Feather Stitching

Coriander Quilts QAL

30 January, 2025 Anne S

I’ve wanted to try quilting for many years – I’ve been amassing quilt fabrics to support that dream in readiness for having the motivation to start. Finally yesterday was the day where I started bringing my dream to life. Truthfully I actually have about four quilts planned right now, along with the fabrics, but this quilt-along by Coriander Quilts is the one that gave me the push to make a start. It’s a mystery quilt where a new block is released every month and for a beginner like me it’s perfect because Corey also provides a video tutorial for every block as well so it gives a confidence boost to give it a try. It’s actually designed around a fat 1/8 bundle of fabric by Cali & Co which has 40 fabrics, but I couldn’t justify the extra $200-$300 to source it locally, and let’s face it, with my ridiculous fabric stash it made sense to use what I have.

I was originally going to choose similar fabric colours to the Cali & Co bundle from my Tilda stash, but in the end my heart decided for me and I went with my favourite cool toned Tilda fabrics. It’s an overall scrappy quilt, so it was a great excuse to start using all of those fat 1/4s in my Tilda stash … including some very very precious vintage Tilda pieces. I also figure if I make the quilt in my favourite colours maybe I’ll be more inspired to actually finish it. Honestly I don’t think I could be any more proud and thrilled with the end result of my first block … it truly makes my heart sing, and I just know I’m going to love this quilt at the end of the year!

I think the 12 blocks will only end up being big enough for a single bed, so I’m going to have to make multiple blocks to increase it to fit a queen sized bed, but I’ll work that out at some point. I think it makes sense to make the additional blocks at the same time each month, so hopefully I’ll find out over the next month or two. But right now I can’t stop looking at this block – it makes me so freaking happy!! 😀

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse – January 2025

27 January, 2025 Anne S

WIP updates

Here’s my progress from January, including the starting point as at 1 January and their current status – I managed quite a bit, which I’m super happy about. I think I’ve finally got my mojo back again, thanks to more free time available to craft after being made redundant, along with joining the WIP Warriors Facebook group and joining their WIP challenges, plus actively doing WIPGO this year. Now it’s just a case of finding a balance between my multiple crafts of cardmaking, sewing/quilting and cardmaking – yikes.

These are the stitching projects that managed to get some love so far in January:

“Mini Sunflowers” by Heaven and Earth Designs, before and after. Only about 3% left to go now, woohoo!

“Aroha” cushion by The Stitchsmith, 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 – hard to see the changes as there was minimal stitching done, but at least it’s starting to get some love

“All you need is love and coffee” by Designworks, before and after:

“2024 Mirabilia Retreat Mermaid” by Nora Corbett, before and after:

New starts

Stitching

I’ve been looking at the same WIPs for so many years now, I decided that I also need to have some new starts this year to help with my motivation to keep stitching, and early in the year I pulled together a huge pile of potential new starts into a tub, and started a couple of small ones to fit with some of the challenges I’m working on each month. January saw me have two new starts:

Supernatural by PixelStitches, and
Creepy Pincushion by Shepherd’s Bush
Seafoam (canvaswork) by Needle Delights Originals

Sewing

Question of the month:

“Tell us about the oldest WIP you have in your stash.”

I think my oldest is also one of my most unloved – and I’m considering adding backstitch to it and calling it a day. It’s the first project I ever started on evenweave, and there are so many mistakes in it it’s not funny. There’s way too much to rip out to fix it, and it’s more difficult to fix anyway because it uses older dye lots of DMC for some colours which are totally different these days. I’m thinking I should just cut my losses, hack into the fabric and turn the image into a something else such as an inset for a tote bag or book cover.

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 (currently sitting at 97% completion)
*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
2. Windy Walk Bag from Kitty Rose Cottage
3. KJ’s Ruler Bag from Kitty Rose Cottage

Sewing, Tilda

Windy Walk Project Bag

25 January, 2025 Anne S

I’m excited that I’ve managed to start and finish another old kit project from Kitty Rose Cottage. These Little Boxes of Creativity offer a great variety of projects in Tilda fabrics, and really worthwhile – the only reason I cancelled is because I was amassing too many kits during a time I wasn’t sewing anymore. It’s great that I’m finally finding the time and motivation to work through them.

This was the “Windy Walk project bag” kit, and my first attempt at doing hand quilting – my goodness, I have so much empathy for those who hand stitch full quilts, it’s very time consuming, although rewarding at the end. It was great to try this technique out on a smaller scale before committing to a quilt.

I’m not a huge fan of pink fabrics, and I loved that Dawn sent enough squares in the kit that I could leave out the squares that were predominantly pink. I’ve always loved the red fabric with teal flowers in this range, and I think the teal and red colours help to offset the pink so it’s less prominent (also really happy that the lining in the kit was teal, so that helped me to embrace it haha). I’m super thrilled overall with this finish – and super chuffed with myself that I’m getting back into sewing again!

Friday Night Sew In

Friday Night Sew In – Jan 2025

17 January, 2025 Anne S

I’ve been invited to the Friday Night Sew In (FNSI) for a long time, but haven’t joined in because my stitching and sewing bugs were off having a holiday together. The time has finally come that I can actually join the group and put needle to fabric, woohoo!!!

I started this project last week, and it just needed to have the binding and button to be attached before it’s finished. Hopefully tomorrow morning I’ll be able to share the finished project!

Tilda, WIPGO

Sewing WIPGO number 20

17 January, 2025 Anne S

Now my stitching mojo has returned a bit, I’m attempting to join the WIPGO Challenge again this year. So far so good, I’m managing to give some love to each of the projects called – both in my Stitching and Sewing WIPGO boards.

