Wednesday, February 25, 2015

WIP Wednesday: the really quick one with diamonds


WIPs

Kinda busy with everything else, so just this WIP pic of three different sizes of diamonds:

Diamonds #wipwednesday

The EPP 'star' pattern has been around for ages. I was going to make a full quilt, but I'm think a mini-quilt. Or possibly a cushion cover (for one of those huge 'European' cushions/pillows?)

The blue snowflake is for the Snowflake Quilt (still a WIP, may be for a while). The grey-backed snowflake may end up as either kitchen or dining room curtains. Depending. :)

to do

AHBC GIFTS DAMMIT SEL.

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Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

WIP Wednesday: the one with remorse


But not fabric remorse! (Not yet, anyway!)

Didn't get much done this weekend because I was at a two day course on Serious Backyard Veggies by Milkwood farms, Australia. Maximising veggie growing through organic techniques. Really good, very intensive, and with me getting over a cold. I came home on Saturday night, had a wash, had dinner, lay down...and woke up at 1am to climb properly into bed for the rest of the night.

Alexandria Community Gardens - at the Milkwood Serious Backyard Vegies course.

I'm in Hobart, Tasmania as I type this, for two days of work at the same time as there's a major conference on, which has filled up the town full of people and left me stranded at the casino hotel.

With this view:

Good morning, Hobart!

I have Friday off and while my quilt shopping will not be as exciting as those of us at QuiltCon, I'm kind of looking forward to it.

hobart fabric shops

Even if the aesthetic in the shops will probably be traditional.

Done

Supernova Friendship

And we are done with the Supernova Friendship blocks! Holy moly. I am, if not the worst swapper ever (I do send my stuff eventually and I stuff bonuses in there) then certainly one of the less timely ones...

WIP Wednesday mid Feb

Moving in the middle of all that did not help my brain at all.

WIP Wednesday mid Feb

Neither does the discovery that I cannot make myself do an analogous colour scheme. Or, I can, but I don't like it.

We picked blue, green, and yellow as our colours - lovely scheme, right? Unfortunately, looking at my blocks, I've realised that my instinctive lean towards a complementary aesthetic hijacked my colour choices. I don't need to point my blocks out to you - you can guess which ones simply based off the colours in them!

WIP Wednesday mid Feb

I think I'll streak the border with reds/purples. Rainbow all the way, baby!

WIPs

I've started the Technicolor Galaxy, which is an amazing quilt designed by Alyssa Lichner of Pile o' Fabrics.

My colour plan:

Design for the #technicolorgalaxy! Now to make it a reality!

The centre bit is going to be against a black background with really saturated colours that pop, and each subsequent ring will be a little lighter (but not much, at most, I think it might reach shades of Kona Coal.

I'm calling it "Duct Tape (or The Force)" - or, there's a light side (the back), a dark side (the front), and it holds the galaxy together!

Swaps

Birthday Swaps

Yes, I am horrendously behind. January hasn't received her present yet. (Sorry, Leonie.) I'm just...hung about what to do! Which is ridiculous, and I've sat down several times in the last month to start putting something together and then got distracted and eep and ugh and it'll never be good enough and I really need to get in my brain and whack some of those brainweasels. They do me no good at all.

#igminioz

Have plan. Needs pressing.

#igrainbowmini

I think I have someone who's willing to draft the Snowflake Block into a paper-piecing pattern! If so...woohoo!

#aussietulapinkswap

I've decided my Tula Pink Mini is going to be with Fox Field.

All I've done for #aussietulapinkswap: drag out the Fox Field and think about it...

And they'll get some Neptune with it. :)

Going Nowhere

- Millefiori Madness
- Swarm


To Do This Week

- birthday swaps! MUST DO THESE.

That's the only thing I'm going to put on here. Because it's the one thing I really need to get my ass moving on.

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Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

WIP: the one with the curtain call


Not much to report this week on the WIP front. Going away for the entire weekend, and then working all day Monday and Tuesday makes it difficult to get things done in the quilting room. And coming down with a cold doesn't help at all. The only reason I'm in at work today is because a client booked me to do some work today, and I can't really delay it because there's a bunch of other things that all need to be done at the same time.

But on to the WIPs...

WIPs

I started on the Millefiori Madness again:

Things of early February

I need to stop thinking about how much still needs to be done or I'll go mad.

Also, I need to stop fretting that everyone else's Passacaglia looks nicer than mine, because they're fussy-cutting the fabric and it looks really stunning when you fussy-cut the Passacaglia.

But I didn't really get very much further with any of my blocks. They will have to be in the 'spare time/space' of the next few days, I think.


