Work on Tuesday 28th Jan

It's only Tuesday but if I don't write today it won't happen as back at work tomorrow.
It sure gets in the way of my sewing, Lol.
My LE Border has progressed as I have spent every spare minute working on it.
Putting the other side in place was easy and my new fabric worked well for the vase.

But will my choice of fabric for the daisies work, they are very soft colors, but it is silk marriage kimono fabric and I WANT to use it in LE!!!

This photo shows how beautiful this fabric is, but colors are not true, it is much softer.

I hated to cut into it, but

I couldn't bring myself to cut only the flowers so incorporated some of the gold leaves and tried to keep the purity of the design. This is very close to the true color.

Once this was stitched there was no going back as I would never try to unpick that stitching, the rest of my flowers just have to suit.

I think this works.

Have spent all morning fussy cutting and trying different option's.

Added lilac's and blue's, took out both.

Still have to add  the dark dots on the right, but it will only be five.

In this photo you can see why.

Staying with the smaller medallion at the ends has created more space.

I should have moved them in a little, but I didn't!!!

Five dots only give me more space towards the center, add four more and the balance will be way out

Now thinking about Esther's flowers next to the vase.

Do I need them or not?.

At least I have got myself to the stage that I can stitch for the next few days whenever I get the opportunity.

Cheer's everyone, Jenny

WOW 22nd Jan

Hi Everyone, I am well and truly back in LE mode with Esther releasing Part 8 last week.
So what am I mainly blogging about this week? - One guess only!!!
Saturday, I tried to get my head around the pattern and marked my fabric for the borders.
I really wanted to start with the vase of flowers, went straight to a huge mental block as I couldn't bring the  border together in my head, to pick my fabrics for the flowers.
Knew I wanted to keep using my center fabrics and had already fussy cut a couple of medallions that I thought would work. So from there, my first choice of medallion and working towards the center.

I didn't take photo's of all my trials for the cross flowers, lets just say there were quite a few.
I knew the green I wanted to add for my Oak Leaves so I made them first, another fabric from the curtain sample swatches. I think I will need this color to tie in the corner blocks and it is slightly deeper than it looks here.
I originally had two light and two dark cross flowers, same as in my center, then I decided on my triangle border colors and was using the lighter color there so the light shade had to go from my cross.
Flower center is also my compass center
The little legs or trunks on the triangles are again new colors from my curtain samples.

Changed my medallion, liked this one better, then worried it was too small compared to Esther's pattern and wondered whether to fussy cut it apart and make it larger and more open. It is the medallion I used for both my center flowers around the compass and my corner hearts. Thanks to everyone's comments  in the group it is staying as is.

This is the way I minimized fabric use for those triangles, if you are using fusible you might like to try this

Drew 2 lines for the triangle guide and traced the triangles into a continuous  line to rotary cut apart.

Then came Monday, started to stitch my applique and Glenda's comment on the group, had I tried my first medallion on point kept popping into my head. Thanks Glenda Lol!!!
No photo's of this but I pinned it over my end medallion and called my DH to take a look as by then I was very undecided and Steve does have a very good eye for what works.
His comment, Doesn't work at the end - put it in the center, it will work there!!!

So I tried it and I liked it - until

If  I was stopping here my DH is right, this would work but I am not stopping here and the border is back to being too heavy, and needs the vase of flowers. Sorry Darling, it does work  but I really  need lightness in the border center and Esther's vase of flowers is perfect - well it is her pattern after all!!!

Where am I at today, bought more Viesofix this morning and have been able to continue fusing my border.

My Zigzag border is now stitched and complete. Because I have used the smaller motif at each end I have only put 5 dots around the oak leaves at present, balance seems better and can always add the others.
Will finish fusing this afternoon and then I can stitch before and after work for the next few days.

To other things, while I have been in my sewing room the reciprocating saw and hammer has been working on our renovation.

Now this is the true walk through. wardrobe

Wardrobe gone, Scotch Chest, Antique Apprentice Chest and Teddy's in new home.

Including the I Love You  hedgehog DH gave me when he was "courting" me

Gosh, that brings back so many memories, but not today!!!

