It's Been a Long Time Coming

If we look in the Way Back Machine, ie my previous posts, we'll see that on 12 October 2009 (!) I pulled out some fabric I bought in 1995 and wondered what to do with it.
Well, yesterday, 8 March 2012, I finally Did Something with it - I made a bag!  For the lining I used some fabric I dyed in 2002.  Here's one side of the bag -

 and the other

 one pocket

 and the other.

Test Block

After nearly 20 years in the patchwork/quilting game, I've finally become a little bit smarter than I used to be and have taken to making test blocks.  I'm glad I did for this twisting heart project which I found here on etsy.  Here's my test block.

I'm not sure the black and white fabrics work.  Either there is too much white on the black and vice versa, or there is too much contrast between them (ie, they are Light to Dark, rather than Light to Medium, or Medium to Dark).  So back to the drawing board.

My Long Weekend - Part Thereof

Would you like to re-live the weekend with me?  I was on a retreat...usually that means drinking, eating, sewing, laughing, relaxing etc.  This weekend there was a LOT of cutting as well.  So, buckle up, here we go.

Cut 2 1/2 inch strips - one background, one main fabric.  Sew them together in strips.  Lots and lots of lovely strips that are then sprayed with Mary Ellens Best Press and ironed.

Oops - it could have been ironed it better.....but don't worry, there'll be lots more opportunities down the track to get it right.
Now, get out your handy dandy template (that you spent AGES measuring and testing at home), and line it up on the seam just so, to get the angle you need

Then CAREFULLY lay your ruler on the right hand side and cut...

  Then measure along every 3 1/2 inches to cut more segments

Then turn EACH piece, and put the 1 and a quarter and an eighth (OK, 1 and 3/8ths) line on the top seam, making sure that there is a straight line across the cut edge, and slice.  Then turn the piece and trim the other side to make a 3 1/2 inch square.

EXCELLENT!  You now have one quarter of one block.  Yay!!  Make a few (hundred) more,

then sew them in pairs ("twosies")

 

and then flip one of them and NOW you can see what the block is going to look like.

keep going

and going...

eventually you will have 121 blocks for an 11 X 11 layout, looking something like this....aaahhhh

Trees

Mark One - not quite right - gorgeous background fabric but too dark

Mark Two - yep, I think I'm happy with it

In My Room

I've been making these

 while watching this

 on this...

Challenge

The latest Broadstrokes challenge stemmed from a visit to a coffee shop that had some coffee bean hessian sacks on display.  The shop owners had some spares that we divvied up between us last time we met at Mel's.  That same day I bought some of Mel's fabric.  I knew the hessian and her fabrics would work together and they did - a bag was the result

One side had the hessian bag, and I made a tiny sack that I filled with coffee beans

When I was growing up Dad worked at Aroma Coffee and Tea in Redfern.  I used to hang out there during the holidays and I'll always remember clambering over the mountains of sacks stuffed with green beans waiting to be roasted.  So this little sack represents that part of my history.

Mel's fabric makes up the rest of the bag.  I used Nest, Roughing It, and Trunk Culture.

Selvedges

I've been saving selvedges for a while, and have had quite a few contributions from others.  On the weekend I sorted through my basket, and spent some time snipping off the bits with circles - a project is in the works.  I also decided that I only wanted the remaining bits if they had writing.  So, here are the pieces with circles

I still have a basket full-ish of pieces with writing, and got rid of all the bits I know I won't use.

Road Block

I thought I'd strike while the iron was hot, as it were, and make the pattern I bought at Warwick.  It was all kitted ready to go.  I copied the pattern pieces and laminated them to make them easy to trace.  The purse part came together nicely.

BUT, however much I fiddled and twiddled, I could NOT make THIS go into THAT - can you see why?

So I've now carefully put the pieces back in the bag.  I've got to think of something to do with the purse bit, and will trace out the frame, and make my own pattern that will fit better.

Sewing Day

The lovely Christine had a sewing day on Wednesday - and I could make it - yay!!  These were on the counter when I arrived - complete with whipped cream - yum!!  Her house always looks like a Home Beautiful set.  She has a knack with decorating.  I took my redwork.  This is the pattern

It's preprinted on linen

 and comes with cosmo thread - very nice to use

 

Getting Ready for Retreat - Part 3

I do like redwork, and quite a while ago I cut out all the pieces for a quilt out of this book.

All I had to do then was the stitching.  I finished the 4 corner blocks

and now just need to do 4 more.  I trace my patterns using the Millenium pen in a kind of russet brown.

It's permanent, I can see it, and it's covered by the stitching.

I'll take the stitching with me to Canberra and maybe have it all finished so I can sew the quilt together at retreat.  We'll see....

Getting Ready for Retreat - Part 2

Last June (ie 2010) I started putting together a quilt I cut out in May.  The border 9 patches were from a swap (the year before - 2009).  So this June I sewed the centre of the quilt together but I didn't like the overall effect.  So last week I spent a few evenings unsewing

then ironing the pieces

the scrappy neutral will be replaced with a consistent neutral

So that project is now in its box ready for retreat.

Getting Ready for Retreat

It's still a couple of weeks away, but I like to have things sorted so that when I'm at retreat I don't have to think - just sew.  The shweshwe fabric will be going into the mix for this project that I stalled on in June -

This is the inspiration, but mine will be blue and white.  I now have 28 different indigos for the darks, and a consistent white.  Through misreading the directions I cut 60 blue squares and 60 white squares at the June retreat, then realised I would run out of fabric.  I should have cut 60 in total, 30 from blue and 30 from white.  Oops!!!  That's why I ended up with 120 squares

And why I now have to cut 492 blue 2 1/2" squares and 492 white 2 1/2" squares.  Yikes!!!  I think I'll leave it for the retreat - as a "break" from sewing.

Multi tasking

I was doing this

while listening to this...

New Hobby

I bought an embroidery machine a couple of months ago, and have started classes - my first two projects!!

New Project Bag

I saw this gorgeous bag the other day and just had to have it - it's roomy and bright and practical -

Fifty Cent Bag

Well, 50c was for the pillowcase - the thread and my time are extra.  Basically, you slice a pillowcase on the diagonal

 

tidy up the raw edges

flip one triangle around, and sew together.

 You then tie the pointy ends and voila - a bag!!! I was happy with the result in general, but found it wasn't long enough to be comfortable under my arm.  I saw the idea on line and just wanted to try it - and now I have!!!

Zips

While at the Boonah Getaway Girls retreat on the weekend I snuck out to visit a new op shop - and found a huge bag full of zips - I spotted some interesting old metal ones I want to use for crafty endeavours.  I picked off all the stray threads and then soaked them yesterday ready for playing...