Stash Report - a major finish

I have had some serious movement in my statistics for this week because I finally finished Vanishing Hours! I got it back from the long armer a week or two ago and all I had to do was bind it but I couldn't decide what to bind it with. Mind you I didn't audition anything with it... just kept pushing it aside mentally as for some reason I just didn't want to tackle it. Eventually I decided that the green check binding I had made for another project (and then forgotten and used something else) would indeed be perfect. I even had a scrap just the right size to make the extra I needed. I blogged about the process last Wednesday - including the fact that when I picked it up to work on I found that one of the 3 cats I had staying here had peed on it. NOT nice. I went ahead and bound it before I washed it. Its come up beautifully. It was put on our bed for the photo but I'm waiting to wash the sheets and change the pillow slips before it goes on there to stay for a while.
It was 211cm x 242cm and used 11.61m of fabric. Whoot. What a finish.

I've also made a bag - a messenger bag from this pattern on Diary of a Quilter. Must say mine didn't take me 32 minutes.. took a fair bit longer but it was pretty straight forward. Its a very soft bag as it has no stiffening at all in it but I am happy with how it turned out. The fabric I used came for Malaysia, from a visit I made there in 2007. Since Fangirl, Fixit Guy and I are going back there for a visit in April I decided I had better  use some of the fabric I bought then as no doubt I will buy some more. The fabrics I bought are mostly sarong lengths so they have designs that vary along the length - border prints worked into parts of it etc. I thought that I would donate this one to Our Rainbow House. Hope to get in an make a few more this weekend. It used 2 half yard pieces for the liner and outside including strap and pockets (I put two on the inside and one on the outside). I cut both from the same length of fabric, just cutting from the different patterns
Total for the bag .95m

Yesterday I made 4 hanging kitchen towels using this free tutorial from Fat Quarter Shop 

That used .56m of fabric for the 4 of them. They still have to have buttons and button holes done but I am not doing those. Someone else from our craft group will complete them

That was my fabric usage for the week. I had no purchases

This Week

Fabric Used                               13.12m

Fabric Added                              0.00m

Year to Date

Fabric Used                               29.26m

Fabric Added                             10.35m

Net Fabric used                         18.92m

WIP Wednesday

Very excited to announce that Vanishing Hours is finished. Yes! I worked on getting the binding on yesterday. It didn't take me very long at all. All that procrastinating. I had some binding that I had made for another quilt which I forgot I had made and made different stuff. I wasn't sure that it would work on this quilt and I knew I would have enough. I found a piece of the same scrap basket that had come off the backing which the long armer had trimmed off and sent back to me. There was just enough to make the binding... so I made some more binding and got it sewn on. I machined it front and back for a couple of reasons. The most pressing one was that whilst it was piled up on the sofa waiting for me to bind it the cats had peed on it. I debated washing it first but decided I didn't want to risk washing it before I had bound it so I put my big girl pants on, held my nose and got the binding on as quickly as I could and then washed my hands well afterwards. The other reason I bound it by machine front and back is that this is going to be on our bed and this is not the first time (or second or even third) time one of the cats has piddled on a quilt that is either on the bed or on the floor. So it is going to be washed regularly and machine binding is more secure.

So I got it bound and into the washing machine and out on the line in quick succession (for my American readers - whilst most Australian homes do own a dryer we don't use them routinely. They are usually used for emergencies or in wet weather. We all have lines in our backyards. In general our dryers wouldn't be as large as yours either since they aren't used regularly for the family wash) We no longer have a rotary hoist - an Australian invention, found in most backyards in Australia and New Zealand since the 1940s see here for its history because it broke just last year. We have a line on our patio that I use. It is under shelter so protected from the weather - sun and rain - but has a good through breeze so things dry quickly. I have however lost my mainstay for displaying and photographing my quilts. I could wind it up high and get the full drop of my quilts, even the huge ones. I did snap a few photos of it on the line yesterday but its in the shade and folded over so no where near as picturesque. I worked today so didn't get a chance to photograph it once it was dry. Tomorrow hopefully... you can come back for a peek at it in its full glory.(Ed I then took a photo of it on the bed... that worked. Still need to take one of the back of the quilt)

This week I have also completed clue 2 of the Scrapitude 2015- Scrap in a Box Mystery quilt.

