Twisted Rail 4

It rained last night.  The most wonderful sound to wake up at 01:45 and hear the water falling from the skies…. Heavenly!

When I was done with clue 6 of Good Fortune I brought this top to my sewing table to re-measure as in between everything else, I managed to finish it.  This year however I was clever and got my backing and batting before all the shops closed for the festive season.   I could therefore measure the batting and backing too and have it ready to load onto the frame.  I think I spent the time to myself rather productively.

Simply saying “load it to the frame” is unfortunately not all that easy.  Again, more cleaning…. The machine, the track, the rails, the wheels ensuring getting rid of any dust, lint, fluff or anything else, oiling, new needle and testing tension.  Man…. Just imagine how much I can get done if I wasn’t interrupted by all this cleaning!

I asked hubby to find me a bottle or empty coffee can in which I can store my dusters of my sewing room.  Up to now, they’ve just been lying around with no space of their own but trust him to always do something different and this is what I got….. my own bouquet for my sewing room!

Good Fortune 6

We had terrible windy conditions of Friday evening which meant when we got up on Saturday morning everything was covered in a fresh layer of sand.  Even my black marble kitchen counter tops seemed dark brown.  Another fight I simply cannot win.

I decided just to dust off my sewing table and finish this clue but dusting is just not the same as when wiping the surfaces down with a wet cloth.  I can still feel my rotary cutter struggling after I just dusted.  So with this clue done, I guess it is back to cleaning.

We had a little rain yesterday evening that we so desperately need, not only for my sanity but our farmers are struggling with huge losses of their animals simply dying due to the drought and heat.  So today at least the dust is not obvious in my house.

Cat panel quilt 1

After returning from my pedicure yesterday I dug through my drawer filled with panels that I can hardly open or close and decided to start with this.

I found lovely cat squares so they were the first to undergo surgery.

I saw THIS VIDEO and chose to make my squares accordingly even though mine weren’t different in size.

I cut my blocks and ended up with 21 blocks 7½” x 7½”

Then searched through my stash to find matching background fabric.

I used my 12½” square ruler to cut the backgrounds and had no math involved in this, it just seemed easier to simply cut around my ruler than having to find the exact block measurement.  My other good intention for 2019 was to make more scrap quilts and at this stage I already had one in mind and after cutting out my background squares for the cat panel quilt, I cut the leftover fabric into 2½” strips for my scrappy quilt.

Pretty soon I had something new happening on my design wall.

These were all just cut and placed on the design wall, the final placement on the background and sewing them together still need to happen.

Good intentions

Thursday hubby and I ran through this house like crazy trying to clean, me wiping surfaces with a wet rag, him following me with the vacuum cleaner and me returning with the mop for the hardwood floors.  At least the house was clean for half a day for with all our pets we never seem to win against dust /sand carried in, hair and feathers all over everything not to mention the occasional poop and vomit.  Why do I do this to myself?

Today I tried to clean my sewing room (an annual event) but I told hubby it seemed as if I just moved stuff from one cupboard to another, not really getting rid of anything.  I never make New Years’ resolutions but this year I have a couple of ‘good intentions’.  Before the clean-up I thought to make less quilts and focus more on free motion skills but alas seeing what all hides in my cupboards and drawers I will have to make some quilts.

Now my good intentions for 2019 are (whether it will happen I really cannot guarantee).  Continue with making panel quilts to use the panels in the totally overfilled drawer and make more scrap quilts to work away all the fat quarters I meaninglessly bought as a newbie quilter 18 years ago without having any rhyme or reason for my purchases.

I think I should revisit Becky Tillman Petersens' free pattern page and see what I can make.

My cleaning continued until 09:30 this morning as I had a mini pedicure appointment at 10am but even though somewhat disorganized I didn’t quite have such a mess as last year.  So time off from cleaning this year.

Good Fortune 5

With Christmas lunch served and the kids and their pets having returned to their own homes I took a serious look at the notes for Clue 5 but being totally overindulged didn’t get much done.  The cats however were glad to have their house and space all to themselves again, not having to duck and dive from small hands and visiting dogs.

I promised myself a day to myself after Christmas and vowed not to cook, clean and actually eat too but with all the left-over food the last, did not happen.  With surfaces covered in dust or marks from fatty little hands, floors dusty and dirty I only cleaned off my sewing table and peacefully continued to finish this clue.  Up to date again irrespective of all the interruptions.

I just checked my blog and noticed that I not only finished 16 quilts for myself/my family  this year but I also free motion quilted 16 quilts for other quilters.  Now unplanned or not, I think this is a neat round number to end this year.

