Kick Starting My Sewjo

Just to remind you that I have 4 FQs to give away this week during the Sew Mama Sew Give Away week. Find it here.

With a lot of work to do around our property my Sewjo has been a bit supressed. I was happily pruning on Sunday morning and even contemplating not going along to my monthly quilting group that afternoon. But I am glad that I downed tools and hopped off the mower to get along.

Rainbow Patchwork owner Karen opens her back room on the first Sunday afternoon of each month. Last Sunday it was just Karen, Kirsten from Gemini Stitches and I. 

Karen was using a French General jelly roll to make a gorgeous table runner. Kirsten was sewing long strips of Denyse Schmidt together for her Scrappy Trip Along quilt. You can find Kirsten's SMS Give Away here.

I took along my Dr Seuss panels and fabrics to sew four more blocks together. Karen helped me to chose some solids to match my Dr Seuss prints. So I was happy to purchase those. I will post about them soon on Sunday Stash. It felt good to cut, sew and press again. And great to chat, drink tea and sew with two great women.

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  'Let's Party' paper pieced block for Gemma

                                         'Polaroid 9 Patch' Quilt top

Currently in progress -    

                                                  Lorax Quilt top

                                                  Dr Seuss Quilt top

                                                   'Polaroid 9 Patch' Quilt back

                                                                                           

Yet to start  -  QCA Bee #1 block for May

                         'And Sew On' May block

                                            

My bloggy friends also have Give Aways at:

Pretty Bobbins    Quiet Play   Blossom Heart Quilts   Ms Midge


Also you might want to check out the Give Aways at:

 My Year of Crafting Dangerously

Linking up to WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

A Retro Fit

A few Wednesdays back I was thinking about the back of my dresser runner which was just a plain French General textured solid. I wrote how I wished I had made it double sided. I wondered how on earth I could retro-fit my runner with a couple of nine patch squares.

Well the lovely Sheila, from Blue Patch Quilter, came up with a suggestion. This is what she wrote in my comments section.

Try this technique - Cut squares of iron-on lightweight Vilene/interfacing. Place your blocks right side down onto the gluey side of a square and sew together all the way round using a 1/4" seam. Now make a slit in the interfacing and turn through - poke corners and smooth without pressing with an iron.The gluey side will now be on the back of your block. Place on to the back of your runner and when happy with position, press with a warm to hot iron. You now have the look of needle turn applique and could reinforce with some slip stitching.

So I tried it. And it worked! Hooray.

I still need to reinforce it with some invisible hand stitching.

Thank you Sheila.

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  1 - Winter Solstice lap quilt gift 

Currently in progress -  Dresser Runner (back)

                                                                                           

Yet to start  - "You Little Ripper!" paper pieced block for Feb

                           

On Hold projects   - Tall Boy Runner (top complete)

                                     

                                 

Gifting the Winter Solstice Quilt

Tomorrow I am driving Goldie, her parents and nephew to the International Airport in Brisbane. I gave Lao Lao her special lap quilt on Sunday when we had them over for a lamb barbeque. She was very touched to receive something handmade. Goldie and I wrote the dedication in English and Mandarin on the back of the quilt.                                    

After a year of living with her and her family, Goldie will be rather sad to see them fly home to China and so we are stopping off at IKEA on the way home to cheer her spirits...(oh and buy some much needed cutlery as most of my forks have disappeared!)

Linking up with WiP Wednesday early if I can.

Candy for Tall Boys

First WiP in 2013

This is my husband's dresser. It is called a tall boy. It has been naked on top since we moved in and ditched the old 12" tv that used to be on top of a piece of fabric. I have been meaning to sew a proper runner for it since last year when I made one for my dresser.

The motivation was re-ignited with the two Moda Candy Mini Charm Packs that Lara sent me with my Wombat Santa gift a week or so back.

I pulled out my scrap bag of leftovers from the dresser runner and combined them with the 'Butterfly Garden' 2.5" squares. I love Moda precuts because they are pinked. All I had to trim were a few of my French General textured and 'Hope' scraps. 

