Scrappy Checkerboard Borders

It’s border time today and I’ve been sewing my burgundy and white squares together to make a border for the quilt destined for our caravan.  They started off like this.

Lots of little twosies

And have grown to this, long lines of burgundy and white checks.

Growing ever longer

This week I’m working on UFO number One on my List of Six, and this is the final border on the quilt.  I should really lay it all out, see how long I need to make each side, and decide on how I’m going to do the corners.  Decisions, decisions.

The interim name for this quilt is my Caravan Quilt, as I did most of the stitchery blocks while on holiday in our caravan over a period of time.  We would travel in the mornings, do a little sight seeing, and then relax later in the day under a shady tree.  The blokes enjoyed a cool beer each, while I happily stitched away with a coffee to hand.  The flowers and leaves were then coloured using fabric pens, a first for me.

Stitchery block

I’m sure I’ll come up with a more appropriate name before this top is finished – just have to put my thinking cap on.

A little quiet Stitching

HI everyone, and thanks again for all your good wishes.  I have decided to take Annette’s advice and not “roll the dice” this week.  With a week chocker-block with appointments and a caravan club weekend away (on Friday) to look forward to, time wise it didn’t really work this week.  Sitting in my sewing room at the back of the house just didn’t appeal to me – so I didn’t!

But I have managed to a little quiet stitching, sitting outside on the patio with the birds keeping me company.  The bird feeder has been very popular, but the birds kept their distance for a while.  They were not too keen on me intruding in the space as I sat quietly at the table.  They lined themselves up on the fence and on next door’s roof, waiting to see if I would go away.

The birds are playing the waiting game

They finally got enough courage up to come closer to the bird feeder, playing acrobats as the hung off this feeder and that feeder.  There were plenty of Hedge Sparrows, and I was pleased to see native birds too, Wax-eyes and Greenfinches.

All the birds came calling

While the birds were feeding, I was sitting quietly at the patio table doing a little stitching.  I’m working on “O is for Ornaments”, part of my Christmas ABC blocks.

And here’s one I finished earlier – “N is for Noel”.  These stitcheries are based of Michelle Ridgeway’s  Alphabet Noel design booklet.

N is for Noel

My stitching bag will definitely get packed away in the caravan for the weekend, and hopefully I will get a little time to do some more work on the letter O.  If not, it doesn’t matter – there is no timetable in place for this project.  Hope everyone has a nice weekend too.

Just a quick Update

It’s been a while since I wrote about my “troubles”, so here is a quick update for all those readers who have been so supportive over the last few months.  I don’t want to dwell too much on health issues, (it’s more fun to talk about quilting, don’t you think) and it seems I’m on the home stretch now, as far as my treatment for breast cancer goes.

After waiting and waiting – these things take time and there is a due process to go through, I realise, I have now started my radiation treatment.  So off I go each day, with my little hospital bag packed.

All set for another hospital visit

My lovely new bag was a gift from Jean who blogs as All Points of the Compass.  Inside is my hospital gown – I was given one on my first session and was told it is mine for the duration, to launder as required.  It didn’t have a belt, leaving me feeling  rather vulnerable, so I quickly stitched a length of tape on the back.  So much better, I can keep in closed now.  I also have to take my Patient ID Card, to prove that I am who I think I am.  There is also room in my bag for my library book, to help if appointments are running late.

There was heavy frost everywhere when I started my journey today, all over the ground, and on each roof in our village.  As we drove up the the hospital, the paddocks were a swathe of white frost.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and away in the distance I could see the top of Mt Ruapehu  – the conditions have to be crisp and clear to see the mountain that far away.  Too far away to try and take a clear photo, though.

Frost on our roof at home

And for those who don’t know what a  Linear Accelerator looks like, I asked if I could take a photo.  My grand-daughters have no idea what happens and were concerned that I was feeling rather sad about it all – isn’t that sweet?  I’m sad because I got sick, I told them, but I’m really happy with all the health care I’m getting from the hospital. 

Linear Accelerator ready for action

“I’ll take your photo”, one of the very helpful staff told me – there are three Radiation therapists working each machine.  “Do you want to get on the bed?”.  No thanks, just by the machine would be fine.  So here I am in my fetching blue gown.

So that’s where I’m up to at this stage, and I’m travelling up to the hospital every day from Monday to Friday for three weeks.  Luckily they give me the weekends off for good behaviour.

I’m still planning on “rolling the dice” each week, although of course I won’t have the same amount of time available with the several hours taken out of my day with travelling for my treatment.  But I’ll get to check out which UFO is chosen each week, give it a pat or two, and see what I feel like doing in the available time.  Energy levels could well be down during this treatment so I’ll just have to take things one day at a time. 

