A bit late, but I finally managed to finish my block 3 version of the Coriander Quilts/Cali & Co mystery quilt-along. Instead of using Cali & Co fabrics I’m using my cool-toned Tilda fabrics from my stash.
Coriander Quilts QAL block 3
WIPocalypse – March 2025
I didn’t stitch as much during March other than during the first week or so – I think that seems to be how I naturally work on my crafts now by stitching at the start of the month (as I’m motivated by the Scattergories challenge that’s released on the 1st of every month), then followed by sewing and cardmaking once I’ve finished at least six of the stitching categories.
This month’s Scattergories letters were N and S, so I did approx 100 stitches for each of the categories in the following WIPs:
“Almost Halloween” by The Drawn Thread – I made pretty good headway on it this month as I managed to find prompts in the design for Spiders (Save a spider day – NOT one I personally celebrate!), Spectre (ghost) and Skeleton. Then I decided to just keep working on it to get it finished, as there was so little left to do on it. That means Almost Halloween is my 3rd finish for the year 😀
“Sea view” by Luca-S – this was supposed to be my birthday new start but I totally forgot it was my birthday (!) and then felt too flat to stitch. I managed around 200 stitches in early March then realised I needed to frog about 1/4 of it so it’s currently in the naughty corner … it did give me enough stitches for Shells in Scattergories though.
“Girls Night Out” by Just Another Button Company – I used the thread colour of Sweet potato for Scattergories.
“Supernatural” by Pixel in Stitches – Supernatural TV show was another Scattergories choice.
“2024 Mirabilia retreat mermaid” by Nora Corbett – the only category I used the letter N for, that of Designer name, for Scattergories.
“Three Kings” by Mill Hill/Jim Shore – I actually completed this update back on 10 February, but I forgot to update my blog post, so I’m adding the updated image here now 🙂
I also managed to finish three project bags between 28 February and 3 March.
Which are your favorite three designers?
This is a really hard question to answer, because my tastes are so eclectic. If I had to really choose, though, I’d probably say the following:
- Nora Corbett / Mirabilia
- Lizzie*Kate (the inspirational samplers and the fact they’re normally fairly quick to stitch)
- Just Nan or The Victoria Sampler or Periwinkle Promises or … haha
Tilda patchwork project bag
While I was on a roll with making project bags I decided to finish making the final one today. As it used the last piece of Pellon in my stash, I’ll need to wait for a while now to make more.
I’m really thrilled that all the 2″ squares came from my Tilda scrap bags, and the only pieces of fabric that came from my stash were for the top and back panels and the lining. I’m so very thrilled with this one, it’s definitely my absolute favourite of them all. I can definitely see me making more of these in the future! This one is a big bigger than the others, which will be more useful for my canvaswork WIPs.
Koala project bag
I decided to try a different type of interfacing for this bag as an experiment, and it was an epic fail that I won’t repeat. BUT even with all that, I’m in love with this project bag – I love everything about it: especially the predominantly mint colourway, the smaller patchwork block sizes. This one just makes me happy to look at it! It was great fun rummaging through my vintage Tilda scraps to find coordinating fabrics that worked with the critter panel.
Kangaroo project bag
I’ve been wanted to make more project bags for a long time, but the sewing bug totally disappeared after Mum was hospitalised four years ago. It’s back with a vengeance, and I finally made my first ever project bag in this style (I’d previously made a vinyl-fronted bag, but decided it wasn’t my favourite style). And it was a quilt block tutorial of all things that sparked the inspiration!
I was searching YouTube tutorials for scrappy quilts and came across potato chip quilts. In one video the maker was showing different styles of the block, including using a focal fabric in the centre of the blocks instead of using two cut fabrics. I’ve had a large panel of Australian critters in Christmas sweaters for a while and had no idea what to do with them, and all of a sudden inspiration struck! I chose the kangaroo on a pink background as my tester block, because I can’t stand pink and it wouldn’t matter if I messed it up 😉
I started with the larger sized fabric cuts, as per the quilt block, but quickly realised that it looks great for larger quilt sizes, but isn’t quite the look I was going for as project bags. For this one I also tried to have a continuous look of the blocks going around the shape, including in the space above the zipper, but that just added extra complexity and I’m not sure it really adds to the overall look – I’m not sure. One thing I’m super happy about, is that I found a great kangaroo zipper pull which suits this little project perfectly! Overall I’m super happy with it, though, and I think adding the darker zipper tape helps to take away the emphasis on the pink colours. I’ll probably end up keeping this one (even with all that pink, yuck) – in some ways it’s a good reminder of my starting point for future bags … 🙂 And what a wonderful way to combine my new adventure in patchwork with something that’s practical and useful while improving my skills! 😀
WIPocalypse – February 2025
The start of February was a busy time for me stitching my little heart out. It tailed off, though, and I moved into sewing mode for a while. I’m embracing being out of work for a while and ‘doing all the things’, ie working through all those WIPs and kitted up sewing projects that have been gathering dust for years. It really helps having a dedicated sewing space, something I’ve never had before.
