WOW 17th June

Hi Everyone,

Took three wallhangings to Dargaville on Tuesday ready for the show next week. I have a day off on the Friday so will be relieving for lunch and breaks on the various stands.
Around a mammoth stocktake at work last week which ended up being a 16 hour day for most of us, I have been working on my cushion cover and it has been so much fun.

A Ginny Beyer pattern called Facets which I have reduced to hopefully fit my large lounge cushion.
It will end up being approx 24" square
The original is made using 2 1/2 " strips to make the stripsets for a wall hanging but I have gone with 1 1/2"strips from the fat quarter selection I bought from her site.
As the pack was not designed for this pattern I have had to play with the shading combinations.

Strip sets all made and numbered.

First two diamonds made and I am unsure about my light fabric.

It is from my faberge fabrics and seems just too light.

I decide to test my diamonds against the fabric strip that will fill the bottom space.

The top fabric of the strip is too dark for the finished effect.

 Possibly a little light but so much better than my first choice.

Now to deal with those very light squares. 

I knew I had some of this Faberge border fabric left and had wanted to use it from the beginning but you know how it is, I couldn't find it anywhere.
 Clearing up after finishing 12DOC I finally found it!!!

So now to find out if it all works. 

Hooray they do.

As you can see the light blue is the most important fabric to the overall design and how you see it.

 My deeper beige /green is so much better than the cream/green I started with as the lighter fabric would have created another strong focal point which isn't wanted.

I am amazed how quickly this is coming together. There are only four fabrics to the stripsets and only 3 seams to make the diamonds. 

The longest time is in cutting the stripsets apart and pinning the points, my iron is my new best friend making sure everything is flat and smooth.

I am rechecking my 60 degree angle after every 2nd cut on the stripset and every time I need to trim the angle - just a tiny fraction but that is all it takes not to have wonky diamonds at the end.

3 pins for each seam as my seams have been pressed to allow them to lock in place but fabric will move so I pin at each junction point and stitch over my pins.

Stitching side, pin enters at the stitching line.

The reverse, pin exits on stitching line.

Seam pressed, it could be better though - However-

This is my second stitching of this seam after an unpick, Why?

I was concentrating on taking these photo's at the last minute and forgot to adjust my needle position before stitching the seam. Using the quarter inch foot my Bernina 440 still needs to be be offset 1 needle position to the right to stitch a perfect quarter inch seam after pressing which is vital for this sort of piecing. 

If you want to strip piece or do colour wash  make sure you know what creates a perfect quarter inch seam on your machine.

Have managed to be on time to link with Esther's WOW this week.

Whetever you are doing today - Enjoy!!

Cheers Jenny

WOW on Friday 5th June

Hi Everyone,
Have been back in my sewing room at every opportunity this last week.
Need to finish Esther's 12 Days of Christmas  in time for my quilting groups Biannual  show later ythis month. 30 quilters produce around 100 plus quilts / wall hangings and other items to show every two years. All proceeds from our raffle quilt, entrance fee's and bargain table go to assisting the local community. Throughout the year the group also make and donate cancer bags, Cancer sufferer's can carry all their records in their own bag and know some one is thinking of them.
Today my 12 Days of Christmas is nearly finished, hanging sleeve and label is all I need to do now.
I found several free motion designs but decided they were not going to work for me as my hand /eye coordination is terrible, I know practice makes perfect but I hate the learning stage where it looks terrible.
Esther's blog about her quilting process gave me the answer. Esther followed the tree and so did I in a very simplified version.

A very simple stitching, following the main lines of the tree to create a diamond background.

I found some lovely star buttons that would let me hang my baubles and I added some extra detailing to the Christmas parcels..

I did attempt some free motion stitching on the trunk of the tree.

A variegated thread let me play in this area without risk

The dove, I have left the wings unquilted as I like their plumper effect.

Finally, baubles hung and my 12 Days of Christmas is complete.

