A little sew

 A friend asked me cut out some blocks for her.  She had trouble getting them together and meanwhile I found an easier way to do the same thing.  Found it on Darlene Michaud YouTube channel.  So cut that out for her and offered to sew up the origional.

Lovely to be sewing again and should help me get back into it.  

This is oneI made a few years ago.....tempted to make another.  Do love the Pink & Black.  Easy mindless sewing and a great result

Voyage of Discovery

 Well, my usual opening line - it's been a while!!

Looked back on my blog and discovered my last post was August 2023.  Prior to that August 2020, 1 in 2019 and none in 2018.  

Life just gets in the way sometimes.  Covid hit with it's lockdown and totally changed life world wide.  And life still recovering from that.  Closed my shop (which I miss every dsy) Working full time admin leaves little time for play (often brain dead and too hard to do anything).  

I haven't quilted seriously for so many, many years.  I did make one quilt and that took me 18 months.  In my defense it was a monster - something like 118 x 120.

So we moved house December 2023.  When we decided to sell I packed up the house around June and started in the biggest area - my fabric and everything that goes with it.  So no sewing in that time.  After we .moved house and it took 6 months to get a sewing room and I'm still sorting.  Downsizing is not recommended!

But in the sorting I'm starting to get motivated again.  And so the Title - Voyage of Discovery.  I found fabrics and projects I had forgotten about and some I don't even remember buying.

This one made about 15 years ago so might need to finish it. I think the fabric was by Kansas Troubles

Then found Sweet Escape by Thimble blossoms (I thought it was called Sweetwater) which I started in December 2019......not a hige amount of blocks made.  The fabric from Carefully Crafted

Then there is a BOM from 2009......have made 6 blocks 👀

Oow, I had forgotten about Central Park.  A few of us in a group decided to make this one.....they all finished theirs 😄

I decided to mkake mine in cirtus colours

And I'm so organised I have all the fabrics in one place

I'm figurering I like foundation paper pieceing cos I found this kit.   AND another one I've started

And this one to finish

Also found a couple play bits.  Don't think I'll ever not love vintage florals

It's been a while

 Well, it's been a minute or two since I was on here.  Last time was lockdown in 2020.  Lots of life since then - I managed to get hooked back on stitching.  Those darn Floss Tube makers are to blame. I kept (and keep) finding new tubers and they all have wonderful projects.  And some just have so, so many projects on the go that I decided to try the same.😁  So now I have several on the go.  I must post them here so I can look back and see my progress on them.  Quilting has taken a back seat for years now but I know it will return.  

So for so long I have wanted to do some sparkly, pretty ladies.  So I finally started a Mirabillia.  I'm going to the Miribilia Retreat in Brisbane in 2024 so thought I had better start doing one!

Dressmakers' Daughter

So one week of stitching and one skein of mauve.

Back to Binding

I have always loved binding.   I know that makes me a freak in some peoples eyes, but I just love doing it.  It's not even the fact that the quilt is almost finished.....I think it's just the motion of stitching.  So this quilt got quilted just over a year ago and I attached the binding sometime in the last year.  I tried to sew the binding one night and discovered I couldn't get a thimble on because my nails were too long, so just put it aside.  When lockdown came I cut my nails and two nights ago I remembered the binding not done........so started it and it brought back all the joy of stitching binding.

 

 I have been watching Shanda Stitching in Idaho and she had a video of  her hexies. She mentioned she sewed hers together using ladder stitch so I found a video of that method......so will try it out. So of course that reminded me that I had started (who hasn't!) a hexie years ago.  It's been in the process for about 10 years I think.  About 7 years ago we took a road trip to Victoria and I glue basted lots of them while in the car.  My earlier pieces I cut too small and they are a pain to try and sew, but my later ones are better.  So found the bag of them (which had started to disintegrate it was so old) and will do some once I get the bindings done.

 

My lovely old (rusted) tin that I just can't throw away

 

I think I decided on this layout

 

And look how many I've done !!!!!  Remember 10years

 

 

Frugal Friday.....Oops it Saturday

OK lets call it Stingy Saturday.  I mean every day is Sunday lately.

Everytime I quilt one of my quilts I have off cuts that get stacked on a shelf and every now and then (well sometimes a long time later) I sew the off cuts together and use in a quilt.  I always lay the two pieces side by side overlapping and cut a serpentine line and ladder stitched them together.

 

 So today I decided to quilt one of our charity quilts.  So I decided to get the off cuts out and sew them up. and thought I would try another way to get the wadding together.  Our little sewing group meet on two Tuesdays a month and each year like to make a couple quilts for charity. 

 

Strange this all wool pieces.  So after hunting around I found a box that had the cotton.....and OOPS there was a quilt amongst that pile 

 

So I set about patching the cottons together.  Found a piece, then another, roughly lined up and cut to fit.

Then lay them on top of each other and straightened the edge.

 

 

Then to the machine and zig zag them together.  Do not pull or stretch , just butt them together and sew carefully.

 

Made two lots today so feeling very happy.  Patched one, loaded the quilt and while that quilted I did the second one.  Did have an oopsey and had to cut off and redo.  I didn't worry if they were different content (100% cotton, 80 20 ) as long as the loft was similar.

 

 So very happy with my day.......I now understand how those ladies who live in snowy places get so much done while snowed in......if this lockdown lasts a few months I could run out of fabric!!!!

This is the one I quilted today 

Day 13 Lockdown

Well I haven't got as much done as I had hoped.....but have decided I'm having a bit of a holiday for a little while and as long as I get some stuff done each day it's OK - as long as it doesn't go on for the whole lockdown. (Mind you if I didn't watch Floss Tube till midnight every night I would be better)

Not much progress on my Dirty Words cross stitch but almost there.  Then I can start a new one.  I'm being very good and restrained and won't start till I finish this one (which was started who knows how long ago).  I found three gorgeous ones I can put in the shop and I'm going to start Antique Shoes first.  I've cut the fabric for the three and will try to grid one today or tomorrow in anticipation 😇

 

 

Aren't they just divine!  Can't wait.  They aren't huge so hopefully I'll get a fair bit done.  I remembered today that I had done some others so thought I would put some photos up.  The very first Cross Stitch I did was a Paula Vaughan.  I stitched it all and excitedly showed a friend.....who pointed out I hadn't done any back stitching.  I mean really, what was the point of back stitch?  It look great as it was!  Anyway I did the back stitching and oh it made a HUGE difference.  So now I don't question the back stitch.  I always jump in feet first!  Can't remember the name of it.

Ohio Stars was another.

Sewing room (Can't remember name)

And this one speaks for itself.

Well better get back to it.  Have quilts that need doing.

Lockdown Day 2 - I STARTED

Well here it is Day 2.  I made a roster and kinda stuck to it.......except for the cleaning 😊.  Swapped that out for paperwork - and still not finished, but a put a good dent in it.  Tomorrow's roster will be very much the same.  AND THIS TIME i REALLY WILL CLEAN.

Started Cross Stitch!!!!! YEAH.  Long long time since I did any of that.  See that little bit bottom left?  Well that is what I did.  Not sure how long it took me.  Tomorrow I will start keeping times so I know how long it takes me to do anything.  Took me a little while to get set up.....still cant find my mag glasses so using my stand.......mind you this is the first time that stand has ever been used.  Got it many moons ago.  Doing the method of needle down with point but up from back with eye end.  And it's great.....no twists and tangles.