Jelly Roll rug ❤️

I don't know if you are like me, I think all Quilters are, but my projects to make list is very long.

I am always seeing new patterns, fabrics and projects, although I have a rather large expanding WIP pile that does need my attention!

One of the projects I had been wanting to do was a Jelly Roll Rug. I had already tackled the Jelly Roll Christmas Tree skirt which I love but that only comes out at Christmas time and I wanted something that could go into my little sewing space all year round. 

To make the rug is not a one day project, its also not that hard it just takes time but it came together much quicker than I thought. 

To make the rug you will need:

The Jelly Roll Rug pattern by Roma Lambson of RJ Designs (Roma Quilts on IG).

A jelly roll - I used 20 strips of Shine On by Bonnie and Camille.

Batting cut into 2.5" strips and then joined. I used a roll of Bosal Katahdin on a roll, which is 2.5" wide x 25 yards and is fantastic for this project.

A denim needle - I used a Schmetz Jeans needle 90/14 and didn't have any problems.

Wonder clips.

A Walking foot, although it would work with your standard machine foot. You will be using straight stitch and a zig zag stitch.

A sewing machine extension table or a pile of books to take the weight of the rug as it grows. 

And then you get stitching!!

My finished rug was the small size and came out a 19" x 32.5", is a little bit wobbly in places but after a good press it is fine. I only had my standard extension table that came with my Bernina Artista 170 and have since purchased a new to me much larger extension table and I think this would have helped prevent some of the wobbly bits. 

So if you have lots of Jelly Rolls and are not sure what to do with them then this is a great project. 

For the next one I am going much bigger!!

Happy stitching!!

Sunday sewing and a catch up

Well hello!!

How are you, enjoying Summer? What have you been sewing, what's been keeping you busy?

If you live in the UK like me you are probably (dare I say) fed up of the heatwave! I like the sunny weather but not when it's so hot it's difficult to do just about anything and unlike some places, houses in the UK are well insulated for the winter but we don't have air con, so it's a tad warm! Definitely not weather for snuggling under a quilt whilst putting the binding on!

There has however been plenty of sewing going on.

I finished all my blocks for the Riley Blake block challenge 2022 and now just need to decide how to arrange and put them together as a quilt top. I love how they have all turned out. 

I finished my first Jelly Roll rug and although a bit wobbly in places I love it!

I've also had an idea using the quilt as you go technique which is coming together. 

Finally I managed to catch up on some of the monthly projects as part of the Clover and Violet Sewing club, so many good projects!

Here's a sneak peek of each of those for now as they all deserve a bit more explanation in a later post!

A finished block from the RBD block challenge 2022

Sneak peek of my completed Jelly Roll Rug

Having a play with Quilt as you go

August's project from the Clover & Violet sewing club

July's project from the Clover & Violet sewing club

And why the return to blogging, you might be asking if you've got this far in the post, well I think like many I love Instagram but am finding that I am either seeing too many adverts/sponsored posts that I did not ask to see or the new trend of reels, which I like but not for every post I see. I think, as I have said before on my blog I am a bit old school and used to love Flickr and the swaps and quilt bees and love reading a blog or learning a new technique through a tutorial. Although will still spend far too many hours on IG 🤣

So, thanks if you made it this far with my ramblings and see you again soon! Also let me know what you're sewing!

Happy Stitching x

Happy 2022!

Not sure where the end of 2021 went but it flew by, and here we are in a new year! 

I don't really make New Year resolutions as such, as I know if I write them down I'll never keep them, but this year I have decided to use all the good stuff! 

What does that look like? Well the gorgeous bundles of fabric I've had for years I'm going to use! The good notebooks I'll be scribbling in! The clothing I keep and wear for a special occasion will be worn more often! The good china will be out of the cupboards! You know those sort of things! 

If life has taught me anything over the last few years - use the good things and treasure each day! 

I've already started a few new projects and will hopefully be tackling the pile of WIP's too (but first I need to get them out of their boxes and see what I have to finish!). 

I'm taking part in The Modern Quilt Guild Mini quilt swap as part of Quiltcon, so that will be my main focus to get finished in January! So far it's going to plan! 

