Wonky doesn’t bother me.
I only have three blocks left to make, so I’m hoping to have the quilt top finished before the end of the year.
It’s just about doable.
I think. 🙂
Fabric : Fibre : Family
…here is the GJ quilt top so far:Two thirds done.
Probably giving anyone with even an ounce of quilting skill the absolute heebies.
I challange you to find a square corner, a well matched point or a straight line.
But I don’t care. And I’m determined to finish the top this side of Christmas. Only 4 blocks left to do.
October is turning out to be an overwhelming month.
All of it in a good way I hasten to add.
I’m so busy I’m meeting myself coming back.
Spending time with my family and friends, keeping the home in some semblance of order, and actually doing the required amount of study for the current module, have all served to keep me away from the loft and my sewing machine. This is, of course, the way I like my life to be and have no complaints but nothing in the way of finished projects to show at the moment.
Thankfully one of the Christmas presents is made. I only have 3 to go. I have everything I need to get these done except for a zip and some time.
That said, some projects are progressing very nicely, thank you very much:
It’s strange how buoyed I feel by this little recap.
Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees, but this shows that things are getting done, even if it’s not as quickly as I’d like.
I hope you’re making progress too.
This is my first “school” holiday and even the housework isn’t getting done!
But today, whilst the Chaos Monsters had a little nap I decided to go into the sewing loft and see what took my fancy.
With the black trousers done and awaiting photos, I have the fabric for two Sorbetto tops, a dress and a Burda shirt washed and ready to go. But I didn’t feel in the right place for fitting and the like, so I pulled out the Gardener’s Journal quilt fabric.
I’ve just checked and I haven’t laid hands on this since the 15th June!
Shameful.
Especially as I’m off to the Festival of Quilts on Saturday.
So I set too and by the time Button had woken up and drawn several pictures, block A was finished, albeit somewhat wonkily. (Is that a real word? I suspect not!) I sewed slowly but I think straight and accurate piecing is a skill that needs practice.
That said, it was just the palate cleanser I needed.
I think I’m going to dig out the dress pattern and start tracing it off ready for fitting.
It being summer, here in Lancashire it has done nothing but rain, rain and rain some more for the past 3 days. It’s raining now as I type.
Saturday, therefore, it was raining too. A perfect day for sitting quietly with a lovely group of like-minded women and sewing a quilt.
So that’s what I did.
It was the second day of the North Country quilting course. The day where we put our layers togetherpinned it all in placeand tacked it to within an inch of its lifeAs you can see we all worked together to layer and pin each other’s quilts. The conversation turned to the women across the centuries who had gathered as we did to work on quilts together and how, had they been transported in time to our table, they would have recognised everything we were doing.
I love this connection to the past, and that there were 3 generations of my family working together on 3 quilts, leaving our mark for the future.
Once the quilts were all basted it was time to learn the specialised rocking stitch used to load the needle and create evenly spaced stitches. I can only say that it’s not as easy as it looks. Jean, our tutor, was very patient and encouraging.
But, by the end of the afternoon, having been fortified with much apple and ginger cake (from the simplest recipe ever)and strawberries supplied by HimmelbjergetI was starting to get the hang of it
My quilt is started.
Blimey, is it the 6th July already?
Time flies when you’re not doing anything!
Well, I have been doing stuff but not much of it has been sewing or craft related.
Except for Saturday. Ma, Niece, Himmelbjerget and me all skipped off to Patchwork Chicks for a day learning how to do North Country Quilting.
For the uninitiated NCQ is wholecloth quiltingand I’ve wanted to learn to do this, like, for For. Evah!
Saturday was the first day of a two day workshop and we spent the day learning how to design our quilt and draw the design on the cloth.
Seriously.
Drawing on the cloth.
With a pencil.
Scared me half to death!
But, by the end of day one my design was well under way
I know the pictures are a bit dark but its the only way to get the pencil to show up! Technology eh! Or could it just be my lack of skill? Who knows.
Anyway, on the 16th we’ll be back there again to learn how to do all the stitching, then its up to us.
