Quilt-O-Rama

2006-04-04T19:36:00.000+10:00

I am such a slacker – the weeks just keep racing by and I never seem to get to blog.

Updates:

Work

Well, it didn’t get off to a great start, what with the non existent induction training, and total brain overload caused by a week of intense (mostly useless) technical training. And when I was eventually (forced, against my better judgement) on the phones on day 8 of working, I was buddied with a person who yelled at me, and gesticulated wildly at things on the computer screen while I was attempting to talk to a customer. Sigh. It didn’t end well. I felt like I was set up to fail, and that is what happened.

But.

While I and the small group of other new starters were having belated induction training, the head honcho of the entire business line dropped in to see how we were going. So we told him. He was not happy, which reassured me somewhat that not all the managers were complete twits. And I have to say that the expectations and training were drastically altered so we could learn at our own pace and practice skills. Hopefully things will change for the next group of new starters. We’ll see.

As part of the probation and performance requirements, I had to achieve 95% accuracy and maintain it for 2 weeks. This little requirement had been freaking me out, but I have (miraculously!) managed to achieve this already, which has been a great confidence boost. Now I just have to work on the other requirements like, playing well with others and stuff. I think I’ll be OK.

Weight

Did I mention that I have been on a diet? I can’t remember. Anyway, I have lost 13 kilos so far. I have never, ever, ever managed to lose weight on purpose in my entire life. Mainly because I am not fond of the exercise. So I have made a big effort to walk on a regular basis. When I first started, I could only walk for 15 minutes and I would get killer cramps down my legs because I was so unfit. The last bit of hill to get back to the house used to just about kill me, and little old ladies used to overtake me. But now I can do 30 minutes easily, and no leg cramps, so my fitness is much improved. I draw the line at walking though, I have no desire to do any other exercise.

I have also managed to eliminate (mostly) sugar, and have drastically reduced fatty foods. Actually, since I started work in January, I have been buying Lean Cuisines instead of cooking anything, both for the convenience and low fat levels. I do have a fondness at the moment for hot cross buns, so I don’t know what I’m going to do once easter is over.

And the best bit is, of course, The Clothes I Can Now Fit In!

I tried on a pair of size 16 jeans, with not much hope that they would fit me, but they were the only size left. And they fit! But they did make my bum look big so I didn’t buy them, and instead got some straight leg jeans which were a lot more flattering.

I’m trying not to buy too many things yet, because I still want to lose 10 or so more kilos.

I have forgotten how to find my pictures on Picasa, so I will try and upload some pictures later in the week. I bought Robbi Ecklow’s book – which is excellent, by the way. Lots of great information and ideas on dyeing, quilting, design – and I started making one of her designs so I could try some different techniques. I’ve started quilting it already, which as you know is my favourite part of the quilting process.

I want to try some of her still life ideas next, so I am on the lookout for unusual shaped vases and cups and things.

old quilts

2006-01-12T13:26:00.000+10:00

I was looking in the linen cupboard the other day, and I found some quilts that I made a couple of years ago. I still like this one, even though the quilting is a bit ordinary to me these days. I've been using it to pull over my legs when it is a bit cool in the mornings - most nights a sheet is enough but occassionally it is a little bit cool at 4 am. I think I used a thin poly batting, so it isn't very warm.

But I think I like the back more now - I used to piece backs for quilts, mostly to cut down on the cost of buying meters of fabric to make them. These days I prefer to not piece backs for a couple of reasons - the extra seams can add bulk/lumps for one, and it is a little more difficult to keep everything on grain (so it hangs flat - V V important to the Quilt Police, oops, I mean Quilt Judges).

The strippy bits were left over from the piecing of the star, and I added in a couple of what I then considered to be "dogs". Who knew that I would now be pining for a bit of that Ice Cream Cone Fabric? I know that there isn't any left - probably not in the entire world. oh well.....

I've started the quilting on this one - I'm finding it pretty slow going because I am doing a lot of colour changes (although I just quilt with one colour until the bobbin runs out and then switch to another colour to stop it from getting too boring). I am matching the thread colour to the fabric and basically doing little texture things that will be noticeable up close, but won't be so visible from a distance. The blocks are so busy that any fancy stuff would be - and I quote Karen K Stone herself here - "lipstick on a pig".

Meanwhile, I have a constant battle to keep The Management off my seat and out of sewing space. It is a losing battle, every day.

BTW - does anyone else have a cat that hates being brushed? These two H.A.T.E. being brushed, but they have so much loose hair in their coats it is flying around in clumps on the floor and I swear I have enough to make a whole 'nother cat. I bought a thingy that looks exactly like a fish scaler and it is excellent for getting the loose hair out of their coats, but I have to rassle with them every time I try it. They are not easily "persuaded", to say the least.

I got it!

2006-01-09T18:23:00.000+10:00

I got the job I wanted!

I had the interview last week, and I can never gauge how I've done in an interview. Maybe OK, but then I go over every little thing and think I didn't really answer things well.

Originally, the starting date for this job was supposed to be today, so I was expecting to hear by last Friday on whether or not I was sucessful. I didn't hear anything, so I have spent the whole weekend moping around and beating myself up for passing on the other (not as well paid, private sector) job. And it was all for nothing!

Turns out they moved the starting date back to the 23rd (there are about 10-12 new starters, so they have a whole induction schedule set out).

