Slow Start to the Week

Ours hasn’t been a very well household at all this week.  Robin came down with a dose of “man flu” on Sunday and that clipped his wings for several days.  Then of course, the bug left him behind and hopped over to me.  With a sore throat, coughing, and head aches I was feeling so poorly that I didn’t make it to our monthly quilt guild meeting, much better to be tucked up safe and warm at home, and keep my hacking cough to myself.

Of course, I just had to roll the dice this week on Monday, although I didn’t start sewing for several days.  The dice rolled 1, which is my Chicken Quilt.  For the background I’m using neutral string blocks from Bonnie Hunter’s pattern “Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll” which I made some years ago when the mystery quilt was introduced.  Sadly, that’s as far as I got, and these blocks have been sitting quietly waiting all this time.

String blocks stitched on light Vilene

I’m making a cot sized donation quilt so laid the blocks out four across and six down, then stitched the rows together.

The top assembled

Originally, I had planned on appliqueing a couple of large colourful chickens on this top, (hence the name Chicken Quilt) but I’ve since changed my mind.  The neutral string blocks have a lot more colour than I remembered, so I’ve decided to quilt it and use a colourful binding. I feel that the chicken applique might be too much, and I can use them on a plainer background, sometime in the future.  What do you think – have I made the right decision? 

It’s been put aside today as I was getting a little peaky sitting and stitching away, but will get back to it tomorrow.  We are home this weekend so I should have some spare time to do more on this project, depending how I feel.

I had a bit of “down time” relaxing today in front of the TV, watching “The Great British Sewing Bee”.  This programme is always fun to watch, but I’m sure I couldn’t perform in such a pressure cooker environment.  Slow and steady, that’s me!

Another Sew Wot Tuesday

It was another fortnightly Sew Wot Tuesday today, and we met in Carol’s home.   During Show and Tell I got to show off my recently completed Selvedge Bag.  Then Helen showed some more baby knitting, for a new family arrival, a pretty pink cardigan, and two little hats.

Baby knitting by Helen

Next up was Helen’s king sized quilt, made from the design of 100 Blocks, by Tula Pink.  And yes, there is 100 blocks there, each one different.  This quilt has just come back from being commercially quilted, by Deborah, of Country Life Quilting.

Helen with her king sized quilt

Our hostess Carol had been busy knitting too, and had finished some more baby knitting for charity.

Carol’s baby knitting

Last time the Sew Wots met up, Mary had showed us a couple of easy quilt patterns.  Carol has recently finished a baby sized version of “Twist and Shout”.  This is a good design to use up strips.

Carol’s baby quilt

While we wee flicking through a pile of older quilting magazines to see if there was any that wanted to come home with us, Carol was organizing our morning tea.  The pot of White Tea was a hit with the tea drinkers, not something I had come across before.

Morning Tea for the ladies

Mary arrived a little later with two of her grand-daughters, it’s school holiday time over here.  While the girls had there own little morning tea together, Mary showed us her beautiful Bargello Christmas Quilt, another one expertly quilted by Country Life Quilting.  Mary told us she had pieced this quilt top way back in 2006 on her mother’s treadle sewing machine.  So she is pleased that it is finally completed – but good things take time, don’t they!

Mary’s Christmas quilt

I always enjoy our Sew Wot mornings together.  It’s always good to meet up with the ladies – especially as I have to miss the next two get-togethers due to other appointments.

Slow Stitching on a Wet Weekend

We have just had three rather wet and cold days away in the caravan.  Just as well I had some hand quilting to do.  I’m currently working on the Puriri Wreath block, on my New Zealand Botanical quilt.

A little hand quilting

The rain kept coming down, the wind blew, but we were nice and cozy inside our caravan.  Gemma was interested watching the rain drops trickle down the front window.  And any birds she saw looking for worms outside put her in to a state of great excitement!

Yes Gemma, it’s still raining outside

The weather may have been bad, but the company was good.  We were away with our caravan club friends in Carterton for the weekend, but four of us decided to arrive a day early – just because we could.

Some of our caravans in a row

The camp was very pleasant, nice and tidy with good facilities, and we had the use of a large room to gather in.  In between the showers I went for a walk to see what I could see.  This nicely landscaped corner by the office had a small aviary, with birds chirping inside.  I took a walk around the camp and came across some sheep in the paddock over the fence.  This one must be valued for it’s coloured fleece, I’m sure.  We don't usually see piebald sheep like this, I must say.

Seen on my wander around the camp

As often happens when it is time to go home, Sunday dawned clear and sunny.  Retracing our journey, we headed back through Eketahuna, which calls itself Kiwi Country.  Probably because this little town is not too far from Pukaha National Wildlife Centre, which has bred some rare white kiwis.  The flightless kiwi is our national bird, and the Wildlife Centre is a great place for visitors to stop if they are passing by.

