Charm Square 9 patches finished

This is an unflattering photo but I didn't have a chance to get another one.

I finally found time to attach the borders of the Charm Square 9-patches.  That brown border gave me fits, I needed to make the corners match nicely, but the pattern was printed on a slant.  That meant that when I cut the fabric straight, the print on one side was at a different level to the print on the other side.  I spent a long time measuring and fudging, but I'm happy with how it turned out.

This is top No.11 for this year, so with any luck I'll make it to my goal of 12 tops for this year.  I may even get a few more quilted if I'm dedicated.  It feels good to be working hard at the actual quilting, it's been years since I finished so many in one year. Now I just need to attack the binding; I think I have about 9 piled up ready.  The bindings are there, I just have to clear the work table and make myself do it. 

I'm at Shonny's now, I'll be going home on Thursday but there won't be much sewing this trip. Isla is coming home with me for a visit, so I'll be spending all my time with her.  We're both pretty excited about it, and Mum and Dad are looking forward to having just one baby for a couple of days.  If Isla can behave herself we'll do this more often, but who knows how she'll react to being away from home. I'm hoping Dolly and Isla's girl cousins will be so exciting that she won't miss her mum for a couple of nights. I hope I'm up to the task of parenting a 3 year old! She's pretty high energy.

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So much progress

I've done nothing during this trip home except sew hexagons together. I haven't touched my machine, or cooked, or quilted. I'm a bit obsessed but in a good way.

The sides have had their hexies attached, I will straighten those edges once I'm ready to add the border strips. Now I need to fill in the hexagons along the top.

That's pretty easy stitching, and then I have one major seam to join the two pieces together. I timed it once and it takes about 1.5 hours, so one evening should see it all in one piece.

I was worried about the borders until I remembered a UFO from about 13 years ago. I'd cut a 4 metre piece from a bolt of white material I owned, and stowed it away with the other bits. Hmmm, I wondered, could that have been the same material as this? Luckily I knew where that box was, and the white material, even if it's not the same stuff, is a perfect match. How's that for pure good luck! 

Our mum made a dress out of that purple floral fabric. I remember watching her cut it out and sew it, and I always coveted the fabric scraps. She had a big cedar chest of drawers in her bedroom, and it was stuffed full of material and dressmaking scraps.  On rainy days she'd let us pull it all out and ferret through the scraps, and tell us stories of the material wrapped in brown paper that her grandmother bought and saved, and then handed down.  I don't think Mereth and I had a hope of not being fabric collectors; it's in our genes.

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Dealing with a long term UFO

I've been working on a hand pieced hexagon quilt for the last 17 years.

It's made with vintage fabric in the rosettes, and a blue I dyed. Heaven knows what the white fabric is, and that's sad because I need more of it to finish this top. I think that's the main drawback of ancient projects: there are rarely replacement fabrics on hand, when the original runs out or is lost.

I've been stuck on this for more than 15 years because I can't decide what to do at the sides. I don't like the look of those half hexagons, but I can't come up with any other arrangement that I like. That chain of blue diamonds is really cute, but it makes designing an edge and border really difficult. 

After I finished the little wall hanging of ancient embroidered blocks I was inspired to tackle this again. And I'm determined not to set it aside again, just because I can't decide what to do.  

I've made a heap of half rosettes to place along the sides, and I think I've come to terms with how it's going to look.  Now I just have to add the white hexagons to each one, ready to sew to the blue diamonds around the edge.  It's not coming off my design wall until I have the all the pieces kitted up ready to sew.

I know that I've cut out nearly all the blue pieces I need.  There are a lot of white hexagons that will fill in around the edge, and I have to comb through my stash to find a suitable replacement white fabric.  That's a job for the daylight hours, so for tonight I'm going to go on making decisions, until I know exactly where this project is going. 

At this stage, I don't even like it anymore; I hope it appeals to me again after I've done all the hard work of finishing it.  And I think it will have to be handquilted, so it won't be on a bed anytime soon.  Some quilts are a really, really long term commitment.

