October 15, 2012 – 9:30 am
I went to two ice hockey games this weekend so I didn’t expect to get much done in all honesty (if you even slightly care, we won 6-0 at home on saturday and lost 3-1 away on sunday). When I sat down at my machine on saturday after a little lie-in til 9am I really didn’t fancy sewing my curtains and I really wanted to start something new. I was thinking about doing a porthole quilt with my Birds and Berries layer cake for Moda Bake Shop…
But I was disciplined and told myself NO and instead I sewed the second block (made from teeny tiny pieces- it’s only 6″) of my big sampler project that I plan to just dip into every now and then when I’m feeling disinterested with my WIPs. I finished the applique block the night before in front of the TV as planned.
And since the urge to not do someting useful continued, I put another line on my Hello Chevron project. I am starting to love this already so I may do another line later…
And then on Sunday before the game I sewed the majority of the first row in the row by row swap on Popular Patchwork. I finished it this morning before work. The theme was squares and rectangles and my partner Alison wanted bright blues and greens. I’m hoping this fits the bill. More itty bitty squares- this is 6″ x 36″ (finished size). Some of the seams are wonky on this, I’m hoping she’s less of a perfectionist than me!
Oh and I did manage another column of curtain patchwork- halfway through that now 😉
I’m sure I’ll get round to that porthole quilt after I’ve finished some of this other stuff off first.
October 11, 2012 – 10:21 am
I designed this sampler quilt on EQ7 for Festival of Quilts next year… It’s 73 blocks in total.
I thought I’d better make a start and casually do a block every so often- I’ve tacked down some pieces for applique , I just need to sort out the arrangement again slightly and needle turn them by hand. It’s nice to have a job I can do whilst watching the TV. I’ve actually never done an applique quilt block before. True story.
Don’t think that’s all I did last night, I’ve sewn four blocks for a secret project too. I will be able to reveal that at the New Year, but until then, you will have to wait…
October 2, 2012 – 5:14 pm
It’s the last quarter of 2012 so I should really get moving on some of these WIPs! I’ve decided to aim for two completions in Rhonda’s Finish-a-long this time round. The first thing I’d like to finish is the infamous curtain. You’ll be glad to hear I actually started on the first 1/4 of the patchwork last night and have 3 nearly finished blocks already. Alex had made some homemade Port and one glass of that seemed to spur me on somewhat. And I didn’t hate doing it!
So this is where I’m up to. I must finish this because it’s getting dark and I’ll have less sewing time without them finished as a pair instead of one lonely curtain….
The other thing I want to finish is the Giant Granny quilt. I managed another block on a whim this weekend so I have 2 done, though I’m going to maybe have to unpick a bit as my side strips weren’t long enough in places and I have some suspiciously big gaps that may be over 1/4″. I’m aiming for it to be 16 blocks in total with maybe a couple of borders depending on how bored I get. I tend to just blast through the borders as I don’t find them that fun to do when I just want to get something finished which is why I started the UK Borders Agency bee. No plans for any sashing on this one.
Also in this quarter I will have two UK Borders Agency rounds to do, a block and a round (maybe two, not sure if this is monthly) for the new Around the Bend and Across the Pond Free Bee, the Mouthy Stitches tote, a cushion with instructions for a magazine, up to 3 rows for a Row by Row swap and possibly some dog collars and Christmas presents, but I’ve not thought that far ahead yet so I’m probably not going to sew anyone anything this year unless it’s quick and small. I have other WIPs and some precuts I want to play with but I’m already scared of my list- there’s plenty to be getting on with!
I’m also blogging every day this month for Blogtoberfest, so you won’t be able to get rid of me for the whole of October. I make no apologies 😉
Also don’t forget the giveaway that is on til Thursday…
September 19, 2012 – 10:47 am
I’ve just remembered that I’ve not shown you one of my WIPs started a little while ago. I started it as a distraction project (and have already named it “Hello Chevron”) and it will use 3 charm packs in it’s construction. I’m not letting myself pick it back up again yet though as I need to get thinking “curtains” and stop procrastinating.
I drew up this plan in EQ7- the pink bits are patterned pieces from the Hello Luscious charm packs, the rest are solids cut from yardage…
As you can see I’ve done the top row already. As my room is a mess because the other side of the garage is being painted and what-not, I could only really trap it in the door to photograph early this morning, but I think you get the idea!
My next project has been puct back over and over again so I am going to allow myself to finish this one before next wednesday with any luck. Also from a charm pack, this time Tend the Earth by Deb Strain. I was originally going to make a kaleidoscope quilt with this charm pack and it didn’t really work out and I ended up with a few wasted charm squares and the whole thing got bundled away for a while. After I found THIS PATTERN in Modern Quilting magazine I knew I had to make it, I bought handles for it ages ago and then last week I discovered my slightly abused charm pack would be perfect for this as it says it needs only 33 charm squares (though I counted and it’s actually 34)!
Sorry for the slightly blurry pic, as I say, it was early! These are my two front panels, I’m just finishing the sides, bottom and flap pieces then I have to do the bit I hate- cut out ALL the interfacing and lining pieces. This is why I don’t normally make bags- too much pattern cutting! Just need to buy some more fusible fleece, mega strong interfacing and a big zip!
September 4, 2012 – 9:34 am
Have you seen the Can’t Grow a Mo’ Sew a Mo’ block appeal? I won’t go into too much detail but it’s being managed by DJ Cool Bear to make a quilt to be raffled off for Movember and the Mary Potter Hospice raising money for prostate cancer patient care. All you have to do is make a block square or rectangular up to 12.5″ unfinished with an applique moustache (and there are some templates provided on the link if you can’t draw one) and mail it off to be included. I had forgotten my seam allowances when making my block this morning so I am quite glad of this because I expected to have to add another border tonight! Since quilting is all about working together and good causes traditionally, it might be something you want to get involved in. CLICK HERE FOR ALL OF THE INFORMATION.
