Happy Finishes

The beginning of this year has gone past in a whirlwind.  I haven't done a lot of sewing since back at work (from home) after summer break, as my marvellous assistant (also works from home) and her five year old grandson were in a horrific vehicle accident on New Year's Day - in which eight others did not survive. He has just had the casts off three broken limbs, but she is still in hospital, and it is going to be a long slow recovery.

I am still discovering things on my new-ish phone.  Today it was that I HAD to use the USB cable that came with the phone for my PC to see the phone when plugged in.  There are so many USB cables lying around, that I didn't think it would matter!  Which means that I was now able to copy the few photos I have taken with it.  I know it is old unsupported technology, but I really like using Picasa to edit pictures for this blog.

These are some of the quilts that were completed in November and December.  Most photos were taken on my front pathway.

This is one of three quilts (others waiting their turn to be finished) that were created from the Good Hope Quilters' Guild mystery run in 2020 (I wasn't very fond of the large revealed quilt).  The top picture was taken outside, and the bottom one inside which shows a little more of the quilting.   It is about 55-inches square.

This quilt was made from my Block Lotto winnings from March 2014.  The block was called Star Chain.

 

 This very pink log cabin was made for my new great-niece, but her mama said it's a bit too pink (she chose a rainbow scrappy instead - all happy!)

 

The next pictures are the fronts and backs of completed quilts from the various Orphan Blocks that proliferate around here.  Turquoise, dark blue, pink and lime green!  All about 51 by 71 inches.

 

 

 

 

 

And after that mammoth quilting run I have managed to assemble the centre of the recent Quiltville Mystery (no pics).  This year I decided that I want to sew up all my teeniest scraps and string pieces, by colour each month.  Not sure yet what the slabs will be used for, but it is wonderfully mindless (almost) sewing.  These are the reds from January, and there was not one tiny scrap left!

 

 

And, lastly, some of the blocks for this year's Good Hope Quilters' Guild Mystery:

 

 Thank you for reading this far,and  I have just breathed a sigh of relief, because as I finished typing all this I accidently closed the window, but Blogger obviously saved it all as it was there in drafts!

A Pink Quilt

I am always fairly optimistic at the beginning of a new year, my head filled with what I believe I can/will achieve.  The feeling will last at least another week, until my summer leave is over!  But meantime I have been playing with old blocks and bits.

 

For many years I have carefully trimmed all of my crazy accumulated scraps in Bonnie Hunters Scrap User's System and filed them away in appropriately marked boxes.  Then for the past few years I have participated in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, with Angela's enouragement to us to use our fabrics with her declared monthly colour.  What we sew is our own choice, and so I had made a variety of different blocks, and these too got filed away!   Am linking up with her today,

 

I have now started to use some of these blocks, if only to make way for more. 

 

Postage stamp quilt number two.  Using the 8-inch blocks, this was one of the draft layouts back in early December.  When I was happy with the layout I stacked the columns ready to sew.

 

 

This was the start of assembling the columns on New Year's Day.

 

 And it became a finished top.  48-inch by 64-inch

 

We have been making a "row a month" blocks with my monthly quilt group.  These cute 6-inch sailboat blocks were for December's row.  

I find it very hard to resist Bonnie Hunter's year-end mystery, and these are the 60 sashing units for Grassy Creek.

 

 

I have two storage boxes with parts and sample blocks, and a couple of times in the past I have tried to organise these into usable groups.  I have made a couple of quilts in a mixed row style, but struggled to get some cohesion from the variety of blocks, sizes and colours.  After seeing what Cathy managed to do last year with her Creature quilts, the light bulb moment hit on Wednesday, and so sorted all of these units into separate colours.  Pink being January's colour, started by playing with a layout in anything with pink .

And, today, by adding in some longer strips, had this top complete!  51-inch by 71-inch.  The memories of some of those units stretch back to the 1980s, from left-over blocks won in local guild challenges (the others were made into a quilt for my late mother-in-law), to Block Lotto winnings, to extra blocks from quilts for two nieces, to fabric from skirts.  And there are still quite a few pink blocks left for next year!

Quilting Day

It's International Quilting Day and I intend to sew the whole day, after posting this picture heavy post!.  This was supposed to be a quilting weekend away but, because of advice to slow the spread of Covid-19, it was put on hold until happier times.

