Postage Flimsy

I know it's not quilted yet, that fun is still to come, but for now I'm celebrating a flimsy finish.

This was a leader/ender project that seemed to grow quite quickly as I was doing other things. Then of course I wanted to complete the floating border, so it became the focus. Its amazing what scraps can do!
In the interests of full disclosure, here is the back complete with all the seams and I've pressed most of them open - makes for a flatter surface when I come to quilt it which I hope will be soon. I think it's about number 5 of my to do list. Already 5 on the list to do and its still only January! I think I'd best make sure I do those before I add any more.

 

This will be another baby quilt, I think that makes the third I have in the wings just waiting for the births to happen. Its good to be prepared. I like the size of these projects and feel a sense of satisfaction when I complete them. Plus they make a great gift. 

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

Until next time, 

Lynn

Bugs from 2015

I'm celebrating a finish, and one from last year's list, leaving only one to complete from 2015 (other than a couple I didn't quite get to add to that list, now they can just be part of 2016's ever growing number).

I'm calling it bugs as the non plain fabric has cute centipede type insects on it.

I had fun doing just a simple free-motion quilt flower on the plain fabrics - it's a baby quilt to be given away soon, so fancy stuff not really needed and I'm sure it will get lots of machine washing, so staying together is probably more important. 

I love it when a plan comes together and this quilt makes me smile as I look at fabrics I've had for a couple of years or more, but they just came in to suit this quilt. The 'alphabet' edging: 

is a border from a piece that I'm sure to use elsewhere and rather than just keeping it and using it as a whole I realised it fitted just right here. The border and binding also part of the stash for over a year. So, here's to a finish and on to the next one. 

linking up with Quilt Story and One Monthly Goal (Red Letter Quilts)

Until next time,

Lynn

Goal One, Tick

Feeling quite pleased with myself as its only January 12 and I have my first finish for the year. I feel even better knowing that I didn't even start it until 2016 either. (I just won't think about the couple or so from last year that I haven't yet completed, but they will have their turn).

I'm agreeing that a good name is 'Pink Lemonade' (thanks Bonnie), a simple half square triangle baby  quilt.   

Seems like whenever I go outside to take a photo of a project the wind comes up. It could have something to do with the time of day I complete things and try to capture them. Perhaps I should try in the mornings but when I've just completed something I want to take a photo right there and then. 

I also wanted to make sure I had it quilted today so that I can pass it on to my friend tomorrow. And again, wouldn't you know it, my machine just didn't want to co-operate. I figured it was probably due for its annual service anyway and having done all I could do (new needle, oil, cleaned everything I could get to etc) I just surrendered and took it in to be serviced. I sure hope it comes back on better behaviour. 

So I attached a darning foot to my old faithful basic Janome, dropped the feed dogs and gave it a go, doing a simple loop all over. I don't have a long arm, or access to pantographs, just me and my guiding hands.  Thankfully its a small quilt (34" by 42") and it worked Ok. 

You can see a close up here which also shows that I machine quilted the binding using a little zig zag stitch for a bit of variety: 

As I was trying to use up some fabric that I had already used for at least one quilt, I didn't really want to go out and buy more pink or something that would work for the backing. So I decided to just piece what I had left over. I think that worked Ok. 

I'm going with the thought that certainly the baby won't care, or be aware what she is lying on and I think her first time Mum will just be pleased with the gift. And I'm pleased to be completing project one for the year - win all round!

Until next time,

Lynn

Linking up with One Monthly Goal. 

New Beginnings

So here it is, 2016 and with it the challenges of new projects, goals and resolutions. I have three clear aims that I think are achievable, so I'm likely to stick with them: 1. To try to read 50 books this year. I generally seem to read close to that, 48 or so, so we'll see how I do. And I want them to be 'worthwhile' books so I'm starting with some that have won awards like the Pulitzer or Man Booker. So far Geraldine Brooks's The Golden Chord is proving to be a great way to begin the year. I highly recommend it.
2. Along with my eldest son, losing at least 4 kilos by April. That seems achievable at this point, but as the months progress, we'll see. Its good to think at least one other person is on the same track with me.
3. Try to complete projects on hand prior to beginning more. I think I've already failed this one. I had a couple of projects hanging over from 2015, this one in particular:

 

This is my 'What Colour is Indigo?' quilt. Its now sandwiched and pinned and ready for quilting, but temperatures here are the direct reverse of those in the Northern Hemisphere, (around 30 degrees Celsius too many days for my liking) so moving the quilt through the machine unless I'm beneath an air-conditioning vent is just too warm. 

A friend of mine has just had a second granddaughter born, so I began a quilt for her. This is what I mean about beginning something new, and its only four days into the New Year!

