COMPLETING THE QUILTS. aka Carry On Quilting.

Weather map puts us right in it.

Ordered and made thursday/Friday.  Arrived bright and early this cold foggy monday morning. I put my phone in the photo for size comparison.  It is not a 'mums-got-everything-in-there' bag. It's the perfect size for my phone, my wallet and my notebook which is all i need these days. And it has an adjustable strap so I can wear it across the body or on my shoulder. I asked for extra length in the strap so that the bag does not sit at boob level, like other bags I have bought and discarded over recent years, but down on my hip which is more comfortable.  If you are thinking you could do with a nice neat bag, please visit 'Walkers Bags and More' on Facebook. I highly reccomend them.

It's hibernation time in cold old Bathurst.  Frosts and or fogs every morning. And a bit of rain. I feel the cold more now I'm on my own.  I ordered some yarn yesterday so I'm going to be making myself a crochet rectangular shawl when that arrives. Purchased within Australia, from a supplier in Rockhampton that I found on Etsy. (CQBudgetYarns) Cross communications were very helpful in deciding what and how much I needed. Bought the pattern from another source on Etsy. (Stitching Tog) Instant digital download, how cool is that? Haven't followed a crochet pattern for years so this should be interesting. It's touted as being an "easy for confident beginners" pattern. So, fingers crossed. I'm going to be taking it very slowly as my last foray into crochet, a floor rug using torn fabric strips and a gigantic hook, resulted with swollen hands and I've broken my left hand and my right wrist since then.  But meanwhile I've been working on an American

I'm going to make a couple of doll's quilts.  It's going to be the rectangular purple one which will sit on top of the bed, and one of the three other square quilts which will hang down to floor level. These colours are not true, they are just a guide for me when I'm picking out the fabrics I'm going to use. I'll also make a sheet set, a pillow and pillow case. And probably a blanket. 

I've started making my own yoghurt.  Scroll to bottom for photos.  I'm using an Easiyo Pot and prepare packet mixes.  So far the regular yoghurt has been a success. Strawberry flavour went down well with one of my sons who is modifying his diet because of a medical condition. The unsweetened Greek style yoghurt was inedible it was so bitter. I sweetened up the next batch.  Then I started thinking about making my own yoghurt from scratch and the addition of flavouring and sweetness. Not a lot of sweetening, just enough to get past that bitter taste.  So, . . . .  I've done quite a bit of reading on the topic in the last 2 days and found out that some people do add gelatin when making yoghurt.  It was from reading this that i decided to add Aeroplane Jelly in an effort to give flavour and sweetness. However, the amount of gelatin I'm adding is much less than in those recipies. I'm going to be using a small portion of an already made Greek yoghurt as the starter cultu

Written and recorded in the 1960s, but very prophetic.  https://youtu.be/qfZVu0alU0I (I can't figure out how to get a live link to YouTube). The Eastern world, it is explodin' Violence flarin', bullets loadin' You're old enough to kill but not for votin' You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'? And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin' But you tell me Over and over and over again, my friend How you don't believe We're on the eve of destruction Don't you understand what I'm trying to say Can't you feel the fears I'm feeling today? If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave Take a look around you boy, it's bound to scare you, boy And you tell me Over and over and over again, my friend How you don't believe We're on the eve of destruction Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin' I'm sittin' her

lots of bias edges that were a bit of a pain in the arse. Designer could have given more thought to cutting and reduced them. Not too fussed about it. 

I occasionally think of the people (tourists) who asked me to take their photo in days gone by when we had to wait until the film got developed before we saw how the photo turned out. These days with a digital camera it takes me at least 5-6 tries before I get it right. Speaking of taking photos with film loaded cameras - let me tell you a story. Years ago when film loaded cameras still reigned, Rod and I were at Darling Harbour. We were queued up for entry into something when a bus load of tourists cut into the queue ahead of us. This caused the rest of us to utter a protest that their guides felt the need to answer on behalf of their clients. Their argument was that they, the group, were expected at a time 20 mins earlier, and the little old lady standing by herself in the queue was 'holding their place'. Ummmm, NO. That might work in China but here in Australia it will get you lynched - which it nearly did with the volume of verbal protest rising considerably at this point

I didn't like how it was progressing so it's gone. Packed away. Another ufo in Area 51. 

Haven't blogged for a while. Been a bit downer than usual. And I'm not getting any feedback from this blog so I don't know if anyone is even see it. Anyway, I'll post some photos. 8f you are here and want 5o know we hats going on ask me. 