I completed Week 6 in the POD challenge. I also started to stitch titles on the books in the blocks. I have completed 3 of the 6 blocks I have already made. I took them with me when we went to Brisbane for the weekend. They were my hand project. Unfortunately I was rushing to get the names of the books written on the books and didn't take as much care as I should have so not really happy with how some of them have turned out BUT not going to let it worry me.

I also did two blocks from Elephant Parade sew along. The new block will be released today as will the next block in the POD Challenge.

  

I thought I had finished all the applique blocks in The Tea Shop Quilt so started to sew them together. I have found one block I hadn't finished and another I haven't started. I also have to do a bit of extra work on the milk jugs and sugar bowls. Because the background is creamy white the sugar and milk which are also white aren't really showing up. I am going to stitch around them in the colour I used on the rest of the bowl or jug to give it some definition.

  

It will look like the other side of the bowl or jug. I have done it to one and it worked out well so will do it on the rest. Meantime I have sewn a lot of the blocks together - chunking them into sections. One strip is complete. This is going to make the remaining embroidery a bit harder to do but I will cope. I've rearranged yet again. I keep tweaking the layout. Untill its all sewn down nothing is decided.

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WIP Wednesday - progress

I have made another 2 denim bags out of the top section of jeans. I took the two I had made previously along to a craft group that has just started up in our town. Our aim is to make things to be sold to raise money for Our Rainbow House. The women at the group were very enthusiastic about them and I may well have found a buyer for at least one if not both of them from within the group. Their encouragement was so inspiring that I came home and made another 2 this afternoon.

I have made a little progress on The Tea Shop Quilt completing a couple more of the applique blocks. I have just one to go but it has the most changes of colours on it so will take a little while. I haven't finally settled on a design for the layout but think that the one with the teashop at the centre of the quilt may well be my final one.

I got the next block in the POD challenge completed. It was a pretty straight forward one. Apparently the 5 blocks we have done are enough to complete one row on the book shelf. Before I sew them together I want to stitch titles on the books. I had better get on to that.

I have also joined the Scrapitude - Scrap in a Box Mystery quilt. I completed the first clue/step Monday night. The next clue is up but not sure when I will get 

I have Vanishing Hours back from the long armer. Now I have to decide on a binding and get it done.

Annie's quilt is still bundled up by my machine waiting for me to get back to it and get it quilted.

I have collected a couple of projects to do along the way. Someone from church has asked me to complete a banner that their late mother had started for the church. It is fairly simple. I got the two borders on it today. Now to pin it and quilt it.

I also volunteered to put together one of the charity quilts from the Blocks our Patchwork group have been working on. Today we I forgot that I had said I would make some banners for a christian group called Chrysalis. I was reminded today so had better get them done too!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday, WIPs on Wednesday and Let's Bee Social

WIP Wednesday

This week I worked on paper piecing and completed the first 2 blocks in Fandom Stitches POD 30 week challenge. I also completed a paper pieced TARDIS from a pattern on their website. I have downloaded a heap of others which I may or may not get around to doing sometime soon.

I completed the 3 little zipper pouches using the MSQ tutorial and really enjoyed making them... so much so that I have ordered 20 pretty zips from eBay and keenly waiting their arrival in a couple of weeks. (ordered from Hong Kong so have to wait for them to be shipped here) After I had posted on this blog about running out of zippers a local friend, Lindy,  told me that she had a box of zips that she had been carrying around for 20 years or so and she was happy for me to help myself to a few. She bought them to Patchwork today and I gladly took 6. 1 which I used straight away and 5 to make into pouches.

Fangirl (my daughter) asked me to make a cushion out of a cross stitch that she made in 2005. I sashed it in 3 borders and then made the back and (get this) inserted a zip. I made it today at Patchwork using one of the zips Lindy gave me. I don't have a photo of the finished cushion. I wish I had fussy cut the 3rd border but by the time realised I should have done that the top was already together and I wasn't remaking it.

