Bound, washed and in the park

Listening to the distant hum of traffic and the song of church bells the Charity Crosses quilt and I took a walk in the park this morning. Yes, it is FINISHED:



Nice view of the city from up there, hm?



The back of the quilt:



The pattern called for 35 blocks. Since there were 42 squares in the layer cake, and I made blocks from all of them, I had a choice of either adding an extra row to the top, or use the extra seven for something else. I have plans of using this as a sofa quilt, and wanted a pretty back :o)

Happy Sunday!

Hugs and stitches from Anne Ida

Binding it

The quilting is finished and the binding is on, but with the wonderful summer temperatures we are having at the moment it's kind of slow stitching it down to the back. I'm getting really hot with the quilt in my lap.
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Last evening I took Anton for his first (at least his first while living with me) walk in the park - look at that cute little face:



Wishing everyone a great weekend!
Hugs and stitches from Anne Ida

Quilting it

Just something a little different from my usual "wood-worm" stippling ;o)
Hugs and stitches from Anne Ida

Charity Crosses

Remember I showed this picture of a layer cake and some yardage of Alliance fabrics by Howard Marcus? Well, I had plans for this purchase, and have been sewing steadily (if not quickly *lol*) over the last week or so:



The pattern is Charity Crosses by Sheryl Johnson, and can be found on the Moda Bake Shop blog (I'm a big fan of this site and read almost all the posts, but this is the first pattern I have actually tried). It is a very simple pattern to piece, but also very decorative. And I got a firm reminder of why i usually add cornerstones to my sashings - pinning up long strips to match is not my favorite part of quilting ;o)

I did my own little twist on it by adding an inner and an outer border to frame the blocks a little more and make the quilt a tad larger. Using a striped fabric for the border, it was natural to mitre the corners:



Ok, so I didn't do the best job of lining up the stripes, but I still like the look of the corners. Now I just have to figure out how to quilt it - thinking I might just do some stippling...

Hugs and stitches from
Anne Ida &

Sewing lots of little things

Bernie and I have been quite busy lately, and most of what we have been playing with has been small things. A couple of weeks ago a dear friend of mine let me know her little make-up purse had been worn out, and could I make her a new one? Of course!! So looking through my fabrics I found something quite far away from what she asked for, but (fingers crossed) I have a feeling she might like it anyway



While I was at it I made a couple more - one which was given away to someone having her birthday on Monday:



And a larger make-up bag my mum had asked for as a present for someone I have never met:



It is kind of nervewrecking making something not knowing what the person's preferences are, so it is pretty neutral, and my mum think it will be well received.

My mum's birthday was yesterday, and she has a table runner I made years ago laying on the dining room table almost year round - even though it is very wintery in cream, pine green and christmas reds. So I figured she needed something more summery, and made another DNP runner - this time in oldfashioned pink, muted green and florals on cream:

...and I had a ball quilting it - heaps of lines, straight stitch and zig-zag.

Another birthday present has been put together, the bindings were finished at lunch today. And when I was going to take a picture I just couldn't help myself but had to lay the table:

They turned out very bright and cheerful. Hope they will be liked and used!!

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Perhaps there is time for some me-sewing soon? My fingers have been itching since this parcel arrived last weekend:

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I do have plans.... *lol*

Hugs and stitches from Anne Ida