Sunday Stash

Some glorious colour being collected for when my turn comes in the Simply Solids bee- not until several more months, but planning is wise I feel! ;-)

I have plans for this Architextures too, but not saying until I try a few things. I really really like this line of fabric and so I decided I really should get some more, plus that super bright green was the only one I didn't get before (actually looking at it now maybe there are others I'm missing...!) and really, one really should complete the set shouldn't one? I wasn't sure I liked that green, but actually I think the collection needs it. Fancy that-the designer really did know what they were doing!

What have you been stashing away for later?

Linking up with Fiona at Finding Fifth for the first time in ages.

A Happy Easter

With lots of nice relaxed time over Easter I've managed to nearly complete quilting of the plus/cross quilt. Annoyingly, I've run out of thread and can't easily find more of the same, so will have to look more intently when it's not a public holiday. Might just have to stop procrastinating on the straight line quilting that's taking so long!

It's been good to practice my FMQ a bit. Getting even stitches all of the time still evades me. It's all about the ratio between the speed of the pedal and the speed at which you move the quilt. I've been trying to turn down my machine speed a little and then floor my foot and try to get a rhythm with the moving of the quilt. I tend to move the quilt a bit fast and get really long stitches too easily.

 It's also been harvest time. We gleaned some figs from a local tree (on public property, I should add), which were delicious! We've had  our eye on them for some time, waiting for the right moment and hoping no-one else got them first!

On Saturday we joined our friends to help them pick their quinces, walnuts and chestnuts and prepare quince paste, quince and walnut cake. Delicious and convivial. My photos of the collected produce are on my husband's phone though, but there are some quinces left to poach.

These were my favourite Easter eggs, praline ones with a sugar shell. Aren't they beautiful? They were just as delicious!

For Christians the custom of giving eggs at Easter celebrates new life. Christians remember that Jesus, after dying on the cross, rose from the dead. They believe that, through his resurrection, Jesus defeated death and sin and offers people the promise of eternal life

Of course Easter's not complete without Hot Cross Buns and there have been several batches of those over the weekend!

On the rise

Tea and buns with English china-how civilised!

I finished my April block for the Simply Solids Bee for Sally of Salsy Safrano Quilts. Sally sent us the fabric and my central block was pale blue. You can see more from the international bee here.

What did you get up to over Easter?

Linking up with Lily's Quilts for Fresh Sewing Day and Small Blog Meet.

WiP Wednesday

My Work in Progress is a quilt for a new baby boy.

It's coming together quite quickly.

I managed to sew the pieces together today and tomorrow hope to make the back and baste it all ready to quilt.

I used Katie's tutorial here: so good to have all the cutting and fabric requirements maths already worked out! It made it so quick- does feel like cheating; but then again, why re-invent the wheel?!

What are you working on?

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced

Mats

I managed to get the mats for my sister finished off last Friday. They're not three months late yet! But they will be by the time I deliver them to her in NZ...

Bit of a picture heavy post here-you've been warned!

There are five edge print ones and two from the centre of the print.

The edge print ones are backed with Architextures Text Black print

One of the other two has Madrona Road Charcoal Memoir and one is two thirds/one third, since I didn't have enough of all one fabric -SOML (quoting my teens, with tongue in cheek)! I never seem to know in advance how much I'll use of a particular print. 1/2 yd is my standard purchase of something I like, which is plenty for use in a quilt with other things, but not for a whole project often. Same with the red binding. My sister liked a couple of the reds I had, but I didn't have enough, so ended up buying this one from my LQS.

How much is your standard purchase of a fabric you like, but don't have a particular project in mind? Or don't you buy except for a particular project?!

My Machine

It's been great reading about people's various machines this week. Since I haven't read of anyone with my machine I thought I'd join the throng.

I got my machine from my lovely parents for my 21st birthday in 1987 (you do the maths)! I think it's identical to my Mum's machine. So that probably helped in the decision making process. It's a Janome SX2122. And I think the older it gets the more I like it! I didn't use it heaps until maybe 10 years ago, tho' come to think of it, I used to make a few simple clothes for myself and I did make lots of baby trousers and dungarees as well as the odd pair of curtains and cot sheets and the like when the kids were little, so perhaps it has had lots of use. I guess it's kind of gone in phases.  Lately though it gets used pretty regularly; mainly for quilty type projects.