Stitching WIP updates
Here’s my progress from February, including the starting point as at 1 February and their current status.
“Mini Sunflowers” by Heaven and Earth Designs – fully finished!
“All you need is love” by Design Works – fully finished!
“Creepy pin cushion” cushion by Shepherd’s Bush, before and after:
“Almost Halloween” by The Drawn Thread, before and after:
“Three Kings” by Mill Hill, before and after:
“Egyptian Garden Mandala” by Chatelaine, before and after:
“2024 Mirabilia Retreat Mermaid” by Nora Corbett, before and after:
“Supernatural” by PixelStitches, before and after:
“Seafoam” (canvaswork) by Needle Delights Originals, before and after:
New starts
Stitching
I continued adding a few smaller projects to my WIP list with some more new starts this month. Some Facebook group stitching challenges gave me the excuse to start them. I was aiming to have a bigger new start for my birthday but I totally forgot my birthday and everything that went with it and then lost my stitching mojo temporarily. Oh well, it’ll get started soon and will likely become my focus piece after I finish Three Kings..
- Cabana beach by Mill Hill
- The boys are back in town by JABC
- Girls night out by JABC
Sewing
- Cali & Co mystery block of the month by Coriander Quilts – Block 2 (started and finished)
- Tilda Club Jan 2023 – The Makers Tactical Tool Belt by Arabesque Scissors (started and finished)
- Thimble pip (started and finished)
- Bee Grateful journal cover kit by Gum Valley Patchwork (started, and just needs the leather catch to be hand-sewn on before it can be fully finished)
- Slumbermouse Pourch by Kitty Rose Cottage (started, but put to one side now while I work on some cardmaking classes)
- Tilda Club issue 36 notebook cover by Lilabelle Lane Creations (started earlier in the year and finished)
Question of the month:
“What stitch-a-longs (SALs) are you participating in this year?“
I originally signed up for the HAED SAL for Jellyworld, but I decided I’d have to dedicate pretty much all my stitching time to that project to meet the deadlines, and after only just returning to stitching after a 4-year hiatus I wanted to focus my energies finishing some older WIPs instead. I did join the WIP Warriors Facebook group at the end of 2024, and they have regular monthly challenges that are really varied – adding the gamification to the stitching has really been motivating to me, and I’ve been stitching regularly every day because of it. Continuing those challenges throughout 2025 will be my only type of SAL I think, because I can work on whatever projects I want to focus on while meeting the challenge commitments.
The only other SAL is a sew-along rather than a stitch-along – I’ve started making the monthly mystery scrappy quilt blocks designed for Cali & Co fabrics by Coriander Quilts. Instead of using the Cali & Co fabrics, I’ve been pulling my Tilda fabrics out that are in cool-tone colours, and loving it so far.
2025 goal achievements
Because I kept my craft goals small this year, and having all that extra spare time to focus on my mental health, I’ve managed to achieve a small number of my goals already, which I’m thrilled with.
- *DONE* Hit the 80% completion mark for HAED’s Mini Sunflowers – I fully finished this one
- *1/3 DONE* Finish three stitching projects (at least one should be a current WIP):
1. All you need is love by Design Works
2. TBC
3. TBC - *DONE* Make progress on one canvaswork project (new start) (I started Seafoam by Needle Delights Originals)
- *DONE* Make progress on at least three class/kit sewing projects:
1. Sewing Day Project Bag by Fee Fee & Me (fully finished)
2. Windy Walk Bag from Kitty Rose Cottage (fully finished)
3. KJ’s Ruler Bag from Kitty Rose Cottage (in progress) - *DONE* Start a bed quilt (mystery BOM by Coriander Quilts)
Coriander Quilts QAL
Here’s my February/second block for the quilt-along by Coriander Quilts. I’ve realised I’m going to need to create 3-4 of each month’s blocks to have a quilt big enough for a queen-sized bed, so I may have trouble having enough of the Tilda fabrics … I guess time will tell. I have plenty of the teal ones that can be used, but some of the purples and greens etc I only have a fat quarter of each fabric, and I’m likely to need 1/2 yards. I might just have to get a bit creative down the track …
These blocks continue to make me supremely happy – you can’t help but feel that way when you’re with fabric colours that you adore 🙂 I can’t wait for each new block to arrive each month!