We thankfully have not yet had a death in South Africa from this, and in spite of the authorities being on the alert and doing their best, if it does spread it will be a disaster in our very crowded poorer areas.  Locally, I am concerned for my niece who is a paramedic on an ambulance should things get bad.  I have two adult children and extended family in the UK, and my daughter shares that some people there are not taking this seriously enough.  It is sort-of surreal though.  Since Monday, all my work colleagues are now working from home, and we have no idea at this time for how long this will be.  We are not in complete lock-down, but businesses and incomes are already being affected, my husband's fuel station has seen a significant drop in sales, my tour-guide sister will be affected, family members who are in entertainment and hospitality will be affected. 

 Stay away from people, stay safe and protect the vunerable in our world.

But on to quilting news:

This is a very old project I've been working on for the past month, now named Covid-19.  This was started years ago as an improvisional quilt, and I referred to it as 6-7-8, because the central hexies morphed into 7-sided, and then 8-sided shapes were to be next.

It grew to this about two weeks ago:

 

And now is this, but still some seams to be secured, and bits added on the edges:

I recently gave a few quilts to a quilting friend who co-ordinates quilts for some of the children in care in Cape Town.  She had asked for quilts about 130 cm by 170 cm, most of these are about this size.    (Sorry J, quilts for my great-nephews still to happen!!)

 Sunshine and Shadow blocks - enlarged with borders. Free motion quilted on frame.

 

  This is an adapted pattern from a mystery (Alycia Quilts).  I didn't like the reveal layout, so changed it to this.  Again free motion quilted on frame.

 I have a lot of sample blocks and blocks left over from other projects, blocks that I thought I would like, but didn't, and at our quilt weekend away last September I started putting them together in a row-by-row layout.  I filled in with various blue 2.5"strips.  The oak leaf blocks were a Block Lotto win - still have more!.  More free motion quilting.

 A nasty blurry picture!  These were also a Block Lotto win.  The long-arm ruler and free-motion quilting done by amazing friend, Tracy B - The Quilting Co

 Started in a class by Carol - quilt as you go Stars.  Oh, the batting was very puffy one, but I did like the effect!

 A quilt from one of the three tops made from the pieces from Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice mystery.  Free motion quilted on my frame.

  

Now off to sew!

Controlled scrappy blocks

After a hot trip to the UK, it was almost a pleasure to be back in sort-of wintery Cape Town.  I was very surprised to find in the UK that the mercury hovered around 30 degrees celcius almost every day, with only one day of drizzle.

Had lots of, but never enough, cuddles with grandson E - at nearly 5 months old now sporting his first tooth.   Maybe we get to see him again this year...his passport is in hand!

Red with maroon was July's colour of the month. Stitched up all my previously trimmed red pieces.   And these were the controlled scrappy blocks, starting with red centres:

Six trees for the Block Lotto:

On one of my lists in the past 10 weeks an instruction read,"En Provence - 2nd corner".  Hauled it out and put on wall, struggled a bit with the orientation as I realised that I hadn't even completed the first corner!  First corner, now almost complete, well at least all the pieces are there.  I have turned the blocks on point so have to fill in with triangular shaped sections...but now I know where I'm headed!

Project updates

I've been managing to sew almost every day, even if only for a few minutes, and had a very productive quilters retreat this past weekend.  These photos were taken two weeks ago of various blocks made for different projects.

These are my Noon Light Block Lotto blocks for April, which I am lucky to have won, so will get another 30 blocks, very excited about this, especially as I have started to receive them.

These are my Rail Variation Block Lotto blocks for May.

A shot of various blocks decorating my flannel boards. Some pink blocks for May.  The green bordered blocks are a newish long-term project - last month I picked seven interesting yellow scraps and bordered them with green string scraps, this month I used nine pink centres, yellow first border, and green second border.  Next and following months will start the centre with a new colour and continue the pattern - aiming to get the blocks to between 6 and 8 inches.

These are the result of a workshop about a year ago - working with 3/4 and 1 inch strips, they are so cute, but very time consuming!  Some will end up like the 6-inch "bull's-eye" blocks above, but most will be 1.5"-inches.  Long way to go still!

 Preparing for the past weekend - all ready in piles to be sewn together.  I used Liberty prints for these fun mystery blocks.