N Is for Nephew and Love

Today I bit the bullet and made my first paper pieced something. An important something, too. Ready to be framed by HSTs. So proud, it's bordering on ridiculous. And Kristy, I think I can finally relate to your paper piecing craze and I'm finally ready to tackle what should've become my husband's birthday present. Now if only I'd find the time...

Yeah, technically the HSTs in my latest blocks have been paper pieced, too. But that didn't require any thinking or actual construction. And yeah, that wonderful "N" wasn't achieved instantly. My first attempt looked like this - had to make a better one to do the quilt justice in its neatness, tininess and cuteness. All of which will surely apply to my nephew, too. *wink* The perfect block above is 3,44'' square, the "N" only 1,77" square.

I've started sashing and assembling my blocks with cornerstones as well.

So much closer to finishing the top! Right, with that I'm off to prepare HSTs for the centre block before going out for some much needed dancing.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and happy sewing, friends!

Oh, and I can link up with Kristy's new Paper Piecing Party for the very first time, too! Whoop whoop!

W.i.P. - Slowly Getting There

Look at this friendly bunch!

Mike has been joined by Henry.

Thomas and Stephan are besties.

Toby is giving Swimmy II the tour.

And Phillip has found a brother in Swimmy.

Last week was busy with work on Saturday and this week is buzzing, too, with three days until well after 8 p.m. Still, I'm okay with where my projects are going. A whole lot of good ones in the work, some verging on being finished.

Stats

Finishes - 0

Ongoing Projects - 6
Anniversary quilt - first steps taken
Fish & HSTs
square baby quilt
Red Riding - erm, yeah...
Grecian Waters/Emerald HST quilt - finished the top! - still pinching pennies for batting
EPP hexies - should really work on these again sometime but my ride to work is a bus ride and I get car sick easily when focusing too much on anything

Stalled Projects - 1
EPP parallelograms/stars

Planning Stage - 4
cushion cover for the husband
Two summer dresses & a skirt - bought a dress pattern from a shop in Australia, now to wait for it's arrival

Happy sewing!

Sunday Stash

Today is a stash post and not a stash post. It's a post about actually working with the pretties you've been patting every so often and holding dearest. Yep, I finally cut into my most beloved stash - seven yard and three half yard cuts of the blue, green and grey Echo prints. Such an achievement and very satisfying, too.

It has taken me well a year and a half to do so because a) I love this fabric so much and b) because I'd early on set it aside to be used for a wedding quilt. Actually, not just a wedding quilt but our very own. Therefore, the pattern had to be perfect and I needed time to execute it. Quite the stumbling block. Alas, my wedding came and neither had the pattern turned up nor would I have had time for it. So I decided to make it an anniversary quilt instead and continue to look for the right pattern.

Well, with our first anniversary approaching fast in August, it was about time to realise that "the perfect pattern" doesn't exist and that a return to basics might be in order. Not least because the husband isn't into very busy or "weird" patterns... and anything can qualify as that. I joked the other day that he'd be happiest with a boring solid black something... So it's rectangles of different lengths.

It took all afternoon to achieve this bundle and some well-sorted scraps but I'm happy to have made the first step on the way to completion of a long-term project.

Yep, I threw out some of the fabrics I'd planned to use for the quilt but have kept the half yard of Secret Garden. Love is key, right?

Happy sewing!