Resewing the Scraps

So a week ago the tall boy runner improv back looked like this:

And now it looks like this:

I was not happy with where the WiP was going and so I did some unpicking of what I had done and some other leftovers. A bit of flipping and turning and I am much happier.

The Front and the Back....

I know that the seams do not match up but they are near enough for me not to worry. I have basted and then will get to work quilting these two to make it double sided.

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  Tall Boy Runner (back)

                                         'Sliced Scrappy' block for QCA Bee #1

Currently in progress -  Tall Boy Runner (quilting and binding)

                                                                                           

Yet to start  -  'Spooling Around' paper pieced block

                          'Sew Mid Century' paper pieced block for Wombat Stew

                          Lorax Quilt

                           

  

Linking up to WiP Wednesday...

Scrapping Along

If you are looking for my 'Sew Retro' Paper Piecing Pattern Give Away you can find it here. If you visit Jeanette at Gone Aussie Quilting's blog, not only does she have a fabulous version of this pattern already quilted, but I think her Heather Ross Spoonflower prints are the best give away in the whole blog hop.

Too Busy for Scrapping

I have not had much time to work on the back of the Tall Boy Runner this past week. My closest friend is moving away this weekend and I have been busy helping her with childminding, packing and a spot of weeding.

I have a few ideas on the go - a log cabin (yes but not really enough long strips left over)

                                         - a more traditional block using squares

                                         - a sort of improvisational piece (my favourite kind of piecing)

I am happy to pursue all of these options until I can make up my mind which is most suitable.

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  Dresser Runner (back) 

Currently in progress -  Tall Boy Runner (back)

                                                                                           

Yet to start  -  'Spooling Around' paper pieced block

                          'Sliced Scrappy' block for QCA Bee #1

                          'Sew Mid Century' paper pieced block for Wombat Stew

                          Lorax Quilt

                           

  

Linking up with WiP Wednesday.



Medical Update

Duncan's Myositis has cleared up and he has been back at school since last Friday.

Last Thursday I went and saw a Hand and Upper Arm Specialist about my swollen index finger. He seems to think that the palm spike tip (about 1mm) is not the cause of the inflammation anymore. He seems to think that my finger has developed what is called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

I won't bore you with the details but it is not very nice. I really do hope that it is not too late for my finger. Indeed I think some of the swelling has eased, some of the functionality has returned but I am a long way from straightening it.

Thankfully the pain is not excruciating and so I declined to go back to Brisbane again this week to see a Pain and Rehabilitation Specialist for treatment. I saw my GP today and obtained a referral to a Hand Clinic that visits locally on Wednesdays. So tomorrow I am off to see a Hand Physiotherapist. I have developed some dermatitis on it but I suspect that my poor finger is under a loss of stress from the CRPS.

Luckily it is not too painful to sew by hand or on the machine.

Astor Manor Dresser Runner

So nice to finish my retro-fitted runner and have it ready for Autumn. This NEW side will match my Astor Manor quilt that I will break out now that we are in Autumn.

It has such lovely earthy tones to it. Yes ALL our internal walls are brick!

It has been this side up for ever-so-long. This was made with scraps leftover from the 'Hope' quilt plus a Moda Scrap bag.

Linking up to TGIFF this week.



Chicken Update

Breanna has stitches in her neck and a drain to help drain the fluid build up

Both injured hens have been reunited with the flock in the NEW chicken yard. They have to go back to the vet for daily antibiotic injections but they are looking so much better. The vet is very pleased with their progress. And after Washington laid an egg in their yard they have told us to bring them back any time. They said it's been nice to treat something other than cats and dogs and having them free range out the back makes it feel 'very homely'.

Medical Update

Duncan is doing much better and has a barely noticeable gait when he walks but he is not back at full walking speed. He will return to school today. He has missed 8 days of school with this virus.

You can see the difference in appearance and movement in my right index finger

Me - The hand specialist does not think that tip of the palm spike is causing the stiffness, swelling, shine and sensitivity to my right index finger. He think I have developed what is called CRPS - Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. 

