It's Good To Be Stitching Again

......but my machine is not happy. She sounds rough and not quite right.  The atmosphere here is very dry and I think it's time for a clean, service and some care and attention.  I booked her in for a service at the local quilt shop and took her along to the visiting technician.  

Success! My sewing machine has had its little spa day.  Poor thing has been a bit tense, dehydrated and noisy.  The technician phoned to say a new part was  needed, I had no hesitation in saying go ahead, as my thoughts were confirmed about what was causing the unusual clunks.  I collected her Wednesday afternoon and after dinner I unpacked her, threaded her up and tentatively put my foot on the pedal.  Wow! What a huge improvement.  Lovely smooth pick up, and so quiet.  Even hubby commented.  Why had I not sent her off for some TLC before now. - well I know why - I've not been here when the technician was visiting.  The moral of this story is don't put off spending a little money on your sewing machine.  I know, I know, we can't always do without it, or we are in the middle of a project or we can always find excuses.  Yes I could have continued using my machine even if it was making noises, it was stitching just fine, but I am so pleased I took this opportunity to make things better.  $100 well spent!

The bunting quilt is making progress,

block 5 is coming along nicely too,  here are some of the wee pieces before they were stitched in place.

...........But as usual I'm deliberating/procrastinating.  I would really like to start cutting into my new bundle of fabrics.  Should I/shouldn't I. Hmmmm..........

Yes I did take the plunge.  It's so satisfying making the first cut in a new project especially with a nice new rotary blade in your cutter.  Watch this space to see the progress on this one.

Temperatures have risen over the last couple of days. Today has been much more like the temperatures at home if not a wee bit higher 10*c here today, clear skies and sunny.  Sorry folks back at home I believe you had a wet miserable day according to the family we left behind.  I hope you all have a good week ahead.

Spring Break

March has arrived but has it come in like a Lion or a Lamb?  Our weather systems seem to be all topsy turvy of late but it has been nice to see the spring snowdrops and crocuses pushing up through the bare soil.  

As I write this from the other side of the Atlantic there are no spring bulbs here - far too cold yet.  It was -12*C early yesterday morning here in the Rockies and tomorrow there is some snow forecast with temperatures predicted to be -15*C at times.  The bonus is though that we are seeing clear blue skies unlike at home.  Jet lag is lingering and we are always awake very early and retire to bed at what seems a child's bedtime.  Hopefully we will get into the Albertan time line soon.

It's good to be back and I am looking forward to some rest and relaxation.  I am planning to do a lot more sewing than I have been doing recently.  I have brought my Night Before Christmas pattern in the hope that I will enjoy some hand stitching while sitting looking at the mountains with the sun steaming through the den window.  

I placed an online order for fabrics a few weeks ago and this lovely little bundle was waiting for me from Connecting Threads - it's just such a pity they don't ship internationally.  

The feather fabric is 104" wide and I intend using it for a backing but it's so nice I may need to use it on the front too.  I had chosen a pattern from one of my new books but silly me forgot to pack it!  However I have found another pattern here and I'm looking forward to getting my sewing table set up and ready to go. I will change my rotary cutter blade, change my sewing machine needle and I'll be ready to get started.

I hope you all have a good week and manage to sew a few stitches.

  

Quilt Show

This weekend is the Scottish Quilt show at  Ingliston in Edinburgh and we paid a visit.  I am not normally around for the February show so it was good to go along for some inspiration.  Many of us go along with a list of items we are searching for, hoping to be lucky enough to get a bargain.  Many are looking for new gadgets, books, fabrics to match up with ongoing projects, ideas for gifts, or just to look at the wonderful display of quilts.  There are so many talented people out there some of the quilts were stunning! 

We have a special birthday in the family this weekend and an afternoon tea party planned this afternoon and I offered to do a wee bit of baking.  Going along to the quilt show on the first morning was the only window of opportunity I had this weekend.   As expected it was very busy so first port of call was a cup of coffee to gather our thoughts and have a scan through the list of exhibitors. The regular stall holders were there and a few new and different ones too.  We bumped into a few ladies from our group all enjoying their day and eager to continue with their shopping.  It's good to have all these fabric shops together especially when we don't have many in our area. I'm looking forward to Tuesday to see what everyone bought at the show.  Unfortunately I didn't get everything on my list, I was looking for speciality threads to try but the stand which was there last autumn was not there this time. I did manage to pick up the solid fabric I was looking for (at a good price).  We found lots of inspiring ideas and projects and I'm looking forward to trying some of them out before attempting a class tutorial later in the year.

Sorry no photos today - perhaps next week.  

Top Complete

As expected there was only a little sewing done this week again.  I have been out and about every single day this week with the result I've had very little time for sewing and no household chores done!  So again I am playing 'catch up' this weekend.  Our busy lives can sometimes get in the way of our hobbies and pastimes which lie unattended and untouched on the shelf.  Sometimes its even difficult to prioritise and organise.  As I am sure I have mentioned before, I am a bit of a procrastinator and spend too much time thinking and this inevitably eats into the time I should be using to get things done.

The sunny sunray blocks have been stitched together forming a quilt top here's a sneak peek.  Once again this was not the original plan, nor indeed was it plan number 2 but it's progressing.  I hope to get some batting cut this afternoon and then I need to decide on the backing - once again I have more than one option. Decisions, decisions.  

I am looking forward to Tuesday class.  K is giving a demonstration/tutorial on Trapunto.  Another new hand stitching technique for me and a chance to sit back and enjoy while someone else is in the 'driving seat'.

