Stitchless

This week has flown and not a stitch has been sewn!  A week of catch up with lots of things in the house and with family.  

I hate to admit it but I have gone over to the other side - technology speaking.  Before I went off on holiday my PC was running very very slowly, so slowly it was beginning to frustrate.  I can’t complain I have had it for a long long time, and as we all know technology has progressed in leaps and bounds even in a year never mind 10.   I have an Apple TV, an iPhone and an iPad so I guess the next step was an iMac or equivalent.  Techie made a good job of convincing me, so a Mac Mini was purchased instead of a PC.  Wow - Speedy Gonzales!  I no longer need to go and make a cup of tea after switching on the box.  Less than a minute and it is powered up ready to go. I thought I was just getting the ‘box’ but surprise surprise a new magic mouse appeared and a dinky wee wireless keyboard.  So this week has been a whole new learning curve, getting used to typing again with all ten fingers for a start!  

Techie needless to say did all the technical stuff and  backed up and transferred all the old files on to a separate hard drive then put only the files i really needed on to the new machine. I have been assured it will take me a long long time to fill up all the available space - eh really!  All that being said I have enjoyed embracing change, Techie has been really patient with me and I am delighted to say so far so good.   I am enjoying this new piece of kit.  I can even listen to my music - some of my Cds were almost antique - while I type up this blog post all done wirelessly.

So as far as sewing goes as I said earlier not a stitch as has been sewn.  It was good however to catch up with everyone at class on Tuesday.  Some of the ladies had brought along their purchases from the Quilt Show at Ingliston and a few bargains were to be had.  I managed to reorganise my desk/table/room and tidied everything up a wee bit.  Last night I spent an hour preparing another of my Night Before Christmas Blocks, so although no stitching a bit of preparation has been done.  Tonight I plan to make a list of all my unfinished WIPs,  then slowly work my way through them.  I have lots of tops sitting waiting to be sandwiched and quilted so that must be a priority and I have no excuse as my new roll of batting arrived this week too!

The sun is shining here and has been most of the week so I am heading out to the summerhouse to sit and drink coffee and enjoy the garden and the changing colours. This  is an unexpected bonus.  Enjoy this week as autumn creeps in.

Holidays Over

We are back!  Safe and sound after a very long day travelling.  We had a reasonable overnight flight and I managed to get a few hours sleep which is unusual for me, I usually find it difficult to sleep well on the plane.  It was good to see Techie waiting for us at the airport and I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the family over the weekend.

Sadly we left this behind - 

these blue skies are just something I would love to bottle up and bring back home with all the other gifts and things in my suitcase but I will have to make do with the photos and the memories until next time.  I might even print some photos and hang them on the wall in my sewing room.

The suitcases were almost at their limits this year coming home. I managed a few bargain pieces of fabrics to add to my stash. Of course I have plans in my head for theses pieces - but perhaps I should write them down in my notebook so as not to forget what they are!!   I also brought the Hardware quilt back (without the batting) - I did think I was going to have to leave it till next time as space was tight, however DH offered to carry it in his hand luggage. So yet another top waiting to be sandwiched and quilted.  

Before I left Canada I did manage to get all 80 blocks finished for my wonky log cabin quilts I told you about last week.  That means I can get them sewn together next spring - it's always good to have a project in progress for snowy days.

This week will be a quiet one I hope - getting the body clock back in kilter, unpacking and catching up with what's been going on here over the last month.  Hopefully a few of you will be heading to the Quilt Show at Ingliston in Edinburgh this weekend.  I am sure there will be bargains to be had, lots of inspiration, new fabric lines and there is bound to be some lovely quilts on show as always.  I am looking forward to catching up with all the ladies at class on Tuesday to see what I have missed, and finding out what everyone has been stitching over the last four weeks.

Now as the summer comes to a close and we head into the autumnal days and darker evenings I for one am looking forward to cosy nights in my sewing chair - I've certainly got lots to finish and lots planned!  How about you? Have a good week.

 

Sorting Scraps and Counting Blocks

One of my plans for this break was to make a scrappy quilt.  Unfortunately that's not going to happen as time is going in so quickly.  I guess summer holidays are not when most of the sewing gets done but I must admit the curtains are closing earlier and the darkness falling sooner each evening.

