Still here with lots of photos

The past six months have passed in a blur.  In April I went to visit my family in Australia and sadly not one picture of any of them, just one of a lizard joining us for breakfast at a garden centre in Brisbane, and a photo of a quilt I made and had sent before but had no photo!  Missed my return flight...gave me an extra three days with my sister.   I returned with almost all of her quilt fabric scraps and pieces, and had a sewing marathon to make fabric from the scraps (but no photos, yet.)

 

  

 

 In the past six months a few quilt tops assembled.  This is one of two made from units from a Bonnie Hunter Mystery:

 

 

And this is the 2024 Quilt Along with Angela at SoScrappy:

All now waiting for their turn to be quilted.

 

This year I've been making six blocks a month in the declared colour of the month. I have kept up to date, but only have photos of some sets of blocks:
 

 

 

Some months I've also found time to stitch up crumb blocks: 

  

 

 

And sometimes I have help from my darling Georgie Girl:

 

This post had taken ages to write, and maybe that's why I have shied away from blogging.  Whilst I do appreciate that it's a free service, Blogger keeps changing/reducing it's options, and not always for the better.

 

Till next time! 

Q2 - 2016 Finish A Long

Well, here we are, more than a week into the second quarter of 2016, and it's time to to post the proposed finishes for this quarter for the 2016 Finish-A-Long.  It is almost the same list as the first quarter (bleah)!  I was very close to completing #2 and #3, hand stitiching binding still in progress.  #1 is now on the quilt frame (and George the Cat uses it as a hammock...)  I've removed #4 as I can't find it (think it was previously finished and donated) - and am not changing the numbering!.  I have started three other projects since January, but not listing them here as two of them are year-long quilt-alongs, and the other was a class that may or may not ever get done!  But, I did finish a small wall-hanging quilt that Mum had started (remembering that cheers me up!)

I joined up in January and in the first week of each quarter participants need to list already started projects that they think they might finish, hopefully by the end of the quarter (no penalties if you don't!).  Then write a post when a quilt (or other hand-work) is quilted and bound - ie, fully finished!  Link up at the start and the end, for a chance to win some amazing sponsored goodies.  More information can be found at one of the volunteer organisers, Mrs Sew and Sow.  Go and see what others have linked up!


1.  Kaffe Fasset's class "Sunlight in the Forest" - needs a back, batting, quilting and binding.


 
2.  Little Houses - my attempt at making a facing for this was unsatisfactory:  remove facing, trim the awkward shapes and finish (either new facing or binding).

3.  Top complete from Liberated Round Robin 2012.  Quilt,etc

5.   I have an incomplete Colourwash wall-hanging, think it is ready to quilt, but I don't have a photo - this is a finished smaller quilt made from the left-over squares as a reminder!

 

6.  Split Triangles, was a leader/ender project - some blocks made, maybe enough for a small quilt.

  7.  Birds made for myself made from a Block Lotto block, think it needs another border, then quilt, etc.

8. to  15.  All tops need quilting, etc:   16+.  can't seem to get the pictures to be where I want them!!!

 

My lifetime project - deadline March 2018:

Catching up...

It's been a while since I've had the time or inclination to write.  I've been sewing a little bit ( a whole weekend at the end of May did help to get the mojo awakened).  Here are the few photos that I've managed to snap in the last couple of months.

I managed to make one or two blocks for the Block Lotto - in June we had to make pairs of 9.5 inch blocks in the same fabrics - mailed these off yesterday to the winners.

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For July we had to choose our own Pet-themed design.  I used the quilt-design software (EQ7) to modify one of their stock blocks, then paper-based pieced it.  Doesn't really look like either of my Siamese babies.  Maybe I'll get lucky and win this month!

My mother, admiring the wonderful Mother's Day flowers sent by my sister Jo in Australia:

With the impending move of last child from home, starting on a slow de-clutter.  This is furniture removal Cape Town style!  Sold the lounge suite that we had been "storing" for five years - the chair is inside the canopied back, but no space for the 2-seater and 3-seater, so tied down on top.  The buyers were taking it to Strand, about 50km on a major highway - do hope they arrived incident-free.  Does that blue leather look familiar Jo? 

 Took these photos whilst sitting in traffic on the way home from visiting Mum a couple of weeks ago - the start of a storm coming in - with amazing cloud formations.

We have Kaffe Fasset teaching a design class here in a couple of weeks for which I've signed up, so pulled out a pile of fabrics that I hope will work.  I don't have the big florals that he focuses on so had to go and buy a few (in the wash right now) based on this colour combination.  Most of these are fat quarters.

