Two finishes!

My quilting blog is getting heavily neglected nowadays, but I love reading what everyone else is up to. I have been blogging more on my e-learning blog which I have now moved over to thebelbird.blogspot.com - if you have blogging questions, I have started a page on there titled "GAFE how to's" - have a look, if your question is not answered there, feel free to contact me and I will find the answer for you:)

Last night a lot of the pressure lifted, not only has term 3 finished (which has been incredibly busy!), I also finished not just one but two items!

[I wish it was] Summer All Year Long is finished, and today I handed it to the happy recipient! Just use the label D4P (and apparently also DP4 as I have just reliased!) to see my previous posts about this. I started this project about a year ago when I finished in an emotionally very stressful job as a thank you for a friend and colleague who kept me sane! She had never seen it before today, her only requests were 'bright' and to include a pillow flap. The pattern is a disappearing four patch, I fmqed feathers and loopy squiggles (I suppose it has a proper name??), using the secondary pattern developing after piecing. I am happy to say that the recipient likes it :-)

On my bed which is a bit larger than my friend's. Finished size is 86"square.

Detail of quilting

The same block from a different angle, now you can see the four patch

I have washed it a couple of times, I like how the cotton wrinkles up.

I pieced a disappearing four patch into the back, too :)

I also made a little baby throw for Baby Chloe, the daughter of an ex-student who now lives in Melbourne (I stayed with them when I went to the AQC back in April). Chloe was not due until 11 October, but she made her entrance a bit early last Wednesday so I better get this into the mail soon!

28 1/2"square, just a little throw for a little girl :)

Some loops and butterflies in the hanky linen with just a straight outline on the Melka Dubrowski jelly roll

Striped minky on the back (no batting)

Unfortunately in my current position, term break does not equal holidays, and I will be very busy preparing my workshop for ULearn13, NZs biggest e-learning conference in Hamilton 9-11 October. On my sewing list I have my August and September (and October) blocks of the Tokyo Subway Map. I am looking forward to some 'mind-less' piecing!

Happy Sewing!

Countdown...

Just  three more days at work before our big holiday - first time ever taking the boys to Germany (the oldest one had his first birthday over there but that barely counts as he can't remember!). First time back for us in 12 years, too! We have gotten through most of the preparations without too much hassle, eventually found a fellow quilter to house sit - yay for Donna!, some bills still need to be paid, the car park at the airport booked, about half the packing is done, I have even dropped off my big Pfaff for a service! Now it's just getting through the next 3 days at work - thanks goodness my laptop needs sending in for some much needed TLC so I can't possibly be working until midnight on Wednesday!

Work has been especially busy as I have tried to squeeze 10 weeks work into 7 1/2 weeks so quilting has once again taken a step back. I still have to reply to the lovely comments from the last little while (another thing to add to the to-do-list..), but just to give you a little update, "Mended Heart" has been sent off, the Sewing Circle Tote become my steady companion at work as it nicely fits iPads, gadgets, papers, books, laptop, extension lead, speakers - it's simply bottomless!, and I have even constructed a few more Firework blocks!

I had the best intentions of completing my fmq feathers on "Summer all year long" but my Pfaff was not amused and threw one hissyfit after the other even with new needles so I have given in and sent it off to the service. In the meantime I have pieced some more of my Tokyo Subway, of the two June ones I have block 11 almost done which takes me half way there, and if I get around to it I might cut a few more black squares to also get block 20 done - once you have them set out, piecing does not take all that long.

I have taken worse photos - but not many! Might look better f you step ten paces back and squint?

There won't be many updates from me until early August, but if you are interested to see what we are up to, head on over here which is my attempt at getting my boys to keep in touch with their friends and get some 'school work type stuff' done - 5 weeks is a loonnnggg time!

Stay warm and happy sewing!

MiA from Blogland

I feel like that a bit, there has been so much on lately that I just haven't had time to post!

Work has been really good-crazily busy if you know what I mean, I have been on the road heaps but I feel I am making progress (if you like to know, this year I am working as e-Learning Facilitator, that means I work with currently 6 primary schools in Northland, New Zealand, about implementing a blend of traditional and digital learning in their classrooms for increased student engagement and achievement - big words I know, but great fun!). Still I got quite a bit done on the sewing front, so here are some photos:

 The Sewing Circle Tote is done and I am very pleased about it!

