Well I was able to complete two more of the appliqued centres of the Flowerville quilt on Monday evening at the Rendlesham sewing group, then on Tuesday evening at the Busybee Stitching group I was VERY productive and appliqued the next three. I'd already fused weaveline to the back of the blocks when they were prepped for the embroidery (these Cottage Garden Threads are so pretty and look lovely with the Tilda fabric dresden plates). I added an applique paper circle to the centre back, trimmed the centre to size, and turned the edges over with the help of the Sewline glue stick and those apliquick tools...

...Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening was spent appliqueing the remaining 3 centres into place. I've been using my new favourite thread - Aurifil 80wt for the applique - and it has been really lovely to sew with. These blocks are looking very pretty, and I'm hoping to get the sashing cut and machined into place over the weekend, along with the borders. 

Here is Anderson's Farm in all it's glory! This was the 2016 Mystery Button Club, designed by Lynette Anderson. Each month I received a pattern in the post along with a gorgeous hand painted wooden button. It was very exciting as there was no idea what the completed quilt would look like until Month 10. This version is made with a selection of fabrics designed by Lynette too. The set of patterns is now available to purchase, and there is more info on Lynette's website. There was lots of applique (I used the applique paper and glue stick method along with apliquick rods for this) and lots of hand embroidery using beautiful Valdani threads. The patchwork blocks were all pieced together with Aurifil 50wt thread. The amazing quilting was completed by Janette at J-Quilts, and it was so exciting seeing snippets of her quilting videos on Instagram. It was been great seeing other versions of this on FB and Instagram using #andersonsfarm. Finally today I've managed to get a picture of the finished quilt - I am so very very pleased with this. This will have pride of place hanging in my new sewing studio - infact it might even get a starring role hanging in my dining room!
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And do you want me to let you into a secret? Yes, I've signed up to take part in the 2017 Mystery Button Club too!! Shhh - don't tell Mr F!!

This festive quilt (Christmas Blessings by Natalie Bird, The Birdhouse Patchwork Designs) was the first UFO that I made a start on in 2017. I managed to get the quilt top pieced together, and then put it to one side while I deliberated over the quilting. Last weekend I finally decided to get it done! I used a neutral coloured 40wt Aurifil thread, and firstly stitched around the outside of the applique shapes, then stippled in the background. 

...I had been given a packet of Superior Titanium Topstitch size 70 needles from Barnyarns when I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show back in October, and decided to try them out for this quilting project. They're perfect! (I also bought 100 Schmetz Microtex size 70 needles from Barnyarns too as they do a really good deal for bulk buying). I really do love stripey bindings, and this one is perfect for this quilt - it reminds me of Candy Canes! I used a double fold binding, and machined it to the front of the quilt, then folded it over to the back ready for hand stitching in place...

...I spent another evening with my sketch book and pencils doodling - this is the snowman design from the front of the quilt. I used a very fine Sharpie Marker pen to go over the pencil lines, then traced it onto fabric using a lightbox and a Micron Pigma 005 pen. This was then hand embroidered using DMC thread...

...finally the label is appliqued onto the back of the quilt. I used Aurifil 80wt thread for this, and a Clover Black Gold applique needle. A quilt sleeve was stitched to the top, ready to display this gorgeous quilt in my sewing studio later in the year! And those Titanium needles? Well, I used one needle for outlining the applique, all the quilting AND for machining the binding onto the front of the quilt. It's still really sharp, hasn't broken and hopefully will be good to use for another project. So yes, it's certainly lasted longer than usual, yes I think it's worth the extra money, and yes I'd consider buying them the next time I place a Barnyarns order!

Anderson's Farm quilt (designed by Lynette Anderson Designs) has been with the longarm quilter J-Quilts for a few weeks, and it was very exciting to go and collect it. This was a mystery button club project, and was made with fabrics also designed by Lynette. I had a rummage in my box of "Lynette" fabrics and found the perfect teal print from her "Highland" collection and it was just perfect for the binding. This quilt is embellished with the most beautiful hand painted wooden buttons, which are stitched into place once the quilting is completed. These gorgeous hand painted wooden buttons embellish this quilt beautifully - Lynette really does think of the tiniest detail. I think this is why I enjoy stitching her designs so much..

...I spent a quiet afternoon with my sketchbook and pencils and doodled a design for a label for the back of the quilt, and included a bird motif from the original quilt. I used the same Valdani threads that were used to hand embroider the quilt...

...a quilt sleeve was stitched to the back and the hand embroidered label was the final flourish. I'll share a picture of the completed quilt over the weekend when I get a chance to have a photo shoot!

These gorgeous Tulip Hiroshima sewing needles arrived in the post from the British Sewing Centre. They're so beautifully packaged. I'm not sure if I can bring myself to undo the boxes and actually use them!packaged that I'm not sure if I can bear to undo the boxes and actually use them!