Another check-in

Where does the time go?!    I mean, wasn't it New Year just yesterday?  And lo and behold, the next New Year is just around the corner!  

My old/new news:  still working from home, and I am still enjoying it.  The world is still trying to figure out how to live with Covid-19.  I am grateful to have been vaccinated.  Four stitches in the finger that got in the way of my scissors - all healed now.  My son is visiting us from the UK for an extended period while he completes his studies.  My grandson started Nursery in Wales, and he is a constant delight.  My mobile phone went for a swim in our pool - have new one but it's not as nice!  Luckily managed to get all pictures and data off the old one but only if plugged into a power socket!

Well, sewing... I am satisfied with what is getting done!   A quick summary of the year:  21 quilt tops pieced or assembled, pieced 9 quilt backs, 11 quilted and bound (8 in the past month!)

I play along with Angela at So Scrappy and this year aimed to make at least one top from random/orphan blocks in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) colour of each month, happy to say, goal exceeded!  In August I had a light-bulb moment (don't laugh), why not piece backs from less loved fabrics whilst the quilt top is still pinned up and being admired- best idea this year!

The reasons I used-to-have for not wanting to go near the quilt frame:

•   No backing ready 
  
•   Throat space quite small (9") on machine - starts at 6", diminishes to 4"  work space.
  
•   Batting not at hand, or needs to be joined
•   Thread always breaking, both top and bobbin
•   Rather be fondling fabric and piecing
  

I think (I hope) I have overcome/learnt to live with these problems.  My Pfaff Grand Quilters are not long arm machines, just fast straight stitch machines (great workhorses for piecing) and without stitch regulators.

• Next year will be the Year of the Backs!  Will make backings each month in the RSC colour and prep bindings
  
• Looking for and trying out 4" height free-motion quilting designs - keeping the designs very loose
  
• Bought WIDE batting;  I keep yearning for the fabulous bamboo I got in Australia, but making do with local polyester
• Thread problem resolved:  using a bigger needle 90/14 - polyester thread in bobbin (has a little stretch) - and using cotton quilting thread on top.  Last eight quilts, only one thread break!
• Fabric - always time to play!

In September, under the prompting of my very good friend - The Quilting Co -  challenging us to get UFOs moving, I listed all (100) of mine.  Am glad to say that has already reduced to 92.

Aah!  Just discovered that I have access to (some) pictures without uploading from my phone!  These are three of the finishes.

My niece and her two daughters, getting the baby's quilt.

Folded hexagons, zig-zagged together, and bound with left-over bindings:

 

Curvy Squares:

The jacaranda tree in the garden of the new house that will be finished next year.  It was severely trimmed three years ago before the building started and is now glorious:

That's all for now.

Life as it is...

Well, this is a surprise!  I have been wanting to restart writing here for some time, but actually finding a quiet time to co-incide with some inspiration has been challenging.

After reading what I wrote last March, I want to share some updates. 

I am pleased to say that I successfully completed the South African Quilters' Guild's Quilt Teachers' Accreditation Course, and I am now an Accredited Quilt Teacher.  I attended the National Quilt Festival at Heronbridge in Gauteng in August, and was presented with my badge and certificate.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover what confidence has emanated from this, especially when presenting information at my Quilt Groups.

I continued to participate and make blocks each month for the Block Lotto, and which sadly to say, December was the last month this will be run.  This was an inspirational site, and was great fun to participate.  These are some of the blocks I made for various months in 2019.  As there had been grumblings about postage costs to here (South Africa), these were all donation blocks, with no chance of winning, and I limited my blocks to three so I only had to send to one winner!

 

Very happy that I kept up the whole year with Angela at SoScrappy's block a week project.  These blocks are waiting to be assembled into a top.  Angela's challenge each year is to use up one's scraps, one colour at a time.  I have a number of projects building up from this, not quite enough units to make a completed quilt top, so will continue this, the colour for January is bight and light green.

We did start building the house at the bottom quarter of our garden in April 2019, with the vague thought that we would be moving in by November.  I remind myself that every time we have had any building work done on our current house (we've been here 39 years) it has always taken us twce as long as promised/expected, so why should this new house be any different!  The bulk of the work is done, but still need flooring, cupboards, kitchen, municipal connections for electricity, water and sewage!  Maybe by March it will be done, or perhaps I should double THAT estimate!   Constant decisions to be made, with many compromises when either desired finish is too expensive, or plain just not available!  Not recommended for the faint-hearted!  And yet, we plan a second house in the other bottom quarter of the garden!  This time we have hopefully learnt all we need about having a perfect house built, that includes one space that is big enough space for my quilt frame! 

Since this was taken, all windows and doors in.

