Current Project

haha, nanny nap, unlikely......

Smack me!

After having packed away all those newly aquired bags of fabrics I was sorting (into fabric types, patchwork, curtains, clothing etc, followed by colour then age or floral, or stripes, or spots or ..... well now you know why I gave up and packed them all away .... ha ha) I made the mistake of looking 'under the cutting table' and peeked in a box I have not opened for ... uhmmmmm .... lets just say 'years' and not mention a number, I found a whole quilt full of blocks, all sewn together waiting patiently to be pressed and slightly trimmed!

I also found the finishing fabrics including the borders, backing and binding (and I know I have the wadding in my stash for this too!). I found the pattern/instructions and a note to tell myself where I was up to and what to do next!

Only thing 'missing' from the box is the gum leaf motif I drew for the quilting in the borders and that is in a folder in the book case.

Now anyone who knows me, knows I do not like ironing, but ironing blocks is not the same as ironing clothes, right? So this afternoon I made a start on ironing my blocks and while there is a long way to go to get to the bottom of the box full, the ironed stack is growing ever higher!

This will have to be a 'work in progress' because I have another quilt almost completed that needs finishing first, that should have been finished last year, and here it is almost 12 months later and ........... watch this space for more exciting updates...............

waiting .. waiting ... but in the meantime .. i am off to iron Himself a work shirt and pants for tomorrow ... yeah .. i iron clothes .. someone shoot me ... please ...

then it is off to bed with this weary traveler ... mind you the only place i have traveled today is from the kitchen to the lounge room ... and back again ... no sewing ... i am going to have to go to the doctor about this pain ... it has gone on long enough ... my sewing projects are just sitting looking at me and it is becoming quite depressing ...

I like ironing ...........

I find it calming .......... and it provides quiet thinking time........

True!!!!!

haha ... wendy ... it was that way with me years back .... and putting the wash on the line .... but then menopause happened and nothing calmed me for ages ... now ... i am calm all the time ... till someone pisses me off ....

Bobbie B wrote:

waiting .. waiting ... but in the meantime .. i am off to iron Himself a work shirt and pants for tomorrow ... yeah .. i iron clothes .. someone shoot me ... please ...

then it is off to bed with this weary traveler ... mind you the only place i have traveled today is from the kitchen to the lounge room ... and back again ... no sewing ... i am going to have to go to the doctor about this pain ... it has gone on long enough ... my sewing projects are just sitting looking at me and it is becoming quite depressing ...

Hmmmm, ironing! And in the 'wee small hours' of the night, then I read the next line and......... Coffee on screen moment Bobbie! Hope you get some answers soon for your hands. Pain is noone's friend, especially if you do patchwork and you have a stack of projects just staring at you waiting patiently!!!

Now it is back to the ironing board and that box of un-ironed/trimmed blocks for me today - NOT! I will be close by, but not ironing! I have several greeting cards that need making today..... or else ......... buy them, which means less dollars for fabric purchases (like I need more fabric!!! ).

What to have for dinner.....?
Chicken or Beef? Beef or Chicken? hmmmmmmm?
2 slow cookers cooking away nicely in the kitchen and the whole house smells soooo good!

Besides making big pots of soup/stew, I have been making birthday cards and still have a couple more to go for this month.

I have also been ironing more stashed blocks in preparation for row construction. Still looking for the gum leaf motif for my quilting, "still looking" cause I forgot about it again until now! ha ha

i have been doing a couple of bits ... i get bored easily ... so i still have about a dozen things on the go at once ..

firstly i have spaghetti bog on for dinner ... and yep .. it smells so good young ricky keeps asking when is dinner going to be ready ... i told him it is ready ... we now just have to wait for dinner time .. which is about 7 ... haha ... poor kid ... nana is soooo mean ... lol

and sewing ... i made a machine cover the other day ... it turned out ok .. but not as nice as i would have liked .. but it did only take about an hour to construct ... and i have also been doing a couple of RoundRobins for another swap group ...

i will put a pic in the gallery ... i love the way the first one turned out ... and the other i am still working on .. i am sort of holding up the whole works with them .. with my hands playing up and all .. but .. at least one has gone and that will give L something to work on for a few days .. she is very fast at getting things done ... but the second one .. with ants is waiting for me to stitch down the applique ... and cos they are ants .. and black ... it is a daytime job ... maybe tomorrow ...

and then i have ricky's quilt .. still on the boil ...

and also i am putting together all my beginners and enders into 4 patch blocks .... and i was going to do a whole quilt top in 4 inch blocks .. but thought it would be quicker to put a charm square in between them all .. then i don't have to line up all the seams .. sneaky and lazy .. ahh ... my two most favorite sewing terms .. lol ... i have so far constructed about 50 4 patch blocks and have all 160 charms cut out ... now i just need to do more of the beginners and enders into 4 patch blocks .. and only need another 110 of them .. i have enough done to make them all up .. it is just a matter of sewing it all together .... but i am in no rush for this one ... it is not a planned quilt .. just something i am playing with but will possibly get done up one day for one of the girls ...

and i have a jelly roll strippy thing that i started a long time ago that is sitting there nagging at me to finish too .. so ... i want to get it done asap ...

so .. i have a couple of things to keep me busy i guess ....


but must still find time to ....