So, if you are unlucky enough to have a C*ntrelink debt, you can expect me to call you to discuss your repayment options!

Finished, well almost finished.

2006-01-09T16:03:00.000+10:00

I've finished all my blocks. I was on a gruelling 3-blocks-a-day regime at the end, because the end was in sight and I wanted to get to the quilting. And with each block taking me about 3 hours to finish, that's a whole heap of sitting in front of the sewing machine. Luckily I have nothing better to do with my time at the moment!

Here's the finished top:

I'm quite pleased with how it has turned out - I managed to use some of the "dogs" from my fabric collection. You know the ones - the odd fabrics that don't fit in with anything else. And I have some doozies that I dragged out of storage. Like the skull and crossbones fabric that I had for a pirate quilt I made for Nick a few years ago. Where else would I be able to use that?

Look what I found for the back:

This bee-yoo-ti-full fabric was in the cheap bin at Spotlight, can you believe that? I love it - the colours aren't quite as accurate in the photo, but what's not to like about hot pink background with red circles and orange middles? Apparently I am in the minority, because there were about 6 or 7 bolts of this lovely in the cheap bin. I helped out as much as I could and bought 6 metres (I only really needed 4 for the quilt back), but for $6 a metre, I'll take a few extra metres home.

I'm a bit stuck on how to quilt this - there aren't really any close ups of the quilting for Cinco de Mayo in the book. I hate that! I don't know whether to go with an all over pattern or if I should custom quilt each block (or even sections of blocks).

a few more blocks

2005-12-28T10:11:00.000+10:00

So far I have made about 18 of these blocks - so I am halfway to a quilt top.

I accidentally started using starch while I was pressing the separate units - I don't normally use starch for piecing, but it is making a big difference in how flat I can press, and makes the fabric hold it's shape really well, which is important seeing as most of the edges are off grain. I have dragged out a heap of "hard to use" prints for this, and they are working really well - and where else would I be able to use skull and cross bones fabric?

I get really stuck trying to not pick "matching" fabrics for these - I'm getting better but I cannot bring myself to use brown prints. The original quilt has them, and they look good, but I can't get past my aversion.

For Trish, who sent me a comment earlier - I use a normal domestic machine for quilting, a Janome MemoryCraft 4800 that I have had for about 6 years. Although I would like to upgrade to the 6500, because it has a wider throat space, which would make it easier to stuff more quilt under the arm of the machine. Next Christmas, maybe!

2005-12-23T09:25:00.000+10:00

For a while now I have been ogling Karen K Stone's Cinco de Mayo, and I decided that I would buy the EQ5 software for myself for Christmas. I thought about buying the book as well, but decided I didn't really need both. Well, the software arrived last week and I got started:

I am pretty confident with paper piecing - but! - there are Y shaped seam lines in some of the blocks (on the little frames around the pointy triangles in this block). I don't get it. How am I supposed to do that with paper piecing - and I'll bet the answer is in the book, which I didn't buy. Oh well. I have worked out a solution that I am happy with - my points have a little tuck in them, which you probably can't see in the photo, and isn't really all that noticeable on the actual block.

I am using some of the wilder pattern prints that I have acquired over many years and subsequently found very difficult to use. I tend to buy for prints for texture now - there might be few little patterns, but for the most part the fabric can be classified as a purple, or a green etc. So the multicoloured novelty type prints that I have don't get used much, and neither do the various bali batiks that I have been buying for years and rarely use.

I'm averaging about 3-4 hours to make a block, and they are working out pretty well so far.

I am all finished with Christmas preparations - nothing else to buy, wrap or pick up. Which is just as well as we are having a heat wave - 36c!! - and I do not want to leave the airconditioned luxury of my loungeroom. But now I can't decide whether or not to cook on Christmas day - we don't really do traditional Christmas food (because we don't like it), but I was going to make roast pork for dinner with baked potatoes and gravy, and a baked cheescake for desert. (My arteries are clogging up just thinking about it!) The kids won't care one way or another - there is plenty of other junk food for them to eat, and we have a ham as well. Decisions, decisions..........

On the job front......

I originally applied for a job with a v. v. large government department, went throught the assessment centre process and didn't make it to the next round of interviews. OK. I then interviewed for another job with a small private company. Which I got last week and am due to start on the 4th of January. Yesterday, the recruitment agency rang me back and asked if I was still interested in interviewing for the first role. On the 4th of January. ARGH!!!! What am I gonna do? I really want the government job - it is more money, better conditions and much better career prospects. But - it is only an interview, not a definite offer. I think the recruiters slipped up a bit - the girl who rang me didn't know about the second job I had been offered (via their agency). But I have told her I definitely want to interview for the government job, and I am hoping to negotiate a later starting date with the other job if it doesn't work out, because I don't want to muck them around either. And it's CHRISTMAS and everything is closing down for a week, so I will get no answers for a while. Bugger.

Although, on the corporate wardrobe front, I did manage to buy a pair of shoes that likely won't slice my poor feet to ribbons when I walk in them, so that's a bonus.

2005-12-18T15:14:00.000+10:00

Finished! I've just finished the binding on this and only have to sew down the hanging sleeve and I'm done. And much as I like the front of this quilt, I'm equally fond of how the back has turned out. I think I'll use some more plain fabrics for backing - the quilting patterns are interesting on their own.

