The finish line

The Twins were feeling a bit under the weather today...think poor little Mr J is coming down with a cold & Mr F was just a bit sleepy!  Anyway the weather here has been rubbish - showers & sun but not very warm which has led me to spending a lot of time today running back and forth from the garden with washing going up & down from the line like a yo-yo!

So the boys and I have spent the day cosy on the sofa, watching movies, eating a few snacks, me doing a bit of hand sewing & browsing fabric on the web.  At least I have now finished the Teacher's gift for HM...its all washed & ironed & ready to go once I get a little hanger for it...and here it is in all it's glory.

Now there are no more distractions & I really should get on with the Fruit Salad quilt again....soon...I promise.....

A good sewing day

So today was quite a good day for a spot of sewing...my plan was to finish the hand sewing on the front of the Teacher's gift and then to maybe have a go at making a Cathedral Window block like the blocks used to make a cushion in the current issue of British Patchwork and Quilting magazine which I got yesterday....I have recently seen some lovely Cathedral Window blocks used in quilts during my recent trips around blogland and I have been inspired.


First things first - I struggled a bit choosing binding fabric & backing fabric for the Teacher's gift...in the end I used a Jelly roll strip I had left over from the Amy Butler Love quilt which I made & chose a plain pale pink fabric for the backing.  I got the binding sewn on to the front & just need to hand stitch it on to the backing....I will post some more pictures when it is complete.


On to the next task - I was ready to start having a play with the Cathedral Window block when the Postman arrived with some fabric that I ordered from Uberstitch for my Boo to You Halloween quilt...I was not expecting this today & was even more pleased as I did not need to pay any additional Post Office charges which can sometimes happen if you order supplies from overseas!


Anyway..I digress...Cathedral Windows...the pattern in the magazine is for a cushion covered with about 9 blocks but I decided just to make 1 block as a trial piece.  I found most of the instructions in the magazine were fairly clear and there were a lot of photos up to the point where you apply the contrast fabric to the front of the 'window' - I was a little puzzled at first with what I was supposed to do & felt that there could have been a few more photos at this point to help!


The block came together really nicely - accurate cutting, pressing and sewing is key for a lovely neat finish with this block but I was very pleased with how it came together in the end (I did feel that my hand stitching of the contrast fabric & the frames could have been neater but I was too lazy to go & find my glasses!).


Here is  a picture of my trial block...sorry about the creases but I have dragged this block over to my Mum's house today to show her & my sister :-)

On my drive home from my Mum's this evening I came up with an idea for a project using these types of blocks....HM is going away for a week with my parent's to their very good friend's house, down in Devon & I thought I would make a lovely cushion for them for HM to take with her as a thank you gift.

Sunny garden days

Today the weather is perfect for sitting in the garden and catching up on some reading.  This morning I took the Twins for a walk to the shops and stocked up on some quality garden reading material i.e. my favourite quilting and cooking magazines.  Now I am all set for a nice sit down in the sun and some reading before its time for the school run :-)