It's Halloween ...

... and I make no apologies for showing this again this year, but I just love it. Happy Halloween everybody.

It’s Monday …

… and my fabulous weekend is over. 

There was lots of this:

 

plenty of all of these:

      

and a lot of this:


There were presents from all of us to all of us:

and we even did some of this

    

Thank you Bilbo and Mrs Flummery for a fabulous weekend, even if I can hardly talk today as I am so hoarse.  Sewali we really missed you.

Tomorrow is Friday and ...

...  I'm excited.

Why?

Well because tomorrow my friends Bilbo and Mrs Flummery will be travelling by boats and planes and ships and trains (remember that song?) - well OK, by car and train - to my house for a long planned get-together.  Unfortunately, Sewali is not well so she will not be with us this year.  Because we live quite a distance from each other, this sort of event needs some organising ahead of time, so we set a date months ago, and I know roughly what time they'll get here, so I can have the coffee on.  There will be lots of eating, lots of talking and maybe even some hand sewing, but that's about as far as the plans go.

So that's why I'm excited, and that's why I can't help singing ....

Better late than never ...

... I promised you I'd tell you about the workshop I taught at my local quilt group a couple of weeks ago.  It was on 13 October, which, in hindsight was an unlucky choice of date, as several people had to cancel due to clashes with other events.  Two people had to pull out when they were offered the chance of a stand at a craft fair.  Imagine, they turned down the chance of a workshop with me to go and possibly earn money.  Someone else was going on an exotic holiday, and refused to cancel, and another person had family descending on her at short notice, and she refused to tell them not to come.  There's just no understanding some people is there?  Anyway, there were still seven people and I think they enjoyed their day.

The quilt everyone was working on was Stepping Stones, from my book, and the skills ranged from almost total beginner to very experienced indeed.

In fact, one of the students was my friend QuiltHaze, whose chosen profession is that of quilt teacher.  She came along as she really fancied being a student for a day and just sewing.  I've included this photo of her as she told me I wasn't to - fair's fair Ms QH, you do it to me regularly!

In the following photos you can almost feel the concentration, can't you?

I wonder when we're going to get a design wall at Tuesday Quilters?  It'd be so much easier than doing it like this




 

By the end of the day, everyone had almost finished the centre of their quilt.  All the blocks were made, and about three-quarters had been sewn together as you can see here.  I always find it amazing how different the same quilt can look when different fabrics are chosen.  Now I am looking forward to seeing some of them finished at our next meeting.

What is it ...

... with builders?  I thought there was a recession on?  I thought builders were desperate for work?  Well, now I think I'm wrong.  A few weeks ago Dad decided he needed to make some lifestyle changes, so first he debated about moving into sheltered accommodation  but then changed his mind.  The main problem he has is with the stairs in his house, so the next idea was to build a downstairs bedroom and en-suite.  So I get on the phone to arrange for a builder to come and give a quote.  He finally turned up (a day or so late!), spent a few minutes with us, then went away promising to let us have a quote within 3 days.  Well, 7 days later, still no quote, so I phoned him.  The quote would be with us in a day or so.  Hmm.  Yep, you guessed it.  It finally arrived about a week later, and was ridiculously high.  So it was time for another rethink.  Since the stairs are the problem, why not just have a stairlift installed?  More appointments, more quotations, decision made and the lift will be installed in a couple of weeks.

We've also been getting quotes to have solar panels installed on our roof, and they should be fitted on Thursday (or is it Friday?) this week.

In addition to that, this weekend Mr Fixit celebrated a birthday.  I can't tell you which birthday it was, but the numbers include a zero and a seven.



Tomorrow I will be back to tell you about the workshop I taught last week, and about my plans for this weekend.

Christmas QAL - post 2

Pheww.  Done it.

I really love it, but just can't decide if I'm going to add a border.  The pattern doesn't have one, but I am thinking of making a piano key border.  What do you think?

Now I'm done in, so I'm going to be a party pooper and leave early.  Thanks so much Elizabeth for inviting us all and looking after us all so well.

Christmas QAL post 1

Hellooooooo, here I am.  Did you all miss me?  The workshop was fun, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.  I'll do a separate post tomorrow about it.  Now I've been home a while, and we've had dinner.  Being a bit more efficient than I sometimes am, I actually organised the dinner yesterday, so all I had to do was heat up the meatballs in sauce while I cooked the pasta, and 20 minutes later, dinner was served.  Now I plan to watch Strictly Come Dancing, then I have a Christmas plan!

