Mid Month Goal check in

Only 10 days in the month left so that means I am 2/3 through the month and a great time to check how I am going with my goals. I really enjoy setting goals for myself and seeing how I am going with them. I set myself a huge list this month and quickly decided I was unlikely to get through all of them but was willing to give it a go.

Basically I listed all the things that I had on the go without really thinking through the logistics of it. Mind you I did have my 5 day quilt retreat (actually it was 3 full days and 2 half days) so think I expected to accomplish so much then... which I did but not perhaps as much as I had hoped.

My goals for this month were

• Assemble the Amy Gibson 2012 BOM quilt (from Craftsy) - top together unless I decide to add another border but think its done.
  
• Finish Diamond Dash quilt - done!

• Finish Twilter's Hashtag quilt - done! (No photo as my phone just went flat so can't upload the photos)
• Catch up on the Summer Reading QAL (run by The Stitch TV show) done
  
• Complete Birds of the Air blocks for Twilter swap - done
• Make hanging towels for HML Done
  

• Make Pencil pencil cases for HML stall - I have made 2 and have more cut out to work on but haven't touched them since I last reported. I didn't specify how many I would make so having made 2 I guess that qualifies as Done. .sort of
  

That's 7 completed as of today.

• Make three baby quilts - blocks made and one centre put together. 
  

So that is one goal started.

• Make 3 casserole carriers for HML stall - no progress
• Make backing for the Hexie quilt - no progress
• Make backing for My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes - no progress 
• Pin and quilt Onya Bike - not done yet (not enough pins when I went to do it last Wednesday and have now decided I will leave it till our club's Longarm quilting machine arrives and I'll do it on that which won't be till next month

And 3 with no progress made and one deferred.   My priority for the rest of this month is going to be the baby quilts. We were told yesterday that we have another great niece or nephew on the way so that is another quilt I will have to have done by the end of the year so better get these three completed.

Sunday Stash Report

Very excited to report that I have had a finish this week. I finished my second Diamond Dash quilt (made to the pattern on Missouri Star Quilt Company) which I am now calling "Dash to Japan" I blogged about this finish yesterday here. I added an little extra to the amount of fabric used in it after I put it on the spread sheet and it had done is "Thing" calculating usage (Pam from Hip to Be a Square worked out a formula to allow for piecing, the backing, and the binding) as the back of the quilt was heavily pieced. Anyway the quilt measured 235 cm x 190 cm which came to a total of 10.19m of fabric plus an extra metre so a total of 11.22m of fabric. I was very pleased to have it finished. I handed it over to the recipient yesterday afternoon and she was very pleased with it.

Since I finished it I have been quilting another one and it is soooo close to being done but not quite (just the binding to go)

That was it for fabric usage for the week and there was NO fabric in 

Fabric Tracking Week 25

Fabric Used                11.22m
Fabric added                0.00m
Weekly net                  11.22m

Year to date
Used                           50.60m
Added                         36.35m
YTD Net                      14.25m

Linking up with Patchwork Times

A Finish

Whoot I have a finish. 

My first finished quilt since March and only my 3rd large quilt for the year...  I finished the Harry Potter Bookshelf quilt in February and Dash That Cat in March. It is great to have something big under my belt again. 

I really wanted to work on Onya Bike this week but when I looked I realised I didn't have enough pins since I had 2 quilts already pinned out ready to go so had to finish them first. Now.... I have one done.

 It didn't have a name till today, I kept referring to it as Diamond Dash 2. Now I have called it Dash to Japan in honour of the Japanese fabric that it is made from - and also the friend it is destined for regularly visits Japan - usually planned well in advance but her next trip has come up very quickly.

The quilt is a gift for a friend who is our "other daughter". At one time she shared a house with our daughter (actually she has twice shared a house with Fangirl). We look after her dog every day when she's at work and whenever she goes away Digby stays here. She's a teacher of Maths and Japanese and regularly takes groups of school kids to Japan

The quilt came about because I had accidentally ordered 2 lots of the Obi fabric on Massdrop. It was a big bundle anyway but 2 lots... had so much Japanese fabric I needed to do something with it and a quilt made out of it for Bek was ideal. I had originally ordered it for the quilt I made as a wedding gift for my friend Suzy.... and it just so happens that Bek is the daughter of Suzy's new husband so it is all fitting.

I put the quilt top together about the same time as I made Dash That Cat. I had it pinned ready to quilt before we went on holidays but didn't get to the quilting. It got pushed to the top of the quilt on Wednesday when I realised I wasn't going to be able to pin Onya Bike as I didn't have enough pins with 2 quilts pinned and ready to be quilted.

I started quilting yesterday morning and got it done in a day. Its an all over stipple... nothing fancy. I actually love the rhythm of stippling. It might not be as intricate or individual as other forms of quilting but it does me.

It was all going pretty smoothly till I checked the back and found something had gone awry with the tension. 

Soon fixed though and I was on my way again. 

Anyway - the quilt - Dash to Japan. Made from the Diamond Dash pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Company. 

The fabric is Obi by Hyakka Ryoron. I had used creamy white on Suzy's quilt but for this one I used black for the sashings and diamonds. 

The black fabric actually came from Bek - she'd given us a piece to use as backdrop at Boyo's 21st back in January. I never gave it back to her and she has never asked for it... I'll give it back - just in a different format.

