I was actually free to join in with FNSI, kindly hosted by Wendy of Sugarlane Designs and I had the perfect project to work on - my second Xmas quilt.
I had left it as a collection of various sized component blocks so my first aim for the evening was to get them all sewn into big squares and plan a layout.
As I started my FNSI in the late afternoon I finished the block sewing quite early and so onto the layout.
Which is where the 'fun' started, the picture above shows just some of the combos I tried. It took at least 2 hours to find one I was okay with. It wasn't just a case of matching the colours as the fabric also has mini Xmas characters on it. The quilt only uses 36 strips of a jelly roll, and if I went back in time I think I would have removed a different 4 strips!
Any after driving myself almost to distraction with the layout the top flew together.
A surprising number of the seams matched up, a real shock as I didn't nest seams or use pins. I even had a little time for crocheting before bed!
Now off to find out what everyone else got up to on Friday Night.
I should really try and write these updates on the last day of the month, I always find myself trying to put the wrong month in the title.
I wasn't expecting much progress to be made in August due to long weekends away and general summer stuff. But looking back I'm quite pleased.
A small start was made on Xmas quilt no. 2...
I continued doing bits and pieces on the Hue Shift Afghan...
Second quarter underway even though I said I'd stop and focus on some other projects. A square takes me just over an hour so it's too tempting to try and do one a night.
And finally my Floozy cardigan went from skeins of yarn to...
This is the colourwork pretty much complete so I'm not sure if the sleeves and body will drag now or whether the desire to wear it (and start something else) will drive me on.
So far 2 projects completed and 5 underway, which includes two quilt tops awaiting quilting. The stats still have time to improve!
In mid August I took part in a slightly unusual running race - Race the Train in Tywyn.
It's a trail run in mid Wales with varying distances available. I opted for the 10k as I can't run 14 miles on roads let alone over Welsh hills.
A narrow gauge train, liked the one photoed, sets off at the same time as the runners and the aim is to beat it.
With a predicted train arrival time of 55 minutes I didn't think I'd have a chance to beat it and I was right, finishing almost 25 minutes after the train. So I'm running it again next year to see if I can get closer! There are definitely areas where I could have gone quicker or at least got through the crowd faster and with a bit more training (!) who knows.
View over a small piece of the mid Wales coastline just because.