I am waiting on a bolt of batting to arrive in order to be able to complete some more projects. Ive made the backing for the Tardis Tree and also for the Orphan Block Quilt. I thought I would piece a backing for it but in the end I had a piece big enough and so used it. I have decided to call it Annie's Quilt... you know Little Orphan Annie.... also our dog who died early last year was called Annie so I like the name.

       

I have been working on Vanishing Hours. I got all the borders on and so now the top is finished. YAY

I've started on the backing, using up extra blocks that didn't make it onto the front - including one vanishing pinwheel that I made by mistake instead of the vanishing hourglass. Also some extra hourglass blocks and some left over piano key border. Its got a way to go but hopefully I will get it done by the end of the week so I can post it off to my friend Kym to get quilted.

 So its been a very busy and successful week. How have you gone this week.

   

WIP Wednesday

I've been working on several projects this week.

I've put the first border on Vanishing Hours. It didn't go on so well... two sides were ok but two sides didn't fit properly and initially I added an extra bit to make them fit because I didn't want to unpick them but today I knew that I had to take them off and go again so I did and after a good bit of easing and squeezing and carrying on I managed to get them on. Then I started on the hourglass border. That has also taken a good bit of "managing" to get that organised. By the end of my day at Patchwork I had the 4 sides stitched together but not attached to the quilt. Next week for that I hope. Then there will only be the piano key border to attach.

I've also worked on Tardis Tree. I've put the border on it. I need to get some batting before I can finish it up. I would like to buy a roll of batting but trying to get prices on them is proving difficult. I will go into our local shops and price it there this week and try again online and see how we go.

I've completed several small projects as well.  I have a sister named Joy and I had this country coloured square featuring the word Joy. I made it into a little banner which I'll send off to her. I used the method described by Katie from Katie's quilting corner to make it into a simple hanging picture.

I also worked on 2 blocks for our Patchwork clubs block of the month. When I went away on holidays the idea had been that all the blocks would be in blue and white I thought but whilst I was away the idea was revised and they changed the colours for each month. So the blue and white one here I knew was definitely wrong. However I had already prepped the fabric for it so I made it anyway.

I had previously made the block below in blue and white but I knew that one of the blocks had to be red white and black so I made this one again accordingly.

I took them up to Patchwork today and ... yeah... they were both wrong. I should have made the above one in white and pink and the blue and white one was supposed to be the red, black and white. Oops. Never mind. They will all get used in the quilts we will make for charity at some stage, even if they go into the backs.

So at some stage I have to make these two blocks again in the correct colours. Then I might volunteer to put some of the blocks that have come in into a quilt top.

I've started to make a zipper pouch as well using this YouTube video put up by Missouri Quilt Company. 

I haven't got far with mine... but I have started

Its been a productive week.

  

WIP Wednesday - not a lot to report

I finished of some coasters and pot mitts on the weekend but I posted them on Stash Report. Apart from that my sewing has been negligible.

I have made some progress on Vanishing Hours quilt. I have put together the blocks for the centre of the top. Still have to do the borders. At this stage I am planning a green border and then the hour glass border and finally the piano key border.


Not sure I will get anything done on these before the end of the year but we can but see. I might get lucky and gouge out some time. Fixit Guy is getting a kayak for Christmas Yes he knows... he had to choose the one he wanted and then had to fit the bars to the roof of the car so we could carry it home. I was going to surprise him with it but it all got too hard.

This is late cause its now Christmas Day and I didn't get this posted yesterday. Hope you all had a great day. Will write more tomorrow when I am not heading for bed after a great day of lovely family and delicious food.

Now that Christmas Day is over I can show you a couple of finishes that were gifts for Fangirl. As well as these coasters and oven mitts I made her a Tardis blue table runner that I didn't photograph obviously. I shall have to get her to send me a photo of it on her table
  
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WIP Wednesday. Vanishing Hours gets some attention again

I started to write a WIP Wednesday report last week after I got home from our big trip away but I didn't get it finished as I didn't have photos... still don't of some of the projects so will just do a recap of the last 2 weeks

Our last week of our holidays we were mostly in the Flinders Ranges, which is in South Australia, about 5 hours from Adelaide. For the first 7 weeks or so of our trip temperatures were on the whole cooler than usual. Of course as soon as we headed inland the temperatures rose somewhat! We were blessed that we could do our exploring and walking in the morning and relax more in the afternoon and then go for a sleep in the resort pool.

