Sewing catch up

It's early morning here, and after sending out emails announcing our Guild's upcoming Fynbos Quilt Festival to be held in Hopefield, decided to get back to writing a post, with many photos.  It's been a while since the last post!

First up, one finished quite big quilt top.  This 365 Challenge Quilt was started the first year it was offered by Kathryn Kerr, and now nine years later, a slightly blurry picture of the top.  I was standing on the edge of a coffee table to take the picture, and then fell off!  Mostly ego bruised, but glass everywhere from a picture frame on the table behind me!  Only after this did I think I could have fetched a step ladder!  The 12-inch block at bottom left has over 170 pieces!  I love this top!

And, amazingly, another top finished, this time it is the Glenday Quilt.  Our Guild President challenged our whole committee to make this one.  I tried to keep sort-of similar colours as the original quilt, housed in the Cultural History Museum here in Cape Town.  It is a quarter size of the pattern (by Diana Vandeyar), because I didn't want hand applique bigger stars, diamonds and flowers!  I hope the minor wobbliness will quilt out.

And sharing an actual finished quilt, but not by me, but made by my daughter T for her friend's new baby. Quilt made in Wales and brought here by my son on his brief but welcome visit last month. This is the proud new Dad!

 

 

And to prove my son was here, and that selfies need work...

 Other sewing has been bits and pieces:  some of Good Hope Quilters' Guild's Mystery 2025 (pattern by Dewald Compion) :

 

Bonnie Hunter Mystery, layout decided upon:

 

A sweet card from a kit at last Guild meeting (kit from Tracy Bouras, The Quilting Co):

 

Another Mystery in progress:

 

Some blue sewing for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for March:

 

 

I'm really looking forward to a three-day Quilt Retreat next weekend as various admin has kept me away from serious sewing lately.  I have 3 projects that will hopefully get to flimsy stage, but/and the weekend includes a new mystery quilt!

 

But first, as it's Saturday, going off to meet quilty friends!

Jaunty January

The summer here has been seemingly hotter than usual, or I think I am seriously missing the aircon from my old sewing room!  We haven't had much cooling wind, and that also means that there has been less rain in the northern part of the country.  But that hasn't stopped me sewing as much as possible.

This is the sum total of reels of thread used up in 2024.  They weren't all full to start the year  and have now been put in the recycling bin.  Already have one emptied for 2025.

 

I've been trying to move various projects along, and have started a few new ones.  Two mystery quilts started earlier this month are in progress and these are some of the fabrics for the first one, Good Hope Quilters' Guild's named The Cape Winelands.  A bunch of deep bright blues have since been added.

 

 

Pink is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for January.  (Click on the link to go see what others have been doing with their scraps.) The very few pink scraps generated since the last pink month were quickly stitched up into various sized slabs (no pictures).  Over time I've been making notes for ideas to use these slabs of made-fabric.  I wanted to balance the weight of the pieced fabric with other smaller scraps of fabric as a whole quilt with made-fabric is quite heavy.  I was pleased with this first block (12-inch finished):

So stitched some more, and will continue making just six per month in 2025 in RSC colours. 

A couple of needle-turned pieces, the one with yellow stars is the centre from a pattern our Guild was selling to raise funds and is based on a quilt in our Cultural History Museum.  You may find it here: Glenday Quilt.    The other is from my monthly quilt group in which we were asked to fold paper and make cuts like making paper snowflakes, and then use that as a template on a similarly folded piece of fabric.  I just had to stitch it up to see how it would look!

 

 

I occasionally go the Cape Embroiderers Guild and members were asked to embroider anything in the supplied evenweave fabric square (some had outlined squares and some had circles).  I am not that keen a hand-stiticher, and so it sat for about 5 months taunting me to stitch, and this is the eventual result which turned out ok.  The squares will all be stitched together for the CEG's 40th birthday this year.

 

 

 Steady progress on Bonnie Hunter's year-end Mystery, The Old Town.  Thankfully I didn't sew the sashing pieces together as I have decided to change the layout and create little stars at the intersections!  In order, one block pressed, the rest to press, playing with sashing, and playing with layouts.  I think I will make two quilt tops, 3 x 4 blocks each.

 

 

  

Have just realised I haven't taken a photo of my completed 365 quilt top.  So happy with this milestone reached.  Next time!