Overactive imagination

In the design sense, this is not normally something I suffer with.  In the last two days I have modified and old idea and come up with two more-oh, I really need to retire to get all this done!

For my first year City and Guilds I came up with a trilobite design wall hanging that never got made, probably because it was rather too complex.  

 

Then I thought I would make it into a full sized quilt but never got round to it. 

The latest imaginative trilobite incarnation is a cushion with lots of prairie points.

I had surgery yesterday and whilst in recovery, my mood pleasantly enhanced (;¬}, the ceiling became very interesting and my mind wandered!  I have only had time to do a couple of quick sketches between snoozes toady, I just had to get the ideas down before they faded along with the 'enhancement'!  Probably only makes sense to me, but here they are.......

This will be black and white HSTs assembled in vertical grading across a quilt.  The inspiration was the tiny refractions from a three tube fluorescent light fitting cover!  It only occurred to me afterwards that it must have been good at diffusing light as I spent about four hours looking at it on an off!    I will cut these HSTs at he same time as the planned black and white 'Farmers Wife' quilt later in the year and use them as the leaders and enders project.  I have LOTS of black and whites I have been collecting in sales for a while now. 

The next two are only scrappy sketches for me to get he idea on paper before I forget.  

One inspired from the ceiling air vent yesterday that had a lop-sided louvred appearance and viewed interesting angles of light and dark grey. 

The last one is on a favourite theme of 'evolution' for which there are already several ideas in the creative pot. 

This time, its block evolution, starting with a square in one corner, then three adjoining squares bisected corner to corner, diagonally and unevenly,he patterns evolving across the quilt with gradually more complexity. This one will need a design wall!

Doing the rounds again

This time: I spent over two hours spinning the centres of around 300 bow ties, whilst watching a film last night, like this.....

Now all packed away tightly so they wont need ironing when I assemble the quilt top. 

I won't get much sewing done today as the family are over for a roast beef dinner. I need machining time, I will have to wait until this evening for a fix!

Acquisitions

A new charity shop has opened with an 'antique' theme.  Some lovely dresses from the 70s, wish they fitted me!  

They had a 50p rummage bin in an old suitcase-even the display items are themed-and I found this to cut shiny red centres for my Isle of Man log cabin, which is mixed fabrics and ugly greens.

This will be perfect.

A couple of weeks ago I went into another new charity shop and found neutral cotton curtains and bedding, I bought the equivalent of 20 metres of fabric for only £15.  Some for log cabin strips and lots for good quality backing.

Love a bargain! 

 All washed and ready to go.

As of today, I have still only bought 1 metre of 'new' fabric this year.  I am doing very well, considering the enormity of my habit!

Sewing this week has been hand quilting 'kiss in the corner', I have actually reached an edge of this double now.  Probably have the same amount still to quilt as I have already done but that psychological barrier had been crossed! Yay!  I really bit off more than I could comfortably chew for a first hand quilting attempt, a double with lots of different shapes means a lot of hoop wrestling on my lap.  Now I know why so much of the traditional hand quilting was simple lines and patterns.

The next one I will do is a hand pieced hexie top in baptist fan pattern, to stabilise the hand sewn hexie joins.  Only one sewing direction too and wool wadding, so it should be easier. It will be done on the quilting frame a friend made me for Christmas.

This weeks Kindle read is

Really enjoying this.

Early bird lazy Sunday

Annoyingly, I was awake at 5.30 am this morning. By 6am I had a pint mug of tea and I was set up for some hand sewing in bed whilst watching Bonnie's now pre recorded QUILTCAM, also available on Youtube. 

All ready to go by 6am on the dot.  The feed was so much better than before. I now feel I have really indulged myself and its not even 8am yet. 

I didn't get a great deal done, but never mind.  

I think I will make the Isle of Man handpieced log cabin my quiltcam project. 

