Latrobe Terrace oh so close!

Well Latrobe Terrace isn't finished as I originally predicted. But it's close. I'd say a week or less will finish it. There's a tiny amount of xs to do then the backstitching. It really wasn't as 'big' of a project as I originally thought. Normally these Juniper Designs street scenes used to take me about 10 months to do before I started the rotation system. If I added up the rotations I've done on this I won't have spent anywhere near that amount of time. Just had a look back through my posts and I've seen that I started this early last July and have done about 5 rotations on it--so a total of 10 weeks. Rotations really do get projects completed. I'm seeing that now especially since I'm in my second year of rotations. Last year I started several of these larger projects so I didn't finish many of them. This year I'm going to see them all finished plus a bunch of others.



I am so glad to be getting away from linen for the moment though. It really takes a lot more concentration especially with half stitches. I'm doing the trees on the far left of LaTrobe Terrace now and I think I've gotten a couple of half stitches one thread off of where they are supposed to be. I just can't face fixing them now so I'm leaving them for next time.

I'm also up to the backstitching on the small Daydreams 'Life is a Journey' project and I can't decide how long to make my backstitches. I think I'll ask this question on one of the xs lists.

Well, I've been avoiding Cottages at Oak Bluffs II but it's time has come around so I'm starting my first rotation on that this year. When I was working on it before I found it very fiddly--one stitch here and another there. I picked it up about 4pm yesterday and concentrated on doing 3 colours--black, a dark grey 413 and the green railing. Just doing those has given it so much structure and has brought it along so much that it's really much farther along than I thought it was. I'd say that first house (house #3) is 45% done. This is going to be a good productive rotation and I'm really enjoying it. I may even get this house close to finished! TG for Aida!

New England Sampler progress

I decided to end my rotation on the New England Sampler after a very satisfactory two weeks. As previously reported I completed the lower panel in the first week. In the second week I finished the lower border including the bottom two corners and also stitched the boundary lines on the bottom and both sides of the sampler.

This seemed like a good place to stop. I could have carried on and worked on the side borders but decided to leave this to next time. The borders are relatively easy to do as they follow a regular pattern so they make a nice break from having to carefully follow the pattern on other areas of the sampler. So we'll see where I decide to pick this up next time.



In the meantime I think I can safely revise my estimate of completeness of this project to 65%.

I'm now working on LaTrobe Terrace.

A small finish and a major section of another completed

Going well with the rotations with some help from it being school holidays and Easter! I finished the second small cross-stitch on the Chinese project in less than a week. This left me with the second week of the rotation on the project free. The project comes with a patterned matting (but no glass or framing--darn) and there is some weaving of thread to do on the matting. But I didn't feel like doing that. I felt like cross-stitching. So I decided to go on to the next project a week early and maybe spend 3 weeks on it.



Well one week on with the New England Sampler and I've finished the botttom panel. I did the whole right half of it in one week. This included a number of long days of cross-stitching. Easter Sunday was the day I spent the longest on it--about 10 hours. It's worth it though to have that part done. I'm now going to work on the bottom border and see how long that takes me. If I'm enjoying it I'll stick with it, maybe doing some of the side borders, next week. If I'm ready for a change then I'll go on to LaTrobe Terrace.



I think it's time to estimate the completness of my projects:

Cottages at Oak Bluffs II--5% (this one has a lot of colour changes and is fiddly)

Verandas of South Battery---90% (looking good)

Chinese I--97% (only matting to do)

New England Sampler--55% (over half way!)

LaTrobe Terrace--70% (but could finish it off in one rotation)

With the quilts:

Jade's flannel quilt--85% complete (need to get back to this)
Houses wall hanging--75% (partly taken the front apart to straighten out the rows--fiddly!)

This is the first time with the rotation system that I've gotten so close to finishing most of my projects. So there could be a major turn-over of projects with new ones starting and I'm beginning to think which ones I'm going to bring in to replace completed ones. There are a few waiting.

Rotating again!

Since working on the Chinese cross-stitch I've decided to go back to my rotation schedule for cross-stitch while still working on the quilts. I'll cross-stitch in the evenings when I feel like sitting and relaxing and quilt during the day when I don't mind going from sewing machine to ironing board to cutting mat.

So I've just finished a two week rotation on Verandas. I chose to do this one as a starter as I just like this project. I've made good progress--finishing House #2 and making a good start on House #1. I figure I could finish the cross-stitching on this in two more rotations and the backstitching in one rotation--maybe! I can't wait to finish it and get it framed and hung!