It's really the only machine I've ever used. It's pretty simple. It's has 21 stitches, 15 of which I've probably never used. The only thing that has ever given me trouble is the reverse, which used to play up annoyingly. Luckily my LQS is a Janome specialist and the man there fixed it when I had it in for a service. I wished I'd got it sorted years ago, it was one of those things I'd just put up with and couldn't believe how much difference it made to have it working properly! Sometimes the tension has an inexplicable hissy fit, and I get that snarl up underneath thing, (grrrr!) but usually if I rethread it it seems to sort itself out. It's a solid metal machine, which makes it a bit heavier but it is robust.

If I'm FMQing it doesn't like it if the bottom and top threads are different, but the rest of the time it's fine.

Recently when I was in my LQS where they have all the new fancy wancy machines lying in wait, I got the brochure for the Janome MC8200 and 8900. Really, they have a billion features I'd never use.

Mine does everything I want except...
Needle down- to have it stop with the needle down would be most wonderful. But really I only have to press that little red button on the top left there- how hard is that?

More throat/harp space which really would be fantastic

People go on about auto thread cutter and knee lift etc but not having had those I can't see they'd make much difference.

So to buy a new machine worth thousands seems mad when it's really me more than my machine, which limits my quilting ability and my machine does everything I need. More features just means more things to go wrong I reckon, and the weight of that thing is CRAZY!

My machine comes with 7 different feet, but of those I only really use the main foot, zigzag foot and zipper foot. But being a big name brand, I've been able to get new things which fit, so I've bought a FMQ foot, walking foot and a 1/4" foot, over the years, but that's about all.

My creative Dad made me the fantastic perspex sewing table which has been transformative! I posted about that here.

I always sew at the dining room table, which is never rarely, this tidy!  I like being in the thick of things and luckily we have a large table, so it can stay down the end when we eat.

Lately my sewing organisation has been transformed by the purchase of this Ikea Alex drawer set. My cutting mat fits on top and it's on castors so I can wheel it away, either under the end of the table for a quick tidy up 

Or away into this little room next the shelves where I keep my fabric for a proper tidy dining space.

This is my messy and slightly disorganised stash at the moment, as I play with piles of fabric for the next quilt or two.

I used to keep my sewing bits and pieces in this chest which belonged to my grandmother. 

 

As you can imagine, not ideal, as I rummaged for whatever I needed. But I'm fond of it, as the tapestry was done by my great-grandmother and mended over the years by my grandmother with wool that has faded. I love the history attached to it, even though it's not the most beautiful piece of furniture.

Now I'm much more organised!

One day I'd love a dedicated room where I can leave stuff out, but not too far away; it needs to be in the lively part of the house where I can just pass by and do a bit and have people pop in and out to hang out with me. Sociable sewing where it beckons me and where I can shut the door on the mess!

Slow Work in Progress

I'm slowly working on some table mats for a gift.

My lovely friend Liz kindly passed on this fantastic fabric which she had a generous amount of left after making a skirt. It has a kind of lineny feel, but I think is all cotton. It was just right since my sister liked the black and white idea- with not too much white for the practically minded among us! Bolognese and white table mats? Not so much! I had some others in my stash that my sister admired, but didn't quite have enough, so was on the hunt for something else...

The print doesn't go quite to the edge and I decided to make a feature of that.

I managed to get them cut out and started the quilting at the weekend.
They'll have red binding and text print backs. 

Hope to show you the finished product soon.

I am linking up today both with Slow Bloggers at Knotted Cotton and WiP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced, coz why not have two for one?!

Autumn

The temperatures are still in the 30s (the late 80s and 90s for you Fahrenheit people) and I'm over it, but there are encouraging signs that autumn is on its way

Some colour inspiration here!

I have been thinking about a quilt capturing the colours and patterns in gum tree bark which are endlessly fascinating to me. I do have concerns that it might end up looking like camo fabric though?! Still working on that one...