Fussy cutting practice

I was working on this post before the cataract surgery. It will be a while before I can work on this project again, but I'll have lots of time to think about a final design, and what fabrics I should use.

I've been telling myself for years that I would start a Patchwork Of The Crosses quilt.

It's made with a honeycomb template, and it's very popular with people who do English Paper Piecing. I find that my hands hurt too much if I piece over papers so I'm sewing mine together on the drawn line. This Pinterest page shows many beautiful blocks, the possibilities are endless.

I still haven't decided exactly what I want my blocks to be like, as far as fabric choices, but I wanted to sew a few blocks to see if I even liked  making them. I chose to start off with fabrics that I have heaps of, but I don't really treasure them, so it won't matter that I'm cutting shapes from them all over the place.

There was a blue coverlet print like the upper fabric, but I've 'lost' it. I don't have a clue where it's gone, and Mereth and I have searched all the usual places. It will turn up one day I suppose, and for now I'll have to use the blue and red one instead.

I'm using a 1" do-nut template, that lets me mark the sewing line and the cutting line at the same time. 

I'm using a Berol Handwriting pen to mark the sewing line; the ink in these pens washes out completely. With my dodgy eyesight I need a sewing line that I can see easily, and these pens mark easily and don't drag on the fabric. I had to order them on the UK Ebay, couldn't find an Australian supplier.

It's interesting to cut the shapes out of different parts of the print, and build them into a block. I'm studying the Pinterest photos for inspiration, and learning by trial and error what will work and what won't. 

I lay out the pieces and plot how I can make different shapes appear; it's handy being able to photograph each layout, so that there is a record of my ideas and choices.

Neither of these layouts were chosen, but I can go back and revisit them later.

So far I have 4 blocks finished. I snuck in another fabric in this one.

This one was an experiment in getting those straight lines to meet at the corners.

It's hard to believe that most of these pieces were cut from those big wreaths.

More fun with making corners and borders appear by magic.

The blocks are easy and fun, but adding the setting shapes takes forever.

I don't know what to make with these; maybe a long table runner, maybe some cushions, or a small wall-hanging? All I know for sure is that they are a lot of fun.

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Catching Up

I was busy with customer quilts at the start of the month, mainly smaller baby quilts, but also a huge candelwick one. I had to get them finished quick smart, because DS Rhys announced that he and his family would be visiting us on the 16th. That certainly galvanised me into action! I spent 6 days at the shop, quilting until 6pm. I'm not used to working long days anymore, I was so tired by the time it was all done and the quilts were collected.

I did manage to finish my scrap quilt, made from 2.5"squares. It turned out larger than I planned, because I thought it needed borders, but 68"x 80" is a useful size. I;d like to say that it used up all the 2.5" squares, but I found a box of them hiding under something else, so I'm back to square one.

It's very brown, but I was just using up scraps, so I didn't get to choose.

It was a fun pattern to make, I may even start another one. Not for a while though.

While I was quilting madly I got a phone call to say that my cataract surgery had been scheduled for 2 days after Rhys and family left. So that was another thing to add to the calendar; it's amazing that life seems to get busier as you get older.

We had a wonderful time with the family all together, the kids enjoyed playing with their cousins and there were no dramas. We had a family picnic with Mereth's family, 19 of us all together and it was wonderful. There are pictures, but they're on my nephew's phone, I'll have to get him to send them on.

Then I came home, spent a day catching up with life back here, and then went to the hospital for the surgery. It wasn't pleasant, but it was brief, and now I just have to get used to my new vision. The other eye will be done in January, and hopefully everything will be much clearer after that.

I'm trying to find things that I can do now, with my wonky vision. I cut up a pile of shirts, very slowly and carefully. 

This milk billy is full of the middle bits of strips with the centre crease of the fabric. I save them all up, and iron the crease out and cut them into squares for the scrap boxes.

All ironed and ready to be dealt with.

I dug out some jigsaws that I want to do this Christmas and sorted them into little baggies. This will make them much easier to do, and even with only one good eye I can tell the various pieces apart.

I'll sort this one tonight.

I was worried that my little garden in pots wouldn't survive the hot weather while I was in Adelaide, but it's all good. I even have my first zucchini to pick. I'm not allowed to garden for a month, so I'll be limited just to watering and feeding my pots.

Excuse any typos please, it's hard to edit things that I can't see properly. Maybe I'll even blog a bit more now that I can't sew for a while. It's much improved after only 2 days, so I'm looking forward to getting back to normal. Or what passes for normal around here.

