Weekend fun

I don't know about you, but I had a great weekend, even though I had to work.

Friday was an extra day off, we were all awarded a wellness day, as a thank you for all the hard work and effort that we have put in, even me who was off work for eight weeks. So I took it on Friday.

I played all day, with my floral scraps, making up blocks and even adding the first sashing strips.

This is how I left them when I went off to prepare dinner. Debbie and her hubby joined us. We had Prawn toasts and spring rolls, followed by chicken and corn soup and Tony's amazing crispy shredded sweet chilli beef.

Debbie brought a HUGE banana cake.

That was a late night, and I thought I might be late for zoom on Saturday.

*

I wasn't late for zoom, I was awake in plenty of time to grab a cuppa and get logged in.

I spent the morning working on my Lucy Blue EPP project.

Of course.

It was good to see everyone and I enjoyed myself, listening and chatting until it was time to head off to work.

I added three large blocks and four smaller spacer blocks.

I'm on to the last row!

Then I'll need to go around and add the edge pieces.

Chooky, thank you once again for a great day. 

A little while ago I wondered about making it a little bigger, but decided in the end, to stick with original size, it's a good size for hanging in my hall way.

Tony wasn't available for my photo shoot today, so I pegged it on to my quilt hanging rail to get a good picture.

And decided while I was at it, I would change the guard.

I like to change the quilt hanging at the end of the hallway. Some stay for only a few weeks, some stay longer.

This one is a regular, I'm very fond of it.

It sometimes gets used as a table cloth too.

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Also today I played in my sewing room pretty much right up to the moment I had to run out of the door for work. LOL

I was determined to get the floral scrapper together and to get the first border on.

And I did it. I had just enough fabric, though there are a few more joins than I would like in some of those longer pieces.

I think I'll add a tiny peeper border (Chooky you've started something.....) before adding another neutral border.

That is a job for tomorrow.

I did think this one might be a donor quilt, but I've fallen in love with it.....

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On the whole, I think I had a fantastic weekend.

I hope yours was just as good.

The dangers of procrastination

I was fiddling about in my room on Sunday, not really doing much. I should have been cutting my floral scraps, but instead I was procrastinating, poking about in this drawer and that. I noticed that my collection of batik scraps is getting a little out of control and making the drawer look untidy.

So I hauled them all out and dumped them on the cutting table. Then had a tidy up in the drawer and before I knew it, it was time to go to work.

Over night an idea was born and this morning I scooted in to town and purchased yet another set of plastic drawers. My collection of batik scraps in all their little containers were all tucked neatly away, and there was still plenty of room for my collection of fabric crumbs, so in they went.

I really wasn't sure what to do with this little collection though. They are rejects from this quilt top and are only partially batiks. 

Hmmmmm, I left them out and vowed to have a think about what I could do with them.

While I was in town, I called in to the sewing centre, hoping to find a blue binding for the OP Shop Top.

No perfect blues, but I did find the perfect burgundy.

And I found an end of bolt, just under a half meter of a cream grunge, with spots.

I thought it might work with my floral scraps. I'm pleased to say that I was right.

So pleased in fact that I started cutting soon after I put together my drawers and cleared all the batiks off the cutting table. . But first I made leek and potato soup for lunch, I left it simmering while I played with fabrics. I got a whole bunch of 5 inch squares cut.

Then soon after lunch, the squirrel hopped in through the open window!

Full of ideas about what to do with that wee box of rejects and before I knew what was going on, I was playing with those instead of cutting florals.

My first efforts met Jack the ripper!

But the second idea worked out much better.

I got as far as putting a column together before deciding to stop and sit down for a while. 

I'll need to find something to use as border and binding, but I'm sure that won't be too hard.

Thank you Mr Squirrel, you can be on your way to help someone else for a while.

*

So you see the danger of procrastination and pottering about doing not very much really, is that it becomes an open invitation for the squirrel to visit.

 

Zooming With Chooky

So Saturday was one of Chookys zoom sessions, she promised a marathon, and that is what we got.

Well some of us did. I had to go off to work at 3pm (NZ) and returned again at 10.30, when I found a few ladies still chatting. 

Before work I was busy with Lucy and made a little progress. First I set about topping up my supply of one inch blue squares and also prepared a bunch of white honey combs, for the border treatments.

Yes, it's getting that close.

My supervisor spent most of the day curled up asleep on the sofa next to my chair, although she did make time for some personal grooming.

Once I was done with the prep work I got on to the task of adding blocks to the top, after I had added some blue inchies to the blocks I wrestled them on to the top one at a time. I only had time to add two and prep a third before I had to prepare for work.

I have almost completed the penultimate row of crosses. Just one more block required.

As you can see, Belle had to take the opportunity to inspect progress while Tony held it up this morning.

I really do need to work out how I want the edge of the quilt to look and get papers prepped for the final rounds.

Poor pictures I'm afraid as it is very overcast here today, so we had an indoor photoshoot with artificial lighting.

