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Mad as a March hare


Lily's Quilts



I haven't done much stitching this month (I've not been well) but I suspect that I'll be able to do my usual smoke and mirrors trick and make it look like a lot!  Let's face it, I do that most months!

I've mainly been stitching my Summersville squares, because that was the only thing I could really concentrate on for most of the month!  It's been a case of 'do a dozen stitches and then wander off for a cup of tea' for the large part but it's amazing how much you can get done that way.  Before March started I'd already embroidered these squares but don't seem to have blogged about them:

Square one - my first car was apple green but, sadly, it didn't have pink tyres...
And Yvonne is moving into the house with the cross stitch roof any day now!

Square two - the sun is filled with colonial knots and has a lovely texture.

Square three - Nicky's called dibs on the top floor flat of the multicoloured block, she'll be moving in soon!

Square four (the first of the March squares) - the arch round the library door took hours to do but I love it!

Square five - it's hard to see in this photo but the tyres on the bus are stripy.  If you click on it you should be able to see it in more detail.

Square six - the pale cottage in the bottom right corner is in a conservation area, no bright colours allowed.  And the house in the top right corner is Father Christmas' summer retreat...

I love stitching these squares and playing with different colours and stitches - in square six I used 35 different colours/shades, no wonder they take a while to do!  Eventually it's going to be a quilt but there's a lot of work to do before I'm ready to think about putting it together, good job it's intended to be a long-term project!  There are photos of the backs of all the squares in my Flickr set, if you're interested.

I've uploaded the photos of the Summersville squares to my blog, rather than using Flickr (which has become my method of choice over the last couple of months), so that you can click on them and see them in more detail.  Out of interest, which method do you tend to prefer when it comes to blog reading?  Or are you not fussed either way?!

I've made a pin cushion (although that was a February make and a March reveal) and a thread catcher (and spent a ridiculous amount of time editing videos of Archie running across the front room towards a line of biscuits!) - more of that in my last post.


I've also managed to add some more hexies.  The last time you saw it, it looked like this:

hexy-progress_8515263599_o


and on Friday it looked like this:


How the hexies looked on Good Friday
The colour is fairly accurate in this photo, for once!

Not much progress - only twelve hexies added in a month!  I've managed to add some more since then and it now looks like this:


How the hexies looked first thing on Easter Monday

And the back:

How the hexies looked first thing on Easter Monday - the back
I need to press the seams of all the hexies I've added this month - it's easier to do them as they're joined (ish) than all at the end.

It hasn't taken that long to add another eight hexies (plus the pieces that square off the top and side), maybe six hours of stitching over the weekend?  (Just goes to show how little I'd done in the preceding three weeks!) I think it takes around half an hour to attach a hexy when I'm stitching along three sides but one (bottom row, second from the right) took twice that!  I've no idea why it took so long...


Archie spent quite a lot of time on lookout duty yesterday:

b--the-easter-bunny-you-say---no-havent-seen-him_8608949827_o
The Easter Bunny, you say?  No.  Haven't seen hide nor hair of him but I'll keep an eye out.


b--no-im-not-asleep-im-just-pretending--that-way-eb-may-be-fooled-into-appearing_8610063482_o
I might look like I'm sleeping but it's all part of a clever ploy to get EB to appear.


b--well-i-dont-know-how-he-got-past-me-ive-been-watching-out-for-him-all-morning_8610065262_o
Well I don't know how he got past me, I've been here the entire time!  He's obviously more sneaky than he looks...


Enjoy your Easter eggs - I can hear a caramel bunny calling my name!  I think I'll go and 'visit' her and then catch up with some more Fresh Sewing Day posts - fancy joining me?!

Comments

  1. sorry you have been unwell, hope you are much better now. You got a far amount of work done anyhow!

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  2. Hope April is a healthier month for you - as for a bluffing good March, it looks mighty productive to me xxx

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  3. It looks like great progress to me! It's such a unique and lovely idea to stitch your Summersville squares! One of those things I wish I'd thought of! And I enoy seeing your hexi quilt grow.

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  4. I'd say that March was wonderfully productive, despite being under the weather. Love the hexies. Hope you're feeling better!

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  5. I am in love with those Summersville blocks! Could I put an offer in on the town house next to the toy shop in picture five please?