When I looked back at what I accomplished last year I was happy, I always think I don't get much done but actually I got more finished that what I thought! 

Happy New Year!!

What quilting / sewing plans do you have for the New Year? 

Sunday Sewing and Quilting catch up

Anyone else like me and have several projects on the go at once?!

Probably why I have so many WIP's!

This week I've been working on a few different projects. First up is curved piecing. I grabbed some fabric from my stash and love the outcome. More of this to come soon!

This cute eco snack bag was made with a free pattern from Minki Kim. Such a quick make and a great idea for snacks or an alternative for gift wrap. Thinking this would be a good idea at Christmas time in cute Christmas fabric! Minki also has a free You tube video for making it too. Check it out here!

Of the quilts I have made I started and finished them myself including the quilting. The basting process is the stage I really don't enjoy and probably the reason for lots of quilt tops being complete but not finished! I enjoy the quilting process and although I sometimes struggle with squeezing my quilt into my Bernina Artista and having to wrangle with it I like the process of walking foot quilting and free motion quilting. Recently, I was lucky to purchase a new to me Freestyle Quilting frame. This is an old style frame from Cotton Orchard Quilting. So far I've only had a bit of a play but am really looking forward to loading up a quilt and having a go at different designs and not having to put my back out basting the quilt top on the floor!  

Last up on the sewing table this week is an old WIP. This is the Maker's tote by Noodlehead. I've had the fabric cut out for ages but finally managed to make some progress! I do love a bit of colour matching and happened to have the perfect colour zip and Aurifil thread to use!

So, yes lots of different projects being quilted or sewn up this week and loving every single one!

What have you been sewing or quilting this week? Would love to know!

Happy Stitching!

Instagram Quiltfest 2021

Did anyone else feel that March flew by? I sure did, however was happy to take part in Amy Ellis' annual QuiltFest on Instagram for the month of March. It was such a fun month to learn about and discover Quilters all over the world. If you didn't catch it you can still go and check out all the inspiration, just use the hashtags #IGQuiltFest2021 or #IGQuiltFest. 

As Amy describes it "#IGQuiltFest2021 is all about quilters coming together in a positive space to chat about quilting, and show off our fantastic quilts! Let us know how you got started quilting, and just how much of an obsession it is for you."

So every day in March I posted a photo linked to a prompt. It was such a fun challenge, I got to discover lots of new quilters and got loads of ideas! 

If you are on Instagram and want to see beautiful quilts and be inspired go check out the hashtags! 

If you are new to Instagram a hashtag is a searchable word or phrase with no spaces, so if you search a word for example #quilting you will see all the posts from anyone who has added that hashtag to their post even if you don't follow their account. If you search #pinkstitches you should see all my handmade makes! 

Here are some of my posts from the month:

Happy Stitching!

Quiet Play Pattern club 2021

I love challenging myself with new quilting skills and techniques and this year I am so happy I signed up to the Quiet Play Pattern club.

If you've never heard of the pattern club I highly suggest you check it out!

It's run by Kristy Lea of Quiet Play Designs and this is the third year Kristy has run it. The first one for me!

The 2021 patterns are focusing on a feature block with a border design, which I am loving. You could leave the border off the block but they are too great not to use. 

At the start of each month a new pattern arrives in my inbox, along with lots of tips and tricks and even bonus patterns. 

The blocks are all foundation paper pieced, which is now becoming one of my favourite techniques, as I love the accuracy you can achieve with lots of different shapes and patterns. 

Kristy is a lover of rainbow and I have seen some amazing rainbow blocks. I decided to go with a slightly different colour palette with my usual hint of pink, although have now decided I am loving the blocks so much I am also going to try a rainbow version too!!

Here are my January and February blocks....

If you want to check out the Quiet Play Pattern Club pop over to here. No affiliate links or anything like that just loving the club!!

Hello!

How are we all? Well, what a year 2020 turned out to be, and to be honest 2021 has taken off in pretty much the same style. We've been in a national lockdown here in the UK since the start of the year and continue to be in one. Working from home has become the new norm, but I am so happy I have a creative outlet to focus on!

