I just realised that next WOW or WIPs will be in Dec! Today I set the morning aside to make my first Christmas cake, I’d forgotten it was Wednesday! I decided to make a litpght fruit cake this Christmas as the family prefers them mor3 than a heavy old English style one, so I’ve boiled up all the fruit and left it to so all the fruit will soak up all that fruit juice and brandy, more brandy than fruitLOL
A kilo of fruit so It will make a good size cake. It sure smells good and tastes even better LOL
This avo I took time away from appliqué as I felt a headache coming so sat down with one of my 1960s hankie QAYG blocks while watching Ricky Tims shows. I’ve been thinking a lot about these wee blocks think they real need more se curing as the edge of the hankie s are very frail, then Ricky showed how to use a sewing machine f Andy stitch on a Paris point and said you have these stitches why NOT use them, this triggered off a WHY not for me, and below you can see what happened.
Why not use those fancy stitches if you have them? Block on the left I was quilting down the borders and watching Ricky Tims, back block a finished QAYG block under the sewing machine I’ve just used a pretty stitch to add strength to my block.
Backing fabric which wrap es around to form the front border is Japanese grass linen very strong but light, very fine linen hankie of my mums from around the 1960 1970, a wee Dresden plate using reproduction prints. Using a cotton batting. What a difference these wee decorative stitches are going to make to how this quilt will ware.
Update managed to do that fancy machine stitch around 12 of the blocks I’ve completed last night so very happy. I have 4 more prepped and need to make up another 4 then I can join them all together.
Adding the fancy stitching has also inhanced the back and given it some personality. Now of course I will need to do it to all 20 blocks LOL
Sewing not a great deal again to show as I’m still working on my SG centre.
A long way to go before I can think about joining my pieces up, but I hope to have My centre completed before 2018?
Where I stopped last night!
hoping to finish the stitching around the very centre tonight then it’s back to the last 4 flowers.
These flowers have kept me away from all other parts of SG and and thing else the last month but I think I will finish the centre before 2018.
close ups of some of those flowers. 
Last night I spent 1 1/2hours pressing some lovely vintage doilies some were from my grans era and some my mums.
Such beautiful needle skills in these precious pieces, tonight I will need to do the larger pieces. These need to be put away flat or rolled around a thick tube, not folded like the had been?
In the garden?
Where I’m sitting while I write up my blog this morning?
UNfortunitly the sandflies found me and drove me inside .
Sadly I think the fish, tadpoles and other creatures living in the pond ate all the eggs before they had time to hatch, it it happens again I will rescue the eggs and let them hatch then release them back in to the pond as there are not a lot of these frogs around now.
Flowerball completely open now, How I love this treat twice a year.
At the moment we have splashes of colour every where.
Ferns are also producing masses of seeds on the underside of the leaves every seed could become a plant?
perfect shape for a appliqué flower! P
A unusually coloured Brom.
A very strong coloured Brom
stunning colour, these are growing like weeds this year.
From these flowers in the garden today you can see why my appliqué flowers are mostly very strong in colour LOL
THen there are months when we have nothing flowering and I have wee creatures scattered amongst the foliage but our neighbours young dog has demolished all but 3 of the wooden ones he’s only a pup and has free roam of our garden and they have made good chewing bones, I will wait till she is older before replacing them!
Thank you for dropping in to visit, more garden than sewing but it will soon be Feb and I will be back to lots of sewing time while it rains constantly. Off to link up with Esther on her WO w or WIPs Cheers Glenda
Excellent work on those Broderie perse! Love your blooms
I love to visit your garden even if it is on the other side of the world and on the computer LOL – thanks so much for sharing it. I love your embroidery on your flower quilt. Thanks for the reminder of the fruit cake – I have forgotten to get mine started and will need to do that by the weekend – I do not use candied fruit – do you? I hate the stuff, I use dried fruit and nuts.
Hi Karen I think 2017 is going to fly out the door with out me, it is rushing closed so quickly, managed to prepare every thing for a couple of Christmas cakes this morning hope to have them in the oven early tomorrow morning before it gets to hot. I only use dried fruit but soak it in brandy and ginger ale or fruit juice if I don’t have ginger ale or ginger beer. Fruit was so dry this year I actually bought it to the boil and then left it to soak up the brandy and ginger beer. I don’t like candied fruit of any kind, I do like dehydrated fruit but not with sugar added. I’m getting a dehydrator in the New Year so looking forward to that as we get a lot of fresh fruit around here over the summer time. Especially mangos which I love LOL Hugs Glenda
Lots of lovlieness in your blog post – just love those precious doilies.
HI Jenny lovely to hear from you, do you collect dollies, I grew up with them in my Grans home she had them every where and my mum was all ways making them for wedding gifts in the 50s and 60s. I’ve all ways liked collecting old lace around table clothes. Tried to visit you but think your blog address is wrong on your message you left me? Merry Christmas in case we don’t catch up again before Christmas Jenny Cheers Glenda
What beautiful stitching! I love the way that your embroidery stitches give such definition to your SG centre. I also love your machine decorative stitching on your QAYG handkerchiefs – such a clever idea. Its a great idea for strengthening those delicate edges.
I’m fully into the throes of Christmas preparations – wrapping presents and writing cards for my overseas friends this morning. Looking forward to getting some more sewing done before spending time with family over the festive season, though!
Thank you Plum, It’s very time consuming so very very slow process but I do enjoy the relaxation of sitting and day dreaming or watching a movie and time flies by. Tonight I’ve been machine sewing all of the QAYG blocks, all the ones I’ve finished have all the fancy machine stitching done on them so I’m very happy with my days sewing. I have 4 prepped for quilting and need another 4 to make a single bed quilt. Will cook my cakes tomorrow morning before it gets to hot. Hugs Glenda
Lovely pics of all your beautiful Broms and geraniums. Your SG is looking so very good and the clise ups are amazing. Well done you for all the work, you have done a lot more than you thought.
I agree your garden matches your fabric flowers, bright and cheerful. Your stitching looks lovely on both your hankie blocks and broderie perse.