WIP Wednesday: the one with hexies

I spent about half the weekend out in my garden, getting things done. Planting trees and prepping beds and working out what to do about the major major slug problem I have. Ugh, slugs.

On the other hand: BEES!


WIPs

hexiedownunder

Sewing my fingers off to get these done in time. Once again, last minute saves the day.

So I'm sewing these things everywhere:





And I do mean everywhere:


But, boy, am I getting tired of last-minute! And this is why I'm not going to sign up for Round 2. I might just slowly keep sewing a couple of flowers a month and eventually, when I'm old and grey and not actually a granny, I'll have enought for a a grandmother's flower garden quilt. Except I'll still have to sew it all together and...oh dear...



Not Like The Folks Next Door (sewyourstash mini)

No movement.

mini swarm by Sel

I still had blocks left over after making Not Like The Folks Next Door, so I've managed to use all of them (nearly all of them) in another mini.


It's more of a lap quilt, really. Or maybe a baby quilt. A baby quilt could work; I owe at least one!

Righty-o: looks like this is destined for the kid who I haven't yet given a gift to.

Honestly, my friends are having babies faster than I can gift things. STAHP! STAHP NAO!

Other things

So, I have finally made an effective cat trap:


Perhaps not quite as effective as I might like, since it takes a while to persuade her to stay in the box and not walk all over my projects...

Still, Massdrop was terribly clever to make boxes just large enough for the one of my cats who likes boxes to fit in! *grins*

Lizzy House - Meadow Quilt Class

This Saturday I'm doing a course with Lizzy House - the Meadow quilt class in Sydney! And looking forward to it quite a bit. Except that I really need to choose my fabrics and my background and my neutrals, and I think there might be a requirement for freezer paper and ARGH SO BUSY WHEN WHAT HOW TIME UGH NOOOOO...

Anyway.

What's your progress this week?

WIP Wednsday: the one where I'm back!

So I have travelled long and hard in the last four weeks.

I bought a little fabric, received a bunch of happymail, and amd generally happy to be home again!

'

Yes, that is Liberty. I bought quite a bit to make summer shirts/things. We'll see how many of them I get through!


And, as always, there are plenty of things to be done now that we're facing the backend of the year.

Not least of which are the sewmystashmini and the hexiedownunder swaps!

WIPs

sewmystashmini

So, having been overseas, I completely missed the check-in points, although I did let the Swap Mamas know when I realised they were doing roll calls and I hadn't even started! I think they were okay with it - I didn't hear back, but I'm going to assume that it was all done and good.

In the meantime, I'm going to use the leftover pieces from my Swarm quilt, so not only stash but unused pieces! This does limit me by colour palette, but I don't think my recip will mind.

First time using the sewing machine since I got back! Oh, Mako, how I've missed you!


And all lined up:
Configuration 1


Configuration 2

At this point, I'm going with configuration 2 and calling it "Not Like The Folks Next Door", because the name tickles me. (The number of quilts that have been named because the idea tickled me? A great many.)

hexiedownunder

I don't have pics of my hexies, mostly because I've run out of hexie papers and have to acquire more! But I got about 4 sets of flowers done while travelling - not as many as I wanted (considering there are 18 sets in total) but better than nothing. It's going to be a rather busy two weeks of hexie sewing, alas!

costuming

I didn't end up wearing either the SHIELD dress, or my 1920s evening gown. We were busy or too tired, or my roomie was intent on making her suit absolutely perfect and we didn't get out...

These are my roomies, BTW - Hawkeye and the Black Widow from Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron. Yes, she made both outfits, and they are true to the movie - including the glowing blue lines on the Black Widow's costume.


And yes, they're still cross that the movie married Clint Barton off, and tried to pair Natasha up with Bruce Banner.

If I'd had time to study the dress (and if I'd had time), I'd have dressed up as Maria Hill from Avengers: Age of Ultron - one of her outfits in the scenes where she's talking with Cap? Oh yes! And, of course, it was only once I was at the convention that I realised I could have gone for a red dress, a leather jacket, and a gold necklace like in this pic:


Yes, I could do it next time, but I'm pretty sure nobody will even remember who Maria Hill is by the next time I get to a convention. (I bet if you've seen the Marvel movies and/or Agents of SHIELD, you don't even remember who Maria Hill is right now. See what I mean?)

Anyway, this was my costume for wandering the DragonCon halls at night:


Sorry about the photo colour, I gave the camera to Hawkeye!Roomie and he didn't know to adjust the white balance.

