Triangle Design Wall

Here are the blocks I have sewn this month for my "Oh say can you sew" mystery. You are looking at 225 HST blocks that finish at 1". 

I am using the Primitive Gatherings triangle paper for these blocks and am finding the process enjoyable. Removable of the paper is quick and easy, there is no need to square down the blocks and they come out the perfect size every time.

I have to make at least that many blocks every week this month to keep up with the mystery. It's a very ambitious goal for the summer, but it might be doable. Better get back to the machine!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Judy's

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party where we celebrate and enjoy a wide variety of stitching options! It's very hot here this weekend, so I'll be sitting beside the air conditioner and stitching with a minimum of movements!

Lately I have been drawn to learning new knitting stitches. I have been making a "bee stitch" cloth, and it's supposed to be 8.5" square. As you can clearly see, it is 2" too big! Maybe I need smaller needles, or finer yarn? Oh well, it will work for a dishcloth and I continue to learn as I go.

What are you stitching today? I hope you will link up your blog or instagram post and share your hand stitching project with us. I am always amazed at the wide range of projects that talented stitchers around the world are creating. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Riley Blake Block Challenge

I am way behind in getting my Riley Blake block challenge sampler blocks sewn and spent time this week figuring out which blocks and colours still need to be sewn.

It's orange month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge so I started with that. This is block # 9 called Lynx by Amanda Niederhauser. 

This is block #10 called Wind Blown by Amy Smart

These pretty orange blocks will join the RBD sampler collection. 

I missed the 2nd quarter of colours for this project, so I have 6 more blocks to make in green, purple and blue. Happy to be back on track with this project! 

Linking up to the weekly scrap party at Angela's

Triangle Paper

I have been participating in the "Oh say can you sew" mystery and last month we were given advanced notice that for step #5 we would be making 1" HST. 

So I invested in a Primitive Gatherings product called Triangle Paper. The product costs $9, but if you have it sent to Canada, with shipping costs of $15, taxes, and the currency exchange, it ended up costing me $31.74. 

That's okay - I knew it would be a pricey purchase but really wanted to try it out!

First step was to watch Lisa's instructional video.  This is the block we're making with 9 HST's sewn together. I am totally surprised that with no trimming, the blocks are coming out the exact perfect size! I have to make about 30 blocks per week to be ready for the next clue in September.

Here is a photo to show you the scale. These are sweet little blocks which make me very happy, but I can imagine that not all the mystery quilt makers are feeling the same! 

Have you tried this triangle paper? Do you like it for making small blocks?

Design Wall Monday

Covid took away my last 2 weeks of July, so I have fallen behind on everything. I didn't work on my July UFO project, or make a mini quilt this month. I have been slowly recovering and thankfully have felt much better this past weekend. I'm sure August will be better!

We had a guild zoom sewalong on Saturday and I have almost caught up with my quilt guild's summer mystery. We are making a 2 block quilt pattern and this is block A. I made a few of block B but haven't pressed them yet. The next step is posted on Friday and I intend to be ready!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Judy's

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the Slow Sunday Stitching party where we celebrate all types of hand stitching including cross stitch, embroidery, hand piecing, knitting, crochet, rug making, english paper piecing, applique, hand quilting, etc. If you are creating something with your hands using needles and threads/yarns, we want to see what you're making!

I have finally finished a knitted cloth that says "Let's go campin". This photo shows the true colour of the yarn... I knit it in green for summer use in the great outdoors. I will be sending the cloth (with a thank you note) to my sister-in-law who hosted a family camping weekend on her property at the beginning of the summer. 

This photo is side lit to try to show the pattern better.  Pattern is by KnitWits and I would rate this pattern as "challenging" - or maybe it was me?! But with almost every row being different, it required lots of concentration.

I immediately started another (easier) cloth and  learned a new stitch called "knit 1 below". It looks lacy and pretty, and there are only 4 different rows to repeat. This is the first pattern in a Leisure Arts book given to me by my friend Gail and I hope to work my way through the book to learn many new stitches. 

I am feeling much better this weekend and hope to  enjoy more knitting and some embroidery today. Apparently yesterday was "World Embroidery Day" and I shall celebrate today by stitching outdoors. If you would like to watch a video of embroidery projects from around the world, do treat yourself to this World Embroidery Day video. 

** And Nicola at StitchDoodles is offering a free pattern to celebrate!

What will you be hand stitching? Link up your blog or instagram post and share your projects with us.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

On The Mend

After laying in bed for well over a week with covid symptoms, I am up and about. The coughing is only occasional but the headaches, congestion, brain fog, and lack of taste/smell is continuing. I'm sitting upright for periods of time, which means I'm able to sit at a sewing machine... which is a major improvement. I am forcing myself to convalesce, which means "to begin to grow strong".

It's counter culture to rest and to take time to recover. I am thankful that I do not work for a company that has 1) a prescribed number of sick days, 2) pressure (overt and covert) to return to work before full recovery has occurred, and 3) a patriarchal requirement to produce a doctor's note to verify an illness. My body tells me how long I need to be off and it is the boss of me, so I override the messages at my own peril! Resting and sleeping and some TV watching is all I can do.

While convalescing I have enjoyed watching life in the 19th century series Lark Rise to Candleford, and also life in the 1950's watching Call the Midwife.  Both are british series and completely different communities, but have the same challenges as we all still do in 2022!

In season 9 (episode 3) of Call The Midwife  Sister Francis starts sewing on a beautiful hand crank Lotus. I watched that section over several times due to sewing machine coveting!

Then half way through the episode she is sewing on an electric Singer! That was a quick change! I do not covet these types of machines, although I do have one.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. I'll head back to the recovery bed and  watch the women hand stitching in Candleford!