WIP Wednesday

I have been busy this week. I got no less than 3 quilts finished this week - 2 Secret projects which I will reveal after the recipients receive them (just in case they stop by this blog) and the other which is my A to Z quilt which I also won't reveal until the end of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.

I have worked my way through a pile of scraps given to me and also some from my scrap basket and got them ironed and trimmed to usable units.

I've managed to finish off a few teeny tiny zipper bags.

I have been participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Each day for April (apart from Sundays) I have to been blogging, putting up a block starting with the appropriate day's letter. I have made each of the blocks and at the end of the  month I will reveal the completed quilt. I have also been visiting other blogs written by people in the challenge. I am trying to get to 10 each day and to comment on them as much as possible.

And that is about it. 

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WIP Wednesday

Its a wild and wet Wednesday in in Central Queensland. Yesterday at lunchtime a category 4 cyclone named "Debbie" crossed the coast a little south of Bowen. It was a not only a powerful cyclone but had a large "eye" and was slow moving so caused damage over a large area for a prolonged period.





Since then it has weakened and become a rain depression as it has moved over the inland. Where we live we have been experiencing rain since last night. Its been raining pretty constantly but we haven't had much wind at all. 

Fixit Guy and I prepared just in case - putting away loose stuff from around the yard, tieing down the the trampoline and basically staying put inside. Our regular sewing day at the Club Rooms was a non starter as we all decided to stay home, out of the wet and off the roads

I got to sew at home all day - not as much fun and fellowship as sewing with my quilting friends - its always great to share ideas, get suggestions and see what others are working on - but it was very productive. I got 11 ear bud pouches made for the Comic Con Stall I am going to have in September.

I had so much fun making them, using up scraps of fabric.

I'm working with little bits of fabric but still had enough to fussy cut a little for cute effects.

I used up the last of some "Mighty Mouse" fabric that I was given really early on in my quilting life.

I managed to get Mike and Sully both the right way up but Meowth and Squirtle had to work it both ways.

I love the science geek fabric I bought. Formula and the periodic table. Not sure if the formulas make sense... should ask my science orientated family (3 of the 4 kids plus my husband all did chemistry and several did physics too... not me though. )

My favourite ones though were the Betty Boop pouches. I loved the way they turned out. I was especially delighted with the top left hand one. Isn't it special!

And the backs were just as gorgeous. I am not sure I am going to be able to part with all of them.

Its been a pretty busy week... not just with the threatening cyclone and ensuing wet weather but it was also my birthday on Monday. I had a lovely day with phone calls from all 4 of my kids and lots of loving attention from my husband. I got to spend the morning sewing away downstairs and finished off 4 Easy Cosmetics bags - all for the Comic Con stall. 

I'm reliably informed that I got the

We went out to dinner with friends on the night of my birthday and when we got home I sewed another small messenger bag... got to use up all the birthday productively. This one featured a combination of the two science fabrics - the formula and the period table. I haven't got a photo of it yet.

I am still waiting for the opportunity to load two quilts onto the long arm and get them quilted. I really want to get them done before I go away at the end of next week but it might not happen. With the current weather no one is going to want to go out

I have sorted through some scraps that I have been given - pressed them and trimmed them into useful units. I have anothe pile pressed but not yet trimmed and the basket I keep my scraps in is not yet empty sigh. Its an ongoing job.

So its been a busy productive week even though I have really advanced any of my works in progress!

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Its Whoopsday Again... WIP Thursday

Once again I am a day late with my WIP - Work in Progress report. Its coming to you on Thursday BUT its still Wednesday somewhere.

This past week I have achieved some great things. I was going to settle for Good but no I will claim GREAT. This week I learned how to do a Pantograph on the longarm. Well I started to learn. I will still need lots of help doing them but I did use the pantograph on 2 quilts and that rates as great. My friend Lorraine had to help me each time we had to advance the quilt, and help solve any hassles BUT I got 2 quilts quilted AND I used a pantograph so that rates as Great. No photos (I feel a bit self conscious taking photos in public so to speak for my blog... silly probably but you get that).

