Huge peg, small hole

I can't see how this is ever going to fit into that little space under the machine to quilt!  

Watch this small space.....

I have been thinking about tying patterns for 'Moth in a window' as an alternative if it won't squeeze in there.

I seriously considered an 820 when I was looking for a new machine, but they hadn't been out long and they still had problems.  I found two suppliers who wouldn't sell me one so I researched on the net and found the first issue batch needed to go to the breakers yard!. I wanted to try one at an exhibition, the retailer had two there, neither of which they could make work to strait stitch.
That pretty much decided it!


Border for the moth quilt...... I sewed the odd lengths of 2" strip greys into two lengths, enough for a scrappy look to go round the quilt twice.  Boy, do I ever overdo my requirements for every project.

 That will need bringing into line or I will end up with dozens of sets of blocks/strips  that will only make half a quilt.  I have 40  complete moth blocks and about four hundred 4 patches and more grey strips left, as well as over 40 sewn up inner moth blocks!  I will have to make something out of them or make a mini quilt that will become part of a backing. .

I thought that small grey and cream moths would be too plain, so off  to the the 2" squares box-a row of these all the way round, in between the  two grey border strips.......all the creams are pre-cut too.

I had originally thought grey and purple, but  I think all purple.  They finish at 3". Slowed down a little by having to pencil the sewing line, I'm all over the place! There is something familiar about this process..........

Yesterdays bow ties! I made way more than I had estimated.

Moth traps

Experimenting with the layout this morning:  I don't really have enough room  (:¬/  The conference room at work was in use this week so I couldn't commandeer it. 

It took me all day to web the grey sashings in as I wanted to make sure that there were no adjacent strips. 

Agh!!!

 Oh well, too late now. No one will notice, shhhhh!

I made 20 or so bow ties whilst I trapped the moths.  I don't have a picture of the finished top, there will be others here tomorrow to hold it up for a snapshot.

Can't decide what to do with the border: the top so far SHOULD finish at a troublesome 93 1/2", but I haven't measured it yet, perhaps the measurement is actually more cooperative!  I'm thinking about mini moths. I have a maximum border allowance of 7 inches on each edge.

YOU GOT ME!

Fifty pages in and I'm caught.......early night with a hot water bottle and a hot toddy!

Such a pleasure to come back to an author who was a favourite years ago and still find the magic.

After JG Ballard's Concrete Island and it's contrived cliched prose last week, this is a breath of fresh air.

So much for sewing!

Kitting up again

Not much sewing done during the week-Tuesday and Wednesday I had family for dinner after work, Thursday I was tired from cooking two evenings. Friday I fell asleep in the chair by 7pm. What a waste! Saturday was family visiting, today I've been really lazy!  Just fitted things to do with bow ties in here and there during the week.

 

I had to find the perfect 'knots' for more bow ties kits from the 1 1/2" bin, easier to tip them out than rummage as if you rummage the bin ends up full of a big knot!

I pulled a few more 2" squares out of the boxes, all brights.  I found out this week that someone is expecting a new arrival next year, so maybe some brights will go into a cot quilt.....

Now the drawer is stuffed to capacity

And the storage box is full....

And the overflow is heaped next to the sewing machine.  Enough!  But it filled those spare moments this week. 

I kept a few chain pieced bow ties in the machine and I have only finished ten. 

I will have a little go tomorrow evening, to finish whats there.  

I hope for a more industrious sewing week!

I have to iron the last of the moths, then I can put the top together.

Custom staircase

Just imagine, how much fabric could I stash in there!!!!!

Here's the link to the company that makes these custom staircases.

Sunday

Ohh, too bright!  I paired up the last of the random bow tie sets last night, I had to cut some 'knots' from the 1 1/2" string bin instead of using the leftover ends from 'Moth in the Window'. 

I have found it best to stitch a few sets up in spare moments and get them to the 'last run' stage..........

...........so that when I use them for leaders and enders, that's one finished.  Otherwise,  get in a pickle and end up like this.

