WIP Wednesday but its Thursday

This isn't my A to Z blogging post. Visit my previous post for my R post... or read this one anyway. 

Oops running late again with my WIP post. This being on holidays lark means I lose track of what day it is so easily. When I am home my regular commitments helps me track the days... Tuesday is Handmade With Love, Wednesday is Patchwork group, Thursday Avalon, Friday bible study Sunday church. Anyway..... its still Wednesday somewhere in the world.

Hexie Quilt
I finished off my handwork in the car on our drive from Brisbane to Sydney. I now have two pieced bits that I will incorporate into the backing of the Hexie quilt - one long thin piece and another that is square. I have also managed to use up just about all the hexies.... think I might have one left.

On Monday whilst we were on the Gold Coast looking into buying a car for Boyo I visited a Vinnies shop (St Vincent de Paul second hand shop) and found some fabric that was a good fit for a project I had in mind. We had been delayed an extra day in Brisbane due to the car so when we got back to our boy's home I unpacked the machine and set to work on this project.

I had been given 5 12" blocks - cream and maroon. I wanted a casserole carrier for me - I've made 5 for donations to stalls but never made one for me. I had to tweak my usual pattern to fit in with the size of the blocks but over the course of the evening I got the carrier made. The fabric I'd bought at Vinnie's formed the lining and base of the carrier. I didn't bring the velcro with me so it isn't quite finished but close enough. I had one major oopsie whilst making it. I found, as I was putting the two pieces of the casserole carrier together that I had stitched one lining piece back to front. By this time I had done the top stitching and couldn't be bothered to unpick everything so

I have been working on my bike quilt named "Onya Bike" (On yah bike or on your bike) I had pieced the centre on Sunday and Monday evening I put the first border on. I bought some blue toned fabric that I had thought would be good for the second 5" border but now I am not so sure - well actually I am sure. It won't do at all. Instead I am going to make a 5" piano key border instead using up the scraps of the fabric from the centre. I won't have enough and I don't have my scrap collection with me but I will make up what I can and finish it off when I get home... or buy some bits and pieces along the way (what a problem NOT). I would like to get it finished before I get home.

I have more casserole covers cut out with me that I can work on and also have another project prepped and ready to go. Its another one featuring cat fabric that I am calling "My Cat Likes to Hide i Boxes" The pattern is an adaption of a Square in a Square block that I found.

My sister in law, Christine from Bluebirds and Bumblebees has had a pattern published in the Australian magazine Homespun.  I bought the pattern and will move onto it when I get my other projects completed.

Sunday Stash - More finishes

So excited. I am on a roll. I got another quilt finished. Dash That Cat is now done, even labelled and ready to go to its new home . It is great to have another finish under my belt. The finished quilt is 265 cm x 232 cms (91"x 104") and used 13.91m of fabric. It might even have been more since both the binding and backing were pieced but I will let it sit at just under 14m of fabric. I occasionally use a bit of fabric I have acquired and no add into the spread sheet so it evens out in the end.

I'm sorry I don't have a decent photo of it but its so huge its hard to get one, especially since my rotary hoist clothes line broke a few years back

I have also been making some cute little baskets for Handmade with Love. 

Anyway back to the fabric baskets I made. We put Easter Eggs in them for a little but it was so hot they were getting soft so we had to put them into the cold box to firm up. Some of the fabric in them was from Handmade Love but I supplied all the linings. 55cms in all. 

The pattern for the baskets was based on this link which came from an email from All People Quilt with links to Easter projects. I adapted it to make some slightly larger baskets and also to account for one way fabric.

We had a stall for Handmade Love on Saturday at the markets associated with our town Sunflower Festival. We didn't make a heap of money but $200 is a welcome addition to our coffers and it is encouraging to see stuff we make going on out into the community. 

It helps us recognise what sells and what doesn't. So far my zipper pouches for the ear buds haven't been a big hit but I love them and so does everyone I've given them to. I made another rectangular casserole carrier to go with one I'd made earlier in the week and 3 sets of pot mitts to match. The fabric used in the carrier and pot mitts came from Zambia, bought back by our project director on one of her trips to the school (Our Rainbow House in Chainda, Lusaka Zambia) 

I also made a little zipper purse for the stall. None of the fabric for these things came from my stash - all was from Handmade Love stocks. 

No purchases this week.

Stats from Weeks 13

                 Fabric used            14.46m

                 Fabric added           0.00m

Year to Date

                 Fabric used         29.38m

                 Fabric added       19.17m

Net Used                              +10.20m  

Yes I am finally into the black for the first time this year. Those two fat quarter bundles at the beginning of the year have taken a lot to pare back. But we are there at last. I have another quilt pinned and ready to be quilted - My Twilters Hashtag quilt, a quilt top finished that I am working on the backing for (Diamond Dash 2), and another top finished this week (My Hexie Quilt - still no name - maybe that is going to be it). If I became uber productive in this next week I could get all 3 finished (or not) They will make a giant leap in my fabric used stats.

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times

WIP Wednesday

I am really excited. I have made fantastic progress on 2 projects this week.

Hexie quilt: The top is completed - as far as stitching goes. I put the last stitch in it at the conclusion of our church council meeting last night. It was a long meeting and I was able to get the "Sky" connected to the rest of the quilt.

This morning at Patchwork I took out the basting stitches and removed all the papers apart from around the edge. I am leaving them in till I have it pinned ready to quilt. The hand stitching is a little too fragile to take the dragging around. The seams unravel easily even though I double knotted them as much as possible.

 Now to work out the backing! I have left over hexies and I am wondering about incorporating them but think I might leave them for another project and do a non pieced backing

I am so thrilled to have it done. People ask me what I am going to do with it and honestly I don't know. I have no plans for it... no particular place for it to go. But I am sure I will find somewhere special for it.

Dash That Cat (that I have called Drat that Cat a few times....) The quilting is completed. Yes. under the needle was tricky although made easier by the fact I quilted in rows... along each row of blocks. Still restling that mammoth quilt (91"x 104") was awkward 

 Just the binding to go. I am a pretty slack quilter compared to some of the quilting I see others do. But... I don't get excited by it, quilting I mean. I do a pretty good meander and other times I do a lovely loose free motion free form quilting pattern and that is what I have done on DTC. 

I tried out a variety of different patterns on the blocks going across the quilt... spirals, meander and this loose swirl and dip thing... which I also did on the sashing and  the top and bottom borders. I did a chain of hearts on the side borders and they were all different sizes and free form. I enjoyed doing them. I used an Aurifil thread from Tula Pink's collection - choosing a varigated peachy pink. 

I made the binding at Patchwork group this morning. I needed 400 inches. I used some of the bits I trimmed off the backing after I had quilted it plus other bits of left over fabric and cut up one more fat quarter from the Japanese fabric bundle - Uki. There seems to be oodles of it but I can use leftovers in the binding for  Diamond Dash 2 quilt

At Handmade Love this week I was able to do some fun sewing. I made a little zipper bag to go on a key fob using a pattern called Teeny Tiny Mini Zipper Pouch keyring by So Sew Easy found here (the title is bigger than the pouch)

I also made a casserole carrier using some African fabric the director of Our Rainbow House Alison bought back with her on trip to our school in Zambia

It was good to get a couple of finishes under the belt. I cut out the fabric for a 2nd casserole carrier which will be the reverse of this one (green on the outside, blue inside) and there are scraps to make pot mitts to match. 

What have you been sewing this week?

Linking up with