UFO Domination 2011

The Confused Quilter has started a flickr group and given me just what I need.

My UFO situation is fairly dire and we got a bill for DS's school fees for 2011 last week.  We're still picking up our jaws off the floor.  Let's just say they're a little more than we expected!

So...I'm guessing quilt classes and fabric shopping will be one of the first things to cut back on.

I'm going to do the odd class and I still need to finish collecting Sandi Henderson FQs for 2 specific quilt but other than that it's stash shopping and UFO finishing!

Click on pic below for more info

I'm not totally certain which UFOs will be targeted or how many.  If I'm not realistic, I'll get all disappointed and discouraged.

Here's what I have so far:
Handbag quilt - needs unquilting, requilting, binding and test washing

Aqua and Chocolate quilt - needs basting, quilting, binding and test washing

Lizzie Mae's Medallion quilt - finish centre applique, piece blocks and assemble top (not
 quilting this as yet) (pic is of original pattern)

Max's Dinosaurs - needs quilting finished, binding and test wash

Max's car quilt - applique blocks finished, assemble top, basting, binding, test washing.  I'm using this pattern by The Country Quilter

My fabrics are quite different.  I first saw this quilt in a magazine made up by Magic Patch Quilting which is where I bought the pattern and mine looks more like theirs.

Max's Monster Trucks Tote Bag - finish cutting fabric and make it! The pic below is the original pattern by Natalie Ross that I'm using.  It will obviously be made up of non-girly fabrics given the recipient!!

 

DaChintzy Code Mystery Quilt - finish piecing (not quilting at this stage) 

Pinwheel Sampler - finish remaining blocks by hand or machine and assemble quilt top (ideally quilt and bind but probably too ambitious!)

Aster Manor Sampler - finish remaining blocks by hand and assemble top (ideally quilt and bind but probably too ambitious!)

Nemesis update

I just got back from my check up with the surgeon.

All going as well as can be expected.  I'm still sore and he warned me to expect it (like I don't know the drill by now!!) since the scar tissue inside and out is still settling down and my body is getting used to yet another new joint.  Usual spiel - no heavy lifting, straining, football (??!!) etc.

I'm having terrible trouble with both carpal tunnel and ulnar nerves but there is no way I'm willing to have anymore surgery...for a really long time...unless it's IVF related.

He said given the improvement he's "fairly sure" it's not an infection...ummmm...I thought we established that 2 months ago???  I know what he means and unfortunately pathology can be wrong so only time will tell which doesn't help when you want a clear cut definitive answer but time isn't the worst thing.

We need a good 3 months to get healthy (which means less booze for hubby and less weight for me), vitamins and supplements for both of us, acupuncture for me and police checks for both of us (lovely, right??!).  Oh yeah and money. 

Sooo I'm cautiously optimistic that come march 2011 or thereabouts, my doctor can start trying to knock me up.

I bumped into a friend I haven't seen in ages and she's due with her 3rd in march 2011 so there's something in the water (and visions of really cute baby quilts waiting to be made!)

On the crafty front, I've been plodding on with quilting Max's dinosaur quilt.  It's taking FOREVER!

I'm avoiding doing the Mystery Quilt clues until I get this quilt finished otherwise it'll never get done and I'm dying to get a move on with the 2 mysteries.

I'm also 1 flower and 2 leaves away from finishing the centre applique of Lizzy mae's Medallion.  Woohoo!  Final class for that is next week.  I'm LOVING all the fabrics and can't wait to put it together but gotta finish these dinosaurs first!!

Lizzy Mae's Medallion Month 3

I had the class at Quilter's Bazaar yesterday.

The great thing about this quilt is that it doesn't have to be assembled as you go so missing month 2 hasn't made any difference.

I have my fabric pack and some extra instructions from Lorraine.

Month 3 was supposed to happen last month and month 4 is in 2 weeks so it's a very busy month classwise!

We made the double X block which came together much more quickly and easily than I first thought due to Lorraine's piecing and cutting shortcuts!

Due to my still fairly fragile wrist I only made one and a bit blocks in class but I'm psyched to get cracking with them.

I can't believe how small they are!  They will be 5" finished so a bit bigger than Dear Jane and a bit smaller than Nearly Insane!  It's good practice for whenever I get around to these quilts I guess!

I'm getting that slightly overwhelmed feeling.  I want to work on Lizzy Mae, I have one Mystery quilt in progress and another to start shortly yet I have 2 quilts tops that REALLY need basting and quilting!!!!

Changing feet on the machine and lugging it to class every few weeks really interrupts my mojo.