Other things

It's going to be pretty busy going on from here - I have a bunch of goals to hit by the end of the year. Not least of which is getting some FMQ practise on various quilts that need quilting.

There's also the Lizzie House Meadow quilt class on the 29th September, which will be pretty exciting along with my Sydney Mod Squad ladies!

What have you been doing the last few weeks? I'm going to have an awful feedly backlog!

We're Home!

After a month gadding about the globe, I'm finally home again. Lovely as it is to travel, it's equally lovely to be home. (Except for the bit where I have to go into work. That's not so great.

I have fabric (some Liberty, some Vietnamese silk) and many plans!

Things to be finished by the end of this month (time-urgent)

1. sewmystashmini

2. hexiedownunder

Things that are scheduled for doing (classes, QALs, etc.)

3. Meadow quilt class by Lizzie House (26th September at Hobbysew)

Things on the plate for doing

4. C+S Charm Swap finish-along using Treasure Boxes by Tracey Jay Quilts

5. Heather Ross "Imagine Greater" quilt using the Yuma pattern (link goes to Gotham Quilts' quilt-along).

6. Parental cushions (probably for Christmas TBH).

7. Summer dresses and tops with my Liberty fabrics.

Amidst all this, I have to start planting out my garden for summer. It's going to be a busy few weeks, I think...

quilting while travelling

I haven't been posting to WIP Wednesday due to travelling. So far, Vietnam and the UK, with the transfer over to America on Wednesday.

I have been looking at/buying fabric, and doing some quilting - I just haven't really taken photos of it.

Vietnam has some lovely, extremely cheap silks. This was in a shop near the Tan Dinh markets - patterned silks:


They were 500000 VND/m which comes to about 22 USD/m according to my exchange rate calcs. Which is pretty cheap for silk, even before you argue the price down in bargaining.

I bought some ao dai silk from another shop - a formal one, where there's no bargaining. The ao dai is a traditional Vietnamese gown worn by men and women, although these days it's mostly just the women and for formal occasions like weddings/functions/events.


The fabrics are printed, patterned silks, and are designed with the ao dai in mind. There are also silk brocades:


I bought two fabrics, same design, different colours. I'm going to make slip dresses out of them, hopefully suitable for parties and summer days out!


Of course, no travelling is complete without a little handwork that needs doing! I brought my #plainjanepassacaglia of course, in little bags, and a quilt that's a gift for one of my hosts, which still needed binding. The quilt took up a quarter of my luggage space, so I decided to send it on to the West Coast USA by mail, so I wouldn't have to lug it the long way around.

Which meant I had to finish the binding!


And the back:

So it's off to it's new home in the US. Hopefully it reaches there before I do! :)

Anyway, I'm working on my #plainjanepassacaglia, when my stepmum and her sister start asking me what I'm doing. Then they pull out the sewing kit and start helping me!


They did all the pentagons I brought along with me for the trip. ALL OF THEM. Seriously, I couldn't stop them. They kept on asking "More? You have more? We do them!" *shakes head* At least I don't have a bajillion pentagons to sew, though...

On my way out of Vietnam, I was in the taxi when I spotted sewing machines, including an industrial JUKI which I was too slow to pull out my camera to take a pic of! But I did get its Brother:


And that was Vietnam. I wish I'd gone back and bought the patterned silk, but it should be there the next time I visit my Dad, and I have too much fabric as it is. (Yes, yes, I do...)

24 hours or so after leaving Vietnam, I arrive in London. 10am. I'm exhausted, I feel disgusting after 24 hours in transit. I check into my homestay, get a wash, and then go out into London. Because I knew if I didn't, I'd lie down and fall asleep and never get my body into the time zone.

So out I went on a mission: find Liberty of London. And I did!




I had lunch, bought some Liberty Tana lawn, then wandered around Soho for a bit before going back to the homestay and pretty much falling asleep with a six-hour nap. Got up, had dinner, went back to bed and slept through until morning (okay, so 5am, but my body has been doing about 5 hours for the last month so this is not unusual).

Sunday was wandering with a non-quilty friend, but Monday I was back on the trail, hunting up the quirky little fabric stores in Soho:

The Cloth Shop is - as it is says - a fabric shop that also sells buttons and trimmings:


And some closeups of the trimmings:

The Silk Society has a lovely array of formal and wedding fabrics - this seems to be the thing with this area: a lot of old, tucked-in-the-corner type shops that are the remnant of what used to be a much larger garment district in London, but has since been taken over with a lot of pubs, foodie shops, and a few clothing chains.

