WIP Wednesday

I haven't posted in WIP Wednesday for almost a month. I have been travelling and not sewing or crafting too much plus this blasted fatigue has been hanging around for a bit too which is sapping my energy and making me disinclined to actually do much.

However the news I got yesterday has revived a little - or at least inspired me to push through the exhaustion on a crafting front at least. 

In 2004 we hosted a lovely young man from Japan for 11 months through the exchange program AFS. Sho became our son and called us Mum and Dad and we loved him dearly. 

Taken in December 2004 shortly before his departure. I think Doug and Sho are the ones who have changed the least.

He has visited us once here in Australia with his parents and siblings and we have travelled to Japan to see him and his family twice in the intervening 12 years. Last year he was married. We didn't attend the wedding but did enjoy the photos we saw of the event. 

Yesterday we got a letter from him containing some photos, not only of their wedding but of their daughter who was born in June. 

The baby is absolutely gorgeous and is our first grandchild - not by blood but by love. He mentioned in the letter he wrote he was worried about seeing us again because not only has he forgotten much of the English he learned but also because he was worried we would have changed. I think the biggest reason he has to fear seeing me again is that he didn't tell me about his baby till she was 2 months old!

So of course I now need to make a special quilt for this darling little girl. But before I start it I need to complete several of the projects that I have piled up waiting my attention. 

Yesterday afternoon I sat down at my machine and quilted a baby quilt that I had pinned waiting for my attention for several weeks. I got the label and binding done and dropped it off to the recipient this morning. 

She was asleep but her mum and brother were on the spot and the big brother was very taken by it. It was great to have a finish again. Its been a few weeks since I had completed anything

And then this afternoon I put "My Cat Likes to Hide In Boxes" under the needle. Not sure how I am going to quilt it but for the moment I am stitching down the middle of the sashing and will have a look and a think when that part is done.

Apart from finishing off that project the only other craft work I have done since I last updated my WIPs has been crocheting. I have completed 9 hanging kitchen towels for Handmade With Love. It might have been more than that... I lost count. I prefer the long hand towel ones but they are too big for many people (and just not what they are used to) and so the ones made from tea towels cut in half are much better sellers. 

The first ones I completed were tea towels supplied to me. They were a bit thin for my liking although at least they were white backgrounds. 

The last four were made from hand towels I bought and cut in half. So they are the size people like but the material is thicker and more absorbent and NOT flowers on a white background. Those ones get so discoloured so quickly. I have already sold them... to my sister who had told me that they were the only things she was likely to buy from a handcraft stall. So I made them and she bought them. Well done me (and Beth). I posted the 4 off to Beth and gave the others to our stall co-ordinator before photographing them.

The other little finish I have had is a size 2 top for Handmade With Love. Some one had made the leggings and we decided that a top with it would make it more saleable. I haven't sewn clothes for a long time and not ones from a non-stretch fabric since high school. My friend Lindi helped me cut it out and I managed to get it together. Its not perfect but hopefully the cute factor will persuade someone to buy it.

Hope your week is being productive too. Let me know what you have been doing or link up on Esther's  blog too

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Sunday Stash Report

We have a stall for Handmade Love today so I decided to get busy and make some more hanging towels as the numbers we had were low. They are fairly popular so wanted to top up the supply. I had bought a good few whilst I was away when I found them on special a couple of times (I use regular hand towels)

By hanging towels I mean the kitchen towels that are common - the ones that hang from door knobs, fridge doors, or tea towel racks. Mostly they are made from towelling tea towels, sometimes cut in half and sometimes folded over and worked double. The tops of most that you see are crocheted but I have a pattern that uses fabric which is much quicker to use and frankly in my opinion looks more modern. Most of the ones that I find that have the crocheted tops are made from cheap and usually not very absorbent tea towels. I don't blame the stall holders. Buying better quality tea towels costs more which cuts into the profits if its a professional seller and costs the volunteers more if its a fundraising or charity stall. 

But I hate them. One wipe and the towels is soggy. They usually have white backgrounds and so get discoloured really quickly.

I made my hanging towels from hand towels and I buy reasonable quality ones. Even if I buy slightly cheaper versions they are still more absorbent than the cheap terry towelling tea towels.

I base my design on one from Fat Quarter Shop. 

This week I knocked out 11 of them in a range of colours. I use Velcro to close the handle (have yet to conquer button holes) but put a decorative button on the closure to snazzy things up. Each handle requires 2 pieces of fabric 9"x10". The first time I made these towels I used different fabrics for the front and back but have since altered my design to use the same back and front... looks neater. It requires a piece of batting the same size. For these towels I used scraps of batting which I joined together to make wide enough. I love using up scraps of  both wadding and fabric

So each towel is not a great user of fabric but when you make 11 of them it adds up nicely. Total fabric used 1.19m

I also made a couple of little pencil cases. I saw the pattern here 

I altered it a bit and may end up writing my own tutorial for it as some of the things she does are a bit tricky and there are easier ways to do it I think. But meantime... I loved the way they turned out. They will be on our stall next week at Tickled Pink markets. I've made 2 and have started a couple more. 