It's Christmas! I'm sure you know what that means, yes, that's right - it's time for the cats to destroy the Christmas tree again. Actually, if I'd had my way, I don't think I would have even bothered with the tree. Afterall, I still have 3 santas sitting on top of the TV from last year, so no one can accuse me of not making any effort to get into the festive spirit. But, I was outvoted and the tree was assembled. Firstly, the tree needed to be inspected by our snoopervisors to see if it was suitable:

Yep!! This one is still good!

In other news, I have been busy looking for a job over the past few weeks, and managed to actually get one last week. Not my dream job, but it will do while I am finishing off my degree in the next two years or so.

And now my problem - I need to buy work clothes. Business/corporate suitable outfits. All the shops are full of gypsy skirts and spaghetti strap* tops! And nothing else! What is up with that? Seriously, there is a lack of any suitable skirts, blouses, trousers and shoes. I managed to find 1 skirt last week (to wear to the interview) and can't find anything else. If this continues, I will have to *gulp* resort to sewing clothes for myself. I do not want to do this. It is a pain in the arse.

*These are extremely unflattering the majority of the population (myself included). I am sick of seeing bra straps everywhere - I am praying that this misguided fashion trend will end soon.

Its a good thing I like chartreuse......

2005-12-02T06:13:00.000+10:00

I've been meaning to paint my bedroom for a while now - we've lived in this house for 18 months now, and we still haven't hung pictures (or quilts, for that matter). All the walls are beige, in typical used-to-be-a-rental-property tradition. So the problem is while the colour scheme is fairly bland (ok - really, really bland), the colour is not ugly enough to make you want to paint over it immediately. But I finally decided that it was time to change, so I went paint shopping.

This is what I chose - the paint colour is called Leaf Bud. Sounds pretty, no? It looked so pale on the colour chip, and didn't look too bad when I had the paint tinted at Bunnings. Then I started painting. At which time the paint took on a life of it's own and became almost fluorescent. uh-oh. Much more chartreuse than I had intended, but I like it.

I have to admit, it looked better after it dried a bit, and much better after I had done the second coat. But it is Very Lime Green. When the sun hits my room in the afternoon, you can see a green glow from the hallway. But it does look good with my quilt, which is what I had planned, and I do intend to hang some quilts on the walls, so that will dilute the effect somewhat. I hope. (My sheets are aubergine, by the way, not black.)

Of course, no painting project is complete without a little disaster of some sort. You know the kind of thing I mean - spilling enamel gloss paint on the carpet while trying to pour into the roller tray - not that I would know anything about that. (ok - I did do that, but it was in another house and the carpet was crappy anyway. When I ripped the carpet out later, I had to sand the paint stain off the floorboards. ) I thought I managed pretty well on this project - I did of course end up with the requisite paint on clothing incident, a little drop of paint on the bed, but that was it. Or so I thought. The next day I happened to look at the side of the cat, who should be black. Well, she was still mostly black, just with a patch of lime green tips down one side. Hmmmm. This picture probably illustrates the scene of the crime, although I am yet to locate the matching patch of black cat hair on my walls. It could have been worse. Much, much worse.

Now onto quilting:

I've had quilters block on Apple Candy. I did some ditch quilting, and then was a bit lost on what to do next. I had wanted to do some McTavishing style quilting, but I haven't quite mastered it yet - not to a level that I am happy with anyway. But yesterday I was playing with some spiral filling patterns and worked out this pattern:

It's similar to McTavishing, but has more spirals. I'm pleased with it so far - but I am still working the kinks - like how to not quilt myself into a corner, because I don't like to quilt over the same line twice. Sometimes I have had to though, and you can't really see it when all the quilting is done, so I think I'll have to let that go. I know that for McTavishing the backtracking is an integral part of the technique, but because I use rayon threads to quilt with it makes anything doubled over very noticeable.

More quilting - I quilted little bubbles in the middle of the circles, and twisty loops on the pink and orange bits, but you can't see that very well in this pic.

This is the back - it is much greener than this picture in reality, but I like the whole cloth effect that is coming out. I match my bobbin colour to the top colour because I can never completely prevent the little bits of bobbin thread showing on the top, no matter how I set the tension on my machine. I don't normally go for plain backings, because you can see every little quilting mistake, but I think the quilting will be so dense that it will be difficult to pick anything out. Unless you are me, of course!

Apple Candy

2005-11-09T15:57:00.000+10:00

I’ve started back on this quilt – I‘ve been a stumped by how to finish the edges. I originally wanted to have a plain border in a darker shade of green, but it has not crossed my path yet. So this top sat for a while, unfinished, taunting me. Last week I thought I found the perfect green, and bought 2 metres of it. When I got it home it was more in the blue/green end rather than the yellow/green end that the rest of the background is. Not right. So I decided to combine all the green fabrics (including the new one) and make a mosaic of 2 inch squares instead of trying to find the “perfect” border fabric. I quite like how it has come out, so now I can move onto the best bit – The Quilting!

But first, the dreaded basting stage. Honestly, there has got to be a better way to baste quilts than crawling around on my kitchen floor (in humid, 30 degree days), trying to keep the backing flat, the batting even and the cats OFF.

I never quite manage all three. I wish I had a big table, or something, that would make it an easier process.

Anyway, for the quilting, I am thinking I will try out some McTavishing techniques, and free form feathers. I might have a bit more practice before I tackle the actual quilt though, it’s been a while since I’ve done fancy quilting.

I thought of the best name for this quilt – Apple Candy – it suits it, and makes me smile.

