Flying farfalle {a finished quilt top}

After buying a bundle of Cotton and Steel and not loving it *gasp of horror all round*, I wanted to make something quick that I would be happy to give away. I remembered Flying Farfalle by Ashley at Film in the Fridge and thought the navy would look great as the 'farfalle'. I also decided to add in a few coloured ones for fun.

I think I'll end up giving it to a niece or nephew so I stopped when I thought it looked big enough for a little person. From memory it's 50.5"x 60" so I should be able to quilt it myself without too much of a wrangle!

2015 Finish-Along {Q2 list}

I wasn't sure about the whole Finish-Along thing to start with, but Q1 was ok so I'm joining in for Q2 as well :-)  I quite enjoy the 'keep the list manageable approach' so I'm going to continue only listing things in my Finish-Along goals that I have a shot at finishing.

1. This one must be a sure-ish thing? I have a quilt top, it just needs quilting!

2. I have nearly all the blocks for this 'Flying Farfalle quilt made, so hopefully I should be able to get this one finished and quilted too. 

3. I only have two blocks made for this flying geese project made with my precious Oakshott rubies. If I get this one pieced in time, it could be done in time as I'm hoping to get it longarmed.

4. I'm adding this as-yet-unnamed project to the list, just in case. I started making these simple blocks with some solids I have had laying about for ages. Not really sure where I'm going with it yet but it pays to be optimistic right?

Adrianne's stars {finished}

I found a sunny spot this morning and finished hand stitching the binding down on my star quilt. The block is one that Adrianne from On the Windy Side adapted, hence the name of this quilt!

I'm so pleased with this quilt, it's really soft and snuggly. I ditch stitched the blocks then hand quilted around the stars.

The hand quilting is by no means perfect, but it's good enough. I found a lovely backing fabric which echoes the stars on the front and has tiny little hearts in it. That Katarina Roccella is clever :-)

When I put this on my list for the first quarter of this year's FAL I didn't expect to get it finished because I had no idea how long the hand quilting would take. It didn't take as long as I imagined so I actually slip in with a finish this quarter!

Geometry 101

Many times I have acknowledged that maths is not my strong suit. I like to remind myself of this by producing new evidence on a fairly regular basis. My 'make a hexy a week' project is already running a little behind schedule.

To put these block sections together successfully, all the angles need to be running the same way. That didn't occur to me when I started stitching them together.

I have since learnt a couple of things. 

1. Lay the paper pieces out correctly first and mark the backs before you go anywhere near the fabric! 

2. There is a weird but inexpensive tool called a tailor's awl that is just magic for unsticking  erroneous basting. I suspect it will be used quite often over the next few months.

Wishing you all a relaxing and crafty Easter weekend!