Where Does the Time Go

Not a lot to report.  Quilting started of the Mountain Majesties,

Easter cardigan finished - but a button short!

Circle progressing - enjoying the hand stitching although just a wee bit tricky trying to keep it flat!

Happy Easter weekend everyone!

The Jury is Still Out

........... on the little quilts. I took them along to the class for the ladies to compare - I'm not sure if I would be able tell the difference myself if I hadn't made them.  

We are comparing Warm and Natural with Vilene 80/20. Thicker, softer, lighter, couldn't tell .......were some of the comments.  They will be laundered this week and then we will see and compare once again. Then after that there may be some hand quilting and more comparing.

I haven't done very much this week, unfortunately a tweaked muscle in my side has hampered all the things I had planned but I can only rest and hopefully it will be better soon.  I am not a good patient and hate sitting around. I'm not really able to sit at my machine for any length of time so short sessions are all I can manage meantime.  Unfortunately I don't have a hand sewing project at the ready - any I could be doing requires a bit of preparation first.  My main pastime has been knitting an Easter Aran cardigan for our wee grandson and reading.  I discovered I had some catch up to do on my Missouri Star Block magazines. The second Mod Block magazine has just been issued so I'm looking forward to downloading that one.

A gloriously sunny day yesterday and today has brought a feeding frenzy to our garden bird feeders with the blackbirds enjoying the apples we put out for them.  It's so nice to sit and watch their antics - discovering indeed what pecking order really means.  A pair of bramblings have been spotted, beautiful wee birds in their bright plumage which are not a common sighting in the garden.  The little wren was hopping around on the blue conifer and a pair of robins were pecking around in the bark under the shrubs looking for nesting materials. Spring has sprung!!

We may even get to sit in our summerhouse soon - Hubby decided he could no longer sit surrounded by the garden furniture, bay tree, bird seed, and plant pots which have all been stored there over the winter.  It has now been all swept out, the cobwebs dusted down and is looking much better.  All I need to do is give the windows a wash and tidy the shelves and our little seating area is ready for use - roll on the warmer days when we can enjoy some quiet time sitting there drinking our coffee and hand stitching.

Trials

Having finished off four quilts last week I haven't finished one this week.  I have made a start to a project for our class this week.  I recently bought a roll of new batting and took  along a sample to let the ladies at the class see and compare it with our usual one.  Of course there were questions:  how far apart could you quilt, was it good for hand quilting, did it wash well, was it lighter or heavier, was it as warm as the other one?  Well I didn't know all the answers did I.  I did take along the instruction sheet but not all the answers were there.  So what do I do when I don't know the answers to questions?  Try and find out of course...........

A New Roll of Batting

...........another project - I decided to make two small quilts 30" x 30" using the same fabrics, the pattern below, backing, thread etc but I used the two different battings one in each.  The plan is to get them finished for Tuesday and let the ladies decide and see if they can spot the difference.  Then next week I will throw them in washing machine and see how they turn out after the usual cool wash and dry.   Watch this space.

I have become a member of a Facebook group UK Quilters United and have found it a great resource for information, tips and ideas.  There are so many talented quilters out there.  As a sub group there is a band of ladies and probably gents too who belong to a group called Helping Hands - stitching and sewing for good causes.  This is just what it says, folks who like to sew and give their time and efforts to others.  Many sew for their local community and smaller charities.  Someone had requested scraps and offcuts of fabric and I found this was one way to pass on my leftover pieces of fabrics.  Many of us have scraps - and many like to sew put them both together and you get lots of projects being made - quilts for children, syringe driver bags, quilts for elderly in care homes, flood victims, Girl Guide groups making small items to sell for fundraising for cystic fibrosis the list goes on.  You name it,  it's being done within this group all over the UK - the power of Facebook!  One lovely lady coordinates wishes and gifts and marries them up, you then get an address to send your envelope of scraps or completed items.  She does a grand job!  Well done N.A. 

My circle project is progressing slowly but it's still on the design wall - not quite sure which method I'm going to use for the next step though.  I don't have any set plans for this week so I will just wait and see what pops into my head - I've got plenty on my 'to do list'

Have a good week whatever you are planning to do.

The Sun Has Got Its Hat On

I have been sitting knitting in the sunshine while having my mid morning cup of tea.  

The birds are singing and hopping around in the hedge outside our window I expect looking for a comfortable spot to make their nests.  Spring is just around the corner.  It's so nice to see the lovely blue sky. I am off out now to have a walk around the garden.  I can see from our kitchen window little splashes of colour under the shrubs so I guess the snowdrops, crocuses and anemones have pushed through the cold ground in search of some warmth in the sun.  I don't normally see our spring garden as we are usually on the other side of the Atlantic at this time of the year so I'm off to make the most of it while the sun is shining.  Hopefully within the next few weeks we will be able to enjoy sitting in our summerhouse once again fingers crossed, it's a nice place to sit and sew with your cuppa.  My main aim this morning is to take photos of my recent finishes. Wish me luck, see you in a bit.......

Well it's very cold out there - nice in the sun but most of our garden at this time of the year is in shade, the sun is still too low in the sky and doesn't quite make it over the rooftop.  The summerhouse is in need of a clean, it's been used as storage over the winter, so before we can actually enjoy sitting in it I will need to have a Spring Clean!!  

Here are the results of the photoshoot. I am no David Baillie nor indeed very good at taking artistic  photos but these are just for my own records and to let you see my finishes.  No doubt Techie would have something to say about them but he is taking the opportunity it's of a nice day to go off wildlife hunting to take photos of his own.

Spools finished .......

Spools - 46" x 58"

As is Hardware...........

Hardware - 60" x 60"

Toes in the Sand - now to be known as Spiralling Triangles...........

Its too big to turn the right way up but you get the idea!  - Spiralling Triangles 63"x 91"

I must admit I have felt very negative about this quilt from the outset.  I think the BOM started in 2012?   I enjoyed making the triangular pieced blocks, but not the fabrics. I almost came a cropper when cutting out the white background triangles too - take care if you are using this pattern you need to cut them out individually or you will have lots of waste/or potentially not enough fabric if you cut them double layered as you would normally do.  However all that being said when I saw it hanging on the line earlier I felt a bit of achievement and admiration for it.  I almost thought it would be good enough to for an exhibition!  I think when working on our projects we are sometimes too close to them, working on them night after night, seeing all the little imperfections in our eyes, but in fact if those little errors are not pointed out they are not always seen by others.  Yes we are far to critical of our own work for our own good.  Sadly for the moment I have no where to display this rather large quilt so for now it will hang on a hanger in my diningroom/quilting room.

And finally Sunny Scrappy Strings which I finished last night .............

Using Up More Leftovers - Sunny Scrappy Strings 44' x 60"

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and make the most of the sunshine.