Rose Spirals

2005-11-04T07:55:00.000+10:00

This is some quilting I did yesterday for a friend of my sister, in exchange for a couple of metres of cotton batting. I am thinking that she got the better end of the stick. But nevermind.

A while ago, I read on a blog (can't remember who, sorry) about someone who couldn't manage to quilt a spiral into the middle and back out again (like I have in the yellow border). So instead of trying to quilt spirals, they looped back over the inward spiral and then commented that it looked like a rose. At which point I had a lightbulb moment, and started quilting spiral roses myself. So, whoever you were, thanks for the great idea! I use these all the time now to fill in long borders, and they are so easy to do.

How to Make a Hexagon Quilt in 492 Easy Steps

2005-11-04T07:54:00.000+10:00

Kelly recently asked for some assistance in making her own Hexaholic quilt, so I am drafting her a separate version. You may or may not have noticed, but I love hexagons. They are a great hand sewing project, portable, and you can do little bits of sewing at a time, or, if you're like me, you can sit in front of the telly for hours and have something to show for your time. So, because I could find so little information on hand paper piecing, I am writing down some hints and tips that would have made my life easier, if only I had known.

How to Make a Hexagon Quilt in 492 Easy Steps

1. Choose the size of hexagons you want to use.
2. You can buy precut hexagons from places like Lizard of Oz, or you can print your own if you have access to some quilting software like EQ5.
3. If you are cutting your own papers out, normal printer paper is fine.
4. You can layer 4-5 sheets of paper together and cut out multiple hexagons at the same time.
5. Just make sure that the papers don’t slip, and you are getting an accurate hexagon on all layers.
6. Your arms will get very sore from cutting out all the papers, even if you have the spring loaded Fiskars shears to cut with.
7. If you are cheap like me, you won’t mind the sore arms. Just as long as you don’t have to spend good money on precut hexagons.
8. Choose your fabric. This is a great way to use up tiny useless bits of fabric, as long as they cover the paper.

9. Work out what size square you will need to cover your hexagon. This is not an exact science – I cut these by eye. Without a ruler. I like to live dangerously.
10. But, you can still use “rotary cutting principles” to cut bulk pieces. Cut a strip the required width, then cross cut your squares from the strip.
11. To reduce bulk, you can snip of the corners of your squares.
12. If you are lazy, you don’t need to bother with this step.
13. Next Stage: Basting!!!

(and how come my hand looks so fat in this picture!?!)

14. Use a contrasting colour thread for this stage. You will thank me later. Fluorescent orange works well, and may well be the only use you will ever have for this colour.
15. I use straw needles for hand sewing, but it doesn’t really matter at this stage. Use what you are comfortable with.
16. Knot the end of your thread. You will be tying lots of knots. Learn how to do the magic winding knot. It will save you big heap time.
17. Put a paper onto the wrong side of your fabric piece, and fold one edge of the fabric around the paper.
18. You want your knot on the top of the hexagon; so sew through from the right side, and back up to the right side.
19. Fold the next edge up, and stitch through
20. Repeat for the remaining 4 sides.
21. When you get to the beginning again, just put a stitch through the first side again. Don’t back stitch or anything. It should hold OK.
22. Repeat ad nauseum, until you have enough hexagons to sew something together. Check your pattern and see how the hexagons are supposed to go together .

Next instalment - Joining and other construction

Congatulations

2005-11-01T06:25:00.000+10:00

Ok - this will be quick because I have an exam this morning (Does ethics play a role in building mutual trust within an organisation? Sadly, I am past caring at this point.)

Congatulations to Zoe S! I will be posting your quilt off to you later in the week. Just as soon as someone tells me where you live.

(this is a crap photo, but it is very freaking early in the a.m. and the best I can do under the circumstances. I'll try a take a better one later.)

No quilt is completed in this house until it is given the kitty seal of approval:

Yep, this one works!

NQR

2005-10-07T08:20:00.000+10:00

In lieu of actual quilting activity (which I intend to rectify asap), I have been crazy busy with uni. Hopefully, the worst of it is over now. In the past 2 weeks I have:

o Written a 3300 word human resource management intervention for a case study
o Prepared and presented (on my own – yikes!) a 15 minute session on the importance of work/life balance strategies for human resource managers in organisations
o Presented (with a group – not so bad) the final strategic analysis for a company that we have been working on all semester.

So, I’m knackered.

The first essay was due last Tuesday, during the lecture which was supposed to start at 8am. I get there on time, no lecturer. I wait for a while, along with other students, no lecturer. I go an get some breakfast, come back to the room, no lecturer. We thought she may have been delayed in traffic, since it was a foggy morning and the traffic was bad. Eventually, someone went to the admin (on the other side of the campus, and not open before 9) and we found out she was sick. So the good news is – I don’t have to sit through a 2-hour lecture, and I will have plenty of time to work on the unfinished presentation that is due at 2 pm. Bad news – I had to hike over to the admin to hand in the essay. Spent the rest of the morning in the library, having panic attacks about being unprepared and having to present on my own. (I was originally working in a pair with another girl, but she dumped me to work with another person who I hate, umm I mean I don’t get on with at all. How high school is that?)

So, the presentation. It went ok. I hate doing public speaking of any sort, and it is especially bad when you feel unprepared to start with. I felt a bit better once I saw a few of the other groups work though, I had done enough work and included enough info.

