WIP Wednesday

I am soooo excited. Disappearing into the Blue is no longer a WIP but is a finished item. I have only just put the last stitch into the binding and I haven't done a label for it yet but I count it as finished when its bound. The label is just an added extra. Its is marvelous to have it done at last.

Disappearing into the Blue is the name I gave to the second of my Disappearing Pinwheels that I made using the Missouri Star video here. I liked the churn dash setting better than the shoo fly which was an alternative setting.

Its the first quilt in a while that I actually went out and collected fabric for. Lately... as in the last few years I have tended to work from my stash and just buy bits and pieces to finish quilts off. I have occasionally bought more fabric on a whim but not with any pattern in mind. For this quilt I not only raided my stash but also bought quite a bit of fabric for it. I ended up with enough fabric for the backing as well although that hadn't been my intention at the time.

I chose to make the quilt blue and white because I wanted it for the spare bedroom that Fixit Guy and I had repainted earlier in the year - a pretty blue with white trim. I made new white curtains for the room too. I wanted the quilt to be big enough for the bed... have some overhang. I seem to get a bit stingey when I make queen bed quilts and all the ones I have made to now haven't really been long enough on their own. This one is plenty big enough... I hope.

The centre of the quilt is 5 blocks by 6 blocks so 30 blocks in all with white sashing between the rows. The first border a row of pin wheels with another white border then a 4 inch piano key boarder and a 3.5 inch white border and finished off with a striped binding.

The back is made up of pieces of the blue fabric that I had bought for the front, some different width piano key stripes (made up of left overs from the front border including one piece that I had accidentally cut 4" instead of 4.5") and some white tone on tone as well. It looks great too.

I love it. Love it love it love it. Like my Peaceful Hearts, this one was made for me, or my house. I haven't made very many quilts for myself although I have a heap of them. These ones were planned and executed specifically for me.

Black and White with a Touch of Red- Trip Around the World.
I got all the hst blocks trimmed up whilst I was on holidays. Today at Patchwork I ironed them all. Next step is to lay them up on my design wall and then to start sewing. I saw an idea on a Facebook group I am on for handling rows. The lady used bull dog clips to hold the rows up as she sewed them and to keep them in order. I have a heap of skirt hangers that I thought would work as well. I am not looking forward to keeping track of the blocks and the rows and all that. I can get simple ones mixed up let alone complex ones. Yes I know that I need to label the rows and all that but even when I do that I can do major stuff ups. I'm just preparing myself for the "unsewing" I am going to be doing at some stage or another.

I am not sure if these classify as WIPs but I have started to plot my next couple of projects.

I want to make a jeans quilt. Yesterday at the Salvos I was able to buy women's jeans for $1 each. I grabbed 5. I could have taken more but that was a start. I have a few more bits of jeans in a box already (from when I cut off the legs of Fixit Guy's jeans to make them into shorts) so like I say... its a start. Today at Patchwork, after I finished ironing all my HST I cut the jeans up. I've saved the pockets and may do something interesting with them either on this quilt or another.

My friend Lindy (waves excitedly cause she is trying to find the blog to read it) showed me a YouTube video for a different kind of quilt. I was going to just do ye olde traditional sew the squares together and make a raggy quilt but this one is really cool. Its a bit more work but comes up with an interesting result. Its Blue Jean Quilt by Penny Halgren She makes Faux Cathedral Windows. The process is discussed on Quilt Inspiration's page

Add caption

I saw another video on Missouri Star web. Its the Disappearing Hour Glass.  I am thinking that I will make one of these for my bed. My bedroom is in greens so time to dig through my greens. I'm thinking green and cream rather than white since this quilt will get lots more wear than the one in the spare bedroom.

Linking up with

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays 

and

WIP Wednesday #52 @ TN&TNhttp://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.com.au/

WIP Wednesday on Thursday

I am away from home this week so haven't been sewing at all. I have been working spasmodically on trimming up some blocks for my Trip Around the World H/S Triangle Black and White with a Touch of Red quilt. Man I am going to have to come up with a name for this quilt. That takes way to long to type. 

At one stage I did know how many of them I had made and had to trim but I have forgotten. I can say that I have trimmed all of the black and white h/s triangles (H/S stands for Half Square for my non-quilty friends who loyally read this blog even though they don't sew. Its a square unit made from 2 right angled triangles) 

I have been using my special Quilt-in-a Day ruler that I ordered a couple of months ago after reading about it of aDiary of a Quilter'sblog. 

It has been going really well. Haven't ironed any flat yet to check that all is honky dory but it seems to be going well so far. Just the red ones to go.

I have visited 2 fabric shops. Lincraft was having a 50% off all their fabric so I popped into their store in the Myer's centre and got some minky which will make a lovely backing for a quilt I am beginning to percolate. Also visited a quilt shop today. They had a beautiful range of Australian fabrics as well as Japanese and lots of modern lines too. I was pretty restrained and only bought a metre each of 2 fabrics on special. And a new blade for my cutter. The one I have with me is getting a little blunt.

Disappearing Into the Blue
Its been quilted. As I write it should be making its way back to me from my long armer the lovely Kym at Professional Quilting Service.

Apart from that - I really haven't done anything quilty or patchworky at all. I have instead been enjoying a wonderful get away with my darling Fixit Guy.

We left home on Saturday morning with the Boyo's stuff in our car too although he chose to ride in his brother Kombi Boy's car. KB also had his partner Gamer Girl and a mate in it. We drove to Toowoomba. It was a 9 hour trip. We did stop for lunch and for fuel but other than that just pushed through. Arriving in Toowoomba my lovely Sister in Law Christine (Of Bluebirds and Bumblebees blog) had a baked lamb dinner prepared for us. After making short work of that the other carload departed for their homes in Brisbane - another 1.5 hours or so away. FG and I stayed over with them. It was lovely to catch up, get to sticky beak at Christine's inumerable projects.

We then had 2 days in Brisbane to complete some business before driving up to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland where we have booked into a lovely cottage. There are heaps of bnb's and get away venues in this area. When looking for a place to book we wanted a fire, a double spa and a view. Our choice was At Remingtons and we weren't disappointed. Our cottage has been everything that we wanted. We have enjoyed a number of walks through the rainforests hereabouts. We have had lovely meals out both lunch and dinner and generally relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Its been a lovely few days. 

Tomorrow (Friday) we have to pack off and head north for 2 nights at a live in Presbytery. It will be church camp accommodation. I think we have a room with bunk beds and sleeping bags. A bit of a come down after the bliss of this place but guess its time to get back to reality.

Linking up with WOW=WIPs on Wednesday at Esthers Blog for the first time