These are the two applique panels I made. I made the pencils longer than in the pattern and a bit fatter.

The first one I finished. I love how it turned out. I forgot to take a photo of the other one when I finished it and have handed it on to our co-ordinator for the stall next week.

Total fabric usage .72m

No fabric purchases this week - whoot so even though my projects were only small its all positive.

Fabric Tracking Week 23

Fabric Used                 1.92m
Fabric added                0.00m
Weekly net                   1.92m

Year to date
Used                           39.38m
Added                         35.45m
YTD Net                        3.93m

Linking up with Patchwork Times

Sunday Stash

After my big hit last week  I was worried that this week's usage was going to seem meagre in comparison. However one way and another the yardage used this week has slowly increased.

I made a 12" block to into a community quilt that our group is making. I'll be putting it together as well no doubt. It will be my third one for the year. I don't think we have any more blocks to go together although I will check. I quite enjoy the challenge of putting the blocks together and especially fitting in little left over bits into the borders etc. This time we have 9 pinwheels made from hst made from the trimmings of the flying geese blocks.

Before I made the extra block and the extra pinwheels

We finished putting together the top for Newspaper Mama last week and this week at Patchwork I pieced a backing for it from my own stash. I also contributed some extra fabric for the borders on the top and have given them fabric for the binding. I am not sure if I am going to be the one to put the binding on but at the moment I am counting my contribution as finished and that way I can count the fabric I donated. 3.96m

I can't see where I have counted in the other blocks that I have made for these community quilts... the ones for the blue and white one either. So I've counted the yardage for all of them too. 5.12m (Incl Newspaper Mama)

I need to get on and quilt Playing in Sunshine, my latest scrappy quilt. Its been pinned and ready to go since Wednesday but I just haven't felt the mojo to get started with it. Perhaps this week... tomorrow even. But so far not feeling the mojo.

I've made some more hanging kitchen towels. Each one only uses 2 10" squares (and even then there is some left over). Some of the fabric I used came from the stash we have at Handmade Love so since I didn't count that in I can't count it out. Still the fabric I contributed does slowly add up... I have made a total of 13 hanging towels, half of which I used my own fabric. .58m



I thought I had another week of no fabric additions but when I was sorting through some stiffening I had bought at Spotlight a month ago I found 3 fat quarters I had also purchased.. whoops. So they have gone into this weeks Stash addition. That's .77m (yeah you would think that it would just be .75 but because the fabric is 110cm wide.....)

So my stats are

Week 29

         Fabric Used                     5.70m
         Fabric Added                   0.77m

Year To Date
         Fabric Used                    96.71m
         Fabric Added                  36.12m
         Net Used/Added             60.58m        

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times

WIP Wednesday

I thought we had a big stall for Handmade Love at the end of the month but the powers that be within the group decided we wouldn't go to that particular market. I had made a big effort to get  all the hand towels I had sitting in my box made into hanging kitchen towels but now it turns out I need not have worried. Still they will go into the suitcase of goodies we are making for the next market stall they are having. I haven't finished them quite... still sewing on press studs and decorative buttons but that doesn't take long. The photo isn't all that flash... but the finished ones that I could have hung up to show are in the suitcase with the co-ordinator!!n(I've finished 6 of 12)

I also finished off a clutch bag for Handmade Love as well. It too was just waiting on a press stud and a decorative button. I forgot to photograph it. Oops

I have been working on my Playing with Nine Patches quilt as well. I made a border for it using more 2.5" squares from my scraps and from the background fabric. I think its called a checker board border. For the corner stones I used nine patches in all bright colours. The only 2.5" squares in this entire quilt that I had to cut, besides the ones from the background fabric, was a few bright ones for these corner stones. The rest of them I pulled from my stash of cut 2.5" squares - all 1000 of them!! I can't believe I had that many of them in the shoebox but... I've even got some left!!

I was thinking about what I would piece for a backing of the quilt but I found that I had a piece of backing fabric that is big enough so I don't have to piece one. That is quite a relief. I do like a pieced backing but sometimes they take me as long to make as the top. I fiddle around fitting various bits and pieces in. 

This quilt is probably going to be given to a friend who lost much of her home to a fire a month or so ago. I do want to get it finished sooner rather than later. I got it pinned out at Patchwork today and will stipple it myself soon. I've decided to call it "Playing in Sunshine".

Today at Patchwork I also made a backing for Newspaper Mama. I had forgotten to measure it, and I had left it up on the board at our patchwork rooms as it is a group quilt.  I sorted through my stash and found several pieces that would work in for a backing. In the end I used one large piece of black and white checker board in a checker board which I joined down the middle to make it wide enough and then cut through the other way to insert a piece of solid black to make it long enough. We off centred the black strip so that it won't be noticeable if the quilt backing isn't quite centred when it goes together. I didn't take a photo of it either. Its a backing so not that exciting.