Quilting and just generally playing around with fabric has been my happy place, and if I didn't have enough fabric to play with I received a Cricut Joy for Christmas and have also delved into bullet journalling, well my own take on it! So plenty to keep me busy and lots of plans to make!

IG is still my go to place for the quilting community, inspiration and sew alongs but having seen a few others lose their account and having that happened to me before I decided I wanted to return to here to also document my quilting adventures. 

On my last post I left you all hanging on Week 6 of the Mini Series Sew Along. I had so much fun with the sew along hosted by Giucy Giuce and Alison Glass on IG and love my final makes. So here they are! I used all but one of the blocks to make a quilt, using some of my favourite fabrics Ombre by V&Co (Moda) and for the backing Ikea Britten Number fabric. 

Quilt measures H 156cm x W 140cm, quilted with Aurifil 50wt and Hobbs cotton batting (80% cotton / 20% polyester).

With the remaining block I made a project pouch, using vinyl for the front, which I love! 

So, I hope you are well, let me know what you have been stitching and if there is anything you want to see round here! I might even start up doing tutorials again! 

Happy Stitching!

Mini Series Sew Along - Week 6

Week 6 - Triangle geese. I'm really loving these geese blocks as part of the mini series sew along. This was another 4 1/2 block and enjoyed every minute of making it!

2 more weeks before all the blocks will be complete!

Mini Series Sew Along - Week 5

Week 5 - Stretched Geese. 

I loved making this block, the simplicity of the background with the pop of pink in the stretched geese, definitely one of my favourites from the pattern series. Still tiny piecing at 4 1/2 inches! 

I also tried some fussy cutting with the little gold star - not quite accurate but getting better!

Mini Series Sew Along - Week 4

Week 4 of the Mini Series Sew Along was the Hexagon step block. 

I was now back in full swing with foundation paper piecing and really enjoyed making this block!! 

It would be great to sew some of these blocks with the hexagon in one solid colour or perhaps an ombre effect rather than the radiation style symbol, I might give that a go!!

Mini Series Sew Along - Week 3

This was one of my favourite blocks of the Sew Along, the Pineapple block.
A lot more tiny piecing with this block, which took a bit longer, but very happy with the final result. Again another 4 1/2 inch finished block!

Mini Series Sew Along - Week 2

Week 2 of the Mini Series Sew Along was a traditional Courthouse Step block.
I continued using the same mix of pinks and background fabric.
Completed size of this block was 4 1/2 inches!

Mini Series Sew Along - Week 1

The block for Week 1 was a traditional Log House Cabin.

Love this block and ended up at 4 1/2 inches, which was some tiny piecing!!

Rediscovering my Sew - Jo!!

The last few weeks have resulted in time to reflect, think and plan a few more creative adventures.
I have re discovered my sew-jo and it's been wonderful!!

Reflecting on where my quilting adventures started, back when blogging and Flickr were my go to creative inspirations! I miss those days and communities, the sew-alongs and swaps but when one goes another one comes along and that was Instagram.

I fell out of love with IG when my account was taken over and I lost treasured photos, memories and people I followed. I never got back my original account and photos but whether coincidence or fate I am now back to my original account name and am slowly loving IG more and more.
I've also decided to pop back on here and document my sewing adventures a bit more! Who knows how long that will last, but I have loved looking back on old posts!!

Current on my sewing table is the Mini Series Sew Along on IG hosted by Giucy Giuce and Alison Glass. I've completed 8 weeks of blocks plus the bonus block and have a plan in my mind for what to do with my blocks, so I will see how that goes this week!!

I have really enjoyed the Sew Along, getting to discover new people and re visit foundation paper piecing!!

So yes, you may see me around here a bit more even if it's just a photo of what I've been making!!

Happy Stitching!!

Instagram update

So I never did get back my Instagram account after it was hacked. Sadly customer service with Instagram is the worst!!
So starting afresh! Here's whats been going on:

Love Peony season but it ends the start of July which is only just over a week away!!

Loving these colours and Sweet William flowers! 

