Escape to the Capital

It seems my resolve to blog more regularly has already come seriously unstuck!

I was fortunate enough to be able to get away to the Canberra Quilt Show in early August and had every intention of a full report......it was the first night I had had away from home since my stint in hospital in September last year and was good for both body and spirit.

I was chauffered in style by a good quilting friend and whilst it was 9 degrees or less outside I was very comfortable in my heated leather seat - thank you very much......

The show was small but enjoyable (my first time there) and though I took photos I haven't asked for permission to share them here. I was also lucky enough to go to a meeting of the Canberra Quilters and picked up a few more good ideas....

Needless to say I slept like a log at my friend's sister's house - as I said earlier I was royally looked after. We woke to minus temps and fog!!! By the time we left the house the temperature had crawled up to about 2 degrees and the fog was beginning to lift. That hardly mattererd to me as we were on the way to my favourite Canberra destination 'Addicted to Fabric' (or A2F) ..... I actually went with a list of things I needed and managed to (mostly) stick to it.

The haul.........earmaked for various projects in the planing stage....and a couple of spares for the stash.....

I didn't buy much at the show itself (in anticipation of the A2F visit but did manage to pick up this pretty scrap bundle.....

.......which started off a whole new train of thought - a pretty, old-fashioned / modern double wedding ring or pickle dish quilt. This means a new collection. Rather than think in colour names I'm thinking milkshakes - strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, coffee and berry - a delicious palette.....do you see what I'm seeing?

In need of coffee we were next treated to a brief visit to the Arboretum - this will require an extended return visit sometime. The Bonsai house was an absolute joy........

Loved the colours and texture in the stone walls......

Etched hand rails on a viewing platform.....

Amazing sculpture - very clever......

By this stage the temperature had warmed up to about 10 degrees - but the sun was shining and there was no wind so it was quite a glorious day (for winter).

When I returned home I realised I had left my toiletries bag behind - doh! (to quote Homer Simpson). After my hostess had graciously posted it all back to me she discovered my travel shampoo bottle in the shower recess...... (double doh!)

Back at home there was a new determination to finish my 'Summer Quilt' (top) and it felt like considerable progress given that it had been underway for some time and that I had originally intended it to be on our bed last summer........(or was it the summer before??? )

The last three seams........

Finally together.......

Testing on the bed - it's big but dense quilting and washing will crinkle it up........

After that it was back on the road - but I think that's enough for now.....

Sue xxxx

Getting Back in the Saddle (aka the sewing chair)

Finally a bit of momentum on the sewing front - and it feels great!

The final four large blocks are done........

Proposed layout.....

I even remembered to check in black and white.........

Two smaller blocks done - and two more to go.......then I can put it all together!!!

Block for August meeting - just needs embroidery.....

Overdue block requiring satin stitch.........luckily the winner is not in a hurry to construct the quilt!!!

This pattern is from last year (arrowhead).......sampling it for a bed quilt.

First some chain piecing........

Then some 'un' chain piecing.........oops, got carried away!

Making more sense now.......

The redecorator continues to ply her magic - and keep us amused.......

And then there are the 'grand dogs'.....

That's all folks - nothing more to see here......

Hopefully back in the blogging chair, as well,

Sue xxxx

Roxie the Redecorator

The following scenes have been recreated to expose the guilty!

We came home from one of my appointments to find this.... As some of the stitch had been slightly pulled we gave her the benefit of the doubt - thinking that MAYBE she had got off the couch in a hurry and caught her toenail in the quilting.....

Then a few days later we found this one on its way to the dog door and laughed thinking she'd tried to get it through.......

Then on Wednesday we came home after a longer than usual time away to find this! After I had confirmed that it hadn't been given to her the intention became pretty obvious.......

This cushion usually resides here - and while it was showing serious signs of wear.......

 .....it wasn't quite this serious!!!

This was the scene that greeted Bob first thing this morning!!!!!

Nope, it wasn't me.............

Sue xxxx

Good Ideas

Sometime good ideas take a while to make an appearance. They percolate around and around and finally pop out like a Jack-in-the-box and stop you in your tracks.

As I looked at the next two DWRs on the design wall I noted the number of pieces and how many trips I would have to make from design wall to machine and back and design wall and iron and back so that I didn't mix everything up.

As I wondered how much effort it would take (and if I could be bothered) to make a small, portable design board it dawned on me that I could use my new cutting mat as all the pieceswere already cut out.....and it would accommodate a 15" block - which the new DWRs are.

 That way I could sew  pieces together without disturbing the layout.

........... Also keeping the pattern visible but out of the way by putting it under the extension table for the machine........

Then moving the whole lot over to the iron to press and prepare for the next sewing stage.

So simple when I thought about it!!!

Sue xxxx

Learning to 'Cut it Up'

(To quote VFW)

Let's begin with this. This was not supposed to to be 'cut up'. As I was about to sew this melon unit together I discovered this! I struggled to work out how it could have happened until I started to cut out a replacement arc.....Note to self - be careful with template placement - double check before cutting and make sure hands are steady.

 

Out came my faithful little friend and the melon is in the queue to be resewn.....

Now to the 'cut it up' session........

After returning from the RedBerry Quilt Show (my group) and a lovely warm reunion and catch up with people I hadn't seen in quite a while I came home ready for action. So, after some quiet time and finding I had the house to myself for  couple of hours I put some music on, turned it up and picked up where I had left off 'making' fabric for a couple of small projects to test DWR templates.

The dotty pieces are for melons, the remainder for backgound pieces.....

Some possible arc choices overlaid - any suggestions welcome as these are not grabbing my attention yet........

 I also realised I needed a bit more fabric than my scrap bin could provide so it was zip, zip - easy to slice off a few strips without feeling guilty or stopping to think what I should be saving this fabric for as I would normally do......after all, what am I saving it for - it is all left over from other projects anyway.

Mind you, my still frugal nature only allowed me to cut off some strips, not randomly cut into a folded piece of  fabric as I have seen done in videos.......that did make my spine shiver......

As I was struggling to get to sleep that night I had another bit of pottering in my sewing room before bed - probably not a wise move at midnight or thereabouts.....

This is the scene that greeted me the next morning! The space had clearly been invaded by a whirling Dervish or a mad woman - or both.......

From the doorway - was there even a track to get in? There must be because I managed to get out the night before.......

Bits and pieces queued up waiting to be sewn - and possibly almost as many scraps as I started with? At least enough to make some more fabric if I need it......

I used to try and teach my kids that a space always looks tidier when drawers and cupboards are closed. I wonder why they didn't always pick up on that lesson? 

There are some scraps and trimmings too small to keep - but it might help if they actually went in the bin!

At this point I decided that I would make a double unit of the abstract DWR, so ironed the fabrics ready to cut out the next pieces in daylight........

It also seemed a good time to prepare some pages for notes for my DWR folder.......

.....and hunt for some fabric to make arcs......(you didn't want to sit down, did you?) I also decided my stash needs more red and a variety of solids!

So while it may look like extreme chaos, and it may be a day or two before I can do anything about it, I can actually see the underlying plans and they still make sense - in some ways it's as good as a list. I just need to work my way through it when circumstances allow. Otherwise, don't look and turn up the music......

Sue xxxx