Do you remember these?  That's where I got to last month with my Crazy Christmas Trees.  Since then, I have finished all the blocks, so tonight I am hoping to get them all sewn together to make the top.  Fingers crossed for me.

Don't forget, Elizabeth is our hostess this month, and she has decorated specially for us with some wonderful Halloween decs, cos that's her daughter's favourite time of year, so hurry over there to see her.

Yippee ...

Tomorrow is Christmas QAL day.  Our lovely hostess this month is Elizabeth from Sand and Sunshine.  I don't know what she has planned, but I am sure it's going to be great fun.  I am looking forward to it, but this month, instead of being one of the first to arrive, I will be making a grand entrance later on.  I am teaching a workshop during the day, but will be home again in time to drop in to the party at some point.  I already know that I am hoping to get my Crazy Christmas Tree quilt top put together during the party.

By the way, would you like to win fabric for life?  If the answer is yes (and why wouldn't it be?) and you live in the US or Canada, then pop over to visit Elizabeth and read her post here.  If you enter through her, she will get an extra entry, and I bet, if she won, she'd send you a little something to say thank you.  (Teehee.  She doesn't know I said that!)

Lone Star day - post 3

 I've made good progress today.  I have cut out  224 red squares and 56 white squares, and finished making my HSTs, so then I decided to make some of the star blocks just to see what they looked like.  Then I went back to what I should have been doing , and cut the red borders.  I have only sewn on the top and bottom ones so far.

One thing that occurred to me today, after reading what Elizabeth had to say about her Lone Star progress, is that I am going to have to square this beast up 3 times!  I had to do it before adding the red borders,and again afterwards, to make sure the pieced border fits properly and I'll have to do it again at the end.  What was I thinking when I designed this?  I hate squaring up tops, largely cos I really don't have anywhere to lay it out properly (a round table is not the best place!).  I think I need to buy some lottery tickets so I can afford a mansion.

I am happy with my progress today, and happy with what I have achieved in the past 10 months.  Thanks specially to Jayne who co-hosts this and to Elizabeth who has been joining in with us every month. Now the new series of Strictly Come Dancing has just started, so if any one needs me, I can be found in front of the TV.

Lone Star day - post 2

OK, I promised you a progress report didn't I?

I have added an inner border to the top and bottom of the star, cos I want a rectangular quilt, not a square.  Next I will add a red border all the way round, but I haven't done that yet, as I allowed myself to get diverted.  Sorry about the wrinkled photo, but this top is getting quite big and I'm running out of floor space to smooth it all out.

After the red border, I am going to add a pieced one, made up of friendship star blocks.  I worked out that I'll need 56 blocks.  Do you realise how many half square triangles that means?  I'll tell you.  It means I need 224 of them.  So, I had already cut them out.  This time I used my Go cutter to do that job for me, and then I started sewing them together, and that's what diverted me.  This morning I finished sewing them together and now I am off to cut the remaining squares I need for the blocks and the red border, then, if I have time, I will start sewing the blocks together.  This is what EQ7 reckons my top will look like when it's finished.

Lone Star day

... and I nearly forgot.

Jayne is our hostess this month, so if you are joining in, please go here to join our Linky-party.

I have actually got some progress to show you this month, but not until I've taken a photo, so I'll be back in a while.

Shall we say "messy"?

... When I worked, I had to have a tidy, almost empty desk to work on, so wouldn't you think it'd be the same when I sew?  Wonder what happened?

Harvest time ....

.... today was the day for our apple harvest.  Just look at how many apples we had:

I put the coffee mug next to it so you can get an idea of the size.  We did have 2 apples earlier in the summer, but the birds had the other one.

I won ....

... do you remember this?

It was my entry into the EQ7 design category for the Pets on Quilts show a few weeks ago.  Well, thanks to everyone who voted for it, I WON.  Woohoo.  My prize was very kindly sent to me by Michelle and her rabbits, Hannah and Harrington from The Raspberry Rabbits.  Well, the prize arrived yesterday, and here it is.

Look at all this loveliness, there is a lovely pattern to make 2 small woolly hangings and a stitchery one too.  Also Michelle has included a gorgeous little quilt hanger and all the wool and thread I will need, plus some sweets.  I've never worked with wool before, and I am really excited to start.  Thank you so much Michelle for your generosity, and thank you to Snoodles and Padsworth from Lily Pad Quilting for organising the fun quilt show.