The back is also completely pieced using up left over scraps from both the Obi line and from the Neko line, by the same designer that I had used in Dash that Cat. Would you believe I STILL have left over fat quarters from the bundles !

Details:

Quilt name: Dash to Japan 

Size: 235cm x 190cm (92" x 75")

Recipient: Bek

Pattern: Diamond Dash by Missouri Star Quilt Company

Fabric: Obi by Hyakka Ryoran

This week I'm joining in the TGIFF which this week is to be found at Arabesque Scissors 

WIP Wednesday

Have had a busy and very successful week sewing wise.. and personally. On the personal front it was my birthday on Easter Sunday and to add to the pleasure and chocolatey joy of that occasion our oldest and youngest child had both travelled back home to share the day (and the rest of the week) with us. That was a great day. Fixit Guy made me my birthday cake

On the sewing front... this week I got the backing for Diamond Dash 2... which I have now decided to call Dash it All... completed and today at Patchwork Group Lindi helped me pin baste it. 

Had a whoopsie. Despite having 24" excess for width in the batting I managed to have it go crooked on the other side and the very bottom corner edge has no batting under it. I will patch a piece in before I start quilting... of course it was the last corner we pinned so the whole quilt was done by the time I realised. Mumble mumble. (I hate basting a quilt)

I completed another top this week. This quilt has trucks and machines all over it - a quilt for a special person. The panel which it was made from was actually for a rag book. I loathe rag books in general anyway so happily chopped this panel up to make an alternative. There were 12 "pages" that went into the quilt and I made the other 4 blocks from a co-ordinating border fabric. 

 As is my want, the back is also pieced using up various left over fabric from the front. Making the backing took longer than making the top... that is often the way it seems. 

I pin basted it at Patchwork this morning and quilted it this afternoon. This evening I put the binding on and made the label. A pretty quick finish for me!

Yesterday at Handmade With Love (for Our Rainbow House) I made 2 bags from some lovely fabric that had been donated. I didn't have a pattern - I basically fudged it as I went along. The pattern featured ads from an earlier era and so was perfect for shopping bags. I forgot to take any photos of the finished items which is a shame. I was very pleased with them although I have to adapt the dimensions I think.

I have been trying to get organised for the A to Z blogging challenge as well. I have pre written up to D... only 22 more to go... eek.

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

WIP Wednesday

I didn't get a Stash report this week but given that there was nothing to report I guess you didn't miss much!!

I've been working on a few different things this week.

Hexie Quilt I'm going to have to come up with a better name for this project! Anyway - my hand piecing project. I have made great progress on this again this week. I completed the bottom section and added it to the centre piece which is all but done (has a few half hexies to be added to the sides)

I've started work on the top piece which consists of clouds and the sky. I completed the foundation row - the row that will attach to the part of the quilt that is already completed. I will built on that and finish it off before attaching it to the rest of the completed quilt.  I am going to have to redo a bit of it cause I made a mistake but still... it was completed for a little bit :)

Dash that Cat - the first of my Diamond Dash quilts. Today at Patchwork group I got it pinned out. I had to buy more pins for it. Its so huge it took almost 600 pins to baste it. I am not looking forward to quilting it on my home machine but I will. (I keep telling myself that anyway) I had lots of help from 2 friends at Patchwork this morning... thanks Lindy and Daph. I owe them big time. Pinning it got a bit tricky cause the batting was only just wide enough (I used the full width of the roll) and the backing only just long enough so between the two it took quite a bit of juggling. No pictures of this one. I forgot to take any... too busy pinning pinning pinning

Handmade with Love I finally managed to get to a sewing day for Handmade  With Love. ( For newbies to the blog this is a sewing group that makes things to sell to raise money for a school in Zambia. We also make things for the children at the school.

I have met up with the ladies twice this year - once for our birthday celebrations at the beginning of February and then last week when we went together to the International Women's Day celebrations. Yesterday was the first actually sewing day that I have made. I spent the 4 hours that I was there sorting some of the fabric we have been donated and then the rest of my time there sewing labels onto the completed articles, including the 6 little zipper ear bud pouches that I made.

I also helped Jasmine to make her first zipper pouch. She got the hang of it really quickly and plans to make some more for us and herself.

The VHC Quilt Regular readers of my blog won't recognise that name. That's because it's been only a short time in the making. True I did get the pieces out over a week ago and had planned to make a start on it but the cats did an intervention on me and kept me away from the project by camping on the pieces every time I thought about working on it.

Finally yesterday, after I got home from a morning of boring sewing (attaching labels) I liberated it from the cats and set to work on it and by the end of the day I had completed both the top and the pieced back. Go me. Today at Patchwork I also pinned out this quilt  and this afternoon I got it quilted, the binding made and this evening I finished it off attaching it. Still have to make the label but the baby it is for hasn't been born yet so can't do that.

I shared the photos of the quilt on the Twilters Group on Facebook and one of the members commented that she had the fabric too but couldn't work out how to use it. I have to confess I have had this Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric for 8 years. Fangirl bought most of it for me as a gift in 2008 and I bought the big panels for myself a few years later. Today at Patchwork Daph told me that she had some of the fabric too and likewise was struggling with what to do with it. Hopefully my efforts might inspire them to work on their quilts. So really VHC is not a WIP at all... cause its all but done.

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