What's gone wrong now!

I have to admit that I have a problem when things go wrong in the house, such as appliances, or the computer.  Yes, I do tend to panic, probably because after many years of Robin tending to these sorts of blokey things, it now all falls on me.  What to do, who to call?  On Sunday I noticed a big puddle of water under the tub and washing machine,  after I had done a load of laundry earlier in the morning.  So out came a couple of towels  to mop it all up, and I wondered if the washing machine had died, or maybe it was a plumbing problem, who knows?  Everything came out from the tub cabinet, and the shelves were mopped up too.  What a mess, water everywhere.  On Monday morning I phoned the local appliance centre, they have a good name, and we have used them before.  A workman will be around at 2.00pm I was told, whew, that's quick, I thought.

Very prompt service

A nice young man came and checked the washing machine out.  It turned out there  a worn and damaged seal on the pipe which goes from the machine to underneath the tub which was leaking, and was easily replaced.  That's better than being told I needed to purchase a new washing machine.  So all my worry was for nothing, once again.

I peeked under the tub

After the pipe was replaced I gave the tub cabinet a wipe down and replaced all the bits and pieces which live there, laundry powder, cleaning products, that sort of thing.  The knitted selvedge mat which lives on the floor in front of the tub was sodden and needed washing, no problem, I've got a second one.  But...... it had a hole and I'd never got around to mending it, why didn't I repair it straight away, I asked myself.    So now was a good time to get on with fixing the hole, better late than never!

How did that happen?

Mmmm, what to do here?  This would be a bit difficult to knit the partial rows together.  So I found another selvedge strip, attached a safety pin to the end, and wove it in and out pulling those loops together.  There, done, and hardly noticeable.  It is now sitting in place on the floor in front of the laundry tub, the hole repaired, and looks fine.

 Selvedge mat in place

I checked back through earlier blogs to find that I started knitting  the selvedge mats in 2014 - that's quite a while ago!  It wasn't easy knitting at all, quite hard on my hands, but I persevered and made two.  And used up an awful lot of selvedges.  I got the idea from the very talented Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts. I loved seeing  all the different colours coming through, offset by the various neutrals.  I used up long lengths, and shorter selvedges too, whatever came to hand, stitching the ends together and wound it into several big balls.  

I started knitting these back in 2014

After all the excitement of the flood in the laundry, which is situated in the garage so didn't really do too much damage, it was nice to get some unexpected visitors pop in after the serviceman had been.  My niece Lisa, my late sister Kathleen's daughter, and Lisa's daughter Kate had come down to the Kapiti region for a long weekend, and called in on their way back to Hastings.

Lisa and Kate

The girls presented me with such a pretty little posy too.  Written on the card was "Dear Aunty Jenny, a little something from us to brighten your day".   Such a lovely thought, and yes indeed, my day certainly was made all the brighter.

A pretty posy of flowers

Selvedge sewing again

It was time to make another double handed oven mitt with my selvedges.  I had a bunch of brown ones, as I thought, but some were autumn toned with a touch of orange, so that worked well. I always stitch the pockets first, just to see how many selvedges I have to work with.  That done, I had enough  over for the body of the mitt, and used plain orange fabric for under the pockets.  Just as well I have a walking foot as stitching the binding on the mitt through all those layers is quite a job.

Stitching slowly through multiple layers

My nifty little clips are great to use while I hand stitch the binding through the hessian at the back.  I always used to stick myself with pins, no matter how careful I was.

Stitching the binding down on the back through the hessian

Finished, an orange one for June.  This is number six, and I have a few black selvedges left to use for the last one.  

Orange mitt for June

It was nice to attend the Social Sewing Day today (Saturday) with some quilt club ladies.  Just a casual day, where everyone does their own thing.  There was machine piecing and machine quilting taking place, plus hand stitching, embroidery, bindings, and even one of the ladies sewing buttons on jumpers knitted for charity.  I don't bother taking my sewing machine as it is much too heavy for me to cope with these days.  We take our own lunch, and there is always plenty of chatting going on, and checking out everyone's projects.  Many thanks to the two ladies who baked some muffins for our morning tea.

