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!

Rain, rain go away...

It's yet another rainy weekend.... maybe it would be easier if it wasn't cold and miserable, too! Did I really grow up with frost and snow and the likes between October and May?! Must be getting old lol!

Anyway, with DH on late shift last night I joined FNSI over at Wendy's (sugarlanequilts.blogspot.com). I wanted to get another Bag done and - taadaah! - I finished it this afternoon:

As with all Elizabeth Hartman's pattern I have tried, this came together without any sweat. It isn't easy to get the right kind of interfacing around here, but this time I got some cheap light iron-on interfacing from Spotlight (at $7.99 for the lot I can't complain!) which worked a treat. The outer is duck Indian cotton, the inner a batik I bought when Grandmother's Garden last came to Whangarei (another purchase from that occasion that has become a bag ;D). This will replace my current bag from Applebottoms which looks cute but is starting to fall apart (the outer fake leather is separating from the material underneath - sorry, not very technical here!).

What else have I been up to?

Blocks 21 and 22 of Tokyo Subway have been laid out and are ready to sew (tomorrow?).

I am still stitching down the binding for the quilt for oldest DS' fundraising at school but here are some slightly better pics until the weather improves (Monday I would guess - Murphy's law...):

I have tried to continue the quilting on "Summer all year long" but despite a recent service, my Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 still seem to have the old issues of tension problems, skipped stitches and breaking thread. I am using my favourite, Aurifil 50 weight, in the top and Signature in the bottom - this had worked beautifully originally.  It will work for a bit, and then everything will go haywire, there is a scratching sound as if the thread is catching on some rough bits on the inside. I have been trying to get some screwdrivers to have a look inside (as the machine came from oversea's I have no warranty on it anyway) but have been unable to get the right kind. Somewhere in blogland I had read about someone else having a similar issue where a part needed polishing or exchanging - I have used the machine intensively since I got it, but you would think it takes more than 1 year to wear things out?! I will try to give the technician a call on Monday and see what he says. The bill for the service didn't break the bank, but my issue is not resolved either...

So what else is going on around here?

Work is great but really busy. My schools are making great progress, but my biggest worry remains juggling work with children pick up etc. with DH on shifts - but if he worked 8-5 they would have to go to OSCAR most days which is not really what we want either... Speaking of shifts, him being at work this weekend meant no Stitch and Chat for me - again! Well, might just have to continue talking to myself...

We have to make some serious decisions about school choices for our two oldest boys: Our 13y old brought home their option choices for 2014 (they have to take 4 out of 5 options on offer). With him being at a very small school with only 16 students in his year level we knew this would happen eventually... The 10y old is in his last year at primary school and somehow I don't fancy having three boys at three different schools - but will he be happy where his brother might be happy?!

New Zealand just had another big earthquake yesterday, very unsettling for everyone down there - something I can't even imagine really! Thinking of all you down there! Time to thank our lucky stars that they brought us to the Far North all those years ago - now if we could have public transport, more opportunity for cultural things and more school choices please... Speaking of cultural things, since our recent trip to Germany I miss playing music more so than before. The children are getting older and are no longer taking up all our time - but then all too soon they will be off during their own thing... Hmmm, something to keep on thinking about...

Anyway, time to get going! Happy sewing everyone!

I'm back!

We had a great holiday in Germany, caught up with lots of family and friends but even better the kids enjoyed our showing them where we grew up and want to go back! There were stressful times, e.g. when Mstr 13y old decided that it was time to go home to New Zealand at around day 25 of 36 and continued to tell us so at any occasion for the next 10 days, or when same boy and Mstr 8y old got quite airsick on the way home or when the nights after 36degC during the day just were unbearably hot and all three Mstrs (short for monsters?!) would not go to sleep until just before midnight... There was plenty of hearty food and drink which my hips have taken a liking to (a moment on the lips...), we have visited castles and churches, rode on trains, buses and subways etc. etc. While still not complete, you can see some of what we have been up to on our travel blog - kernzholidayingermany.blogspot.co.nz.