I think I'll indulge in my craving for speed piecing at the moment and try to get Lizzy Mae done asap.  I may leave off doing a few clues of the DaChintzy Code and do them all in one go.

Not sure about Bonnie's Mystery.

I'd like to have one quilt basted and quilting underway by the end of the month.  I wonder if it will happen?

I haven't done any sewing today.  I did lots of cutting and pinning last night but the sewing machine is still rolling around in the boot of the car and I have a thumping headache.

On a more positive note, I'm pretty sure I've collected all my fabrics for Bonnie's Roll Roll Cotton Boll Mystery Quilt!

Finished for REAL!

I have two finishes to report...and I mean they're really finished - binding and all!

The first is the table mat/topper.

The class was on saturday at Quilter's Bazaar and Lorraine taught us how to make bias binding and how to use the Easy Scallop tool by Darlene Zimmerman.

I'm not thrilled with the colour of the binding but I didn't want to buy anything for this quilt.  I knew it was all to me made either with my arm in plaster or shortly after it came off (I got it off 2 days before the class) so I didn't want to waste good fabric by sewing plastered.

The other thing is the french braid table runner.  I finished hand sewing the binding last night.  Woohoo!

I have Lizzy Mae Class #3 tomorrow and #4 later in the month and 2 quilts which REALLY need to be finished before the weather gets too hot so I need to get cracking.

In other news...the lovely Mezzanines Fabric for my Sleepover bag arrived today!

Quilting and Other Bits and Pieces

Well after my success in finishing the chocolate and aqua quilt top on saturday I was on a roll!  Sunday afternoon I basted my table topper using spray baste and DH's help.

Spray baste is OK - I definitely wouldn't use it for anything larger.  It still migrates somewhat while quilting and as a consequence I have a few bulgy areas and I re-basted the borders once I had finished all the ditch stitching.

I love quilting - it's my favourite part of the whole process (well maybe a close second to fabric shopping!).  I think part of the reason is because I'm so close to having a finished quilt to enjoy but mainly it's because I love the feel of the 3 layers in my hands and I really love seeing the extra dimension quilting gives.  It's like icing on a cake I think.  I LOVE icing and a cake is never complete without it.

The ditch stitching (which only occasionally ends up in the ditch thanks to my big fat plaster) and straight line quilting came together quickly - to the point where on Monday I was able to start free-motion quilting the flowers in the wide border.

My ditch stitching looks fabulous in comparison :-/ but it's just a class sample and it's not a gift or anything so I'm not stressing about it and that in itself adds to my enjoyment of the process.  It's not too bad considering I'm in plaster so I am proud of it anyway.

By Tuesday morning my arms ached and I started to think of the lovely toned muscles I'd be getting (bye bye tuckshop arms!!) but poor DS came down with the flu so no quilting yesterday.

He's much better today but still home from school so I doubt I'll get to quilt today either.

My scallop class isn't until 6 Nov so I should get it finished in time.  I'm dreading all the bias binding I'll need to make and sew for this topper.  It's about 46" square which is a bit bigger than I intended.  I wont have enough red for the binding which is a shame but I'll have had a dig through my stash and find something big enough.   No buying for this topper!


Lorraine rang on Monday to postpone Lizzy Mae #3.  Just as well since DS was sick.  It'll be put off for 2 weeks so it'll be on 9 Nov.  What a busy month for quilt classes!

The best bit is my plaster comes off on 4th Nov so I'll be able to sew better.  The only down side to all this is that I haven't been into her shop since before my surgery and I have some shopping to do and gifts to buy which DH isn't able to do for me.  He has been doing a bit of shopping-by-proxy and performed quite well but there are some things I just have to do myself.

No sign of my fabric order from Hawthorne Threads so I'm starting to get a little concerned.  Hurry up already - I want to fondle my fabric!!!

DaChintzy Code Mystery Clues 3 and 4 (spoiler alert)

On Monday night I was so keen to get on with the mystery that I marked up all my squares for Clue 3.

Clue 3 consisted of 2 steps - making HSTs with the fabric 4 paired with fabrics 2 and 3.

When I woke up this morning I felt so sore and swollen.  The plaster is rubbing against a particularly irritating spot and I'm all out of strong painkillers.  At least DH got me more Diet Coke so I forced myself to proceed, knowing I'd feel better once I got my fingers moving and I did.

Clue 3, steps 4A and 4B:

Since sewing them together was so quick i proceeded directly onto Clue 4. 

This involved pairing up the 2 units above and doing the same thing as before to make little hourglass units. I tried to keep the seam allowance as scant as possible but I have grave concerns for the health of this quilt.  My units are not even close to square and the seam allowances wander somewhat.