Nine happy quilters today

Final red stitching and Happy BIrthday

 Each month for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) I've been stitching up oven mitts in a bid to finally  use up my decreasing selvedge collection. The RSC colour this month is red, and I had a small group of red and mostly burgundy selvedge strips to work with.  There were just enough of these to make the two outside pockets on my double handed oven mitt.  There is quite a bit of stitching in these, but at last I was up to stitching the binding down.  I started this job last night, and finished it outside under the Archgola this morning.  Today the weather is nice and warm, hard to believe that sub tropical  storm Tam had been lashing Northland and causing a lot of damage.

All clipped and ready for stitching

It was pleasant sitting outside, working away, with a cuppa to hand.  Gemma was outside keeping me company too.  And here it is, all finished.  This is the fourth one so far, I've made one in pink, dark blue, yellow and now this last one.  These will probably be gifts later in the year.

Burgundy/red this month

Yesterday Gemma celebrated her 7th birthday.  Goodness, time goes fast.  I can remember when we collected her as a kitten, all those years ago.  Birman kittens are born white, and their colour points come in as they are growing.  Gemma is a Seal Point Birman.  She spent part of her birthday in her tower, laying on the pretty pink blanket I had recently knitted for her.

This is the life

Cats really have the best lives, don't they.  Gemma lounged about all day, then decided to tell me it was close enough to 5.00pm so it was her mealtime.   Of course I gave her some of her favourite food for her birthday dinner, a nice helping of Jimbos.  Then more snoozing after she had eaten her fill, cuddled up to the opossum fur cushion on the sofa.

My tummy is full and I'm sleeping

And another one, just because.  I changed the quilt on the bed today.

A little more Pink

Call me crazy but I've decided on another  RSC project - it's not as if I don't have enough from previous years waiting to be completed.   I had found a small bag of selvedges sitting and looking rather lonely.  "Don't forget about us", they cried.   I used to collect these but over the years had used quite a few up.  So why didn't I just discard the last remaining handful?  Probably because I thought it would be a good idea to stitch up a few double handed oven mitts to make use of them. My daughter and granddaughters are keen cooks so they will make useful gifts. And I'm sure I'll need another new one sooner or later.   There's certainly not all the colours of the rainbow in the bag, and I found a few in pink for January.  

First I stitched the hand pockets and that used up my pink selvedges.  I construct these oven mitts with hessian (sacking) on the back, then a layer of Insulbrite, a layer of toweling, then the top fabric, in this case a very bright pink.   There is quite a bit of heavy stitching through all the layers so of course I use my walking foot.  Here it is with the binding stitched on the front, and folded over to the back, ready to hand stitch down.   I love those little binding clips, just right for this job.

Ready to complete the binding

Our summer weather has been very hot lately so I sat outside at the back of the house in the shade to get the stitching done.  With my needle, cotton, clips and scissors I was all set, plus a glass of lemon water too.  It was much too hot to sit on the patio with the sun streaming down overhead.  

Stitching time outside

All finished, and the pink selvedges are finally used up

The other selvedge colours I've found is a handful of green, yellow, brown, red, blue, and blacks, all sorted and clipped together.  Wonder what group I'll get to work with next?

Pink and Blue RSC Blocks

In between the usual Saturday chores I spent some time today at my sewing machine.  It was time to sew some more Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks, and I’m doing some catch up sewing from last month too.  Being away on a caravan holiday for 3 weeks meant I couldn’t complete all my pink sewing for June, so I’m pleased I’m now up to date.  The colour for July is dark blue, am I the only one hankering for some cheery sunny yellow?  But I’ve sorted through my dark blue scraps and organised what I need for my RSC blocks. I’ve stitched my simplest blocks first this months, and have made two selvedge string blocks, one in pink, the other in dark blue.  My selvedge bag is still far from empty!

Two selvedge blocks

I rather like the spool blocks -  I found this cute selvedge spool pattern on Lorna’s blog Sew Fresh Quilts.  You can find the post and free pattern here.   One pink catch up block, and one blue one, so this project is up to date now as well.  These pretty little spools will eventually become a small wall hanging for the sewing room.

Two spool blocks – done

It’s always good to tick another item or two off the to-do list, and there's always plenty of other projects waiting their turn.