Have added the hanging sleeve this morning.

Am still thinking about a FM design I found for a simple xmas tree.

It would fit my diamonds perfectly so just maybe - but after the show.

Thank you Esther, your pattern has been a joy to make and I look forward to possibly more baubles later in the year.

Now to link to Esther's WOW if I am not too late for this week.

I am too late for this week, at least I am ready for next weeks link up.

Enjoy whatever you are doing this week, Cheer's Jenny

Where has time gone.

Hi Everyone,

Have just realised I haven't blogged in over 2 months, where did those weeks go?
My sewing sort of came to a halt at beginning of April. My DH got a new job so we had two weeks to work on the house before he started, then like me he would only have 2 days a week off -at present I have Fri /Sat he has Sun /Mon off. LOL
Priority before winter was to put in the new double glazed windows.

Our old dining room windows, architraves off and windows ready to remove.

New windows in, how much more modern is this.

Luckily I didn't have to put them in place, being double glazed they are very heavy, my job was from the inside lining them up and cleaning up the mess afterwards!!!!

We had drapes on these windows but I no longer want them. They close up the corner so am replacing with narrow venetian blinds for privacy from the street. I have them - just waiting for DH to finish windows and install them!!!

After this.

Our friends have just completed a 3 bedroom extension to their house for her parents. 

Can you make my Mum a bedspread? Thinking I could work in a colour/ style spectrum and make a quilt I said, Sure what would you like?

A very simple one, I have found plain sheets that are a perfect match for her drapes and I want a lightweight

bedspread that goes to the floor and is reversible. Duck Egg blue one side and cream the other.

Okay - not what I hoped for but that took up another couple of weeks of my time.

May came and we had our first holiday together in 9 years.
My DH loves his Big Boy's car. We had been told about a group of car enthusiasts who organise what they call the "Gumboot Rally" a couple of times a year. In May it was a Coast to Coast scavenger hunt, race car themed. Raglan to Tauronga then back to Hamilton over a weekend. we signed up and added an extra couple of days as Whangarei to Raglan is 4 hours, same from Hamilton back home so lets enjoy a week away.
Steve's new employer's were happy to signwrite his car for him as they sponser some motor sport in NZ.
When we arrived in Raglan his car looked like this. It even looks like race car!!!!

Next morning at the start 50 cars from all era's of  motorsport

Am not going to bore you with all Steve's photo's but this is his dream toy, a Lotus Elice.

After the start, first task- have your photo taken with a fisherman in Raglan

These guys stood patiently at the wharf and had a great time as 50 people took their photo.
From here we had several hours driving wonderful backroads on our way to Tauronga.
Then a problem.

Hit a pothole and our  rear tire died. If Steve had put in extra wheel nuts suitable for the spare wheel no problem but his mag wheel nuts were smaller so time to call out the Bridgestone rescue team for a roadside tire change

Back in the rally and caught up with the others. Another must have, a photo of a team member at Life Rock.
Sadly, shortly after was this was the end of the rally for us.
The car died on us a couple of hours later, No drive at all. DH thought clutch had gone, he was going to replace it before the rally but ran out of time, did have new one with us though.
This is when my holiday really started.
Can't fix it on the side of the road, AA arrived, no photo as I forgot to take one of our car on back of truck.
Where are we anyway. NO idea as we  have been following our  route book and don't know the area.
Middle of South Waikato District, closest town and motel  in Tirau- No vacancy at only motel- they are building a new service station and are full of construction workers!!!
Truck driver knows a place about 6 km's away that should have room available.