I’m also trying to keep track in a digital planner this year to help keep me motivated, and it’s great to be able to quickly jot down notes into the planner on my iPad … I just have to remember to go into the planner in the first place LOL.

#20 on my sewing board was to complete the Sewing Day Tote Bag that was a Tilda Lovers Group sew-along project in 2020 which I was unable to complete. I loved being able to tick this one off of the list of those backlog classes, and I look forward to doing some more as the months go on this year. Here’s my finished project – I changed it slightly by changing the fabric choices to cool tones (all Tilda fabrics), and I didn’t add the stitchery panel that’s supposed to go on the front of the bag, but added another two columns of squares instead.

The next project that was called is the “Be my valentine hanging scrappy heart” project from the same sew-along. Hopefully I’ll manage to get that one completed by the end of January as well – I’m loving getting my sewing machine out again after a 4-year hiatus!

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse 2025 – goals for the year

6 January, 202529 December, 2024 Anne S

I’m a 50-something crafter in Australia who’s been stitching for approximately 35 or so years and I’m never happy unless I’m learning something new and being challenged by my crafts. After a number of very stressful years due to the loss of my parents, I’m finally ready to get back to my stitching again on a regular basis, while trying to juggle other crafts as well (sewing/patchwork, crochet and cardmaking).

My goals are relatively simple for 2025. The aim is to finish a couple of projects, but also make ‘some progress’ on other existing WIPs as well.

2025 Craft Goals:

Stitching:

Finish three stitching projects (at least one should be a current WIP)
Finish Mill Hill’s Three Kings
Hit the 80% completion mark for HAED’s Mini Sunflowers
Finish six pages of HAED’s 2025 SAL Jellyworld (this might be a lofty goal)
Participate in WIPGO (at least one hour or one length of thread progress on each project)
Make progress on one canvaswork project (new start)
Stitch four Christmas ornaments
Finish-finish at least three items in my finishing pile (make into pincushions, ornaments, framing etc)

Crochet:

Make progress on a crochet blanket or shawl
Finish at least one project from Crate Crochet (WIP or new start)
Finish at least one project from Crochet Society (WIP or new start)

Sewing:

Start a bed quilt
Make progress on at least three class/kit sewing projects (eg Tilda Club, Fee’s SALs, Kitty Rose kits – WIPs or new starts)
Finish at least one existing sewing WIP

Other crafts:

Complete at least one cartonnage project
Start at least one mosaic project
Complete at least two cards per week

Here are photos of most of my WIPs/UFOs as they stand now, just to keep track of any future progress I make.

Cartonnage, Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse 2024 recap

29 December, 202429 December, 2024 Anne S

My mojo didn’t last long at the start of the year, so there’s not a huge amount to recap from earlier, but I’m super happy that during November and December I got a big chunk of stitching done. I also loved getting a couple of finishes under my belt early in the year before my mojo disappeared again for a while. And considering I changed my goals to just have the single goal of “finish at least one needlework project by the end of the year“, I guess I can call 2024 a success 😀

I joined the WIP Warriors Facebook group this year – and got made redundant from my job in November, where I’d been employed for just over 24 years. The timing of the WIP Warriors group was perfect, because their challenges really helped me to get back into my stitching on a regular basis again over the last month or so – and that’s been really therapeutic for my emotions and my sense of belonging. It also meant some reasonable progress on a few WIPs these last few weeks to close out the year.

Finishes for 2024

“Lahaina Breezes” by Laura J Perin

“Quaker Diamonds” by Rosewood Manor

Scarf from a 2020 Crochet Society subscription box (to be donated to charity)

2024 progress on WIPs

I’m so thrilled to see some decent progress on Three Kings and Mini Sunflowers this month – they’ll be two of my focus projects for next year, with the aim to finish Three Kings so it can be on display next Christmas.

Cartonnage, Quilting & Sewing, Tilda

Tilda exchange

15 December, 2024 Anne S

I joined an exchange for the first time – I hadn’t touched my sewing machine in almost 4 years, and I found it a struggle I’ll be honest. Then when I was made redundant in the last month of prepping for the exchange I just didn’t have the headspace available to finish the last couple of homemade gifts that I wanted to include. I’m still proud of what I managed to achieve, but it wasn’t the exchange gift I wanted to send. I may still complete the remaining two items in the new year and send on to my recipient, though.

These are photos of what I sent to my exchange partner – the criteria was to send something in each of the following 5 categories/themes:

Something special for the recipient
A small doily or table runner
Something for the sewing room
A Christmas ornament
Something to eat

Something special

A small doily or table runner

Something for the sewing room

A Christmas ornament

Something to eat

Cartonnage

Cartonnage clamshell box

7 December, 2024 Anne S

I recently unpacked my cartonnage tools and completed a past kit project from Boxed and Bound – and it was probably my most challenging project to date, with lots of errors made on my part. The end result, though, is a really stunning and functional box, made in some of my favourite Tilda fabrics (Cotton Beach collection). As I love blues and teals of all shades, and I adore beachy decor, this was the perfect mix for me!

Cross Stitch, Mill Hill

Mill Hill-Three Kings

3 December, 2024 Anne S

Oh my goodness, I’m not sure what’s happening, but I love it! I’ve managed to put a few stitches into another old WIP – this is one I really want to get finished in time for Christmas 2025 so it’ll be one of my primary focus projects for next year. Going by the progress this week, if I keep it up I think that’s completely doable. This is my current update for Three Kings by Mill Hill/Jim Shore.