Another fine mess

A new portable project: I bought this pattern from Ravelry-I'm using it for yarn I buy in charity shops, small balls and random oddments of DK, in the spirit of scrap quilting.  I'll be keeping a ball of something and a hook in my bag for odd moments. I have decided ugly unloved yarn has it's uses.

It's an easy pattern if you can crochet, made in individual units and joined as you go. 

Of course, this colourway is gorgeous!

And this weeks read: informative and poetic.

The New Mania

I have discovered scrumbling. these are my first attempts that will probably end up as one wallhanging. Embellishments still needed: works in progress. Using yarn oddments (even the smallest lengths), milk bottle caps, fabric scraps.  Beading and patches to hide the ugly bits to follow!

Quick pictorial update from my mobile

I have done a lot of hand sewing in the last few weeks.......a whole pile of random hexie units completed

and about 20 more sewn into strip sets ready to go (yes, it's organised!).

I cut more hexies as I needed some for the rainbow hexie, one large section complete now......

 More strips ready to go.... (excuse the bare feet!)

The bins were refilled, much cutting (I did a fabric swap with a Bookcrosser friend): this is the random bin...........

Hundreds more sewn up already

This weekend I looked at all the offcuts from the hexie cutting and decided as they were all the same size they should be sewn into strips NOW for the next crumb quilt-it took about 7 hours but at least it's manageable this way, crumbs from one cutting project are the same size-last time I had a giant unmanageable bin of mixed sizes.  I like the fact that every piece is angled.

I had cut more strips for the new leader-ender project, Bonnie's Perkiomen Daydreams; I sewed these into pairs today, that took a couple of hours.  A few weeks of pressing and cutting ahead into 1 1/2" pair units. 

I tried a few out to see how bulky the seams would be on 1" finished patches-seams OK!

I have almost finished the bow ties!  There will be about 1200. This was supposed to be a leader-ender project but it didn't work out that way.  Last few pairs waiting to go......

I sewed the badly cut hexies into units of the right size, these will go into the random hexie bin.  It's going to be fun finding these in the finished quilt. I tried for contrast.

I am all nine-patched out!  I think I have enough for a double with some sashing now; I haven't decided on the setting yet.  I have hundreds more 2" squares cut, its hardly touched the surface. 

 .

All the black and white nine patches are complete for 'Morphie'.  I need to decide on the next block pattern and cut more black and whites, triangles this time.   No planning, this is a decide as I go project.

As this little project will NEVER get done at home, I have taken the 1/2" diamonds to work to do in my lunch break. All the chaps I work with have asked with varying levels of puzzlement, 'What....': they haven't seen paper piecing before.  When I explain it will take about 10 years and need 14,000 pieces they just shake their heads!

This weeks read

Chosen from Mount 'To Be Read' because of 'A Good Read' on Radio 4 this week.

Chilled out sewing and pondering on psychedelia.

I needed a bit of mindless to de-stress, so I sorted the 1 1/2" strip bin and did prep for sisters choice. Pressed, ready to cut to 1 1/2" pairs.

 These, will eventually become these-over a very long period!

I also trawled the sales for reds, pale blues and yellows, these are now washed and pressed ready to cut a few 1 1/2" strips from, then join the stash.

I have been pressing a few random 9 patches now and again, of the 200 or so I made, whilst browsing Pinterest for an interesting setting.  Nothing appeals yet. 

 They can always be stored until I find that perfect pattern!  Some of them will make their way into a linus quilt this year.

All the black and white nine patches are done, about 100. 

Morphine is a design as I go quilt, where the blocks sill be set on point.  I have a few ideas for other rows-all in black and white- but nothing is decided yet......

I want the effect to be a little jarring as the ceiling light cover that inspired this quilt as I was coming round from my anaesthetic was doing crazy things!

I have papered several hundred more hexies in the past month, I only need another 5 of these random sets to complete a double quilt top

 I had completed these tree tins of rosettes a few months ago (pic from a previous post) ready for sewing: I decided to split them half in the random hexie box, half in the rainbow hexie box, it seemed crazy to leave them sitting there for another few years when they were needed for something else. Believe it or not, real progress being made!

