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I recently discovered the loveliest shop Sew Sweet Violet and whilst I was browsing their online shop at some beautiful patterns and kits, I just couldn't resist buying this pretty enamel magnetic needle minder. I can't believe I've never had one of these needle minders before - my sewing needle won't get mislaid ever again! 
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Thanks to signing up to the Aurifil Colour Builder club at Oh Sew Sweet Shop I've been able to add to my collection of Aurifil 40wt threads. Whale Shark is this month's selection and these blue threads - shades 2784, 2735 and - 2770 really are beautiful and are great for machine quilting.  Block 3 - The Honey Patch - is the next installment of the mystery quilt George and the Donkey, designed by Lynette Anderson Designs. The pattern had arrived in the post from Poppy Patch at the beginning of December, but I was busy with other projects, so I'm still trying to catch up! First of all, I prepared some pretty bee hives which have a tiny bee-sized door on the front...
...the bee haves were appliqued in place, and some bees were hand mbroidered around the hives. I'm using a selection of variegated Valdani stranded embroidery threads for this project. If you don't have any variegated threads, my top tip is to use a couple of solid embroidery threads, in similar colours, and thread a needle with one strand of each colour. This gives a softer effect than using just one colour...
...I'm using the Apliquick method of applique for this project, as I seem to be all fingers and thumbs with traditional needleturn applique. Once the hives and birds were stitched in place (I've been using Bottomline 60wt thread for this along with a Clover Black Gold applique needle) I could concentrate on the hand embroidery...
...these four blocks will be the cornerstones for parts 4,5,6 and 7 so they'll be put in a safe place while those parts are being worked on...  ...next it was time to make a huge pile of 1/2" hexagons, ready for the border around the centrpiece. These pre-cut hexagon papers are really useful, and so much quicker and easier to use than trying to cut my own papers! These ones are by Sew & Quilt and were purchased online from Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts. A total of 140 hexagons were prepared, ready to make a bouquet of twenty hexagon flowers...
...as you can see, I used the same red hearts print for the centre hexagon, with an assortment of 20 different fabrics for the flowers. Lots of tiny squares were cut from my stash of "Lynette" prints and were added to the corners of larger squares which had been cut in an assortment of neutral fabrics...
...the hexagon flowers were then stitched in place onto the background squares, making sure they were different to the prints used on the corners of the squares. Once the hexie flowers were all stitched in place, the mini blocks were stitched together in two rows of four, two rows of six, and then joined together around the centrpiece. This was then carefully pressed on a wool pressing mat using a cool iron...
...finally, the narrow borders of 3/8" hexagons were stiched in place. A final press on my wool pressing mat, and I could breathe a sigh of relief after making all those hexies!  I've stitched the first 2 blocks of George and the Donkey together - this is the mystery quilt George and the Donkey designed by Lynette Anderson Designs and purchased as a BOM from Poppy Patch. This centre piece has been hand embroidered with a selection of variegated Valdani threads and has been hand appliqued using the Apliquick method. The hand painted wooden button wa ssupplied with the pattern for block 1 and will be stitched in place once the quilt is finished.  Block 2 for this mystery quilt arrived in the post from Poppy Patch several weeks ago and due to having lots of other projects needing my attention, it had been packed away in a box while I waited for life to slow down. The flowers were traced with a fine Micron Pigma pen (my favourite is a size 005 nib) ready to be hand embroidered with a selection of variegated Valdani embroidery threads...
...these hand embroidered circles were cut to size, then a small running thread was stitched around the edge. Using Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Circle templates, the gathering thread is pulled up, the circles pressed, then allowed to cool down. The templates can then be removed, and the circles will be appliqued onto an embroidered panel, along with these Suffolk Puffs. These fabrics are from Lynette's Garden of Flowers collection, and they're really pretty. A selection of tiny squares was cut for a narrow border...
...here's the completed embroidered and appliqued panel with the narrow border of squares all stitched in place. This will eventually be joined to the first block, to become the centrepiece of the quilt...  ...next it was time to make what seemed like a million tiny hexagons! These pre-cut 3/8" hexagon papers were made by Sew & Quilt and were purchased online from Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts in Cornwall. Using a selection of prints, lots and lots of tiny hexies wer made using the hexie papers and a glue stick...
...those 3/8" hexies were joined together in strips with a fine thread - I used Bottomline 60wt thread for this along with a Clover Black Gold applique needle. The rows are then hand stitched onto the inner borders of the quilt. As you can see, there are lots and lots of pretty little hexies all in a row...
...and here they are - hexies galore! All 4 strips for the inner borders have been pressed and trimmed to size. These will be put to one side as they're not needed until I've stitched the next part of this quilt.  Thanks to signing up to the Aurifil Colour Builder club at Oh Sew Sweet Shop I've been able to add to my collection of Aurifil 40wt threads. Pink Land Iguana is this month's selection and these pink threads - shades 2530, 2425 and 2410 - really are beautiful and are great for machine quilting.  The first part of this mystery quilt, George and the Donkey by Lynette Anderson Designs, arrived in the post from Poppy Patch at the beginning of October 2022. I needed to clear my sewing table of a few other projects before I started this project, then block 2 arrived before I'd even had a chance to have a look at part 1 properly!...  ...I started by choosing fabrics from the fabric pack supplied, then pressing them with a warm iron. I decided to use the Appliquick method for this block, including the thatched roof and the gate, which is made with felted wool in the original pattern. Once the applique shapes have been prepared, they are held in place with a few spots of Roxanne's basting glue, then stitched to the background fabric using a mid-grey Aurifil 80wt thread...
