Only three more to finish off....

When I think back to how long it took Mum and I to make two of these when I was staying in the UK a couple of months back, it put me off making any more of these Ami Simms Puzzle Balls.  But I have found a way to avoid any hand sewing at all so they really don't take long to make and instead of dreading the process, now it's quite enjoyable!
Here's the first of four I am making for our group charity event in October.

This morning I stuffed the red and blue segments for the next one and stitched up the openings by machine, next I will use the Husqvarna machine to join the segments at their corners using a stitch I found on it which is meant to be used for bar tacks at the base of zips.  It works a treat, a bit fiddly holding the two stuffed segments under the presser foot till the needle grabs hold, but definitely preferable to making rows of buttonhole stitch bars by hand!!  This machine also knots the threads and cuts them too, so the whole process is quite quick.

I've been doing more drawing on my virtual quilt top.... actually more rubbing out than drawing.  It's definitely a better idea doing it this way than ripping out lots of stitches.  It seems to be taking me forever to get this quilting design done and I'm anxious to get the quilt under the needle, but this will have to wait till after Frankie and Liam go home next week. I still have to add two embroidered cranes to one of the blocks and stitch on the final border all round, before layering up the wadding and backing.

 I spend quite a lot of time researching filler designs on the internet in the evenings, then practicing them on paper.  It's quite a learning curve even before I try stitching them out in thread!  Now I wish I was a doodler,  then maybe this would all be easier.  I try to have a sketchbook and pencil always to hand so that when I sit for a few minutes doing nothing (very rarely!) I can try some of the designs out.  As they say practice makes perfect.  Off to draw some more......Bye for now, Rachel