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  6. Those Summersville squares are wonderful!!
    Hope Archie didn't catch the poor Easter Bunny!!

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  7. Your walls are such a pretty colour and Archie looks ridiculously gorgeous next to them :) Well I shall just install myself at the library as I too love the arch and books too. The hexies are gorgeous - a good month I would say so your smoke and mirrors clearly worked!

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  8. fab embroidery! I'm laughing at the house in the conservation area!

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  9. Oooh, delicious! I love it all!

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  10. I love your embroidery on the Summersville. Those squares will make a great quilt. The hexies are looking great too. I hope that you will feel better for spring.

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  11. I love the thought of personalizing your Summersville with embroidery. I bought some of the Alphabetty, I think I may do that if I use for pouches or the like.

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  12. Lovely stitches. Keep alert Archie, you dont want to get a poor score on your next performance evaluation.

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  13. ohh I love your summersville squares, aren't they gorgeous, I love the idea but my stitching isn't good enough

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  14. Your embroidery is beautiful. The colors are so nice and bright. I love the pictures of Archie! What an expressive doggie face!

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  15. I love your embroidery - such a great way to use the fabric!

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  16. Hope you're feeling better soon and April is healthier all round. You certainly make it look like you sewed tonnes. More than me anyway. Mind everyone has done that!

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  17. I had so hoped to get some of that Summersville fabric. I love the simplicity of it. We got in the 'spring' line which is a bit too busy for me. Anyway....great progress on your hexagons ; )

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  18. Love your embroidery and that you have Father Christmas's summer retreat all sussed out :-). Great progress on the hexie quilt too

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  19. Wow! Those summersville panels are stunning! It's going to be an amazing quilt. Jxo

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  20. I love, love, love the way you are stitching those Summersville squares. I particularly love the conservation area house. You don't half make me laugh!

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  21. I absolutely love those Summersville squares, you are so patient.

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  22. You have done a load H. The Summersville squares are just lovely. As for the photos - I like them on the blog as I can see them with the text alongside! Di x

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  23. Hopefully Easter's dose of chocolate will get you up and running for a photo finish in April of all your lovely sewing projects. That fancy stitch around the Toy Shop is gorgeous...how patient are you! Amazing neatness and happiness. The Library must be hosting a party with that garland of balloons around the door...I want to attend! It looks like fun....everywhere.... in your Summersville.

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  24. You might want to check what's in those tea bags if chocolate bunnies are calling your name ;o) Loving the Summersville - I set some aside to do some embroidery on, and have done precisely nothing with them...

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  25. You did not do much? Oh no, this is a huge understatement! The hexies are amazing. Always wondering if you sew them with the machine or hand sewing? And the stitching looks great! So colorful!

    Enjoy the caramel bunny and the sunshine :)

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  26. Hope you feel a bit bouncier this month, love the stitching details on the Summersville! :o)

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  27. Your hexies are looking fine! Keep at it bit by bit, just like the cute little stitches on the house fabric and you'll be done before you know it! Archie is posing so nicely for you! Hope you feel well this coming month so you can feel like you are getting more done!

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  28. Your stitching is amazing! Those blocks are such fun to look at. Beautiful detailed work!
    And your hexies are looking fabulous - that is going to be a stunning quilt.
    Hope April is a better month for you -- that said, you got an amazing amount done given that you weren't feeling well!

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  29. For being sick you've accomplished a lot. I hope you feel better soon. I think your embroidered squares are adorable. I've never seen fabric like that but it would be fun to embroider. I think you quilt top is beautiful - very peaceful with all the pastel colors. All in all, it doesn't look like smoke and mirrors to me!

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  30. Ha, ha, conservation area! These embroidered blocks are just gorgeous! I'd love to sit under that tree next to the library. How big are the blocks? I read on my phone and they look tiny which means your beautiful stitches look teeny tiny.

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  31. Those blocks look like such fun. And so good to have something to take your time with and enjoy.
    Good ptogress on the hexies too.
    Sorry to hear it's been a bad health month for you. Hope April is much better

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  32. Your projects are lovely! You have such a good eye for color. I love how you did such different stitches and colors on all your embroidery. I'm currently on a tea towel kick. Very fun :)

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