Does it Count?

It has been hot and humid, not a standard Perth summer. Usually it is just plain hot. My sewing is progressing mostly in the cool of the air conditioner which means hand sewing. I have a finish, I hope it counts for "Sew it's Finished " - it has been sitting in the bottom of my basket for quite awhile, at least six months and all they needed was press studs. Why do we leave the smallest, simplest things so long. Seriously a press stud. Anyway complete are two camera bags..........

I have also had a big win on the hexagon front, I am now down to needing only 23 more flowers to then start putting them together for the Vignette Hexagon Quilt. My hexagon quilt is being made from fabrics used in other quilting projects, my problem now is I have used all the fabric I have so I am now needing to finish projects to create fabrics for this quilt, so it may sit still awhile.

A Few.

And then some more.

I am now back to an applique wall hanging, the last of my hand stitching - I may have to change that. I like to have projects to swap between. It depends on what mood or how tired I am as to what I sit and stitch sooooo......... What to do. I am very heavy on machine projects and need some machine time. First tidy up creative genius........... Kids back at school......... It may come soon.................... 

My Sewing Birdie.....

My youngest has watched me sew "all" her life. She thinks it's normal that at 4 years of age she draws a picture to be transferred to fabric ( by her Mum ) to then sit and sew after kinder. A stitchery she completed a few years ago surfaced from her craft box needing borders and a binding. During the school year she doesn't have the inclination to sew - homework and other commitments keep her busy however Christmas holidays gives her time and patience to tackle her sewing projects.

A couple of years ago Father Christmas bought her a Brother sewing machine ( I think he knew her Mum is not good at sharing her pride and joy ). She has done a heap of practice over this time to sew straight 1/4 inch seams, and just generally learning her machine.

So it was my great pleasure to show her how to sew borders and a binding on the little long lost stitchery. We used up some left over jelly roll strips and to give her a little challenge we put corner stones in the border. Plus it added the extra bit of colour she wanted.
This holidays has seen me enlarge and trace out six new stitcheries for her. I am a very smiling Mum.

Getting Serious

While avoiding the issue, I was blog hopping, I came across a post mentioning a group the blogger had joined (Was so excited - forgot to take down original bloggers info to give her credit). The blog is "Sew It's Finished 2012". The button is on the left side of my page. Exactly what the Dr ordered. I need to finish some of my to do list before adding new projects. I have got honest with myself and have listed ( I think ) all I have outstanding. Looking over the list *** sigh*** there is a lot of what I call long timers.... This means they require many, many hours of hand stitching and of course only sew many hours in a day. I also have quite a few long termers....... those that have been on my list of half completed a very long time. It will be nice to have the support of the group to see some of these through.
The thought of joining this group has spurred me on to complete a wall hanging quilt that has been in the making nearly six years. My Accuquilt has also been a big help. I received a cutter that does 9 - 2 1/2 squares in one cut , and as this quilt is from scrap sized fabric pieces - this reduced the cutting time by about 3 hours. It took me 10 mins. Oh the bliss. Usually by the time I have finished cutting - my time in my craft space is over and family duties step up, I then have to wait until "next time".

As you can see they are sample sized pieces of fabric, all different sizes. The Accuquilt cuts six layers at a time and doesn't care if they are all odd sizes, I lined them up to get the best I could from the fabric.

This is progress, I am much further on now than when this photo was taken ( 3 days ago ) I have hit a little snag - so am working through it. Plus back to school shopping has to be done.......

New Arrivals

A box came today, a really big box at 8am......... Addressed to my husband...... I made a phone call. He said "oh good it came in time for your birthday" An early January birthday can have pro's and con's. After much debate I was allowed to open it - More Accuquilt cutting dies and a bag to keep it in - WOOHOO. As if I wasn't still recovering from the shock of my Christmas present.

After tidying my craft room, circling my go cutter too many times to count, finishing my ironing board cover,

Doing a few loads of washing and generally taking the long road, I finally bit the bullet - found some scrap fabric and did my first cut. Like a knife through butter. After all the You Tube tutorials I have watched (thinking - gee they make it look easy) It is that easy. A quick point though -  I will chew through the cutting mats. On a big project, no matter how many times I rotate them I can see the mats needing to be replaced. they are not too expensive as a disposable item and I now understand why they (Accuquilt) say you need a couple of each size on hand.

2 1/2 inch strip - handy for bindings and fall medley. The fall medley die will be used to finish a quilt that has been going for about 6 years - I got stuck with the design plus I have a 2 1/2 inch square multi die to also use in this quilt. All very cool.
I also had a little win at spotlight, Christmas fabrics at $3 a metre. So what is a girl to do? By a metre of each of course. I have no idea what to do with it. I also bought some buttons and gingerbread men appliques  75% off the marked price.

I have also bought some sheet sets to make into doona covers for my boys - it is very hard to get good quality plain covers for teenage boys. A single sheet set sheet is the correct size for a double doona. Boring old straight sewing is needed for this. We have also put up roller blinds on our vast expanse of windows and they are begging for a pelmet box - so this is also on my soon to do list.
Lots of sewing for these holidays...........