Again, too warm to be taking photos outside, so the colour is a little washed out, but the triangles are together and I'm thinking of the fabrics on the right as the borders, one skinny and the pink floral a little broader. 

I'd like to finish this before month's end, even though the new parents aren't really likely to need a quilt for a few months yet. 

Then I'll get back to the works in progress. I'd like to promise, but I think I'd have my fingers crossed at the same time.

I'm linking with the new One Monthly Goal

Until next time, 

Lynn

Log Cabin fun

As I continue to work through my list, one item that I'd begun maybe a year or so ago was some log cabin squares. Since the central square was 1 1/2", strips were 1", and the whole block 4 1/2" I knew it would take me a while. What I actually did was mostly forget about it! Until about May of this year when I decided to make my list.
A list seems to motivate me to keep on going through. So this one began as number 8 on the list of 12 and gradually worked its way up as I completed some.

With binding done its completed so that I can pass it on to the recipient at the weekend. It's going to a couple who have just had their first baby, a girl. While this is not a usual baby quilt, its size and bright colours I hope will mean that it may be used beyond babyhood. 

The reverse means that if they want a quieter feel, they can simply turn it over and its a soft white with a fleck of yellow flower and green leaf. 

Since I didn't quite have enough of the backing, two of the sides also have a white embossed type fabric. Now I know what others mean when they have commented about the challenge of quilting over such fabric. It felt as though I had another thickness of wadding there! Thankfully I only had the two sides where that featured. 

Here's a bit of a close up of the colours since they don't always show so clearly from a distance (which is how my husband prefers to see quilts so that he can recognize a pattern).  

 I did a stipple in the sections, other than the centre shown on the left of the photo above and then feathers down the sides. Its a great way to use up scraps and I'm pleased I kept at it, having a bit of a focus over a couple of weeks to get the blocks completed.

There are now only two quilts left on my list (for 2015 at least) to be sandwiched and quilted. I may not quite get there, but I'm pretty happy with having done 10 since May. I know I'll be making a list for 2016 to keep me honest.

Until next time,

Linking up with a few linky parties,

Lynn

Christmas Runner

I think that's all the Christmas sewing happening round here, having completed this runner I had fun with it.

I did a simple in the ditch around the stars but got more creative in the white spaces. In the border I did a few random things - Christmas trees, a gift, tried a snowflake - its at the top in this shot, not a great idea, but still fun to have a go. 

I also tried the piped binding which is remarkably easy, just make the binding up of the two colours, the 'feature' in my case red, cut to 1 3/4" and the main (black with white dots) 1 1/2", join together down the long sides of the pieces to make up the binding strip, then press in half as you would usually do. This creates the piping with it just peeping out.  Attach to the back of the runner/quilt, with the 'feature' fabric being the most visible, of facing towards you, then turn/flip over to the front and machine the binding in the ditch of the feature to show your piping. Should have taken photos of the process, but got the tips from an Aunt Marti tutorial page. [http://www.52quilts.com/search/label/Tutorials] She called it Susie's magic binding so I guess she got the idea from somewhere else too - isn't that what the internet patchwork and quilting community is all about, sharing what we know?

Anyhow, here's another of my runner a little closer up and finally one showing the backing. 

And now to get back to my list for completion (maybe i'm dreaming?) this year. I have 2 to sandwich and quilt and two that are already for quilting - one more than half done the other to begin. So maybe I'll finish one, but you know what they say, if you don't have big goals, you don't achieve anything! This is the one that is partly quilted, done some of that feather work in the cream areas and some straight lines in the darker ones. Really just the edges to go. I'm happy with how its going so far, so I'd better get busy!

Until next time,

Lynn

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

Runners and Rugs

Its definitely that time of year, the time of making new Christmas runners, small gifts for people and the like.

I've completed one table runner that was just a panel, but I had great fun free-motion quilting the 60 small blocks it had with various patterns - from simple outlining, to stippling and lines like Christmas lights. And it is one that is finished, so that's a good thing!

I've also nearly completed (just binding to add) on a couple of mug rugs for a couple of friends of mine. I also explored the flange or piping addition to the binding on the first one. I didn't realise how easy it was [thanks to instructions from Aunt Marti http://www.52quilts.com/search/label/Tutorials]

That will be a help when it comes to quilting and binding my other table runner. 

This one was a quilt along that I joined in - hoping to have it done by Dec 4 but that didn't happen! Maybe early next week I'll get it finished then. 

Hope your Christmas plans are coming together. I still haven't put up the tree, but also hope that will be achieved over the weekend.

Until next time, 

Linking up with Quilt Story; Freshly Pieced Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

Lynn