October 2020 - Don't Overthink things...

Hello friends.  I really hope there are more than just one of you out there reading this.  Am I still in archaic land just blogging – writing about my stitching life?   I really need to teach myself to use Instagram and branch out there.  I am also thinking about branching out into Flosstube videos, because I know I can really talk a lot better than typing.   I feel that some of the Flosstubes I am watching I am sitting opposite a stitchy friend and just watching a private show and tell.

Something to ponder in the weeks ahead.  Just a chat between you and I – where I show you what I’ve been working on…. Pretty much exactly what I’ve been blogging on for the past 10 or so years.

I have not felt so motivated last weekend, because I didn’t feel I had anything to share on the Saturday afternoon I put aside to talk to you.   This week I do have a couple of finishes to show, but cannot say that I have bound the mugmats and mini quilts from a couple of weeks ago..   I might have a look at these over the weekend.  I want to clear up and re-organise my craft area, pack away all the excess floss from all the projects started for the past 2-3 months…  particularly spending some time cutting up my scraps.

My stitching rotations have all gone manky wumpus over the past few weeks because I dropped Harriet Salt much earlier, stagnated again on Shores of Hawk Run Hollow and the SAL got too close to finish – I seem to have completely lost what week was what to work on which pattern.  Was it the Temp SAL?  Was it my Christmas Tablecloth?  How close was it to the 20^th of the month?  Did I have to finish that month’s section of the TOL SAL?  I was also doings

I have finished the lilac version of my SAL – the beads are all attached now and all the bands are stitched, including an extra band on the bottom to round off the alphabet.  I think I will make a couple of quick Christmas Ornaments from the square motifs near the bottom and have them ready to send out for my Christmas Stitchaglongs.   I don’t think I’ll frame this one, as I will be framing the blue one.  This one may be made into a wall hanging and sent out as a gift this year.  What would you think if this turned up in your letterbox for Christmas?

In my last blog post – I showed the Storm At Sea blocks started.  I did put this together, finding that 2 of the long diamond blocks had come out of the copier a whole 3mm smaller than the rest of the foundation blocks had printed and the same for one of the major square blocks – this meant that I had to put those 3 blocks aside and re-make them.  Fortunately I had enough of the scraps in the right colours to do so.  I was then able to put it all together.   

I was unable to see the full effect of the blended colours until I took this picture and I was so amazed at the shading and how well all the colours worked.  I have put this one aside for awhile, while I think whether to make a scrappy border – or rather to frame it in navy blue batik – then yes, it gets bound and will end up in this year’s gift pile.  (should I set aside one week in November for a binding binge?)

I do have a quilty finish – I HAVE finished the binding on this one, but there will be no complete photos shared anywhere until I do the official photo shoot when I PICK UP MY NEW CAR !!!!   I have spent a few nights where I normally do cross stitching, instead stitching the binding on.  

I have made labels which now adorn my sewing machine simply saying:  Don’t Overthink it.   Otherwise, I would have overthought the backing – but instead just used two lengths of fabric I had put aside for the purpose.  One is the fabric used on the legs of the stars, one is a simple black/white fabric that was asking to be used.  Both of these are good as the quilting does not show up on them.   I love the way the binding pops on the quilt – but no full photo until after I pick up my car…. Come back next weekend.

Time today to let you get back to your stitching pleasures – I have been watching Pumpkin Hollow Quilts flosstube and enjoying watching Olivia and seeing what she is stitching…  I’m envious…

Sew Over September

Sew over September….

In fact, sew over 2020 – it’s taken me quite some time to become disenchanted with lockdown, but I think as the weather improves, the urge to get out of the house, travelling further than the allocated 5km to the nearest supermarket increases.

It’s not so much the wanting to visit the Grandbabies interstate (which I do – I really do), but even the desire to travel within my own state, to visit my sister (5 hour drive), to visit my bestie (1.5 hour drive), a day trip down the coast, into the hills, across to the other side of town – is almost overwhelming.

If the general populace behave themselves, lockdown will soon be over, and although a grand Halloween Party is unlikely, we should be able to gather the family together for a celebratory meal at Christmas…

In the meantime, I walk around the block and spy into other people’s gardens, this lovely display of proteas, or the gumnut blooms which look like ballerinas, or even the lorikeets feeding on a seed block are distractions.