Other things

So, we moved into the new house some four months ago. Just after Christmas, we got our curtain railings, and started taking down the vertical blinds on the windows. Putting up the curtain railings meant we had pretty railings...but we didn't yet have curtains for the railings. Which meant empty windows, open to the street.

I hung up some quilt tops to give us a little bit of privacy, although there were gaps.

I really need to make some real curtains. Although this is a good reminder of what still needs backing and quilting!

And, as I discovered on a hot day last week, the sunlight was warping my cutting mat, which is sitting in front of the west-facing window of my workroom.

Clearly, curtains were necessary. I had plans for curtains anyway, using RK Essex Linen, I just had to decide on a collection/colour/pattern. Kate Spain's Terrain fabric presented itself as a viable option, and for some reason I decided to do it in a colour-wave of triangles.

Workroom curtains 1

I finished one the other week, and put it up. (Half a window covered is better than none!) My sister approved. (She doesn't always.)

Workroom curtains 1

And just last night I finished the second one to mirror the first while finishing my re-watch of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Season 1. (Time to break out Season 2!)

Things of early February

And here's a pic of everything finished and hung!

Things of early February

Now there's just the dining room window, and the two lounge room windows...one of which is a full 2.5m drop.

I'm thinking I'll make two matching-and-mirrored 'quilt tops' for the big window, and just hang them up. Does anyone remember the name of that quilt pattern with the squares on the diagonal that looked like some of them were falling into place (or falling out of place)? It had a musical terminology name: Allegra or Symphony or something. (It wasn't those and I can't remember the name.) Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

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Finally, while I was away on the weekend...I bought a working Singer Featherweight!

Things of early February

It's a bit heavier than a feather...

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This coming week is blocks. Lots and lots of blocks.

So what have you been doing this week?

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

WIP Wednesday: the one with lots of pieces


WIPs

Birthday Blocks

Sewing, sewing, sewing...

Birthday blocks

Swarm

Sewing, sewing, sewing...

Swarm pieces

Salt Air Twist Square

Sewing, sewing...

Evening sewing. That Juki is FAST!!!

Sewn!

Quilting early Feb

And labelled, too!

Quilting early Feb

It's on its way to the quilters, and being gifted to a couple of friends who, along with their 1 year old son, are having a combined birthday party in early March. Excellent timing!

Done

While finding a backing for Darling Violetta, my sister (B1) spotted the quilt top and decided she liked it. She picked out Heather Ross unicorns to back it:

Quilting early Feb

It's off to the quilter's today, along with Salt Air Twist Square.

To Do This Week
- supernova friendship blocks
- baby carry bag for Baby Shower on weekend
- more birthday blocks
- backing for French Farmhouse - yellow bees
- backing for USA Hurray - pieced

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Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Monday, February 2, 2015

To Do List - February (and January Finishes)

January's goals were:

1. All the quilt backings ever
2. Baby Quilt commission (Black Widow Wee Wander finish post)

Results?
1. Yeah, no. Not even one. :(
2. Finished, quilted, handed off. (Not very good, but eh.)

Well, 50% ain't bad, right? And I did finish some other things while I'm at it!

3. Boring Floor Covering (top)

I'm really not liking it. I really might pick it apart and put a decent separator border on it.

Quilting late Jan

4. Patchy Fruit Salad (top)

Something else I'm not really liking and which I might do some modifications for this week. If I have time.

Quilting late Jan

5. Salt Air With A Twist (top)

(Don't mind the cat tail or the discarded cat toy...)

February kickstarters

February's Goals

According to my Must Make List 2015, my goals for Feb are:
1. Swarm quilt
2. Scrap Log Cabin

I think I'm going to change this. My scraps are still in sorting phase and I've discovered other things I want to do with them!

So, the ToDo list for February is currently:
eta (2 hours later): 0. Salt Air Twist: get it backed and quilted (by my quilter Jo @ Thirroul Custom Quilts) for a combined 30th/31st/1st of a couple and their baby on the 7th March. Plus pillowcases.
1. Swarm quilt: I made some good progress on this yesterday at the Sydney Modern Quilt Group super-sew in!
2. Birthday Blocks 2012: All the pieces are cut out for the remaining blocks, and the lines are drawn for sewing it up! It just needs to get sewn.
3. Supernova Friendship Blocks: only two to go!

Two things to finish this month: birthday blocks 2012, and the supernova friendship blocks! We got a plan!

4. Curtains for the house windows: I'm tired of anyone off the street being able to see into our house.

5. And of course, all the quilt backings ever. Again. (Ugh.)

So here it is: all the things I'm gonna do this month! (Yeah, it's a short month, and I have a story of, oh, around 80,000 words to finish before the end of it, but she'll be right, yeah?