Crafty Mojo, Violins and...dog poo!

So as usual I have bad news but for a change I have some good news too!

I think my crafty mojo is back!

I haven't posted about my mystery project yet because I underestimated how much...stuff...I had and need to order more...things.  It'll probably be a bit of an anticlimax when I post...unless we have some make-up loving quilters out there.

Anyway...I haven't got back to any UFOs yet but as soon as I finish what I'm working on (hopefully tonight!!!) I'll crack on with poor Maxie's dino quilt.

I decided I needed some instant gratification and the thrill of a new project so I'm making Maxie a bag for his music books and things.  To date he's been carrying them around in a small envirobag with the school monogram on it but it doesn't close so things more often than not fall out.

The minute he walks into the classroom on Tuesdays he practically hurls his violin and music bag in a particular corner without paying much attention to it.

Oh and the dog poo?  Turns out somewhere in the depths of my nose is something that smells like dog poo...with undertones of sweaty boy feet!  I first noticed it 5 days ago - less than a week after I finished the super dooper anti anthrax antibiotics.

I can't smell much else besides...dog poo.  It's seriously nasty but kind of amusing in a really hideous sort of a way.

I spose it means going back to the ENT this week.  I'm stalling.  There's nothing to see in my nose that I can tell so it's waaaay down the back and can probably be detected with his scope which I hate...

...anyway I'm off to do the school run now and stay tuned for a (hopefully) finished bag in the next few hours!!

ETA... it's 3 hours later and I'm feeling vile!!  Will try to finish the bag tonight anyway but I've been saved by the bell...err...text message!

Max's violin teacher messaged me that he wont have a lesson tomorrow since she is playing violin for a few of the acts in the grand final of Australia's Got Talent tomorrow!  She did Dancing With The Stars too but they don't show much of the orchestra.

Would be good for Max to watch so he can see for himself what he can achieve if he practises

UFO Domination begins

I mentioned a few posts ago about the Confused Quilter's UFO Domination challenge.

Visit her blog or Flickr group to join!

I was intending to start once I'd finished piecing the top of my Roll Roll Cotton Boll Mystery quilt.  No such luck.   I'm massively behind in the RRCB and with the flooding in Queensland, charity quilts are needed now.

I promised DH I wouldn't start on any til I finished DS Dino quilt and the quilt that's supposed to cover one of the sofas.  They're both on the UFO Domination list so that's excellent and I have 2 more UFOs which I wasn't planning to finish this year as part of the challenge but I think I will since they were supposed to be charity quilts all along.

So...I've quilted another chunk of the dino quilt. It's taking sooo long!

Here's a progress report

My quilting is very wonky and wobbly because I seem to have lost the ability to smoothly move the quilt around while I freemotion the design on.

I simply don't get it. I'm sure I could do it a few months ago when I last worked on the quilt. I double checked that the feed dogs were down.

My wrist is getting stronger not weaker since my last surgery in September so it can't be that but if I have slightly wet hands it seems to help. Maybe I should try those quilters gloves?

Right now I'm just grabbing handfuls of quilt and pulling it around. It doesn't make the quilting look any good. Any thoughts?

Quilt goals for 2011

The Confused Quilter has shared her organisational bug and yet again blogged a great idea - to put down on paper (or on screen as the case may be) quilty goals for 2011.

In 2011 I want to:

Complete my RRCB quilt and have it on the bed
Make Melly and Me's Sleepover bag in a class run by the Drapers of Mt Macedon
Make baby gifts for two pregnant friends (and some who are TTC and will prolly be pregnant soon!!)
Start my Dear Jane
Start my Nearly Insane
Make Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Crossroads quilt
Learn handquilting

Finish all my UFO goals (see post below)

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!)

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?

Aug Quilt Block Swap II Finished!

I finally finished Linden's block!  I've been working on it since the weekend but it's been slow going.

I made Aunt Dinah block from Quilter's Cache.  It turned out well enough.  I'm not 100% satisfied with my points but I never am!  I'm very fussy about perfect points and since I rarely have any myself I think it explains my UFO situation!

Unfortunately the cortisone injection I got 3 weeks ago wore off completely around the weekend and the Nemesis has gone berserk since then.

Thank goodness I see my surgeon tomorrow.  If I don't see the inside of an operating theatre by the end of the week (which is really unlikely given how busy he is) then I'm going to have a massive meltdown.

WIP Week Fri 13 - Thur 19 Aug

I can't believe August is almost halfway over and I'm still nowhere near done with my 3UFO challenge!

Starting today I'm going to whip my WIPs into submission!

That means for FNSI (20 Aug) I can make the potholders DH has been begging for and not feel guilty about starting something new!

Plus I need the distraction.  I'm seeing my hand surgeon again on Wednesday and given the deadline I've given him I suspect it's crunch time and something needs to happen.  I'm more afraid of not finding out what's wrong rather than getting bad news.

Anyway I'm making decent headway with unpicking the handbag quilt so that is one goal for the next seven days.  Plus I want to finish piecing Aqua and Chocolate and finally put the borders on the Dino quilt.

I still doubt I will complete my UFO challenge but I'll be a heck of a lot closer!

Finished!!

Well only the backing for the dino quilt but still I feel like shouting it from the rooftops!

The downside is that I never got to Gisborne Quilters last night.  DH came home late and DS was coming down with something.  I'm glad I stayed - he had a rough night the poor little mite.

Another positive is I can now take proper pictures again!  You know how it is - the IT consultant's wife is always the last to get technical support! 

I'm slowly getting ready for Friday Night Sew In.  I've decided I'm going to piece the chocolate and aqua quilt top.  Once DS goes to bed, I should be able to get it done in one evening - provided I've cut enough fabric!!