So here’s my finished block, a dapper Dickensian gent is what I was aiming for…
Also I finished round 1 of the UK Borders Agency bee- I got Hannah’s boat block first so I added lots of solid strips round the outside to create a bit of a gap so the next person can add a load of patterns if they wish without it being too chaotic! I will be passing this on to Gina when I next see her, I have some things for her anyway!
Sadly it’s got a bit of a wonk to it- it doesn’t lay totally flat and I’m a bit worried to be honest. It could be because the block either wasn’t straight when I started adding to it or it could have been something I’ve done when building it. So what I’m thinking is if I put a big white border on it, do you think I’ll be able to square the wonk off? Any tips?!
Lastly, I’m looking for a volunteer to review the book below for me. I think sometimes it’s nice to get a mix of people reviewing things. I would post this out for you to keep and then I would need to know your general likes and dislikes about it, a couple of photos of things in the book you found particularly appealing and then I’ll format it into a guest blog post. I’d prefer UK reviewer at the minute because it will be quicker to get it to you and (marginally) cheaper. Any takers?
August 29, 2012 – 3:41 pm
This is the boring curtains pattern I mentioned. I need 4 strips of 5 blocks for each curtain (helped with a chunk of fabric at the top and bottom- they are for patio doors), which means at 3 columns done I’m quite a long way of finishing and I HATE this pattern! I wish I hadn’t started it, it’s SO boring and I’ve only done 8 of the boring blocks!
Don’t get me wrong I LOVE the fabrics, Salt Air may be my favourite fabric range ever ever ever, but the slashed grid blocks are just taking SO long for a not very inspiring and creative end product.
So should I persevere and get them curtains done or should I make simple, one fabric NORMAL curtains, finish half of my intended work and make a simple lap quilt, adding the rest of the layer cake to my stash (even though I’ve slashed half of the blocks)? What do you think? Is there another solution staring me in the face? Maybe I’m just not a fan of “modern” patchwork!
August 20, 2012 – 10:00 am
So after the mayhem of last week, Sunday allowed me some sewing time for the first time in nearly a fortnight! So the backlog has made me “need” to start two new quilting projects. More on that later in the week. And I haven’t finished patchworking my boring pattern curtains yet!
Anyway a couple of weeks ago I mentioned the free motion quilting group on Facebook started by Julia at Gone to Earth. We’re working through the Angela Walters book. There are only 7 of us but I’m in with some of the popular girls- Kerry from Very Kerry Berry and Ali from Very Berry Handmade and Angela herself may be dropping by to see how we’re getting on!
So swirls were the first in the book, so I had a quick sketch…
And decided to get stuck in straight away with the first little block. I’m going to sew a charm pack together double sided for this project as a quilting sampler. I did have a dodgy piece in my charm pack though- boooo!
One side…
The other…
And then because I’m a risk taker I decided to add it to the mini quilt I’ve nearly finished for Brit Quilt Swap 3!
It’s hard to keep my stitches the same length but it’s not too bad I don’t think. If I was working on a bigger space than just a few inches I think it would be easier, although I don’t fancy heaving a massive quilt through my machine with this design!
Only three weeks to go ’til the Festival of Quilts! When I go I know I’m definitely going to subscribe to Popular Patchwork and I need to get a new cutting mat that is at least 16″ on the shortest side as my mat won’t even fit my 12″ squaring up ruler which is quite annoying! It’s cut to shreds anyway- I’ve definitely had a good two years wear out of the current one.
Anyway, depending on how much I end up spending, I would like to buy one of these bundles this month, either at the show or at Fat Quarter Shop if they are nowhere to be seen/too expensive. Check these beauties out…
Birds and Berries by Lauren and Jessi Jung…
Polka Dot Stitches by Lori Holt…
And my absolute favourite- Heaven and Helsinki by Patty Young.
***
For WIP Wednesday (yes I’m joining in this time!) I’m working on my mini quilt for the Brit Quilt Swap. I’ve actually done a little more on it this morning-it’s now over 1/4 done! It’s a nice project because I can just sew four pieces together and trim and leave it until I have time to sew another four pieces together. It’s quicker and easier than it looks too. Some of my points aren’t exactly matching but it’s quite a forgiving design and you can’t tell too much. I hope my swap partner will like it when it’s all done. I have a few more weeks yet thankfully.
I’m also working on my Salt Air quilt, but with no pictures, sorry! It’s actually not going to be a quilt now- I’m going to measure up the window in my craft room and make it into long-awaited curtains! Who knows, I may even get the skirting boards painted in the warm weather and get them on the walls too- wonders never cease!
I’m also making it a mission to add at least one item to one of my Etsy shops every day until the end of August, whether it’s Trufflepiglet, the patterns shop or my general shop. I added two yesterday and I plan to do the same today. Who’s with me?
I’ve done a bit of my Salt Air slashed quilt top but I don’t think I like it! It’s a bit late now because I’ve already cut half of the layer cake so I’ll just persevere and hopefully the quilting will make it all better.
I’ve started on my Great Granny quilt with my Curio jelly roll. I’ve not decided how big I’m making it yet but thought I’d better get something done. This is for The Great Granny Along.
There’s still time to volunteer as a pattern tester on my last post- I’ll pick people in the morning 🙂
As I mentioned yesterday I’ve got lots of odds and ends to tidy up. A border here and a block there. I would love to get my teeth into something a bit more meaty but that will have to wait.
So for now I’ve been working on my firework display applique flying geese block.
One piece done, five more to go. Then it’s onto my Good Luck Star block for the Brit Mini Quilt Swap…
Think that’s my weekend sorted!
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