Just Take 2

 Today is Human Rights Day, and it's really great to have a public holiday in the middle of the week.

Finally have photos of the finished Orca Bay top.  Taken on the front garden path, but quickly as the wind was ruffling up the edges...

Took a nap yesterday after work and then was itching to sew, knowing no work next day!  Completed five, bring the total done to seven, of the Just Takes 2 blocks. Think that I will have to resew one or two as they are little bigger than they should be.  I've now realized that the foot on Pfaff Grand quilter is a bit narrower than a quarter inch. Blocks are between 6.5" and 12.5" square.   Pictures...

Lots of sewing

Orca Bay - not quite a finish, but I have stitched the centre blocks together, stitched the outer borders together, and stitched the inner border into one long piece.  Four evenings straight!  I found myself itching to leave work so I could go home and sew!  And I like being at work, most of the time.  Need to press all the sections before the finale.   But "have" to go out for dinner tomorrow, it's my weekly quilt group's annual "end-of-year" party... but Cape Town being so hectic during December because of summer and Christmas we have it in January!  Actually, I am really looking forward to a fun evening.

Very glad that the heat wave that we had for five days has abated,  the summer's howling south-easter is back, cooling things down a bit. 

Welcome to the New Year!

Happy New Year, ok, ok, so its two days late, but have been very busy.   Have managed to finish sewing all the pieces of Orca Bay (pressing, well that's still ahead) .... and yet there are others out there who have put the whole thing together!   (Busy, as in busman's holiday, finishing off accounts for my daughter's ill-fated coffee-shop, and my sister's gem of a Montessori school.)

As I snapped this picture, Eep (yes, that's the sound she makes, so name has stuck) jumped up.. so one more...

Please go and look at the linky-thing  at Quiltville, to catch up with the other Orcadians

After much mind-changing, have settled on purples and off-whites for the Just Takes 2 mystery (and if they go together nicely and reasonably quickly, will do some in red and green (go Wales!):

The first blocks have been released, but I need to wait a week or so before starting that!

Mystery Quilts

I guess the Mystery Quilt bug has bitten, as I have signed up to do another one at Just Takes 2!  I can't remember how I found it, presumably just jumping from blog to blog.  As one Orca Bay participant wrote, it's NOT knowing the final quilt that keeps the interest.

I do remember telling all my local quilting friends to look on-line at the amazing display of red and white quilts at the Armory last March, and really wished I could have seen it first-hand.  I'm so pleased with scrap look of my Orca Bay Mystery, that I think that will be how I will do this new mystery.  More detailed work, but over a year.  No, I'm not whining about Bonnie's weekly installments, especially as this is summer and Christmas time, meaning some time off work, and some time on sewing.... but I know I have a busy (work) year ahead.

Click on the red and white button on the left and consider joining in.

Have made 6 Ohio Star blocks, yay!  Only 52 to go!  The rest are in strips of three, so not too much to finish.  And I took to heart Bonnie's reluctance to pin when, if you are careful, you can butt up the seams and mostly they finish nicely.   And I am really pleased how flat these 6" blocks sit.  Please go and see what fun other quilters are having with this mystery at Bonnie's link-up.

Catching up

After busy three weeks of housing my eldest child and her partner, they left at midnight on Sunday for his family home in The Netherlands.  This is going to be the quietest Christmas ever.  Without my Dad, my Mum in Brisbane visiting my sister and her family, one daughter in Sydney and one in Heemstede, this is the first time we are apart.  Thank goodness for Skype and cell (mobile) phones, just knowing one can contact them, without the expensive long-distance call charges of many years ago.

Orca Bay - parts 1 to 4 complete

I'm now on leave now for two weeks and having spent the last three evenings tidying up sewing room and catching up with Orca Bay (at least to part 4), I'm looking forward to doing part 5 tomorrow, especially as I now have the right ruler!

Please go and look at the progress being made by other quilters on this exciting mystery quilt on Quiltville's link up thingy.

Orca Bay Progess

Yay!  Finished stitching all 224 blocks of Part 1, all nicely pressed, will spend tomorrow evening at quilt group trimming to size. I'm very happy with the way they sit flat. Have now progressed far enough that it WILL get finished!

More Orca Bay

I've been trying very hard to only use scraps that have already been cut into usable sizes.  Orca Bay part 3 says make 350 half-square 2" sewn (1.5" finished) triangles...ok...  Started off by using 2'" squares, creating  one 2" block and one 1.25" extra block - that lasted until about 120 blocks.   Then used 2.5" squares, creating two 2" blocks - only about 60 of those.  Lastly used 3.5" squares, sewing around each side, and then cut diagonally in four, press, and trim up a little. (and I've lost count now...).

3.5" square cut on diagonals

I don't yet have the rulers that Bonnie is using, but soon!  Gosh, but I've struggled to get the photos where I wanted them, have now given up!

Please go back to Quiltville to see more!

2.5" square cut apart

3.5" square sewn on each side

 

All blue blocks done, about half of the rest, but lots of cutting and pressing ahead.

Hot start to summer

Summer has arrived, it's hot and sticky, ugh.  New baby was spayed on Friday, feeling a bit sorry for herself but recovering nicely.  My sewing mate (aka my eldest child) is off to the UK in 3 weeks as her partner has a work contract there for 6/7 months (actually I'm green with envy, as they are going to be in my beloved Wales).  French classes over for the year, have signed up for the next course starting in January - the reading and listening slowly improving, but speaking leaves much to be desired.  With the holiday feeling, did sew up almost all of part 2 of Orca Bay (just 8 blocks to go), pulled out more fabric for parts 1 and 3...more pictures tomorrow!   For the blue string blocks, I am determined to use only strings and not cut from stash, might just make it!  Thanks to the advice from Candace to look at Polly's blog and from Solvi, I did use as many of my longer strings, making fabric and then cutting the blocks. but now down to crumbs, and back onto using the paper (which I had cut out 72 anyway!).

Orca Bay part 2

Here are some of blocks of my start on part 2 of Orca Bay Mystery.  Was very pleased at the way they were turning out.  I did follow Bonnie's instructions this time, but not certain I like removing papers, so will try a few by just making fabric with scrap strings.

Part 2 blocks

Please go and look at all the other link-ups at Quiltville.

I have always been a compulsive reader, and to have found interesting quilt blogs to read is absolute heaven!   I suspect I am not the only one, but I don't always find the courage to leave a message!  Thank-you to all that take the time to write and share.

Orca Bay Mystery

After humming and hawing since Friday last week when Bonnie Hunter put up the first part of her newest mystery quilt, I decided, yep, can do this!  The first part says 448 pairs of quarter square triangles, hence the indecision.  But after pulling out of my stash of ready cut 3-1/2" black and neutral squares and figuring out that I actually only need 112 pairs of squares, seems more manageable.  Have about 3/4 of that number ready cut, so pulled out some of my untouched fat quarters, and away we go.

3.5" squares and strips from tamed stash

fat quarters waiting to be cut

ONE hourglass block, and three in progress, only 223 to go!

Please go and look at all the other linked participants at quiltville

Three years ago I joined a weekly quilt group, and almost every Thursday evening I have taken a box of scraps left over from sporadic quilt making from the past 30-odd years and have been taming them, a la Bonnie Hunter, into usable sizes.  I have about another year to go to get through the rest of the unruly scraps!