Table Runner progress ...

Yay! I'm finished playing with the HST's, and now I'm constructing the table runner. Things should progress much more quickly from here.

Even though I knew I needed a big runner for my table, I didn't really think too much about how big this one was becoming until I laid it out on the floor. It's a big girl at 104" x 34". Heavens! Lizzy, do you need to rethink your commitment to quilting it?? I would understand completely, it's like a very skinny bed size quilt!

There have been many sightings of Lady of the Lake blocks around blogland lately. Most notable for me has been Keryn's quilt. Now that baby takes some commitment to HST's. Major commitment!

HST's

Endlessly working with a bazillion HST's can be really quite mind numbing ... just sayin' ...

Checking in :-)

It's been a few days since I last posted, but trust me, there has been a lot happening here at la Casa de Tazzie. I worked on Tuesday and Wednesday, and should have worked yesterday also, but found myself laying low with an evil headache. I'm feeling considerably better today, but I'll still take it as easy as I can :-)

On with the post:

Do you remember this table runner I talked about while I was on Christmas holidays? I had hoped to get busy on it much earlier, but it just didn't happen for whatever reason, and now I really have to get motoring as it has been commissioned by Australian Patchwork and Quilting.


I've made almost all of the HST's, and those that aren't complete are just waiting for me to stitch them together. I use Bonnie's favourite technique for making HST's with my Easy Angle ruler, but I'll most likely use different directions in the magazine for the benefit of those without the ruler. You can see I printed the picture out and have it tucked under my thread stand for reference :-)


In the next picture, you can see a little of my shopping therapy.


A couple of weeks ago I saw a lovely Masons Vista 8 person dinner setting at my favourite local auction house Small and Whitfield. I didn't go to the auction in person, but placed an absentee bid, and was just kicking myself when I was outbid by $5.00. So, to console myself, I purchased from ebay a couple of serving pieces that I can use with my everyday white dinner set. I just love transfer ware, and would have loved a red and white set for Christmas time. Oh well, maybe there will be another one in my future sometime.

And I shopped!

It was a sad day in my shoe closet today. I finally had to face the fact that my leapord flats (you'll see them here) had gone to shoe heaven, and I had to throw them away. So, to console myself it was really necessary to find something to replace them. May I introduce to you my new animal print flats:

I'm thinking maybe they're faux cheetah, yes? They'll be great to wear to work, and I think I'll do just that tomorrow :-)

And when I got home from picking up the kids today ... some parcels greeted me at the doorstep. Clearly I was carried away with a bout of clickage recently. It's usually a temporary affliction, sometimes prompted by emailed newsletters and the like. Note to self: Unsubscribe more often.

No buyers remorse here though, I'm loving these fabrics, and the book is just delightful. And speaking of books, I'm dying to get my hands on Bonnie Hunter's new book ... must pace myself though :-)

And lest you think I've been slacking off in the sewing department ... there has been much progress. I've a magazine commission to work on in a bit of a rush, so yesterday I made about a bazillion half square triangles (or maybe 230ish) so I've got about 50 more to go. If I don't get any more done tonight, I can't see myself working on them again until at least Wednesday, and then I'll give you a sneaky peek. We'll chatter soon okay? xox

And yet another ...

My final finish for the day - block 50. I was a little naughty with this one, and redrafted the outside area to eliminate a second round of set-in seams. I was a little over them by the time I'd completed the centre. If you stand back and squint your eyes, you'll never notice :-)

I'll probably draw up another one before I head to bed, ready for me to stitch up tomorrow. I think I have only one block left to complete before I can attach the next row. Super fun!

And another ...

Are you growing weary of my Nearly Insane blocks yet? I'm not, in fact, I'm energised to get to the finish line! This is block 62, and so easy to put together. I'd like to get another one underway this afternoon. I'm not sure which I'll choose yet.

I'm down to single digits remaining now :-)

Nearly Insane Block 64

I've just finished NI block 64. As I often do, I changed the orientation of two of the outer rows of triangles. It pleases me to make the blocks more symmetrical.

And just thought I'd mention ... 10 blocks to go!

Nearly Insane Block 74

Here is my Nearly Insane block 74. Only 11 to go now ... excitement is building!