I did the quilting Friday and Saturday. I have since then trimmed both quilts and made and attached the binding on one of them and tied off the ends of the threads. So one, En Provence is completely finished (apart from the label) and the other still needs to be bound. I have also loaded (With lots of help from Lyndi) another quilt and I plan to go and quilt it today (in between bible study, house work and helping with worship at our aged care facility). This one will be free motion quilting but I am hoping to mimic the pattern from one of the pantographs I used... a series of circles in circles... a bit like bubbles.

A local quilt shop is having a 40% off sale this past 2 weeks and I am afraid I caved (my Stash figures are going to be woeful this week). Whilst cleaning up and sorting my craft cupboards in January I found that I had the Labrynth pattern - that gorgeous puzzle like pattern that was doing the rounds on the internet last year and a few years before that too. I got tagged in it numerous times by various people who really liked it. Obviously I must have too (the first time it went around) and bought the pattern and then forgot about it. Anyway... I decided since it was a pattern that I had to buy fabric for, that I couldn't shop from my stash to make, I would lash out and take advantage of this sale.

So yesterday I visited the shop and purchased the many metres of fabric that I was going to need and came home, went back to get my pattern that I had left on the shop counter, and THEN when home started cutting for the quilt. I wanted to get it all cut out for 2 reasons.

1. I had to convert the required fabric from yards to metres and I wasn't confident that I had got it correct
2. If I had made a mistake and needed more then I needed to get back before they sold all the fabric and before the sale was over!

So I spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening cutting fabric and... I had heaps. The patterns are usually pretty generous and I didn't cut back too much for each measurement (A metre is about 3" more than a yard).

So that was another great achievement. I am not sure when I will actually start sewing it. I want to get on with some more sewing for Comic Con but with it cut I can take it with me when we got away and work on the blocks as we travel.

I made another large messenger bag for Handmade With Love during the week using some gorgeous monkey fabric. Whilst not strictly pop culture it is cute and quirky so should appeal to the crowd that goes to Comic Con (at least I am  hoping it will)

My other sewing for HWL this week has been sewing 2 size one rompers at our weekly get together. I am not a great one for sewing clothing with cotton fabric (I learned to sew clothes using knit fabric and was confident sewing that for many years although since I got into patchwork I haven't sewn much of the other) Anyway Peggy, our HWL leader is a fantastic sewer. She had cut out two pairs of rompers and I sewed them with help from her. She did a fair bit of pinning and we would work out the next steps together. She did the overlocking. The look really cute.

That is about it for me... a great week of sewing. Hope you too have had a good week.

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WIP Whoopsday -

I'm running late again with my WIP post but its still Wednesday somewhere in the world.

Having been away for part of the week and travelling for 2 full days I haven't accomplished as much sewing this week as I would have liked. I did take my smaller sewing machine with me to Brisbane (and have left it there to use when I am down in a couple of weeks time). I had planned to do the March clue in Charlotte Hawks mystery quilt which had been due to be released the day before we left. However due to severe storms taking out power and cable services in the area she lives in she was late in getting it posted. It was released the day we left to come home.

I did work on the backing for the A to Z quilt, getting the 3 blocks (2 remade and the Z block) pieced together with left over fabric from the second border and lots of letter/school/writing related fabric from my stash.

I bought some word fabric to complete the backing 

and have realised that I didn't get enough so more fiddling about to get it big enough

I made 3 items for the Comic Con stall - 2 Easy Cosmetic Bags and a boxy zipper bag. The boxy bag looked so bad it didn't rate a photo.

Once home I was able to get the March Clue completed in Charlotte's Mystery quilt. All the units are now assembled and next month we are to be told how to assemble the units into blocks. They are looking really great and I am looking forward to seeing the completed blocks and quilt.

Its midway through the month so its time to review the monthly goals I set myself.

