Blues and greens

I’ve made another quilt as part of my quilting ‘stretch’ project using the block from Sherri at A Quilting Life’s mystery block a month. As I said then I don’t know if I’ll manage to make a quilt a month, but I won’t really know unless I try…

And now I don’t want to not achieve this goal I’ve set and so on I go.

This month I’m sharing my tenth charity quilt but it’s now a pile of one as the other nine have now been donated to the Mansfield Coordinator of Project Linus UK.


My tenth charity quilt

After last month’s attempt to use all the scraps remaining from the quilts I’d made so far (and failing spectacularly if I’m honest!) I decided to take a similar approach this month, but also I wanted to some non-pink sewing for a change. Or mostly non-pink as it turned out.

These were the fabrics I pulled from my stash scraps - most have already featured in previous charity quilts, but not all. The plain blue was from a Hobbycraft fat quarter bundle - isn’t it a stunning colour? - and definitely not pink!

A selection of fabrics from my stash and from leftovers from previous quilts - mostly blues and greens this time round

I’d found some other older pieces of material together in a bag recently and so some of those offcuts, and larger pieces also made their way into this bundle. And there’s a lot less pink than I’ve sewn with recently, I just think my eyes needed a change.

This month’s block is a patchwork star, which is similar to April’s block - the difference is the centre square comprises four squares rather than a single larger square. I realised that I needed a plain for the background, and that’s where the blue came in.

Piles of squares and oblongs cut ready to sew into the patchwork star block

The patchwork stars came together pretty quickly, and were a favourite to sew despite the many options for misplaced seams, thankfully most of mine were pretty well behaved. There’s a lot of small triangles that go to waste with this block though, and I can’t help but think there must be a use for them…

All four central blocks are on the left (partially obscured) of the wool mat, and a pile of small triangle cuttings are on the right hand side

Adding the borders

As I was using scraps from previous quilts I didn’t have enough of each for all the borders to be the same, so I took a different approach to random this time. I split my border fabrics into two piles, and laid out the strips to see how they might work, but keeping them in their respective ‘half’ of the border.

The four blocks are laid out in a square - they have two of their three borders already attached

I’m much happier with this more controlled random approach - and I used up a fair bit of the already cut fabrics too. And yes, that green really is quite vivid - it was an old summer top of mine, and I loved to wear that vibrant colour.

Deciding on a layout

This month was trickier than I expected it to be. I had the white and grey zig zags in the middle at one point, I tried a stepped approach across the quilt with the dark paisley print, but in the end I kept coming back to this layout.

The finished four blocks laid out with the darker paisley print forming a cross pattern

Which meant I could add the blue as a border, which helps bring this one together I think.

A blue border is added to the assembled four blocks

I’ve returned to straight line quilting for this one, but in a shocking turn of events have done this freehand (completely) for the first time. No sticky tape to help with the lines this time round, and no ill effects either. In fact I think this was one of the most enjoyable quilting sessions I’ve had, and quickest too as I managed to complete this in just two one hour sesions.

A quilting action shot - the quilt being quilted

It looks ok doesn’t it?

Now quilted the wadding and backing are added - the wadding shows beyond the blue border

I’ve still a little bit to finish on this one before I can say it’s complete. The binding is attached on the front and just needs handsewing to the back, which I plan to finish this weekend. But that small detail isn’t going to stop me sharing it here (and I’ll most likely add a final completed photo once I’m done).

And it’s done

The finished quilt - complete with the binding handsewn onto the back

So that’s the tenth quilt done, and I’m back on track with my relaxed timetable for the block of the months - I’m actually a little ahead as I’ve already started the centre blocks for the September quilt, but that is most definitely for next month’s post!

You can see my other quilts which I’ve made to donate to Project Linus - a charity whose mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children, who are sick, disabled, disadvantaged or distressed through the donation of new, homemade, washable quilts and blankets, including those that are part of this ‘stretch’ project in earlier posts. I’m aiming to publish an update on my progress in the last week of each month for the remainder of 2025.

Where there's water, there's life

* I was invited to this year’s Gardeners’ World Live and provided with a pair of tickets to the show, therefore all my posts will be marked as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

This garden, designed by Rachel Bailey, celebrates 30 years of the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) which pretty much does what it says on the tin, and also sponsors the APL Avenue at the Gardeners’ World Shows. The garden highlights the vital connection between water, plants, people and nature and includes innovative design techniques that slow down the water’s flow ensuring it is conserved and used effectively in garden landscapes.

Looking across the boardwalk and planting to the blue gazebo and seating area

The blue gazebo structure is clearly one of the most eye catching elements of the design, and I guess the blue reflects the garden’s water theme. Then there’s the boardwalk, also used near water and/or in damp areas which again reinforces that water connection.

The boardwalk extends out through the planting to an upright wooden sculpture
The wooden posts are repeated through the garden and also act as bug hotels with holes drilled into the wood

I’m a big fan of the planting, both close up and from a distance it’s really effective - and when you’re close up you can see the pools of water emerging from the boardwalk and can easily imagine how those gravelled areas could hold more water as and when required.

The other thing I’m a fan of in this garden are the chairs with their striking design, which both stands out and fades into the background. They look pretty comfortable too.

Informal and full planting with yellow and blue/purple flowers
The corner of the boardwalk provides the perfect spot to display the two crystal goblet awards

This was a great garden, and while I don’t think it’s something I’d replicate in my own garden it is one that I can admire. I wasn’t the only one to think so as this was awarded a Platinum award and also Best in Show - the photo above proudly shows off their crystal goblets for those awards.

Subtle, understated but quietly proud - I think that sums up the whole garden to be honest.

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was quite a show! I’ll be sharing more from my visit to this year’s show throughout the year - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did the show.

Having a proud sewing moment

After each of our sewing group meetings there’s usually a photo or two shared on our Facebook group to showcase some of the projects undertaken at that meeting. It’s a great way to keep the group visible to all of our members, and to perhaps encourage more people to come along.

After the last meeting I spotted this photo of my table, and then I looked more closely and realised that I’d made pretty much everything that’s on show in this photo. So that’s my proud moment!

It’s a small thing really but it’s actually quite a big thing for me as I never really thought I’d get this ‘into’ sewing. I mean I’d sewn before, and was happy using a machine but it probably wouldn’t have been my ‘go to’ craft but in the two years we’ve been here in Nottinghamshire, that’s changed. Partly I think because the sewing group I first went to was one of the most welcoming craft groups I went to, and so I went back and have kept going back. I’ve also been to knitting groups and a mixed craft group once, and haven’t been back - so that tells you everything you need to know about them, doesn’t it?!

But anyway, back to that photo and my sewing projects:

  1. The blue pouch (top left), black patterned pouch (bottom left) and gold pouch (bottom right) are recent makes on my new ‘take to’ machine.

  2. The patchwork stars are the centre blocks in my next Quilt of the Month which I’m still working on and will share soon.

  3. The dress I made, which I even wear out in public (and it hasn’t fallen to bits at all!)

  4. It’s the corner of another pouch which is just showing in the bottom right corner - I’ll be sharing that one here soon(ish) too.

  5. I made this bag back in 2016, when I really didn’t sew much at all. It was a collaborative post with the company providing the fabric, and I still use it today - and that hasn’t fallen to bits either, I should have more confidence in myself!

So yes, I’m having a proud sewing moment over here, it’s a good reminder of what I can do. And will hopefully spur me on to complete more of the projects on my “to sew” list!