I hope you have more success with your sewing projects than I'm  having with mine at the moment.  Have a good week whatever you are planning on doing.

A Slow Sewing Week

Just what it says on the label - everything in my leisure time (what time was that) has been going at a snails pace this week.  I have been busy doing other things so not a lot of time for stitching and I don't see any window of opportunity in this coming week either.

 

The few spare minutes I had were spent on my not so little sunrays which measure 14ins across.  As with most of my projects, which seem to evolve or fragment, this one is no different.  I had a vision for this block and how it would look in a finished quilt, however it evolved and then fell to pieces as I progressed so I am now back to basics on this one I think.  I have been hand stitching the suns to the background fabric this week so it's quite a slow process but relaxing too.  Initially I was going to machine stitch this part then changed my mind. I'm getting there though slowly but surely.

I also started preparing my Block 5.   The freezer paper shapes have been drawn and cut out and I am ready to choose the fabrics.  I mentioned there was a lot in this one, I haven't counted the pieces but they are all very small and fiddly.

.........unlike last month's block which was mostly larger pieces and fairly straightforward.

My fabric shelves did get a tidy, but sadly 'Optimus Prime' and the coordinating fabrics still lie in the bundle in their basket uncut and there they will have to  stay for a wee while yet as I can't see me getting round to doing anything with them this week.

I hope you all have a good sewing week this week and manage to find a little time for stitching.

 

February Already

Where did January go?  The month has flown and here we are into February already, the wintery weather is still with us and some of the pavements are treacherous but it was bright and clear yesterday and again this morning.  I think I even see some snowdrops peeking through the snow. 

An outing to the quilt shop was planned, I did say I was going to buy some new fabrics.  My 11year old nephew is due a new quilt.  He treasures the one I made for him years ago and he has played with the roadways and construction site quilt for hours on end.  Apparently it still has pride of place each night at the bottom of his bed.  He is an avid fan of Transformers and I managed to acquire some fabric with Bumblebee and Optimus Prime and some of the other characters,  names unknown to me!  The background of this fabric is black and grey but I hope to brighten it all up with red yellow and blue solids.  As always watch this space.

The little Rays of sunshine are coming along nicely I have completed another one and already have another few 'blades' cut up ready to sew together.  I can manage to sew a 'sun' in an evening after dinner if my mind is made up and set to it.  

I have been knitting this week too - I so enjoy spending an evening just knitting especially with nice fine 4 ply wool.

This week is our Show and Tell at class and I will be really struggling to find something to show and tell this month - no completed projects, just lots of pieces in progress.  I haven't even done any of my appliqué this week for block 5 the 'big one' there is a lot of little pieces in this one. I've decided I'm going to do this one over two months. 

Another 4 quilts were delivered to Project Linus this week.  I met a few ladies of the ladies who meet once a month in Hamilton, their sole aim is to produce quilts and blankets, and to sew on labels of donated quilts to be distributed to hospitals, and children in need of a hug.  More quilts are needed so if you are a quilter have a look in your stash and see if you could perhaps make a small child sized quilt from some of your scraps to be donated to your local group.

This week promises to be chilly again I plan to get 'Optimus Prime  and friends' fussy cut, finish my sunshine blocks ready to place on my background and start on my block 5 of the block of the month.  My fabrics on my shelves need a tidy up too - more than enough to be going on with this week perhaps a little to many things here to achieve but I'll try.  Keep cosy.

Rays of Sunshine and Ice Crystals

 

Last week I mentioned I was doing a little practice for our class.  I always try out before asking others to make something new.  What a lovely block this is and so much fun to make, Lucie Wakefield who lives in Northumberland and blogs at   http://luciethehappyquilter.com  was my inspiration for this one.  I follow her blog regularly and she always seems to be doing something different with lots of projects going on at the same time.  She has time to teach at a local quilt shop and takes in longarm quilting for clients - a busy lady.  The pattern for this quilt block was printed in the January Quiltmaker magazine and called Midnight Snowfall and I thought I would do it with a twist.  Sunny yellow fabrics and icy blues as a variation for my class mates.    It will be interesting to see the group finishes in a couple of weeks time. I have asked everyone to bring along their finishes for the Show and Tell on the first Tuesday of the month.  Here is the process and some of my finished creations.

 

There have been a few comments and discussions on the world of blogging - I am not the only one who has noticed change.  It has been said by a few that it's a pointless task, you never know who's following - especially if you are a no comment blogger - which I must be as I never seem to get any comments.  I think there are settings you can change etc but as you know I am not that technical, and to be honest while I would love to get some feedback I'm afraid I just don't have time to reply to comments I may receive which I would feel obliged to do.  I'll just continue doing what I'm doing and hope there are some people out there who enjoy my ramblings.  I know there are some followers as I can tell from the statistics there are some hits on the pages.  Whether or not these people enjoy what I write or whether they just look as my pictures who knows.  I know of a few good friends who do follow along, in Canada, in Wales and a few much closer to home.  Thank you all for following I hope this makes you smile, and say ooh that's me! I hope you are all well and managing to do a little stitching now and again.

I will continue this week with the Rays of Sunshine - I appear to be producing more of these than the Ice Crystals.  Maybe I would just like to see some sunnier days, there have been enough enough icy snowflakes outside this past week.  I will continue to use up my scraps and smaller pieces of fabrics and I have another two projects in the planning and drifting around in my head.

Have a good week everyone and keep cosy hopefully under a quilt hand stitching, if you haven't tried hand stitching for a while give it a try this week, it's so relaxing!