Monday, 30 December 2013

Day 5 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Country Christmas Advent Calendar by Makower UK 107
Country Christmas Advent Calendar by Makower UK
There is nothing like getting ahead of yourself for Christmas.  I started this Makower Christmas Advent Calendar quilt back in November - November 2012!  Day 5 has focussed on getting this quilted ready for next year.  I have dithered over whether to hand of machine quilt it, but as you can see the machine has won.  You always think it will be quicker on the machine, but there are lots of fiddly bits to stitch, so I am happy to take my time to get it right.  There is still more work to be done on this, which I hope to be able to show you tomorrow.
Country Christmas Advent Calendar by Makower UK
Canoe  block cornerstone for Nearly Insane Quilt
I also completed my obligatory cornerstone for my Nearly Insane quilt, and pleased to be on track for that too.
Suzi helping with the Advent calendar quilt
Suzi helping with the Advent calendar quilt
Suzi just wasn't in the mood for a photograph yesterday, but is definitely in the mood now.  She is keen for me to get the Advent calendar finished so that maybe next year she can have treats in it.  She doesn't realise she will have me to compete with!
 

Sunday, 29 December 2013

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 18

Nearly Insane Quilt - Blocks 39, 59, 85
Nearly Insane Quilt - Blocks 39, 59, 85
It's time to catch up with myself, as miraculously over the past few weeks, all the Nearly Insane blocks from Draw 17 have been done.  Draw 18 marks the 3/4 stage of the quilt, and with this in mind, I am starting to build myself up for the next project.

Without further a do, I had better get you up to date with the impending blocks, which are

22 - 69 - 74 - 90
 
I have already made a start  finished Block 69. Block 22 is a Flying Geese fest and I am testing out some different combinations of fabrics for different effects in Electric Quilt at the moment.  Block 90 is one of the small edge corner blocks, which usually take no time at all.

I am still looking for edge Block 98.

Day 4 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Canoe block cornerstones - Nearly Insane Quilt
Canoe block cornerstones - Nearly Insane Quilt
It seems like I was busy in the sewing room today, but have little to show for it.  Firstly, I managed to get three more canoe blocks done for my Nearly Insane quilt, so I think that makes a total of seven, so far.

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013 block trimmings
Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013 block trimmings
The rest of the time was spent trimming the remaining blocks for my Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt.  It seemed to take me ages.  Since I hand piece most of my quilts, mainly using English paper piecing, trimming for accuracy is not something I ever need to do, as the paper templates inside keep an accurate shape.  The quilt may be quick to sew on the machine, but other bits of the process sure take time!
 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 98

Edge Block 98 - Nearly Insane Quilt
Edge Block 98 - Nearly Insane Quilt
Here is a photo of Block 98, one of the half blocks that go around the edge of the Nearly Insane Quilt.  I emphasise that it is a photo, because somewhere between taking the photo and now, I have misplaced it.  It is the only evidence that I have that I completed it.  I am hoping it will turn up between some papers, or in a 'safe' place that I might have put it.

As you will know, I always add the statistics of a completed block to the end of the post.  In it, I have a difficulty scoring.  So far only a very few have been beyond 4/10 (Block 43 sticks in my mind ...). To be honest using English paper piecing I have found these Nearly Insane blocks easy to put together.  As each one is different, it is like making a fresh 6 inch quilt each time. I have found process most enjoyable.  Yes, some pieces have been very small and difficult to handle, but they have only represented a tiny part of this quilt.  I know that if I had been doing those on the machine I would have given up a long time ago!

NUMBER OF PIECES:  15
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 1" (25mm) x 11/16" (18mm) x 11/16" (18mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle, 3" (77mm) x 2 1/8" (54mm) x 2 1/8" (54mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Little Spots Red, Pierres Famous Travelling Circus, Michael Miller
Hearts on Red (567-R5) Makower
Tangled Threads in Apple Red on Cream, Mama Said Sew, by Sweetwater for Moda

Saturday, 28 December 2013

Part 5 - Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013

Bonnie Hunter's 2013 Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt?
Bonnie Hunter's 2013 Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt?
I was please to see some green and neutral for Part 5, as it has helped to calm down my pinks and oranges.   Last year's Easy Street was in lovely colours for the winter, but in the summer it looked a bit odd.  I hope my Australian / New Zealand readers are appreciating the sunny colours I have used!

Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 3" units
Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 3" units
I have spent a lot of time trimming all the square units, so that I will be ready to go.  Having seen all the different ways that Celtic Solstice participants were storing their blocks, I thought I had better get my house in order. Once trimmed, I have stacked them up in a shoe box, ready for OFF!
Part 5 Celtic Solstice Quilt - Split Square Triangles
Part 5 Celtic Solstice Quilt - Split Square Triangles
 

Day 3 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Celtic Solstice Quilt - Star Points
Celtic Solstice Quilt - Star Points
Day 3 was mainly focussed on getting up to speed with Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Quilt.  From previous experience she usually does the BIG REVEAL on New Year's Day, so I want to make sure everything is trimmed and ready to go for when that happens.  I also made the final touches to some presents, which I will show you in due course.

Part 5 Celtic Solstice Quilt - Spilt Square Triangles
Part 5 Celtic Solstice Quilt - Spilt Square Triangles
At midday, Part 5 was released, so I spent the rest of the day making up the one hundred split triangle units required for this stage, and started to trim those as well.

No Nearly Insane cornerstones were done, but then I did get ahead of myself the day before, so everything is still on track.  It is amazing how much sewing can be done when work doesn't get in the way!
Suzi the cat under the Christmas tree
Suzi the cat under the Christmas tree
Suzi has taken to sitting under the Christmas tree whilst it has been up, and that is where I found her for todays photo.

Friday, 27 December 2013

Day 2 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Day 2 - Twelve Days of Stitching, Fabadashery
Day 2 - Twelve Days of Sewing, Fabadashery
Despite the late start, I did manage to get a good bit of hand stitching done on Day 2.  I managed to do not just one, but three cornerstones, which gets me ahead for a few days.  What a great feeling! I also made up some of the chevrons for the border, inspired from the chevrons we have been making in the Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt

Nearly Insane Block 69 is also now done, which means I have moved onto the blocks in Draw 18, which I will let you know about in due course.

Day 2 - Suzi on quilted cat mat Feline Friday
Day 2 - Suzi on quilted cat mat
Here is Suzi's pose for Day 2 of the stitching marathon.  I can't promise that the following days are going to be much different, as this is her spot of choice at the moment.  All the same - nothing nicer than seeing a cat snoozing on a quilt.

Today at midday in the UK, Bonnie releases Part 5 of Celtic Solstice quilt, so I expect I will be back to the rotary cutter and the cutting mat.

Other Quilting news ...

With the Celtic Mystery Quilt, the Nearly Insane blocks, the preparation for the holidays I didn't had much time for blogging before Christmas, and there are a few things I wanted to catch up on.

http://www.greenfairyquiltsblog.com/
'Quilting Wide Open Spaces' by Judi Madsen
Firstly, I finally received my copy of 'Quilting Wide Open Spaces' by Judi Madsen, of Green Fairy Quilts.  I ordered it back in the summer, but there were delays on the printing, so I have been waiting quite a long time for it - but not as much as Judi had to wait for her first published book!  The book is about quilting with a long arm quilting machine.  I don't have a long arm machine, and tend to hand quilt most of my quilts, but I have always been amazed by the beautiful custom machine quilting that Judi does, as it is so neat and well thought out. I could be converted ...

Finally, some very sad news.  A few days ago I found out that my favourite local quilt shop, Busy Bees in Newport, Wales, had had a serious fire during the night, and it looks like EVERYTHING has been destroyed.  I can't imagine how heart-broken the owners must feel.  I had just started attending a Worker Bees group there once a month, and some of the fabrics in my Celtic Solstice quilt were purchased from there, so I had only visited there quite recently.  It makes you realise what an important role LQS's have in building your local sewing community.
 

Thursday, 26 December 2013

Day 1 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Nearly Insane Quilt, Block 69 - In Progress
Nearly Insane Quilt, Block 69 - In Progress

As promised, I have started my Twelve Days of Sewing.  The main aim is to get some of those cornerstone canoe blocks done, and as you can see I am on course for that. 
I have also put some time into the next Nearly Insane block.  The majority of this was done during the two hour Downton Abbey Christmas Special, whilst we waited for a plot line to emerge...
Since I have a bit of time off work, I will also keep you up to date with what sewing I am up to.  As you know I have my Nearly Insane project, and the Celtic Solstice on the go.  I still have a few gifts that need a final touch, and some other UFOs that need to be done before  the end of 2013.
I will keep it short, as it is 2 o'clock and NO sewing has happened today, so I had better get a move on.
Suzi the Cat, enjoying the sun
Suzi the Cat, enjoying the sun
If Suzi is in the mood, she reckons she might pose for the twelve days as well.  Today, she is enjoying the winter sun shining through the window, without the inconvenience of getting her pink paws chilled from being outside - beauty and brains!

Wednesday, 25 December 2013

Happy Christmas

Patchwork Christmas Tree

Happy Christmas!