Here we are, just days away from the second anniversary of your death, and it is all I can think of.  I miss you My Darling Rod so much sometimes I can't catch my breath. I'm so lonely without you. We used to talk about things so much. Theres no sounding-board, no balance, no reason to exist in my life anymore. My heart aches and my head hurts so much from crying all the time. I can’t stand this empty feeling that I have all the time, all the time, unending. I have no control over my emotions. My heart is broken. I’m breaking into pieces.  You gave me the great happiness My Darling Rod. You were my saviour, my strength. You were in every way all that I could wish for. I can’t fight this overwhelming sadness at loosing you alone. I miss you so so much. I miss the cuddles and hugs and snuggling and holding hands. Oh how I miss holding your hand. All the happiness i ever had was the time I had with you. You were patient and loving with me and an incredibly good man, best friend,

    The February block was finished late last night, or I should say, early this morning.     I loose track of time when I'm stitching. I've been binge watching a British comedy show this last week or so called  Benidorm. On first look I didn't think I would last more than 3 or 4 episodes, but today I start on season 9 which appears to be the last season.  Its been very entertaining. Oh woe, oh woe, what will I watch next?          I'm considering if I should include some sashiko type quilting on these TQ22 blocks. I'm giving some thought as to what and where.      Here's the pair of them so far.       I'm not going to join them together yet, as it will be easier to hand quilt them.

     I finished a few sashiko projects and ran out of the real thread so decided to experiment with some Perle #8 thread.      I made a  totally hand stitched tote bag featuring the Perle thread experiment.  I'll wait till the thread I've ordered comes before I continue my sashiko stitching journey. Perle really doesnt work very well, especially on the bigger stitch designs.      The star stencil is repeated four times. It is a remarkably longer stitch than any of the pre-printed designs in the kits I've recently finished.      I intend to turn all the previous sashiko projects into bags of some sort.      I'm waiting on some medium weight fusible stiffening to iron on over the back of the stitching to stop the possibility of items in the bag getting tangled up in the thread.  I've ordered some more of the varigated thread because I ran out before I'd finished this one.  I really like this #74 thread. 

Finished !     It was a challenge. Front side doesn't look too bad if you don't look to close. The stitches could be more even. I tried, I really did. I thought getting stitches even size would be a riddle because I'm hand stitching  patchwork all the time, but those stitches aren't the focus  are they.  The back side is not as messy as I thought it was going to be.     I should have chosen something simpler for my first big project. But it's done now and I'll have to figure out what I'm going to do with it. It's described as a tote bag, but the fabrics is far to fine for that.      Now starting on a sampler that is printed on much heavier fabric. The stitches are bigger too. They are all dark blue. 

   I'm back doing some sashiko while I let a few February days slip by for the Temperature Quilt, which will henceforth be referred to as TQ22. I'll catch up with that again in a few days.     So, the first big sashiko project I have chosen to do is a tote bag featuring the rounded 'Bishamon' pattern. Holy cow!!! Did I pick a complicated one to start with? No obvious continuous path to easily stitch along and then wander on back the other way with little or no skipping across gaps behind the scenes. And the instructions that came with the kit are not much help. I've had to figure out some sort of continuity myself, and with no 'practice' stitching leading up to it, this Bishamon pattern has nearly done my head in. Oh well, anything after this will be easy, eh?     Skipping across, with a long stitch on the back, from the end of one lot of stitches to start another line of stitches increases the risk of tightening the stitches up.  Being a beginner at this Sa

   Well, it's just after lunch on Saturday and I've finished the construction of the first month of my TQ22. It looks like a place mat at this point. It's 15.5 inches wide and 13.5 inches high.     I'll do some quilting on it and embroider the month on it to finish it off. I'm going to indicate significant dates like birthdays and anniversaries with a bead.     The blocks are going to be joined together 3 across and 4 down. It's going to turn out bigger than I would would like for a wall hanging but I'm sure I'll find somewhere to hang it eventually. When I get the furniture moved back to where I originally had it, there might be space big enough on one wall.  We moved the furniture and took up the rug when My Darling became disabled so it was safer for him to move about. It's a big job for me to put it all back.   11 more to go. Better get going on February now.

