I tried two methods.
This was the way recommended by the tutor, using bag stiffener - a bit firmer than regular felt, but still pretty easy to stitch through - and an outer and a lining fabric.
I'm very happy that they nest easily, and think that the 1.5" box, handmade all the way, gives the nicest finish.
It's easy to use them when I have four or five or a same or similar fabric, making little 'kits' to sew as a leaders and enders projec, but sometimes I end up with a bunch of random squares that hang around. Sometimes they hang around long enough to attract friends - more of the same or similar fabrics - but not always!
I saw cards similar to these on Instagram (sorry, I can't remember who posted them - if you recognise the original maker please let me know so that I can acknowledge them) and decided it would be the perfect quick project for me. Now I have several greetings cards that can be customised for birthdays or any other occasion. Perfect!
Bonus! As well as wrapping gifts for my friend, it also helped with the tidying that I needed to to (you know, when your study / sewing room is also your spare room, so surfaces have to be actually cleared for a while!).
I didn't do much, just around the star in the ditch.
Using more jelly roll scraps
These are the two that I made, using my pink scraps as I like that better than the suggested browns!
I centred it around the child - the daughter - as my world revolves around my lovely girls, and I thought that this would be a nice way to try and represent that.
Very simple, and quite addictive!
I ended up buying my own gadget to set these little plastic poppers - it came free with lots of different colours, which is fab!
So I made this one out of one of DD2's favourite fabrics, in a matter of minutes, just to have a play!
I may have made a few others too, but forgotten to photograph them!
At the end of November I took a Kawandi workshop with Kerry from Thatssewkerry .
I thoroughly enjoyed it, but found that the hand quilting made my hand and wrist a little sore, so decided to switch and to complete it on my sewing machine.
Clearly I wasn't going to get the same lovely texture as quilting it by hand (you can really see the difference - the first four rows or so around the outside are hand quilted and you can see the lovely texture in this photo), but I could still have some fun with it!
I finished applying the fabric patches using a straight stitch on the machine, then went back and filled in with a serpentine decorative stitch, and, just occasionally, a zig zag stitch.
I was really pleased with how it looked.
After letting it sit for a few days, I decided that I didn't really have a use for this exact size (about 20" square), but that I could turn it into a slouchy pouch that would be perfect for a knitting friend.
I folded it in half (right sides together), stitched 2/3 of the way down from the open end, then squashed the final 1/3 open to make a 'T' shape and
stitched across the top of the T on each side.
Then I turned it right side out, added two buttons and button holes, and it was done!
Another Christmas present was ticked off the list!
Off to plan a New Year project now!
Wishing you all the best for 2026!
And using my latest Christmas quilt to help me do it!
Isn't it fab? I finished it a couple of weeks ago, but now is the time for it to be lit up and revealed. It's the first one I've ever made with fairy lights on!
I forgot to take a photo after I'd added the 20 button holes for the lights (thank goodness for a semi automatic button holer - it made the process very easy).
If you want a kit, I'd really recommend it. It even included the lights, and came packed in a clear project or pencil case. It's from Little Patch Pockets and they sell three different colour ways - it's called 'Spruced Up'. Worth looking at their other patterns, kits, and bits and bobs too.
Hope that you are going to have a lovely Christmas too!
It was really good fun!
This was my finished mini quilt.
I deliberately made them so that the points won't be chopped off if the blocks need to be trimmed (as everyone knows, not all 6" blocks finish at 6", despite everyone's best intentions and use of rulers!).
Neat enough that I've not embarrassed myself with them!
Nice and Christmassy, I'd recommend buying some papers from her to make things super easy to make!
I'm really pleased with how it finished. And I really love how my colour palette has stayed the same since I was making the 'round robin' with my quilting group back in 2015 - it hangs on the wall behind the bed, and you can see how well they go together.
Blue and white is always such a fresh looking colour scheme, isn't it?
Nice to have this project wrapped up - it felt like quite a long one, in the end, for no good reason!
It's this brilliant?
My crafting (and crafty!) friends conspired to make me this wonderful friendship quilt to celebrate a recent birthday (as well as giving me some very generous presents)!.
I am thrilled beyond measure, that my group of 'gal pals' - mostly school gate friends from when my girls were little - worked together to produce such an accomplished quilt.
Thank you, all concerned. You've made an old girl very happy!
Family tech issues with phones mean that I haven't even got the interim photos to share with you at the moment - never mind!
And, I have to confess, that I've made a bit of a hash of the quilt backing, which is why this quilt is now only partly quilted!
Quite how I have managed to add insert strips in both directions, only to find that neither direction had allowed me quite enough room for the quilt top that I had made, baffles me. And why I persisted in thinking that it would all be right once I'd actually basted it, I really don't understand.
I shall blame it on being a bit tired. Sometimes life outside of quilting gets in the way of leaving time or energy for sewing!
It's going to do that for the next couple of weeks too, so don't expect to hear from me (nothing sinister - only a lovely holiday that I'm looking forward to, and then some time to catch up with myself after that!).
Still, at least I'll have a work in progress to come back to and delight in working towards a finish on!
The offcuts and mini half square triangles that are the inevitable result of some methods of making are always such fun to play with!
These are the result of the 100 block sampler that I've been making - and a great distraction from actually putting that together!
I make columns with each size to see what happened, and with just one block having a small border added to it (second one up on the right hand side) they were pretty even in length.
Ten days ago I took a workshop with my Miniature Quilt Group (part of the Quilters Guild) and we made this 12" square wall hanging.
Isn't it fun?
It was run by Abbieanne, who as well as teaching also has a shop - you can see her details here.
She helped us to design the block, talked through the method of creating it, and encouraged us along the way. Always a great way to spend a day!
I'm really hoping that somewhere along the way I made a mistake and wrote a number twice!
I will find out later when I lay the blocks out in a 10 x 10 grid whether or not I've hit the right number!
These ones with curved piecing (cut from templates) do look a bit wrinkled, don't they? I struggled to get them as flat as I'd like, to be honest, but not to worry, when they are part of a whole quilt I'm sure that they won't be noticed!
This block here shows the move to English Paper Piecing which is then appliqued onto a plain background. Quite a nice change to do a little hand work.
Still making slow progress, but I've just broken the 90 block threshold, so I'm into the final furlong. I think that my blue fabrics are going to hold out just long enough!