Clue 4, Step 5:

I spose it's not bad considering how plastered I am. :-P

I must say I love how it's all coming together so far!  This quilt will be a charity quilt but it'll be hard to give it up.  I've wanted a lovely pink girly lap quilt to snuggle up with for a while and been on the lookout for the perfect pattern or fabric.  Lucky for me (and the recipient of this charity quilt!!), my Block Swap friends have taken care of my "ME" quilt so provided this one doesn't look too sloppy it'll go to a good home.

I have a few tops for charity waiting to be quilted but I'm not sure when this will happen.  It will depend on what happens after my plaster comes off.

Clue 5 comes out in about a week.  That's probably a good thing since I need to finish off my table mat and bind my french braid runner and work more on Lizzy Mae!

Lizzy Mae Progress

I've been slowly plodding on with the centre of Lizzy Mae's Medallion.

I missed class #2 which was on the inner and outer flying geese borders.  I'll arrange a time with Lorraine to make it up.

Class #3 is in a few weeks.  This one will be on one of the pieced rows.  That's why It's critical that I attempt machine piecing before then!

Anyway here is a pic of Lizzy.  The RHS is finished except for the stems which haven't been stitched down.  The middle only has a small amount of the top flower left and of course the stems haven't been stitched down. (click to make it bigger)

I tried to finish that flower last night but I simply couldn't.  I just couldn't get my fingers to move right.  I think they got a bit swollen.

Retail Therapy

 I was feeling all miserable and decided it was time to submit the order that's been in the shopping basket at:

I've been a little nervous about it since the range is an old one and has just come in from re-ordering.

I'm so relived I did because I could only get 1.25 yards of a particular fabric that I wanted 1.5 yards of.  Thankfully I only needed 1.25 but it scared me anyway!

I'm ordering fabric from Patty Young's Mezzanine range to make up my Melly and Me Sleepover bag when I do the class early next year.

I'm feeling marginally better. It's been a sucky day.  Just when I think I have a hold on all the stuff that's going on, something came up and set me off again.  This must be why fertility clinics hire counsellors!

Anyway I'm going to Gisborne Quilters again tonight (for the second week in a row) and that will help take my mind off things.  I've been working on Lizzy Mae and she is really coming along!  Maybe I'll post a pic tomorrow depending on tonight's efforts!

October Friday Night Sew In

FNSI is coming up again this friday!

I didn't want to commit until I was certain I'd be able to do something especially after my disappointing FNSI last month but I think it was understandable given I had just a few days to prepare for a hospital admission!

I'll be doing one of two things. If I'm able to machine piece, I'll be piecing a large block for the centre of a table mat which will be the class sample for my scallop edging class in early November.

If not I'll continue with either Lizzy Mae or my Aster Manor sampler.

Click on the pick to join in the fun!

Me-0 : Staph-1

I wish this post was all about how much sewing I'd been doing!

Unfortunately my greatest achievement is that I've slept more in the past 24 hours than I have in the past week!  This means I've been late in taking at least the last 2 antibiotic doses. :-(

I did manage to finish cutting fabric for my block swaps in my few waking hours yesterday but that's all!

This morning I woke up with yet another sore throat.  This sheds some light on the situation!  The stupid antibiotics are basically weakening my immune system.  Thankfully they're fairly narrow spectrum but still.  Nor are they making much headway with diminishing the lovely staph colony that has made itself comfy in my bone canal.  They are being kept off the bone but are still happily breeding on my artificial joint.

It's no wonder that since my last op on 1 March this year I've had repeated illness when normally I have a great immune system.

DH picked up my kit for Month 2 of Lizzy Mae and I lovelovelove the fabrics!!

Other than that I really need to get those blocks pieced and posted.  I'm really looking forward to doing them

Well hope to BBL with some finishes to celebrate!!

The Big 50!

Yay Post #50!!

Good timing to report in this weekend's happenings!

Friday saw me at the doctor's for my daily rash check.  I saw the better doctor of the two and the first thing he said was that it's definitely an allergic reaction to SOMEthing!  I was speechless!  That's what I've been telling then for the past 3 visits!

I asked for a stronger steroid cream that I've used for other things since the weak one the useless doc gave me did nothing and an oral steroid was added to the mix.  That makes 5 different prescription meds I'm taking now plus the cream plus vitamins etc.

Anyway now that they believe me and I have some decent meds, I'm feeling much better and my wrist has been up to doing some crafting this weekend!  I started by adding a few more leaves onto Lizzy Mae on Friday night. (no updated pics just yet ;-))

All the dreary, rainy weather is just perfect for sewing and cooking!  I've make a version of spanakopita and also a roast beast with the works!