I'm back at it.  This time its KISS. Using my Baby GoCutter.  2" Half square triangles cause I just happened to have that die. Did another colour run set out slightly different than before but I forgot to take a photo.  I'm pinning them to paper as I go. The final layout will be as the calendar page is arranged with selected print fabrics to fill in the blanks.  This is flying along now.  Easy Peasy!!! See that odd one out in there. The blue/blue.  That day was a 'cold snap' in the middle of our summer. It went from 12c° to 15c°. Most unusual. There allways days that start out low but they usually manage to get over that 20s mark. Of course this set the 'winter haters' off moaning and groaning.  There's a couple more low low morning temps coming up in Feb. 9s and 10s but the days then warmed up nicely.  All in all, it's not been the stinking hot summer that we usually have. At least not here in New South Wales. Western Australia has been having thei

This is a precut kit I purchased from America on ebay. It's called Falling Leaves.  I think I may have botched the final border. It doesn't seem to lay as flat as my borders usually do. It could just be that the pumpkins fabric hasn't got the stiffness to it that the batik fabrics have.  Dunno????? Don't really care to much for it.  Might use it as backing for another quilt. Now that i have completed this top, I want to get restarted on the temperature quilt. I think it might be half square triangles for top and bottom with no weather, set out like how a calendar page is. Im also going to revise the choice of plain colours.  Now, not only do I have all of January to catch up on, but most of February too.  I'm going to have to get a move on. And then there is my basket of lovely sashiko supplies sitting there tempting me. 

   The whole idea of this blog was to focus on completing the many quilt tops I have piled up over the past 5 years, and some even going back further, before I complete my orbit in the universe.     This was going to happen along side  my self-taught exploration of the Zen-like slow stitching of the Japanese art of Sashiko.  I'm thinking about making some Japanese knot bags which I can decorate with my my sashiko projects.     I also have some precut quilt kits that I'll be hand piecing as the urge hits. Probably in between sashiko projects.     And, I came across a stack of my own quilt designs yesterday and spent a bit of time considering which ones I really, really, really would like to see completed, even if I do have to cut them myself. 

NOT liking this. Not liking it at all.  I think it looks awful and I don't think it's going to improve with continuing.     Running top to bottom is the first three days of January and February. The whole process of quilt as you go elongated hexagons divided diagonally is labour intensive, full on fiddle-faddle. And even this early on, in stitching those six units together, I can see I am not going to be able to handle the bulk of the project as it progresses. My hands just don't work that way. That's happened in the past with English paper piecing projects, so I should have known better that to attempt this again even though these shapes are 'soft' and more malleable.     My choice of backing fabrics, while beautiful in themselves, just don't work like I imagined they would.    I'm going to have to rethink this whole project. I still love the idea of a temperature quilt but . . . . ?.?.?.?     I'm going to go do some sashiko and let my brain percola

A plastic sashiko template I have been awaiting arrived this morning via Amazon and AustPost.  Broken. Badly packaged. A simple sleeve of heavy duty corregated cardboard would have done the job. I have lodged a complaint and expressed my disappointment. I did not use any swear words.  Awaiting a reply.

I have a colour-run of 28 fabrics laid out on the ironing board, . . . finally. BUT, have a del-lemma. Let me solicit your assistance. Do I break down temps by 2 degrees and go with 24-25 fabrics. Or Do I breakdown the temps by 3 degrees and go with 17-18 colours? I really can't make up my mind. And how do I catalogue/file the fabrics? What do you all do? The only idea I can come up with is pinning a letter and the degrees it covers on to each and stacking it all in a crate. I've decided to go with 10 weather descriptions for the backgrounds. Lighter prints for the nicer weather and darker prints for the not so nice. I have 14 to choose the 10 from. Decisions, decisions, decisions! I better pull my finger out, I've got more than a month now to catch up on.  

   All the fabrics have arrived. I still have to choose what colour will represent each 3 degrees of temperature, and which aboriginal prints will represent the weather conditions. Can't do that in poor light so will wait until daylight tomorrow.    Choosing colours is not my strong point so I'm going to follow a 17 colour chart I found on the web for the temps. So pleased someone else has taken the anguish and indecision out of it for me. Tonight I'll do a web search to see if I can find a similar chart for the background weather - I live in hope.    I still have to decide how many weather conditions I will include. Like, do I really need 'light rain' and 'light patchy rain', 'stormy' and 'thunder and lightning'. I thinking will go with what is recorded for the midday weather condition.    One decision made so far is that mist and fog will be combined, as will frost, snow and sleet. We get quite a bit of morning fog/mist here, not that I see