On Sale Date ...

I had meant to mention in my last post regarding the Sisters Choice Medallion quilt - but of course being flaky I forgot - that the on sale date for the Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine is February 22, 2008.

I am thinking I may make a pattern available at my tazziequilts.com website if anyone feels they just can't wait that long, or if AP&Q is not available in your area. Email me privately if you'd like me to explore this option.

Thank you again for the wonderful response :-)

Purse/Zippy

Thank you all so much for your amazing response to my last post. Each and every lovely comment means so much. I would like to say a special thank you to Sally from SC - your message is so sweet.

I have been working hard on the directions for the quilt, and they're around three quarters done. I thought I'd take a break this afternoon and make up something I haven't ever tried before. It's a purse/zippy. A lot of fun to make, and I can see more in my future. I've put this one in my Etsy store.

Amy and Marty have headed on over to the beach house. Amy for the week, and Marty for the long weekend. My Dad is putting up a verandah at the back of the house and Marty wants to help out. I didn't really want to travel just yet with Cam, so we're having a quiet weekend at home. I predict I'll having a few late nights - I'm sure it's no revelation that I'm a night owl! I'll check in again soon and let you all know how productive I've been :-)

The home stretch ...

Can you see me doing the happy dance? Surely the ground is shaking the world over! I just wanted to share that I'm on the home stretch now. The final touch will be to hand sew the binding to the back of the quilt. Yay!

The next steps are to write the directions and make a few 'in progress' pieces. We have a long weekend, so I'll definitely have a little time to myself to work them up. My deadline is for the quilt to be in Sydney on Tuesday (which would mean I'd need to post it Friday), but my editor has kindly allowed me to actually put it in the mail on Tuesday - I'm always a bit antsy about having a quilt sit around in a post office over the long weekend.

Thank you to everyone for your kind words and good wishes for Cameron. Kids bounce back so quickly. He's happy and chirpy again, and I predict back to normal very soon. Talk to you all soon! x o x

Days just disappear ...

It's really quite terrifying - three days have gone by and I'm really quite wrecked.

On Sunday night we had Amy's netball presentation. Marty stayed home and looked after Cameron. While we were out Cam was feeling sick and couldn't hold down his food. At first I thought it was one of those 24 hours things that would pass. Tue am he was still ill, so I took him into hospital. He was admitted and we stayed overnight. They were great with him, and while he's still not 100%, he's so much better.

After we checked into the ER, I cast on for a pair of my favourite socks. I had just quickly tossed a ball of wool and some needles in my bag. When we checked out this morning, I had turned the heel, picked up the instep stitches and had started working along the decreases for the gusset. I'm feeling so proud of myself, because I didn't remember to bring the pattern, and I've knitted the sock up from memory!

Also in the picture, the next installment from Z&S Fabrics which arrived while I was out. I know you all have developed an interest in the welfare of my stash. I liked the purple from my current quilt so much, I purchased a whole lot more. I actually ordered it thinking I may use it in the border, but obviously now that is sorted. The other is just well, you know ... justin fabric. Just in case. Still hasn't made a visible difference, but there are some useable pieces now.

Well, that's it from me - I really need to finish the quilt I'm working on, I'm kinda behind the 8-ball now ...

Oops!

Oops! I lost a day! I usually manage to write something at least every other day, and had planned to yesterday, but it just passed me by. I was super worn out, and ended up going to bed at 10pm. That's just unheard of for me.

Just something smallish to share - I've started quilting on the Sisters Choice quilt. I doubt you can see much in the picture. The only real evidence is the quilted line down the middle of the leaves.

The thread I'm using is this really cute Mettler one, it's a variegated rayon, which shines just beautifully. It goes from a cream to a gold to a brown. It's really nice. Perhaps a little subtle for my extremely limited photography skills.

Better run, we have a big day - lunch at my Mum & Dad's, and tonight is the Netball presentation dinner. Should be a fun day :-)

Border found!

I did have a cell phone picture here a minute ago, but it was so bad I had to change it out. I just really wanted to share that I made a decision on the border fabric for the quilt. With the help of Cheryl and my Wednesday girls at the quilt store I settled on a border stripe, which is much less bold than the other fabric, and doesn't draw the eye immediately away from the applique. The binding will be in the purple fabric, so I'm much happier with the way the quilt is progressing now. I've only stitched one border in place so far. I had planned to attach it after spending the day at the quilt store, but I came home to a pattern order which is more important, so put that together instead. I'll get the border on, and hopefully get the backing fabric ready in the morning.