  1 Complete my secret project I've made good progress on this
  2  Make 20 items for Comic Con Stall I've made good progress here too. The 8 teeny tiny pouches, one ear bud pouch, a large messenger bag and 2 easy cosmetic purses. So I've made 12 items - over half way. I am now awaiting delivery of more of the lobster swivel clips and zippers so the small pouches are on hold but I can get on with more messenger bags cause the magnetic clips are here.

 

3 Complete March clue of Charlotte's mystery Quilt.I got this done over the last 2 days Yay

                     

4 A to Z Challenge quilt I've started work on it (as detailed above) The top is completed and I'm working on the back. 

5 Work on En Provence. I have organised to quilt this on Friday using our club long arm. Lorraine is going to help me load it on the frame and then I am going to try to do a pantogram for the first time 

So - I'm making good progress with all 5 of my goals 

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WIP Wednesday

How has your week been? Have you been making progress on your WIPs? I've been busy and very happy with the progress I have made on a number of fronts.

I unpicked the dog cushion that I had mentioned last week that I felt was over stuffed and removed some of the stuffing and it was then much more suitable for the dog to snuggle onto... he no longer looked like he was going to bounce straight off it. I got 2 more completed as well so Jack and Digby have new beds in the laundry where they sleep at night as well as 2 cushions in the rumpus room/sewing area. That is all that they need so future dog beds will be given away as they get stuffed.

I have finished off 2 more secret project quilt tops and have made the backings for them so I have somewhat of a quilting pile up....4 quilts and backs ready to be quilted and one more that I am making the backing for now.

Today at Patchwork I put the borders on A to Z Challenge Quilt.

 Its ended up much bigger than anticipated (90" square). adding 3 borders does that too a quilt! Sorry I have no photos of the completed quilt top... but its supposed to be a secret till A to Z blog challenge starts 1st April. This is the 3rd border fabric

I am working on the backing for it (as mentioned above) I have 3 blocks left over from the front to incorporate - the Z block plus the 2 blocks that got replaced on the front. I have a little of the border fabric left over to go on the back as well but I am going to have to work out what to do with the rest of it.

At Handmade With Love yesterday Peggy had cut out a couple of little dresses and some rompers. I am not big on clothes sewing, but its cutting things out that causes me the most angst. With them already cut and Peggy on hand to say what to sew when and where I was able to get stuck in and between us we got the 2 dresses made in the morning and they looked really lovely. I forgot to photograph them too (not doing too well here am I)

I have been busy with a some other HWL projects. One of my goals this month is to get 20 items sewn for the Comic Con stall I am having in September. Over the last 2 days I managed to sew 8 of the Teeny Tiny zipper pouches. (pattern is here on Sew So Easy)

 and one ear buds pouch. (no photo of it either... I forgot) So 9 things down and 11 to go!

I started working on a different Messenger bag tonight. I did a number of major stuff ups because instead of reading the instructions properly I made some assumptions and they were WRONG. I had a lot of unpicking to do.... I'd assumed that the big piece I cut was the front and back of the bag and the small piece I cut was the flap cause that is what they had been on the kids messenger bags I've been making. (despite them being called front and back) The big piece was actually the back and the flap. I had stitched the pockets on incorrectly and also when I'd cut the one way fabric in half and sewed it so that the pieces would be the right way when folded... yeah they were both upside down. I managed to get them all fixed up but have had to call it a night with only a little more stitching done. The pattern looks good though and works well. You can find it here on Crazy Little Projects.

I've also restarted my crotcheting. Last October I offered to make 12 water bottle carriers for a Kyros Outside walk that is being held in North Queensland (Its part of the Emmaus movement we belong to) I got 8 made pretty quickly but it has languished somewhat but I found the stuff a few days ago and have since made one more and nearly finished a second. I have a return car trip to Brisbane this coming weekend which is about 20 hours driving - only some of which I will be driving for so hopefully I will get a few done then.