Poor kid! He must be half starved by now after being forced to smell all that good food for so long! The 'grubs' will be biting by the time 7 o'clock rolls around!!

Phew Bobbie! I thought I was busy! As you have got so many 4-patch blocks and charms already made and cut out, you could create some more beginners and enders by sewing the ready made ones into rows? Now that would really be a work in progress and killing two birds with one stone! ha ha That is, assuming you mean what I think you mean by beginners and enders?

I don't much care for pin matching seam junctions either and that is why I tend to lean towards inset blocks where ever possible. No pin matching seams then on the adjoining blocks.

Hope the hands are a bit better than last week Bobbie?

Off to visit the gallery now. Will comment there............

the RR is very gorgeous Bobbie makes the flowers sing...

your houses must all smell wonderful with that food slowly cooking away... that will be me tomorrow taking soup down to Perth for my eldest.

Have posted a photo of a string quilt that I am machine quilting at the moment... nearly finished... then the binding... quilt is 90 x 86 inches.

Oh Dear!!!! Suspect I just gave credit for that one to Ms Bobbie (who will gladly line up and accept it to as would all of us!!)! It is lovely TARNYIA! (NOT Bobbie! ha ha) I see about 8 family coloured fabrics there and at least 2 or 3 strings for each colour. Very nice quilt Tarnyia. Would fit nicely on MY spare bed too .......... just a thought! ha ha

string quilt all finished... photo in the gallery or you can see more on my blog... [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

i love this quilt ... maybe it will go missing from your place when i come visiting ....

I like it too Bobbie, but nothing would make me want to nick it!
Put it under lock and key Tarnyia - quick - before she gets there!
Maybe your visit Bobbie will find no Tarnyia and no quilt!
Might be a good thing you are moving soon Tarnyia?

true Evelyn... do I trust her mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm??????? NOT

You do realise too Tarnyia, that when you do move, you will still have to tell 'her' where you have moved to for all the swaps etc address updates? I wonder how much it costs to put a quilt into a bank volt these days?

Quick T - lets get out of here! She will be back here any minute and spot this for sure!

.............. what is it that you are speaking of ... me ... stealing a quilt ... now would i do a thing like that ......








for the right quilt .... you bet your sweet ass i would ................

(Note to self, check how big is a bank deposit box and what does it cost?)
Just in case I happen to make a very nice quilt one day and post pics of it...... looks left, looks right, nope, she is not here and now ..... nor am I! ha ha

just you remember miss Evelyn .. i know where you live ............... ..............

Gulp!......... Does that mean you are still sending me my lovely FQ or bringing it in person? ha ha

my tube quilt .... last night i finished putting these blocks together ... i still have to add the border and after testing all the available fabrics i had .. i decided to go with a plain brown .. which i prefer to call chocolate cos it just sounds better ... can you tell i am wanting to snack .. haha ...

i got this idea from a friends blog ... she is a very clever lady and is always making something ... and unlike me .. she actually finishes her stuff ... ... you can get a little tutorial ... [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... and if you want to see it on a video .. just google 'tube quilt' .. there are a heap of great tutorials out there .. some a little different .. just a simple idea for a jelly roll ...

here is a photo tutorial .. i think it explains it perfectly [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


i have also been doing a bit with my 'beginners and enders' ... which i found out today some call them ... 'leaders and enders' .. much of a muchness really ... mine will do ...


i have put a couple of pics in the gallery ... and this afternoon and tonight .. i have been working on an I spy quilt ... it is half done .. and looking sensational too .... i love it ......


Ricky has finally gone to bed so i will do a couple more of his blocks and then i too will head to bed ...

Evelyn J wrote:

Gulp!......... Does that mean you are still sending me my lovely FQ or bringing it in person? ha ha

no i am sending it ... but I may pop in and visit you when you least expect it ... like on a tuesday ... about lunch time ...



and i shall bring a really big bag .... no ... not full of clothes .. but i may be leaving with it full of already made quilts ...

You are always welcome at midday Tuesdays, just remember it is BYO and I will supply the coffee. (Oh lookie at what I just found.. >>>)
Butttt, as for leaving in the manner you described earlier, I suggest you bring with you a jolly big stick to fight off all the owners with, and don't forget, most of them will be WIPs not new-borns! See you Tuesday and good luck with that!

Karen, check out the here link in Bobbie's post and you will see why she calls them starters and enders. Very clever idea Bobbie and it not only saves thread, it also saves time on the next quilt, or it could be called the Clayton's quilt, you know, the quilt you are making while not making a quilt?!?


I do worry thought that someone who sits up and sews past 1.30 am might sew one of these nice starters and enders patches into the current quilt by mistake? ha ha

I think the most important bit of Starters and Enders is the fact you get to sew the actual fabric straight - I think there are lots of people who dont get a straight run at the block they are sewing - especially at the end. 1/4 inch isn't easy to get right sometimes but by the time you have sewn the starter you are ok ....... AND my Accuquilt cuts really great 2 1/2 inch squares out of my scraps .............