Green Selvedge Sewing

I’ve a little more dark green sewing to share this week, using some of my selvedges.  Don’t know why, but no matter how many selvedge strips I use each time, there seems to be just as many hiding in the bag!  Many thanks to Angela of So Scrappy for organising all the Rainbow Scrap Challenge sewers and running the Linky Party.  It’s always so nice to see what others have been stitching too each week.

So what RSC stitching have I done this week?  Another selvedge block to add with the others I’ve already stitched.  These will probably get made into a tote bag, unless I come up with another idea.  And while I had the green selvedges out and all over the floor, I thought I would make a double handed oven cloth. Luckily I had some sacking for the backing, that always wears well, plus some toweling for the middle layer.

Sewing with green selvedges

Let’s see how the selvedge blocks all look together, I’m sure they will play nicely and behave themselves.  Will still need to do more of course as the months progress, wonder what the colour for June will be? 

Selvedge blocks so far

Selvedge Bag – Finished!

I’m so pleased my selvedge bag is finished – now I can cross it off my list.  I had the top bands to complete, and the lining to sew in to the bag body.  It always seems strange to stitch the lining and the body of the bag together around the top edge, then turn it right sides out through an unstitched portion of the lining.  But this method works, just like magic, it seems.  With a good press, some top stitching, and a little hand sewing to complete that partial seam in the lining, the bag was finally done.

Selvedge bag is now finished

The design, “Spring Fiesta” was from the magazine Simply Patchwork and Stitching, Vol 10 No 3, and was shown in the magazine made from bright floral squares.  I stitched a nice little collection of small selvedge squares to make my bag with.  Then tucked them away with the magazine and forgot about them for a while.

Socializing this week plus a little Sewing

Once again, it’s been a busy old week.  Plenty of outings – Sew Wots on Tuesday, Morning Tea on Wednesday, and a ladies Lunch today, Thursday.  In-between all this socializing I rolled the dice to see which of the projects on my List of Six.  It was number 4, my selvedge bag.  Last time I worked on it, the bag was up to this stage. 

I’ve now stitched the the pieces for the top of the bag, and made the lining.  Hopefully I’ll get it all assembled tomorrow.  Watch this space! Then I’ll be able to cross this project off my list.

This little piece is what started me on my selvedge journey.  It was sent to me by my pen-friend Carol from South Dakota several years ago, to show me how it was done.  I’ve now lined this little square and have added it to the lining as an inside pocket.

I really must write a new List of Six, as several projects have now been completed.  I’m sure I’ll find some more UFOs hiding in the wardrobe to add to the list.

The Slow Saga of the Selvedge Bag

I’ve never been good at jigsaws, and I’m not much better at putting the pieces of my selvedge bag together.  This is in spite of having an illustration on how to lay out the diagonal pieces in rows with setting triangles at the end of each row.  What I got completely wrong was trying to fit the setting triangles onto each corner to square things up.  Mind you, the instructions had this step shown quite clearly, but I hadn’t read them thoroughly!

Finally, I got it all sorted out and started sewing the rows together.  As I got towards the end, I realised that some of my selvedge blocks were turned the wrong way.  You know what that means, lots of unpicking, just to turn those pesky little squares the right way round.  I wasn't quite ready to give up for the day, so stitched the ric rac over the seam lines, and stay stitched all those bias edges.

The body of the bag

Then today, I stitched the handles for the bag, and read through the instructions on how to add the lining.  That didn’t make much sense to me, so everything got put away, and I’ll have to study it again.  So that’s where my bag is at, still in pieces but definitely a step forward.

I’ve been sitting at the dining table doing a little hand quilting yesterday.  Although chilly outside, the sun was streaming in the window and it was very pleasant.  Our Birman cat Gemma decided that my empty quilting bag was just to her liking and settled down in it.  After all, she is probably thinking with her pussy cat brain, if I’m busy quilting, she can sit behind my chair and keep an eye on me.  Gemma likes to be close by.   

