2019 Wk 4 - lots of hand sewing

I can only assume I've watched more TV that usual as I've certainly done more hand sewing than usual!!!

I've tacked a whole load of clam shells (thank you Plum for the templates)

And I've put together all the parts of "Not La Passacaglia".  No, I don't love it, but that sometimes happens.  Some people manage to make scrappy quilts that work, and I clearly haven't got the knack!  Still I'll get it onto a fleece and I'm sure the cat will love it!

After the disaster that was the sizzix Plus template I decided I'd have to make my own.  Luckily Wild Olive had done all the hard work so I just needed to resize until the templates were suitable for my fabric pieces - and here are the first 7 full pluses.  I AM enjoying this project!

I'm also enjoying my temperature spool wrap: It's due to get colder for a few days so I might get to use some new colours!

We had a great morning at Stitch and now have a big pile of shields: just needing liners and bags to add to make complete kits and soon we can start sending some off

And a few more rope bowls happened to happen.  They seem to decide on their own shape: I expected these to be the same but clearly they had different ideas!

 I needed to fall back in love with my sizzix so I played with some felt and made some flowers 

I'm not sure why I didn't post this pic from Crafty Church - we had a lovely afternoon!  There was knitting and crochet and beading and necklace making and needle felting!  Unfortunately I didn't get pics of everything.  My favourite part was Lucy (mum of two teenagers) being taught how to crochet by Daisy (age ten)!  Lucy now has 2 crochet projects on the go!

And the last photo is of samples I have made for Chertsey Museum's Fun With Fabric on Friday

2019 Wk 3 - sewing!

I've finally managed to find some time to sew, and to take pics of stuff that has already been done

On the flight to New York I made some more hexi flowers

for my rainbow hexi quilt

 And I worked on my kind of temperature project!  The usual method is crochet or knitting - I don't have a significant stash of wool and didn't want to buy more so I scrapped that idea.  I had a  go at setting up the loom to weave maybe a temperature scarf, and didn't feel the love

I've been looked at wrapped and stitched vintage spools on Pinterest, and DID feel the love, so I started using a strip of torn denim and a few kantha type stitches each day in the appropriate colour

I started before I went to NY, and caught up on the woven days, and now I'm up to date.  I decided to use the temperature in NY when I was there . . .in the shape of the letters NY!  I am now totally in love with the project, just wishing the temperature would chop and change a bit more - I want to use different yarns!

And I have all my yarns wrapped around wooden clothes pegs which makes me oh so happy when I open the case every day!

I also found a nearly finished project that I'd forgotten about.  It's at least from Christmas 2017 if not before.  I finished it tonight watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Start with 8 circles of fabric, and 4 card or plastic triangles and 8 wadding triangles.  I don't remember the measurements but the relative sizes are:

(If anyone wants to make one I'll get the protractor out and work out exact measurements)

Join pairs of circles.   RST all the way round (using - - - as the sewing line).  Cut a small slit in the middle of one of each new unit and turn through and press into a good circle shape.  Put a sandwich of wadding / card or plastic / wadding in the centre of each circle unit covering the slit.  Pin a short looped length of ribbon in one corner of two triangles, and a long open length in the corner of a third.  Like this (but this is after being stitched

Fold the three arcs to the middle of each triangle, arranging so each on is part under and part over the neighbours.  Slip stitch closed along the arced edges.

Whip stitch the three sides to the base making sure the ribbons will all meet at the top when the box is pulled closed. Tada!!!

This was mostly for me for next time I want to make one - if you want better instructions and more pics just let me know!

2019 Wk 3 - New York New York

I apologise for my earlier rant - blame lack of sleep - oh, and frustration and annoyance with Sizzix for the appalling design of their long pentagon!

I'm having a go with a stanley knife to see if I can 'correct' the pentagons without too much effort - be seriously, what were Sizzix thinking the die would be used for?

So I was short on sleep due to jet lag - having had a long weekend in New York!!!  I didn't take many pics as it was too cold to take my hand out of my pockets for long (Me on Brooklyn Bridge)

The girls walking ahead of me

I went with the daughters - we had a lovely time.  I did look for Patchwork shops - I thought there would be loads, but although there must have been 15+ fabric shops on 38th and 39th they were mostly fabric on rolls - synthetic fabrics, not our sort of fabric.  I found a shirt-making Aladdin's cave, but there was way too much choice and they were charging $30 a yard!!  The one patchwork shop I found was lovely but nothing that looked amazing and it was all $12.95 a yard which is practically the same as at home.

