Friendship and Fabric

What a lovely way to spend my Thursday...heading into town to meet a blogging friend at my LQS. Marg @ Country Quilts and Dolls and I have been chatting back and forth online for a while now and as her family are on holiday in the area, we arranged to meet at The Quilters Shack and then chat over a coffee. Our plans were quickly reversed as the shop was opening later but that gave us more time to catch up and spend a lovely morning. Thankyou Marg, it was great to finally meet in person.

Of course some fabric came home with me too :)  After seeing 'Tis The Season' quilts popping up all over, I decided this would be a project for 2012 so some reds, cream polka dot and red thread hitched a ride home.

A challenge for some of the girls in our little patchwork group is to finish our 'Stitching Round the Block' and bring them along to our first day for 2012. This pink fabric was the first I tried as a border and after looking around at some others, the pink won. Do you find that often the first choice is the best choice?

The cream will become the sashings for my Calendar Quilt which was pieced in 2009 and I've listed as a UFO must finish!

Another UFO I have selected to work on in January is my Queen Bed Quilt which is a pre 2006 project. These 4 x 1/2" hexie flowers will be joined by 4 more to become embelishments on the borders.

We're in for a HOT!!! weekend so I'll be finding a cool spot for some quiet sewing. May you find your cool or warm spot as needed.

Quilty Wishes

UFO Thursday ... It's Off the Frame!

Promise you won't look too close because I still haven't ironed out the 'bump' in the tracks ... and then there were tension issues ... but 'Citrus Splash' is quilted and off the frame.

The wind was playing with my photo session so this is the best shot I could get. I've quilted a large daisy in each of the 16 blocks and a scroll type design in the borders. While far from perfect I'm happy with the process and now all I need is lots and lots and lots of practice.

Top made end of 2006

Quilted November 2011

Now to tie off the threads and get a binding on.  I would love your opinions on when to add the binding. Do you sew the binding on to the front now and then trim the batting/backing or do you trim before sewing the binding? I've done it both ways but prefer to trim first.

Sandy @ Cookies and Cream Craft hosts UFO Thursday and has also been working on her UFO ... pop over and say hello.

UFO Thursday ... Bumps in the Road

There is no shortage of UFO's at my place ... just the time and inspiration to work on them. This top was a stack and wack I pieced 5 years ago and it was about time I got to the quilting. My first quilt loaded on the frame and ready to go but .... here's the first bump in the road.

When I'm quilting there is a little bump somewhere in the track and my quilting goes crooked. Needless to say there has been some un-sewing happening so I need to find that bump. Sandy hosts UFO Thursday over at Cookies and Cream Craft so pop over, say hi and see what else is happening this Thursday.

Here is the second bump in the road. On my way to patchwork yesterday morning this is what I found ... heavy enough but I managed to drag it off the road.

Some more hexie flowers blossomed yesterday but I can't show them just yet. I've added some October Christmas Items to the page above also ... you might like to check out what everyone has been creating. Now back to that quilting.

Today, Yesterday and the Day Before

Not so sure about the title but I thought I would work backwards with what I've been up to over the last few days.

This morning as I stepped outside with camera in hand I spied this little fellow ... not sure if he even knows which way he's going.

Time to lay out my Inchy Swap Flowers for a garden update and of course there is always help on hand. Think Fleur is claiming this garden for herself?

Yesterday these two pretties arrived from Anette in Denmark ... just perfect for spring. I started out by embroidering names in the centres so I will have to do some catching up with that.

I spent the nicest afternoon yesterday with BF Kerry. We chatted, knitted and enjoyed a movie together. Both of us were working on a scarf and I was able to finish mine off last night. Here my ever faithful model is ready for the camera.

The day before I found a second hand shop in a little town nearby and found these 2 treasures. The sweet little jug has joined the crockery set in the cupboard and I've left the utensils container on the bench for ... you guessed it ... utensils!

Today is also UFO Thursday hosted by Sandy at Cookies and Cream Craft. Although I have plenty of UFO's to choose from I need to 'feel like' tackling those so for now I'll keep working on things with deadlines.

Don't forget this Friday is Friday Night Sew-In ... think I'll either knit or embroider or perhaps a bit of both :o)

Happy Sewing

UFO Thursday

I totally forgot that yesterday was UFO Thursday ... oops!  I was busy running around town between appointments and had to wait for a freight train crossing not once but twice in my day.

So without further waffle ... I am very proud to present my Log Cabin Quilt-as-you-Go King Size Quilt.

Commenced in July 2009 this is one UFO that I am over the moon to have finished. I've also checked it off my PhD list only one month late. It's already on the bed keeping us toasty through the winter nights.

No shortage of UFO's to work on next ... deciding which is the first step.

UFO Thursday

(I'm getting a head start as I won't have computer time tomorrow and  when I set this post to publish at a later date and time it didn't want to work.)

 

Another UFO Thursday rolls around and I have made more progress on the log cabin quilt. I finished joining the groups of 6 blocks and now have to get the hand stitching done on the backs.