I'm really pleased with how this one is turning out and must confess that although I am excited to be so close to finishing the planned 5x6 layout I am tempted to add more blocks.....

I know I have plenty of blue fabrics left, I wonder if I can find more of that white?

*

Time to go and complete the chores I should have done yesterday. LOL

 

The Squirrel Came Back.

I was a little worried the other day to read that the squirrel had hopped over to Kiwikid Sues place, to distract help her out. As I had only half a plan for finishing the HSTs. But I set off yesterday, hopefully sewing them together. As I suspected, there were issues with lost points and varying block sizes. That is the nature of 11 year old scraps. Well that's what I told myself.

That little group at the top was about half an inch narrower than the others! EEK!

What now?

I turned both pieces this way and that and discovered that my rearranging had reduced the difference to a quarter inch, then inspiration, or the squirrel struck and I popped a piece of Jelly roll in there, which helped to disguise the difference.

Perfect.

I kept on adding a few more pieces of jelly roll log cabin style.

I'll call this a completed top. It's a nice size for a bassinet or a small crib, or even a wall hanging.

I have some lovely chocolate brown slices of Jelly roll that I will use for binding, but first I must quilt it.

There were a few rejected blocks and some left over  HSTs, they went into the crumb basket.

I'll address them another day.

Next I pulled out the floral scraps again, maybe this time they will get their chance to shine.

You can see right at the top of the photo the cutting guide for what I hope to do with them.

I just need to dig out a suitable fabric to use for sashing.

I hope to start cutting today.

And finally, I completed the wash cloth I was knitting during the zoom session.

If you have never tried using these cute little hand knitted cloths you should.

They are lovely to use. I have some for cleaning the house and some that I keep especially for cleaning me and my grand children.

That's all of my news, now I'm off to do chores, before I play. 

 

Future Quilt.

As promised I scanned my book to show you the quilt Hunney and I both like. It called 'Simply Chevrons'.

These scans have come out paler than the original pages, try as i might I couldn't get the colours to come true. It's a much richer warmer looking quilt than it looks here.

I'm having problems finding just the right fabrics for it. Hunney and I both like the colours used in the model so I'd like to get something very similar. To that end I have ordered some charm packs in the hope of finding something we like and agree on. At 108 x 108 it should keep me busy for a while.

As for the current project, the top is in 3 pieces laying on my absent DDs bed at the moment, the backing is also in the same state. Decision time, do I quilt it as 3 pieces? Or fasten the whole lot together and quilt the whole thing? It's 50x50 so won't be massively huge and hopefully won't be too big to manage in my little machine if I decide on the latter option.

What do you think girls?

Been playing.

I've been busy with my new machine all day. I'm over half way through getting the plates appliqued. Here's one I made earlier.



Here's me, Hunney bought me a quilting table accessory for the machine, my boys attached it for me this evening. They also pestered to have a go at the machine, which I allowed of course, under strict supervision!



I'll be doing more tomorrow! :-)

Birthday comes early.

Hunney gave me my gift early, it's not actually my birthday until Sunday, but he brought my gift home from work where it has been hiding, and as there is nowhere really to hide things here I got it early. No, I couldn't have looked at a wrapped gift until Sunday morning, I'm useless at things like that. ( Christmas was and still is such a torment for me! ) It would have been all the more frustrating as I knew what I was getting.

Now you want to know what I've got? Looky here! I played for a while last night, before and after Hunney took me out for dinner. Hunney sat with me and helped me to figure out some of the functions. It's so much nicer than my old machine, smooth and quiet, and it does what I ask of it. Hunney also bought some feet that were not included in the package and a quilting table to add onto it.

So, last night I started to satin stitch my plates onto their blocks. Yippie! My DD wanted to be in on the fun of the new machine too, she asked if there was anything she could do to help, so I set her the task of cutting out the centres of the plates, one of which I have sewn on as she wanted to see what it would look like. All I have to do now is put everything together.

I'm already dreaming about my next project!

Just a quick up date.

My little tiger finally has a friend. I'm going to concentrate on the ground this evening, and back stitch the tigers tail and leg, I think he looks odd at the moment without it done.



I do have a picture of my quilt, but I'm saving it for another day. Al my plates are pinned onto their squares, I really should start the applique process.

Catch up.

No pictures today, the camera batteries are charging.

I finished stitching my little tiger friend. It's really nice to have him finished, it feels like an achievement. I've made a start on the gorilla and will continue with him tonight.

I got lots of cutting and pinning done for my quilt this afternoon so tomorrow I'll get the sewing machine out and make a start, I was hoping to put it off until after my birthday, then I would have my new machine to play with..........Hmmmm.

I promise I'll have pictures tomorrow.

Gina, you really should treat yourself to one of Pams treasures, trust me, photos do them no justice, they are much prettier in person.

A successful Day.

I had a good morning, I got all of the plates finished, except for their centres. Time to start cutting my blocks. Yes, I've settled on the block sizes and a layout, I did all of that before going in to work at 2pm.
Time for bed now, but I'll be busy again tomorrow.
Night all.