Quilted Duvet Covers 2

After loading this I so just wanted to continue and finish it but I still had Clue 4 for Bonnie Hunters’ mystery to deal with so I refrained from standing behind the frame just doing this all day long.

Luckily we had a public holiday on Monday so I could get going with this.  I tried out Jamie Wallens’ Mystical Mini ruler to guide me around the pictures.  I do still need plenty of practice but after watching his video on this like 17 times I think it will get easier.

This one went rather fast as I simply outlined all the dinosaur pictures and then filled the inside with a large-scale meander.

Today it is back to the office for us and hopefully I can get everything done in one day.

Good Fortune 4

Well, the office officially closed on Friday and my parcel arrived on time but sadly I am not done yet.  As per usual dear hubby always has that last minute (week) crunch time arrangements that he needs me for.  At least I am still needed.  I so enjoyed my parcel and the content and at 700 South African Rand per bottle of Sew Clean this stuff must be amazing.  However at that price I will save it for extremely special cleaning jobs.

Hubby and I went for a Meze supper and it was rather nice to be home before the news on TV at 19:00 – we are doing it old people style now.

I added strips to the second duvet cover backing for Big Man and joined batting to have enough for this one.  Not my favorite activity (joining batting) but waste not, want not, I guess.

With my weekly cleaning crew on holiday I got up early Saturday morning and started cleaning with my quilt frame room the first to get done.  This way if I get fed up with cleaning I know I am set to go have fun.  It is just hell hot early morning (5 am) and the sweat is building up in my head after mopping a single room.... many more to go and then still vacuuming the carpets.  Fortunately I don’t have to hand wash the laundry!

By early afternoon, having read through the instructions to Clue 4  and knowing what to do, I lost the plot.  For as long as I can remember or ever since I figured out how to Free Motion I would much rather do that than piecing.  So getting myself away from the (by then already loaded quilt) frame was almost impossible.  But who wants to leave this for string piecing?

When I finally started piecing I had to set some kind of a reminder that I still need to wrap gifts before the little ones returned from their trip and at times like these, my sewing table becomes a hot mess.

And having a parrot who insists on helping you doesn’t make life any easier

Well before the weekend is over, I am done!

Twisted Rail 3

Keeping in mind that I’ve worked on several other projects I think this went rather fast.  I now have all the blocks for a 90” x 90” quilt up on the design wall and can start assembling these as time allows.

We had the kids over for supper yesterday as they are leaving to visit family in Pretoria and I asked if they’d take along the quilt I made for my sister and already finished in January of this year.  Took longer to get it to her than to actually make and quilt.

I always get the holiday feeling when the kids come over to swim and eat but somehow this time of the year seems to go by faster as I get older.

Today is the last day at the office for this year and if I only get can this one over (with salaries, wages and retention to be paid,) I’ll start relaxing totally.  The problem is just that I’m still waiting for a parcel from Jamie Wallen and it is supposed to arrive between the 12^th and 26^th.  Now watch it not arrive today and me having to go back to the office daily to sit and wait for a parcel.

Quilted Duvet Covers 1(a)

And then our electricity supplier, after telling us they had a shortage of coal, suddenly decided to not have load shedding until mid-January.  Really?  Where do they now suddenly get the coal from?

So with the office closing on Friday and us not taking on new jobs/projects, I had all the time in the world to finish the binding on our Big Mans’ first quilted duvet cover at the office. 

I can get used to doing things like this at the office.

Twisted Rail 2

With Clue 3 from the Good Fortune done, I continued with more strips and blocks for this quilt and although slow it does start to take on shape.

Both hubby and I had somewhat of a tummy bug and it was actually so hilarious, the two of us in bed, feeling very sorry for ourselves but I caught up on all my lost sleep due to insomnia during this two day ailment.

I’ve also started prepping for our Christmas lunch and with it being summer and warm in South Africa, we settle for cold meat and salad.  I’m done with my pickled tongue, smoked gammon, beef roast and leg of lam.  So not much more meat to go and the salad I’ll have to leave for last minute.  

Then plan around my vegan daughter – most of the salad will work as I’m using egg-free mayonnaise so not much more to do.  I might just also relax on Christmas day.

I’ve also watched a video on Power cutting and it is worthwhile as I could cut 5 different fabrics each folded twice (four layers each) all at once.  This speeds up the process massively.

Good Fortune 3

It started raining just before this third clue was about to be released and for those, not from central South Africa, being totally rain deprived (not to mention electricity) my excitement may not make sense.  Dusted the sewing table for at least now the blade in my rotary cutter may last for a while and not get blunt trying to cut through an invisible layer of dust on my cutting mat.

