Carseat Quilt

We keep going out in the car without a blanket for the carseat which attaches to the buggy. You need something you can really tuck in as Penelope likes to kick. It's been so windy and cold of late that I decided that the perfect solution would be to use some of our old cashmere jumpers which are riddled with holes but which are incredibly soft and warm. I have kept them hoping that there would be some use for them so in a fit of industry I very clumsily chopped off the arms of one, sewed them to the main body and made this double layer quilt. You can still see the cashmere label at the bottom!

The whole thing took about half an hour. I wasn't very exact. I just wanted to get out of the house so we could go for a windy walk. But I did manage a few embellishments. I added some ribbon tags which would help with keeping the sides tucked in and also give her something to play with. I thought they might be dangerous if I left them open loops so I sewed them shut.

I was worried that the holes would weaken it so I sewed a few strips across the middle in fluro thread. I never got round to the crochet edging. I might make another bigger one when I find the rest of the jumpers. I'll spend more time on that one and do it properly!

The Year Review

So let's compare this time last year with now.

Things I made this year
1. Crochet snood. I made two of these in the end one large, one small just so I could perfect the stitch. Otherwise my crochet has been poor this year.
2. A Sewing machine mat for Rachel's birthday.
3. The Swoon quilt. This was a huge project. It's the biggest quilt I have ever made. I won't be making such a monster for a while, but I am glad I did it.
4. The Swoon offset quilt. Technically it's not quite finished as I have to sew a bit of the binding but it was so close and I have so little to show for 2012 that I thought I would include it. I'm glad I managed to use up all my leftovers as the Swoon is quite wasteful.
5. The elephant mobile for Penelope.
6. The appliqué moses basket quilt. A hit! it's been washed loads and is all nice and soft now.
7. Pen's hexagon diamond paper pieced quilt. Although small, this was epic in terms of man hours invested in it. I am really pleased with it.
8. A pincushion. It didn't take very long which made it good fun. I am quite surprised how much I enjoyed log cabin. I can feel a new project brewing.

Unfinished projects from 2011
1. The Sawtooth Star Quilt. I have done loads on it. I just need to finish sewing the top together. I don't have the space to baste it though so it might have to wait until I have got rid of all our boxes of stuff we still haven't unpacked.

2. The rainbow Hexagon quilt. It just needs tacking together but I have no space to lie it flat on. It's not that big so I will have to see it can make space somewhere.

3. The postage stamp quilt. it's a whole heap of work still left to do unless I make it a bit smaller which I might well do.

New projects
1. I'd like to make this scrap quilt, but I think it is the fabrics which make it so I need to think long and hard about them. I like these and these fabrics.

2. Car quilt. We need a warm blanket for the car seat, something soft that tucks in. It occurred to me that I have kept a pile of old cashmere jumpers somewhere which I could layer together to make a super warm, soft mini quilt. I could crochet the edges like this. I even have some wool for it.

3. My Petra Prins kit still waiting for a rainy day. I think it's time to crack it out this year!

4. I'd like to make this little Maggie Wise quilt. Mum bought me the material and pattern for my birthday.

5. I'd like to make an Irish chain quilt like this or this or this.

Courses
None! Boooo. I have been kind of busy though so I thought I would give myself a break. I am all about learning from books these days.

Resolutions for 2013
To continue finishing things off instead of starting big new projects
To not buy new fabric
To get back into sewing now that Penelope is a bit more independent
To do more knitting and crochet so I don't forget

Resolutions from last year
Slim down my project cupboard - I think I did pretty well on that score.
Sift out any fabric that isn't in my a list - haven't got very far with this.
Finish the hexagon quilt so I can put it away and have a break from these technicolour projects I seem to keep doing. Time for some subtle colours. - I think my Liberty fabric quilts are much more subtle and less 'modern'.
Keep up with the crochet. So I don't forget what I learn. - I need to get back this, especially now that Jess has put me to shame with this!


That's it!

Pin Cushion

I managed to make one Christmas present this year; a pin cushion for Ray. I didn't think I would ever have enough handsfree time in which to do it, but Penny is getting much better at napping on her own now so I get a few pockets of time. It was a Jeni Baker pattern on Make which Jess had pinned on Pinterest

I had a few fat quarters of Woodland Tails by Riley Blake. I had to fill in the blanks with a few different fabrics.

I filled it with millet which is actually a bit light so I'd try something heavier next time. I'd probably make it a bit smaller as well. It's really easy to make. It only took an hour. It makes me think about making a log cabin quilt one day.

Wonky Crossstitch

It's not my style to label my quilts, but I decided that I would do so for Penelope's quilt. All my books and most of my sewing stuff is packed away in boxes so when I decided to do some crossstitch I had neither the thread nor the book of alphabets I had bought years a go. So I just decided to do a sloppy job. I drew a plan and then drew it on with fabric pen. It all slopes down as it progresses and the crosses are all different sizes but I decided it was part of its charm. I used variegated quilting thread in the end as it was all I had out.

It all goes a bit haywire after the first three letters but I think this represents this time well. I only get small pockets of time in which to do any sewing so invariably I cut corners and do things half heartedly. I decided not to do the numbers in the end. They didn't have the same traditional feel for some reason.