UFOs-so what am I doing WRITING about them!!! (I make it 20)

My "TO DO" list with a dictionary for the uninitiated

Flimsy~pieced quit top ready for layering
UFO~un-finished object
orphan block-leftovers from other projects

• two double English paper pieced hexie flimsies, made from recycled scraps: waiting for layering and quilting for 10 years!

• random hexie

• rainbow hexie

• Darwin's flower garden hexie for son and daughter in law

• two Judy Martin patterns that are cut and part pieced-this one I will leave till last as its frustrating me!

• two quilts to be layered and machine quilted for gifts I should have done weeks ago! This has to be high on the list! Sneak preview only ...

• a spiderweb curtain flimsy that needs borders and  lining for my work area

• a spider web quilt flimsy that needs borders and quilting to go with the curtain
• a set of Bonnie Hunter blocks that need to be assembled for quilting 

• the hand sewing project that I can probably make three quilts from the cut blocks with, as I got carried away with cutting the uglies up

• the half finished cutting session I started as I needed more variety of creams for the above!  First on the list I think, then I can clear away
• the 9 patch blue leaders and enders project that I'm cutting extra 2" squares for with the creams above

• a pile of mending!
• 1/2"diamond English paper piecing-this is LAST on the list!

• baby's block paper piecing

• and looking through the blog pictures to re-post, I realised there are two more-first, a set of pieced crumb blocks that will be a very heavy quilt or a curtain as they have been pieced on to muslin
• and these

Oh good grief.  It's worse than I thought, but not worse than some, I know from reading other blogs!

OK, cutting today, then clear away.   I can not possibly justify the hour or so it would take me to find the things I don't have pictures of and upload them, but I will do it as time allows and I come across the bags!

Then of course there's:

• all the cut strips and blocks to use up

• all the strings to use up

• all the crumbs to use

• the cathedral window quilt to plan and cut

• the orphan blocks to find a home for

ok, bye!

Oh, and another thing.  Someone said yesterday they never knew where they were with me.   Very perceptive, as I clearly don't know where I'm at myself!

Pottering........

The sewing machine has barely been out since Christmas. My zone out time has been taken up with reading, I'm into a 1300 page novel , London by Edward Rutherfurd. I have developed an unexpected liking for well researched historical novels based on fact, triggered by Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall.  Can't wait for the sequel to be out in paperback for that.

Sewing has been limited to around three thousand hexies in papers-this box is for the Rainbow Hexie, with another for the Random Hexie.  Its surprising how many get done if I leave it next to my chair and pick it up whenever the TV is on. Luckily for project development, I can't just 'sit' and watch TV, I have to be doing something! 

I had a few days off work last week and took a box out with me on a couple of trips to the seaside.  Sea air, sound of the waves, picnic, lovely!

The camera came to Newhaven, I got texture and pattern ideas for quilting. Promising ones to be filed for future reference-nice plaits here; ropey texture there, for borders.

And one for quilt inspiration, love the shape distortion!

Wet Sunday......

....sooooo unfair!  It was lovely all week, I had planned a walk by the sea today.  It will be sewing and reading this afternoon instead.

I went to the library yesterday to pick up this weeks read: Psychogeography by Will Self, a favourite author.  I want to go up to London to walk along the Thames-I may do this over a few days in the summer to the estuary: I am interested in this series of writings on the influence of environment on society. Must get walking and get fitter. Not in the same shape as a couple of years ago when I did my 13 mile charity walk. If the rain stops I'll go out later, otherwise I will have to resurrect the dreaded exercise bike!

I also picked up a book on Cathedral window quilts-the reason I have been snapping up sale bargains since Christmas of  black and white fabric.

I have, very sadly,had to take the decision to give up wheat products- I have known it was necessary for a while and have been dabbling with gram flour, potato flour, coconut flour, ground almonds and many Indian flours, making use of my electric muffin maker I was given for Xmas-it seems you can throw anything together and its great-very good cornbread muffins!  I tried making bread from the bag of  'wheat free' flour, it's not the best, but fills you up as it sits in your stomach for 6 or 7 hours!  It's cruel at work, the toaster goes on at 8am and doesn't seem to go off until 2.30pm, meanwhile the smell wafts round the office.  I may remove the fuse. 

Today's breakfast was Carrot and Walnut muffins made with coconut flour. And very nice too, I can get used to this!  Low carb, gluten free, low sugar.  Numnum. A nice little book for me to explore....on cooking with coconut flour

Lunch was tacos with home made corn and brown rice flour tortillas-need to work on the shape of the tortillas but the taste was good. 

The first day of spring sun.....