NI Block 59 & A little fabric ...

Happy Valentines Day to all my friends out there :-) It has been an interesting day in our house - some lovely gifts were given and received. And we learned today that Miss Amy who has been feeling unwell for a little while has Glandular Fever (Mononucleosis for my US friends). Poor love, she'll be laying low for a little while.

Even with the doctors appointments and running around I had to do, I also managed to get another NI block made. This one is block 59, and I really enjoyed using some of my scrappiest fabrics, some of them very old, and some from Donna's scrap bag.


This morning I made a trip to Hettie's Patch to see if I could find the perfect fabrics for the zig-zag border on my NI quilt. I found these ones - two of which I already have on hand, but could always use a little more. I'm thinking the biscuit coloured fabric second from left will be the outer part of the zig-zag, and I will use a navy for the main part, but I haven't found the perfect one yet.

Just loving that conversational print with the kitties ... I always grab those prints when I see them!

NI Block 44 - Check!

Oh my goodness, do I feel a sense of accomplishment tonight? Yes, definitely yes! I've completed block 44 of my Nearly Insane quilt. It's a toughie, and I'd wager possibly one of the toughest in the quilt.

Those little stars in the block measure 2.5" finished, so you can imagine how fiddly all those inset seams are. I think larger versions of these stars will be a breeze from now on!

You know what's funny? In my picture, you can see some of the light fabric triangle sections and a couple of squares are brighter than other areas ... I didn't remember to pull all the freezer paper pieces from the back before I took the picture, and you can see the dark table surface through the other areas. Duh!

Not sure what block I'll tackle next - there are only 13 to go now :-)

Nearly Insane - Blocks 68 & 72

Just so you know I haven't been slacking off ;-) here are my two latest Nearly Insane blocks.

This is block 72 - I made it late-ish last night. It was late when I took the picture, and I'm declaring that the hour was the reason for the blurry picture - nothing to do with the camera operator *lol* I was able to use some of my skinny leftover strips for this block. With the tiny pieces, nothing is wasted, that's for sure!

And here is block 68 - I made it on Friday, but haven't showed it off yet. Another one that has used the tiniest of pieces.

I had a couple of questions from people I wasn't able to personally email back to - mostly asking about the size of the blocks. They're six inch blocks - and can be quite time consuming for such small blocks, but very rewarding.

Now I only have 14 blocks left to make. I'll try and make another tonight. I'm already thinking ahead to how I'll quilt it, this is such fun! :-)

Nearly Insane - Just for fun ...

Just for fun this morning I thought I'd lay out all the elements I have got/made so far for my Nearly Insane quilt.

Clearly I still need to cut more sashing strips and cornerstones. And even though I only have 15 blocks still to make, doesn't their absence leave huge gaps?

Seeing this picture really spurs me on to finish the top. As soon as I've finished covering Camo's books, I'm getting right back into making blocks. This is EXCITING!

Another Nearly Insane Row

Last night I added another row to my Nearly Insane quilt. You can see that three of the corner blocks are in place, so I'm more than half way with the top now. (As long as you don't include the inner and outer border!)

Here is the full view of where I'm at ... hard to get a good shot of this ... the quilt is going to be a big girl!

And here's one a little closer, you can see some of the blocks a little better :-)

I was so excited to get this row in place last night that I made so many rookie errors while doing the stitching. I really think I did more 'unsewing' than sewing. Seriously! And I was so into it that I lost track of time - I was jolted into reality when Marty came into the sewing room at 1.15am and asked if I would be thinking about sleeping anytime soon ... Ooops!

Nearly Insane - Block 37

Here is my Nearly Insane block 37 - I'm a few days too late for the NI Yahoo Group challenge, but still totally thrilled to have this one done. Why? Because now I can add the next row to my quilt top! Yay!

It didn't take nearly as long as I expected - I started the block after dinner yesterday, and I finished it up at around midnight. Not bad really, considering there are a lot of REALLY small pieces in this one :-)

I probably won't get much stitching done for the remainder of the week, as I have a bazillion books to cover for Camo before he and Amy head back to school next week. Contact and I are just not best friends!