Fast forward to February..

January 2014 just flashed by somehow and so long since I've posted.
The cushion challenge came out really well, but no photo sadly as I gave it to my mother for Christmas and forgot to take a photo beforehand. I was pleased to get 3rd = in the challenge and got a gift token as a prize.
Christmas turned out to be a rush as I decided to gift the quilt I had been working on to a brother and it didn't get finished I regret to say. I still have to get onto it but did undo a couple of free motion quilted motifs that went all loopy on me. I think I need to change my needle I read as the solution to that problem..
We also had to travel for Christmas this year so everything had to be packed for a driving/flying holiday, and leave the house for my younger brother and family plus friends of theirs to occupy. So couldn't just walk out and leave chaos..
Had a lovely almost 3 week holiday in the South Island this year and it was a thrill to get right to the southern-most tip, as have been to the northern-most, where a lot more people get to.

My son resumes school for the year on Monday and then, since mid December, I'll have a clearer head to begin quilting for 2014.
My other son has finished school now and has a work offer to get stuck into, so he can get out from under my feet. He has had almost 3 months off so it's time to get serious about work!!

Have lots of projects going around in my head. This Sunday my local quilting shop/sewing day group has their annual quilts in the garden hanging, and I have dropped in 3 to display. It should be another hot sunny day like the weather we've had so far this year, bar the odd wind storm and rain..

Here is a picture of the table runner I attended a class to make in December. really enjoyed it and the result.
I had bought the floral fat 1/4 as I loved it and got the other 2 fabrics to work with it. I love it!

Above it the little challenge I made for an annual quilting picnic day a group of us went to in January. You were to make your version of ''A round to it" !. So I did this in a day and a half. based on the same circular pattern I did for my cushion. It's only about 8" square and I like what it says...quilting!

Challenge

Too long between posts and I'm ready to get back into quilting mode..I am finding it hard to find my mojo as I am also between projects with 2 or 3 waiting in the wings, having bought fabric for quilts over time.
Work for the year is behind me so have time to let my hobby back into my life.
Our local monthly Patchwork group has a fabric challenge due at the end of November so I'm starting now cause we all know how time gets when The C word is in the air..Christmas!!
It's a long 1/8th I think and not the easiest of fabrics to try and match other colours with..green and patterned.
Also there are NO rules which makes it harder in a way not to have parameters but I don't want to just make something to be put away and not used.
I have found a pattern for a cushion and some fabrics in my stash that work with it pretty well.
Have struggled with imagination as to what to make but my mother wants a cushion and has a green lounge suite. I have some fabric left over from when it was made which will form the back..just in case she wants to turn it over and hide my front of the cushion!!

 

Am able to get back top my local group sewing day on Friday this week so if I don't get any cutting done before then I'll take it to make a start.
The challenge fabric is the green in the centre. The black dotted fabric has the same green in it. The others are just what I've found.
See said it was tricky!! Yesss....Maybe I'd better have a look for another green to work with it on Friday.
Til then and perhaps some progress photos..bye.

My take on Zen

At this time of year it's more difficult to make time to sew. Just too tired from work and all that needs to be done apart from work. So new projects are waiting.

I have finished my batik quilt and from the American Patchwork and Quilting magazine I got the pattern from have founds it's name. Zen. Which is kind of nice and always gives a feeling of peace. So I have to breathe and know that there will be more sewing days ahead in the spring.

Another patchworking friend is making the same quilt in fabulous teals and greens which is looking so gorgeous already.

So here are the pics, hanging on the washing line with avocados dangling down in front! It's a warm breezy day - have had rain which has made it lovely and mild for a change.

 Tomorrow I'm having afternoon coffee with 2 patchworking friends as we try and make a time to get together when I'm off the scene from quilting days.

Getting there..

A shivery Saturday today and the 2nd frost this week 2.5 deg.C!. Thank goodness I could lie in today!
The sewing front has been a bit quiet but I'm getting there with the batik quilt.
It's just been too cold and had full on weeks at work recently, so I've just flopped at night!

Bought some great batik fabric for the binding online. I took the quilt to Auckland and got an opinion that it should not be too bright to detract from the calm colours of the quilt. But I usually don't follow advice and go with my instinct! It's a bright turquoise and teal and such a nice fabric it's a shame not to use it in a bigger piece. But I did take a photo of it.
So the quilt is now in one piece and I've free motion quilted over the 3 seams to secure the hand stitched seams over the fabric joins on the back.

                                          More of a sneak peek at the quilt and the binding fabric.
                                          There is also a panel over the machine which is going to
                                          turn into place mats at some stage down the line!
                                        

I have again gone against ''usual'' binding practice, and had a last minute thought - after I'd sewn it on to the back. I unpicked the whole thing, deciding to open up the binding to show more of it and will carefully machine sew the edge over to the front. I like that ''reverse'' method to avoid hand sewing! I like the look of the machine stitching edge to the front. You can then use a bright cotton or even use a double needle with 2 colours as I have done on another quilt. I have to be a bit more careful sewing so it lies flat and doesn't wrinkle/pucker up as I sew..so I pin  and hope for the best!