My next step will be to join top, middle and bottom so that I'll have two halves. This way I'll only have one long seem down the centre to 'struggle' with. So that it fits a king bed I'll need to add borders on two sides and across the bottom but I'm still looking for the 'right' border fabric. Maybe one day I'll have all the fabric required before I start a quilt :)

Happy UFO Thursday

UFO Thursday

It's such a good feeling to have worked on a UFO. Since last Thursday I have continued to join pairs into 6's and have 4 groups now done and the backs pinned ready for hand stitching. Edited Thursday evening 7.30pm ... I now have 5 groups done ... 1 to go :)
My procrastination skills are excellent so I need all the motivation I can get ... thankyou to Sandy for UFO Thursdays.

While visiting around in blogland I've noticed that I am not always able to leave a comment so if you haven't heard from me lately it's for this reason. Pop up comment boxes don't seem to be a problem.

UFO Thursday

Yay! Finally I have some progress on a UFO to share.

A certain log cabin quilt should have been on my bed 12 months ago and now here we are on the threshold of winter and still it remains in pieces. So I have committed myself to the month of June being log cabin month starting today.

This morning there were 18 pairs (like this photo) layed out on the spare bed.


Next step is to join 3 pairs into a group of 6. Below is a photo of the 1st group and the 2nd is almost finished.


Thankyou to our lovely host Sandy for UFO Thursday. I've missed quite a few Thursday's and hope today is the start of many for me. Sandy at Cookies and Cream Craft has a link for more UFO progress you might like to check out.

UFO Thursday and Brutus

Here she is! My little Holly Hobby and her washing basket ... already to care for my pegs.


I purcased this kit from a quilt store that closed down quite a few years ago and I remember starting it pretty much straight away ... all I had to do was attach the binding to each end and sew 3 buttons and button holes to finish. Another UFO down and an OPAM for March. Click on the UFO Thursday button to view more UFO's.

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Sitting at night with nothing to work on feels terrible so I grabbed the next Brutus I had prepared and began stitching.



This is Brutus #7 ... I'm working on #9B and then will only have #8 to go.

Yesterday was our patchwork group day so no Flowers to share this week. I managed a little bit of stitching but there is always so much to catch up on with the other girls.

UFO Thursday

My craft cupboard is full and tidy once more. I've kept the new found UFO's out of the cupboard in the hope that the UFO Fairy might make an appearance.

Bead Work

(an Angel in progress)

Chicken Scratch

(needs the remaining white stitches completed)

Chicken Scratch

(just needs sewing into a pot holder)

Counted Threadwork
(maybe half done?)


(close up of stitches)

Patchwork Peg Bag

(just needs the end bindings and buttons)
Shadow Applique

(needs basting threads and then stem stitch edges of fabric)

So now I have a few more UFO's to work on. :o)

OFW ~ UFO Thursday

Yesterday was patchwork day for me with our little group. So I started on these little 1/2" hexies ... not much progress you say? ... well there was also the 'can't do without' cups of coffee and chatter and checking out what everyone else was making.


Not sure if I really want to go back and find when I started this quilt ... lets just say it's status of UFO is long standing. I was going to unpick the border and find a border print fabric ... now I've decided 1/2" hexie flowers are needed to adorn the green ric rac with some green yo-yo leaves.
Can the decisions one makes regarding UFO quilts be considered as making progress? :o)


May your hexie gardens blossom and your UFOs continue to progress.

UFO Thursday and Mail

Ooooops! :) I mis-titled my post yesterday. It should have said One Flower Wednesday but I must have been thinking about UFO Thursday at the same time.

My lack of organisation means another week has gone by and I haven't made any more progess on the strip insertion UFO. I'll try and do better for next week. Thought I'd share a couple of other projects instead ... the bag is currently unfinished so maybe that counts?

An idea for scissor fobs popped into my head on Monday so I got straight to picking some fabric squares ... cutting ... sewing ... then last night had a chance to stuff and add a button top and bottom.



Today I finished sewing squares together for a shaggy bag ... ready for clipping and washing. Then comes platted handles.

My mail lady handed these over to me yesterday while I was in town. Just because the roads were cut in January and I couldn't go to town ... didn't mean I couldn't do some shopping.

This morning after reading Jessica's 'WIP Wednesday' post, I sat down and wrote out a list. I have a My To Do's Notebook and don't use it very much so now I have written down all my projects, WIP's, UFO's etc I feel a little more organised. Up until now I've just been thinking about all the things half done and getting nowhere.

UFO Thursday

On Sunday I dug out this UFO ... a 'Strip Insertion' wall hanging begun at a workshop in January 2010. It's taken me until today to actually make a start and I've been inserting the dark green strip on the left into several blocks.





I think there is a total of 14 blocks all in various stages ... some as above ... three yet to be cut into strips ... and now some are looking like the picture below. I still love the fabric and enjoy the technique ... just need to make the effort.

Flood Relief Fund ~ As some begin the long road ahead of rebuilding lives and communites, others still watch and wait as flood waters continue to rise and fall. Today I read on Helen's blog about two more ways of making a difference. Y

OFW ~ UFO Thursday

One Flower Wednesday

Last night while watching TV, I basted some more green leaf hexies. I have enough here to join to 10 more flowers.

UFO Thursday

My first UFO was a very quick one. I'd started this bag before Christmas as a gift but needed some ric rac to finish off. Flood waters made getting to town difficult but we've managed once and I've been able to finish it off. It's now wrapped and waiting to be delivered when it's possible.