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More tops completed

Last year I finished this  Bricks and Stepping Stones top. Of course, being me, I had cut way too many pieces for just one quilt/

I decided to make this with the leftovers, not wanting to go to the trouble of 4-patches.

It turned out really well, and used up most of the leftover bricks, which was my aim after all.

Such pretty prints and colours.

I also had a heap of scraps from the Strip Twist that I'd just made, and these turned into 16-patches. I really didn't want to make a lot more of them, so I set them with alternate 6.5" blocks of fabric and made this little top.

More lovely rose prints, and some bluebirds.

Even though 1800s repros are my all time favourites, I still love pretty fabrics, which is why these are in my stash in the first place.

I've made quite a few tops from them, and the stash drawers are diminished, but not empty. I'm hoping I don't go out and buy more, but it is a possibility. These tops have all been sold, and will be finished by someone else, so that leaves me free to keep making more. Because there are always leftovers to help grow the next top.

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The Strip Twist blocks became a top, and it's very colourful and cheerful. I want to make another one, but first I'll sew on some UFOs. I need to put all the modern fabric away, because it's cluttering every surface of the sewing room, and I can't find anything beneath the piles. I figure if I haven't learned to clear up after a project after all this time, then I'll never change, so I just have to have giant clean ups periodically.

While I was deciding what to work on next I did a few chores that are easy to put off till they become critical. I cleaned out my poor sewing machine, which was clogged with lint from my long sewing sessions. I put new covers on my ironing board and ironing pad. I cleaned the sole plate of the iron. I cleared off the top of my sewing table, and dusted and sorted out all the items that accumulate there. I vacuumed the carpet, after gathering up as much of the fabric and thread scraps as I could. I collected all the rulers and templates and put them where they should live. I changed the blades in my rotary cutters. Once I'd done all that I was more than ready to get sewing again.

First up was this scrap project that has been my leader ender for many months. It used a satisfying amount of strange scraps and leftover bits, and it really was mindless to put together. I need another 20 blocks, but I'll get the centre into one piece before I go back and make them. It will seem much easier to complete if I jut have to add a row of blocks top and bottom. This never even made it onto my UFO list, so I'll have to add it, then cross it off.

It was our birthdays on the weekend, mine on Saturday, and Mereth's on Sunday. We celebrated with friends at their coffee shop; a birthday muffin for me, and birthday cheesecake for Mereth. It was a lovely get-together. Another year older, but not much wiser.....

After all my cleaning and duty sewing I had a play with my fussy-cutting project yesterday. I cut out 7 new blocks, and sewed a few pieces together; I'll finish them later, when I need a hand-sewing fix. I was all about the auditioning and cutting of fabrics, and trying to work out an easy system of marking the sewing line accurately. I enjoyed looking at my fabrics differently, with an eye to what patterns they would make; it was interesting to analyse the various prints and work out what I could do with them, and if I had enough repeats.

I really don't like the Swiss cheese effect though. I'll get another block out of the remnants of this FQ, and I suppose I can use the odd leftover bits in string or crumb piecing, but this way of working seems alien. I've spent too many years trying to get the most out of every fabric, but I just need to tell myself, it's only wasted if I don't do something with it.

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Progress on several projects

The spate of customer quilts is under control now, so I've been spending a little more time in the sewing room. I have no sense of purpose really, I'm just wandering from one thing to another as the mood takes me. I know this is the aftermath of the busy time I've had for the last 2 months, so I'm just going with the flow.

I've been pondering my UFOs, especially the long term ones, and decided I should work on a few just to maintain a bit of progress. While I was away I finished the last of the 35 blocks I needed for my handsewn Periwinkle blocks, which was momentous. Those things have been hanging around for years.

My intention was to handsew the entire quilt, sashings and borders, but I've gone off that idea. I tried one sashing by hand, and one by machine, and the machine one got the tick of approval. I have other things to be doing with my hand piecng time.

 

I hadn't even looked at these star blocks for quite some time, so I dug out the box and started sewing. I had enough kitted up for 46 blocks; when I kit them I make the 9-patches and the Flying Geese unit for each block and put them in separate baggies. Then it's as easy as sewing a 9-patch to put them together, so it only took a few sewing sessions to finish all the kits. I will have to decide what size I want this quilt; I discovered a tray full of strips precut for more blocks, so there will be more of them in future.

