Progress?

You know those weeks that just fly past, and you think you have achieved nothing? I felt like this over the last fortnight, but I actually still made some progress:

Block 14 - completed at the end of Feb but I don't think I have had it on the blog yet

Block 15: I had wanted to save on fabric for the top left block Forest Park, but in the end had to recut the triangles... Note to self: Measure twice, cut once... The rest went together very quickly.

One of the examples of how much material gets sucked up in the seams; from this...

... to that!

The #zenstudioqal has come along in leaps and bounds:

Week 4 asked for the blocks with furry friends... here you have one of our kittens and her 'furry' friend (Master 14 needs a haircut...)

Week 5 saw the 24 block centre pieced together...

... and the IG challenge required toes peeking out from under it - thanks Master 16y!

The cushion pattern had the first two fabrics chosen...

Amazing what one can find in the scraps box...

Thanks to my hunt through scraps (which I continue to cut down using the Scraptherapy approach) I rediscovered my #berninazenchicqal leftovers and started playing with triangles to cover the footstool to go with hubby's chair:

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Overshadowing everything is the absolute tragedy that has unfolded here in New Zealand since Friday afternoon when one gunman killed 50 people in two Christchurch mosques and injured another 50 - absolutely unprecedented in Aotearoa New Zealand. The outpouring of love and support for victims and their families from around the country and from overseas has been immense, and the one good thing that I hope will come from this is that Kiwis and other peoples will be closer and more united against hatred and racism. He tried to steal the innocence and the peace of Aotearoa New Zealand but he will not succeed.

Kia Kaha - Stay Strong!

Learning through Mistakes

Some projects just take FOREVER, and my Metro Rings quilt is one of those projects... I first mentioned it in a post on 12 May 2015 while we were living in Brisbane, I have posted about it a few times and it's been languishing next to my Sweet Sixteen for months now (it's be a favourite sleeping place for our cats, some of the stains on it are from kitty cats that are no longer with us...). Yesterday I picked it up again and added some more quilting.

After some more work on it this afternoon I decided to assess where I am at for now (that left me rather frustrated...).

I found a new place to hang up quilts - on the pergola

To put it on record (after all, it doesn't count if you don't blog about it, aye?), this is what quilting is still left to do:

• Giant 8s in the pieced rings: 15 blocks
• Feather inners: 19 blocks
• Orange peel & micro-stippling in corner stones: 11 blocks + 3 blocks that need un-picking and re-doing
• Above quilting in HSTs: 9 blocks + 3 blocks to unpick & re-do
• Above quilting in quarter-triangle (is this a word??): 2 blocks
• Ghost rings: 9 blocks
• Secondary pattern (white on white): 25 full blocks, 16 half blocks, 2 quarter blocks

Rather a lot left to do still but I am hopeful I will still like it - let's see if I can get this done before the 4y anniversary :)

I like the texture in the late afternoon sun...

... and I think this looks very cool (even if I say so myself)

I learnt so much through the mistakes I made in this quilt, incl. piecing of circles, using rulers for quilting, suitable motifs to distract from mistakes, using S16 to quilt etc. etc. that I decided to call the quilt "Learning through Mistakes". Let's hope I won't have to learn too much about removing the stains from this top...

Happy Sewing!

Scraps

Once upon a time, when I started quilting, I had the intention of only every buying what I would need for a quilt (insert a laughing tears emoji). Suffice to say, that didn't last long, and while my stash goes through highs and lows, I also have a considerable amount of scraps. I remember seeing Charlotte aka Miss Lottie or The Slightly Mad Quilt Lady cut up her scraps into usable sizes, and last October I finally decided I would follow suit.

I borrowed Suzanne's copy of Scraptherapy by Joan Ford from Hummingbird Highway and got cutting... There is still several bags of scraps I need to go through, but here are some of the blocks I have pieced so far:

I had wanted to make an 'Irish Chain kind-a' quilt for a long time...

Closer up: A mix of prints, batiks, solids etc. Many memories in these scraps!

I want to add more colours, so until such time I won't decide on a final layout 

As per my usual MO, I had to have a 'home' for it in mind, so I'll aim for approx. queen size and will put it on the bed in the uni student's room when we have visitors - at the rate I am (not) going at the moment, that might be a few years away still...

Happy Sewing!

Like a hole in the head...

Did I need to start a new project? Nope - but it's good fun anyway :)

Week 1: Malka Dubrawsky Simple Marks Summer - such yummy colours...

... cut up into the required sizes

Week 2 - 6x Block A - the log cabin block is so versatile!

Week 3: A Block B in the wild...

This is what Michelle's pattern could look like:

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Calling all last minute QAL registrants!! Today is the last day you can register for the Zen Studio Quilt Along. It’s also the last day to get 20% off the pattern!! Link for both are in the bio. And if you’re worried that you might be a little behind, no worries, you’ve got plenty of time to catch up. 🐘〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️🐘 I’m working on next week’s blog and checking out all the posts for this week’s contest. Be sure to share a pic of your fabric in your feed/timeline. I can’t see it if it’s in your stories and those disappear 🤷🏻‍♀️ And if you’re being shy about posts, please remember the whole point of the QAL is we do this together and share our progress! I love seeing all your creative fabrics and layouts! 🐘〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️🐘 #zenstudioqal #jellyrollquilt #quiltingismytherapy #throwquilt #sundayfunday #creative #fabrics #quilts #quiltalong #qal #quiltpattern #pattern #sale

A post shared by Michelle (@schneiderhousequiltstudio) on Feb 17, 2019 at 6:53am PST

 - and this is my layout so far on my design doors:

Tetris anyone?

Happy Sewing!