This week I did make an attempt to sort out the scraps which have accumulated here.........

To this ........

A bit more organised and perhaps that scrappy quilt will be made next time I'm this side of the Atlantic.

Did I tell you I'm making quilts for the twin beds in the downstairs bedroom?  Yet another ongoing project which I am thoroughly enjoying.  The pattern is from the Mod Block Magazine by Missouri Star Co.  It's a wonky log cabin and the fabrics were purchased last year from Connecting Threads, unfortunately this company doesn't ship internationally but their prices are very good.  I now have 68 blocks completed and I reckon I need 80 to make the two quilts, so I almost there.   I did lay the blocks out - but then I realised I had them all wrong.  A nice layout but not the one in the pattern!

This car knitting project was fun!  Hopefully these will keep a young man cosy during the winter months ahead - oops pun not intended.

                                          

We managed a shopping trip to the city this week too, it's always nice to see different shops in the malls and take advantage of the exchange rate which is certainly in our favour this year.  A few bargains just had to be picked up for gifts.

I hope you have all got your winter projects planned for the longer evenings throughout the coming months when it's always good to snuggle up under a quilt and get some stitching done.  If you haven't yet perhaps this is the time to start looking.  If I have my dates right I think the Ingliston Quilt Show is next weekend.  I will be giving it a miss this year but I am sure a few of you out there will be going along and perhaps will be inspired by the lovely quilts and fabrics on show.

Enjoy the week ahead. 

 

What a Pain

Not a lot to report this week.  Unfortunately I tweaked my back at the beginning of the week and have been in a bit  of discomfort, I have no idea what I did but thankfully it's getting better, now I just need to be careful and not do anything silly.  We have managed to get out and about and strangely enough sitting in the car was reasonably comfortable.  The sun has been shining and we continue to do things at a more relaxed pace.

So not a lot of time at the sewing machine this week,  I did manage to piece the backing for the Hardware quilt top but this is as far as it goes while I'm here.  I will be taking it home to sandwich and quilt.

I have been forced to do a bit more reading while sitting with the heat pad on my back.  Hubby bought me a quilting magazine - the Fall edition of Fons and Porter Easy Quilts which features some nice patterns especially the one called In the Middle - I've seen this one before as it was designed by a lady who's blog I follow here -  http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.co.uk. She featured it on her blog on the 28th August this is  yet another one to be added to my wish list.  I've also been browsing around the usual quilting sites online.  The Missouri Star Quilt Co have just published the next edition of  their Block magazine, so I might be tempted to buy the digital edition for some more reading material and to inspire me.  The only real stitching, as opposed to the virtual stitching going on in my head, has been my hexis  - but I suppose that's ok.  

We have had two really hot days which have been lovely, we sat and enjoyed the garden yesterday, unfortunately this morning it is pouring with rain - I feel sorry for everyone working hard all week when the sun shines and then when the weekend comes along it rains and curtails plans for outdoor activities, such a shame.  

Well whatever you are doing this week enjoy!

Missing ..........

Thankfully we have now recovered from our jet lag and the tiredness which we had last week and are now definitely in the Canadian time zone.  We have had a good week, lots of rest and relaxation and drives out to some of our favourite spots on the warm and sunnier days.  I even made some cookies for our afternoon picnics - I don't know the last time I had time for baking.

I have unpacked my sewing stuff too - it's so good to get my machine out and set up. Everything put in its place, my machine mat and machine, cutting mat and rotary cutter, fabric boxes and rulers........eh wait a minute, where's my 6 x 24 .......... Well it's missing - I have absolutely no idea where it has disappeared to and its not where it should be.  We have had the house upside down and is gone awol.  Fortunately we have a quilting shop just down the road and I was able to buy a new one, it's one piece of equipment a quilter (at least this one) cannot do without.  

Do you remember this block?  

The kit contained these fabrics 

This is one I've been working on for a couple of years in fact when I look back my notebook it tells me this kit was bought from Connecting Threads in 2012 so this one has been a long while in the making and I am so pleased that it's now almost done.  Unfortunately when you buy a kit you need to take the fabrics you are given, and while I really liked the pattern the fabrics were a bit busy for my liking and had I known then what I know now I should have substituted and put in some solid fabric.  As a result instead of making all 35 blocks I stopped at 16. The blocks should just be joined together as is but I though I would use a nice bright sashing to break it up.  I'm now working on a strippy panel for the backing which I am piecing with the extra fabric which should have been used for the rest of the blocks and gone into the front. 

Here is my 'car project' - I always like to have something in my bag to keep the fingers moving.  I do have my hexi pouch and I bought this wool this week in our little wool shop downtown.  We are so lucky to have a sewing and knitting shop just down the road, and there is one in the next town too!

It's a bit cooler here this morning - only 5 degrees and a bit rainy.  We wondered why the heating had switched on at 7.00pm!  Hopefully the sun will come out later and warm things up.  I need to go into the basement and look out some of our winter clothes if it doesn't.  I don't think we will be sitting on the deck today.

We are enjoying the slower pace at the moment and trying to take each day without making plans so unless the clouds lift and the temperature warms up today we will have a day 'at home' enjoying a quiet day reading, sewing, knitting, sudoku and drinking coffee in the den.  I hope you all have time to stop and slow the pace this week and enjoy a bit of stitching too.

Dreadful Feeling

I promised you last week I would have my blue Oakshott quilt top finished.  It has still to have a border but here it is all sewn together and up on the design wall - aka my flannelette sheet!

That little blue bundle of fat eighths turned out just fine and the shading is really quite nice when you see it close up.  Another success I think.  

What do you do when you are so tired, you can't think straight, you can't sleep or read or function properly.  This is how I have been feeling the last couple of days. I am starting to wind down, having been so busy over the last few weeks, and organising things for my holiday at last it has arrived but I have exhausted myself.  Now I am here on the other side of the Atlantic, in the middle of the Rockies, ready for a well earned break, I am suffering from terrible jet lag.  I know I am on holiday - a time for reading and relaxing but my fingers are itching already.  I can't concentrate to cut, piece and sew so I have  brought out my little pouch which I sometimes carry around just for times like this.  

A few more scrappy hexis have been produced - this is a trend which has had a revival again. This is where I started my quilting experience many years ago in the early 1980s when my boys were of nursery age.  I joined a class and was taught EPP (English Paper Piecing). I made my very first pincushion and I still have it today!  

Every now and again I go back and make a few more hexis with my scraps - who knows where they will end up or what they will turn into but for this week they are keeping me sane.  

Hopefully over the next few weeks when we are out and about I will post some photos and show you all some of the lovely lakes and mountains in the area.

Happy stitching - whatever or wherever you might be.

Where Does The Time Go

I feel a little like the hamster on his tread wheel at the moment and I think I am in need of a break.  I have also been considering for a while whether or not to continue with this blog.  Many I read in the blogging world take little breaks now and again, (some have even gone over to Instagram - too technical for me) in the hope of finding more inspiration, bigger challenges and some time to breathe.  I am not sure just how many follow this page - but I do know there are a few.  I don't get a lot of feedback and that's just fine because I am not even sure if this page is set up properly to get comments and feedback and I'm afraid I don't want to upset any of the settings by messing them around.  Sometimes I think I'm talking to myself but then again that's no bad thing as long as I don't get an answer back.  It does help though to write thoughts down.

It's been a challenging summer for me (if we can call it a summer) not a lot of sunshine or blue skies, everything seems damp and dismal and already the nights are closing in and the darkness is falling much earlier.  Can you tell I'm feeling a bit low?  Well I will give myself a wee shake and give myself a talking to and hopefully I will feel a bit more up beat soon.

Last week I started on the Oakshott bundle, I'm not convinced that I like this fabric.  It is a woven fabric, with different coloured threads it has a very definite sheen and the colour changes in the light, it also tends to fray quite a bit so it's been a bit of a challenge.  The pattern I have chosen is not ideal either and no matter how I place said blocks they change their light and shade, this might become a design feature or it might be a disaster but as they say I've started so I'll finish.  

The single block from last week now looks like this

Well it doesn't really - because they are not joined together in a four block but in rows and if you come back next week you will see that the placement gives a whole new dimension to the pattern.

I should really be doing some quilting not piecing!  I have three, eh no five, oh maybe it's six tops waiting to be sandwiched and quilted, oh well tomorrow is the start of another week and I know for a fact I won't get much sewing done.  Hope you do!