The Okoroire Hot springs Hotel, built in the 1870 / 80's, Lovingly restored and added to over the years.
The bill was also up there compared to what we had planned on spending, but luckily we were able to cancel our planned accomodation which was some help.
Recently bought by Korean's it is undergoing a further upgrade especially to it's thermal hot spring pools which are the first concrete hot pools in NZ.
WOW, These people were the greatest in the world. Room to unload the car by our studio unit at the rear, a wonderful bar/restaurant where we over indulged that night, meeting and talking with the locals who make this place their own and also a couple who were celebating their wedding anniversary and have done so there for 20 years. Hotel also has it's own 9 hole golf course, tennis courts and volley ball courts.
Could understand the charges when we discovered all it's facilities.

The new owners recently bought this 1935 Rolls Royce, Fully warranted and registered it has never moved from its parking space since they bought it, just part of the look.

These giant Red Woods border the walkway to the hotpools

A five minute stroll through these trees are the hot pools.

Updating has just begun so they are now closed to the public but we were allowed to take these photo's

This next photo I think is very telling as

hanging in the dining room is this photo.

Opening day in 1878, not a lot has changed.

When renovation has finished what a fabulous place this will be.

Just had to take these photo's of these baskets hanging outside every studio unit

I had a fabulous time as I could only hand my DH tools as he worked on the car.
We did have two 4 1/2 hr trips in a rental car, hired to us by the Mitsubushi dealers in Matamata at a NO km rate. Back home, spend a night at home to take the gearbox out of my car the next morning and then back to fix our broken car. Another night spent with great people. Finally arrived home at 11pm 

A phonecall from my quilting group last week has stirred me back into quilting. "The show is next month, have you finished LE yet or what else have you made that you would like to show?" 

Owned up to having packed LE away for the time being. " Well Fabrege is finished, Poppies only needs last border and binding (forget the beading, it might or might not happen) and 12 DOC, I better get a move on!!!!

Last week I added border, binding and hanging sleeve to my Poppies wallhanging 

Now called  "Lest We Forget" it had been pinned on our lounge wall unfinished but while watching the Anzac Day services I just had to get my late FIL's medals from the drawer and pin them to my wall hanging as he served in both Africa and Egypt. It just seemed right to do so.

Not sure if I will get the beading done on the poppies before the show next month as my thumbs are really playing up at present but I am happy with it as it is.
At this stage I am going to bind 12 DOC tomorrow and add hanging sleeve ready for the show then see how much extra background quilting I can get done in time as main quilting is done. Baubles have had red  ribbon added for hanging and I have found little star buttons to hang them from, only four attached yet to get the ribbon length right. Next week should be able to 12 DOC is finished

While making the Ginny Beyer wall hanging Faberge I really feel in love with her fabrics and how well they work together. Ginny has combined with Craftsy for a free block of the month quilt along.
Not quite what I want to make but my WOW was that this BOM uses the border fabric I used as a substitute in my Faberge Hanging, and I could buy a 16 piece fat quarter pack of her new fabric's which are very similar to my Faberge fabrics. I was impressed as ordered on 8th May they arrived on 22nd May.

Got sidetracked this week with the new fabric's as they are going to be perfect for large cushion covers in the lounge and I have found a Ginny Beyer pattern I can reduce and use for them.
New fabric's always mean a new project - don't they?

This is the Ginny Beyer Wall hanging pattern "Facets"

A free download pattern from her website.

If I finally want to link to Esther;s WOW I neeed to close now and make the link,

Cheer's everyone, Enjoy what you are doing,

Jenny

12 Days of Christmas update

Hi Everyone,
It has been slow but steady progress the last two weeks.
Have completed the stitching on the first of my bells.

Stitching with a soft gold metallic thread has really brought my bells to life.
I had been putting off making my last four baubles as two of them kept posing me a problem as to what fabric to use. Nine Ladies Dancing and Ten Lords-A-Leaping.
Blue against my red bauble background was the obvious choice but I am using so much blue!!!
Finally my lady dancing is made.

A tiny scrap of sea green plus mauves gave me her dress

But for my lord -a leaping

I just had to go back to blues, his jacket is a very dark iridescent navy.

This was the fiddliest bauble of them all.