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mini album applique

One of my oldest UFOs was a collection of blocks in buttonhole appliqué. The patterns are from a pattern pack I released way back last century. I made 2 like this: one was sold and one was stolen on the way to a quilt show.

I've had the blocks on the design wall several times, trying to wrestle it into submission, but all my fabric choices looked disastrous. So it's stayed packed away in its tin for the last 15 years or so.

This time I went for bolder colour choices: red was my sashing choice and this madder stripe just worked as the borders. 

It's not what I originally thought it would be, but I really like it. 

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disappearing 9patch

My goal is to make 3 quilts, one for each of the granddaughters, in time for Christmas.

This first one didn't take too long to make, then it waited months to be quilted. I used an open panto so that the finished quilt would stay soft and cuddly.

I'm trying to decide on a binding, and trying not to agonise over it. So far this stripe is winning.

But I'm back in Adelaide again, spending time with this young man while his mum is at school. He likes being the only kid on the block, the others are at daycare, kindy and school. He can play without a big sister interfering.

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farmhouse 2

I managed to get another quilt on the frame while I was home during the school holidays.

This was a fun quilt to make, I used a lot of scraps from other projects plus leftovers from my Farmhouse quilt. It needs a name, besides Farmhouse 2, but I'm drawing a blank.

It was quilted quite heavily: the pieces were so little that I wanted to be sure every 3/4" square had some stitching on or near it.

It's very flat, but I like that look. 

It's a bad photo, but I didn't have time to wait for the sun to go behind a cloud.

I've had the backing for ages, and never felt right using it for any other quilt. That's because it was meant for this one. Yet another instance of why you should always listen to the voices....

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charm square ninepatches

Ages ago I saw this quilt in a book of New Jersey quilts, and decided I'd like to make it using my charm squares. 

So I made a heap of 3 inch 9patches, and added corner triangles made from a 3 inch square cut diagonally. 

It turned out to be a very random, muddy looking top, because I chose muddy colored charm packs in the first place. I had so much trouble distributing the light and dark blocks that I threatened to chuck the lot in the bin. 

I finally got it arranged to my satisfaction, and then started pondering the borders. 

I really love the border on the antique quilt, but I didn't really think my version needed it.

This is what I've decided on. 

It will be a simple job to add them next time I'm home, and that will be another UFO to cross off the list. I'm aiming to finish 12 tops this year, and I'm on target for that. Even with so little time to spare, I'm achieving things this year. 

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This cold has been really hard to shake off, and it's not done with yet.  The antibiotics are helping with the secondary infection, but the viral part just won't go away.  Every day I tell myself I feel better than the day before, so I'm grateful for that at least. It hasn't stopped me, just slowed me down to a walk, so the list of finished things is disappointingly small.  I'm hoping I can pick up the pace over the weekend.

There has been more sorting and cleaning and organising of stuff.  There has been some socialising and drinking of coffee,  And finally there has been some quilting!

Yesterday I felt good enough to load a quilt and get it stitching.  It's not a big quilt, so I knew it would only take a couple of hours.  I used that time to put the binding on the Scrappy Mountain Majesty, and choose a backing for the next top to go on the machine.

I still haven't finished this binding, I'll do that while the next quilt stitches out.  I sew it down by machine, so it won't take long and then that will be another quilt completely finished, my third for this year.  It's been a long while since I had a string of finishes.

I love that the Statler stitches away while I'm getting the next top ready.  If I had my act together I could always have a top ready to load, and yet I don't have my act together.  I live in hope....

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Mereth has been quilting a lot of quilts lately, and I rarely have an opportunity to use the machine for my own quilts.  When I'm home I have to wait for Mereth to finish the quilt she's doing, and I have to have a quilt top pressed, the backing made, and the batting cut.  I'm rarely that organised.

 However, I did manage to get all the pieces ready a couple of weeks ago, and quilted a Scrappy Mountain Majesty that I finished  in February 2016.

 It's been sitting around with its backing for more than three years, so it was time to get it done.  I got it all set up while I was quilting another quilt, then it was quilting away while I did the binding on the first quilt.