I realise of course that some readers could well be going through something similar, or have a friend or family member touched by cancer.  So I do hope that I haven’t upset anyone with this post, that certainly wasn’t my intention.  I’m just trying to show how I’m coping, and to thank everyone for their ongoing support and kind messages.

Cushion for Emma

I obviously miscalculated when I was whipping up nine patch blocks for Emma’s horse quilt and have a pile left over.  So I decided to utilise a few and make her a cushion.  A big cushion, using four of the black and grey blocks.  She can use the cushion on her bed, artfully arranged “just so” on top of her new quilt (read about the quilt here).  Or maybe she would like to cuddle up to her new cushion on the couch. 

Emma’s big cushion

After days of cold, wet, miserable weather, it was great to see the sunshine again.  With the washing hanging on the clothesline outside in the sun, I’m a very happy camper indeed.  And I’ve been busy in the kitchen too, and made some tasty leek and potato soup for lunch.   Yum – I’m a real home made soup lover, although Robin is not so keen.  My reply to him – just be thankful you have a nice wife who cooks you soup and looks after you so well!

Leek and potato soup for lunch

The Great All Breeds Horse Show Quilt

The top is finally finished – the Great All Breeds Horse Show quilt!  Previously known as the black, grey and raspberry horse quilt which I’m making (in secret) for my grand-daughter Emma.  After all these months, I knew I had to come up with a better name.  Emma has ridden since a young age, and loves anything to do with horses.  She requested black and grey, and with the addition of 18 embroidered named  horse heads encompassing the many different horse breeds, I’m sure she will love her new quilt.

Photo time was not terribly successful.  The quilt top was too long to hang nicely outside on the clothesline.  And I had to be aware of the damp pathway underneath.  

Photo shoot outside

Perhaps a photo inside would be better?  Here’s the top spread over our bed.

And an inside version

I’m also planning ahead and have got the binding prepared – all ready to apply.

Binding prepared

This top is much too big for me to handle the quilting myself, so I will be taking it around to commercial quilter Paula who did such a marvelous job on my daughter’s 50th birthday quilt last year.   It’s taken a while, and I’m really pleased that this top, UFO number 5 is finally completed.  Now, what shall I stitch next?

Measuring, cutting, pinning

It was time to get started on those black homespun borders for grand-daughter Emma’s horse quilt.  So the first job was to stitch several lengths of the border fabric together, and give it a good press.  Then I pressed the top, measured it carefully, measured and cut the first border to size, and got pinning.  Lots of pins – that’s how I like it, the more pins the better.

First border pinned on

I know I’ve said it before, but I really like utilising “leaders and enders sewing” when I’m working at the sewing machine.  And I have to admit that I’m quite well organised at the moment.  There is one lot of “darks” for when I’m stitching with black or dark grey thread, and another lot sitting there waiting for when the machine is threaded up with light thread.  All this leader and ender sewing is bonus stitching, as far as I’m concerned, and the pieces getting stitched really mount up quickly.  That's one border on, three more to go.

Finishing the seam with an ender – for another project.

With so much machining done lately, I’m almost out of cream thread, and getting low on some others.  A visit to Spotlight while we were in Palmerston North soon fixed that.  And I received a 15% discount with my Gold Card, so that was a bargain.

Replenishing the threads

And the Dice rolls Five

This week, with the roll of the dice, it’s back to the black, grey and raspberry horse quilt.  (I really must think of a better name that that, I feel.) There is not a great deal more to do on the UFO, thank goodness.  Just the matter of finishing it off by attaching a plain black homespun border around the edges.  And of course, I have to carefully take several measurements, to ensure that I don’t end up with wavy borders.

Border fabric cut ready and waiting

Its been a wet, miserable day here in my part of the world.  While those in the Northern Hemisphere are no doubt enjoying summer sunshine, it is mid winter here in New Zealand.  When the temperatures drop, I make soup for lunch, just can’t help myself.  And today’s lunch was thick and creamy Kumara Soup, with just a touch of curry, and quickly cooked in the microwave.  From one of my Alison Holst cookbooks, known as St Holst in our household, I’ll share the recipe.  If you don’t know what a kumara is, it’s a type of sweet potato, red skinned and golden flesh inside.

Kumara soup

500gr kumara

50gr butter

2 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon curry powder (optional)

1 cup boiling water

2 teaspoons chicken stock granules

2-3 cups milk

Peel kumara and slice thinly.  Place butter, garlic and curry powder in large casserole dish, cook on high  for 2 minutes or until bubbling.  Add slice kumara.  Cover and cook until kumara is tender, about 10 minutes or a little longer if necessary.  Add stock granules, puree and add 2 cups of milk.  Return mixture to casserole dish and reheat, adding more milk if desired.