Seen in Eketahuna

Regardless of the weather, we still had a great weekend away, catching up with our caravan club friends.  What’s a little wind and rain in the winter, after all?

A Slow Start

Here it is Wednesday already and I haven’t made much of an impact on my sewing this week.  I’m working on number 3 on my list, a horse panel quilt.  So far I’ve chosen some fabrics to go with it, and cut and stitched some long strips.  That’s all I’ve done so far!

This horse panel was originally purchased some years ago for one or other of my grand-daughters, but they are much too grown up now to want something like this.  With three different panels tucked away in my stash, I’ve decided to add a donation quilt to my list each time I update it and use them up. 

Sewing is over now for the day, in fact for the week, as we are traveling away in our caravan tomorrow (Thursday) for a three day caravan club weekend.  Heavy rain has been falling over the last couple of hours, and it’s too wet to start packing the van.  With any luck, it will have rained itself out overnight and will be a nicer day tomorrow.

Being mid winter, I’ll be sure to pack some warm winter woolies, my stitching bag, a book or two for the weekend away.  I’ve got some nice home made soup to take and made an apricot slice too.  Will pack the rest of the food tomorrow.

Time for a new List

With several items on my list finished, it’s time to write a new List of Six.  As I’ve said before, I’ll never run out of things to do!

No 1:  Chicken quilt.  Replaces NZ Botanical quilt which has moved on to become a hand quilting project.

No 2:   Sampler quilt – hasn’t has it’s number called yet.

No 3:   Horse panel quilt.  Purchased some time ago and this will be made up as a donation quilt.

No 4:  Caravan place mats.  Replaces my just completed Selvedge bag.

No 5:   Christmas Mystery quilt.  Now pieced together and sandwiched, ready for machine quilting.

No 6:  Christmas table runner.  Replaces my UK holiday memory blocks made into a future quilt backing.

Six projects in a row

Yesterday I wanted to make sure that my Christmas Mystery quilt was pinned and sandwiched together, just in case number 5 was rolled this week.  What a job I had getting it all nice and flat.  The trouble is that I don’t have a lot of spare floor room here, and only a smallish table to lay it all out.  The top seemed fine, but when I turned it over to check, there were puckers on the back.  So I had to remove the safety pins, bit by bit, and smooth it out again. 

Today I rolled the dice, and number three came up, the horse panel quilt.  No time to even start on this, the afternoon was taken  up with Robin’s Menz Shed friends who came to hang our new drier on the wall.  Gemma wasn’t at all pleased with the loud voices, bangs and whirring noises coming from the garage, and hid herself away in her box on the cat tower.

Hiding from the loud noises

After 5 years managing without a drier, I decided I wanted one after all.  Not that we tend to use driers a lot here in New Zealand, most of us like to hang our laundry outside in the sun shine and fresh air.  But now it’s winter, there are sure to be cold wet days when a drier will be very handy.  Guess I'll have to read the instruction booklet.

Side by side in the garage, tub, washing machine, chest deep freezer, and new drier installed overhead

Hopefully, I’ll get started on this new project tomorrow, it’s always exciting starting something new, isn’t it.

The Sewing Day that Wasn’t

I was all set on Saturday for a day of stitching with my quilt guild members.  My packed lunch was all prepared, and I had sorted out my hand stitching projects to work on.  I took plenty - you have to make sure that you don’t run out of things to sew, do you?  Plus my camera, and note book, after all, there’s sure to be something happening which is blog worthy.  Waving goodbye to Robin, off I went to the hall.  But on arrival I could see that the gate was locked up tight, and not a soul was in sight.  So I waited for a while – perhaps the organizers were running a little late.  After a while, I left to do a couple of small jobs, then returned to see if the Sewing Day was underway.  Nope, the hall was still locked up tight, nothing for it but to return home.

So I had a sewing day at home, just by myself.  First I did some hand quilting.  This little Christmas stitchery will be turned into a Christmas cushion to be used in our caravan.  I thought I’d share two little gifts which I use when hand quilting.  The little wooden needle holder was made for me by Lewis, a woodworker friend who sadly passed away several years ago.  His wife Shirley and I share a love of patchwork and quilting. 

 

I keep my small supply of hand quilting thread in this pretty little pouch, another gift.  The pouch was made for me by Peggy of http://crazyquilter.blogspot.com/

After lunch I had a change, and did some more work  on my Autumn  stitchery.  I used a pretty variegated orange thread to stitch my Autumn hued leaf.

After a phone call to our President to find out what had happened, she called me back later to say that the Sewing Day had not been cancelled.  The organizers had simply forgotten that it was on! 

Although it was a shame not to meet up with my quilt guild buddies this time, I’m pleased that I used the time to sit and quietly stitch for a while.

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.