It's a pretty little panto of mine called Denim Feather, and I think it suited this quilt really well.  Those curves and plumes helped soften the jagged points of the blocks.

I'm hoping to get a few more tops quilted while I'm home, but that means being organised and sorting out the backing and batting.  It's warming up now, so there's no better place to be than the workroom on a hot day. Alas, I'm also battling a truly horrendous chest infection, so I have very little energy.  Tomorrow I hope the antibiotics start to kick in, and I can get another quilt loaded on the machine.  It might take all day, but I'll just keep at it, one tiny step at a time.

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Another completed top joined the pile too.  The Country Cousin blocks have been around a long time, I was using them as leader-enders for ages, until I got sick of the working with the same prints and colours for so long.

All along I meant to set the blocks together like this;

I even drew it up as an EQ8 project.

I have no idea why I then proceeded to sew it up in an entirely different orientation.  Maybe it was during one of those 2am sessions where I wasn't really paying attention.

Anyway, I only realised what I'd done when half the blocks had been sewn together.  I could have unpulled it, or made more blocks, but I didn't have the heart to do that much extra work, when I liked this way as well.

Sometimes I just wonder what is going through my head as I sew?  Not much, apparently.

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I've been sewing away on my projects every time I come home, and there has been progress on several fronts.  I've formed a bad habit of staying up late when the sewing is going well, so a lot of times I stay up till 2am.  This is fine when I can sleep in, but not so good when I wake up at 6.30.  But my sewing time is precious, so I'll just have to learn to deal with the random sleep.

I finished the second quilt made out of tiny Puss In The Corner blocks.

I used a lot of different colour scraps in this, and used up all the leftover blocks from the Farmhouse quilt that started all this.

I'm pleased with both of them, and they were great leader-ender blocks, but I think I need a rest from tiny 3.5" blocks.  I'm going through my list of UFOs to choose another project  to work on.  It will be something with bigger pieces than 1.25" squares.....

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Earlier this year I had a quilt published in one of my favourite Australian magazines, Quilters Companion.  It seems that I need a deadline to work to if I actually want to get something completely finished, and having to meet a specific date certainly helped me finish my Economy quilt.  I managed to get it quilted on one trip home, and bound on another, in an especially busy time.

 I wasn't expecting it to be on the cover, so it was a nice surprise to see it on the Newsagent shelves.

I love seeing my quilts professionally staged and photographed, I've always been really pleased with the way the magazines present my work.

Over the years I've had quite a few quilts in magazines, and I've started to frame them ready to hang.  True to my nature of procrastination, I've not actually got them up on the walls yet. (What am I like?)
That quilt on the left below isn't mine, but I watched my friend Kaye quilt it with my feather designs, so I have a connection with it and it reminds me of a fun visit.  There are more to frame, but I have to dig them out of the magazine pile.

2 weeks of holidays are coming up soon, so maybe I'll make these frames a priority; it will take half an hour, and I'll enjoy seeing those photos up on the wall every time I'm home. I'm not usually a list maker, but I think I'll try; the two weeks at home will just fly by, and I need a plan to tackle everything I want to do.

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Remember that quilt I patched up for my DS Rhys?  Recently he sent me a photo of it on the couch.

Who is that wrapped up in it?

It's Daisy, my grand-puppy.

She's a Beaglier, a cross between a Beagle and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Rhys has wanted a dog since forever, and finally the time was right.  He says she's very sweet, already house-trained at 11 weeks, and is fitting in very well.  I'm so happy for him, and I can't wait to make Daisy's acquaintance on my next visit.

I did warn him not to leave that quilt where she can get it when he's not home.  I'm not sure I could fix it if she decides to chew on it with those puppy teeth. I'm going to make her a quilt of her own from old T-shirts of Rhys's, so she'll be able to snuggle to her hearts content.

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August was like a runaway train, the days just flew by so quickly until suddenly it was over, and here we are in September.  Winter is over for another year, and I'm not ready for spring, and I'm positively dreading summer. I should just live in the moment and enjoy the mild weather while we still have it.