Gemma is helping with the quilting, so she thinks

One of those Days

Guess I’m not the only one who’s day doesn’t always go to plan.  With Robin out and about, and a day to myself at home today, I was looking forward to spending some time at the sewing machine.  But first…… a load of washing, followed by a stint of ironing.  Perhaps I should clean the bathroom, to make it look fresh and clean.  Now what about the floor?  With threads from sewing, and a white cat who seems to drop fur everywhere, there were bits and pieces all over the carpet.  I did contemplate leaving this chore for another day, but then, what is someone popped in?  So out came the vacuum cleaner, that horrible noisy thing which had Gemma scampering away to hide – anyone would think her life was in danger! Job done, and I have to admit it looks so much better.  Made some broccoli and cheese soup in the microwave, and finally sat down at midday with a bowl of delicious soup and toast, and the day was half over. 

So I only achieved a little sewing in the afternoon on my selvedge bag.  The blocks have been laid out and stitched in rows, and some setting triangles added.  This is what I’ve done so far, it doesn’t look too bad.

Starting on my selvedge bag

The plan is, once again, to work on this project again tomorrow.  So hopefully I’ll have more to show at the end of the day.  I doubt if I’ll get it completed, but each little bit helps, one step at a time.

The Secret Life of of Cats

Our cat Gemma gets up to all sorts of mischief at night.  Mind you, she does this very quietly and we don't hear a thing.  Come morning however, we see what she has been getting up to while we have been sleeping.  Not content with dropping her little mouse toys into her water bowl, as reported last week, she has been inflicting the same punishment on her toy snake.

Toy snake in the water bowl

Gemma often takes a swipe at the small wall hangings too.  She knows there is dingly-dangly cord hanging behind each one and this is what she is really after.  The other morning we came out to the sitting room to find these two hanging at crazy angles.

Attacked by the cat in the dead of night

This is how they should be hanging

The picture of innocence

It’s Roll the Dice Monday again today, so I was keen to see which number on my list I would be working on this week.  Number four – my selvedge bag.  This is an old project I had forgotten about and I found the little selvedge blocks tucked away in a magazine.  I obviously wanted to use up some small selvedge lengths when I stitched these blocks.

Project number four, selvedge bag

I’d better get going and make a start on this.  Once again, it is another busy week (aren’t they all) with several social occasions, a medical appointment, and then we are off and away in the caravan on Thursday for the long Queen’s Birthday Weekend. Monday is a public holiday, but we decided we would go early and have Friday away too.

Selvedges in the Mail

How exciting – there was an unexpected parcel in the mail today, and it was addressed to me!  Sent from quilting buddy Roz from Dannevirke, it was chocker-block full of lovely selvedges all all hues.  I know that Roz does a lot of sewing for charity, and all these selvedges show just how busy she has been.  Thanks so much Roz, I really appreciate your kindness.

Lots of lovely selvedges to play with

I’m currently half way through doing a selvedge project, which I will show shortly as soon as it is completed.  And now I have plenty more to replenish my supply!

Playing with Selvedges

It’s not as if I don’t have plenty of sewing to do, what with having so many UFOs that I’m too scared to count them.  But I really wanted to make another set of place mats for our breakfast table.  Thought I would use up some of those selvedges that are hanging about in a bag.   I used two fabrics, one for the backing, and another layer in the middle.    This is such easy sewing:  lay down the first selvedge, place the second one over the raw wedge, sew and repeat.  When it is big enough, trim, then bind.  Easy peasy.

   Selvedge placemats

Some of the strips are really narrow, while others are wider to show off the fabric.  They certainly look nice and colourful but I hardly made a dent in my selvedges.  Never mind, I’ve got another project in mind to use some more up.

I’m working steadily on a couple of UFOs too.  One just needs some hand stitching to complete it, and then I can take it along next week to our first quilt club meeting of the year.  It will be good to see what others have been doing over the holiday season.

Selvedges in the Mail

I love surprises, and I love getting parcels.  The mail man delivered at lovely surprise parcel addressed to me from fellow quilter Roz.  And it was stuffed full of selvedges – how great is that!  Thanks Roz, I really appreciate it, and you can be sure they will be put to good use. 

