April OMG - Traffic on Safari Top Almost Finished

In April my OMG was to take all the blocks I stitched in March (which felt like a HUGE accomplishment!) and stitch the top together. I started the month here:

I know I'm coming in just under the wire, but I'm happy to report that the top is almost done -- I've stitched most of the columns and sashing together, but still need to even out the top and bottom and then sew the final sashing pieces on. 

It's a queen-sized quilt, so I had to ask my husband to hold it for a picture: 

I'm really really pleased with how it's coming together! 

The One Monthly Goal link-up is organized by Elm Street Quilts and Stories from the Sewing Room with the idea that we can just focus on one task and make progress. You can see how everyone did in their April projects on the Finish Party page! Or choose an OMG project of your own and join us in May. 

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - April Finish Link-up

Christmas Holly Stitch-a-Long, part 1

Hi everyone! Last time I had just gathered all the pieces to start on a project that I tore out of a stitching magazine in December 2000. I had already acquired the fabric and organized the floss, so I was raring to go.

And now, after three productive weeks, I'm here: 

Weirdly, I'm not so keen on the colors so far... I will say that the fabric in real life is more midnight and less royal, but this set of leaves feels... washed out? Flat? The pattern doesn't call for backstitching so I'm a little worried. But there is a LOT of stitching left to go, so maybe I'm jumping to conclusions.

I realized that I said last time that I wanted to make up the pillow from the cornflowers project; however I wasn't able to get a better look at her new couch to make sure I got a backing fabric that looked right. So that's a project for this next stretch.

And speaking of projects, don't forget to check out the amazing projects my fellow stitchers are working on -- I love seeing what they're working on! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, Cindy, and Mary Margaret.

13x13 April edition

In March I made another black-and-orange beaded ornament, Enchanted Moon by Mill Hill Beads: 

This photo doesn't do it justice; it's much more sparkly! 

For April I decided to change tack a little bit. There are more Mill Hill kits to come, but I have been looking forward to working on one or two of the ornaments in this (faux) Vintage Halloween kit from Bucilla. Longtime readers will remember how much I love a sequin-and-felt project, so it's fun to find something Halloween-y to work on. 

I doubt I'll be able to make all 6, so I'm setting my goal to make these cuties: 

As usual, I'll check back in on May 13 to share my finished ornaments, as well as my next project. Depending on how much I like this Bucilla kit, I may do one or two more ornaments, or I may shift gears again. 

April OMG - Traffic on Safari Top

In 2017 I spent a month in Africa, where I climbed Kilimanjaro, went on safari in Kenya, and had a 'vacation from my vacation' in Zanzibar. Having been lucky enough to see lions and zebras and giraffes and elephants and antelopes in the wild, I really fell in love with this fabric collection. Combining it with a pattern called Traffic made me giggle, because we did have some traffic in Kenya. 

Okay, that's a line of our vans waiting to negotiate a steep little gully. 

Sometimes we even had to stop at a zebra crossing... (this is less amusing to my American friends)

We were lucky, we never had one of those horrible "scrums" with dozens of vans penning the animals in so their passengers could take a look. Our drivers kept us spaced apart and let the animals come to us. 

But back to the quilting! 

In March my OMG was really just to get organized, but I ended up cutting the strips and stitching up the blocks. 

April is a busier month for me, so my OMG is to lay out all the blocks, plan the top, and stitch it together. I think I'll struggle with finding the "perfect" or "right" layout, balancing the various colors to create a harmonious look. I often find "improv" challenging -- I like a pattern and symmetry and repetition are my default. So I'm going to really try to stretch myself. We shall see!

The One Monthly Goal link-up is organized by Elm Street Quilts and Stories from the Sewing Room; you can see all the monthly projects on the April Link-up Page.

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal April Link-up