And last week I stumbled upon a Yahoo Group "The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Along" - one six-inch block a week, very do-able.  I've had the book "The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt" by Laurie Aaron Hird for at least two years (unused), and needing to have some hand-work for the Thursday evening group, this seemed serendipitous.  My intention is to hand-piece using plain fabrics.  This is Block number 100 - Weathervane, modified slightly to eliminate 4 seams.  Started it on Thurday and finished last night - I think I could have machine pieced a whole quilt in the time it took to hand-piece this one block, but then couldn't have curled up on the couch with the cats and the TV!  (Aagh! watched Dredd - was nice to see daughter T's name in the credits!)

Denise Recovering

Yesterday was six weeks since Denise's stroke.  It has been a whirlwind of almost daily hospital visits, finding new-for-her accommodation inspections (oh my giddy aunt, some were atrocious, some beyond our means, some just right, all with seemingly caring staff), trying to keep up with work.  Thank goodness for my fabulous sisters to share this process (ok, so we bicker, and annoy each other, mostly inadvertently), but we all have our mother's welfare at heart, and all are scared of the future for her.

Denise is having daily speech, physio and occupational therapies.  She is starting to speak, and although we know that her mind is sound, she is struggling to verbalize the words.  There is still no movement in her arm and leg, but she is able to stand with aid, allowing her to move from bed to wheelchair to therapy bed without being shoved and pushed.  We constantly remind her of her good progress but understandably she still gets frustrated at times.  I was told today by at least three staff that her doctor was astounded when she returned his "good morning" greeting, not having heard her speak at all!

She will move out of the Rehab Unit next Friday, and continue with the therapies at her new (and still unconfirmed) temporary home.

In this crisis I abandoned my Teacher Accreditation Course, will pick it up in 2016 when it is scheduled to be run again.  My fellow students have had mixed results with the final module, but we all have learned an amazing amount.  My sister-in-law has been with us for two weeks from Johannesburg, sorting out and getting ready to (maybe in Dec) move into a house in Noordhoek (25 mins away)

Virtually no new or old sewing done but I do go and visit my sewing room every couple of days, and reassure it that I'll be back!  The first evening I didn't visit my mum I laid out all my hexagon flowers on the lounge coffee table (watching tv catchup) and decided on a layout for the quilt.  I needed to have some handwork to keep me sane out of the house and didn't have anything else portable and suitable.  (Was cursing that I can't get my phone to sync photos to laptop, but went back to basics, and just copied the darn things!).....

A rough layout to get the values and colours in general position (these colours are close to actual):

 

And a blurry and oddly-coloured picture of the almost final layout (I had to shuffle a bunch when I was one short in a row!)

 And here is Gorgeous George fast asleep on a bed - never known a cat to sleep on her back quite like this one!

Deadline met...

On Sunday at about 6:30 pm I submitted my four written assignments for the Teachers Accreditation Course, felt quilte good about that finish, keeping fingers crossed for the results!  Have the practical assignment back, and achieved a pass mark - the lost marks were justified!  I was supposed to provide full size patterns for the 12" block and quilt, and I had only included a 50% scale version - really!, most of my quilts are produced from scribblings on 4" pieces of paper!. Have started re-reading and thinking about the final assignments, and am confident that I they will get done on time, and in fact looking forward to the end.

Took young George to the vet this morning to be spayed.  At nearly six months old it was the right time.  She was most put out not having any food.  She gets fetched this evening.  Think she will need extra-extra TLC.

Dearest P had to have a Carpal Tunnel problem in his wrist fixed on Thursday, and is happy so far at the results.  Stitches out in a week.  Then he has to plan the other wrist.


No pictures, sorry!

Some sewing and sharing...

I've been working on my Assignment 2 pieces, but don't want to show photos yet.  I think I have completion phobia, as I get to "almost" finished and then put it aside!

Made one block for the Block Lotto for July, I cut out three but lost enthusiasm to sew the other two, mainly because wrong foot on daughter's machine and I was itching to complete the samples for the demo I'm doing this Saturday at our Guild.  It's our annual Sampler Day and about 10 of us (who are doing the SAQG Teachers' Accreditation Course) were asked to volunteer a 9 minute demo, which is repeated 10 times as small groups circulate to each table.

A couple of weeks ago I did a class with Sheila Walwyn.  Although she is an experienced quilt artist, this was her first formal class, and she and the class were great.  This is my piece in progress, have subsequently put all the pieces on, next to add some stitches with the new baby (see further!):

A picture of Creative Quilters' annual Christmas in July and the wonderful gift I received from Cathy and Nicola:

...hmmm, I've had this new baby a week now and have yet to take it out of the box.  I need a good two hours clear so I can play!!  It is a Pfaff Passport 2.0 - I am a serious Pfaff fan, I have two straight-stitch only Grand Quilters which I love.  My old 1212 died and having struggled with the Assignments and that applique piece above on T's 40-year old machine, just knew it was time to get a machine that sews buttonhole stitches (not just buttonholes!)

 One block for Creative Quilters:

And finally some pictures of the garden, the almost completed shed and the fur babies almost being civil:

 Happy sewing!