That'll be another UFO that can be moved to the UQO section!!  It will also be one of my 3 UFOs before 31 August goals completed!

My table runner class is 2 weeks away and I have decided not to go with a Bali Pop.  I have 4/10 (maybe 5) of the fabrics I need to I'll just cut swatches and buy the rest to match.

Spotlight is having a big sale so DH promised to take me this weekend!

I still have no idea what I'll do for matching place mats.

Pieced Backing:                                                                                             


















Front (without borders):

Some housekeeping

Well I was thinking last night as I drifted off to sleep (and that's usually a dangerous thing)   and thought I'd add an extra section in the left bar = UQOs (unquilted objects).  It's not really fair to classify them as a UFO because a completed quilt top is definitely better than chopped up bits of fabric, stray blocks or an unused stash.

Sometimes I make a quilt "just because" with no particular purpose so quilting it immediately doesn't make sense especially when I have UFOs with a "purpose" waiting to be done.

Having a pile of unquilted tops can be advantageous when a gift is needed in a hurry.

Given my wrist situation, I'm trying to avoid doing any unnecessary quilting so charity quilts will be finished to the top stage only.  I will have a few quilts which need to be fully completed (like the dino quilt) so they need priority.

I've also added a blinkie quilt on the right side bar and a calendar of quilty events at the bottom.

It's motivating me to get more stuff done.  I caught up with a RL friend yesterday who is also a quilter and she wants to join a group and start blogging to get her productivity going again.

We're going to each make a DaChintzy together.  Hopefully we can get together every fortnight and actually make it together...together.

The DaChintzy Code Mystery Quilt

There is a Mystery Quilt happening on the About.com quilting forum!

I'm really excited and can't wait to participate.  I've done 2 mystery quilts in the past and have enjoyed them despite being a bit of a control freak so it's a little nerve-wracking not to know where everything will go.

I'm still playing with fabric combinations and haven't decided for sure which way I'll go.  I want to work from my stash as much as possible.

Given the dimensions, it will fit perfectly into the suggested sizes for Very Snuggly Quilts .  I have a few boy quilt tops underway for that but not much in the way of girl ones so maybe I'll make this Mystery Quilt into a girl quilt for VSQ.

In my quest for fabric I managed to unearth 3 more UFOs!  (the shame!!) I think I'm destined to become like Lorraine and Andrea who have one for every year of their lives! 

They will be duly added to the left bar.  On a more positive note I realised I have a few finished projects to add which I've forgotten about.

Thankfully the mystery wont start til September and I wont allow myself to start until my UFO challenge is complete!

Dear Jane gets a mention

But hardly more than that!

I've been meaning to take some pics of my fabrics so I can keep tracks of what I have and what I need more of.

The quality is awful since it had to be done with my phone but here goes.

The browns and tans:

Yellows and Oranges (definitely need more of these!

Blues:

Pinks and Greens:

Reds and Purples (a few more purples I think!)

And lastly the Fabric Inspector pays a visit:

I'm really looking forward to starting this quilt but ideally I'd like to join a group because I know I'll lose my mojo otherwise and I want to hand piece it and would like to finish at least one of my hand pieced UFOs first!

Meanwhile there is still a bit of shopping to be done before I have all my fabrics! ;-P

Friday Night Sew-In

Heidi hosts Friday night sew-ins and I'm participating for the first time!  The next one will be on Friday 23 July.

I'm very excited to have set aside a block of time to get some of those UFOs on my list done.  The deadline for the 3 UFOs by 31 Aug is fast looming and I'm getting decidedly uncomfortable!!

I haven't decided yet what I'll be working on but I have a little time.

Details for the Friday Night Sew-In can be found by clicking the pic below:

A dinosaur sized headache

Well it's pretty obvious I need neither more fabric nor potential projects but 35% off all fabrics at a quilt store proved too difficult to resist.

I walked out with a dinosaur panel and 3 half-metre pieces of various dino print fabrics.

I didn't have the faintest idea what do do with them except that I could throw them together into a really quick quilt for Maxie since his applique car quilt wont be ready any time soon.

I knew I wanted to use the printed dino fabrics to their best advantage and not cut them up too small and the finished blocks would have to be 11" to fit around the panel.

I decided on a modified version of the block used in Lorna's 12 FQ quilt and today decided to do an alternate block - double 9 patch.  These 2 blocks mixed up with various sized pieces of plain scraps from my stash should give me the look I'm after.

I'm much relieved to have decided on a pattern since this plan for a quilt has been bugging me for a few weeks (since buying the fabric).  Must be a guilty conscience!!

I only have a few more fabric pieces to wash and then I can start cutting.

The next hurdle will be to excavate my sewing table from under all the debris of neglected UFO, magazines, patterns and other random finds.

I'm rather impressed at the resurrection of this blog.  Admittedly it's infinitely easier to type than to quilt at the moment and I feel I'm doing something sewing related.

Failing all that, seeing the growing list of UFOs might just shame me into finishing one or two!! :-O

Lorna's 12 FQ Quilt Class

I attended this class at Quilter's Bazaar.

It was run by Andrea and the thing I really loved (apart from how quick and easy it was to get finished!!)  was that I basically recycled one UFO along with some additional Stash-Busting and transformed it (OK still in progress!) into 3 charity quilts!

I have one completed top using Lorna's pattern (with borders), A second top with 3 out of 4 borders attached and the third quilt will be done using another pattern but there is plenty of fabric left!

I'm not intending to quilt these anytime soon.  I'm too sore still to wrestle quilt tops around the machine but finished tops are better than a pile of chopped up fabric in the too-hard pile!!

Here's the link to Lorraine's blog entry about the class:


Lorna's 12 FQ Class

I'm yet to photograph my version of the quilt but will get around to it...eventually!!