The best I can offer for crafty stuff was this fab statue

And this lovely man sitting on the subway station making crocheted hats!  Lisa bought the black & multi one in his left hand!

We went to the 9-11 museum.  I have mixed feelings about it.  Very moving and lots of information and well presented if you look at each section on it's own.

But it starts with an enormous space with a few big items, including this art installation.  We took this slow as we thought this was the general design of the museum.  As you can see, very few people

And there was information about all the people who died.  A good friend of mine lost a distant relative: I never met him, but it was nice (?) to have someone to focus on and we found his photo and the information the family had submitted, and where he had been remembered by other firefighters

 

 And there was a quilt to look at

So all calm, and peaceful and soothing in a way, and then we went through a revolving door to a special exhibition . . . where there people: crowds of people, films taking on the day being played, we heard noises recorded on the day, answerphone messages from loved ones who never made it home, we saw posters looking for those who were lost, papers found after the towers came down, clothing and shoes that were found in the clean up, parts of the building, of the plane, the background of the terrorists, stories of bravery . . . it was too much for me especially after the tranquility of the main rooms.

I really would have liked to have been given a route to take: that would take me to everything, and that would tell me I should allow half an hour for the huge room and maybe 2 hours for the special exhibition (and not bother with the Rebirth Film - far too arty and full of itself).

Anyway I went and I'm glad I did but I bought a couple of books so I can explore the bits I want in my own time.

A few more pics:

Our very opulent (and quirky) hotel

Lady Liberty from the Staten Island ferry (why is the ferry free????)

 A funky building that husband and I had watched a documentary on with a glass floored sticky out deck

And the city at sunset from the Empire State Building (why does it have 4 doors that you can't use but without signage to show where the right one is???)

Too many rants - maybe I'm still jet lagged!!!!

2019 - Wk 2 - so disappointed

I know I'm a bit behind, but I want to make a plus quilt - and I want to make it EPP (I've recently finished piecing one and am close to finishing another so time to look for a new one) and I've fallen in love with this 

I found that Sizzix made a die that is house shaped (or "long pentagon") and tried to find one.  The only one in the world that's available (according to Mr Google) was in Australia, and luckily I have a lovely brother in Australia!  So . . . he did the buying thing and even the posting thing and I did the happy dance

And then I did the sizzix thing - loads of sizzixed long pentagons, and the cutting thing - even more house shaped fabrics

And then I did the tacking thing and though "hold on a cotton picking minute" - what's that gap?

Can you believe - the apex of the 'roof' is not quite 90 degrees, and the width of the 'house' is slightly more than it's height and this is never going to *&^%$£" well work!!!!

I am seriously gutted!

Any suggestions much appreciated

2019 Wk 1 - I was planning to tidy!

So I was picking up and putting away - really I was!

But when I went to pick up the clothes line I remembered I was going out for a friend's for a meal tonight and maybe I should bring a gift

And as I finished that I remembered husband had asked whether a square bowl was possible, so I had to try

And in moving the loom I realised I haven't woven the temperatures for this year so I did the appropriate weaving (not convinced this will last all year: I'm not feeling the love yet, and I'm not sure I have the skills!)

And funnily enough the room isn't much tidier that when I started . . . but I've had fun: isn't that just as important?

2019 Wk 0 - Noooooooo

After publishing the last post I went to trim my tiny blocks - and every single one was too small!  So it seems (seams!) that my 1/4" foot is nothing of the sort!

So I spent most of this evening watching rubbish telly with himself, unsewing - groan!

So they now look like this

and "just" need to be pressed and started again!

However I have finished the hand-sewing-at-mother-in-law's flimsy

and what's more - it's quilted!

I love the circular quilting that so many 'real' quilters have been showing, but I know my quilting isn't up to the tight accurate spiral at the start . . . but it occurred to me that Lizzie's is!  So she did the first 8 inches (her largest hoop) and I then took over - it's much easier when the spitrail is further out!!

I also played with another rope bowl.  Again an elongated shape as the start is much easier with a long line rather than a tight spiral (see the theme here?)  I copied Kathy's finished this time as I have plenty of leather left in a box.  It would have been better if it didn't pucker but I can live with it!