Post and progress

The first of the month and a WIP Wednesday that is definitely a good time to check out progress :)

The monthly mosaic definitely shows that sewing and baking were top of the list for April, could it be something to do with all those buns and cakes around at Easter, do you think?

1. Insulated pot mat, 2. Crafty Cooks Apron Front, 3. SMQ block April 2, 4. SMQ block April 1, 5. And Sew On April block, 6. Crafty Cooks Apron back


So to the WIP's where progress of a sort has been made.

I have started the quilting on my In Color Order HST BOM quilt! Only one line of sashing quilted in the ditch, but at least it is a start. (Excuse all the fluff it is everywhere!)

 

I can't decide on how to quilt the individual blocks, should I go for similar quilting for each block or a pattern that is particular to the block? All suggestions welcome but bear in mind my (limited) quilting abilities :)

I've even found the time to make a start on some paper-piecing for a block that I volunteered to test for Gemma at Pretty Bobbins. (If you love FMQ'ing Gemma has a great giveaway on her blog right now!)

With a fair wind the block will be finished this week and I can read Gemma's blog with a clear conscience :)

The last bit of progress is actually not mine but Linda's. Linda was my secret partner in the Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap and her parcel was waiting for me on our return from a trip to London at the beginning of the week.

Matching apron, teatowel and pot holder! My kitchen has never looked so smart. Linda sent me her tried and tested cookie recipe, which my son has already put in an order for so it looks like the apron will be seeing action very soon.

• In Color Order HST BOM - quilting started!
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks
• 18 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (only 2 more to go!)
• Sunday Morning Quilt Bee blocks received
• Sunday Morning Quilt2 Bee blocks sent (on schedule)
• Star of Africa Bee blocks completed and sent (1 month behind schedule)
• And And Sew On BOM - three blocks completed (one behind schedule)
• Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap  - COMPLETED AND SENT
• Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition entry    COMPLETED
• Madrona Road quilt - waiting to decide on pattern!
• Paris Cushion - no progress

So that's my progress looking forward to seeing yours.

Linking up to



Lily's Quilts

WIP Wednesday

The deadline for 

is looming, so Aprons have been top of my agenda this week. I decided to make a reversible apron, so gave myself twice the work. It seemed like a good idea at the time :)

Then I decided to use some Lithuanian linen along with my quilting cotton so stitched every seam twice as I am paranoid about the linen fraying. So twice the work again. Might I be a glutton for punishment do you think??

Anyway, here is what I eventually made for my partner

Crafty Cooks Apron Front

The Apron has linen panels bordered with patchwork strips and two patch pockets on the front.

Crafty Cooks Apron Reverse

On the reverse side the apron is plain linen bordered with Summersville cotton with a cotton patch pocket. I hope my partner likes it.


Now I just need to decide which of my favourite recipes to print out to go with the apron. I have so many I think this might take some time :)

This has been a really fun swap with some gorgeous Aprons popping up in the Flickr Group already. There will be some seriously stylish Cooks around soon!

As it is Wednesday it is also time to look at my WIP list, which now looks like this;

• In Color Order HST BOM - Backed and Basted!
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks
• 18 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (only 2 more to go!)
• Sunday Morning Quilt Bee blocks received
• Sunday Morning Quilt2 Bee blocks sent (on schedule)
• Star of Africa Bee blocks completed and sent (1 month behind schedule)
• And And Sew On BOM - three blocks completed (back on schedule)
• Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap  - Apron completed
• Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition entry    COMPLETED
• Madrona Road quilt - waiting to decide on pattern!
• Paris Cushion - no progress

 Looking forward to seeing everyone's progress.

Don't forget the link up opens tomorrow if you have tried something New to You this month!

Linking up to

New to Me in March!

It's the 25th of the month again (already?) and it is time to celebrate all the new things we have attempted in March.

My first New to Me this month is co-hosting a Flickr Swap with the talented UKMUMINUSA

As neither of us had ever hosted a Swap before we weren't quite sure what to expect, but we are delighted to have nearly 30 Crafty Cooks all stalking each other and debating whether skull and goldfish fabrics are appropriate on an apron or not :) Opinions are currently divided.

My second New to Me in March was part of Rikka's Fancy Feet Challenge, where I dusted off my Teflon Foot and got to grips with sewing with oilcloth to make this washbag.

The third New to Me activity I have attempted this month hasn't been quite as successful I have to admit. As part of my Christmas present, my husband bought me a Craft Drill set which has been sitting untouched in its smart blue zip-up case. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, but just hadn't plucked up the courage to have a go. With wind and snow forecast for the weekend it seemed like the perfect time to grab a cuppa, put some music on and finally unleash the drill.

All of that was easy until I attempted to make sense of the almost non-existent instructions. A quick Google search and it was evident that I wasn't alone in struggling with the lack of instructions and that this wasn't going to be as easy as I had hoped.

