................

SO PLEASE GET A POST UP.......

&&&&

 now in all the updating there aren't many people up to date at all...............we need to get moving and  keep up with the goals as this is a BIG quilt with lots of work and I am not going to be here in 2 years time trying to get you finished.

The deadline is OCTOBER 2012 (not 2013 or 2014).........

I know you can do it..............trust me being part of the SAL is the only way I am going to get this done...............being accountable to you girls..............I am too scared not to get it done...........lol

SO HOW DO I UPDATE THE SIDEBAR

the goals are written on the left sidebar and more importantly there is a simple photo to show you what has to be done each month. I only update the sidebar when I see the section as per the sidebar.

There has been lots of blocks popping up here and there but we I don't mark that off until I see the sections done....................

Also if you could let me know if I have made any mistakes updating the sidebar..................

It was wonderful to see a couple of finished Tis the Season Quilts............one finished Gardener's Journal quilt and a couple made it to the top stage.............it is so exciting................

The best part is seeing every enjoying their stitching on the quilts...........everyone giving it a go and learning something.............well done and keep up the great stitching...............

Chookyblue...........

My December Blocks

I've had a very productive day getting my SAL up-to-date.

I fixed my jeans error.

I enjoyed cups of tea while stitching my Cup of Tea

My Suitcase is a reflection of my Christmas holidays

I even got my first January Block completed too

Enjoy your next working week ladies and I'll keep in touch. Fiona :)