All kinds of lazy?

When I look at the end result of yesterday's stitching, I keep thinking I must have been all kinds of lazy yesterday, but then I look around at the house sparkling, and recall Amy's return to netball for the year and I remember what actually took place yesterday.

She played two games last night, so from 7pm to 10.30pm life became netball. Ohhh, and I'm not sure if it was a good move, but I'm coaching the school team now ... and they won last night! By one goal shot in the last 15 seconds of the game ... a real nail biter!

Before I go on, I have to say this - to my wonderful friend Linda in San Jose, please look away now, this post has Thimbleberries content!!

And this is what I started yesterday - a cute little table topper! I think I may be becoming a bit ADD with my stitching in the last couple of weeks, I'm feeling like I'm starting a whole lot of new things all of a sudden, and I don't normally do that ... but it's been really fun!

Melanie mentioned the other day that I still have time to put a Valentine project together, which jogged my memory about a pattern I received as a gift last year. It's super cute, and shouldn't take too long to put together, so I started cutting yesterday. I have a LOT of Thimbleberries scraps left over from club over the years, so it's going to be wonderful to use up some of it.

I managed to make up the triangle sections for the bottom of the hearts ... and that's it! But it's a start, right! I'll be able to get a lot more done today - and I'm sooooo looking forward to to the applique component - I haven't done any for a while, and I love it! This will be the first time I've ever made a Valentine quilt!

Well, that's it from me today, I'll look forward to showing you the next installment of my new project! Have a great day!

Scrap Block

Yesterday I suggegsted that I had a couple of things I was drawn to work on, and I didn't know which one I would be drawn to. Well, it ended up being the scrap block I had wanted to try. I showed you the contents of some of my scrap boxes the other day (and I must mention that I didn't achieve ALL that cutting that day - the boxes already had a lot of scrappage in them) and my 2.5" scrap bin is by far the most full, so I decided to do something to use them up.

I have always loved the Road to California block, and since I travelled to California last year, thought it would be an appropriate block to make up into a quilt. So how fun to make up four blocks - just enough to see how I could play around with them and get patterns to emerge. It's my feeling that this will be a kind of leader and ender project for me, but having said that, it's possible I'll get hooked on them and want to work on them all the time. I know that whatever I decide to do ... it will be superfun!

On another note, a big thank you to our Computerpeach Kim for fixing up my ring code for me, and also satisfying my anal side by getting the gaps between my quilt rings and graphics all the same ... Ohhh gosh, I think I need therapy!

Challenge accepted!

Judy at Sunshine Quilts has offered us a Stashbusting Challenge, and I wholeheartedly accept! She has challenged us to choose our favourite piece of fabric, you know, the one you don't want to cut up, and rather than continue to gaze at it, use it!

This is my favourite piece of fabric (well, it's actually my favourite pack of fabrics). My wonderful friend Linda gave it to me when I visited in 2000, and I have been so reluctant to cut it up. I justified this by saying it would have to be a very special project to tempt me to cut into this fabric. Well, I'm going to start that special project for this challenge. I'm strong today about the challenge, I hope I continue to be as strong when it's time to wield the rotary cutter.

I have the day to myself today, and there are three different things I'd like to work on. I have a new scrap block I'd like to try, and there are two new quilts I'd like to start ... I wonder which one will pull me in first. Hopefully you'll see the results soon enough!

Scrap Boxes

Yesterday I didn't sew a single thing. Not a scrap ... nothing ... nada. What a strange day for me! I didn't really have lots of chances, but also I just didn't feel like it!

Cameron started back at Kindy yesterday, and he had a great afternoon. He found it a little tricky to grasp that some of the slightly older kids he'd played with before have gone on to school. Kindy time would have been prime 'me' time in the past, but since Amy doesn't start back at school until next week, I took her shopping and then to a sleepover at one of her friends homes.

After picking Cam up from Kindy, and since Marty had the day off, we travelled to Spotlight - he has been making a cat tree/scratcher, and wanted to get some fluffy or carpet like fabric to cover the perches. We found what he was looking for right near the quilting fabrics, and I was not tempted to buy a single thing. I did look ... but I have to confess I don't like to fabric shop while he's around ...

And when we got home it was time to do dinner and a little laundry ... so I didn't really have an opportunity to sew until after Cam went to bed. Instead of sewing, I decided to cut up some more of my scraps from recent projects and bits and pieces in my fabric boxes. I didn't plan to do heaps, but cut until 11.30pm (with a small break for making lunches for the next day). You see my scrap boxes in the picture. I have 1.5" strips, 2" strips, 2.5" strips, 2.5" squares, and 3.5" strips. I do have some other boxes of scraps, but they're 10.5" backing pieces, and other Thimbleberries scraps. I have so much Thimbleberries stuff left over from club projects etc that I keep them separate.