It's been a week for googling medical diagnosis. This one is particularly nasty and the longer left untreated, the worse the results. Thankfully pain is not the main feature of my condition - but loss of movement/function is. So instead of going back to Brisbane to see another Specialist (Pain and Rehabilitation), I am going back to my GP to get a referral to see a Physiotherapist who can help me with restoring movement back to my finger.

I must say that since reading about the condition I have been massaging the skin to stimulate blood flow and also using it and moving it a lot more and it seems to have improved in both appearance and function. So I am hoping to make a recovery. Surgery usually makes the condition worse and since my little procedure on Feb 14th I must say that the symptoms got worse. Before then I could nearly straighten my finger. The palm spike tip is still in my finger but not causing pain at the site at all. 

Retro Fitting a Runner

I made this dresser runner last year but just backed it with French General textured solid. Now I wish that I had made it double sided. I do love the triangular quilting from the front showing through.

I went off to my first Sunday Sew In at Rainbow Patchwork and discovered that I had 3 nine patch blocks of Astor Manor already sewn together. 

So my question is...Can I retro-fit the back of this runner with these 9 Patch squares and what technique should I use? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  'Sew Retro - crockery" block for Wombat Stew

Currently in progress -  Tall Boy Runner (top complete)
                                            Dresser Runner (back)

                                               

Yet to start  - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                           

On Hold projects   - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                                     - 4 Liberty Pillowcases 

                                     - Victorian Garden Quilt - to baste

       

Linking up with WiP Wednesday.

A Top Runner

Before our wild and woolly long weekend I did manage to get my Tall Boy Runner top complete. I have not been able to sew since due to the clean up, all of my kid's starting the school year and some scheduled electrical upgrades here in our new house.

I am going to make it double sided with different fabrics on the back. I have a couple of mini - charms of Astor Manor and some scraps leftover from my queen bed quilt. I am still looking for the right pattern but am leaning towards a smaller version of Charming Stars which I used for a double-sided RWB Runner last year.

In hindsight I wish that I had made my dresser runner double sided but I just backed it with calico. I hope to start my 2nd top this weekend when I join a group of ladies at Rainbow Patchwork this Sunday for a 'Sew In'. It will be my first 'real' quilting group held each first Sunday of the month. And I am hoping Kirsten from Gemini Stitches will be there too!

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  'And Sew On' Jan block

                           'Just My Type' 'Faith' block for Kristy

Currently in progress -  Tall Boy Runner (top complete)

                                               

Yet to start  - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                           

On Hold projects   - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                                     - 4 Liberty Pillowcases 

                                     - Victorian Garden Quilt - to baste

                                     

Linking up with...WiP Wednesday

The Big Tidy Up

We have a house inspection this week with the real Estate Agent AND the owner so we've decluttered quite a bit. In the past, our experience has been that it's always worse when the landlord comes along for rental inspections. Having lived here for 2 years we are fortunate that this is our first one of these.  Normally the Real Estate just do one every 3 months and that is hard enough to prepare for. Anyway we really want to get a good rating because we really love living here and most importantly we don't want to move again.

So I wrote a list of all that we needed to do and we spent most of our Sunday tackling the biggest jobs. As the the week goes on, we plan to chip away at the rest of the unchecked items on the list.


The Garage

My husband tackled the garage and did a fantastic job in between rugby games on the tv. Believe me it was much worse before...so much so, that I couldn't bring myself to photograph it....but just trust me on that!

This bike rack was the best thing I ever bought for the garage last year. It is free standing and you can add more sections according to how many bikes you have. Great for rental because you can take it with you.


The Family Room
I have spoken before about sorting Lego and today's effort was 3 hours! I banned the kids from playing with it and got into the groove. I think there is something therapeutic about sorting so many items into lots and lots of boxes. Same as with the garage, no before photo, but I wish I had taken one. It was a mess!