The group presentation – this is a big project and we have had to present bits of information every couple of weeks during the semester, ending with this final strategic analysis. Also have to do a big report, but that’s not due for a while, and there are 4 of us to work on it, so it shouldn’t be too bad. And we managed to get a decent mark for the presentation, even though we were madly panicking once we saw what the other groups were doing, because it wasn’t what we had done. So, much adlibbing and adjusting was done as we went. Oh, and we were last, so practically everyone except the lecturer had buggered off by that stage. Which was fine by me.

I live down the street from a little cemetery, and when we see a backhoe making it’s way up the hill, it’s usually a sign that there will be a funeral at the church over the road that day. (I have been caught out in the front yard in my slippers as the funeral cortege makes its way up the street. I felt so disrespectful.) But this week is different. Energex are doing some cabling thing, which apparently involves lots of backhoes with dirt going up and down the street, and this:

Looks like they’re going to dig up the driveway. It is very noisy, and I hope they give us some warning if we aren’t going to be able to get in or out for a while. Luckily, we had the air-conditioning on, so the noise was not as bad as it could have been.

So, exams are looming. I know this because the Jacarandas are blooming. I will try and get a pic, they are the most gorgeous tree and I love them. This is what I should be reading – assorted texts on organisational psychology, HRM, strategic management and various journal articles.

But I’m not. I’m going to read this instead:

I have been waiting for 3 years for this book, and I cannot wait to really get stuck in. I will, however, restrain myself from re-reading the previous 4 (or is it 5? too lazy to go and check)novels in the series. If you like Diana Gabaldon, I know you will understand. (And I'm going to eat those lollies on my desk as well!)

I do have a quilt to work on - I am doing the quilting for my friend Margaret's blue and white pinwheel. Or I will be very soon.

PS - i've turned on the word verification thingy for comments because of the spam comments.

2005-09-08T16:16:00.000+10:00

Binding

2005-08-30T21:50:00.000+10:00

No sewing today - had to go to uni ALL DAY. And actually learn stuff.

But my sister gave me a special assignment - shell tucked hems. It is my fault for mentioning them in the first place. See that pink fabric way over in the left corner? That's what I am to finish before I am allowed to go to bed.

First - set up the machine. I have done shell tucks before, but it's been awhile so I thought a practice was in order before I did the proper gown. Coco decides that sewing is her thing, and she will assist me when she is not busy laying around on a Quilt That I Am Trying To Keep Cat Hair Off.

Hmmm, that thread is pretty interesting, but what else have you got?

Oooooh - stuff that moves! I love stuff that moves!

You bore me.

And look, you can see some shell tucked hem. Way over on the right hand side.

I'm going to bed now.

quilting detail

2005-08-28T11:13:00.000+10:00

Some detail shots of the quilting for Julie. I did raw edge applique for the cats and flowers - so the quilting and applique are done in the same step. The background is all done in a swirly flower - I did them as all separate motifs instead of a continuous line pattern. Mainly because I couldn't work out how to join them together.

Finished top

2005-08-28T08:38:00.000+10:00

Finished the top. I am trying to finish this quickly because I know I will inundated with pointless assignments, group work and exams at uni in the next few weeks. The width of this is just under 42 inches - so I managed to get the backing in one length.

Quilting detail - I have taken some McTavishing principles and added swirly things to the stars. I'm pleased with how they turned out. The background is stippled in a matching purple rayon thread - shiny shiny thread.

For the rest of the quilt, I have stippled the purple background of the stars, and I will quilt the swirly middle on each one as well. I also started an all over loopy meander on the rest of the pieces - I used a varigated rayon, which is good on all of the colours in the patches. Of course, after I started this I had a much better idea for the quilting (at 4am, when all good quilting ideas occur) but it is too late now. I toyed briefly - very briefly - with the idea of unpicking, but then I came to my senses.
2

2005-08-26T13:34:00.000+10:00

I am an avid reader of blogs. Lots of them. Mrs Mel’s blog was the first blog I ever encountered – I followed the link from her website. And I was amazed and intrigued and fascinated that she would share her life and experiences with anyone who cared to read. I think I read all the archives in one sitting. Then I went on to explore and discover lots of other blogs on many different topics – not just quilting, but knitting and lots of other topics.

Somehow I found blogs written by women who were experiencing infertility, adjusting to new babies, going through difficult pregnancies, or going through various adoption procedures.

I have not experienced infertility myself, but I have had friends who have had problems. So I follow the experiences of these amazing women, mostly lurking and rarely commenting, but always hoping that they are able to have the families that they want whether it is through IVF (which I know now way too much about BTW) or international adoption or foster care/adoption.

Recently, I was reading Julie’s blog and she was asked to give some advice to a young mother-to-be. (I won’t repeat too much of it here – you can read about it on Julie’s and Rebekah’s blogs if you are interested). Anyway, Julie’s readers were very keen to help out this young mother and baby and wanted to donate baby goods, money etc. Julie decided that she would make a quilt and sell tickets for $5 each to raise some much needed cash for soon-to-be-born Emily Lynne and her mum. When I read of this I wanted to help too. I was a young, single mother myself. And it was scary enough when I had a full time job and a relatively easy pregnancy (except for the unpredictable blood pressure that had me hospitalised for 3 weeks before the boy was born) and a healthy, full term baby. I cannot imagine having to cope with an early birth and the possibility of a baby that will spend time in NICU as well. So I have offered, and Julie has accepted, to make another quilt for the prize drawing.