I managed to get some sewing done too. Our patchwork group has started a Block of the Month. The lady running it had chosen several months in advance and I had been able to take the patterns with me (she chose them off the internet) Whilst we were camping at Flinders Ranges I made up several blocks but I had misunderstood and thought that all the blocks were going to be in blue and white and so had taken a pile of blue and white scraps with me to make them. However once I had made them I found out via an email that the next block was supposed to be in pink and white... oops. I took the blocks I had done (2 of the first month and one for the second month) to patchwork today and found that I wasn't the only one to have made the second block in blue and white as well. They can go into the back.

I worked on my Christmas embroideries on the long journey home. We did the trip in just 2 days - which was pretty huge. Stitching the redwork patterns passed the time for me. I got 3 completed and started the 4th. I have worked on the 4th one during a meeting or two since we got home and whilst waiting for appointments so that has made good progress.

a finished embroidery block

Pam from Hip to Be a Square podcast and blog shared a great pattern she had got from Craftsy... a free download. It was called Easy Christmas Table Runner by Sew Today Clean Tomorrow I went to Craftsy and downloaded it as well and have made two of these gorgeous table runners. I can only share one of them here as the 2nd one is a gift for someone who may read this blog. The 2nd one I made for my daughter Fangirl. She recently moved into her first home of her very own... she bought a townhouse just before we went away on our camping holiday. She has a lovely big table that it will look beautiful on. I gave it to her today and she was very happy with it. I forgot to take a photo of it but she kindly took one and messaged it through to me so I could put it on my blog. 

  

I made it sort of reversible ... only I stuffed up the alignment on the back so it didn't end up straight but still... I was pretty happy with it and Fangirl is happy so that was great.

At Patchwork today after I had quilted the table runner I got back to work on Vanishing Hours. I used the big design wall we have there to work on the layout of the quilt





We tweaked a it a few times and to be honest... I don't think this was the final layout but pretty close. Once I had decided I labelled each block... A-F across the top and 1-7 down the side. Before I left to come home I had sewn all the blocks into rows and tonight I got some of the rows stitched together so I am making a bit of progress


I forgot to say... when I sat down at my Janome Horizon, to sew the when I first got home... it seemed so HUGE having only had my little Gem to work on whilst away. I am slowly getting used to it again although at Patchwork today I was back on the Gem

Now that I am no longer driving around the countryside I don't have the gorgeous photos of my wonderful country to give you as eye candy. I will salt this blog with some of the photos I haven't shown you occassionally

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WIP Wenesday - more sewing in the camper

WIP Wednesday - probably 2 more after this one of updates from the camper. We will be home again in just over 2 weeks.. mind you that is still a quarter of our trip to go. I shouldn't  start to wish it away.

I hadn't done any work of my own on my sewing machine since our couple of days at Duck Point on Wilsons Promontory with all my sewing time in Melbourne taken up with making curtains for my oldest son, Massage Man. (or MM) I might have to change his pseudonym as I didn't get one massage whilst in Melbourne despite seeing him every day AND spending lots of time sewing for him. Humph.

Once we got to Apollo Bay I knew I would get some sewing time tucked in there some how. We were staying in a little cottage - fully self contained with a luxurious double spa bath. Man did we enjoy that. Mind you when you have been staying in camping sites for 6 weeks having an inside bathroom is luxury in itself!!

We looked at the forecast and the worked out that Saturday (the day after we arrived) was better weather. Rain was forecast for Sunday. So we took Saturday to do some touring down the coast, checking out some of the things we had driven past with the trailer on behind the day before (it does limit where you can stop). We had a couple of walks on our way down to Lorne and then once there we explored the main street enjoying two books shops in particular. We bought a children's book at one place, gift for my cousin's children whom we will be visiting this coming weekend. In the 2nd had bookshop we browsed in I got a patchwork book and my Fixit Guy bought himself a puzzle book. We had another lovely long walk along the pier because the sun actually came out and then on our way back to Apollo Bay we stopped at numerous lookouts and took in the magnificent scenery.