....and the neighbours have come to say hello.  In fact, there are SIX cats in the garden this morning-my cat is glaring out of the door at them all!

Kitties come to see us when we squeak for them and spend most of their day in my hanging baskets.  Methinks I won't be growing herbs this year.  We named the three tom kittens Familiar, Spot and Chav.  Mum has never been friendly: she is however, entertaining the neighbourhood ginger tomcat this morning-I think these three can expect brothers and sisters soon.  There is a black and white tom in attendence as well (making six!) looking for an opportunity to introduce himself on the speed dating circuit. We like cats, but really, one can have too many neighbours!

The green shoots of recovery

I picked up a needle this week-I resurrected a shelved hand sewing project that will go on for years, It hasn't seen the light of day since November!  I needed something to hone my technique so a couple of years ago I went chop-happy with the uglies for three weeks and cut enough for four quilts. 

This is all the greens have done in 2 years, not a lot!  I seemed to have many ugly greens so I started sewing up those first.  Many of them are SOOOO ugly that I think I will be using red triangles to lift the design.  Way too much browny-mustardy stuff.  The finished size squares will be 1.5", so they're small, thank goodness. Chop it small and it will fade into the background!

I stole all the 2" blue squares for a leaders and enders project and I have run out, so yesterday I fished out ugly/large pieces to cut more next time we have a wet weekend. And a few 2" strips from the stash box......



I have bought more creams in the last couple of years so I pulled those out as well, to cut for variety in the hand pieced project.

And finally.......I would like to introduce Archie, my grandpuppy- the most loving, adorable, clever, playful, confident, happy little dog in the world! 

He loves people and dogs and gets buckets of attention from everyone as he's so cute (and boy does he work it!). Archie would even  like my cat if she wasn't such a grumpy, hissy-fitty old lady.  He is a daschound-labrador/staffordshire terrier cross with stumpy legs and bags of energy. 

The pictures of him were taken on his his first trip to the beach at 5 months old, last weekend. He wasn't so keen after he fell in a rock pool up to his neck!  I went with my son and daughter in law to choose from a litter of six: it was tough to come home without one for me as they were all lovable! 

All sewed out

I admit to doing NO sewing at all, not one paper on a hexagon, for over a month now. I over did it at Christmas! I work for a sign company and saw this is production for a customer, a good motivator that should be on my wall!

I like the close-up as well

I have done a lot of thinking about future projects and made a mental note:

• finish two very late quilts that are gifts
• plod away at the Darwin's Flower garden(see profile pic)-this is going to be given to my son and daughter in law.  She asked me in the autumn if I would make them a quilt and we came up with a drunkards path idea, however, I started the Flower Garden on the day I first met her, so I thought it would be appropriate for them to have it and they are very happy with that (or they will be!)
• there has been much designing in my head for my own quilt, to be called Event Horizon-much of the fabric for this will come out of the stashed blocks and strips-black stars with a rainbow of colour

• I have been acquiring black and white fabrics for a Cathedral windows quilt-this will be a hand made project and I MUST NOT START this year! Its time consuming......

• also acquiring fabric for a split 9 patch garden-stream-stepping stones idea-pic from another quilt.

I have been doing a lot of reading since Christmas, I often do at this time of year, something to do with being tucked up in the warm with a quilt and a book and a mug or a glass!

Property-Valerie Martin: a new author for me, Orange prizewinner, loved it!

Xeelee Omnibus (RAFT)- Stephen Baxter: a favourite author

Rant: the Oral History of Buster Casey-Chuck Palahniuk:  another favourite, crazy, keeps you guessing with one twist after another, brilliant.

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers-Xiaolu Guo: this has been on the shelf for three years, a thought-provoking read on the culture gap in British and Chinese couple

The Honorary Consul-Graham Greene: a favourite author, if you overlook the treatment of women in his works!

Greybeard-Brian Aldiss_ a horrible disappointment!

Now I'm reading The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, a 600 pager. That should keep me occupied for a week or so.  Time to go and have a sort out in preparation for bringing my Bernina to life again.

I didn't do this in infants school!

I  read a book called Journal Spilling this week-I thought I would be uninspired as it didn't particularly like the artists style.  The book was very good at telling you to go create your own work. 

Particularly useful was 'work quickly" so I did. I made three collage bases with about half a pint of glue in half an hour and loved it!  I will have to wait for it all to dry now for a couple of days...

I have something in mind for this one, a quilt I have been meaning to make forever.  More experimentation on this theme to come.           

    Two more fine sticky messes!

Christmas failure!

I got the laptop working again: the power lead died after my last post......I'm now on a borrowed
pc to order another one, posts will be  later in January!