I have decided to make a quilt from a pattern that I have had for a few years now – Tumbling Teds by The Chook Shed. They make great easy patterns that can be changed and adapted to whatever you want.

Here’s one that I made earlier! I changed the country colours to brights, seeing as that is my preferred colour scheme these days. (I sold this quilt a couple of years ago, and I didn’t think I had a photo, so I was happy to find this one.) The background is burgundy, not black.

And here is another quilt that I made as a gift for a friends grandchild. I used the country colours for this one.

So I was mad keen to get started on this project. I have chosen a purple background and brights to make this quilt – gender neutral, so there is very little pink.

For some reason I have no orange fabrics left. I’ll have to remedy that immediately.

Here are some of the blocks completed. I have to finish the appliqué on the stars, and then I will do the bears. The pattern for the bears is great because you can “pose” them how you want.

2005-08-23T15:53:00.000+10:00

This is not a new quilt - however it will be featured in Australian Patchwork and Quilting shortly (issue 13/10 for those of you playing along at home). I think that is due out around December.

I have read the interview piece that accompanies it, and let me just say now - there is a lot of me "beaming" "grinning" "laughing" and the like. Ignore all that. I am not like that. But the rest of it is accurate.

And I think they are going to put in a picture of my cat!!

I am fast approaching Wierd Cat Spinster Lady status. If I'm not already there.

McTavishing

2005-08-21T19:10:00.000+10:00

I had to take my machine back for repair - the problem was not mechanical, it was one of the micro processors. Cost me $80! I hate how sewing machine mechanics (at least every one that I have encountered) treats me like I am a complete idiot and know nothing about my machine. I left my machine with explicit details of what was wrong with it and instructions for that to be repaired. Later that night the actual mechanic man rang me and suggested that the machine needed a service as well. I informed him it had been serviced recently and it didn't need a service, only the repair that I asked for. Swizzer. When I got the machine home, I found that he has adjusted the little metal arm that senses when the bobbin is fully wound has been moved in so that it stops winding bobbins when they are about half full. I'm cranky. Very Cranky.

McTavishing - I bought this book a couple of weeks ago and haven't had a chance to try it out before now. I watched the DVD last night and then had a practice:

1st go - haven't really got the hang of it yet, but I think it will come. The thing with all over patterns is that you have to learn them - know how to navigate in and out of tight spots and how to travel from one space to another. I think my sections need to be longer and wavier and it will look better. I think the book is aimed more at long arm quilters, although there is a bit on domestic machine methods. And there is a doorbell ringing all the way through the DVD - very annoying!

So then I tried some free form feathers - there are so many ways to do these. I have been drawing these over and over again on the back of my lecture notes when I get bored in lectures (frequently!). I like Caryl Bryer-Fallerts feathers, and I found them easier to do without to much practice. I still have to work out how to get around corners and when to make each feather longer or shorter. And did you notice the micro stippling?

These ones are based on the Ricky Tims method that I saw on his DVD - you have to backtrack over the spine of the feather, which I am not so good at yet.

Those are my favourite scissors - I have had them for about 13 years now and the point on the blade is rounded off from wear, which means the points don't catch on fabric when you are cutting. They are not so gold as they used to be either. I lost them for a while last year and couldn't find them anywhere. When I moved house they magically reappeared from the depths of my recliner chair, where the removalist found them when they had to open the chair to get it out a door. I'm much more careful with them now.

2005-08-13T14:47:00.000+10:00

The Ricky Tims seminar was excellent - informative and entertaining. I bought his new DVD on machine quilting and finishing and it is very good. Saw a few of his quilts up close and personal, which always shows you more detail that you can get from a photos and books. He spoke about his rhapsody quilts and how he makes them - the backgrounds are pieced! All those funny shapes are not appliqued together like I assumed, but pieced together. One day I might do one.

There is something wrong with my sewing machine. It is stuck on the bobbin winding function - I can switch the little spindle back and the needle will go up and down (and sew) but I can't use any of the button functions that I have become reliant on, like the needle up/down and reverse. I don't really have time to have it away being repaired so I am a bit annoyed with it. I can still quilt with it, and I have gotten very good at stopping with the needle in the position I need.

We went to the Ekka yesterday. It was the coldest day ever recorded in Brisbane. Alright, not really, but it was very, very cold! We don’t get much of winter and usually it is around 25 and quite bearable. But not yesterday, when we were subjected to arctic temperatures and overcast skies and drizzle. I'm surprised it didn't snow!

The cold snap was good thing/bad thing happening. Good because it kept the crowds down, and we were able to see what we wanted without elbowing people, but bad because we were freezing at the same time. For your viewing pleasure, here are the highlights:

The Mouse Circus. I am not a fan of the mouse under normal circumstances. However, I make an annual exception for The Mouse Circus, which I find fascinating to watch. Most of the mousies were crowded around their food block, and not doing tricks, but it was pretty entertaining anyway.

2nd Prize. My sister entered one to the sewing categories and won a 2nd prize for this boys outfit. We won’t mention that there were only 2 entrants in this category, OK? (And the 1st place “winner” was a very ugly outfit.)

This is a cake! I have some of these blue ceramic ball things in my garden, so I liked this one. (Jerome did not believe that all of these things were cakes and icing, the smell of fruit cake in the air was divine!)

