Stash report -

I've done a lot of sewing this week but have had no finishes.

I got the next POD block done.. yest the same week as it came out. How good am I... again. This week will be a struggle cause we are away all weekend and then we will have visitors so I'll probably be behind again by next week but you get that. At least I am up to date for now.

Sent 2 quilts off to be long armed... when they get them back and finished off there will be some big numbers to add which will be rewarding.. .but meanwhile I am pretty stagnant.


I've made great progress with Playing with Nine Patches, another quilt by Charlotte from Scrapitude. The centre part is together and I just have to do the borders. I was thinking about doing something special with them but am back to thinking that I'll just do some straight borders in a couple of different colours, the first one being bright yellow... but I've been known to change my mind so watch this space.

this quilt has 738 2.5" squares and I didn't have to cut any of them. They all came out of my scrap drawer of 2.5" squares and I still have some left.. half a box of them. That is really amazing

Currently on my design board is a banner for church. I only started making it this afternoon and I have made great progress on it. The basic banner is done... now for the embellishing which is going to take the time. 

The "vine" is only pinned in place while I work out exactly where I want it to go

I've started making the leaves to go on the vine. I want them to be 3 dimensional so won't applique them down but attach them so they hang off the banner. 15 made and probably 30 more to make

The other work I've done this week has been on shirts to go to the school in Zambia that the Charity Our Rainbow House runs. Our group, Handmade Love has already made dresses for all the girls and now we are working on shirts for the boys. I can't count any of them as finishes either as a) I didn't contribute any of the fabric for them and b) we haven't actually finished them (minor details I know... but rather telling) 

My friend Serana sent me this photo of me hard at work in Peggy's kitchen yesterday

And then there is the knitting loom. Boyo got his beanie (and proud of it he is too. He's hardly taken it off) I've started one for the Beast but I unpulled it cause it was ugly... I was trying a new pattern. Have restarted, another new pattern but one of my own making and so far so good

So... nothing to count as far as finishes go however I do have some fabric to count in the "discard" area. A couple of weeks ago I tried my hand at chenille work. I used 5 pieces of fabric together - mostly repurposed fabric for the inner linings but the top fabric was a panel of some daisies. I was thinking of making it into a cushion cover. When I did the sewing and cutting I did it on the straight of grain, and not on the diagonal. As a result it has just unravelled and unravelled... can't get it to stop... it will unravel to nothing if I keep brushing it and so I have decided to call it quits and throw it out and try again. - 5 pieces of fabric .45m x .5m total thrown out 1.05m

 
I haven't purchased any fabric - have resisted all the offers on Massdrop despite there being several gorgeous fabric bundles on offer. No little surprise packets from any of my family or friends either so nothing to put into the fabric in section so that is a plus

So my stats for  week Week 26

Fabric Used                                1.05

Fabric Added                              0     

Year to Date

Fabric Used                               70.32

Fabric Added                             35.35

Net Fabric used                        34.96m

I am so looking forward to getting those 2 quilts currently getting long armed finished. They will so change those figures about so that I will have used a heap more fabric, and especially bump that net fabric used up so that it is much more than fabric added. 

The scary thing is that despite having used almost 35m of fabric.. .my stash doesn't seem to have gone down all that much!

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times

WIP Wednesday

This week I have been delighted to have my sister Joy visiting with me. We went to Carnarvon Gorge for 2 days at the end of last week and out to Longreach for one night this week. Its been rather disruptive as far as blogging goes BUT I have been able to get a bit of quilting done. My sister goes to bed early (8 pm) so that has left me plenty of time to work on things plus she is a crafter herself so happy to give me time to work on a couple of "must do" projects.

I was able to complete my part of Judy's Bluebird Quilt. I got it pieced, quilt and the machine part of the binding done. Joy is doing the hand stitching on the binding and will take it back home with her when she leaves on Saturday to give to her daughter for whom I have made it. I still haven't made the label for it... whoops. Must get that done in the next couple of days.

My other project has been assembling the Anzac quilt that I am making in conjunction with my daughter Fangirl to enter into our local agricultural show. There is a special section this year for a craft project reflecting the centenary of the landing at Gallipoli. Fangirl has contributed two lovely cross stitches and I made 4 embroideries and we printed off 2 photos of my 2 great uncles who died there one day apart. They were 19 and 24 at the time. Such a tragedy.

Finding the fabric sheets to go in the printer was an undertaking in itself. I was sure I could get some in Melbourne but the couple of shops I went to there didn't have what I was after. They had the sheets that you could iron onto t'shirts but I didn't want those. Eventually I found them at a shop whilst I was in Sydney but they only had a packet of 5 A3 sheets, which I ended up buying but its cost me $40 and I needed half a sheet!! They will come in handy for other projects I know - I hope!

Then they wouldn't go through my printer, they kept getting stuck. Fortunately the sheet went through Fangirl's printer so I was able to get the photos done... whew.

I had great delight using my Australian wildflower fabrics in the quilt to sash the various blocks. My only disappointment with the quilt is that I didn't print the labels for the photos but hand wrote them instead. My writing went crooked. I was in too much of a hurry to wait for Fangirl to print them out. I was working on a tight timeline, getting the quilt top made during the space between when we got back from Carnarvon on Saturday afternoon and when we left for Longreach on Monday morning. (As well as piecing the top we had unpacking, washing, church, a lunch out with friends to celebrate a birthday and dinner out at Fangirl's, which is also when I finally got the photos printed) 

I got the top finished Sunday night late. I went to bed at midnight and we left for Longreach the next morning at 6AM!

I was able to get the quilt top pinned today when Joy and I went to Patchwork group. Joy worked on the binding of Judy's Bluebird Quilt whilst I pieced the batting then pinned the quilt. We only stayed till midday as there was more things we wanted to see and I preferred to quilt at home. I got the quilting done this afternoon and tonight have machined on the binding, made the label and the hanging sleeve. All I have to do now is finish hand stitching the binding and the label and tidy the threads off the quilt. 

I have been working on my knitting looms whilst we have been driving in the car. Fangirl requested and received a beanie in Ravenclaw colours. I made another one in those colours (blue and white) and will send it home with Joy as her husband's football team, his beloved Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldog's colours are also blue and white. 

I finally sent off the beanie I had made to Gamer Girl - I'd made her a long green one like Link's,a character in her favourite game. After she had let me know it had arrived I sent her a text asking for a photo of her in it which she immediately obliged with... and she was at uni at the time so I was tickled to know that she was wearing it that day.

My gorgeous Gamer Girl

I also made one for my son in Melbourne's girl friend (Haven't got a nick name for her yet... maybe Beauty, as she is a beautician. My Melbourne son was known as Massage Man but since he has ceased to pursue his study in that direction I need a new name for him. He suggested Toothless since he had 4 wisdom teeth out... but really? No. Maybe I will call him The Beast that way its Beauty and the Beast. He is particularly hairy atm... he has a beard and is growing his hair which is very thick and curly!

Anyway Beauty liked her beanie too... well at least she says she did... she sent me a picture of her in it and she did look cute in it.

Funny thing is that my boys are protesting that their girlfriend's or brother's girlfriends are getting beanies and not them. I shall have to get busy :) The Beast posted the above photo to facebook with the tag

 

That awkward moment when your own mother makes a beanie for your girlfriend and not for you...

 — feeling rejected 

Boyo stole Gamer Girl's hat and sent me this photo saying "It's mine now"