...the hand embroidery was stitched using two strands of variegated Valdani embroidery thread in a selection of colours. These threads are hand dyed and the muted colours work well with Lynette's fabrics. Once I'd finished both the hand embroidery and the applique, the block was pressed using a cool iron and a wool pressing mat and finally trimmed to size...
...so after several weeks of selecting and cutting fabrics, preparing applique, stitching, stitching and more stitching, I finally have the first block completed!  Unfortunately I didn't manage to complete ANY of the rest of those lovely kits on that OTHER list that I wrote about back in January last year - these are still got packed away in my sewing studio! Hopefully I'll be able to get a few of these made this year! I've recorded the year it was purchased, the name of the pattern, the pattern designer and the shop they were purchased from. You can click on the pictures below to enlarge them... 2005 - Many Thanks - Nancy Halvorsen - Quilters Haven 2005 - Boo - Sandy Gervais - Quilters Haven 2010 - Luna Notte - 3 Sisters - Quilters Haven 2011 - Fowl Play II - Bramblepatch - Bramblepatch
2012 - Blitzen - Basic Grey - Quilters Haven 2014 - Amelia Bag - Monkey Buttons - Monkey Buttons 2015 - Run Rabbit Run - Jo Colwill - Cowslip Workshops 2016 - Bouquet Cushion - Jo Colwill - Cowslip Workshops
2017 - Daisy and Lavender Cushion - Jo Colwill - Cowslip Workshops 2016 - Vintage Bouquet - Jo Colwill - Cowslip Workshops
2019 - Rosewood - 3 Sisters - KIS Quilting Ltd 2019 - Thimble Blossom - Buttermilk Basin - KIS Quilting Ltd 2017 - Celebrate Christmas Advent Calendar - Sarah Edgar - Pretty Fabrics and Trims 2020 - Gingerbread Biscuits - Sarah Edgar - Pretty Fabrics and Trims 2020 - Christmas Tree - Sarah Edgar - Pretty Fabrics and Trims
2019 - Merry Merry Snow Days - Bunny Hill Designs - Six Penny Memories 2019 - 12 Days of Christmas - Corinne Lapierre - Corinne Lapierre 2020 - Bali Bag - Two Aunties - Little Quilt Store 2021 - Kismet Pouches - Little Patch Pockets - Little Patch Pockets
Unfortunately I only managed to complete five of those lovely Norwegian kits I had on my very long list of kits that I wrote about back in January last year - these are the ones I've still got packed away in my sewing studio! Hopefully I'll be able to get a few more made this year! I've recorded the year it was purchased, the name of the pattern, the pattern designer and the shop they were purchased from. You can click on the pictures below to enlarge them... 2010 - Høytidsengler - AnnAKa - Lappelåven 2011 - Anna’s Lille Veggteppe - AnnAKa - Lappedilla 2011 - Fruktsalat - AnnAKa - Lappedilla 2011 - Enkel Sommerløper - AnnAKa - Lappedilla 2011 - Søt enkel sminkepung - AnnAKa - Lappedilla
2011 - Roseveska - Kari Renolen - MyQuilt 2011 - Toalettveske - Elin R. Roland - Gift 2011 - Rosa på shopping hverdagsveske - Kari Renolen - Lappedilla 2011 - Varlige tulipanhus - AnnAKa - Lappedilla 2011 - Stjernedilla - AnnAKa - Lappedilla
2012 - Kloke Ord - AnnAKa - Lappedilla 2012 - Kaffeslabberas - AnnAKa - Lapp-Elisa 2013 - Ugler - AnnAKa - Lappedilla 2020 - Spis Fisk - AnnAKa - Lapp-Elisa
Unfortunately I only managed to complete three of those lovely Australian kits I had on my very long list of kits - these are the ones I've still got packed away in my sewing studio! Hopefully I'll be able to get a few more made this year! I've recorded the year it was purchased, the name of the pattern, the pattern designer and the shop they were purchased from. You can click on the pictures below to enlarge them... 2016 - Flying Santa - Lynette Anderson Designs - Little Quilt Store 2016 - Friends For Christmas - Lynette Anderson Designs - Puddleducks 2017 - Forest Floor - Lynette Anderson Designs - Little Quilt Store 2017 - In Full Bloom - Lynette Anderson Designs - this was a gift 2017 - Wonky Santa - Lynette Anderson Designs - this was a gift
2018 - Winter Playground - Lynette Anderson Designs - Little Quilt Store 2018 - Woodland Secrets - Lynette Anderson Designs - Cross Patch 2019 - Tree of Life - Lynette Anderson Designs - Cross Patch 2020 - The 1618 Cottage Bag - Lynette Anderson Designs - Little Quilt Store 2020 - Festive Forest Table Topper - Lynette Anderson Designs - Little Quilt Store 2020 - Bird in a Basket - Lynette Anderson Designs - Little Quilt Store 2020 - Let There Be Joy - One Day in May Creations - Poppy Patch 2020 - Stitched Treasures - Marg Low - Poppy Patch
2014 - Wartime Sweetheart - Faeries in my Garden - Faeries in my Garden 2020 - Rambling Stitches - Hares Nest - Poppy Patch 2020 - Christmas Tree - Hatched and Patched - Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts 2021 - All For Christmas - Hatched and Patched - Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts 2021 - Together at Christmas - Hatched and Patched - Poppy Patch
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 About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
 
 
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