I drew diagonals on the backing fabric and I love the way you can correct and little inconsistencies by lining the folds up with these diagonal lines. The actual sewing part is really quick, it's the folding and lining up that takes a bit of time. I match the sewing thread to the backing so slight 'variations' in my stitch length aren't so visible on the back!

Doing the rounds

I was visiting today, so I took portable hexies in my pocketed Clippy bag and got these done.  This will be the heirloom quilt for son number two.  Give it a few years though as I'm still working on the one for son number one!

Morning Dreaming

Still sorting out the roomful of craftiness. 

Inspiration note: I was daydreaming in bed this morning about what to do with my green strips-this is the green/blue bin........ it's mostly greens now as the blues were used up for this project, 'Orange and Blue',still work in progress.  

Thistles. Like this.... courtesy of Bonnie Hunters 'TALKIN' TURKEY': green strips, purple spikes. 

What do you think?

                                                                                                              

Sniffles antidote

A few acid orange bow ties...........


........and a Ginger Man

Playmat flimsy four and five

I had a bit of help this time, most unusual...

All five sewn up now, let the quilting commence!

What a wind-up!

 

More sorting through the room full of stash-today, I tackled the yarn.   

I used to buy sacks of bin-ends, cones of 1 and 2 ply yarn, to make Kaffe Fassett jumpers.  Today I wound 5 strands to make DK yarn for a jumper, balls numbered so the colour mix flows when I get round to knitting it up.  It barely scratched the surface of whats there!

I took the pink-red-coral-lavender downstairs and wound these balls to crochet into Aran weight chevron blanket whilst I watched Mr Attenborough's 'Africa'.

 

Evenings have been spent on hand quilting 'Kiss in the Corner'-I have almost reached an edge, I feel progress is being made!

Taking stock

I made a good resolution not to buy fabric this year. 

after all the upheaval of decorating and moving rooms around, I shoved everything in the small bedroom as I had to get my sons room clear (he's home!) 

Yesterday I bought two of the biggest storage boxes I could find, 64 litres, thinking I would get lots of fabric in these. I have only just crammed the black and whites into one box.  

There's a whole 6 ft x 10 ft room of this stuff to sort yet!

Playmat flimsy three

Two playmat flimsies

Five playmats webbed

Kitting up the charity playmats

I have kitted up four this evening: they will finish at 40".  These play mats are for children with varying levels of learning disability, their 'safe' learning place.

The Big Clean-up!

I finished slicing this afternoon.  Some of the charity quilts will be basic 4" finished squares, some bricks and  I plan some stars to practice my flying geese accuracy. Then I'll tackle the tactile quilts.

 I have always felt that small quilts are somehow 'cheating' but after making the baby quilt I can now see how they are useful for practice.

I took the 'pledge' at Rossieblog-see the button top right.

I have pledged with 862 others: 

The goal of the process pledge is to create a new sensibility in quilting blogs where we don’t just show finishes or occasionally confess about our moments of indecision, but chat openly and often about our works in progress, our inspirations, and our moments of decision.

So please fee free to comment and offer me insights!

The links to all the other bloggers are on her page, just click the button (later!)

I have to admit to a small misdemeanor with regard to  my new years resolution: I was buying thread from

 http://www.empressmills.co.uk/ 

and they have started selling fabric. 

 I only bought 1 metre in the sale-the one I really wanted for making the crossbars in my planned churn dash quilt was out of stock, or it would have been 4 metres! 

The triangles for this will be leftover greens and greys that are already sewn up for moth in the window and the big green one.

Yet ANOTHER project!  But I am using up orphan blocks, so I guess that's OK.....

 I really don't know why this block appeals to me so much-when I make this quilt it will be for me!  I think I need a striped fabric for the bars, a strong look. 

I have a huge box of crumbs and strips left over from the latest round of slashing.

 I have an idea to use the crumbs in a raw edge way for one of the tactile quilts that I will wash to create texture before I send it off.