Use It Or Lose It

Went to an Applique class yesterday with Dianne Johnston. After I had booked the class I decided I really didn't want to go, but now I'm really pleased I did. I'm not one for doing too much handwork even though I love Cross Stitch. I love the look of Applique but always think it's too slow for me. I'm more fast and furious and just love machine piecing. But hopefully I'll change and do some now. If the class did nothing else at least it motivated me to pick up some Redwork last night (only started it a year ago) and did about 3/4 of a block.

Applique started

Today I decided to do some more Civil War Love Letters blocks. You know, I figured out I have made around 80 quilts since I started quilting but at the moment I feel like a raw beginner. Remember the Tri Recs ruler I lost and then found? Well got that out today to do these blocks and discovered it was the wrong ruler. I needed the Companian Angel. don't I feel like a dill. It seems so long since I have done any sewing that I guess that old saying applies - Use It Or Lose It!!!

Second Term

Numerous Excuses

Infernally Ungrateful

Back Home

Another Battle

Something Old, Something New

Long time since I posted. I had cataracts removed and lenses inserted into my eyes and so haven't done too much in the last month. I did a little sewing, but will write about that later in this post. Mostly sitting around and watching TV. I acutally got around to sorting out my cupboards in the sewing room and found lots of things I didn't even know I owned. So no progress on Dear Jane or Civil War quilts. These three blocks from Love Letters were completed before the op.

Florida Has Seceded

Pretty Long March

My Greatest Trial

I know I promised myself that I was going to get stuck into my UFO's this year, but after I came back from the Sydney Show I just had to start one of the quilts from Rememberances. A friend suggested I could start one new quilt for every two UFO's I did..........well no UFO's done but a new one started. Doesn't it look gorgeous!!! Had to make what felt like thousands of 1/2 square triangles and I followed the method in the book (something I do't often do). There was an error in the instructions and I discovered I had to make twice the number of small units than in the instructions. So I thought I would use my Tri Recs rulers for that, but alas they were nowhere to be found.....until I cleaned out my cupboards. By then it was too late and I cut them out the same way. All the blocks and rows are sewn and just now need to sew the top together. I'm so organised with this one that I have enen got the backing - it arrived today.

Peaceful Time

Now in my clean up I found my Tri Recs rulers - in a box with lots of repo fabrics and lots of 1/2 square triangles and stripped fabric. I remebered that when I got the rulers I stripped lots of fabrics and made these up for future use....and forgot about them.
Also in the box was a heap of triangles and rows sewn for a Thousand Pyramid quilt. I had made one and managed to cut far too many triangles and have enough for two quilts (as you do).


So I decided to sew the 1/2 square triangles up into a Pinwheel Quilt. Now wasn't that a bad decision. In my half blind state I managed to break a couple of needles and 1/4 inch seams? 1/4 inch seams? What 1/4 inch seams! When I pressed the seams they were pretty shabby, but I wasn't unpicking. So gave up in the end and went back to the TV till my eyes got better. But the sage didn't end there - when my eyes had improved a little more I thought I would put the quilt together. So I laid out the quilt and marked the rows. The proceeded to put the quilt together. But I managed to sew row 4 to row 3, instead of row 3 to row 4. and row 7 to row 6, instead of row 6 to row 7. This quilt was never meant to be - again I refused to unpick. So I christened the quilt - My Blind Quilt. The phot below was before I sewed the rows together, so it doesn't show the mess I made of it.

My Blind Quilt

You would have thought that with this many pairs of glasses I could sew a seam wouldn't you??????

And now for my Something Old

Feeling guilt about starting more quilts I decided I had beter get some UFO's out of the way. About 18 months ago I cut wadding and started getting backings done for those quilts that just needed quilting. And they stayed in the cupboard ever since. So this week I decided to do something about them. So dragged this one out and found some backing and today loaded it onto the machine. I took part in an internet group Round Robin about 6? Or 7? Or 8 years ago?

Round Robin

So I started to load the quilt and put on a bobbin to wind - only to find my machine in this condition. Now I'm in a panic. Looks like it's it's going to blow up. So, so much for getting UFO's done.