This is going to be another catch up post, as it's been a busy few weeks here again. I have had all 3 children at home isolating at some point over the last 5 weeks, with them all overlapping, so every desk has been called into action for homeschooling again. I'm pleased to say that none of them got Covid, and they are all now 'free', so my desk and laptop are available for me again.  Fortunately for me, none of them require my sewing machine, so I have had oodles of free time to sew, and I have absolutely made the most of it.

One very exciting bit of sewing that I got to do recently was to be a pattern tester for Jo aka The Crafty Nomad! Jo is an amazing teacher, who has had to move over to online tuition during this crazy year, so if you are looking to try a new pattern or brush up on your free motion skills, do pop by and have a look at what Jo has on offer at https://www.thecraftynomad.co.uk I am not a pattern person normally, I much prefer a video tutorial so I can see how to do things, but I can assure you that the pattern was foolproof from start to finish, and I had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon sewing :-) The pattern I did was the Sew some hope cushion, which can also be done as a mini quilt as I did (below), although I plan to make it again as a cushion for our new sofas. It is such a beautiful pattern!

I have also completed FIVE quilts over the last few weeks, some of which have been waiting to be finished for a while, and others which have been completed from scratch. Many of them have gone off to new homes, or they will be going to new homes very soon, and I forgot to photograph a couple, but I never forget a quilt, and there is no better feeling than finally getting to gift it!

This is a familiar one, as I've posted photos of the progress on this one, but it came together well, and has now gone to a new home :-) 

This one is to be gifted this week, but I think I am safe to post it now.

The hexagon quilt above was an unusual one for me in that it was for a male. I have lots of pretty fabrics, but not so much masculine stuff, so it was a challenge. The brief was that it needed to go with grey, but also must include purple, and some other personal touches... I think that it all worked together pretty well in the end.

I whipped up this cute little Christmas tree cushion in an afternoon, and I love it! I'm hoping I can get away with it out all year round, as it's too nice to sit in the loft for 11 months! This is a free pattern from Fatquartershop. https://www.fatquartershop.com/mini-charming-christmas-quilt-free-pattern You can make it in 2 sizes, but I used the 2.5 inch mini charm size to make the perfect sized cushion.

Last up is a rag quilt that I started with 2 packs of blue/green/grey layer cake squares. Rag quilts are super easy, as you just sew the squares together (wrong sides together) with a large X, and then you join them all up with the seams all on the outside on one size. Then you snip snip snip every 0.5 cm until it is all fuzzy, wash and tumble it, and it ends up with a wonderful textured feel on one side. This will be for snuggling on the sofa, as rag quilts are so cozy, but I have a lot of snipping to do first. I will update when it's done... :-)