WIP Weds: Lord Of The Rings

I have been pondering making a Lord Of The Rings themed 'something' for a while now. Initially I was planning on a crocheted Gandalf but then I learned about foundation piecing at the quilting class I go to. It was then that I stumbled on these patterns at Fandom In Stitches. Now I'm not sure I have the patience to make an entire quilt and I wouldn't really know how I could display it if I ever finished it so I decided to make something smaller; a wall hanging. This also allowed me to choose the blocks I wanted.

At the moment the plan is to make "The Precious", "Gandalf", "Helm's Deep" and "Smaug". I did count up the pieces in Smaug and there's 94 so I may change my mind!

When I printed them out they came out at 6 1/2 inches finished rather than the 7" but as size doesn't really matter where wall hangings are concerned I decided to make them that size.

Here's the first one which I managed to make while sorting today's roast dinner!

"The Precious"

FO: Quilt

On Monday we spent the day at the National Coal Mining Museum with some friends. Although it's not far away we've not been before. The main reason for this is the underground tours are for 5+ so Orla is too young. I assumed there wouldn't be much to do if we weren't going underground so left it as "something to do when the kids are a bit older". However there was a craft fair on and a few half term events plus Alan was able to go with us with it being a bank holiday. He took Erin down the mine while I entertained Orla in the under 5's play area and seeing the horses.

There was lots to do even without going down the mine so I was definitely wrong to assume otherwise. Along with the displays and play area there was a train ride (50p single per person) and a nature trail. With it being half term there were lots of craft activities on too.

Making canaries in birdcages

Erin did really well going in the mine. It's an hour and 15 mins of walking with a battery pack to carry. She got a lump of coal when they were coming out and that is the reason for my post. Who would have thought a lump of coal would keep two kids entertained for so long. They spent most of the afternoon playing "going in the coal mine for some coal" while I sat downstairs hand sewing the binding to the back of the quilt. That is how I have managed to finish it despite it being half term.

Finished quilt

This quilt has been made from a couple of charm packs. I bought one at the Festival Of Quilts last year and then thought afterwards that I should have bought two. I then decided it went quite well with another charm pack I had in my stash. I started by deciding on a layout of the squares and sewing them all together. However it wasn't really big enough so I ended up buying a bit of fabric from the same collection for the top strip. I kept the quilting simple (and quick!) and the binding was made from some leftover jelly roll strips.

One less UFO on the list!

And The Progress Continues...

After some really horrible weather recently, including hail the other day, it was lovely to see the sun shining today. Of course the kids wanted to play in the garden so it was quite easy for me to get a little more sewing done. I started by making binding for the wallhanging and Erin's quilt because it's just some very short lines of stitching and then mainly ironing; nice and easy to do while keeping an eye out of the window to watch the kids.

Binding for Erin's quilt

My husband was very pleased I'd got this done while he was out because he usually gets the job of ironing it while I get on with some sewing.

Once he was back and doing some gardening I could focus more on sewing. I sewed the binding to the front of the wall hanging but left Erin's quilt as it needed trimmed and I wanted more space to do that.

Some hand sewing for this evening!

I then got some Xmas projects out. First I whizzed up a coaster with the 2 leftover charm squares.

Xmas coaster

Then I cut wadding and backing for the mats. I quilted these using stitch in the ditch. I then trimmed them down but I need to make some binding for them. If there's a lot leftover from Erin's quilt I may use that as the colours are similar.

Xmas mats, awaiting binding

FO Friday: Cushion Covers

I managed to get some time this evening to do a bit more sewing and I started with adding some borders to a wallhanging I started a long time ago. I was running out of black thread so decided to do the quilting with purple as it seemed to go with the colours in the other fabrics. I also manged to make the hanging sleeve while our tea was cooking and get that attached. I still have the binding to make and sew on.

Heart Wallhanging

It's not as oddly shaped as it looks in the picture, honestly!

Then after the kids went to bed I decided I might as well finish off the cushion covers I quilted earlier as it would be another UFO finished. My husband said he preferred the grey fabric for the backs and it goes better with our living room which has grey walls.

Cushion Covers - quilted patchwork front, plain grey back