The story of a quilt ...

Pieced together in 2012, in New Zealand

Made from various pieces of the girls' pyjamas and thrifted finds of scrap brushed cotton

Fast forward 2 1\2 years and a return to the UK

I searched my stash thoroughly in order to piece a back but to no avail

Newly bought brushed cotton from local quilt shop was pieced to make backing

Laid out ready for pin basting

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Such a great feeling once this stage is done

Quilting lines 1/4" to either side of seams

First time I have quilted like this and I had a lot of movement

Not sure if this is common to this kind of quilting or whether it was from the brushed cotton

 And the verdict on the unfinished quilt was 'awesome Mum'

 I didn't have enough brushed cotton for binding but realised that I could use the extra from the backing to wrap around and bind (I am sure there is a technical term for this but it alludes me!)

First time I have done this but quite happy with how it turned out and nicely mitred corners all done on the machine

First blogged finish for my stated finishes for the 2015 Finish Along

Just another 5 to go!! x

Joining in with Finish it Up Fridays over at Crazy Mom Quilts 

A January round up ....

I love seeing other bloggers monthly reviews so thought I would do the same.

Sewing

Working, and finishing, a quilt for Miss C; cutting some donated fabric samples to be made into a charity quilt; playing with different forms of appliqué to make birds for a childrens workshop.

Hooking

Reading

Whilst I have always been an avid reader joining up to the 26 Books Challenge has inspired me to try different books this month.  Here are January's books - some of which will tick off certain categories.

Creating - in lots of different media

Lego buildings constructed at a Lego Electricity Workshop for our local Home Ed group

Miss M's first quilt finished and in use - only took 5 years to complete!

I picked up this book in a bag of book son Freecycle and it really captured the girls' imagination.  This was Miss M's first attempt and it was then given as a birthday present.

Spontaneous creativity for their toys!

And finally meet Fred!  We didn't get much snow this January but when we had our 'biggest' fall Miss C was straight out there, in the pitch black, making a snowman.  As you can see by the picture he had already started to melt by the time I deemed it sensible to go out!

Home Educating

All our regular groups and clubs started up again after the Christmas holidays and it's been lovely catching up with friends and their families.  On the home front we have joined a great FB group called Passport Around the World Ideas and have started swapping postcards and flat travellers.  I also signed up to Postcrossing and have loved getting postcards through the door.  So far I have sent to Ukraine, Germany, Russia, China, Netherlands, Belarus, Taiwan and USA and received from Germany, Norway, USA, Ukraine, Japan and Germany.  The most wonderful little package arrived from Japan containing two postcards depicting a local temple and festival along with little key chain figurines and some origami figures.  Check out the origami ET below! xx

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