THE OLD AND THE NEW

I have just finished this table runner and it was one I really liked doing. It was a Charm Pack mystery challenge from Our Craft Forum. Participants had to send charm squares to others in the swap and other sewers made up the block and sent it back to you. The final e- mail came with the instructions to make it up and I decided to finish it straight away to avoid another UFO. I did it a little differently to how Dawn had advised us to do and I am very happy with the results.
It will now grace my table unless one of my daughters takes it for them selves.

I also wanted to share with you the first quilt I ever made. I went to a local Neighbourhood House and was taught by some very experienced mature English ladies. I had to hand piece all the blocks and this took weeks of sewing and many pricked fingers from the tiny little needles they said I must use. Fortueately after working out how much material was required to finish off my quilt I was allowed to sew the sashings by machine. Then to make a quilt sandwich which I soon found out was not going to be my lunch that day and taping it all to a table and hand basting all layers together. Then again all quilting was to be done by hand with even smaller needles. More sore fingers from the needle, finally bound and it was finished, and my addiction had well and truly begun. So thankyou to those lovely ladies who have given me a new direction for my leisure time. And finally I have not made another quilt by hand, thank God for sewing machines.