A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

I have been doing a little bit of knitting, sewing and longarm quilting lately even if I had a big set-back with my health issues the last two weeks. A really nasty cold to top it off is not what I needed right now, but that's just how it goes... I'm just so glad I have my hobbies to keep me occupied :-)

Earlier this month I finished a pair of Blueberry waffle socks and a Strippy Charm pouch for my niece's birthday. I just love the soft blue colors in these socks!

Another pair of Blueberry waffle socks are almost done, and I like the new sock yarn I used for these. It's called Alpakka strømpegarn (alpaca sock yarn) by Sandnesgarn. Super soft and lovely to knit with!

A while ago I ordered a cute pattern from Lori Holt's Etsy shop called "Modern Mugs". I have made a few of the blocks using the Modern minis panel fabrics, and I love the cute sayings on them. I am making this quilt for my little kitchen corner, and hope to finish it up soon.

This weekend I finished a cute block Lori Holt made a Instagram tutorial for, and I think it's just super cute! I have only made the 6" block, but will make the 12" block later too. The larger one is perfect for a pillow cover, and when you love Instagram as much as I do I need to make one, don't you think?

I have been cutting and piecing a few blocks for a new table runner using my happy colored fabrics too, and I hope to get the top done soon so I can load it on the longarm frame and get it quilted. I found a tutorial on Lori Holt's blog for a scrappy happy table runner, and just made the blocks a bit larger than the one in the tutorial. 

I have been longarm quilting several small projects on the same backing, and one of the quilts I have finished is a made by a friend of mine. It's a table runner/wall hanging made by Sølvi. I quilted around every appliquèd piece and added some McTavishing to the background fabric. So happy she like it, and I had so much fun finishing this one! 

I had to set up my old Bernina sewing machine this weekend, since my new Bernina 710 decided to shut down... I guess the CPU will have to be replaced, and I keep my fingers crossed it won't be long till I have it back working. I bought it last summer, so I'm not too happy to send it back so soon for a repair... But hopefully it will be working fine for many years when it comes back from the sewing machine doctor!

Wish you all a great new and creative week!
Hugs,
Laila

Some new stuff

Spring finally came around, and I have been doing some gardening again. Cutting back some of the blackcurrant bushes and getting rid of old leafs and grass. The two furballs, Nano and Suzu, have been following my every move and they are super happy to be playing outside in the warmer weather. Funny how some sun and warmer weather can make both animals and people happier :o) 

Big changes happened lately, and long story short; I had to leave my job because of my health issues, so now I will have to stay on a sick leave until I can join a job training program to see if there is a job out there for me. It's so sad to leave your colleagues through 25 years, but I try to do the best out of the days I'm staying home. I'm so happy I have my hobbies, and that I'm able to keep my focus on something positive. Quilting, knitting and sewing is therapy, right? At least I feel better when I can do something creative.

Earlier this month the Norwegian designer Bente Tufte came to our quilt guild meeting and talked about her quilting life and the patterns she has made. She uses a lot of stitcheries in her projects, and I bought a pattern called "Løper med broderi"/"Table runner with stitcheries". I just fell in love with the lovely table runner she made, so I have started mine. Almost finished the stitcheries, and I am soon ready to quilt some simple quilting on it before I finish the binding. 

If you want to see more of Bente Tufte's work, you can visit my local quilt guild's blog.

It's no secret I love Gail Pan's work. I ordered the book she released a while ago, and started a stitchery for a gorgeous pillow from the book. I'm using a variegated thread, so I don't need to worry about thread changing :o) Love it!

I've been knitting almost every night when watching TV with Hubby. I just finished attaching the threads on three pairs of Blueberry waffle socks. The white pair is already delivered to it's new owner, my dear Mum :-) The others will be kept in a bin, so I have some presents ready for upcoming birthdays/Christmas.

When our local quilt guild are having meetings, my local quilt shop Quiltegården has a nice selection of stuff from the shop for us to buy. I bought this book by Lori Holt after seeing shopowner Siw's gorgeous table runner made from one of the patterns in the book.

One of the blocks I finished looks like this:

I love these fabrics, and I hope to make a table runner for my dining room table using them.

I have also tried out the twister ruler. I haven't tried this before, so I had to make a test block:

My plan is to make several blocks for a table runner using these. Love how it came out!

No UFO's in this post, but I will be making progress on them when I'm finished quilting the quilt on my longarm:

I had to get more thread, since the cone I had was way to small to cover the blue areas.... It's great to have longarm quilting friends to ask when that happens. I'm super happy my friend (you know who you are :o)...) is sending me a cone of the same color, so I can finish it up. Almost half way there.....

Wish you all a great and creative weekend that is just around the corner ;o)

Hugs,

Laila