So Sunday was going to be our stay close to base day and I was determined to break out my machine... and I did. We went to church in the morning and 2 walks in the afternoon: one to the shop to get some spray starch for my half square triangles which were all cut on the bias and the other after dinner along the beach to get our steps in after a rather low step day.

That apart I sewed my hst for my hourglass blocks for the border of Vanishing Hours, my disappearing hourglass quilt. I had made 10 of the units that get cut  twice diagonally to get the 4 hst whilst in Duck Point. On Sunday afternoon I managed to get 44 more made and them all cut up and pressed and 10 of the hourglass blocks made. It was very productive afternoon. 

Our little cottage was delightful but it wasn't really set up for sewing. The only indoor table was a tiny round one that was just big enough for 2 to sit up to for a meal. There was an out door one as well but given that it was raining and a bit chilly that wasn't suitable. Instead I had my machine on the coffee table and I sat on the lounge and made do. Realised later that I could have gotten one of the camping tables out of the trailer but by the time I thought of that I was almost done and it really was surprisingly comfortable!

We left Apollo Bay and have been staying a little further west along the coast at a place called Princetown. It consists of a shop, a pub, 2 camping grounds and a house or two. It is a lovely little spot. Last night, after we got back from our fabulous day at The Otway Fly - where we did the zipline tour and the tree top walk.. so much fun... 

The Cloud Station, the launch pads high in the trees from which the ziplines departed. There were 6 in all

There were two bridges as well. Fixit Guy handled them like a pro

I look like a dork in this one but it was fun. I felt like I had my arms out wide

Coming in for a landing. Nailed it

Tree Top Walk. So much fun

FG and I on the Cantilever which was hanging out over the creek

Some of the lovely mosses and ferns adoring the rain forest trees

I started to trim up the hst to make more hourglass blocks. I trimmed whilst I talked on the phone (on speaker phone) to our youngest son, Boyo, who has just finished his university year and is now back home. He started work on Friday at a fruit farm where the grape harvest has just started. It was good to catch up with him whilst I trimmed. After we had finished talking I started to sew them and got 24 made so that was productive. I had hoped to get some more made tonight but we had a huge day today. 

We left here at 8.30 to go view the Twelve Apostles in the early morning light before the hoards of tourists get there (see Monday Musings for my rant on tourists ironic cause that's what I am) 

Then we drove back East along to coast to the Otway Lighthouse where we spent several hours exploring the various buildings there and going up the old light house. 

So many amazing stories of bravery and daring, or terrible ship wrecks, of determined men and women battling isolation and danger. Did you know that the USA suffered its first casualty of World War Two in Bass Strait, not far off the coast of Cape Otway? A US ship struck a mine laid by a German U-boat. One man was killed in the incident, the first American of the war. 

We went from there to several different beaches and bays which we enjoyed exploring. On two of them were relics from ships that had been wrecked in Bass Strait - 3 anchors and another bit of ironwork. Not sure what it was.

The Anchor from the Marie Gabrielle, a French ship that was wrecked off what became known as wreck beach

The anchor from the Fiji, another wreck off Wreck Beach

I found this bottle on the beach. No message in it but it had stuff growing on it

It was 6.30 by the time we got home. I have uploaded my photos... 140 for the day on my camera and some more on my phone (which I can't get to upload. My phone has stopped co-operating with my computer. The only way I can access the photos is to put them onto Facebook and then download them from there. Most annoying) Now I am writing this. Its after 10 pm so I don't think I am going to get any sewing done now.

So
Vanishing Hours Progress
34 hourglass blocks made for the border. The hst for the remaining 20 blocks are made and ready to be trimmed before being sewn.

Tea Shop Quilt
I don't think I have done any applique on these blocks this week. I did do a little bit in Melbourne but think that was for last weeks report. I have taken it in the car with me incase I felt like doing it but I haven't got to it. I did buy some more buttons to go on it when we were in a little town near Ballarat on Friday.

Buttons for my Tea Shop Quilt

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