Saturday, November 5, 2016

Handmade Heritage

We are home again! Its 5 weeks today that we left for our trip and we got home yesterday so we had 34 days in our caravan. I must admit I did enjoy our big bed last night. The one in the van is just a bit shorter and narrower. I also liked making the one at home better. The van bed is pretty good but... the one at home was better!

Last night we had pizza for tea... we drove the 600kms home from Fixit Guy's brother's cattle station in one hit. Yeah we talked about how we might stop along the way but we are way too used to doing it in one hit and we spent all the time we could with family. So..... we drove on through and stopped only to buy a burger for lunch.

Pizza for tea and then an evening blobbing in front of our tv. We had gotten most of the van unpacked after we got home but there was still some unpacking to do this morning and of course there is the cleaning still waiting for me.

I was excited to get my Handwork Heritage quilt out... the one made from cut up doilies that I have collected from my mum, my aunt and my mother in law. It was great to be able to spread the blocks out on the design wall (well the ones that would fit) and get a photo of how it looks. I cut more strips to go on the other side and started sorting through the 1.5" box of squares for the corner stones. 


I was tossing up about how to sew the other side on. I could sew what I have made (ie the blocks with one side on) into strips and then sew strips of the other side strips with cornerstones between and put it together like that. In the end I finished off each block individually and then played around with the block placement. Trying to keep the different colours of the strips and corner stones apart as well as the different pieces from the same doilies was pretty tricky and despite my best efforts I ended up with some next to each other but you get that. (or you do if you are me)

I tossed up whether to include the blocks that had the dark purple in them for ages but in the end have left them off. My sister Joy sent me some more doilies and other old embroideries that she was given by a friend at craft and I have decided that I will edge those ones in purple and together with ones I already have it will be enough for a small quilt.



What to do with the quilt when I finish it is another thing that has been causing me concern. It really isn't going to be suitable for a bed quilt - or only a bed that never gets lain on during the day. It has too many loose pieces of lace that could get caught up in and some of the fabrics are pretty fragile. For the same reason it is not suited to being a cuddle quilt.


I think I will make it into a table cloth. 

Talking of my design wall not fitting all the blocks onto it. FG asked me what I would like for Christmas (Our family starts thinking about it early as we have 2 sons born in November and so we are needing ideas for their presents and whilst we are on the job there we ask everyone else what they would like) I said I would like my design wall extended, an idea he had not long after he had made me my first one. We have started discussing options and hopefully he will come up with something that is going to do do the job beautifully. It is great having a handy husband.

3 comments:

  1. Yeah for extending your design wall! I had an 8'x 8' design wall in my sewing room before we downsized. In the new house it is not quite 6' x 6'. Love the pinks you are using on the Handwork Heritage project. What size are the blocks with their sashing strips applied?

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    1. The embroidery bits are 6.5" unfinished. The strips are cut 1.5" so when they are made up (ie strips on 2 sides plus cornerstone square) the blocks are 7.5" unfinished so 7" finished.

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    2. and my existing design wall is 2m high by 1.5m wide which is about 79"x 59" or 6'5" by 4'11". We have enough room to go up by another foot and perhaps could hinge another piece on to make it half as wide again perhaps... anyway its still in the dreaming stage. Thanks for stopping by

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