In my excitement about the rain I even continued with another project while waiting for the next clue.  The short lived and fast rain (with some hail) was worth taking a picture of.

Other project immediately abandoned when Clue 3 came out and in this clue, I made my very first mistake.  Note to self….. Don’t just read the instructions, look at the pictures too.  This is my booboo

And this is what it should look like when done correct.

And it turned out my ‘correction’ was nothing to brag about as this one was wrong too….. it slanted in the wrong way.

Luckily I don’t feel totally stupid and thanks to Facebook and the kind people sharing their attempts I soon realized I was not the only one making these silly mistakes.

As they say all is well that ends well and by hook or by crook, I’m done with Clue 3

Quilted Duvet Cover 1

Daughter-in-law brought me 2 duvet covers, bought for our Big Man, to quilt these.  Now from previous experience I’ve learnt that although these cover our beds just fine, they are cut skew as hell.  Step 1 was to wash these to get rid of the excess starch making these look perfectly square/rectangular which they are not.

Then I had to unpick the seams to separate the front from the back and square both top and back.  This however meant the backing was now not wider than the top and I’d be unable to load these on the frame.

Off to the shops to try and find matching fabric to extend the backs before I could start.  With this fabric attached to the backing I loaded the quilt and the fun started.  No seams to stitch through and one can use the motifs on the fabric as a guide to what to quilt, where.

I think this can be such a nice training tool for someone wanting to learn to quilt.  Just find a motif on Pinterest and plop it in a certain area/s of the top.  I had heaps of fun doing this one.  I have stitched one side of the binding on but with all the load shedding going on in our country, I am leaving the hand sewing part for days when we’re stuck without electricity for 2 hours at a time.

Twisted Rail 1

While waiting for the next clue to the mystery “ GoodFortune “ and surfing the internet I found another fun to do and easy pattern that does make a statement over HERE.

Up at 4 am one lovely weekday morning I decided to make a quick test block but not being awake properly I didn’t quite think it through but with a stretch of my imagination I got the idea of what is was supposed to look like.

I went on somewhat of a shopping craze and got myself another set of zipper leaders.  This way when I have one of my own quilts on the frame and need to do a customer quilt, I can just quickly zip mine off and put the new one on.

I also purchased a TOWA gauge to set my bobbin tension correct with any kind of thread I wish to use.  I haven’t had time to test this little bugger but everyone sings its’ praises, so I’m hoping for the best. In fact I just noticed that even though I ordered a TOWA I was given a Bernina tension guide, now for their sake I hope this works equally well because it was definitely not what I ordered.

I have all my fabric ready for this quilt and as time allows I can get cutting away.

But first I had to attend my son's graduation. A degree with distinction.  Proud of the old chap.

First strips cut and off I go

Good Fortune 2

I even didn’t find clue 2 all that intimidating and speculating about the reasons I am either getting used to Bonnies’ way of doing things, are less tired than this time last year but I think the fact that I use larger pieces of fabric instead of ironing out and cutting teeny weeny scraps may play the most significant role.

Up again early yesterday morning I started string piecing clue 2.

And before I hit the shower at 6 am I had Clue 2 all done.

So now….. what to do with myself until the next clue comes out.  O yes, Christmas menu, I almost forgot!

And then the grand-kids came for a visit and our 6 year old kindly reminded us that it was the 1^st of December and we needed to do Christmas decorations….. ughh…. So not my cup of tea but we do it all for the little ones.  They had so much fun in the pool with Oupa, I only swim when the water temperature hits 34 degrees Celsius – a fair temperature for an outside bath.

Good Fortune 1

Now this is the second year in a row that I attempt to make (and keep up) with Bonnie Hunters’ annual mystery. I know my memory is not all that good anymore and part 1 was not that tedious BUT I think the same could be said about part 1 from last year.

With hubby playing golf one Sunday and the household chores done I started cutting.  I decided to use only one red fabric in this quilt opposed to scraps.  I was gifted a 3 meter red fabric piece and had very little red of my own, so why not use what I have?  Here my cutting was done and all neatly stacked on a tray to move to the sewing machine.

So I stole a little time here and there during the week to sew the units together and press these out.  Clue 1 is up to date and ready to tackle the second clue.

Dream Big Panel 2

Not the most beautiful of these panels I’ve seen but it served its’ purpose and I am happy with the result.  I think if I purchased Chenille strips I could have achieved a neater fluff on these but mine didn’t turn out half that bad.

I got the idea of using Chenille strips to outline the leaves after watching THIS video

And this is my final attempt.

Now I think, unless I find another quick fix, I should get off blogging and focus on this years’ Bonnie Hunter mystery, plan my holiday snacks and Christmas menu as life is about way more than quilting.