 The latest news is that on New Years' Eve my eldest and her family arrived for three weeks from Wales.  Such a joy to have them here, and am dreading the quiet when they leave.  My grandson is twenty-two months, and is in busy constant motion, and has taken to the swimming pool with aplomb.  (They've gone to meet up with friends today, so hence the chance to write.)   T has sewn up two quilt tops for friends' babies whilst here, and is just hoping to get them on the frame and quilted before she leaves.  (Frame is buried under some of my project boxes!)

 I hope that I will be able to share more this year, as I know how inspired I am reading blogs of other quilters.   

Another of Those Catch-up Posts

2019 did start of with a rush!  Lots of easy steady holiday sewing, and then some serious, I've got get this done, stuff!  Then a 12-hour plane ride and back.  Should be back into a calmer mode... until the new house building starts!

To start off, in February, pictures of my office door being adorned with a logo, and my name (just in case I forget where my office is !)- it's a first for me!   Actually it's nice to no longer be in a fish-bowl.  As we share offices with another non-profit, this is to keep things straight!  Also had the air-con upgraded, with the attendant disruption and mess.

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I had a mad, mad rush to meet the end of February dead-line for submission of the final assignments for the South African Quilters' Guild's Quilt Teachers' Accreditation Course.  This is one of the two practical pieces submitted, a small wall -hanging, 24-inches square, own design.   Now that is back with me, the ribbons will be removed, I only added them to meet the three embellishment requirements... really, I avoid these like the plague!  The buttons are obvious, but I think you may have difficulty finding the third embellishment!

 I did make time to make blocks for both February and March Block Lotto.  February's blocks were mailed off to the winners from....

February Block Lotto

March Block Lotto

...Wales, where we went for two weeks, mid-March, to see our darling growing family, with a flying stop in London to see our son at Uni.  E does sit still occasionally, but not for this photo, trying desperately to get down.  Grandpa amazingly patient with the little guy, many times up and down the staircases.

I did manage in the first week of March to finish his quilt.  The back was a lovely brushed cotton flat sheet.  All his Dad's family are in the airline business, and my father-in-law (his great-grandfather) flew a plane like this in the 1930s, from Europe to South Africa, hence the theme.  As we all were sick at one time or another in Wales, photos are rare, but did get these of him and the quilt:

E, not actually looking at quilt, but trying to shimmy backwards off the bed!

 

In other sewing, Angela at SoScrappy has been running a block a week project this year, the blocks are small (4.5 inch finished) and are sooo cute, that they could not be resisted!  Each is either set square or on point, the grey "sashing" is a lovely local brushed cotton.

RSC2019 Sampler - January Red blocks

RSC2019 Sampler - February Yellow blocks, with an extra two

RCS2019 Sampler - March Green blocks

We went to the American Museum at Bath and will post pictures of the Kaffe Fassett exhibition soon, and yes they said please take non-flash pictures, and please post them on social media.  So will oblige!  But there a quite a few, and need sorting out.

New Year, new starts

I wish that I had the inspiration/stamina/time to write a blog post every day!   I know that some bloggers dictate their posts, but that doesn't seem to be in the spirit of writing!

Everything here has been quiet, except for The Wedding of very good friends yesterday.  This was supposed to happen in November, but the Bride-to-be tripped and broke her ankle, so it was postponed.   Lots of happiness, John and Corrie!

Some recent stitchings, in the order that they were started, but all were/are sewn as the mood took/takes me:

A glimpse of some of the blocks for grandson E's next quilt, just two more aeroplane blocks to make.  Have had fun using up lots of strings for the triangles.  Blocks are 12-inches unfinished.  Something went wrong the the enlarging/copying of the pattern, but they were close enough to the size wanted!

 Bonnie Hunter's year-end mystery.  Again a glimpse of some of the two different centre blocks.  All blocks have been sewn but not sewn together. Border pieces ready to go.  I'll try to link up later with the other quilters who have been playing along with the mystery.

These are the first two weeks of a quilt along at Angela's blog:  Soscrappy.  She has called the quilt-along for RSC2019, "Tiny Tuesdays".  Each block centre is small!  Which means they sew up pretty quick!  Making blocks like this is, besides finding use for well-matured fabrics, a way of just trying out a block that may or may not be new to you, but sometimes leads on to other things!

And last, but not least, January's Block Lotto blocks, "Fireballs".  I made three of these 6-inch blocks.  This is really another fun way to stretch your skills - even if you don't participate, try a block or two each month for yourself.

 

 Cheers!

June sewing and meet my Grandson

From the left:  two of the Noonlight blocks (waiting for all their mates flying in from the Block Lotto makers), 26 blocks for the Scrappy Block Project (using strings and keeping block corners 90-deg, but whatever size the strings dictate),  three Squared Away (turquoise/teal,not quite blue, not quite green, RSC colour for June), 5 of the biggest KKK blocks (finish at 6-inches).  This might be the last of the sewing for a few weeks, because....

  ...counting the days until there will be lots of hugs for E!   6000 miles travel - just to get there!