An October finish!

Anyone who has seen my ridiculous FAL list for this quarter will agree that if I'm going to get anywhere with it then I need to get a bloomin' move on!  To that end, I've stuck a copy of my list on my sewing room wall (it'll go on my new magnet board, just as soon as I sort out some magnets.  And fix the board to the wall...) so that I can keep myself on track.  So far, so good and I've managed to tick three things off the list.  I'm going to blog about them separately (to make it easier to link up in January) and today is the turn of my first finish, Mr Penguin:

Mr Penguin is a large (for me!) pin cushion made from a selection of Japanese import fabric and some linen (I think it's this stuff but I'm not sure as it was a present from the fabric fairy).  I really don't like EPP but, in my opinion, it's the best technique for hand stitching these prone-to-fraying fabrics so I swallowed my intense dislike and got on with it.  (I don't know how people do lots of EPP, it's so hard on your hands and wrists!!)  Although I don't like the technique, I do like seeing the pin cushion coming together, it's quite satisfying!

Mr Penguin (who I like to think was the founding penguin of Penguin Books), is accompanied by some miniature friends:

And a not-so-miniature surprise elephant on his bottom underneath:

Mr Penguin (and friends) sailed across the ocean (although, given how quickly he arrived, I think he may have cheated and flown at least part of the way) and is now living in his new home with the gorgeous (and funny) Salley.

To give you a better idea of his size, here's Mr Penguin with an unpicker (although he looks like he could be off to battle with his bayonet!):

The other thing I've managed this month is to make and attach a scrappy border to my Christmas Cherry quilt:

The original pattern (Made In Cherry by Sarah Fielke) is for a square quilt but I prefer rectangular quilts so I've decided to add some star blocks to the top and bottom of the quilt.  I wanted some separation between the giant star and the smaller stars and a scrappy squares border seemed like the best option.  I've just started piecing the small stars (no photo, sorry) so I hope I'm going to be able to layer and tack the quilt by the end of the month, ready to start hand quilting while watching Christmas films in December.   At 78" x 78" (the squares finish at 3.25") it's already a bit big for my preferred 'taking a photo' fence, so goodness knows how I'm going to take a photo of the finished top.  Suggestions on a postcard...


A few days ago, I stripped my bed in the morning and when I went up to remake it that evening, I found that a certain someone (who had been carried up there because he made it plain he wanted to go up!) had made himself comfy among my quilt and pillows:

What?!!

I hasten to add that I hadn't left them in a heap like that, Archie had rearranged them to his liking!

You're not going to make me move, are you?  I'm really comfy...

And look how cute I am, almost matching my bed your bedding...

Needless to say, he got short shrift and soon found himself looking for a different place to sleep!


Thanks for popping in, I'm off to do a spot of hand quilting (on the hexy quilt) while I watch Strictly!