I have 180 done already.

Doh. 

 I sewed for at least 7 hours yesterday, went to bed at 1 a.m. and had to read for an hour to unwind!  Even though sewing relaxes me, I find I have to stop at least an hour before bed as my brain needs to slot into sleep mode.  I can go on until after 2 a.m if left to my own devices.  All very well if I was retired, sadly I have to work for a living (:~/ 

By the way, I recommend this  book....

 I have had it on the shelf for a couple of years, wish I had picked it up sooner. I have another by Tim Winton, that will be read very soon.

  I cut the cornerstones this morning for the green moths and sewed them up this afternoon. 

Yay!!! ALL the moths, done.  

I will lay them out tomorrow evening.

The grey sashings are cut. I'm going to try webbing the moth top, it seems much quicker than my normal method.  

 I HAD to clean up, those darn trimmings from the bow ties are getting everywhere!

I bought some backing material, it was only £3 per metre, good quality funky fabric, perfect. Four metres of each.

I have some carrot fabric from the same range, my son wants me to put it on the back of his quilt (The Big Green One) that will be for him to wrap up in , in front of the TV.  I'm going to call it Vegging Out!

Saturday

 Now completed: 160 bow ties.  There are some really scrappy ones in this batch with mismatched ends.  Love them!  The white fabric on the bottom two is an old nightshirt I found in a charity shop a couple of weeks ago that is all soft from use.

I have been looking at layouts for the bow ties on the net today, still can't make up my mind.  As I have enough paired up for two quilts, I'll assemble them all so I get maximum variety before I make the flimsies, that means I can do two versions.

This was the main project whilst piecing the bow ties-all the green and cream triangles are sewn up now. 

 

Next job, tomorrow I have to cut the pieces for the green cornerstones for 'moth in the window'-then clean up!!  I hope to piece the green moths tomorrow.

Over estimator! (again!)

I made a few more triangle pairs for 'the big green one' last night-the pile is growing and the other is diminishing....

I cut some more triangles from two hunks of cream, so I didn't use up all of the mixed ones I had pre-cut on one quilt (two piles on the left).

Unbeliveably, I have already done 13% of the bed-topper bow ties quilt, 70 patches!  I have kept some on the machine to do in between kitchen stirrings and when I had 20 minutes here and there.  Looks like I have enough already kitted for at least two quilts.  This will be for ME!

 I think the ones with the 1 1/4" corners look better than the 1 1/2" corners, but I'm not cutting more strips in a size I don't usually use, its about using up what I have.  As long as the 'knot' corners are the same colour, I'm not worrying as its SCRAPPY!

Yet again, I have over-estimated what I need!  Almost enough 'moths' for two, enough bow ties matched for two, and looking like enough greens for two 'big green ones'!  I have set my target completing the first  'moth' and 'big green' filmsies by Christmas.

Probably won't post again 'till Sunday as not much time to sew, the rest of the week

 ~{:¬/

Hotch potch

Some of the completed blue moths.......

I had a few minutes to kill in between stirring duties in the kitchen today, I made about 20 bow ties.

This aftenoon I wanted to sew without thinking, so I got out green triangles for 'the big green one'

I made a few pairs!

I did no housework. Oh well!

Blue and bow, and a blue bow

I finished the blue moth blocks, only have the greens to go now: today I will cut and sew the four-patch corner stones. 

I did a few scrappy bow ties whist sewing blue moths......

 Traditional............................or knotted?

I'm veering towards knotted.

Bow tie kits

 Bow ties kitted up, enough for weeks and weeks.

I sorted through the whole box of random 2" squares and paired them...........

 .......cut a some cream squares from two fabric types-I don't want the look to be too random with too many creams; cut a few 1 1/4" coloured strips for the knots.  Most of these will not have the same fabric in the knot as in the bow, just he same colour.  Hope its not too busy.

I have done a bit of hand quilting.  Tomorrow is 'moth in the window'.