**enter my Cotton + Steel FQ bundle giveaway here, ends tomorrow!**

Most often nowadays slow is my preferred sewing tempo but sometimes speed and ease are favourable. Today I started making some bunting and couldn't bring myself to make it the traditional way. I knew pinking shears would make the job faster and then in a stroke of genius I grabbed my Hex N More ruler, folded the fabric and used the triangle side of the ruler as a template (so I was actually cutting diamond shapes). My plan is to press them and put ribbon between the folds and sew along the whole length of the ribbon in one fell swoop.


I have continued working on my green tea and sweet beans quilt:


Though this and the epic vintage quilt I'm hand quilting are causing havoc to my fingers, I admit that *shock horror* I rarely wear a thimble but after hand quilting for any length of time it really starts to hurt and I have to use one. I have a Clover Protect and Grip Thimble but I often use the side of my finger so it's not great, though it's a very comfortable thimble if you only use the tip. I tried a cheap metal one but it's not so comfy and I found the dimples in it annoying. 

Knowing that I am doing a lot of hand quilting I was getting a little desperate and decided to give the Clover Natural Fit Leather Thimble a try. This thimble is seriously my new best friend. I adore it, the snug fit, the comfortable feel and the fact I can use the tip and/or side to push my needle easily. Admittedly I've only had it a few days so can't comment on how long it will last but I will definitely let you know. If you're a thimble hater but lover of soft hands I highly recommend trying this thimble!!



* random aside, I used to manage a beauty counter and have tried/used a lot of beauty products but without the doubt the greatest hand product I've ever used is Crabtree & Evelyn's Hand Recovery Scrub. I just remembered it and will be getting some, I like the La Source one (currently out of stock) but I'm tempted to try the Pomegranate, Argan and Grapeseed one because yum! It is a lovely scrub, gentle but really effective and leaves your hands so soft. By the way that wasn't the company I worked for, I just love the scrub!

Back to sewing though...

Have you heard about the new quilt along the Fat Quarter Shop are doing? The quilt is made up of the cutest blocks of memories and 'snapshots'. It starts 15th January 2015 and a new block pattern and video will be released on the 15th of each month. 

The patterns are free but they are encouraging everyone to donate $5 for each download in order to raise money for St Jude Children's Research Hospital, which you can contribute to here. Fat Quarter Shop and Moda Fabrics will match up to $10,000 of donations raised for this amazing cause.


There is a fantastic line up of bloggers and designers sewing along and you can even pre-order kits here if you would like to use the same Daysail fabrics. You can get all the details of the Snapshots Quilt Along here and see the introductory video here.


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced