Woops! Missed Another Weekly Post

Well I had an excuse, we were off on a wee extra holiday last week with old friends.  It was good fun catching up with everyone again.  So in fact there was no sewing news to report.  I did make a list of projects I wanted to tackle over the next few months, and I knitted a sock!

This week I have managed to make a start on that list. I have also decided to mix things up a little, instead of working on one project all week I have tried a different approach.  Each evening I am doing something different for a change.  So here is my progress this week.

Monday - I did a bit more quilting on the Toes in the Sand quilt.  This is definitely slow quilting so I'll be doing it for a few weeks but I was getting bogged down with it, or maybe I should say spiralling out of control. 

Tuesday - quilting class, a good evening discussing everyone else's works in progress

Wednesday - the next project was put on the design wall awaiting inspiration

Thursday - I designed a baby quilt on EQ7, my migration kit arrived last week so installed it on Monday and delighted it now works on my new Mac mini!  I didn't realise how much I missed this programme.

Friday - an afternoon cutting and piecing the first blocks of said baby quilt.

All in all a good week, hope you've had fun too. 

A New Year Ahead......

.......... Full of new exciting ideas?  I hope you are as inspired as I am at the moment.  I have had a wee bit time to myself over the holiday period to just sit and think and plan all the wonderful techniques I would like to achieve this year. Maybe I should write them all down in case I forget as the year progresses and I get caught up with other things.  Inspiration is coming mainly from some books I received for Christmas.  

Talking of Christmas I was given a lovely gift from my hubby.  Say hello to Florrie.

I have a few old pieces of sewing equipment that have been in the family a wee while, mainly thimbles, a bone handled stiletto, a darning mushroom etc. even a box of Dorcas pins.  Florrie is the newest addition to my sewing machine family.  Isn't she sweet.  She is about 80 years old and in working condition, however I haven't actually put her to work yet.  The little instruction book which came with her has a little inscription inside the front page saying "this machine belongs to Florrie and Mother" how cool is that!

This year will be a year of challenging projects - I am fed up as I said in a  previous post making quilts just because.  I need to go slowly, read and plan my projects, choose my fabrics more carefully and take time to enjoy.  Well that is the plan so far......... But it is only the 7th January.

Today I am feeling quite pleased with myself.  As always at this time of year it's time to de clutter, tidy up and move things along.  As some of you may know there is a Facebook page called UK Quilters United  which I follow, it's good for inspiration, help and tips and a real friendly bunch of quilters.  It has a sub group called Helping Hands in which the members share and make things for a variety of different charities.  

Well there is always someone looking for something, whether it be scraps, threads, ribbons, etc etc.  One of the admin ladies has come up with a great idea to help share more fairly. She has set up a spread sheet to help place items where they need to be. So if you are making childrens quilts and would like some kids fabrics she will team you up with someone who has indicated she wants to share her kids fabric.  If your group is making fiddle quilts for Alzheimers and someone has an excess of ribbons or buttons etc she will make the match up.  A fair amount of work involved but a great idea. 

My scrap baskets and bin were overflowing again!!  This weekend I decided to finally once and for all empty all my scrap baskets.  I contacted Nicki - my baskets seemed to contain mostly scrappy strips. 

Long story short I have posted off two packages to ladies who will use them up!  Isn't that wonderful - my scraps which I was really fed up looking at -fabrics I've used over and over again will now be put to good use by someone else and hopefully have fun making something out of nothing and useful for folks in need of a bit of comfort. Bonus and a win win situation. Now I can attack my stash in earnest. 

This week I have at last sandwiched the Toes in the Sand quilt, hurray! I even have an idea in my mind how I want to quilt it.  I have also cut the batting for the Hardware quilt so feeling rather smug and happy today. 

Another Year Almost Gone

What an eventful December!  Dad I am delighted to say is back to his normal self, he no longer has the help of the care team in the mornings and is doing fine.  Our little grandson was a year old last weekend and we all enjoyed his 1st Birthday party, he had a great time, needless to say he soon got the hang of opening parcels, now well practised for the 25th.  I have to say though I think he had more fun playing with the wrapping paper and boxes than the contents!

Sewing has been slow but I did manage to make a little Christmassy something for our class swap.  We had a lovely evening at a local restaurant where we enjoyed a lovely meal followed by the usual chat and camaraderie.  The swap was great fun too - it's always good to see what others enjoy making, there was no fixed theme this year the only stipulation was it had to be Christmassy!  We as a group decided to buy a Christmas Gift for the whole group to use - a Sizzix Big Shot has been purchased with a few dies, I am sure we all look forward to having fun with our new toy next session.

This is what I made - I found it on the wonderful worldwide web and adapted it a little. (What would we do without all these sites to inspire and share ideas)  I hope C can put it to good use.

Sorry K - hijacked your photo - deleted mine by mistake!

In return I got a little parcel wrapped with a fat quarter of Christmas fabric!  Inside these 3 delightful little bears and the pattern too.  They are so cute I will need to make the others for next year.

Spot the 3 Teddies!

As this year comes to a close I feel although I have made a fair number of quilts I haven't challenged myself with new techniques.  I have managed to donate a few to good charitable causes.  Time is so precious and is spread sometimes thinly around so many different areas of life there is not always any spare to do the things you really enjoy.  I found this year I was sewing quickly to get things finished and not spending time on intricate cutting and piecing which I enjoy most.  There will be fewer 'simple' patterns used from now on and I will try and plan better and do some slow sewing.  I have a few plans for next year, techniques and projects I would like to try but who knows what 2016 will bring.  So for now I am signing off my blog until the beginning of next year and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2015

Christmas Quilt 2015

I have a few Christmas quilts in my display case which will be brought out of storage and will be decorating the house very soon.  Each year since starting quilting I try and have a Christmas project.  I realised this afternoon I had not made a start, nor had I even thought about this year's quilt.  

I remembered I had bought a few charm packs when I was in Canada this summer when I was already planning ahead for this year's project.  I ordered them online in a sale and I remember thinking when I received them they were not quite what I had hoped for, yes I know that is the problem with online shopping, the results are sometimes not as planned or hoped for. 

Never mind, I rummaged in my baskets and found them.  

I know I had a plan when I bought them involving HST's but not having written said plan down I have absolutely no idea now what it was.  Too many things floating around in my head as usual.  This is not the first time I've done this.  I buy fabrics with patterns and quilts in mind and when I come around to using the fabrics I can't remember what that plan was.  This is what I've done tonight.

I always make notes in my notebook when I make that first cut of fabric for a quilt but I think I also need to make some notes when I buy fabrics too, as I nearly always have pattern in mind when I see a fabric I like.  That may well be my first resolution for next year.

A new plan has been hatched and I have started, I'm not sure if I will get it finished on time but I will give it a try anyway.

I hope you are all safe and have managed to stay out of the wind and rain this week. How awful for all these poor people down in the Borders and Cumbria who appear to have been worst hit by storm Desmond.

Mojo is Back!

Well it seems I'm not the only one to have lost my quilty mojo.  Sometimes it's very difficult to get motivated when life is difficult.  Family always comes first but it's so difficult to get the balance just right. Everyone has their times of difficulties to overcome and we all have our different ways of working through them.  K came to the rescue again!  We have both had a difficult few weeks and last Saturday we had a day of therapy. A new, exciting, different for us, project in hand, we set off to Kaleidoscope for some fun.  A day of looking, playing and choosing fabrics.  I needed two sets of backing for projects which had been lying for a long time.  Anyway I digress.  

First stop coffee and scones as usual in Dobbies Garden Centre, yummy!  A trot across the car park to the delights of the fabric shop.  Susan was very welcoming as always and our plan was put into play.   I quickly chose my backing fabrics, a nice batik for the Oakshott Interlocking squares and a Moda Marble wide backing for Toes in the Sand (no it's not finished yet!).