It is large and heavy - about 1100g empty lol

Lots of pockets inside - 3 zipped pockets and 5 with elastic, plus 4 pockets outside

The smaller elastic pockets easily fit an iPad Mini lol

See my feature fabric peeking out? Not my usual choice but I love it!

This comes in very handy because the Kerikeri Patchwork Club have decided to run a monthly Stitch and Chat every 3rd Saturday, 11am - 4pm at Cherry Park House. We had great fun last month, so if you are in the area, bring your sewing and lunch and join in ($1 contribution towards the room hire). There were oldies and newbies, and I am sad I won't be able to make the next two but I will definitely be back. But as you could see from one of the above pics, this bag might come in very handy in my work also to take some of my tech geeky stuff to my schools :-)

Next we have...

Mended Heart, my contribution towards the Red Challenge of the Aotearoa Quilters at this years Quilt Symposium in Taupo. The lovely Ms Lottie had been experimenting with a few different projects for this and as usual she got me into mischief she inspired me to get going, too (between Suz and her I have gotten my a into g a few times!). I wanted to play with quilting with contrasting thread following a piece Rona made a few years ago. It consists of a layer of dropcloth, then two slightly differently painted pieces of silk chiffon behind a piece of red batik, using reverse applique method. The cut out shape is a broken heart, and I wanted to show how after a heart was broken it might never quite be the same, but it grows, stronger, bigger, maybe slightly out of shape but nevertheless the heart and therefore we are still there. Is this ok to send in I wonder??

Then there was...

another oven mitt to take with us to Germany - 5 completed now (I have cut out one more and fabric for two after that. I am getting a bit over them, though!)

Out of the blue...

I decided to make a rag quilt from some gorgeous flannels I bought from Ngaire at The Apple Basket. I didn't really look at any instructions so I have batting coming out right to the ends of the squares which made the piecing a bit challenging...

With some of the joints needing a bit of hiding, in good scrapbooking tradition I put a button over them :-)

and as middle DS just got a new sofa in his room, this will probably live there! Need to measure it first, but from recollection its about 40x55" and there are some leftovers to make a cushion cover eventually.

Last but not least, DP4 has a name: "(I wish it was) Summer all year long". I have pulled it out again and have completed just under half of the feathers. I got pickier with the shapes, though, so I have started unpicking some of the wonky ones - after all it's meant to be a present! - and I will continue working on this for a while still:

I hope you have a lovely weekend and a productive week whatever you might be up to!
Happy Sewing!

Behind!!!

I am so behind in my quilting it's not funny! I started my new job four weeks ago and I love it, but it is a lot of work (well, it's full-time and pay and perks have to be earnt somehow!). Since my last post I have...

• Quilted some more on my D4P - but obviously still not named it lol. I really love the feathers which came from a suggestion Suz made, I also like the wiggly lines that I have tested on one of the strips between the triangle (not a sashing strip but looks like one) - it will bring out the star. But will it be soft enough to sleep under?? Advice, please!!! See, I only use my quilts as day covers, in keeping with my German upbringing lol

I have made my way three quarters across the first two rows of blocks - 6 more rows to go :-)

• 

There'll be lots of threads to bury... and I am yet to quilt feathers in the partial squares around the edges.

• I have also (finally) picked up again on my Free Challenge Piece for the AQC - pictures are due by 1 March, so I better get to hurry up! I am not entirely sure how much I am allowed to share about it, I have shown you the background here and the chainlink fence here. I have experimented with painting silk chiffon yesterday to layer on top of the green part of the background to give an impression of a flower meadow. As I have powered through my paid work without any break today, I might get into this again before dinner. I have also organised my backing and batting, as well as my template for the sign which will have particular significance in the finished piece - if I ever get it finished!!! It's quite different to what i would make without the self-inflicted threat incentive of entering the competition!
• My two Tokyo Subway Quilts blocks are still sitting there set out awaiting piecing.

What have you been up to? Linking up to FMQ project UFO Sunday.

Happy Sewing!

A few more feathers...

Following on from my post earlier today - I think it's going to work out:

Feathers sneak peak

Today I finished the SiD of the still nameless D4P and quickly tried out some feathers - what do you think? Can you see the white stars in the sashing, I will repeat these in the centre of the blocks (where you can see the hourglass). The white sashing in between the stars will get some dense quilting, too, maybe some wavy lines. So glad to be fmqing again!!!

Busy, busy

I have been rather busy the last little while - not that I have much to show for! The house needs a proper clean, I don't dare to mention the windows, there's weeds in the garden etc. While the sun is still shining, the weather has been uncomfortably windy, reminding me of autumn way too early, while at the same time drying out the garden and paddocks horribly!