A perfect project set up for autumn evenings on the sofa.
Another slow project.
Not one I’ll be finishing in July, but I’m thrilled to be starting it.
Also starting in July is my cushion project. One of my goals for 2011 is to finally get some cushions on the sofa, but it’s taken me ages to decide what I want them to be like. And I’ve finally decided. The first 4 will be about 18″ or 20″ with hand embroidered monograms in the centre. One for each of us. The designs come from this book that I received for my birthday (wow, my kids and husband are great)and I’ve already transferred and made a start on the first one
This is where I make a pledge.
“I, PendleStitches, hereby do solemnly swear that by the end of July I shall have completed the black slim legged trousers.”*
I will. For sure.
And the cream cardigan.
And maybe a top.
But I’m not pushing it!
So watch this space.
What sewing/knitting/stitching have you got planned for July?
It’s not like me to start a project without really thinking it through.
Snort.
Ok…I couldn’t even get to the end of that sentence without laughing at myself. You know as well as I do that I’m forever jumping into stuff with my eyes closed and the cry “geronimo” ringing in the ears of any poor soul within a 1000 yard radius!
And I did it again with my Gardener’s Journal quilt.
The embroidery bit was delightful. I’ve been embroidering on and off for more years than I care to remember. I can do it sat on the sofa with a glass of wine to hand and something on the TV for me to pretend to watch, then to completely lose track of the plot, and have to rely on the beleaguered Mr S to explain that which would have been completely apparent to all and sundry except the halfwit who was stitching rather than paying attention.
But you’ll have noticed that the poor stitcheries have been languishing in the sewing box for quite some considerable time. And I have two very good reasons for this.
One…..I’ve never made a quilt before so was completely daunted by cutting out the large number of teeny tiny squares that this quilt is made up of.
Two…I’ve never made a quilt before so was completely daunted by the thought of sewing said large number of teeny tiny squares togther.
Any sensible person would have chosen a simple quilt made of simple squares (preferably quite large ones) that could be sewn together reasonably quickly to give said sensible person a sense of satisfaction and the enthusiasm to test her skills a little with the next quilt.
I’ve been accused of many things in my life but being sensible has never been one of them!
So, Ma, who whizzes through projects at the speed of light, kindly cut out all the teeny tiny squares on one wet and dreary Sunday afternoon (we get plenty of them here…it’s British Summer Time after all!)
So my first pitiful excuse was unceremoniously dumped in the waste basket.
Hmmmm…I really have no excuse now. After all it’s only straight lines, no?
So, around making trouser and skirt toiles, I’ve taken the plunge and made a start
Of course I started with one made up of triangles rather than squares. But it’s the first in the instructions and I decided to buck the trend and actually follow them.
Its a bit squiffy, but, you know what, I like it even more because of that. By the time this quilt is done I might even be able to make them all nice and even.
But I’m not holding my breath. 😉
You’ll remember that Ma and I were going to The Patchwork Chicks for a bag making day for Mother’s Day.
Well, it was fabulous.
Despite Button’s best attempts to stop me getting out of the door…you know, screaming, shouting, stamping feet, the usual toddler delaying tactics…we still managed to get to Barrowford in time for tea and a very tasty bacon sandwich at the little cafe across the road, the name of which escapes me.At the appointed hour we liberated machines and sewing supplies from the car and headed on in.
There were four of us in total and we all got on famously from the get go.
First we cut out little house shapes and a base from fabric and interliningstitched them togetherthen we lined them, topstitched them, et voila!Of course, before you add cord they also make splendid hats
But when you do get the cord in, then they are delightful project bags:And as this is the first quilty type project I’ve ever completed, and also the first bag, I’m rather pleased with the result.
This is it.
The final stitchery for my A Gardener’s Journal quilt.
I don’t think much will happen on the quilt top for a while as I have much dressmaking to do as I continue clearing the stash. I have the next 8 projects in my head already, so I’d like to get on with those.
I’ve also got two knitting projects on the go, so I think that’s enough to keep me going for a while. But this quilt will be finished this year.
For sure.
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