Now I just need to start working these scraps into some more quilts. I'm always amazed at how much sewing you can do will not much of a visible dent in the stash. I'm determined to keep at it, I know I'll see results some day!

Whip that stash!

Yesterday afternoon I decided to start working on the back for the Zig Zag Nine patch. I like to use Bonnie's 10.5" unfinished squares method for making up scrap backs. It sure does whip that stash into shape and uses up uglies that have found their way in there ... or things you've bought and just don't love anymore - for example that blue and yellow stripey piece. What was I thinking???

I'm just so lazy at times , and I thought rather than cut quite so many 10.5" squares, I'd also use multiples of 10 if I had large pieces of stash, so some of the pieces you see in the picture are 20 x 40", 10 x 40", 10 x 20" etc. Not so many seams for me to piece, still stashbusting, and still interesting to look at. Whip the stash ... whip it good!

After dinner last night, I really felt like doing some piecing, and I didn't know what I wanted to work on. I have a few new projects in my head I'd like to get started on, but I will need to do a little planning first. So I decided while watching TV to start putting a few of the blue and cream blocks together. I started by making pairs of blocks, then fours etc ...

The picture is as far as I got, there are still many rounds to go. It's nice to see the pattern forming. Even once I've assembled all the blocks I've made, I don't know that I'll add borders just yet, I may make up more blocks, these ones are fun. I have 100 so far, so let's see how big this quilt grows.

Shortly I will take Cam and Amy to the park so they can ride their bikes around. Cam can work off some of his energy so we can have a quiet afternoon. I really would like to watch the men's tennis final. Should be a ripper game.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

USA Memories top done

I seem to get a lot of stitching done right now while watching/listening to the tennis. I was so surprised to watch the mens semi final last night between Federer and Roddick. I expected it to be a long and tough match, but it ended up being completely one sided.

But I digress ... during the game I made up a mug mat gift for Cam's old day care lady - Betty. We're going to visit her today while Amy is at a birthday party, and I thought it'd be nice to have a little treat for her.

Her home is in very traditional colours, so I chose a heritage green mug for her last time I was at the store, and made up a 5" log cabin block in green and browns from my Thimbleberries scrap box for the little mat.

I have made a few of these now, so I'll have to keep track of who I give them to.

After the mug mat, I was able to put two of the corner sections on the USA Memories quilt, and this morning I finished it up by putting the last two corners on.

I have no idea how I managed to have such a brain fade, but I cut both the setting triangles AND the corner triangles at the wrong size. I made the setting triangles too small, and the corners too large. Obviously I could cut the corner tri's down, but I had to cut the setting triangles anew ... and I really hated wasting those pieces of fabric. I've put them aside to trim down into the scrap boxes, I hope there's not too much waste. I just love the toile fabric. In fact, I don't think I've met a toile I didn't like! The toile came from Carolea's in Sunnyvale from her legendary back porch while I was in the US last year. Such a shame the store is closed now.

I've now completed all my goals for this month, which is unexpected! I think I will busy myself piecing a back from 10" squares for my Zig Zag Nine Patch so that I can quilt it next month. Other than that ... who knows ... it's like free play!

To all my Aussie friends ... Happy Australia Day - I hope you have a wonderful day!

And another breakthrough!

It's finished. Yes, don't adjust your screen, you read that correctly! The Winnie The Pooh quilt is finally finished! Long time readers will know how I've struggled with this project, and now that it's done I really don't know why I had such mental struggles with it.

I guess maybe it was the series of mini-hurdles. Not enough navy fabric to finish the borders. The size of it daunted me with regard to machine quilting. Running out of bobbin thread, and then running out of top thread.

But it's all behind me now, I've finished it, and even Cameron is thrilled. I sewed the last binding stitches down last night watching the mens quarter finals in the Aust Open Tennis. Such a good game, I was enthralled.

Today Amy has a friend over for a play-date, and later we have to go pay for her school books and fees for the year. I don't know how much stitching I'll get done today, but I'm looking forward to doing more work on my USA Memories quilt. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Breakthrough!

We have a name! Drumroll please ... HOLLY! It was hard to find a name we all agreed on. Especially Cameron - he wanted to name her Ninja. I don't know how you all feel about that particular name ... the rest of us didn't think it suited.

But how appropriate is Holly? She is named for Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Holly Golightly had a ginger coloured unnamed cat.

So, our kitty is unnamed no more ... and hopefully will respond to her new name :-) Welcome to the family Holly!