Meanwhile, stitching and sewing continues.

My Halloween quilt now has a border of monster teeth.  I am extraordinarily pleased with how well these worked out – especially the rounded corners.  It is now sandwiched and being quilted on my home machine – really trying not to overthink how this is quilted…just point to point and in the ditch for the main part.  Once this is done, I can return to my other project… the honeybee quilt.

For stitching this past week, I’ve been concentrating on the 2020 SAL and am near the finish on both colourways. 

The Lilac version is the original chart and I’ve added beads along the way.  The blue version had to be adjusted because I didn’t calculate the length of the fabric very well and would have run out of fabric.  This will be beaded on completion of the rows, which is only another couple of evenings worth – I’m not certain if I will put it away in rotation for another 3 weeks or shuffle out my rotations completely and finish it!

I really have to get a move on with some Christmas stitching, as am participating in a couple of Christmas ornament exchanges with currently nothing but ideas spinning in my brain to show for it.  So as it is a lovely sunny day – I will heave myself away from the computer and go and plan my next week’s worth of sewing and stitching.

Nearly forgot to empty out my ort pincushions, these sit next to me and I tuck away all my stitching orts to pop into my TUSAL Jar.  By the look of this, I have been stitching...have emptied them now and will start afresh for this week.

Hoping everybody is keeping well – what are your next projects that you are planning?   Drop me a line and let me know…  (Jo – I read your blog..  I KNOW you have about 60 projects on the boil  - lol  )

A flurry of finishes (and starts) from Frigid Frankston - aka Covid Craft Collection

Greetings this weekend from a frosty, frigid Frankston.

In the height of stage 4 lockdown, it is the perfect weather to hunker down and get well involved in the craft room.  This is why I chuckled at a group of pictures of lockdown Barbies – gardening, cooking, home-schooling etc..   and had to admit that I’m THIS Barbie!

Now onto Show and Tell.

I finished the simple and sweet Jardin Privé ‘Spirale’ and as I had been staring at it in my hoop, knew I had to finish it in the round.   This is the result and I’m really pleased with this little mat.  I revisited making proper bias binding for this, not just cutting 2 ½ inch strips for quilts.  I always like to try different techniques with each project.

My lovely high-low office desk has now been installed in my sewing nook and to celebrate (and try it out) decided last Saturday that I HAD to make something. 

I dived into my pile of 2 ½” squares and made a simple disappearing 9patch mini quilt, using up scraps for borders and binding.  A simple cross hatch quilting to finish it off and it was finished in one day  This will end up in the gift box for a random somebody this year.

On Sunday, I decided I needed another little fabric box to store my quilt clips –

so much nicer on my desk than a plastic bag.  I might make another for the quilting safety pins, but for the time being, they can live in their plastic bag – if I change it now, I’ll never find them!

Next on the project list was my SAL for this year, stitching the August section on both the lilac and blue fabric.  Now somewhere along the piece, I mis-counted the fabric on the blue fabric and the whole chart will not fit.  So I’ve made an adjustment and will stitch that in.  The lilac will continue as per the original chart. 

I’ll add these to the SAL page during the week, as those on my facebook group stitching along have now got the whole chart.

And onto the NEXT Project  …..   yes shutdown means a lot of production.

I saw the tutorial for this onJordan Fabrics last year and loved it – so bought the pattern and this has been sitting for nearly a year on the back burner.  Night Flight by Basic Grey.  I have so much Halloween fabric (or so I thought) that  this would be a simple project.   Well, it turns out I have not as much as I thought, and as I’m on a personal challenge to use up my stash and not buy more fabric (as if!) – decided to use some of my batiks to fill out the colour range – particularly the green. 

  I spent an afternoon reading the pattern and creating a small spreadsheet of colours/size cuts/distribution and determined that while the pattern is written to make 320 HST in 2 at a time method – I don’t really like this method and worked out that I would cut my fabric in order to use the 4 at a time method and spend the time to press and trim each one.    So yesterday, I spent 5-6 hours cutting all the fabric, using my lovely new hi-low desk set at (hopefully) the right height.    Today, after writing this to you, my fabric friends will be spent making the 320 HST required for this project.    I tend to leave my patchwork for weekends and stitch on weeknights, so there is no rush to finish all this in a weekend.

I leave you now to continue on my stitchy weekend.  Come back again to see the progress.