I'm happy to report the table runner is done and I'm very glad I unpicked the dodgy point.  Turns out the fabric slipped so the mismatched point turned out to be the least of my worries!

I also had to unpick a few more strips when they gathered on the underside of the runner.  It was basted quite tightly but I need to undo the safety pins as I go.  I need to rethink things for when I make another.  I definitely would like to do this runner again.  I'm thinking spray baste along with pins for added hold??  Changing over to walking foot definitely helped but I had hoped to avoid it since it doesn't have 1/4" markings and I'm bad enough at 1/4" seams as it is!!

I also had to hack off a fair bit more than I anticipated to even up the sides since my centre point wandered a little!

Now all I have left is to bind it which will have to wait a day or two since I'm sore today (I think I overdid it yesterday!).  Maybe I'll just add a few more leaves to Lizzy tonight.

September Friday Night Sew In

Will be held on the 17th this month.

Click on the piccie above to go to Heidi's blog where all the info is!

I'm still undecided as to what I'm working on.  September is a very busy month in terms of projects.  I may try to do DH's potholder. 

If I have surgery in October as I'm suspecting then he wont get his potholders until next year probably!  Hand piecing is OK in plaster and machine piecing is do-able towards the end when the pain subsides but I don't dare quilt anything for months afterwards.  It's just too painful.

Actually I haven't tried machine piecing in a above-the-elbow cast.  Only did it last year when I had a smaller forearm cast.  Should be interesting given my Lizzy Mae is a monthly class until December and the remaining classes are all machine piecing!

Goodbye August, Hello September!

I'm farewelling August with a little sadness since I didn't achieve my 3 UFOs before 31 Aug Challenge on About.com.

It's not all bad, though.  We've almost certainly figured out why the Nemesis is misbehaving, I've started my Lizzy Mae and done 2 block swaps.

September is going to be frightfully busy though!  I didn't realise just how many quilty commitments I have coming up!

1 Sept - Table Runner Class
1 Sept - DaChintzy Code Clue 1
14 Sept - Lizzy Mae's Medallion Class 2
15 Sept - DaChintzy Code Clue 2
17 Sept - Friday Night Sew In 
29 Sept - DaChintzy Code Clue 3


Plus I have TWO Block Swaps PLUS Gisborne Quilters every Wednesday!  YIKES!!

At least for Lizzy Mae it isn't necessary to finish the applique before going onto the next step.

I've also decided to ditch the boy version of the DaChintzy Mystery.  I really want to use more than just 3 other fabrics to bring out all the lovely colours of the guitars so that will free me up a little.  I'm very happy clues are fortnightly!

I still need to wash and cut my DaChintzy fabrics and pre-cut my table runner fabrics.  I now know what I'm doing for one block swap but not the second.


Meanwhile here is a pic of Lizzy - hasn't she grown?

Lizzy Mae's Medallion Class 1

The class went really well!

There were 2 other ladies doing Lizzy Mae and a third working on a different quilt.

I'm not sure what amused Lorraine more - my copious use of Micropore or the bias stems disaster!

Anyway the first thing I learned was how to use one of those bias tape makers!  It was a somewhat hairy experience but it worked!  I've always wanted to learn how to do that!  It made perfect stems that could be fused in place!

I love how Lorraine uses modern quilting aids to achieve the look of traditional quilts in a fast and simple way!

The next thing I learned was how to use freezer paper for needleturn applique.  I must say it does give much nicer sweeping curves than when I do it without paper buuuut...slashing the back of the block to get the paper out is slightly nervewracking!!

The best news is that I got to enjoy the class because my wrist hardly hurt at all!  The down side is the antibiotics make me feel sick and dizzy.

As always I left Lorraine's shop with some supplies in tow.  Yesterday's haul consisted of Thread Heaven, cuuute pink embroidery scissors and some long, thin applique needles with tiny eyes.  These come recommended by Lorraine and despite the teeny eye, they were lovely to work with.

I like the length and they're very sharp so I didn't need to use brute force to get them through the fabric which is also a blessing for dodgy hands.  The only downside to the sharpness, length and thinness is that one of these babies can disappear into the fleshy part of your hand at least to the halfway mark before you even notice!

That could be because of the lack of sensation in many areas of my "poor hand" as DS calls it but it did mean I have something to gross the boys out with rather than the other way around!

Last night for "homework" I ironed on and cut out all the applique pieces.  Here is what they look like laid out - a little messy and shapeless because the seam allowance hasn't been folded over yet!