These scraps were cut into 2.5" strips for my scrappy blocks, and I've been using them as leader enders for other projects, so there are 120 of them now. 

Enough for a small quilt, so I might have to choose another leader-ender pattern now. I still have strips to use up, funny how that works.

From there I got a mad idea about using up the horde of 2" strips of bright modern pastels, and decided on Bonnie Hunter's Strip Twist. Her strips were 2.5", and mine were smaller, but how hard could it be?  

I made a few dozen of the quarter blocks, and they were sheer fun, and then I started trying to put them into blocks. It was a lot harder than it looked, everywhere I put a block it was adjacent to another identical fabric. Because of the smaller strip size I needed 20 blocks instead of 12, so that meant 80 quarter blocks. It was a lot of work. 

It looks good with a sashing separating the blocks, so I'm filing that idea away for next time. 

It still isn't completely sewn together, but I'll work on it till it is, just so I can clear the design wall and go on to another UFO. I have so many to choose from. I was a bit silly and cut 2.5" strips while I was cutting extra 2" strips, thinking I could make the same pattern again. I think I may choose another pattern now I know how hard I found arranging those blocks.

And of course the strip off cuts turned into another project.... 

There's at least 2 UFOs vying for my attention, I'll choose one while I finish up this project. It's so lovely to feel enthusiastic about sewing once more

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What happened to August?

 Good question, where did August go?

Late July I had a phone call from son Rhys; would I be willing to go to Brisbane and look after Theo when Naomi and he had to head to hospital for the birth of their baby girl? Of course, I would  have to go earlier, so Theo felt comfortable being left with a long-distance Nan, and in case the baby came earlier than predicted. Which led to me flying up on August 2nd, laden with gifts and quilts for the family. It's been two years since I flew, in the middle of Covid restrictions, and that was not a pleasant experience. However, this wasn't too bad, I wore my mask the whole time, and took advantage of wheelchair and people mover services so I wasn't really stressed. Naomi and Theo met me at the airport, and we all had a ride to the baggage pickup. 

He was pretty overwhelmed, lol.

The baby was due on the 22nd, but early on the morning of the 13th she decided it was the right time to make her entrance. They left before dawn for the hospital, and Charlotte Grace arrived just fifty minutes after they got there, so quick. They came home just 6 hours later, and Theo was very impressed by his brand new sister.

 She wasn't really interested in the toys he was showing her, but he was fascinated by her.

A week later Seonaid flew up to meet Naomi and Charli, and we had a lovely family getogether. That hasn't happened since 2018; it would have been nice to have the other 3 grandchilden too, but that would have been too expensive. Maybe one day we can make it happen.

There is a cafe right down the road from their place, so we walked down there a few times for a treat. It seemed very civilised to have a barista within walking distance.

Last time I was in Brisbane I bought Naomi a couple of pattern books for children's clothing, and set her machine up to sew nicely. Now she makes all Theo's clothes, some of her own, and is working on a wardrobe for Charli. Most of her fabric is Australian animals and flowers, and the clothes are just beautiful. When I arrived there were piles of fabric everywhere, as Naomi was deciding what fabric to use for her chosen patterns. I did feel a pang for Rhys; he was surrounded by fabric as he grew up, and now he's still surrounded by fabric. He's very supportive though, he knows its a mental health thing for us. 

Seonaid and I flew back uneventfully, and then it was pandemonium moving Seonaid and family into a new home. It's smalller, which is bad, but in a much closer location to school and kindy, which is good. There was no time for serious downsizing, so it all got moved, and Seonaid will work through the stuff stored in the garage, selling and donating. I'm just grateful they have a home, the rental market in Adelaide is appalling.

So now I'm finally back home, and trying to catch up on 6 weeks of customer quilting that was put on hold while my family came first.  I'm ploughing through them, and hopefully after the next week I can take a breather and assess the sewing room situation. I can't even remember what I was up to before I dropped everything and left.  It will take a while to sort it all out, but I'll get back to it soon.

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Catch up

Life has been such a jumble lately, I can hardly remember all the stuff that's happened. I seem to have lost a whole month and I really don't know where it went. There was a quick visit to Adelaide, home for a few days, then back to celebrate Thomas's 5th birthday. Five!! I have no idea where that time went.

Seonaid was incapacitated with a chronic back injury, so Nan was in charge. I'm a pretty mean Nan at times, but I'm too old to put up with any shenanigans. We did lots of building and drawing, and the meals were nothing special, but we all survived. Both the boys had foul colds, Thomas actually had para-influenza, so he was pretty sick. It was just a matter of time till they passed their germs on to me.