Speaking of Newspaper Mama... its name came from the fact that its Black and White and Red all over... newspaper That brings the song Newspaper Mama to mind. This song was written and performed by the Australian Children's singer Peter Coombs. My kids had several of his tapes when they were little and loved him. His Christmas CD is still a favourite of ours. I found this clip on You Tube and thought I would share it with you.

I've been working on the 2 POD blocks that I need to get done. I got the tea cup one finished yesterday. I love it. (Block 27)



For block 28 we had a range of choices for the 5" pieced block but I went with Trevor the Toad. I have Trevor together as I write this but still have to make the books in the block and put it together. The next one should be released tomorrow and after that there will only be one more official block. Like many others doing this block though I intend to make the broom stick to lean against the book case and perhaps something else to go on top. Fangirl has laid claim to this quilt and I am thinking it will be her Christmas present.

The other thing I have worked on this week has been another Sarah's Choice block so we will have 9 of those to make into another donation quilt for our group. I am hoping this one will come together more quickly than the last two group ones I have put together. We have some left over half square triangles from this as well that have been made into pinwheels to go into the border. I don't think I will even sash the blocks, just sew them together in 3 rows of 3 and then do the border with the pinwheel and perhaps another narrow border. Its all pink and white and I am hoping that we will give it to the someone who is having a fundraiser for breast cancer and they can raffle it.

I forgot to take a photo of my block and the quilt as a work in progress today but this is how it was looking before today's efforts. I was able to make extra pinwheels from some more hst leftover from other blocks. There is enough for one more pinwheel in the centre of each row and one for the back. Pieced  back coming up obviously!

The link  to this block on Quilters Cache is here

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Thursday Thoughts of Friday

I love Christmas. I used to go all out with the decorations. I think it was when the children were younger and we weren't going to be going to join up with either sets of family, decorating the house was my way of covering up a hole in my heart due to our not being part of the bigger family celebrations going on in either Sydney with my family or in North Queensland with Fixit Guy's family.

I used to have the aim to have something Christmassy in every room of the house. This was before I quilted. I had festive toilet roll covers - a snowman and a Christmas girl for the toilets, Christmas hand towels for the bathroom itself. I had special Christmas crockery, plates, coffee mugs, glasses as well as  hand towels, tea towels, oven mitts, placemats and table runners. There were Christmas candles, wall decorations, ornaments, a nativity scene or two. When the kids were little I had Christmas toys that they could play with - soft toys and plastic nativity set. Then there are the trees. I used to have two trees, one down near the front door which I decorated with hand mad ornaments and the things the kids made at school, sunday school, guides etc. And the big one in the loungeroom laden down with the decorations collected over the years. Oh and the lights as well.

I still like to decorate and cook but not as much as I used to. Then my children told me that to them Christmas was our family in our home and that when we were at either sets of grandparents it wasn't quite the same. That made me relax a bit and enjoy us in our home. I was also over having to pack it all up again.

One of the first things to go was tinsel. Its hot at Christmas time in Australia. When we are decorating it always seems to be hot and sweaty... or maybe this is especially when we are taking things down. Tinsel would stick and shred and it is incredibly itchy stuff. I hate it. It looks good but I am not dealing with it anymore. So we are almost a totally tinsel free house.

I rationalised lots of decorations over the last few years getting rid of things I don't really like, things which had seen better days. The softies all got the toss a few years ago when it was only the cat interested in them anymore. I weeded out lots of the handmade stuff that had seen much better days. I got rid of one of the trees. I still seem to have a heap of stuff. 

This year I have gone through the linen. Lots of the hand towels are so thin... one wipe of the hands and they were wringing wet. They had also got very discoloured (why are so many tea towels white or cream back ground) Some of the pot mitts were greasy and discoloured too. So they have gone out. Time for some new stuff. Caught the post Christmas sale - got 2 thick towelling tea towels ( full price $6.50 each) and 2 embroidered waffle towels (full price $5) for $4.50!!! I was stunned.

Came home and looked up some Youtube videos and found this one put up by the Fat Quarter Shop

I made two this afternoon from the towelling tea towels. I didn't cut them in half as the bigger one will be more absorbent. I also used velcro instead of a button. Yes I was avoiding doing a button hole. I have done very few in  my life and none at all on my new machine... not sure if it does them. Probably but yes I am a chicken. The velcro works well.


   

I put the picture on Facebook when I finished and immediately had a few friends say I should make them to sell and they would buy them. So that was flattering (but I'm not going into making towels as a sideline) I did go back to the shop where I'd got my towels and bought some more and have made them up as gifts. Again I left the toweling ones long but the ones made from cotton I doubled over and pleated them along the fold and sewed them like that. I also stuck to just one fabric for the front and back of the top piece rather than having 2 different fabrics. I liked the uniform look better.