I got a lovely surprise at the quilt store yesterday. One of my students from my 'Faith of Friends' applique class from 2004 popped into the shop. She told me she had finished working on the project, and of course I was dying to see 'show and tell'. It was a somewhat scary class for me, it was only the second I had ever taught, and I learned that there was a guild member attending. Anyway, today we had another visit, and we were shown the results of her hard work.

I was just thrilled to see the quilt. It's completely hand appliqued and quilted, and the workmanship is just wonderful. This is one of my most special quilts, it was the first quilt I ever had published, and it featured on the cover of the Australian Patchwork and Quilting Diary in 2005. If you haven't seen it, here is a bit of a picture of my original quilt.

I better run, there is still a lot to do before bedtime. Have a great day! x o x

Fabric dieting ... not fabric fasting

Today I received a parcel in the mail. It was a the result of a little 'stash enhancement' I undertook recently. Z&S still have a number of sale fabrics, so I decided I really needed to give some of them a good home. You have all seen my fabric closet, this was a required purchase. There is another parcel on the way - I'm still seriously lacking yardage. Don't they just package the fabrics up in the cutest way?

Here are the four fabrics. There's a total of six (maybe 6.5) yards there. Does it show that I'm a 'reproduction' girl? I know I'll be able to put all of these to good use.

Not much happening on a quilty front here. The border fabric I have been auditioning simply hasn't 'spoken' to me. I'm still not sure that it's the right one to use, but the clock is ticking, so I'm taking it's silence as acceptance of it's fate to be used! There is also the problem that I don't really have a good substitute. I don't really feel I want to go on a fabric hunt with the deadline looming so close, so I hope to get it stitched in place by bedtime tonight. I also hope to get the batt tomorrow, and if I'm lucky I'll have it all pinned and ready to quilt by Friday. I have my fingers crossed.

The sock I showed in the last post was ripped back entirely. I started it again on US size 2 needles, and it's working up so much better. In fact, so well that I turned the heel last night. It's now back in the car as 'found time work'. I can manage from here without the pattern, and I've managed to 'find' 30 minutes of knitting time already today while waiting for the kids.

Well, that's it from me for today. For the next two days I'll be working 9.30 -4pm in the quilt store, so I'm not sure how much free time I'll have. Lucky me though - if you must work, do something you love! Have a great day everyone! x o x

Girly High Tea

This afternoon the girls from Hubby's side of the family got together for High Tea. We don't all manage to spend time together too often, so it was nice to be able to chatter and nibble, and do it in a very civilised way.

There were 5 of us, Amy, MIL, SIL, Aunt, and myself. We had four of of these plates on the table. Quite the snackfest. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate aplenty, lots of gossip and giggles, and the afternoon was quickly gone. We've already made plans for another next month - super fun!

Last night I was just not in the mood for any quilting, so I decided I'd finish off the last little bit of the second purple mitt. I won't worry about a picture, as it's exactly the same as the one you've seen earlier. The finish meant that I need something new on the needles for the found time in the car. I had planned for some time to try a pair of socks I'd seen in a magazine, it would require some learning for me, so should be fun right? See there my first attempt at a picot edge. I'm loving it, and can't wait to use it again. Also my first attempt at knitting a lacy pattern. It doesn't seem to look that much like the picture in the book - but the pattern is at least looking consistent. A good start.

But ... and there is often a 'but' with my knitting. In her book 'Knitting Rules', the Yarn Harlot talks a lot about knitting a swatch to test for tension. A trap for young players ... I didn't do one. I confidently thought ... I'm a tight knitter, if the socks come out too small, I'll give them to my Mum. I didn't count on them being too big. Big enough that I could probably fit my foot and Cameron's in there. It's okay, lesson learned. I'm going to rip them back and eventually start something different. I'm not sure I'm into the lacy pattern enough to endure two socks worth. Maybe it was karma - the sock wool Gods knew I couldn't hack it and were saving me from the dreaded 'second sock syndrome'. Or maybe a higher quilter was telling me to get back to the quilt ... who knows ... but whoever you are, keep talking, I'm listening!