The last two I thought would be much easier, the piper only being two pieces

The biggest headache was what thread to stitch it with, It was only one shape with a black oval.

I didn't want a hard black outline but felt my gold mettalic might just be lost.

Searching my threads I found a black/gold metallic and it has worked, didn't on the black oval though so had to unpick and restitch with black thread.

Finally Twelve Drummer's Drumming.

Not Blue which would have been so easy !!! Mauve plus the fabrics from my dove has given me my drum.

I still have to do some finishing on all my baubles to round their edges a little more, that is going to be quiet but peaceful mornings work.

My 12 Days of Christmas Baubles are now complete.

So today I am starting my second Christmas Bell.

I have six days back at work from tomorrow and next Saturday 28th March I am attending a specialty threads and stitching workshop with Country Dawn so my sewing time will be limited.

Have bought a spare bobbin case and a cording foot in anticipation of a day that may well stretch my current  boundaries, am so looking forward to it. 

Cheers's everyone, I think I am still in time to link to Esther's WOW.

Jenny

12 Days of Christmas, Progress

Hi Everyone,
Has been a couple of weeks since I blogged. So much has been happening at work recently and my days off are now Fri and Sat so I always seem to run out of time to blog for Esther's WOW.
Today is Monday, I had been summoned for jury service but released at 10.30 am due to legal hiccups and have to report back tomorrow. Checked in with work and everything is fully covered so am taking lieu time for rest of day so will be ready early to link this week.
So how is my 12 DOC progressing.

I am loving how it is coming together. My border fabric has worked so well tying my fabrics together. The little green border brings out the tree and the words at the bottom, well they tell the whole story

"The stockings were hung on the chimney with care"

I decided to let the stockings extend to the bottom edge to accentuate the bottom border, also that border is  narrower than the sides and top to fit my finished size.

My tree is double padded. I decided to trim away the backing fabric and cut an extra layer of batting for the tree shape. My iron on batting is already in place, the wrinkles are from it releasing from my background as I manouver the fabric to stitch my applique. This will press out before I add my backing fabric.

The top corner's of my border. I was making my life so difficult, wanting to add charm squares and extend the small green border around them. I still might but when a friend said "just mitre them at present and move on to the next stage" I did, they are better than I thought they would be and I had spent 2 days worrying about them.

My parcels, well the only two fabrics I found that were right sizewise were the green and the red with stars.

The parcels without bows yet, their ribbons are commercial ribbon and I plan to make 3D embellishments for these ones, so not until it is completed..

My Peace Dove, I just love her and think she is almost the most beautiful part of Esther's pattern. The heavily overlaid gold fabric had only just arrived into store the day I went shopping and was sitting on the counter waiting to be checked off. I just had to have it!!! the body fabric has silver embossing.

My star, I wanted to move away from blue but nothing else seemed to work. I chose a blue backgound and now have to let it dictate to me.  I followed Esther's instructions for the star, I thought to a T.
My center was not the greatestalthough esther's method worked very well, hence the little gold circle to cover a multitude of my sin's, LOL
I know I want to hang my baubles on the tree but that  meant I had a big expanse of open space to each side of the tree in the top third of the hanging. I loved Glenda's addition of candles to her version of the quilt but they were not the right option to position in the top third.
I went back to pattern's I have collected over the years and found this one of Christmas Bells from
"Just Patchwork" which seems perfect.

I adjusted my pattern size to fit my hanging and am really happy, have a mirror image to make for the left side of my hanging. DH has not put up my design wall yet so I am using a piece of polyproplyne resting on my ironing board, hence some funny fabric angles in my photos.

Again, I did not want a blue bow but nothing else worked!!! I now have some back sewing to do as my ribbon moved while I was stitching it and it is not straight over the top 2 inches and it annoys me - a lot!!!
Bells to finish and then 4 more baubles to make.

I Love to hear from you and try to reply to all comments.
Cheers Jenny