Kewpie Dolls! I love these! I had to buy one, of course.

The Wheel of Death. Despite my well known fear of heights, I thought it would be a Good Idea to go on the ferris wheel. But first........

we are distracted by laughing clowns. Jerome loves all these games of "skill", but every child wins a prize, so he thinks he is getting a great deal. He had the choice of either a rainbow plastic slinky or a small stuffed toy as a prize. With his mother and I enthusiastically yelling "Slinky! Slinky! Slinky!", he had no real choice to make. He chose the slinky. Wise boy.

Hanging on like grim death. I hate ferris wheels, I really do. They are not to bad while they are actually going, but it is the sitting and swinging in mid air that I object to. I did manage some shots without camera shake, but I think this one conveys the mood perfectly.

This looks fairly innocent, but apparently kewpie dolls are the sworn enemy of cats and must be destroyed. Coco is not just sniffing the pretty dolly, she is looking for a body part to tear off.

There was also a small quilt show at the Ekka, but it was very ordinary. I am kicking myself that I missed the entry deadline, because I think I would have had a good chance at a prize. A lot of the quilts were not hung well either, they all looked very wobbly and not flat.

Things I Love and other crankiness

2005-08-07T12:55:00.000+10:00

Begin Crankiness:

Well, the finished quilt has been delivered. First there was a mixup with how much money I was owed, with her having misunderstood a phone conversation earlier in the year. She thought the amount I stated was the total price, including the amount she had already paid me. But the question she actually asked me was how much extra would the quilt would cost. And I don't think she realises how expensive quilts are, particularly large, custom made ones. Grrrrr. Because I think that what she got for her money was a bargain, and I did her a favour in only charging her that much. And apparently, the quilt is not as she "imagined it".

And then....

She sent me a "thankyou" note. A very backhanded one. I don't know why she bothered, I really don't.

Let me repeat - I Will Never Make a Custom Quilt Again. Ever.

End Crankiness.

Tomorrow and Tuesday I am going to the Ricky Tims seminars in Brisbane. I’m a bit unexcited about it now. But I have paid good money, so I will be going. I’m driving into the city and parking, because the thought of catching public transport fills me with terror. And then I have to find the hotel, but I think I know where it is so that will be OK. I haven’t been into the CBD for yonks. Anyone been to a RT seminar? I’m sure it will be interesting.

Things I Love. As of today.

Passionfruit.

I have planted a vine at every house I lived in over the past 10 years, and usually end up moving just as they are providing a decent crop. We planted a vine when we moved here a year ago, there is one passionfruit on it so far. I cannot bring myself to pay 68 cents each for them at the supermarket.

My new Canon Pixma printer.

The on button is on the corner of it, it's so cool!!! What else could you want? Oh, yeah, it prints good too.

Red Geraniums

The one I have is the result of a cutting. It is as tough as old boots, can tolerate the dry weather and flowers all year round.

Rose scented geraniums.

Not much to look at, but the scent is divine! BTW, this is the plant they use for rose scents in a lot of perfumes.

My fingernails.

I can grow long fingernails very easily, and don’t understand why other people can’t. I think it is a matter of willpower! Most of the time I just cut them short, because I am too lazy to keep up the nail polish/manicure routine.

My recliner lounge chairs.

Blue and White china.

All of my china is blue and white – different patterns and styles, but all blue and white.

My microwave/convection oven.

I only use the microwave bit to defrost stuff, and the convection bit is great for baking.

Siamese cats.

We are going to the Ekka next week, and there is a cat breed display there. I have told my sister that I will try very hard to not buy a Siamese cat. I was only half joking. Really.

Stationery shops

Hardware shops

Listening to Praise You by Fatboy Slim while driving.

Sheepskin slippers

(no, that does not make me a Bogan!)

D’oyleys with crinoline ladies on them.

Finished.

2005-07-27T11:21:00.000+10:00

Well, it’s finally done. You'll notice I went to absolutely no effort to tidy my bedside tables before taking this shot. I hope you appeciate that. I really must paint in there - the beige-iness is very boring.

I had to make pillow shams as well, because apparently some people still make their beds up in the morning. I have never had this habit, and I don’t intend acquiring it either. I make up the bed right before I get in at night, and I have science on my side. Apparently dust mites thrive in made up beds, but not so much in unmade beds. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it! (I also think it is unhygienic to dry dishes with teatowels, so I never do this either. Air drying is much more hygienic. )

I managed to wash the quilt in the washing machine this morning, after a few false starts. We have a front loader, in which I have managed to wash a queen-sized doona previously. It keeps beeping at me and refusing to start. I think we finally decided that the load was unbalanced and we jigged the quilt around, and managed to get it started. Then I prayed to the Fabric Gods that none of the dyes would run, as I am not a prewasher of fabric. And it needed a wash; the water that came out of the machine was DIRTY!! But not green, as I had feared, so I guess the fabrics were OK and didn’t run.

Delivery day is Friday!

Apparently cats like tape measures.

Fluffbums

2005-07-21T12:50:00.000+10:00

Elle commented on my lovely, fluffy kitty.

All I can say is Yeah, right.

There are drawbacks to owning a longhaired cat. The obvious one is, of course, the abundance of cat hair floating around just waiting for me to walk past in a black shirt, so I look like a total scruff covered in cat hair 95% of the time. The other drawback is a little less obvious. Delicacy forbids me from going into too much detail, but I’ll just say this: Cats Do Not Like To Have Baths.

