Sneak peeks

Although I have been busy ticking off projects this weekend, I have very little that I can actually show at this time, so instead I will content myself with sharing some sneak peeks!

We visited a local Vintage and Collectors fair at the weekend, where I picked up some (as it turned out essential!) sewing supplies.

I can never resist a button bargain and at 20p for the packet, they were definitely a bargain!

I had a vague idea of using the vintage buckles in a handbag and as it turned out they were used much quicker than I thought they would be.

The smallest of the three I bought was the perfect fit as a slider on an adjustable strap, which was just waiting for supplies to be delivered for finishing. Serendipity indeed :)

Having signed up for The Littlest Thistle's Everything but the Kitchen Sink SAL and not made any attempt to tackle the first block, when she posted the details of the second block recently I thought I had better have a go. Katy gave instructions on how to design a paper-pieced block in Word, which was definitely something I had never even known was possible. The SAL block is for mugs hanging from a mug rack, and I did manage to produce a pattern that vaguely resembles hanging mugs. I haven't gotten around to actually piecing the block yet as I was so taken with the possibilities of producing a pattern in Word that I had to have another go.

The theme for January's month's block in the Star of Africa Bee is shoes and I have had an idea in the back of my head for a while of what I would like to do, but until now not the capacity to actually do it. However, here is a sneak peek of my very first Word generated paper-piecing pattern.

Paper-piecing and zips I must be mad!

Thanks Katy for putting me right on the numbering :)

Finally here is another sneak peek of an exciting upcoming project that I have been working on with the lovely UKMUMINUSA.

I think I have teased you enough for now. Hopefully all will be revealed in the not-too distant future!

Linking up to Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link-Up, which this week is at Weekend Doings.

Friendship and Fabric

Another project completed before the deadline, this is in danger of becoming a habit!

My quilted bag for the Friendship Bag Swap has been filled with goodies and posted off. I really enjoyed putting the bag and package together, and given the cost of the postage to the US I am really, really pleased that I didn't make a bigger bag :)

One package out, another one in.

I ordered the blue vintage fabric with houses from Karen's Etsy shop and look at all the extras she included in the package!

I have had my eye on the vintage blue fabric ever since Karen added it to her shop, so I am delighted to finally have some in my stash. It may not be there for long though, as I have asked my fellow Star of Africa Bee members to make house blocks for my month in the Bee and this fabric will be perfect for the quilt backing.

So this is what my WIP list looks like now

• In Color Order HST BOM - Top Completed
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks
• 14 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (way behind schedule) 
• Sunday Morning Quilt Bee blocks completed and sent 
• Star of Africa Bee blocks completed and sent (on schedule just!)
• Friendship Bag Swap - Bag made ready to be filled COMPLETED AND SENT
• Modern Scrappy Bits Swap 3rd Round - partner details received
• Triple Zip A Long pouch  COMPLETED
• Curved Seams Challenge signed up COMPLETED
• And And Sew On BOM - first block completed
• Just my Type paper-pieced block  COMPLETED
• Everything but the Kitchen Sink SAL - no progress

 Maybe, I will manage to get around to some of these long outstanding WIP's soon, but then again maybe not!

Hope you are having a productive week.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday  and We Did it Wednesday .

Old/New WIP

A couple of weekends ago we visited a local antiques fair and market. The market is held every weekend in a local overground rail station and is always a nice morning out.

To my delight one of the first stalls I came across was selling vintage linens. Not only that though, as the stallholder had had such a good day at a big antiques fair the previous week she was keen to offload her remaining stock so was slashing her prices with gusto! Now that is my kind of stall :)

It would have been wrong not to help her destash wouldn't it?

 I have bought some jewellery for Christmas presents for my SIL and DIL so will be using the linen napkins to make jewellery rolls for them. No plans as yet for the rest of the linen but it was too good a bargain to be passed up!

I also bought this vintage embroidery transfer for 50pence! I am a member of the Hoop Love Vintage Transfers Flickr group but have never had anything to upload. Hopefully, this will be my first contribution, although I think I need to do some research to make sure it is out of copyright first. If you have any idea where this might be from I would be delighted to hear!

My final purchase was the Old WIP referred to in the title. These abandoned EPP hexagons were calling to me.

They look like they have been a WIP for considerably longer than I have been sewing, and they are now my latest WIP. The fabrics are a bit of a mix but I am sure I will be able to do something with them!

It has been a few weeks since I last updated my WIP list so here is how it is looking at the moment.

Ongoing

• 7 blocks of In Color Order HST BOM ( 4 blocks behind schedule)
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted
• Teatime quilt pieced, backed and basted 
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks
• 14 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (3 months behind schedule) 
• Sunday Morning Quilt Bee blocks completed and sent (on schedule)
• Star of Africa Bee blocks completed and sent (on schedule just!)
• Travelling Pic Stitch Blog Hop project (not going to make Nov 30th deadline!)
• Modern Scrappy Bits Swap item to be sent by Dec 5th
• Ring your neck Challenge scarf completed 

Waiting

• Indigo and violet rainbow cushions
• Last block of Sampler quilt

Hoping you have had a productive week.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday

Storks and Scenery

One of the bonuses of being back in the UK is that we can nip down South to visit our boys whenever we like. Another bonus is that they might just happen to live near charming fabric shops like this one!

Of course it would have been rude to take a photo without making a purchase, so a few FQ's might just have found their way into my bag :)

Our trip wasn't all shopping themed though, we manage to fit in a riverside walk at Henley on Thames, scene of the renowned Henley Royal Regatta, too. (There was an excellent fabric warehouse there too but I will tell you all about it in a later post!).

In the lovely village of Wallingford in Oxfordshire we had fun poking around an antique and vintage arcade. We were amused to find that free cereal bowls that our boys collected when they were younger, and still use when they come home, were for sale on one of the stalls. Perhaps we should have a look through our cupboards to see if there are any hidden gems!

I came across these vintage needlecraft magazines at one of the stalls too.

The Good Needlework was tempting but it didn't seem to have the embroidery transfers listed with it so I thought better of it. My knitting skills are not up to attempting any of the patterns just yet.

I did though attempt the paper-pieced Stork pattern that my lovely, blogging friend Kristy drew up for me for this month's Star of Africa Bee block. Nicky, whose month this is, asked for blocks based upon fairytales or folk tales. The pattern was really straightforward, any mistakes are entirely down to me! You can check out more of  Kristy's fabulous patterns in her Craftsy store

As my stash is still hidden away at the back of the storage unit I had real trouble finding some black fabric for the wing. In the end I resorted to cutting a piece out of my son's shirt! I am hoping he doesn't read this blog :)

In Eastern Europe storks are considered very lucky and people go to great lengths to ensure that storks return to the same nests year after year.

We were always delighted in our drives through the Baltic States to spot stork nests, especially in the Springtime with hungry chicks peering over the top.  The nests were often surprisingly close to the roads, so stork-spotting was never that difficult.  There are apparently black storks in Latvia but they are much more elusive!

Nicky has also asked for a signature block made to resemble a book spine so that is next on the to-do list.

I hope you have all had a lovely weekend too.

Linking up to BOM's Away, Monday Link-up and  Sew Modern Monday