A Quilting Finish.

 Two whole days off! 

I was awake bright and very early yesterday, so sat quietly doing some cross stitch while I waited for Tony to surface. Once he was up and about, I got busy. The washing machine was put to work, the chores were done, then it was time to play.

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I loaded a quilt onto the frame and got busy.

Most of the fabrics in this top nod toward our love of sewing and stitching. The rest just blend in and play nicely. The squares were a charm pack that was in my stash. They were put together last year.

Yesterday, it was quilted. 

There were lots of interruptions, so it took a few hours.

There were distractions too.

The wedding cake tree looks stunning at the moment.

I had all the windows wide open,
and two bumblebees came in for a look. I made sure they found their way out safely.

But in spite of all the goings on I got the whole thing quilted.

I used my favourite pantograph. The meander that has featured on so many of my quilts.

The binding went on mid afternoon.

I didn't quite get it all closed by hand, before we went out to a BBQ at a colleagues place.

But only one corner remained with a few inches either side. It really didn't take long to do that little bit this morning.

Then as it is another beautiful Kiwi day, I went outside for a photo shoot.

The holder upper is busy playing his games and chatting with my brother online, so I had to get creative.

On the rocking chair. It's been a while.

Peeping up through the branches of the wedding cake tree.

Everything outside is so green and bursting into life.

Finally, I came back onto the deck to get a picture showing the backing afbric.

Another of the fabrics from one of my $20 paper sacks.

It was just wide enough to be cut in two and sew the selvedges together to create the perfect back.

And there you have it. Another quilt ready to be donated.

What to do today? 

The chores are all done.

No grandies visiting today.

My time is playtime.....

I'll let you know what I decide on. 

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A very Busy Day.

  With only one day off this week, I have to make the most of my me time.
So, I started bright an early, heading onto my happy room before 7am.
After a very quick tidy up I got on with pressing, measuring, cutting and sewing.
The first job was to get the binding cut and onto the memory quilt. 

Closing by hand would be a job for later. 

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I moved swiftly on to the next project. 
Borders!
For Down in the Garden.

On they went.

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Next!

I pulled out the thistle cross stitch and turned it into a needle book.

Using an off cut from the memory quilt as the lining. I had a dig through my recently acquired box of felt pieces and found the perfect colour.

Tada!

It's a finish.

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I quickly moved on to preparing mounting boards for the Emperor.

After my 10.30 appointment with my Chiropractor, I decided it was time to settle into a comfortable seat and do some finishing. It didn't take too long to complete the fiddly task of lacing the cross stitch and backing fabric onto their respective cards.

The front and back were whip stitched together before I added a chenille edge. 

And Tada!

Another finish.

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At 3pm I pulled the memory quilt into my lap to close the binding by hand. And now it's done.

As it is a beautiful evening, the holder upper was persuaded to step outside for a quick photo shoot. 

I've ticked a couple of my goals off the list today. 

It's been a good day.

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I might cross stitch for an hour or so after some tea.

Then back to work tomorrow. Early starts, so no time for my 15 minutes in the morning, but I will get a longer lunch break, so I'll make up for it. 

Lots of Little Bits.

 Work has been busy with extra shifts, and more to come. So not a great deal of energy for pulling quilts around at the moment, but I have been keeping myself busy. I seem to have developed a starting disorder! Though I've had some finishes too.

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You know of course that I have finished stitching the Thistle cross stitch in my lunch break at work and I have been taking a free mini kit to keep me busy. I'm happy to say there has been some good progress.

Can you tell it's supposed to be Santa? I'll keep him going in my breaks.

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Having completed the Emperor I needed another wee something for the mornings before work, and maybe to take along to club. I went digging through my boxes of small projects and found an adoption that might be a quick finish.

This dimensions kit is named Kitchen Collectibles. There were some threads with it, but not all. I tried to match them up to the areas that are not yet completed, then gave up, found a conversion chart and pulled my own threads. This one will keep me busy for 15-20 mins before work. Though not this coming week as the boss is away so I have to step up into her role, so that means earlier starts. 

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Still on the hunt for something to take along to Embroidery club I pulled out an old stitchery. Well not that old. Gail Pan's Bring Me Flowers. I have stitched some of the pieces, but many, many more need to be done. They have not even been traced yet. 