So much has been happening, my head is still in a whirl.  The main events last month were Isla having surgery to remove tonsils, adenoids, lip and tongue ties, and ear drainage. She's always had trouble breathing through her nose, and was a terrible sleeper.  She never wanted to go to sleep, I think because she would often wake up struggling to breathe and that frightened her. I check on her every night before I go to bed, and I could stand in the doorway of her room and hear her laboured breathing.

 The recovery from surgery wasn't without it's own drama, she was a very sore and fragile little girl, but she seems to be over the worst of it now.  When I check on her at night I have to go in and put my hand on her to make sure she's breathing, and for the first time in her life she's sleeping with her mouth closed.  She's happier, more rested, her lips don't dry out from all the mouth breathing and she's much more relaxed about going to bed now.  So it's definitely been a success.

A week after that Hayden had knee surgery, and is laid up for at least 2 weeks while he recovers. Shonny is working extra hours while he's off work, so I'm staying more or less full time to help out.  I'm so glad I"m available to help, it's so much work looking after the house and 4 kids and the invalid.  Shonny attends college two days a week as well, so I've been getting lots of time alone with the kids, which I love, but it's tiring. I'm home for a flying visit, mainly to tidy up the garden a bit before the spring weeds take over, and then I'll be back to Adelaide to wrangle those kids.  We have 50% shared care of the two older girls now, so it can get a bit hectic at times.

I thought life might slow down a bit after Shonny finishes her studies next year, but something unexpected happened.

These two are going to be joined by a new brother or sister in February next year. The new baby might be unplanned, but it's definitely wanted.  We won't know for a while if it's a boy or a girl, but I'll be happy either way.   I would like another girl, but a brother for Thomas would be lovely too.

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This week is the last week of Shonny's break from college, it's back to school next Tuesday, and I'll be back to helping out three days a week.  It's been a lovely break, even though I've been down there every 10 days or so to help out and babysit for special occasions. I'm determined to actually achieve something in the next few days, I've started so many jobs and not finished anything, so I have to stop getting distracted.

I've moved cupboards that haven't been moved in 10 years.  I've opened so many boxes and sorted out the contents.  I've gone through my tax records and ditched anything older than 5 years.  I've been ruthless with clothing and linen and kitchen things, determined to pare down my possessions to a reasonable level.  It's interesting and a  trip down memory lane, and most of the time it feels good to get rid of things that no longer hold any appeal.  But now that I've sorted and thrown things out, I have to organise what's left.  That's where I'm coming unstuck, trying to categorise all this stuff. But I shall persevere.

My reward for all that has been some serious sewing sessions, and a lot of tidying up in the sewing room.  I'm finished with the Plaid top made from the leftover shirt scraps. 

The piano key border has used up nearly every skerrick of leftover strips, so it was worth it.

Of course I needed a leader-ender while I was putting this together, and I used up all the blocks I'd kitted in this Rail Fence variation.

 It's not very big, just a nice couch size, and I resisted the temptation to make it larger. I actually don't have any leftovers now, so last night I cleared away all the scraps of the shirts, packed away the two boxes of shirt pieces, and now I'm ready to go back to my reproduction fabrics.  The reclaimed shirt fabrics were a fun diversion, but it's time to get back to my other projects.

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I'm still cutting up the shirts, and kitting up blocks to use as leader-enders.  I like having a stack of simple block kits in a box by the machine, ready to add to the end of my chain piecing.  But all too often I get obsessed with the leader-ender project, and my main project gets pushed to one side.  That's why I'm in such a mess at the moment, working on four things instead of one.  But instead of putting aside all but the main project, I just sew faster on all four.  It's a bit exhausting.

I'm kitting these simple blocks, I'm up to 25 sets of pieces ready to sew. I have 20 finished, and I need 80, so I'm halfway there already.

I'll still need to cut more strips, but that's satisfying because 3.5" strips really take a chunk out of the shirt pieces.  I can see the pile growing smaller now.

After I finished the border of little squares on the Churn Dash quilt I realised that I had an awful lot of leftover light and dark squares, already pieced in pairs.  I also had a big pile of 2.5" strips, so I came up with this simple block to use them up.