.

New wardrobe for our bedroom fitted, slightly smaller than the old one. We had to pack 6 canvas bags of quilting fabric, pattern boxes and excess linen to empty this space as it was the spare room wardrobe.

Our en suite is starting to take shape, shower tray borrowed from a friend to check for size. Toilet will fit in the gap to the window,  we bought the vanity off Trade Me ( NZ version of Ebay) for $100-00  it was a 10 min drive away. Not my first choice but perfect for the space we have available.

And while we are doing out thing, Kelly is doing her's. It's hot Mummy and I have crashed on the kitchen tiles.
Enjoy you Wednesday, wherever you live.
Cheers Jenny

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone who visits a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2014 in whichever way you desire, with time to quilt to your hearts content throughout the year ahead.

For me I am working through Christmas and New Year as retail no longer stops for any one, only a few exceptions to this and they are blessed days for families.
My DH and I have no family in Whangarei so Christmas morning was spent on the phone talking with our
families in Christchurch. We then spent the rest of Christmas day with close friends and their family, it was a wonderful feeling to be welcomed into what was a family gathering of 3 generations.

I have had the last 3 days off work, return tomorrow for New Year's day and work through to Saturday night so no seeing the New Year in for me tonight. However I can now note that our neighbors two doors down decided that 11.45pm to 1am was the ideal time for massive fireworks so we were wide awake and watching TV.

Because of  ongoing renovations our only Christmas decoration this year was Esther's Red December table runner with it's usual accompaniment, a my Christmas bowl with  candle on our coffee table.

The Runner works perfectly with this old Red and Green bowl and 3 light candle edged with decorations.
Bowl is about to be wrapped in glad wrap and put away for next year.

Why no tree!!! I decided I did not want a tree covered in renovation dust as this is our  house at the moment.

Front door where our welcoming Christmas wreath would normally go.

Front door from the inside, wall opened to spare room

Spare bedroom, eventually there will be an en suite off our bedroom at the far end.

New wardrobe where old front door was.

All recycled from the original room.

Computer now sharing the lounge, is fine if no one wants to watch TV. 

You can see where we took the side window out and extended the room.

Our new rear extension is planned for next summer so the computer will be here for a while Lol.

I want it shifted to the other end of the buffet

.

On the good side, I have finished staining the trellis fence around our new deck 

and this grand old matriarch of the street is flowering again.

What a beautiful view from the couch is this Jacaranda tree planted in 1971

More foliage than flowers this year, but she is still beautiful

Steve decided to step the trellis panels and gate at this end of the deck so we don't feel so enclosed.
We saved the bottle brush but it will need regular pruning to keep access to the gate.
We also decided after strong winds and masses of leaves on the deck to raise all the trellis 4 inches so that we can sweep out easily. the short wall still to .do

Our original front terrace has become Steve's building /dump site.

Side window from the lounge is still on the terrace, it will temporarily go into the spare room as the bedroom window has to come out and eventually be replaced with the one from my sewing room, our en suite bathroom will  be installed in the far end of this room. Our deck will continue in a dogleg around this terrace. The metal grid fence keeps Kelly from escaping until we build the rest of the low trellis fencing.

To quilting, I am so happy that I completed part 7 of LE before the start of the New Year.

I feel it has got airier has  I have progressed with the corners.

Not unhappy with that as it is far easier to add if need be than to try and take away.

This has been the most wonderful fabric to use for Broderie Perse by machine.

I should be back working on Lily Rose but it is still pinned to my design wall. Instead I have brought  out my oriental WIP, a mosaic wall hanging of Bamboo as suddenly finishing our bedroom may be only a few months away.

I have now trimmed this wall hanging down, originally it was going  to cover a high window and needed the width but now it will be above our bed head when we redo our bedroom to take my oriental quilt so I have been able to reduce the background. The Japanese script is for the 4 seasons.

According to my DH the wall this was destined for will now house that big window from the spare room so no space there any longer. I.'m now glad I didn't finish it last year.

Once again,

Happy New Year to everyone, and may all your dreams come true

Jenny