There is another quilt waiting in the wings to start...a Block of the Month from last year called Purple passion. A 9 block project. I have been buying fabric gradually for it. I have drafted a pattern from a picture of a quilt and am going to try and devise a method myself of putting it together. Our local patchwork shop had a one day 40% off sale last week. I had previously auditioned some background yellow so was able to get that at the bargain price. I was pleased to get a sudden day with no work which happily coincided with the sale day, what a bonus!

My younger baby boy turned 17 yesterday - how times flies..




Thought you might like to see my bright sewing machine cover I made out of a great $10 bag of scraps. So I can't lose it!

Bye for now.

More of the same..

I have made a bit of progress on the batik quilt as you go. Have free motion quilted 3 out of 4 blocks and laid it out to take progress photos.
Am very pleased with it. Can't wait to join the 3 front seams to put it together. Then it will be trimming/butting the batting and hand stitching the back seams as an invisible seams.
I have yet to decide whether it needs a  border or not but will try it for size on the bed. I have spare material of the backing material. The backing is a varigated grey batik which I've done in  a checker board pattern and used bright pink thread so it can be reversible.
I have used a beige thread on the front.

The reverse side.

You can't really see the pink thread..but the pattern stands out well.

 It's going to look great!


Work continues in much the same vein as before, but had a bonus 1/2 day off on friday with a machine breakdown!
The weather has been SO changeable. Really wet and mild with still hot sun during the day, then down to a frigid 8 deg. C Friday and yesterday, and today up to 15..So house heating is off and on, and the clothes drier is being heavily used.But today has come out bright and windy so will hang out the latest load and hope it dries before the next rain storm.
Gosh, my sympathies go out to the residents of Oklahoma city whose lives and properties have been devastated by the huge tornado this week. We have seen a lot of TV coverage here in NZ.

Now to try and upload pics from the proper camera this time. Laid out of the floor to show the whole quilt in progress.
Have got the hang of downloading pics from the computer so that's progress!

We are going away next weekend as we have a 3 day weekend with the Queen's Birthday holiday.
Til next time..thanks for reading.

To quilt or not to quilt..

My quilting is not going far at the moment. Very frustrating.

Work has taken over. My machine is on and off the kitchen table but none done this week.
It's been extremely wet this week too. The torrential rain is awesome to watch and we had thunder and lightening on Friday night too. It is easier to veg on the sofa at night after a tiring day!!

I intended to blog more too as I really enjoy it but perhaps picked a too busy time for me to start a blog with work which is very physical, on my feet all day, packing kiwifruit and avocados in a local packhouse. It's my third year at it which starts in April and goes through full time until around October time.

I swore I would not return to it this year but as nothing else has taken its place it's better than no work. This year may be different and a shorter season to last as the kiwifruit disease (PSA) has ravaged the kiwifruit vines in this region and beyond and its long term effects are still to hit with the flow on effects of packhouse closing and less jobs. So I go to work not knowing what we are doing from day to day.

The very wet weather and then warm weather in-between over the last month has prevented kiwifruit from being picked. It also hasn't yet been cold enough for the sugar levels to rise in the fruit in order that it can be picked. So one thing depends on another happening.

OK. To save this from being completely boring here are a couple of shots of my batik strips taken on the webcam. I find this the easier way...at the moment. At least I know I will get a photo!!

Top photo. I have sewn  the 4 width strips of my quilt as ''quilt as you go'' with 6 wavey free motion lines per strip with my quilting foot along the full length (a bit hard to see).

2nd photo. Now I am going back along the same lines with my free motion foot and adding leaves and spirals. I did a paper pattern to plan the layout and I try to make sure I vary the leaf shape and direction of the leaves!!
 I do enjoy the challenge of doing my own quilting on my domestic Brother NX400 machine. 

Hopefully more sewing news next time!
Thanks for reading.

Party week

What a busy time the last 10 days has been.
Luckily I had a couple of days off work to prepare for hubby's ''zero'' party. Meaning on my feet all day and then on my feet cooking at night!

Thursday was a great trip away for the day on the bus trip to 3 patchwork shops in the Waikato. We stopped first at Dalton's Gardens near Matamata and had a lovely morning tea/coffee with huge muffins or scones. I hadn't been to any of the shops so it was really nice. Didn't buy much, a lovely Japanese lady panel, with 2 figures across the fabric, and 2 green 1/3 metres to go in the stash from Grandmother's Garden. What a shop and with only 45mins no real time to browse properly... Lunch was at Cambridge and then Milton's at Morrinsville. Back just after 5pm it was a fun day.
The party went off really well. Lots of fun and noise. Saturday came out hot and sunny and it really made it to have it warm. On Sunday a few came back to Croissants and coffee on the deck. We had 2 Aussie mates (ex Kiwis) come just for the weekend as well and some old friends from Auckland who had not visited in the time we've been here.

I got a bonus sewing day on Friday as there was no work, so went to my Friday group and got started again on quilting my ''quilt as you go'' batik blocks. I''m doing it in 4 strips. Have joined the 8 rows into 4.
Will post a photo next time. What with the party and clearing up the house, my sewing had to shift into the spare room so I'm on the kitchen table in the interim.