Catching up

So, back from my holiday and with minimal housework (sound like I usually do some? - don't be fooled)I felt as if I had done lots of work on my bag - that is until I checked the bags of fun challenge and saw what everyone else has been up to :) Well done everyone, going great guns. My additional work so far looks like this

The idea will be to use different colours and shapes in the stitching for each character and to add charms and buttons etc. to each in themes appropriate to each phase. Belle has been very helpful with sources of inspiration for the crone and ideas are starting to form for her. This is a much slower and more deliberate and careful process than what happened with the maiden and the mother figures - reflecting the nature of maturity perhaps :)

In addition to this I added to the CQ block for Gail by doing a herringbone seam

and a lavender bush

I tried to copy the work of one of the others from the CQ RR I am in at cqcrazy but couldn't do the bullion stitches. I thought I had taken my stitch dictionary with me but couldn't find it so I had to improvise. I made the flower heads by sewing a stitch of the required length and then button holing along it without sewing into the background and anchoring the end. Does this 'stitch' have a name anyone?
The block now looks like this


While I was away I also had the opening day for another swap - the theme was winter and I made a scarf, sadly I still haven't heard from the recipient whether she liked it or not :(


Before I went away I posted a cq'd heart block to R for the friendship block swap I am in - R supplied the background fabric for her block and I had fun playing with different stitches - it ended up like this (I am not sure about the beads but happy with the rest) again I haven't heard from R if she has received it yet but it has been well over a week since it was posted so I hope if she does check in here she will have already received it. i enjoyed doing the blue roses but I think over all I prefer to use the stranded cottons and metalic threads rather than the ribbon, it's a littl unpredictable for me :)


When I got back I quickly made another swap to meet the deadline :) This is for a Shabby Chic bag and was my first proper bag. I made it using a pattern from the latest issue of Country Threads. It is a little handbag with 'wooden' handles in co-ordinating floral prints with lace trim and a internal pocket in a complementary colourway. The pattern called for Pellon but I didn't have any so I used a much lighter weight iron on interfacing and then added wadding which I quilted. I didn't decorate with the appliqued flowers as in the pattern, a) because of time constraints but also b) because I felt the fabrics were not suitable. The finished look is very different from the original and I like it better. I was really happy with this bag so I hope G will like it a lot as it was a hard one to post :) If she likes it too then I will be happy, if not then I will wish I had kept it myself :( I cannot post a photo as I only had the regular film camera at the time and the photo I took is rubbish! Hopefully G will be able to take a picture to show the bag to it's advantage and I will share that :)

I now have a swap lull :) This month I only have a friendship block to do - this time applique and a Christmas theme. There should be another CQ RR block but they take a while to arrive and the next one hasn't reached the previous person yet so I don't think it will be here in a hurry. Then on to Doll making - another new area for me - I've done one. So I should, theoretically, have lots of time for Bag this month