For a start I wanted to use the drill to etch on glass and it seemed that I didn't have the right drill bit (already I have a whole new language to learn!) so a trip to the local Dremel stockist was called for. Alas they only stocked the drills and accessories at Christmas, so the big out-of-town DIY superstore was next on the agenda. Yay! a whole stand of drills and bits, but sadly not the one I was looking for, so I bought what I hoped was the next best thing.

Unfortunately it was not the next best thing. So I am currently waiting on an online order, which will, hopefully, arrive in time for me to have a go at etching Easter bunnies onto glasses so that I can fill them with mini Chocolate Easter eggs.

If this plan fails the chocolates will be eaten and any mention of glasses filled with Easter Eggs will be hotly denied!

I hope your New to You attempts have been more successful than mine this month.

Link them up below and share your triumphs and/or disasters.

As ever please link back to this post in your post and/or add the blog button to your sidebar.

Check out the other links and leave a comment along the way. The emphasis of this link party is to celebrate the trying of something new, whether it works out exactly as planned or not, so a little encouragement here and there would not go amiss! 

The link will remain open until March 31st so if you haven't already tried something new you still have time :)

Craftsy Catch Up

For weeks now I have been promising myself that I would tackle some of the longstanding WIP's on my list. Needless to say I have done nothing about it! However, this has now changed! I would like to say that it was all down to a rush of enthusiasm but I think in all honesty that it was down to procrastination on working on the two quilts I hoped to have finished for the

.

So I brushed the dust off my Craftsy BOM quilt blocks and pulled out my instructions for the August blocks! The theme for August was stars and after a quick refresher the two blocks looked like this.

The first was this simple star and the second

A star in a star!

So another two blocks nearer to the end of this BOM. September's blocks are based on the Drunkard's Path pattern so my sewing table has some of these waiting for me to work on them.

These are so not my favourite thing to work on!

Still the pile of completed blocks is getting bigger and better.

It will be nice to tick this off eventually :)

Here is how the WIP list is looking now

• In Color Order HST BOM - Top Completed
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted
• Tsatime quilt pieced, backed and basted COMPLETED
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks
• 16 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (way behind schedule) 
• Sunday Morning Quilt Bee blocks received
• Sunday Morning Quilt2 Bee blocks sent (on schedule)
• Star of Africa Bee blocks completed and sent (back on schedule just!)
• Friendship Bag Swap - Bag made ready to be filled COMPLETED
• Modern Scrappy Bits Swap 3rd Round COMPLETED
• Triple Zip A Long pouch  COMPLETED
• Curved Seams Challenge signed up COMPLETED
• And And Sew On BOM - first block completed (one block behind schedule)
• Just my Type paper-pieced block  COMPLETED
• Everything but the Kitchen Sink SAL - 2nd block sewn
• Crafty Cooks and Apron Swap signed up   

There are a couple of places left to fill in the Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap before the deadline on March 15th. So if you have been thinking of joining us but not yet done so dust off your favourite recipe book, channel your inner domestic diva and sign up here!

Linking up to

and 

Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap

With the short winter nights nearly behind us (in the Northern Hemisphere anyway!) it is time for a bit of Spring Cleaning,  well thinking about it at least :) Even if Spring Cleaning doesn't feature prominently on your to-do list, here is an opportunity to embrace your inner Domestic Goddess and look the part if not live it!

In conjunction with Sam the Apron Queen I invite you to make and secretly swap a Half-Apron and your absolute failsafe, go-to recipe with would-be Domestic Goddesses around the world.

Whether your style is Hostess with the Mostest (Courtesy of Cupofteaandasliceofcake)



 Homecooking Heroine

Or Kitchen Diva

 

Your swap hostesses have the ideal partner out there waiting to make the perfect apron just for you.

This swap will be limited to 30 participants so you will need to register early to ensure your place. To join the Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap you will need to confirm your agreement to the Swap guidelines and complete the registration form at the Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap Flickr Group here

Sign ups will close on March 15th, or when the limit of 30 participants is reached. All swaps to be sent out by April 30th.

As if the Swap itself wasn't exciting enough your Swap Hostesses have lined up some fabulous incentives to help you stay on track.

Kristy at Quiet Play is offering Crafty Cooks Apron Swappers a 15% discount on her Sew Retro Paper-pieced patterns in her Craftsy store    

Julie at The Intrepid Thread is offering Crafty Cooks Apron Swappers a 10% discount for a limited time on fabrics from her online store.

 

Pam at Uberstitch is offering a $25 Gift Voucher to one lucky Crafty Cooks Apron Swapper who completes the swap on time.

Full details of all of these fantastic offers will be given in the email providing partner information.

So what are you waiting for dust off your favourite recipe book, channel your inner domestic diva and sign up to the Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap today!

Add the blog button below and join in the fun.

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Linking up putting together our first ever Swap as a finish at Crazy Mom Quilts



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