Bag of selvedges in the mail

My rail fence blocks are coming along slowly.  I took them on our South Island caravan trip and used them as a diary, writing down places we had stayed, and attractions we had seen.  After going “great guns” earlier in the week and stitching them all into sets of two, I then had to unpick half of them because I really didn’t think things through properly.  Of course, with this pattern, I had forgotten that two of the blocks go one way, and the other two go the other way.  More haste, less speed!

That’s enough stitching for today, I’ll sit quietly in front of the telly tonight and pin up the rows of blocks I’ve stitched today, all ready for another stint at the sewing machine tomorrow.  Then I’ll know for sure that I’ve got them the right way around.

Rail Fence blocks

I love surprises

I love surprises, and I received a surprise packet in the mail.  Wonder what it is?  Oh look, it’s a whole pile of selvedges, sent from Roz.  How kind, she had promised to send some and here they are.  It is a good assortment too, with a nice amount of the patterned fabric left on.  Amongst all the colours I spotted a black and white selvedge from “Grease – Paramount Pictures”.  And as an extra surprise there is a little white pussy cat cut-out – for Muffy perhaps?  I have a couple of selvedge projects in mind so these will come in very handy.

Thanks so much, Roz

I first met Roz in March this year on our travels after exchanging emails now and then.  She reads our blogs and had asked if we could pop in next time we travelled through her town.  Roz is kept busy stitching for the Sano Diyo quilt project,  and her aim is to complete 50 quilts to send over to be distributed to the orphanages in Nepal.  Thanks so much for the parcel, Roz.

A new convert, perhaps?

My friend Kathryn is recovering from an operation on her ankle so is resting at home.  Her leg is well plastered and she needs to keep it elevated and well rested.  Grand-daughter Thea has written all over the plaster, writing her name, Mummy and Daddy’s names,  as well as “I  love you” on Nana’s leg.  A walker helps her get around the house, but she must be careful not to overdo things.  “Can you come and help get me started with some patchwork?”, she asked.  Of course I could – so I bought something tasty from a bakery for our lunches, and went to see what I could do to help.

Kathryn is keen to start stitching

Over a period of time Kathryn had bought a dozen or so fat quarters, a few half yards, and a whole bunch of fabric squares.  That sounds suspiciously like the beginnings of a stash to me!  She also had several bag patterns that she was eager to stitch, and a set of four small stitcheries showing the seasons.  Where to start, she wanted to know.  Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be starting today, I told her.  The first thing to do, I told her, was to wash the fabric.  I know that opinions vary on this point, but I am definately in the “always wash first“ club. 

Kathryn’s stash

So we bundled up the fabric and I took it home to wash and iron.  I certainly didn’t mind this little chore, especially as I get to cut off and keep the selvedges, as a bonus.  However, more than half of the fabrics were pre-cut and packaged fabric from USA, and these unfortunately all came without a printed selvedge edge.  Doesn’t it all look nice drying in the breeze?

Patchwork fabric hanging up to dry

I can help with the stitcheries too.  It will be just a quick job to trace them out on some cream homespun over my light box.  And I know I can spare a little pellon as well to place behind the stitching.

Seasonal stitcheris

So next time I pop in to visit Kathryn, she will have her stitcheries traced, and her patchwork fabric all freshly washed and ironed.  I’ll take my board and cutter too, so that she can start sewing one of those bags.  How nice to have a new convert to P & Q.

A bag with a difference.

Arriving home from our holiday last week I was delighted to find a Christmas parcel waiting to be discovered in the mail box.  What fun, I love parcels, don’t you?  It was from my quilting buddy Carol, who lives in South Dakota.  What could it be?  I try to avoid reading the customs declaration so that I get a nice surprise. It was a bag, made from woven selvages.  Now, that’s a clever idea, I haven’t seen selvedges used quite like this before.  A lovely label is sewn on to the inside pocket.

My new selvedge bag

It was thanks to Carol that I discovered the wonderful world of working with selvedges, and she also gave me the link to Karen Griska’s great Selvage blog.  Do check it out, it is full of all sorts of inspiring works of art.   I bet I’m not the only stitcher who laments on all the selvedges which were cut off and discarded over the years.

 Close up of woven strips

Carol and I obviously both had these interesting little strips on our minds for Christmas, because I sent her a little selvage Christmas Tree wall-hanging.  Great minds must think alike!

My gift to Carol