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  Polaroid 9 Patch block

                                              QCA Bee#1 Dec - Feather block

                                              QCA Bee#1 Jan - Winged Squares block

                                              Wombat Stew 'Teapot' paper pieced block

Currently in progress -  Tall Boy Runner

                                               

Yet to start  - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                           'And Sew On' Jan block

                           'Just My Type' 'Faith' block for Kristy

                            

On Hold projects   - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                                     - 4 Liberty Pillowcases 

                                     - Victorian Garden Quilt - to baste

                                     

Wear Gloves Next Time

Minimal rotary cutting is all I can manage for now as I am sporting a gardening injury to my dominant index finger.

On Sunday afternoon I was pruning a particularly nasty palm tree that overhangs our backyard pond when one of the spikes lodged in my knuckle. I pulled it out. But four hours later my finger began to throb and swell up. I knew it was the spike. A quick Google search lead me to information that these palm tree spikes can be full of bacteria that can get into your joints and cause all sorts of painful damage.

All those dead branches are cut off now

I could not bend nor straighten it by the morning! It seriously felt like I had broken it. A quick trip to the Dr and some antibiotics on Monday meant that now the swelling is decreasing and the range of movement is increasing. And I gave that palm tree some serious 'what for' pruning yesterday afternoon. But this time I made sure I wore gloves. Even so he still managed to get through a few times but no where near as deep.

Linking up to WiP at Freshly Pieced for the first time this year.

Helping to Zig and Zag

My mum loved my version of the Zakka Style Zig Zag tote. So last year she came for a visit and chose some linen and fabric from my stash to make her own. She chose the last of my natural Essex linen, a cheery yellow Denyse Schmidt and a blue bee print for the zig zags.

Then she got stuck with quilting the front and back panels and asked if I would do the zig zags for her. No problem. Just so long as that was all. I did not want to assemble that tote again in a hurry!

On New Year's Day, she (at 78), my father (who is 84) and my older brother (48) came down to see our new house. The kids were excited to see grandma, grandpa and their uncle. I was able to give her back her bag panels all quilted. She was very happy.

My Other Patchwork WiP

We inherited an overgrown vegetable patch with our property. This has been my project for the past week. I have gradually been tackling a section at a time.

Weeding - path laying - brick laying (no mortar) - turning with a fork, raking, adding blood and bone, adding sawdust and chicken poo, mulching with sugar cane and then watering. 

As it is very hot and sunny during the day I can only work on it in the early morning and late afternoon. But it has been very therapeutic. I have never had a large vegetable garden before.

I will give the soil a week to absorb the nutrients before adding new seedlings. I have to start thinking about what I will plant. 

Hoping to link up to WiP Wednesday if I am not too late!

A Moving WIP

We are moving house in three days! So there is a whole lot of purging, packing and moving going on...and no sewing at all.

Sneak Peak

However I can reveal a tiny snippet of a secret project I have in progress for one of the Wombat Stew girls. You can't tell much from the photo but I did use a scrap of Echino tea cup fabric (courtesy of Kelly of Kelby Sews). 

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  0

Currently in progress -  Wombat Stew Santa gift

                                               

Yet to start  - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                            QCA Bee#1 Dec paper pieced block

                         

On Hold projects   - Craftsy BOMs from June, August, September, October and November

                                     - 4 Liberty Pillowcases 

                                     

DIY

All my painting ambitions had a reality check this past weekend when it took me 4 hours to undercoat just one of five sections of shelving on my new pantry. 

The new carpet is nearly all laid thanks to a company who could turn around the job within a week. I am sooooo grateful to them. 

This Week's DIY  Stats

Completed projects  - 1/5 pantry shelves primed

Currently in progress - pantry shelves primed

Yet to start  - kitchen rack

Moving House

I am more than over packing. I guess if I had a packing pedometer I may have moved upwards of 10 000 items in the past week (some of them three times when I have been indecisive!). I wonder if I will ever truly see the end of it!