I have only been to ONE quilting shop in Germany - I simply couldn't see any! There used to be plenty of material shops when I grew up (about 500y ago, I know...), but the one shop I found had no fabrics I couldn't get anywhere else and just as expensive as here! I asked at one material shop that carry some quilting fabrics, the owner didn't think there were any specific German lines of quilting fabrics (here in NZ we have Kiwiana fabrics, batiks with NZ motifs etc.). Overall I was very disappointed! The only highlight in this regard was my visit to Ikea, the spoils of which will hopefully arrive per parcel soon (the suitcases must have shrunk between arrival and departure, just like my clothes while I think of it, so I had to send a parcel).

I didn't get much done as you can imagine, but one afternoon I got into some EPP:

One day this will go onto the Great Barrier Reef Quilt I plan to one day (!) make for middle DS :-)

I had a weekend at home before I went back to work, and on the second day back oldest DS came home with a request for a fundraiser item to go into their Auction of Promises, so after some checking of my stash I launched into what I think I have seen called a race quilt? Very quick and painless, backed with light polarfleece with a layer of polyester batting and by now already quilted with freehand swirls, ready to bind:

I'll take some better pics at day, the quilting shows up better on the back. Not sure that I want to make another one, it would get boring I think?

What next: Firework and Summer All Year Long need finishing, I have picked my materials for my next bag for the Bag Along, and Suz has cut the strips for the next two blocks of the Tokyo Subway quilt. Do I really have to go to work tomorrow???

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!

Slow learner...

I just had a major revelation tonight. Lately I have had issues with tension and missing stitches while fmq with my Pfaff spring fmq foot (that's actually the only one I am using nowadays). It had started at the end of summer while working on "Frei" and in the end I even took the machine to get looked at but it magically disappeared.

I returned to work on my DP4 now called Summer all year long and had lots of trouble - put it down to wrong thread weight, got more of the original thread weight but it wasn't resolved. I played around with thread tension - better but not perfect. I changed to a metallic needle hm not really different. Tonight I rumaged through my various boxes on my (very dirty!) windowsill and found some more Universal needles. I put a new 70/10 in and voila things just worked!!! I managed to fmq another oven mitt without missing stitches, then moved over to the D4P - barely skipped any stitches!

Of course I have read many times to change your needles but I have never paid much attention. I usually change a needle when it's bent or breaks - not any more!!! But is there a reliable way to tell when the needle needs changing? Please let me know!!!

Below some quick snap shots - close ups of DP4 feathers with and without issues and the oven mitt. Please excuse the quality, just some quick shots on the iPad, I couldn't wait to reveal my new revelation (and with that my being a slow learner lol) to the world!!!

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!

General update

Third post today - whoot-whoot! Well, I had sort of saved them up, but I better get off here soon before DH returns from work and finds the house just as messy as he left it this morning (probably worse...). I have not been completely useless today though, this morning I made the discovery how to combine my Craftsy classes and exercise: Take iPad mini with Craftsy app and with the help of a book prop it up where the exercycle display thingy-ma-bob is and you can watch your Cratsy class while exercising. Clever, aye?

What have I been up to? The "Seasons of" quilt safely out the way I had to get my head back to other UFOs:

I attempted to work on the D4P but found that the 40wt white Aurifil did not want to play with the 50wt. Signature in the bobbin so I have just order some more 50wt Aurifil as earlier this year they had worked together just fine. For now I just rolled it into a big ball and returned it to it's place on top of the filing cabinet :-)

Tokyo Subway Map: I had not gotten around to April's blocks (16 and 17), so I have now laid them out ready to piece. Suz, what blocks are we going to do for May? Lucky Todd already has put his top together!

Birthday Love Stash: It has been raining and even thundering when I got up, so no use in thinking about doing a tidy in the garden or the washing... just an excuse I know, but any excuse will do! Today I just wanted to get something small done so I made these two oven mitts to take with us to Germany this winter. I have 6 more to do, better start a production line on them...

one from the front, one from the back and yes, the right one is smaller, it's coincidence, that fq must have been smaller

I used 3 fqs - one for each of the mitts and one for both the pockets. Not much left over :-)

These are following the same idea as the ones I made last year, for example here. I quilted the left one with all over feathers, the right one with Angela Walter spirals.

What's the plans for May?

• Finish the Sewing Circle Tote
• Complete the remaining 6 ovenmitts
• Complete the quilting on the D4P (and finally come up with a name!!!)
• Start working on Firework again (due in August - but might have to make that 2014??)

I better get that vacuum cleaner out first though :-)

Happy Sewing!

Linking up to Leah Day's FMQ Friday