On occasion it becomes apparent that Coco needs a bath. Or rather, a bath is required for “sanitary” reasons. Yep, that’s right. One of the joys of owning a longhaired cat is the occasional necessity of cleaning said cats bum.

Yesterday was Cat Bath Day here. I’ve only had to do this twice in the past year. And that is 2 times more than I want. So I don’t claim to have the perfect method of dealing with this problem, I just don’t want a poopy bummed cat running through the house.

So I collected the necessities – rubber gloves, old towels, bucket of warm water, cranky cat – and set to work. First, lure the cat into the bathroom. Try to wrap cat in one towel so she can’t get away. Dunk cranky cat’s bottom in the bucket, and start cleaning. Try to keep hold of cat after she gets out of the straight jacket towel. Also try to keep slippers dry. Apparently this is not possible.

After turning the cat loose, I had to contend with a wet cat running through the house. I did try to dry her off, but the novelty had worn off by that stage. Maybe I’ll need to resort to this:

Apart from the obvious attraction of this haircut (the comedic entertainment), I think this might be good idea for summer.

Time flies.......

2005-07-19T16:50:00.000+10:00

when you’re doing nothing in particular.

Well, I have been doing a few things – mostly finishing the Australiana quilt. The top is finished, I managed to baste it together on my kitchen floor – no mean feat considering it takes up the entire space. It measures 2.5 metres wide and 2.3 metres long. It’s humongous. It’s ginormous. It’s very, very big.

Australiana (AKA Cat Magnet)

And then I had to quilt the buggery thing. Did I mention that it’s a large quilt? And I have a normal size domestic sewing machine? It was a struggle to say the least. I managed to get sore arms and a sore back from lifting and shoving it around – it weighs a ton. I managed to quilt most of it in a week – just the outside border to go and I will then be able to bind it.

I am not going to make a commission quilt this way again. Ever. I will be happy to sell quilts that I have made, but I don’t want to make a quilt to someone else’s tastes and requirements. It’s been very educational for me, and while I have enjoyed some parts of the process, the grind of actually finishing it has not been so enjoyable. I liked making the middle wreath – finding fabrics that depict bush colours, and I liked the satin stitch appliqué, because I haven’t done much of it in the past. And I like the rainbow lorikeet hanging off the top, because they are noisy larrikins. But my original plan was to do more appliqué blocks of native flowers and animals and I struggled with how I would do this. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a lot of Australian native plants are either very spiky or very fluffy, which makes them a tad more complicated to appliqué. Not impossible, because I have seen it done, but I wasn’t confident of being able to do a good job of it. Add to this an impatient customer, who thinks quilts should be instant, then the pressure has just been a bit much for me. So a compromise. I managed to find some fabric with Australian wildflowers printed on it, with colours that tied in with what I had originally planned. I decided to piece some blocks – using green/gold wattle colours. And it is finished. I don’t know if it is a “good” quilt, but it will be finished very shortly.

The gum leaf wreath - fluffy flowers are hard to applique, so I free motion stitched the detail on the gum blossoms.

I am a bit ambivalent about the quilting as well – I like the leaves quilted into the cream background, and the swirls on the borders, but the rest of the quilt will have stippled background. Way too much of it IMHO. But the problem is that on heavily patterned fabric, like to bush garland and wattle fabric, you just can’t see quilting pattern because the print is so busy to start with. So I didn’t waste my time doing anything fancy there. It is stippled to death.

So I have to weigh up whether all the hassle this has been will be justified by the amount of money I will be paid for it. While I will be happy to get paid, the reality is that the amount of time and effort I have put in makes this a very cheap quilt indeed. And it has eaten into the free time I have between semesters so much that I haven’t made a quilt for this year’s show yet. (I’m working on it!)

So now I am back at uni with a full time course load. Although the timetabling Gods have been kind to me this semester, I have 2 lectures on Tuesday, one on Wednesday night and one on Thursday night. So my days are fairly free apart from, you know, all those pesky assignments and things that have to be done as well.

Dougnuts (AKA Feline Narcolepsy Inducing Device)

But look what I managed to make in 4 days while I was waiting for the native flower fabric to mail itself to me. A whole quilt top from my EQ5 pattern! I have fallen in love with paper piecing. This all went together so easily that I surprised myself. The arcs are paper pieced joined together and then add the background greens. I have not been a fan of curved piecing since an unfortunate experience with a Double Wedding Ring quilt in 1987. I am too embarrassed to show it to you, so don’t ask me, OK? Let’s just say it is a strong candidate for the Worst Quilt in the World Award and leave it at that. But I digress. I made a practice block, worked out the tricky bits and away I went. I didn’t have to do any reverse sewing, and all blocks were the correct size. Amazing. I’ll add something to the outside edge, but that’s all it needs.

Now the Spooky bit. I have long been a fan of the New York Beauty block, but have been contemplating a quilt of this variety over the last year or so. My success with the doughnut quilt has encouraged me to try a NYB style quilt. I have also been learning how to draft them on EQ5 (off topic – this is a great program, but it is not easy to learn. I’ve had it for 3 years now and still finding stuff I don’t know how to do, and I am fairly confident with computer software). I’ve been doing this for a week or so. And then I see on Diane’s blog that she is making NYB blocks (they are all gorgeous!), and is doing a class with Karen Stone. I am sooooo envious. And jealous, of course.