It's incredibly quick to sew, and it does a nice job of using up the leftovers, and it's an easy leader-ender.  It's a win all round.  Except that it finishes at 5", and to have a decent size quilt I'll need at least 144, and the leftovers won't stretch that far.  So now I'm cutting up more 1.5" strips, and more 2.5" strips; maybe this time I can calculate how many I'll need and cut only that amount.  If I don't do that, I'm going to have a new quilt rise up out of the leftovers of this quilt.  It's never-ending.

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I love my Electric Quilt software, but I have one complaint.  With a few clicks of the mouse I can add a cute border to my quilt, like this little border of red and white squares.

Then it takes me two whole nights to make the thing and add it to my quilt. But I went with dark blue instead of red.

I really love how it turned out, and it's worth the extra work, so I"m not really complaining. This was so much fun to work on, I really enjoyed making all these little blocks. The shirts were mostly fun to work with; some were a bit limp and it was a struggle to make them behave, but I just starched them into submission.  Some weren't what they seemed; they were labeled as cotton, but they shrank and puckered when ironed, so they had some synthetic content.  Those pieces got pitched, except for one lovely green.  I took extra care not to iron it at high heat, and once it's quilted it will never be ironed again.  But it's nerve-wracking working with blend fabrics, so I leave them behind at the op-shop.

This little top turned out to be cheerful and colourful; my first blocks were quite boring, but once I found the pink, purple and orange shirts, they came to life.  I started this after seeing the blocks on Jo's Country Junction, and she got the idea from Floating On A Quilted Cloud.  I wonder how many of these quilts are out there now, all inspired by Jo and Regan. These little blocks have spread all around the world.

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Back home again, and looking forward to some time in the sewing room. The little people wore me out this visit, Thomas in particular is very high energy, I spent most of my time keeping him out of trouble.We have epic battles over what he should and shouldn't touch, and whether he should stand on chairs or beat on the windows in the playroom.  I win, but he puts up such a fight!

Last week, before I left, I quickly added the borders to the sampler quilt. 

I'm pleased with how it turned out, I love that I got to use so many of my blue and red fabrics together.  There are still a lot of them in the stash, but at least I've begun to use them instead of passing over them all the time. 

I have another set of blue blocks in a project box;

the sashing is chosen, and pieces cut.  All I have to do is get it all sewn together and I will have another finish. 

But I'm more interested in making progress on my shirt quilts, so these blocks will have to quietly wait their turn.

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I've departed from my usual focused way of quilt-making, and adopted a more scattergun approach. I'll be sewing madly on one thing, and another project will pop into my mind.  I want to see that other project on the design wall, so I sew even faster, trying to get whatever I'm working on in one piece, so I can rip it off the wall.  Yet I'm not finishing anything.  I'm very busy in the sewing room, but there's no finished items.

I'm trying to decide, while I keep sewing, whether I need to amend this way of working and concentrate on completing something.  It's good that I'm getting things further along, but I cant seem to clear the decks of all the associated fabric and scraps.  No time! Got to keep sewing!

But I need to stop and take stock.  A little organisation would probably make me even more enthusiastic and determined.  So...

The sampler quilt just needs borders, so that should be the first priority.

The Churn Dash shirt quilt is close to being finished, just needs the rest of the blocks sewn together and a little border added.

The little Puss In The Corner blocks need to be sewn in to blocks of 4, and arranged on the design wall so I can make decisions about setting triangles and borders.

The Country Cousin blocks need to be finished, and the borders attached.

I need to cut 3.5" and 1.5" strips from all the shirts, so that I can kit up a heap of blocks to use as leader-enders. Then all the shirts can be packed away till the urge to use them strikes again.

I could go on, but that's more than enough for now.  I've been home a week, and today I'm off to Adelaide again, for a bout of baby-sitting while the parents do various things.  Shonny sent me a video of Thomas saying 'Nan-Nan-Nan', so I'm keen to hear it in person.  I don't miss my sewing room much at all, when I have such delightful little people to keep me company.

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