I packed away most of the Lego, the Lego table and put most of the boxes into the Lego cupboard. The leftovers went into crates and out to the garage. So now we have back our large space and sliding door to the deck. 

 I put the craft table and round table back there for the time being.

Earlier in the day our 3 kids had built an elaborate cubby house with all the chairs and tables. So that was dismantled and things set to right again. This will last about a day! The 3 bins are for toys that belong to the kids and need to go back to their rooms once they are full. The round tubs hold our crocheted rugs and cushions.

Our meals area is directly behind and is pretty minimal except for my daughter's play kitchen. 

Sewing Room


Even the guest/sewing room got a tweaking. I used some baby quilts to cover my machine and overlocker for the moment. I do plan on making a sewing machine cover at some stage this year.

We shifted the sewing shelves down into the corner.

I put my craft magazines and dressmaking patterns into the bottom of the cupboard. Unfortunately the doors have both fallen off. That is a DIY job for later.

I put all of my quilt patterns into a folder. Most are handouts and photocopies from magazines.

I moved my sewing and quilting books to the top left corner of the expedit unit opposite. The top wicker basket is for art and craft that comes home from school and pre-school. To be sorted later.

We shifted out the 2 filing cabinets and made room for my ever-growing stash! Yikes!

Main Bedroom


Being now Autumn, we have flipped and spun all of our mattresses around. 

I put our autumnal quilt on the bed. This is the double sided 'Astor Manor' quilt that I made last year. 

'Astor Manor D9P' (front)

The colours are so warm and inviting.

Reverse side of 'Astor Manor D9P'

I'm linking up with...


                                     



Meal Planning 


This is what's on the menu this week...

Now because of our huge cleaning schedule I have resorted to a store bought Spinach and Ricotta Canneloni for dinner. I took 2 of the frozen packets...laid them side by side in the baking dish...and filled the gaps with leftover canneloni tubes and an extra bottle of pasta sauce. If you have ever made this dish from scratch you would know that, not only does making the ingredients take time BUT, stuffing the tubes takes twice as long. I think it is worth paying extra for someone else to do that job (although fresh is definitely better).

I'll let you know that the taste verdict is.






I'm linking up with Menu Plan Mondays at Organized Junkie.


                                  

Astor Manor D9P is finished!

Although I finished the front of the quilt more than a week ago, the back was finished only tonight. Normally a quilt back involves calculating an extra 4 inches to each of the front measurements and then buying a wide back fabric with those dimensions. Sometimes you can piece together normal sized fabric to achieve a similar effect. But in general, the back of the quilt is usually one fabric and plain.


Modern quilts have turned quilt backs into their own art form. I have been so impressed with some of the quilt backs on other blogs and sites...so much so that the back is almost as good as the front! At the very least they offer a different interpretation of the original fabrics.


When my mother handed me her Astor Manor scraps...there was certainly enough to make another quilt front, but also nearly enough for a quilt back. 

I had managed to find two floral prints yardage at Easter time when the gorgeous 'Ribbons and Rainbows' at Blackheath was having its closing down sale. 


Moda also produced 3 wideback fabrics for their 'Astor Manor' range. One was a cream, another brown/stone and the last a burgundy. After looking on their website, I rang the lovely Brenda from 'Widebacks Australia' and she happened to have some of the stone in her end of the bolt sale section. She also gave me 20% off the cream as well and delivered it from Western Australia within 2 days! 

But then I had so many scraps and yards and half yards that it made it MORE difficult to decide what to use and how to use it. I kind of agonised over it and there was more than one incarnation. I'd do a bit and then I'd have to leave it to ponder some more...hoping that some time and distance would help the process...sort of evolve into something beautiful.


But it didn't.

So I left it some more. 


Did some scrapbooking and regular sewing and sorting of Lego (it was school holidays afterall).

And then it started to come together.

Piece by piece...

until it was beautiful.

And it is HUGE...a whopping 94" x 76".