Aug Quilt Block Swap II Arrived!

My second August Block Swap block has arrived!!!

Linden has sent me a magnificent block and fantastic quilty card.  I LOVE historical quilts and more importantly her block is stunning with 2 gorgeous fabrics.

Thank you for your sweet words in the card, Linden!  And don't worry about the sewline pencil - I've used biro on mine when hand piecing (not on anything to give away tho!)!  I think I even used it on the front of a needleturn applique! (gulp).  I'm sure it'll wash out!

Your points are perfect.  It's only mine I have issue with!  I honestly don't mind less than perfect piecing since I regard all blocks received as a gift and I don't look a quilt horse in the mouth so I don't want any future swap partners out there to panic!!

In other news:
I've actually been doing some quilty stuff this afternoon!  I can't remember the last time I felt well enough! Admittedly I have my first Lizzy Mae class tomorrow at Quilters Bazaar.

I've cut out all my freezer paper bits and washed my fabrics.  I learned two things:

1.  Small bits of fabric that accidentally end up in the washing maching with FQs fare surprisingly well!

2.  When this process is repeated with all remaining small applique pieces the above outcome does not apply to bias strips!!!!

I guess this means I'm making new bias strips before tomorrow!  I'm not too upset since I'd prefer brown ones anyway.

I have also traced the applique pattern onto the background fabric (more or less straight - hopefully it will square up OK) with he aid of a large north-facing window and of course micropore tape!

August FNSI Report

Well I'm pleased to say I actually did something!  I was certain I'd have to pull out due to the Nemesis.  Unfortunately DH's potholders had to wait.  Maybe next month!

My FNSI actually sort of started late in the afternoon!

I popped into Lorraine's shop today to pick up my pack for month 1 of Lizzie Mae's Medallion!

On the left is the original pattern sheet and on the right is Lorraine's applique so we know which bits of fabric go where. (click for a close up)

I'm really excited to be starting and now that my health issues seem to be under control I'm confident it will proceed well.

I love that Lorraine has pre-cut the bias stems!  Yippee!  All the little bits will be a challenge to pre-wash though.  I think I'm just going to swish them around in a pot of boiling water to reduce the fraying.

As soon as I got home I did what any control freak would do - scrutinize the colours, dive into my repro stash and pull out extra ones to tweak it.  The following pics include the fabric from the kit and FQs and F1/8s from my repro stash.  Not sure exactly what I'll use and where though.

I'm not really good when it comes to lack of symmetry which is one reason samplers bother me somewhat.  Anyway, any bits from the kit I don't end up using will go into my Dear Jane.

DH wanted to make stew for dinner.  I was too washed out to argue and as long as I didn't have to do it then fine...but I knew we'd be eating late (which we did).  Kidlet wasn't at all sleepy even after a week of school (what's new?) so he bounced around til almost 10pm (Yikes!).

The official portion of FNSI started around 9pm I think.  It doesn't seem like much but for me it was a huge achievement given how awful the pain has been lately. 

 First I cut out the A4 pattern sheets and taping them together to make the 20" by 20" pattern sheet for the central applique.  Sticky tape was MIA but due to my dodgy wrist we have lots of Micropore around.  It actually worked better than tape being soft and flexible and goopy holding the sheets together only on the back!

Then I numbered all the individual applique components and wrote down the ammended colours then traced them all onto freezer paper.

I still need to cut out all the individual shapes and wash my fabrics but I have til Tuesday morning.

I'm also feeling better!  Around the 24-36 hour mark after starting the antibiotics I'm pretty sure the pain is reduced!  Granted I'm still taking fairly heavy painkillers but they're actually working which they were not before and I take them less often. 

I'm really hoping we've found the problem but the downside to all this is to figure how to get rid of the infection permanently.  It's not going to be easy and the success rate isn't 100% (but neither is anything) so we wait and see.

More Quilt Classes!

OK I need help!  Lorraine has just posted the Term 3 Classlist for her shop Quilter's Bazaar and I want to sign up for at least 2 of them!

One is a gorgeous fench braid table runner.  I've always wanted to try french braids and this is a nice way to start with something small.  Will make lovely presents!  I've been looking for a pattern for a runner for my sis and BIL's new house.  I this this might be The One!

The other is a 5 month BOM type thing called Lizzie Mae's Medallion.  It's gorgeous!  Thank goodness they're monthly classes and don't start til late August.

I need more projects like a hole in the head buuuut...I'm ringing on Monday and securing my place!

I suppose I should stop blogging and get on with my UFOs if I'm going to treat myself to some new classes!