But their array of silks is LOVELY.


A shop whose name I don't remember - I ducked in and out of plenty of these on Saturday afternoon, took photos, but never remembered the shop.



It kind of matches my nailpolish!

Amidst all this I have been doing some handsewing - some of it on the London Underground, which makes people stare: I gather they're not used to people pulling out handsewing and basting paper pieces together! Ironic, considering it's English Paper Piecing!

I don't have any photos of the #plainjanepassacaglia yet, but I'm getting some of my hexie flowers done. More now means less later!

Today (Tuesday) I'm going to head out into the city to do more touristy things - mostly markets, I think. I doubt there'll be much by way of fabrics there!

And then tomorrow I'm off to Chicago!

I'm debating whether I should even try walking into quilt shops while in the US; on one hand - cheap fabric! On the other....I have a really large stash and it's not getting any smaller! Tough choices.

WIP Wednesday: the one before the holiday

So, we're all mad around here.

Okay, so it's mostly just me.

And it's mostly just that there are too many things to do and not enough time in which to do them.

However, I have finished the SHIELD dress!


The design really suits me and I'd love to do it in the green/black shot dupion that I purchased from the Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair at $10/m. (This is incredibly cheap in Australia, for the record.)

Although I might have to adjust the waist. I'm a size 10 bust and hips, and a size 12 waist:


I let out the seams as much as I could, but it's not quite enough. I'll have to drop some weight around the waist. *wince*

Otherwise I started a scrap log cabin project:


Received my Tula Pink True Colors bundle from Massdrop, a bunch of hexies for the #hexiedownunder flower swap, and the charm squares for the C+S charm swap by Ms Midge:


Smokey promptly claimed the Massdrop box, of course.

There'll be a charm-along for the C+S charm swap, probably running in September:


Have to think about what I'm going to do with them. And with the Amy Butler charms I got a while back...

And finally, binding for the gift quilt I'm giving to the friend I'm staying with in the San Fran Bay Area:


I've stayed with her and her family on and off for ten years (possibly more) and while I've brought her other gifts, I've never yet given her a quilt.

Yes, that's the USA Hurray.

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Things to do before going away:
1. sew binding on USA Hurray
2. pick fabrics for the #hexiedownunder participants
3. begin pulling out the papers of my Plain Jane Passacaglia - start from the centre and work outwards
4. sew up the last of the AHBC Party 3 presents and get it packed up

I think any gifts I'm going to give to my hosts are going to have to wait until I get back. UGH.

Anyway, there may be a little WIP Wednesday while I'm travelling (Ho Chi Minh City, London (Oxford), Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco Bay Area) but it'll depend on the internet connections, and mostly be the Plain Jane Passacaglia. I will, however, be posting plenty of travelogues - and probably some fabric related things: most particularly in Vietnam (the markets), and London (Liberty of London!), but also possibly in the US... :)

Hope your endeavours are productive in the coming month!

Agent of SHIELD dress for DragonCon

The brief:

Agent of SHIELD dress: halterneck, close-fitting bodice with waistband and flared skirt to be worn with petticoats. Black/dark-grey silk with gunmetal/silver overdress/lace edging, and embroidered/beaded/appliqued SHIELD logo to either be on skirt or else as a back cutout (underarm zipper), with HYDRA-themed underskirt.

The pattern:


The result:



A better indication of the colour is in this pic; I think I had the white balance set to 'incandescent light' while photographing in daylight.


There was some awkwardness with the waist: I have a size 10 bust and hips, and - at my current weight - a size 12 waist. By the time I realised this, I'd already sewn and interfaced the front and back with iron-on interfacing, so realigning the seams was awkward.

As it is, I'm going to have to lose a bit around the waist (the waist isn't difficult for me, it's the belly pouch that lingers):


Note to self; in future, make a muslin first...

The beading I can do in Vietnam - it's mostly just an outline of the logo - a little painstaking, but not impossible. And the HYDRA-themed underskirt is probably out.

If I had time this week (haha) I'd make a Maria Hill "Age of Ultron" dress - one of the business suits she's shown wearing in the various scenes. Considering I have dinners with friends tonight and tomorrow, bible study on Wednesday, a remedial massage on Thursday, and will be packing on Friday to leave early Saturday am... I don't really have time between work and sleep and doing all those last minute travel things.

