2013 March second half

 

Whod a thunk it?

Guess what I was doing 25 years ago today?

No Sewing from me

No sewing from me, but just look what my Broom Farm ladies have been making

Hundreds of Hexies

Miserable weather, good company (lovely to see you mum) and nothing planned, so chatting, drinking cups of coffee, and tacking hexies . . . and when the box was filled, I started sewing some together

Hexies Done, and Hexies Doing

I finally finished the "mother-in-law" hexi top, so that has gone into the pile for basting.

The new hexi project very quickly got too big for yesterday's project box, as I basted loads more today. I think this will be the new project to lave at M-i-L's

Dynamic Jackie

Since I visited Jackie two weeks ago, she has taunted me almost daily with finished tops and blocks - she doesn't have her own blog so I thought I'd showcase them here.

I don't know where she got her dynamic powers from, but I wish I had achieved half as much in the last two weeks

17 days, 5 lists, 23 projects, and still counting

I woke this morning thinking "yippee", 17 days off. Then I starting gathering up the lists I've been making for myself, I found 5 so far!

There seem to be 4 groups:

• Boring paperwork
• Money earning embroidery
• Blocks I want to make
• Other random stuff

And then there are also quilt tops I want to start/ work on / finish. Maybe I need another list, showing what to to each day.

I seem to remember something similar when I was studying for exams (late 1970s!!!!) I spent so long making a coloured revision chart, that the first few days had passed by the time it was finished, so I had the perfect excuse to make a new one!  Maybe Excel will make it easier - maybe I'll go and check!

Two off the list

Two things on my list involved blogging about photos, so I can clear them now!

I wanted to share this fab Pied Piper the kids made at school,  He will now be cut out and put back together (a bit like patchwork) then will join the A to Z quilt on the school library wall, followed by a whole load of scrappy rats

Sadly, I wasn't even allowed to get involved so I cant claim any credit other than supplying scraps of fabric!

The second photo is this NOT so fab sharpie-and-oven-baked mug that is based on a Pinterest pin - hummmm, don't think I'll bother trying this again!!!

I also released the inner 16 year old, and did my coloured project list for the holidays:

Sad, I know, but I'm happy now!  I know it looks small here, but it's OK, I have a coloured version blu-takked to my wall :-)

Why did I start with the fun stuff?

Three creative things on the list for yesterday:

• EPP triangles sample
• Fleece Embroidery for a friend at school
• And a blinking essay that I don't want to do

Guess which ones I did first!

An English Paper Pieced mug rug, with, get me, quilting!

And a logo embroidery for Valerie

Sigh, now the essay!

Easter List - Day 2

I did do my essay (or at least the first draft) last night, so all 4 items got ticked off yesterday.

Today I can already tick off two boring jobs: sorting the car and invoicing the museum.

I have been thinking about ideas for a House block for Fiona in the Star of Africa Bee, and while I've been doing that I've also been sewing together all the Flirt Tumbler blocks that Jackie sizzixed for me and posted back. 

Sew,
          press,
                    sew,
                              press,
                                        tick off a third item

                                                  and then shout for joy -

A top that bypassed the UFO pile, and has gone straight to the as-soon-as-the-table-is-clear-I-can-baste-this pile :-) 

But don't hold your breath, husband is using the table as his office, and reckons he might be back in the shed by June!!!!

Easter List - day 3

I didn't manage everything on "The List", but I did manage to get a few things done, in between helping husband put in a new loo!

This is going to be a sample for Chertsey Museum - nor sure what to do next, felt and a button?

I started embroidering tshirts for the local pre-school

And then I started working on my plan for the Star Of Africa "House" block for Fiona.  Fiona wants houses.  My house is too boring for words, and I did think of doing Windsor Castle, but Nicky said she was planning on a castle.  So have I got anything else local that I can use for inspiration.

Well yes I have!  It's probably ironic given that I was thinking of a castle, but we have a lot of 'settled travellers' living in our village.  There is a long historic story involving the village church's graveyard, (particularly the lack of restrictions on grave decorations in the 'extension' graveyard) and this has resulted in a number of travellers settling here.