House #2 all finished



Houses #2 and #3



House #1--this one is as wide or wider than the two houses next to it.

The houses wall-hanging is coming along as well. I have it all put together and pinned for quilting. And I've finally been back to Spotlight and have bought pale green thread to finish quilting Jade's flannel quilt. That one's been sitting idle for a few weeks now. Got to get back into it.



I also thought I would put up a photo of the small project I carry around in my handbag. This one is a Dimensions Daydreams 'quickie' called 'Life is a Journey'. I started it last October on a weekend trip to Canberra and decided it was a great one to keep in my bag and work on whenever I had a few spare minutes. That's been working very well and I'm thinking about doing something like this with another small project after I finish this one.



Life is a Journey--featuring a suitcase

Working on 5 projects now!

I'm spreading myself thinner and thinner as I continue to work on a range of projects. Many are well underway and nearing completion so I should soon have several finishes to report.

Firstly there is the rug hooking which I continue to nibble away at. I have about 20 rows on that to finish.

Then last weekend I began to miss cross-stitching so I got out the Chinese themed project which has been in my rotation list but which I've skipped over a few times and not started. It's a small quick project and I finished one of the two designs--ie. half of it--in two days.



Then I went back to quilting Jade's flannel quilt on Monday but quickly ran out of thread so had to stop.

I'd had to stop working on the houses wall-hanging 'Our Street' the week before when the iron broke because I needed it to iron the seams as I sewed. As I'd bought a new iron just before the weekend I decided to go back to sewing the houses rather than rushing off to buy thread to continue with the quilting.



All of the houses finished and laid out in 3 rows.

I've been pushing through that project during the day and finished all the houses last evening. Today I've been putting them together. I've just about got the centre of the wall-hanging finished with only the borders to do. I may buy different fabric to what I have for the borders as I'm not happy with the colours anymore.



You may just be able to see the gold flecked brown fabric I've chosen to be the 'ground' in between the rows of houses.

I did say five projects. Well a few evenings I've been working on my Charleston, South Carolina project Verandas. I've nearly finished House #2. I should finish it in one or two more sittings then will be on to the last house--House #1. That's a large house so it will take a while. But I plan to have this cross-stitch finished this year.

Does that make 5? Two quilts, two cross-stitches and a rug hooking. I've actually got another small cross-stitch that I carry around in my handbag and work on whenever I have a few minutes. I haven't even counted that.

Will I go back to rotations? Or will I rotate my cross-stitches as I was doing but work on quilting during the day? I'll see how I feel after I finish the two quilts I've got going now.

Update on 3 craft projects

Rather than rotate projects I'm working on three at the same time--just doing which ever one I feel like.

For the most part this has been the 'Our Street' quilted wall hanging. I've completed seven of the houses now. There are four left to go plus one pine tree. I'm making all of the pieces available in the kit rather than copying the photo on the kit which leaves some of the elements out. Not sure how it's all going to work out in the end. The two rows won't come out exactly the same size.

I've also laid out Jade's flannel quilt and layered it and pinned the layers together. It's ready for quilting and is sitting near the sewing machine ready to go.

This week the weather has been cooler so I've picked up the rug hooking again and am getting near the end of the lighthouse. Only 30 rows to go. I may work on Jarrah's rug hooking when I finish this one because he just hasn't managed to get his really going.

Quilting projects!

It's still too hot to do rug hooking so I am working on a couple of quilting projects. Yesterday I had a huge day and completed the top and back of my daughter's flannel quilt. The quilt's looking really good and I didn't think it would piece together so quickly. Now I'm up to the layering step. With the other flannel quilts I've made I've used polar fleece as the middle layer. I haven't bought any for this quilt yet so I'm at a standstill until I can get to a fabric store.



That's fine as this allows me to work on another UFO--the foundation paper wall-hanging kit called 'Our Street'. I bought this probably about 7 or 8 years ago and made up one house back then. All the fabric pieces for it have been stored in zip lock bags separated by colour since that time. I got it out over the weekend and made up a second house. I'm kind of cheating as I'm following the colours from the example photo on the kit. The interesting thing is there are three additional buildings in the kit that aren't pictured in the photo. I thought I would make these up as well.



Here are the two houses I've made up so far. The red one I did on Sunday and the blue one I made several years ago. The foundation papers are still attached to the back of the houses. I'll tear these off when I'm ready to square the blocks up and piece them together.