Right now we have most rooms in total disarray. I have been tackling a kid's bedroom a day, since Monday, but they are not completed. Tomorrow I have to tackle our main bedroom and closet as well as the paperwork/files. Yuck!

The good news is that the kitchen is nearly all done apart from the pantry, fridge and medicine cupboard.

This Week's Moving  Stats

Completed projects  -  everyday crockery

                                          - display items

                                           - kid's books

                                           - kid's personal files for awards, school, 

                                           - kid's toys

                                          - kitchen appliances

Currently in progress - sewing room

                                             - stored sheets and towels

                                              -  plastic ware

                                             - pantry

                                            -  good crockery

                                            - wall photographs and art

                                            - shoes

                                           - swing set

Yet to start  - Kid's clothes

                         - medicine cupboard

                         - bathroom cupboards

                        - laundry

                        - files/paperwork

                         - everything else!

                         

On Hold projects   -  trampoline) my Father-in-law took it down yesterday and discovered that it was in bad enough condition to throw out - so we may have to invest in a new one for Christmas!)

Helpers

I have had some help, with looking after the boys this week, so that I can pack during the day undisturbed, Dean's parents are up from Sydney and parked their caravan on our new property. It has not been smooth sailing though. They mostly look after the boys from 9am-1pm. 

I've had two of my girlfriends come by to help pack. It helps to re-motivate me as packing is a solitary job mostly. My husband works nearly 11 hour days door-to-door but he has been ferrying things before work and some after work.

I have no incentive to cook after a day of packing so last night my lovely friend Goldie and her husband Matt brought dinner around for our whole family last night. Home prepared chicken fajitas. It was delicious food and great company and they helped us take two loads around afterwards. So very grateful for good friends.

Hoping to link up with...

A Better Name for a Quilt

Lots of things going on this week in my life! We are moving house on Friday 14th December and so the countdown to pack and prepare is on. Not much sewing will happen from now on. But here's my WIP update.

Mystery Quilt

Yes - it is a very sad name for it. If you can suggest a better one, I would so appreciate it. I made it one weekend on a Quilt Course in Coffs Harbour earlier this year. Kristy had hers all done months ago but mine has languished because I am not really in love with the front.

But on the weekend I pulled out the leftover scraps and cutting mistakes and finally came up with a nice back to compliment the front. I even used some of the trimmed off grey fabric strips from last week's Katie Jump Kites back. Alas I like the back more than the front.

This Week's  Sewing  Stats

Completed projects  -  Mystery Quilt back

Currently in progress -  Wombat Stew Santa gift

                                               

Yet to start  - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                            QCA Bee#1 Dec paper pieced block

                         

On Hold projects   - Craftsy BOMs from June, August, September, October and November

                                     - 4 Liberty Pillowcases 

                                     

Moving House

Then there is the packing WIP. It is a huge job not helped by the fact that our weather has been very stifling with heat and humidity the past week. No one wants to pack when it's 35+ degrees celcius.

This Week's Moving  Stats

Completed projects  - dvs and cds from lounge room

                                           - board games

Currently in progress - kid's personal files for awards, school, Support programs

                                               kid's books

Yet to start  - good crockery

                         - plastic ware

                         - everything else!

                         

On Hold projects   - kitchen appliances (friends may come and help with this)

DIY Begins

We exchanged contracts on the house two days ago and since gaining access I have been preparing some of the exposed timber for painting.

We need to lighten up the interior of the house somehow. There is a LOT of exposed stained timber and all the walls are brick. So I have chosen an internal colour scheme not unlike the one I chose for our new build in Sydney. 

I am starting in the pantry with the pine shelving. I bought my first power tool - a hand held sander. Unfortunately is is missing the adapter for the filter and so makes plenty of dust. The prep work is time consuming and so is painting the primer on all the timber pieces. I think I will be lucky to finish the smaller shelf this week.

This Week's DIY  Stats

Completed projects  - pantry shelves all sanded

Currently in progress - pantry shelves primed

Yet to start  - kitchen rack

So how are you going this week? There are lots of give-aways on blogs this week but I have no time to enter them. 