WIP Wednesday: the one with QALs

One finish (of sorts): the Soroptimists Raffle Quilt!



I have backing, and now it's time to get it off to the quilter!

WIPs

Backings

The Gothic Summer Sampler is three years old and still hasn’t been quilted. I’m over it now, the friend I was going to give it to has since “de facto’d” (legally not-married, as compared to being married or unmarried: cohabiting? IDEK what it’s called anymore) and her style/tastes have significantly changed, so I think I should make a new one for her and her partner and maybe give this to another friend who’s still in a gothic phase and seems less likely to move out of it.


All Around The World is one of the first quilts I made – I was in a bargello state of mind and would rather love to do it again, albeit with a very different fabric aesthetic! But this will make a wonderful floor covering, even if it’s not to my taste for a quilt.

And The Shattered Star is a quilt pattern by Penny Poppleton, that I tested a couple of years back and haven't yet gotten quilted. It's large. Very large. Which makes quilting it myself rather inconvenient.


Plain Jane Passacaglia

I have a bunch of rosette diamonds and small pentas cut from my selection of Reece Scannell shot cottons:


Now I need to baste them and sew them together!

1. need to find the E-star points! (unless I’ve run out of them, which is possible)
2. need to take the papers out of the blocks I’ve already finished and sewn together so I can reuse them...


SHIELD dress:

The pieces are cut out for this, and Saturday is the planned sewing day. It works, because otherwise I’m liable to discover I need something and not be able to buy it from the shops at a time when anything is open. However, I’m going to have to do the beading in my spare time while on holiday, I think…

I hope it fits. I hope it looks okay. I wish it was a more 1950s style, but the fitted bodice & flared skirt should be enough with the princess seams to give it a nice, fluid line.


Drawstring bag:

I need to work out what size I need to make this so I can make two, so one will go as a gift and I get to keep the other!

Gifts for trip:

One is easy; her quilt is done and just requires binding:


One is relatively easy: my stepmother – she’s pretty easygoing, so making her a couple of 1-hour boxes will probably be fine.

One is a little tricky: friends I’m staying with in Chicago. They already have one of my quilts (although I’m trying to remember which one right now), so I could maybe make some bags/1-hour boxes, or possibly matching cushion covers from the scraps of the fabric I made the quilt from?

And the last is is really tricky: a guy I’m homestaying with in London. I’m thinking I might just buy him a bottle of Aussie wine on the way out of the country or something…


All those QALs

Yesterday, I posted about a bunch of QALs that have popped up in the last couple of weeks (at least to me) and then realised that at least one other has been going for a while: the Yuma QAL hosted at Gotham Quilts.


Now, when I first saw this quilt, what attracted me was what I thought were all the little white pieced triangles wandering across the quilt surface. Except they’re not pieced triangles at all – they’re one of those fabrics that’s deceptive and makes you think it’s actually pieced when it’s not. (Lying fabric that lies. Hates them we does, my preciouss…)

Feel my disappointment. SO MUCH DISAPPOINTMENT.

However, it occurs to me that the Yuma Quilt would do PERFECTLY for my HR Mendocino collection, with a few reads-as-solids fabric additions. And as I’ve been vacillating about what I should do with my HR Mendocino (apart from give it away) before the reprint comes out, this is perfect.

So now it’s on the list for when I get back!

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Linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday post!

in the spring, a quilter's heart turns to quilt-alongs...

I know, I know, it's fall (or autumn) for the northern hemisphere. But the sentiment remains the same: all of a sudden, the QALs have sprung into action - I count three in the last 24 hours.

1. The Farmer's Wife 1930s sampler QAL run by GnomeAngel of GnomeAngel.com in concert with Marti Mitchell and the Fat Quarter Shop

2. The Gypsy Queen Mystery QAL run by Cora's Quilts

3. The Think Big QAL run by Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side

So many QALs, so little time.

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Speaking for myself, I need to finish several more backings, complete several tops, and use up a whole lotta scraps in some project - any project!

But not until I get back from my vacation in Vietnam, (possibly) Russia, the UK, and the US. During which I plan to do a LOT of handsewing. Hopefully there will be plenty of progress on my Plain Jane Passacaglia and #hexiesdownunder!

It's gonna be a busy couple of weeks for me, as I prep to travel and finish sewing the things that can't wait until I get back.