WIP Wednesday: the one with organisation (sort of)

Okay, I need to finish off gifting quilts to my bible study group of the last five years. I've been intending to gift them a quilt for the last couple of years running, but now the group is splitting up (just switching things around and also different timings), so NOW IS THE TIME.

I feel like I need more quilt tops and designs to offer them. *sigh*

Also, I have collections that need using: Joel Dewberry, Kate Spain, Tula Pink, the Chinese silk I bought back in 2010... They're great collections, but they should be used together! 

QUILTING

I have five quilts to head off to the quilter, although she may only be able to do 3 of them. 2 are ones that I should be doing myself, but actually getting them done is the tricky part; I don't know if I have the time/energy to quilt them myself! Although it would also be good practice, right?

Quilter has time from next Thursday, which is later than I liked, but the response would be to give her a bucketload of quilts and then leave them in her care. I can do that, if I can get things together this weekend.

Break Free Or Build Upon - quilts 1&2 are the quilts that I have 

BINDING:

Still at least four to quilt. I should borrow L's tapemaker, I have that much tape to make... Although really the hardest part is selecting the binding. 

BORDERING:

Okay, I decided I would turn the French General 'backings' into tops. One rim-border in sharp scarlet, and then maybe a small 'extra' border in cream and pattern. So those need to be done. 

PIECING: 

As I said, I need more patterns - nice large, easy ones. I think doing more with the Disappearing 9-patch might be an idea, and can be done in many different styles and types and kinds. What about "A Year Of Disappearing 9-Patches" for a theme?

Curtains for the front windows.

Layer Cake Lollies pattern: here

Star Chain Quilt: here

Pop Shortcut Quilt:here

BACKING:

Tula Pink 'La Luna' quilt has been one of my Halloween hangs for a while - just put it up in the window, let everyone look at it. Need to actually back it and get it off to the quilter, so there's that. I think one of the postage stamp quilts also has to go.

THOUGHTS:

I need more batting. Must work out where's a good place to get it from - would much rather a LQS than a big organisation. I don't even know where the LQS are anymore after COVID, although there must be some still in existence...

And finally, some patterns that I spotted while travelling that would probably make great quilt tops!

WIP Wednesday: the one with holidays!

Back from holidays. Went all around the world catching up with family and friends, and then hopped on a cruise for 16 days. I didn't do that much while with family and friends, but the cruise had a 'knitters and natters' group for an hour or two in the morning which was great to sit with and handsew and chat. I have emails/FB accounts for several of the women, so that might stick.

I'm missing my local group of "younger women sewists", but it can't be helped since their kids are in the phase where mum is the GM, taxi, reminder, clean-up, and therapist, and they don't really have the time/space for meeting up outside of that (although they're mostly still working on projects, so far as I can see.)

One of my goals for this year is to finish 12 projects.

'Finishing' can mean "just put a binding on the damn thing" or it can mean "create from scratch".
- get my growth group's quilts out - I mean, that's at least half a dozen of them straight off the bat! Need to dig out J and N's quilts and get them to the quilter.
- one dress for a slightly-out-of-town frocktails (and damn, I just realised I don't have anywhere to stay for that - oh wait, did I pre-book? *checks* Yes, I prebooked. Phew!)
- cousin quilts: THIS BE THE YEAR

Frocktails clothing:

I'd like to use up the pleated fabric that I have. I don't know what kind of style, though: a skirt, a top, an A-line dress that flares from the high waist? I want something that I can wear, if not 'casually' then certainly without feeling like I need a Special Occasion to do so.

I also want to make a Regency-ish dress, rather like the one seen here (which I'm trying on at Liberty of London), only with the top of the back opening wider and the bottom pointy.

No, it won't be "proper Regency" but also most of the shows being billed as 'Regency' right now are not, in fact, Regency at all. Neither are the romance novels, nor most of the fiction out there, let's be real! I don't need or want my dress to be absolutely perfectly done the way they did it in the auld days (for starters, I'm using modern fabrics rather than Indian muslin, and there isn't a dress on Earth that you could pay me to make by hand.