I was very unexpectedly given a $50 gift voucher to a quilting shop by a dear friend for my birthday, so I decided to use it towards a Sue Daley rotating cutting mat. It seems I have hundreds of half square triangles in my future with this quilt, and having a rotating mat will hopefully make it a lot quicker to trim down all those blocks! I know I shouldn’t be spending money right now, but I haven’t a small moment of self-indulgence for my birthday month 😉
Friday Night Sew In – Feb 2025
Yay it was Friday yesterday, which meant my sewing/stitching pals were busy creating and working on sewing and other craft projects.
In my case my first task was to put together this book cover, which was from Tilda Club issue 36 by Lilabelle Lane Creations. I managed to attach the embroidered panel on Thursday night, and put it all together yesterday (Friday) … however the notebook that it was based on didn’t end up fitting! I grabbed an alternative hard-backed notebook instead, which fits perfectly, but now the embroidered panel is off-centre and kinda annoying. I must say, though, the project itself is really pretty – and it was a great one to use this very colourful and busy Tilda fabric collection.
I’ll be truthfully honest that I found the instructions a bit lacking for this pattern. There seems to be one clear error where it says for both lining pieces “along one of the short ends on each piece…” to fold over and top stitch the edge. On the smaller piece of lining, though, the actual edge that needs the foldover and topstitching is the longer side and not the short one – the instructions contradict the diagram in the instructions.
There’s also no adjustment made to ensure your notebook fits other than for the height (ie it doesn’t take into account the width of the notebook), so the notebook I’d originally intended using for this didn’t fit thanks to the coiled wire spine – I had another hard-backed notebook I could use instead, so that was no drama though. When adding the embroidery panel it states to ‘take into consideration the 1/4″ seam allowance and the width of your A5 notebook’. What would’ve been super duper helpful (especially to this less experienced sewist who takes every instruction literally) is to also add a note to “take into account the 1″ back flap that holds the notebook in place”, and not just the 1/4″ seam allowance. Anyhoo, that’s just my lack of experience not thinking about that, so regardless of which notebook I ended up using the embroidered panel was never going to be aligned in the centre … my bad, and something I’ve learnt from for future projects! One day in the future I’ll do something to fix it – either by removing and reattaching the hexagon panel or adding a stamped fabric tag/label with a positive saying on it. For now I’ll just glare at it with a filthy look every now and then haha.
Last night I also started working on another project – another notebook cover, must be the week for it – but old fluffy bum (aka Smudge) decided she needed attention so it got put to one side. And while trying to finish it this morning she decided to join in the fun but this time kept swishing her tail by the needle, so I had to down tools for a while today too … at some point either today or tomorrow it’ll get finished and another kit can be ticked off the sewing list.
Design Works All you need is love
After finishing HAED’s Mini Sunflowers this week, I decided to keep momentum going, and after doing the required 100-200 stitches on this project for another challenge, I just kept plugging away at it until it was finished. This is now my second finish for the year.
This was a kit by Design Works – the black aida fabric was like cardboard and they only provided half the amount of floss needed, so I wasn’t overly impressed. Thankfully DMC white was a close enough match that you can’t tell where I used my own stash to be able to complete it (thank heavens for a monochrome design). I really do love the end result, though, and it’ll eventually get framed to hang in my kitchen area.
“All you need is love” kit by Design Works
Stitched on 14ct black Aida (kit fabric) with a mix of kit thread and DMC
Started 13 May 2020
Finished 6 February 2025
HAED Mini Sunflowers
I have a significant finish today – after 31,600 small cross stitches, it’s now in the ‘to be washed and framed’ pile. I started this during Covid lockdowns, then it was put on hold for a few years while my mojo had disappeared. Thanks to a bunch of stitching challenges this year it gave me the urge to focus on this project and get it finished. It will eventually get sent to a very very dear friend in New Zealand, someone that I’ve known my entire life and is part of my family by choice. My goal this year was to get this to 80% finished, so I’m thrilled to have exceeded that.
“Mini Sunflowers” by Heaven and Earth Designs / Marianne Broome
Stitched on 16ct antique white Aida with DMC floss as charted
Started 6 June 2020
Finished 5 February 2025
Feather Stitching 