I have been meaning to post about this since last year (makes it sound like such a long time doesn't it?) I signed up on Kathie's blog for her Pay It Forward offer. So, this means I get to Pay it Forward also.I will make a gift for the first three bloggers who leave me a comment wishing to participate. They in turn will need to make the same promise on their blog. I'm not sure what the timeframe is for the promise, but I will say that you'll be receiving some quilty goodness from me within the next three months.C'mon - don't be shy ... I'll quilt something up real nice ... honest!Ohhh, and for my Thimbleberries Student - my guess is Dena. I hope I'm right? I guessed you because I don't know about Jenny getting an Apple computer recently ... so ... was my 50/50 shot right??
I had a productive day yesterday, I was able to put a further six Royal Cross blocks together, which means I have only six more to make and I can assemble the top! Yay!
And as soon as I saw that the next installment of the Carolina Crossroads mystery was ready, I had to start putting a few blocks together. I've made eight so far - the next eight that I make will have brown centres, and the nine patches will have three brown squares rather than two. Does that make any sense? I hope they'll work out in the big scheme of the quilt. I'll need to do some pressing too - I was way to busy having fun piecing to move over to the ironing station!
A couple of other things ... Deb asked in comments yesterday what model sewing machine I'm working with. I have a Bernina 1080 - it's my faithful friend. Many times I've considered updating to a newer model with BSR, but I just can't do it. I adore my little buddy too much. It's a wonderful, solid machine that has been with me for so many of my favourite quilts. Our dear friend Bonnie has the exact same machine as me :-). Also ... I need to take a guess at which of my Thimbleberries Club students has been stopping by. They left a clue that they like working on big quilts ... so I'm going to choose two names ... either Dena (I hope I spelled that correctly), or Jenny S. If I'm wrong, you'll have to give me some more clues ...
I'm off to the sewing room - I hope I can be productive today too!
Thank you so much to Manxgirl/Loulee and Eileen for presenting me with the You Make My Day Award. What an honour, you are so sweet *hugs*.The rules of this award are: "Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on." I'm a rule breaker (and would hate to leave someone out), so rather than nominate individuals, I pass this award to all my blogging friends - if I've ever visited and commented, you're nominated!
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'm being brave and playing with the new camera again. It's a little scary but I'm getting used to it. I have been busy quilting on a customer quilt which was picked up today, so stitching time has been a little scarce. I have managed to quilt one of the placemats I made earlier and put the binding on. Just need to get that binding stitched down on the back, maybe I'll wait until I finish the other and then do them together.
Since our camera is so much more clever, I thought I'd share how I quilted the mat - I know it doesn't look 'amazing', but I'm really excited about the feathered border. I freemotion quilted it on my Bernie. My confidence with my machine is building daily and I love that I'm getting more even, and trying new things. It would still be daunting on a full size quilt, but who knows what the future holds.
Ohhh, and I wanted to mention about the back of the placemat ... it's the ultimate in stash usage. I had made a calico bag for a quilt I put in a show quite a long time ago, and it had the name of the quilt on it. I didn't need the bag anymore and it was taking up space among my fabrics, so I decided to cut it up and use it for backs of bits and pieces. It's like fabric recycling. Feels very thrifty!
Also today, I managed to make up another Royal Cross block, and hopefully tonight I'll make up another. It has been a good day for crossing things off the to-do list. My Mum and I went out and purchased the kids school shoes, lunch boxes and drink bottles etc for a the new school year. All in all a great day for getting stuff done :-)Last of all, a big hello to my 'Anonymous Thimbleberries Club Student' who left a fun comment with my last post. I have a couple of clues about who it could have been ... I think they're a Bigpond customer, so that narrows it down a little ... but I'd hate to guess the wrong name ... so you're going to have to leave me another clue ... Over and out :-) x o x
Yesterday I felt like piecing on something different, and I'd had an idea for a placemat I thought I'd like to try. I put one together last night, and I've put together the little four patches for the second one. It's kinda cute I'm thinking, and I'm thrilled to be using the William Morris print I purchased while I was in Paducah in 2006. I still have a lot of fabric in my stash from that trip!So, reporting on my stash for the past week:No fabric purchases at all. Good going considering that Quiltaholics has a big sale on this week. I haven't been by, so let's see if I'm that strong when I actually go there.In fabric use: I cut up four fat quarters for use in the mats. Not all was used in the mats, the excess was put into my strip containers, so they will be used up in other scrap projects. Two of the background fabrics actually came out of the strip containers. Also, I worked out that I used 1.3 metres of fabric in parts four and five of the mystery quilt. So, by those calculations, I've used around 2.3 metres of fabric this week. Not a huge amount, but still used just the same.I don't think I'll get huge amounts of stitching done today - I need to go grocery shopping, and I have a customer quilt to finish quilting on. I'm about two thirds done. It's warming up again, so lots more indoor activities are on the agenda. Hope you're having a great day! x o x
Here you have it. A picture of my stitching efforts while the family were away. There are additions to the pile of Royal Cross blocks. I completed parts four and five of the Carolina Crossroads mystery. There are 100 hourglass units there, and forty of the little triangle half nine patch units. I am sooooo looking forward to putting the components of this mystery together now. Super fun!I purchased a companion angle especially for Bonnie's mystery. I had never used one before, and had always used the half square triangle (line diagonally across the back - sew either side of the line and repeat) technique to make hourglass units. These came out just great using the template, and it was wonderful to be able to use stuff from my strip boxes, and not cut squares in a special size. I don't know how much yardage I used, but I'm sure I can nut it out. I got eight hourglass blocks approx from two 2" strips ... I'm feeling lazy right now ... I'll work it out when it's stash report time.
Last of all, just want to say a big HELLO to my wonderful friend Linda from San Jose. We spent 80 minutes on the phone the other day - gosh that few by. Can't wait to see you in September. *big hugs*
I'm heading into the sewing room now ... let's see what I can create today :-) x o x
Just a quick picture for you - thank you to my DH and wonderful technology allowing him to send pictures of their mini-break. Here's Cam out fishing on my Dad's boat. Looks like he's having a wonderful time :-)They'll be back tomorrow - just in time, because I need a rest! I have been burning the midnight oil stitching and watching my favourite series Sex and the City. I've watched all the discs thru to the end of series 3, and I'll start series 4 tonight. I know I won't get to the end, that'll have to be for another time.I don't have a camera here with me right now - the family took both of them - but tomorrow I'll be able to share what I've achieved. I've made more Royal Cross blocks, finished step four of the mystery quilt, and almost done part five too.A big thank you to Kath and Andrew for hosting me for dinner tonite - an Indian feast with Cosmopolitan cocktails too. Very nice :-) Kath is a SATC tragic just like me - we'll be at the movie with bells on when it comes out.Well, that's me signing off for the evening - I'll check in really soon so you can see what I've been stitching. TTYL *s*
Happy New Year everyone! Here's to an entirely wonderful 2008.
Marty and the kids have toddled over to the beach house for a couple of days. I volunteered to stay home to look after the kitties ... and the thought crossed my mind that I'd have uninterrupted sewing time :-)
I predict many late nights, and I feel sure I'll have some stitching to show off ... ttyl :-)
I have been meaning to post about this since last year (makes it sound like such a long time doesn't it?) I signed up on Kathie's blog for her Pay It Forward offer. So, this means I get to Pay it Forward also.