Although they mostly live in static or touring caravans, they do occasionally bring out the beautiful traditional caravans (or 'vardo') that traditionally would have been home to a family

Well, it's not finished yet - but here is the start of Fiona's block

2013 March first half

 

Building A Box

I did some playing today: and built a box

I started with 2 Fat Quarters, and cut two long strips from each (4 inches wide, by the length of the longest side, about 22 inches)

[Two FQs will make two boxes]

I cut each strip in half, and then I arranged four pieces into a cross shape like this

I stitched parts 1 and 2 together, and then parts 3 and 4 together

and then I stitched the 1&2 unit to the 3&4 unit.  I did the same with the second fabric, but actually had to re do the second fabric: as you can see below, the *correct* layout is to have one cross the mirror image of the other

I put the two crosses right sides together and stitched all round, leaving a small opening for turning.  I snipped the corners off the obtuse / external angles, and snipped into the acute / internal angles so I could turn the whole piece right sides out.  I used a chop stick to push the corners out, and then ironed it flat

I slip stitched the opening closed.  To create the box, I needed to slipstitch side A to side B (starting in the internal corner), then stitch side C to side D and carry on with the final two pairs of sides, right sides together

In joining the edges, I slipstitched along the inner two folds, the right sides, (brown in this photo) but for another box I used a whip stitch, I dont think there is much between the two stitches for this. 

This finishes to a box with a 5x5 base, about 4 inches high with a contrasting lining and no raw seams.

Now I just want to work out how I can fold it so I can post it without it arriving looking like a creased rag!

Oh Dear

Just when I thought I'd be able to spend some time crafting, we get a phone call at school that Mr Ofsted wants to visit, tomorrow!  (Ofsted being the dept education who inspects schools).  So 5 hours extra at work today, collating all the forms we think he'll want to see, then two full days while he's there, followed by my normal full day on Thursday, and the start of a ten week teacher training (adult education) course on Thursday night!!!!

But I can cope, as I've then got two days with my bestie at the weekend and then half a day with my mummy next week, but not much blogging will happen for the next week or so

Back to Blogging

Quite a week I've had! Proof reading and correcting 105 school reports, a surprise 2 day visit from Ofsted (schools inspector) , proof read a Philosophy degree essay, and my first teacher training class, on top of a normal working week and two sewing classes, oh, and I managed to buy food and occasionally see my family!

But now that's over, and better still, I'm in Ireland with Jackie having a lovely time with her, her family, and a few bits of fabric!

Photos: this mornings breakfast ( got to love Avoca) and the first stack of hexies cut with the new sizzix die

Mother's Day Morning

Happy Mother's Day to all, or to be pedantic, happy Mothering Sunday! When I booked to come and see Jackie I didn't realise it was Mother's Day. My girls texted me this morning with imaginary cups of tea, imaginary flowers and massages and imaginary breakfast in bed!!!

Jackie's children, God Bless them, didn't make me feel left out - the two of us got a shared card hoping we'll have a fun day (certainly) and I got a fab button mug from the 4 of them

Hexies and Tumblers Blocks

To follow on from the fabric hexies that were cut on Saturday, I carried on playing with the Sizzix cutter on Sunday, and generated a huge amount of paper hexies, and also tumbling blocks - I LOVE the sizzix, it makes life so easy!

Jackie also helped me sort out how I arrange the hexi-plus-triangles units into a rectangle shape - my spacial awareness is sadly lacking!!! (imagine the white paper triangles are actually red fabric triangles!)

The flight home was delayed, so I started some tacking ;-)

Ooops

Well it was like this, I bought two lengths of "flirt" to play with Jackie's sizzix tumbler blocks die.

I chose Flirt as I knew I had other fabrics in red white and turquoise, and I'm normally good at colour matching from memory.

Well not this time, so I asked Mr Google and he eventually found one shop in the UK selling Flirt charm packs, aren't they yummy.

One pack was never going to be enough, sigh!

So they've been posted to me, I've fondled them, now I'm posting them to the lovely lovely Jackie in the hope that she'll cut them into tumbler blocks and post them back to me so I can sew them back together!

What a cheek eh?

Perfect Post 10

Just look at the yummy squishie that arrived today all the the way from Leanne in . . . Well see if you can guess!

A perfectly Australian fabric, and one that I didn't manage to collect on holiday there 15 months ago.  Thank you Leanne, a great addition to the collection

This is the 10th block for the Star of Africa quilt, its getting close to being able to be assembled!

Fancy a Cuppa?

I need to start making advance samples for the Chertsey museum classes as the museum want to advertise the classes with a photo of each project. This means some advance thinking from me: deciding and making, rather than cobbling something together the night before. I decided to revisit foundation piecing, but the paper piecing route this time, influenced slightly by also wanting to make a mug for my own pieced quilt.

One mug pieced trimmed and quilted, the other just pieced.