When Seonaid was better I came home, and promptly got sick. I had a couple new medications tho, so it was only 2 weeks of illness, instead of 8. It's been bitterly cold weather, which didn't help, and I've actually been staying at Mereth's place, as she's been stuck in Pirie looking after sick grandchildren. Nanna to the rescue! 

I spent a couple of hours in my sewing room, and managed to finish the Rail Fence top. it's only 60"x 60", not like Becky's huge quilt, but it's a nice size. 

Of course there are leftovers.

I'm going to sew these Spinning Rectangle blocks to use them up, and they'll be my leader-enders for the forseeable future. 

While I've been stuck at Mereth's place hiding from the cold weather I've been hand sewing at night. These Periwinkle blocks are so old, I can't even remember when I started them. I've been carting them to Adelaide as a handwork project, but I hardly ever work on them. Too tired at the end of the day, or the lighting was too bad, or I'd rather sit and talk with Seonaid.  I was stuck on 18 blocks, out of a goal of 35, and it felt like it would take forever. Four nights of sewing has seen me complete 14 blocks, with 3 more to finish, and I can't quite believe it. It's been so easy, with a good sewing setup and no distractions. I'll have to start thinking about the sashing fabric next, and that might entail a trip to the patchwork shop. Even if I find something in the stash, I think I still need a trip to the patchwork shop.

This little needle threader has proved invaluable. I know I have one of those little circular cases that holds about 10 threaded needles, so I might have to find that and put it to use. I don't want to stop the hand sewing now that I have made a habit of it.

I even finished a few little hexagons, so I'll have to prepare some more. I have about 17 now, so I'll have to start working on a setting for them.

I want to have a MAD sewing day soon, just send a hundred HSTs through the machine, and build them into these blocks. That might help clear the surfaces in the sewing room and then I might be able to tackle something from the UFO list.

In other news, my dog Dolly has come back to live with me. When I spent so much time in Adelaide my nephew took her to live with him. She's been living the high life in a remote outback resort, cadging food off all the tourists and staff, and being the welcome committee for anyone visiting. But she's over 13 now, and an old lady, so she'll see out her days with me. 

Finn and Thomas were quite frightened of dogs, so I didn't know how they'd react to her. At first Finn would climb up Seonaid as if she was a tree when Dolly got too close. That didn't last long. Pretty soon it was us saying, "Leave the dog alone!"

"She's my Bes' Fren'" he declared after a couple of days. And Dolly doesn't mind a bit.

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More playing with shirts

I'm up to 10 completed Rail Fence blocks, with the pieces cut for many more.

It's using up a satisfying amount of shirts and scraps, so I'm really pleased about that. The more it takes the better, as far as I'm concerned. But there was the box of offcuts sitting there.....

I quickly made 2 crumb blocks, to help me decide if I wanted to throw the bits out, or turn them into yet another top. Guess I'm not throwing them out.

This hexagon project has been hanging round for about a quarter of a century. It's made with .5"hexagons, using little 1"sample squares from shops. I lost interest in it, after I'd sewed that dark border bit. Hated it, set it all aside.

The other day I thought, maybe I could un-pull those dark rows and use another colour there, and actually finish this. It was just a thought, but I decided it was worth a try.

However, I seem to have sewn the hexagons together with 20 stitches a side, stitches so tiny I can't even see them without magnification. I had very good eyesight when I worked on this, and I never took it for granted. I was always grateful that I didn't need glasses, or even particularly good light to work in. I do now though. If I do decide to take those dark hexies off it will be a long process.

I could be sewing each and every night, but I've been spinning whenever the mood takes me. This was a ram fleece, so stinky all I could ever do was shut the bag up as quick as I could. But it was a lovely colour, and really long, and cheap. About three weeks ago I held my breath and crammed it into a bucket of water with a lid, and left it in the sun to marinate. Last week I pulled it out, still reeeking, washed it twice in blue Dawn dishwashing liquid, and then put fabric softener in the rinse water. Now it smells beautiful, and I've saved it from the compost pile. But it just goes to show, I can never throw anything away.

I was pleased with how even my spinning is getting, but then wondered why I would want my handspun to look just the same as commercial yarn.. It doesn't feel the same though, it feels bouncy and full of life, and it smells great too! Maybe I'll end up with enough to make a vest, that would be a great project to aim for. It's getting mighty chilly in these parts.

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