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WIP Wednesday on Thursday

I was flicking through my Pinterest feed (as you do) and checked out a link to "20 Great Ideas to Do with Denim" or something similar. As I have a box full of denim bits left over from my Jean's Jeans quilt from a few years ago, I clicked on it and fell down that rabbit hole and came across a raggy denim quilt tutorial. Now I would do the right thing and link to it BUT I didn't save it so I can't. But... it was pretty basic. Cut a piece of denim and a piece of colourful fabric to whatever dimension you want (I chose 8") and cut a piece of batting 1" smaller, sew an X to secure the 3 pieces together 

then sew these units, denim sides together into a quilt of whatever size you want, clip the exposed raw edges, 

wash and dry 

and clean your machine out and the filter on the dryer

and voila - a picnic rug.

Digby gave it the doggy seal of approval but Jack stayed clear. He's been in trouble for getting on quilts before.

Can you see the pockets and seams? I love those bits the most

The tutorial writer encouraged the maker to use all parts of the jeans including the pockets, seams and zips. I had a heap of pockets left over from my previous jeans project (called Jean's Jeans)* as it needed straight denim, no extra bits. Unfortunately the pieces I had with zippers in them weren't big enough to be used in this project.

I did have a few hassles. My machine had "no sew" spots at different times, some of which I picked up on at the times, others I found whilst clipping the seam allowance and others afters I had washed and dried it. I am not sure why it was playing up. I kept finding more spots that had to be resewn whilst showing the quilt to friends at Patchwork. That aside it was a great project.

It was fun to get a quilt started and finished in the same week - basically over the weekend.

I got 2 other finishes this week (as reported in my Stash Report) I finished off my club mystery quilt, now known as "Chillingworth Mystery" named after the fabric line it was mostly made from. 

I also finished Sparkle, the last of the Sparkle baby quilts I have had on the go for almost a year.

At Handmade With Love yesterday Peggy, our glorious leader had me on signature bear production! The other ladies present were working on cushion covers and a personal project. I finished cutting out 2 more bears and got the legs and arms sewed and stuffed and the body and ears sewn! I have done the head before but Peggy already had these done. I don't do features - I leave that to her to do as she is a bit more creative than me. Faces of stuffed animals and dolls I have made end up looking like the toy is a little demented or a sandwhich short of a picnic!

Two finished signature bears, which I helped work on last week and which Peggy finished off. They are now waiting delivery to our minister on Sunday for use at baptismal services.

Usually when I come home from HWL I spend the rest of the day sewing other projects for the group - recently I have been concentrating on things for Comic Con but yesterday I started cutting up my flannels to make a backing for a quilt. I have had the  this flannel for years and years but not used them so decided to make a backing out of them. 

They are a pretty mixed bag and to be honest the resulting strips are pretty hodge podge and not very attractive. Having cut them up I am determined to press on but... to be honest... its ugly. Luckily its just the back. Oh and I don't have enough. Maybe I will make a lap quilt out of what I have cut up and make something else (or eh gad buy something) for the backing. I was going to finish working on it today and see what a mess I have ended up with and decide then.

My A to Z quilt is at a standstill as I need to buy fabric for the borders and maybe backing, although I do have some stuff in my stash that would do for the backing. We are going to be going to Rocky this weekend so I will visit Spotlight then and hopefully find something not too expensive that will do.

I worked on a Secret Project at Patchwork. Got lots of blocks made, came home and starting sashing and arranging them. I am still a couple of blocks short. I could change the layout from 5x5 and put the extra blocks I have on the back or I could come up with the blocks that I need for the front. I have come up with 2 more (still need to be finished off but I know what they are) but am one short. I am prowling the house seeing if I can find just one more to complete the quilt

I have sewn up a pile of plastic backed curtain off cuts into cushions to be stuffed with fabric off cuts and made into dog beds. I got one finished this week which I've put into the laundry where our dog sleeps at night but I think its over stuffed and I am going to have to do some unpicking to remove some of the fabric and batting off cuts. I collected another full grocery bag of scraps from Patchwork yesterday so will have the stuffing for another cushion or two before long. The dogs don't really need more beds but I can always give them away.

see what I mean... its a bit too full to be comfy

And that has basically been it for the week. 

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* for some reason quite a few of the photos I used have disappeared off the post. I am not really sure why nor how to fix it but there are enough photos for you to get the idea.