The Two Backing Fabrics

Interlocking Squares - almost done just to finish the binding

Our joint project is a Craftsy Class, one K has had for a while, and desperate to start - I was not convinced - seemed a bit complicated and fiddly but I agreed we should make a start to it and hopefully my uncertainty would be banished.  We choose appropriate fabrics - K gave me that look - not green again?  Ok it was put back.  Choice no 2 was approved! We had a look at the books too and I made a purchase - lots of inspiration here and food for thought for the next project.

The second choice - burnt orange and grey. -  I love crackle fabric

A most enjoyable time and of course lots of encouragement to tackle a new project and blow away the dark clouds looming over us.  Here are some of my purchases.

Lunch at the Tickled Trout rounded off our day.

We agreed to make a start to this new project yesterday.  I cleared my diningroom and turned it into a mini classroom.  What a buzz.  We spent the first 2 hours planning, cutting and chatting.  A quick lunch and then the sewing machines started humming.  We did get a bit bored sewing strips so decided to call it a day and finish them off as homework.  

Progress so far

Hopefully my mojo is back to stay, I really enjoyed my sewing day yesterday and it's so nice to have a buddy to encourage you and push you to get things going.  So if you ever feel in a rut, find a buddy to sew with and embark on something new.  Thanks again K, you are a star!

As time creeps up on us and November is almost gone I hope you are looking forward to the festive season taking time to spend with family and friends and of course finishing off all those crafty Christmas gifts.

Another Hectic Week

Dad has now been discharged from hospital and seems to be on the mend.  It's been a very busy week visiting hospital each day which coincided with the worst November weather, cold, wet and windy. The surprising phonecall from the hospital telling me he was ready to come home and I could come to collect him on Thursday morning was a bit of a shock to me.  His house was not quite ready for him coming home but we managed to get everything back in place, his bed made up and the shopping done.  I think this UTI has been working on Dad for a wee while, but the antibiotics seem to have cleared it all up.   Today he was bright cheery and moving around much better than before.

I am in dire need of quilting inspiration - I have lost my mojo as they say and need a new project to make me think and get the grey matter working again.  I still have a few WIPs lying around but not quite so many.  I really need to find the opportunity to take a photo of my Disappearing Pinwheel Churndash which was completed last week to let you all see.

This week I didn't think I would make the quilting class due to hospital visiting but.......thankfully I managed to get there in time to take part in the tutorial Chris had organised for us.  Now as you all may know I'm a topper, a piecer,  a quilter and not a bag maker.  I don't think I have ever made a bag, this was a tutorial on making the One Hour Fabric Basket.  This uses the new fusible Bosal R form double sided fusible stabiliser.  Interesting stuff to use and I'm sure there will be plenty of uses for it found by the class.  I didn't quite manage to get it finished in the hour but I did finish it the following evening - I knew if I didn't finish it it would lie in the bundle of WIPs.  However little grandson now has a basket at grannie's house, to put his cars and books in.  I am sure it will find lots of uses over the years.

I hope you all have a quiet relaxing week - I certainly hoping mine won't be as hectic.

Sorry

Apologies for not posting last week and no sewing news today either.  Last weekend was rather hectic to say the least.  Dad became unwell and was admitted to hospital on Sunday evening.  He is responding well to antibiotics and hopefully it won't be too long before he is on the mend.  

Needless to say there has been no sewing done, naturally I have been spending most of my time visiting Dad in the evenings as no visiting was allowed in that particular ward in the afternoons.  He has now been transferred to another ward and life is not quite as manic.  I have managed a few late evenings after visiting trying to switch off, sitting under my Autumn churndash pinwheel quilt sewing on the binding.  Very relaxing after very busy days.  I know we are not out of the woods yet but I'm hopeful things will continue to improve this week and I might just get another quilt sandwiched.  No photos I'm afraid - maybe next week.