Christmas QAL - post 4

I couldn't resist it earlier.  I laid some of my blocks out to see what they would look like.  I'm happy.

I have actually finished all the blocks now.  Next step will be to trim them all to the same size, which I will do tomorrow.

Christmas QAL–post 3

I made some blocks earlier this week, and Mr Fixit stopped dead when he was passing and saw this block laid out. 

I sat, smugly waiting for the compliment that I just knew he was about to utter.  What did he say?  "Have you done it wrong?  It's all wonky, and doesn't match up at the edges."  I had to explain that the pattern actually says these blocks won't line up, and that you have to trim them all when you've finished.  I don't think he was convinced.



This is the pattern I am using.  Whatever was I thinking?  It calls for 10 red, 10 green and 10 beigey-creamy FQ’s.  That’s 30 different fabrics.  In one quilt.  I must have been mad.

It was made a bit easier when I saw a FQ bundle which I loved.  It was very expensive way to but the fabric though, by the time I’d added on postage and taxes and duties, so I decided to google and see if I could find it cheaper.  I did.  I found it at CrazyQuiltGirl Fabric Shop.  I was absolutely amazed at their prices, and the customer service.  I asked if they would undo the bundle and lay the FQs as flat as they could so it would all fit in one envelope that would go through my letterbox.  That way, I sometimes don’t get charged the duties that almost double the cost.  They did that for me, and what’s more, I had the fabrics in my hands 4 days later.  Usually post seems to take 10 days from the US to me, so I don’t know what they bribed the postal service with, but it worked. 

Christmas QAL - post 2

Uh-oh!!!  Serves me right for being so smug and organised earlier.  I decided I did not like 3 of the fabrics I was using, so a little (?) un-sewing has been going on, now to resew the blocks with substitute fabrics.

By the way, I forgot to tell you that the party is over at Hazel's, here.  If you go and visit her, you will find the Linky where you can sign in if your joining us, or just visit everyone who has signed up, to see what is going on.

Christmas QAL - post 1

Do you like my fancy dress costume?  I was going to come as Father Christmas, but then Hazel pointed out that everyone would want to sit on my knee and tell me what they want for Christmas, and that might stop me from boogie-ing along to the music so I dug out my snowman outfit instead.  Do you like it?

Anyway, dinner's defrosting, pudding is planned, housework's done and washing's on the line and now I'm ready to sew.

There's a party ....

.... at Hazel's place tomorrow,

so why not dig out your Christmas projects, and come and join us.  This was going to be held over at Maureen's, but following some serious health issues, she really should not be rushing around trying to control a bunch of unruly quilting party-goers, so Hazel said she'd be happy to have us all.  She also said there will probably be some baking going on, and maybe a quiz, and also some music and she thought it would be fun to make it a fancy dress party.  I already know what I'm going to be working on, and I know what I'm going to wear.  

See you tomorrow.

Happiness ...

is finished, although it did get renamed as "That" quilt by my friend J at one point.  You know, "That" as in "how are you getting on with "that" quilt now?  I did have some problems with it once I got to the quilting stage.

Firstly, why did no-one tell me not to cut the scallops until after I'd finished quilting?  That is why the borders have been done with a sort of motif in each scallop, but I can tell you, it is not easy to attach the quilt to the backing and wadding in order to quilt it.

The other thing that happened is that I quilted the whole thing using just straight lines about 1 or 2 inches apart (can't remember which) got to literally the last line before the border and realised I didn't like it.  So I took it off the frame and unquilted the whole dang thing and then put it back and went for a sort of curly E2E in the middle.


While I'm wittering on about this quilt, I want to also tell you about the fabulous service I received from Tracey at Quilt Me Happy when I was trying to get some backing for the quilt.  I didn't know exactly what I wanted, so I emailed her a photo of the top and asked her if she had anything suitable, preferably that would work well with the border.  So Tracey ups and takes photos of a load of fabrics for me to choose from, then later she took photos of some different fabrics.  So I made a decision and place an order that evening.  Overnight, I changed my mind and I decided to go with a plain Kona in Snow.  Tracey didn't bat an eyelid when I told her, and my fabric arrived the following day all beautifully wrapped in pink tissue paper and tied with ribbon, just as if it was a gift.   I'd hate to have me as a customer, but do want to say thanks to Tracey, she really provides a service way above what is usual.