My boys finished up the school year today - yikes! So I have them at home whilst I pack the rest of this week and before their grandparents come up from Sydney to do some caravaning with them for the next week. School does not return until late January 2013. 

I am linking up with WIP Wednesday!

KJK Quilting

Memory Craft on loan

Now that my mum's regular machine can wind bobbins again, I have borrowed her Janome Memory Craft machine. It has a deeper throat to push the bulk of my Katie Jump Kites quilt into.

It's kind of weird to use a new machine and this one has many more buttons and displays than my own Janome 2101DC. There were 7 steps to even thread the thing! I had to thread on top of the old thread and then pull the old one away.

Help!

Once I started quilting I noticed that the back of the quilt was puckering. I adjusted the foot pressure. No change. I posted a 'help me' comment to the WALL of the Quilt Club Australia Facebook page. I read the manual. Adjusted the thread tension. Slight change. What to do?

Then I found a huge blob of fluff on the back of the quilt and some really messed up stitching. Fluff! Of course! I opened that baby up and sure enough she was choked up with thread fluff. Naughty me for not cleaning the machine first. Puckering gone! I am using Aurifil thread for the first time in both top and bottom - so I will be interested to see how much fluff will accumulate after I finish this quilt.

I am SLQ (Straight Line Quilting) by shadowing the ditch 1/4" on either side of the verticals but I am not sure if I will do the same for the horizontals. I know that that the Modern Quilting trend is to quilt more (usually for high use quilts) but I like the softness that comes from less quilting.

This Week's Stats

Completed projects  -  hand embroidered names on the tree decorations

                                          

Currently in progress - Mystery Quilt back 

                                               - Katie Jump Kites - quilting

                                                                             

Yet to start  - 4 Liberty Pillowcases 

                         - Wombat Stew sewing block for Kristy

                        

On Hold projects   - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                                      - Craftsy BOMs from June, August, September, October and November

Big Event in the Sky

We were thankful for the fog this morning because we could view the partial eclipse with our sunglasses on.

Moving House Looming

Ugh! I have got to start packing up our entire house into moving boxes next week so this list will probably slow to  a standstill now. I may need sewing therapy in between though. We'll see.

Linking up to:

Lingering WiPs

I have had two quilts on my WiP list for a good many months this year. 

Today I actually made progress on both.

Katie Jump Kites

Basted - 56 blocks x 9 pins each = 504 pins

Mystery Quilt

I got out the leftover scraps from the weekend away and started piecing something together for the back of this quilt.

This Week's Stats

Completed projects  -  Sew Seasonal Mystery Project

                                           - QCA Bee block for November

                                          

Currently in progress - Mystery Quilt back 

                                               - - Katie Jump Kites - basted

                                                                             

Yet to start  - 4 Liberty Pillowcases 

                         - Wombat Stew sewing block for Kristy

                        

On Hold projects   - Sherbert Dreams Quilt

                                      - Craftsy BOMs from June, August, September, October and November

Convergence Block

Queen Bee of the QCA Bee in November is Shirley and she asked for a Convergence block in black and white. It looks a LOT harder to make than it really is. I followed this tutorial from Quilt Jane. It was all done within an hour and posted off on Monday.

It feels good to make some progress finally.

source: Cindy Wiens www.aroundtheblockdesigns.blogspot.com

Selvedge Love

It's no secret that myself, Lara of Luellabella and Jane of Where Jane Creates, love selvedges. Jane has just had her article published in this month's edition of Australian Quilter's Companion magazine. It's a great article and features 3 selvedge artisans - Riel Nason of Quipspamsis Quilter, Cindy Wiens of Around the Block Designs and Elena of Quilts By Elena. I love Jane's introductory comments below.

And she threw in a few quotes and photos form Lara and I. We feel special. And we got a free copy! (we both were scratching our heads as to why this magazine had turned up at our respective houses that day - until we looked inside!)

There is my Selvedge Pouch and Zakka Style patchwork pencil case looking cheery on p.76. 

I'm linking up with....