My D4P has made some progress, it is in one big piece now, sandwiched and pin basted, and yesterday I have started to SiD the horizontal lines. I don't usually SiD but I have read it helps stabilise things, and as this is a present I really want it to be right! Not that tidy SiD is all that easy (sigh)...Here are some pics from the sandwiching stage:

Here is also a picture of my second block from the Tokyo Subway Map Quilt - block 5. This has brought me up to target, two new ones to do next month;-)

My new job has kept me busy though at this point in time I'm just working from home. It's amazing how many intesting and relevant education documents are out there that people in my position need to know about! Thank goodness for webinars, Google Hangouts and skype sessions to discuss things with colleagues! [some of these I had barely ever come across before last week - so it's learning all around!]

In case there are any avid iOs users reading this:
Is there a way to include pix from my Picasa web albums into a post created on the blogger app? (I'm using the rather longwinded approach of drafting on the iPad, then adding pics on the laptop & publish). I am just having a play with inserting these in Google Chrome (still on the iPad), but it's not without pitfalls (maybe that's the operator, not the programme?). What I hate the most is that I don't seem to be able to scroll through all of my post - arrrgghhh!
Also, I am after a good app that can read docs, pdfs, maybe websites to me; I read about Speakably but I'm keen to hear from someone before I buy it. My idea is that like with foreign language learning I could be listening to important information over and over while I do other things like drive etc.

Happy Sewing!

Pottering along

I had written a post and put it in draft ten days ago - and here it still is today! Summer has finally been simmering and we have had some amazing weather in the last little while though this week it has cooled down again, especially at night. A sure sign to tell a nice summer day here is when our pool already shows 29degC by the time I get up ;-) Admittedly when it then rises up to 31 or even 32degC during the day, it's not all that refreshing anymore - but now that it's back to 28degC or so I feel it's cold!

The other day I had the urgent urge to reorganise parts of my home; I moved drawers, a chest, a cabinet - found an impressive amount of (very dusty) Wine and Schnaps Glasses - and now my still messy creatively organised sewing room looks like this:

Trying to be organised this year - thanks to Wendy from Sew it's Finished!

My drawers are more organised

my WIP drawer

we're getting a bit less organised here...

can you see how small my stash has gotten?

Bags and bags of scraps...

"The Pile" - mending and UFOs...

Last weekend our local Patchwork Club had their annual exhibition. As I had left my camera at home on the charger (...) I am very thankful that friends have kindly offered me copies of theirs - in the meantime though, here is Suz's post with the pics she took.

Lovely Suz had invited Rona from Layer upon Layer to come up from Auckland so we had lots of fun jabbering about quilting (while the men were just rolling their eyes). Thanks heaps to Suz for the organisation and accommodation and to Rona for travelling so far! Rona brought some of her various fabric painting supplies and we also had great fun with those. We ended with doing some microwave dying - sporting matching red hands now (must be some sort of secret club lol - Suz suggested a name to do with "tutuu" which is lent from the Maori language and usually means to muck or potter around).

Learnings:

• I need to save some money to buy Fabrico Dual Markers by Tsukeneko and Derwent Inktense Blocks
• Using more Procion powder to water results in a darker colour - yippieh!
• Just to stay on the 'save money to buy xyz' part, I also want to get my hot little hands onto some Lumi Inkodye at a reasonable price - can't wait to try that out! Please let me know if you have seen it or even tried it out. (I have seen Inkodye and the Fabrico Markers on Dharma Trading, but now I need to wait for pay day next month).
• It pays to feed my visitors first and then show them the mess I make in the kitchen with my microwave dying - not sure that anyone wants to eat at my place again;-)

Since then Suz, Miss Lottie and I had a play date at my place (kids occupied themselves - great! while we played :D) and today Suz and I had a little shopping spree at our ex-LQS ;-) Can't wait to use these batiks....

Adding to my stash!!!

I also received the remaining supplies for the Tokyo Subway Map Quilt in the mail and have laid out and pieced my first two blocks, here is the first:

My D4P has made a lot of progress, currently I am putting the sashing strips in:

Top half

with sashing strips

This week I have spent away from home for Induction to my new job as Blended e-Learning Facilitator. Lots to learn before I can start working with local schools! As it is fulltime it should be paying the bills better even though it will limit the time I have to quilt. I might just have to make up for it at night or on the weekends!

Happy Sewing!