Aran Cardigan progress

This is the back of the cardigan.

Socks finished

Oh I am a happy bunny. I finished my very first pair of socks tonight. I am very proud of myself. Shame the weather is too hot to wear them now. Ah well they are ready for the rugby season in September.

River of Dreams Exhibition, Limerick

An Angels Story, pattern by Anni Downs

Animal or Alien, pattern by June Gilchrist.

Two of my quilts on display at the 10th annual River of Dreams Exhibition at the Franciscan Church in Limerick this week.  I went to see it this morning and then visited the 10th birthday sale at the Limerick Quilt Centre.  I had a lovely morning thanks to Maeve and Karen.

Current Project

Below is a photo of what I am currently working on.  My sewing room needs a serious clean out before I start my next quilt project (or continue some ufo's) so I decided to try some knitting again.

I have bought wool to make two cardigans but I got a mad notion to try to knit a pair of socks. So far I am very proud of my efforts.  I turned the heel no bother at all.  I stayed up really late last Saturday night.  Once I had finished the ironing I was determined to try it and it worked.

I forgot to post some photos from a quilting workshop I did recently.  The workshop was held at The Limerick Quilt Centre and the wonderful and talented Mary Palmer was the tutor.  My sister Margaret and my niece Katie were also there.  We had a great day.

Lines, bubbles, waves, spirals and flowers.

Until next time, happy knitting and sewing x

Recent Finishes

These are some photos of a baby quilt I finished recently.  The pattern is called I Spy a Four Patch, from Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.  I really enjoyed making it.  I have also shown a couple of close ups of the quilting.

All of the fabric was from my stash, which I was very pleased about.

This one is a Disappearing 9 Patch. The fabric was a pack I bought from The Fennel Shed last year.  I ordered some fabric for the border from them from the same fabric range.  I am really pleased with how it turned out.

Both of these quilts are on their way to Slovakia.  My husband's friends Marian and his wife recently had twins Adam and Alica.  I hope they like them.

That's all for now, happy sewing x

Jacket finish and baby quilts

              

This is my jacket finally finished and modelled by my daughter Becky.  My sister Trish, who the jacket is actually for, loves it.  I'll have to make one for myself now!  Thanks to Nanette a Weaver for her wonderful pattern.

                            

These are two baby quilts I have been working on.  My husbands friend and his wife recently had twins, a boy and a girl.  These are now ready to be quilted.

The first one is I Spy a Four Patch by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville and the fabrics are all from my stash.  The second one is a disappearing nine patch.  I had bought two 6.5 inch charm packs from the Fennel Shed last year and I contacted them recently for matching fabrics for the borders.

I'll post again when these are finished.

Until then Happy Sewing.

Jacket progress

Half the front of the jacket done. This is laid out differently to the back and sleeves as you will need two front pieces. Each front piece must have its own Bargello pattern. It took me a while to get this right but once I had it figured it went together quite quickly.  I have all the pieces ready now.  Next step is to assemble the jacket.  I hope to have that done by Friday as I want to take it to Dublin to show it at the annual Quilters Guild of Ireland Conference next weekend. Pressure is on!

Patchwork Jacket

This is the beginning of a patchwork jacket I am making for my sister.  I promised years ago I would make her one, but it never happened. I bought beautiful fabrics from Starr Design Fabrics at the International Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, UK back in 2009.

Then I recently came across a video on You Tube about Nanette Weaver and her Fractured Bargello Jacket Pattern, which is sewn on a sweatshirt base.  I ordered pattern and I'm off and sewing.

So far I have the two sleeves done and I have just started the back.  I am very pleased with it so far.

More on this later.

Happy sewing.

The Bean Bag

This is an extra large bean bag I made this week for my sons friend. He loves it and I am very pleased with it. I found the pattern on Google.  It is by Joanna Armour and it is on the Michael Miller Fabrics website.

Here is the link: https://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com/index.php/fileuploader/download/download/?d=0&file=custom%2Fupload%2FFile-1366638614.pdf

Until next time - Happy Sewing

Teddy is finished too!

Hi again,

This is a teddy I started at a fabulous workshop at The Limerick Quilt Centre last July. I went to the workshop with my sister who was home from Australia on holidays. We had a great day.  I'm glad he's finally finished. He has been waiting a while.

I am very pleased with the finished product.  I re-learnt how to do blanket stitch and I also learnt how to do ladder stitch.  I found some great tutorials on the web.  What would we do without the web, I wonder.

This one is for my daughter Becky and I hope to make two more for my boys in time.

Well until next time - Happy Sewing.

I'm back!!!

It has been quite a while since I posted anything here - a whole year to the day in fact!! My how that year has absolutely flown by.  The joys of changing to a full time job and trying to keep a home and family has meant that my free time has been greatly reduced.  I have been sewing but only a little bit unfortunately.

The following photos are of two quilts that I recently finished.  The tops were both made at workshops run by my favourite local quilter Mary Palmer of Marimu Designs, a few years ago.

I found out a few weeks before Christmas that my sister-in-law and her first cousin were both diagnosed with breast cancer.  Both are undergoing treatment at the moment.  I decided to try to complete these quilts as quickly as time permitted.  Unfortunately I was a little ill over the Christmas holidays myself with shingles so that slowed me down a bit.  I finally finished them last week.  I am very pleased with them.

Hopefully I'll be back sooner the next time. Until then happy sewing everyone.