I do have some blocks ready to go though. 

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I also pulled out another cross stitch thinking it might do for club. It's been getting louder and louder recently.

I decided it would be a good idea to just make a start. Then spent two whole evenings stitching away on it. I'll share more another time.

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As well as the Emperor finish, I also have another very quick finish.

I pulled out this Fuchsia keyring.

I told myself I would just make a start and take it along on Monday. I stitched the whole thing on Thursday, in between chores. LOL

It does have a keyring to go into, but I'm waiting for the holder upper to be a gluer upper, as the back keeps popping off. LOL

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And finally, as though I don't have enough to be keeping me busy I saw an ad online for this....

Of course I had to purchase it, especially as it was from the new store I discovered in Christchurch. 

I don't plan on doing any of these this year but never say never!

I think maybe I'll do a few of them next year as my family gifts and swaps. 

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So there you have it. My love affair with cross stitch and stitchery continues.

I will get back to the quilts I promise.

The Emperor's Gift.

As planned, I took the Emperor along to my stitching day yesterday. I was more than happy with how much I achieved. Then after grocery shopping, lunch and a few more chores I sat down and stitched some more. He is complete.

And just in case you didn't guess what the gift might be.

The little Emperor made an appearance at last.

I am delighted with this piece and very happy that it stitched up so quickly.

The Emperor's Gift was a design in Just Cross Stitch Ornaments magazine 2012.

I stitched it onto a piece of DMC Morning Dew 14 count Aida.

So it has ended up quite large as Christmas Tree ornaments go. But I can live with that.

Now to get him made into a fully Finished Object. 

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What's next? You ask...

I already pulled out a small piece for my 15 minutes in the mornings and plan to find something else, something a little more time consuming for club days and evenings. Maybe even two projects?

Maybe?

For today, I need to do something quilty. 

Down in the Garden needs borders.

The memory quilt needs a final trim and bind

There are lots of things I could be doing, but first I need a hair cut. 

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The Quilt is Quilted.

Last night I achieved something I was beginning to doubt would ever happen. I finished quilting the Memory quilt.  Phew! It's been a journey. 

Here it is on the floor this morning. I had just finished doing a rough trim around the edges. I'll have to clear my worktable to do a proper tidy up before I attach the binding. 

It feels good to get it this far. Some of the issues I have had have been of my own making and lessons have been learnt. Other issues remain solely with the set up I have. And fingers crossed, that mortgage milestone is not too far away.

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Moving on, the binding will not be going on this morning. As I said, a bit of a tidy up is needed and its embroidery guild day, so I'll be out at that for most of the morning. Then on into town to do some grocery shopping. 

Back to the fun stuff!

The Emperor will be going to guild with me. He has grown. I managed to do quite a bit on Monday evening and of course 15-20 mins before work each day also soon adds up.

This is what he looks like now...

A bit kinky where the hoop was sat, but he'll get over it, I'm sure.

I'm hoping to make plenty of progress again today. Soon it will be time to look for another project to take along on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings.  I've had some thoughts and I'll keep you posted.

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Something else that has moved on is the Thistles.

The cross stitch part of that project is complete.

Now to turn it into a fully finished object. I was planning a needle book, but a little whisper suggested a Christmas ornament......We'll see.

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So, with Thistles complete, what is my lunch break project at work?

Santa of course. This was a free kit off a magazine. I picked it up at a sale or an op shop, probably for about a dollar! I'll complete it and hang it on my tree. 

I have started stitching him, but at the moment there is just a grey and white blob that if you squint you can see is his beard. So not yet terribly exciting.

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What other news do I have? Not much really. We had four days of the most beautiful warm weather. Now it is cold and dark again, a big Southerly blew in last night, knocked all the blossom of the fruit trees in the neighbourhood and dumped it all on my doorstep, I think! LOL We are in for a few days of cold unsettled weather and more snow on the mountains.

Hurry up Spring, get a foot in the door would you. 

Only two days off this week as the third will be an extra shift. I really will have to make the most of these two days. I'll have to maximise my time. Right now, I'm off to do chores before I go out to guild. 

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