A FAL finish! – New York Beauty

Hold the front page! I actually finished something on my FAL Q2 list! I started my New York Beauty project in March 2012 and I have absolutely no idea why it took me so long to get back to it. I started the weekend with these blocks…

I decided that I wanted to use them for cushion fronts so I needed to make 2 more blocks: Block 2

 and block 7 went together very quickly…

…then it was just a case of deciding on the layout for the 4 different blocks. Here’s the one I went with.

I was a bit unsure how to quilt this as there was so much going on in the blocks. Initially I just outline quilted but that wasn’t quite enough so I decided to do lots of lines that didn’t necessarily echo the existing shapes.

You’ll see what I mean in this close-up. It’s not perfect but it’ll do! I used Aurifil 5006 which is a light teal colour and was just right for this job.

I gave the other block the same treatment then it was time to transform them into cushions. I backed them both with the gorgeous floral print by Melody Miller.

 I couldn’t resist keeping the selvedge intact on one of them 🙂

I’m in love with them so I’m hoping you’ll excuse my rather over-the-top photographic coverage…

on a chair

Close-upon the dresser

On the dresser

They’ve found a resting place on the family room sofa for now 🙂

I’m delighted to finally cross this WIP off my list! I’m not sure how much further I’ll get with my FAL list as I’ve got a ton of secret sewing to do which I’m impatient to be able to share with you very soon. I hope you’ve all been enjoying the nice weather this weekend. Catch you soon x

Addicted

This week has confirmed to me that I am addicted to fabric and sewing. The first indication of the level of my addiction came with the arrival of my new sewing table. Excuse the mess I’m too tired to tidy but just about rested enough to do a small amount of sewing 😉 We decided against going down the homemade route for the craft table and instead relied on good old Ikea. This monster is nearly 5 foot square, no more scrabbling around on the floor while basting quilts, woohoo!

The second indication was that about 30 minutes after the postman delivering this gorgeous package from Sarah I was “racing” up the stairs to sew them together on the machine. Yep, first time using the machine since my op but well worth the exhaustion! I knew it was a good idea getting the ladies of the HipBees to make string blocks for me 🙂

The third indication was a bit groundhog day…up the stairs to the machine I went this afternoon with this package of goodies from Amy. The result was equally pleasing 🙂

This is most definitely going to be a favourite quilt! Look how gorgeous they are next to each other 🙂

If I hadn’t already been convinced of my fabric addiction the final indication was the overwhelming need to start another hand-sewing project having been woken in the middle of the night by an idea! I started with this tray of yummy fabrics (I’ve added more since this photo was taken)…

 and very soon these

became this.

I just love this combination of colours at the moment. I’m not sure how big this is going to grow but for now I’m just enjoying the process. Suffice to say I feel much more like myself now I’ve got some “proper” sewing done. I’m some way off wrestling with quilts but a cushion isn’t too far off achievable now 🙂  Catch you soon x