And this weeks read...

Linus

I found a string of corners I had sewn onto 2" neutrals-I had forgotten about these.  They were clippings from sisters choice in pink that I thought I may be able to use for something.  I am putting them together with more neutrals to make mini butterflies that I will quilt in variegated pink to boost their visibility, as they are rather disappearing at the moment.  The neutral squares are from the pre-cut stash. This will be a small Linus quilt about 40" square.

I have been reading this book for about a month now, I'm 2/3 of the way through, its a 1,200 page trilogy.  I thought I wasn't going to like this SF classic at the beginning, as it's not overly 'scientific'.  Themes of planetary evolution and inter species war are addressed then after a while the SF angle comes in (no spoilers!).  Aldiss is a wonderfully imaginative and articulate author,  I highly recommend this work. It is half the price on Kindle!  I bought the heavy hard-copy, which was still reasonable priced, as I want to lend it to my son. 

I am also dipping into

I wish maths was easier for me, I grasp something and it slips away again-I had originally hoped to do a physics degree with the Open University, but I had to rethink due to the maths!

Catch up

I have used some mindless sewing on the road to recovery to occupy myself over the last few weeks. 

I sewed some more bow ties, about 300, I guess: I can't wait to start putting these together, but I must finish the sets I have kitted up, so I have maximum variety-this is a sample I made earlier to try a layout.  There will be about 1200 when I'm done, all finishing at 3". I think there are about 900 done already, the double quilt will need 1000 or so.

Most of the knots don't match the bows exactly: I had all the squares cut and waiting, I refused to cut more fabric so I raided the 1 1/2" strip bin for most of the bow tie  'knots'.

I have sewn some strips for the rainbow hexie

 ........and the Darwins Flower garden now has-almost-all the corners done-red, orange, blue, green, so just the border paths on the four 'corners' and the green 'hedge' edging to do, the end is in sight.

 Centre.... 

..before I sewed the orange up...

  ....and the blue corner almost done.  

The blues are really vibrant, I have a new phone with a truly rubbish camera, this picture is adjusted for white balance!  I have a new camera too, but its barely out of the box, I will have to get familiar with it.

Over  Christmas I lost myself in making the nine patches for the black and white quilt 'Morphine', about 100 of them.  I will be cutting triangles next for this quilt.

I have plans for a design wall, I will definitely need to to lay this one out. 

I got really bored with black and white, and started sewing randomly coloured mis-matched nine patches as leaders and enders, from pre-cut 2" squares, taking care to use up all the uglies.   They took over and I made about 200!  I haven't  decided what to do with them yet. 

I have not been working on the random hexie, though I know I only have about 5 more sets to sew before I have enough for a double quilt, this seems to have grown faster than anything else.  The top will definitely be done this year.  Not hand quilted though, there are others in the queue before this!

I can remember roughly when and how I acquired all these random fabrics!  Why can't I remember where I put the car keys!!!

 This year needs to be about machine quilting- I have a bout 10 tops ready to go.  I keep putting it off as 'I'm not good enough'. Things will get out of hand with the number I have to quilt soon-as if it's not already out of hand!

I have decided on the next leader-ender project, it will keep me busy for the next two years at least, it's Bonnie Hunters Perkiomen day dreams, each little square finishes at 1 inch. 

This is the basic unit......

Pale blue, yellow , red, and dark blue.

About 10,000 squares in a double. Gulp.

Summary for 2014

1. Two projects started!! (Random nine patch, black and white 'Morphine' nine patch)
2. Significant progress on Darwin's flower garden, bow ties and rainbow hexie.
3.  Another project planned. 
4. Promises of finishes!

Black and white

Back in the groove after an enforced break to recuperate in which only these were done....

Today I'm working on squares I cut ages ago but never got to start: the quilt will be called 'Morphine' because I came up with the design after coming round from a minor operation earlier in the year and studying the fluorescent light cover for a couple of hours!