A couple of nights ago I attended a new to me local @thequiltersguild group!! It was so much fun meeting all the ladies, chatting, tea, biscuits and 2 and a half hours of sewing!! YES sewing!! It’s only been about a year and a half since I last used my machine. I took with me a very old #wip I started at @fatquarterly retreat with the lovely @diaryofaquilter !! I managed to sew the last blocks ready to sew strips. It was a lovely evening and look forward to going again!

Look what arrived yesterday!! Thank you @sarahashfordstudio they are fab and look at that glitter! Can’t wait to fill them up!

Back up and running - well kind of!

Well I took a hiatus from social media for a while..... lost interest, wanted some time back because IG, blogs etc. are fantastic but I can lose a good few hours, plus I haven't been doing any sewing or quilting for absolutely ages!!
Then I felt the need to get back into it all until...... I got back on Instagram and my account had been hacked! Not going to go into it in too much detail in this post but lets just say we put our hearts and trust in a little app which has the worst customer support ever!! In fact I don't think there is even any support just little automated bots!
Then there is Flickr..... a platform I loved! It kind of started my creative journey, put me in touch with lots of creative like minded people in real life and the swaps and bees - they were great!!! BUT another company was taking it over and I decided to close my account down, hence the strange looking images on this blog right now! So I have a bit of tidying up to do, need to think about blogging, where it is going etc. etc. but for now I'm going to dip my toes back in.

So if you were following me on Instagram and maybe wondered why I blocked you, because I definitely didn't, you can now find me @Cara_Pink_Stitches

So for now keeping it short and sweet and hope to sweep off the very thick layer of dust from my sewing machine some time soon!!

2018

Happy New Year!
I managed to capture this stunning sunset on the last day of 2017, which was, lets just say a challenging year. Plenty of highs, good memories and laughs but also lots of tough times.
I am praying that 2018 will be a year of good health, happiness and fun times for all my family and friends! Who knows I might even get the sewing machine out :)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all that celebrate and yay for a long weekend!

2017 and a bit of a brain dump!

Hello!

Well you might be shocked or a little surprised by this post since the last post was, well like, ages ago!

And sorry no sewing/quilting make photos as I haven't touched my sewing machine since last June! I have palpitations just thinking about that! 

Reason for absence - selling my home, looking for a house, buying a house, renovating and redecorating said house to make it into my new home! 

There has been stress, tears, laughter and now lots of dust and I mean dust when walls get taken down but slowly it is all coming together. 

Yesterday, however, I seemed to have some kind of epiphany about my creative, sewing, quilting journey and having not sewn since last year what I was missing. 

I love being creative and sitting behind my desk with the sewing machine or just playing around with fabric! Most of what I used to sew was not for me. Sewing was for gifts, quilting Bees or swaps. I used to love getting to know new people from all over the world through bees and swaps, and having not been part of any for I don't remember how long I do miss it. 

My introduction into the sewing/quilting online world actually started when I received this book:

I discovered the world of craft blogs and Flickr. Flickr was my go to place for inspiration, quilting bees, swaps and retreats. Then Instagram took over and don't get me wrong I love IG (I'm a daily addict!) but since they changed their algorithms it is just not the same. I feel like I miss out on some amazing work as I just no longer see the posts, and yes I know there are notifications but that doesn't seem to work for me. 

So yesterday I logged onto Flickr for the first time in forever! Refreshed my groups, updated the app on my phone and am looking forward to re-discovering the world of Flickr. Plus the photos appear in chronological order - yay! Then I got thinking as to why I sort of left Flickr, what's happened to all the swaps etc. where did they all go!? Other social media outlets are partly to blame as I know I could spend most of my day trawling through all the different apps on my phone, blogs and websites. I even made an account on Ello and have hardly ever been on that! 

So brain dump over! 

And a question or two for anyone out there - were you on Flickr, are you still on Flickr, do you still take part in swaps etc, where is your go to source for sewing/quilting inspiration?

I think I was having a day of reminiscing back to the good old days! :) 

Anyway that's all from me for now - Happy Stitching and hopefully I'll be back soon, maybe even dust off the sewing machine!