Gifted... the double nine patch scrap baby quilt

 My July one monthly goal was to quilt and bind my double nine patch quilt.  I didn't quite get all the binding finished before getting a cold/flu in the last couple of week's of July and it has only been this week that the last side got hand sewn down.  AND the quilt has now been gifted to a wee baby!!

June saw this 2018 rainbow scrap challenge get basted... and then July was quilting month.  I really like how the relatively simple quilting turned out.

I don't seem to have any photos of the binding, but i used the same newspaper print that was used as the cornerstones in the sashing.  Yay... a quilt FINISH!!

Another week of August!

*Gasp* does this mean I might actually get the rest of my To Do list finished??

For some reason I feel like I have a bonus week.  Another week of odd moments of sewing, plus a sewing day at my favourite shop The Country Yard, and I have managed to get the RSC Orange block completed...

And I *accidentally* did another months worth of blocks in the Timeless Traditions BOM, with the 12" block...

And the two 6" blocks...

Just quietly, I seem to be addicted to these blocks and I'm thinking that this project could easily push all the other projects to the side.

This weekend I even managed to get my sleepout/sewing space vacuumed and the bathroom floor cleaned and four loads of washing done!  What a bonus.  All that is left on my list now is to do the black outlines on three Backyard Birds blocks, and complete the hand quilting on seven crosses (Cross Tiles)... very do-able if I don't get distracted.

In a bit of an aside... I am currently trialing the "Flatter" solution which you spray on your block before ironing... to make the seams flatter.  After a few test sprays, I am thinking that it does actually work and they do seem to sit flatter!  Which is just really totally weird, but if it works... I figure go with it!

Wow, what a month!

Me and technology are just not happening at the moment.  First up the photo problem.  Then the blogger comment thing... which I was a bit slow to the party about and hadn't realised it wasn't just me that was having problems.  And then, to top it all off - the space bar on my computer stopped working.  This really has been most frustrating.  So... after a couple of short and sweet posts made on a small tablet (I will never get used to not touch typing) and a very swift replacement of the keyboard on our laptop, I am back in the swing of things.  I have done the "suggested fix" for the comment situation, and am still looking for a better solution for the photo thing - but I will get there!

Right... sewing... I have been getting lots done - just not exactly what I had planned to do.

After buying a new walking foot, I had to finish the final border on the quilt I wanted to baste, so that got done first - then the massive task of pin basting a large quilt in a space that was slightly too small.  This was the first quilt I had tried basting after reorganising my sewing and ironing area - and I worked out pretty quickly that my layout was not ideal.

Time for another change around - this time moving the sewing table along the other wall - and moving some odd furniture items to leave more free open floor space.  We tend to move junk out into this room - and it is a really bad habit.  This room is not the prettiest... but is the only room we own that is even vaguely big enough for basting.

I also created a bit of a new seating area around my design wall... I figured it was easy enough to move the coffee table out to reach the bottom of the design wall when I need it, and makes quite a cosy place to sit and contemplate.  AND I can stand on the coffee table to reach the top of the wall - so maybe an added bonus.  As you can see - there is more things looking for homes before I can sit down however!

My main cutting zone... on top of the chest freezer and secondary sewing zone...

The view from the outside door - and the white door you can see here goes through to the other sewing/basting space shown above.

I did get my quilt straight line quilted in the manner I wanted - and it appeared to work quite well.  Sewing cream stitching lines on cream fabric does not lend itself to halfway decent photos... so you'll have to excuse the lack of photo evidence.  The project has now been put aside for a little while so I could focus back on those other pesky To Do list items.

I managed to fuse all the pieces for my Homespun Magazine Block Three BOM.

And have started the long and tedious task of machine blanket stitching these...

I also finished up the teal/blue/green RSC block for this month.

I ordered a new pattern - an apron dress that just fascinates me, and bought some odd bits of fabric and a length of premade bias tape, thanks to Fibresmith in Australia.

And after a successful sewing day at The Country Yard yesterday, I came home with some new fat quarters... loosely inspired by the coffee mug fabric.

For some reason the green fabric would not photograph well above - it is much more accurate in the photo below - although even greener in real life.

Crap! What happened to February?

The beginning of March means that February has somehow slipped by with hardly any blogging... but lots of sewing progress has been achieved!  Just need to get more organised taking photos with the right devices to support the right social media, and taking the time to create a new post.  I have been having the odd sneaky shot posted on Instagram... which sort of misleads me into thinking I have already shared!  Which I kind of have... but not here.

February was purple month in the RSC, so all my little purple scraps came out to play.  One Double Ninepatch block desperately needing a press... but it's sewn!

Using the colour inspiration, I thought I would carry it through to my Backyard Birds blocks, and either make the birds... or the flowers the colour of the month.  This gives me one less thing to stress over... and I turned out a pretty cute block.

The Cross Tiles quilt has taken a little bit of a back seat... but it definitely making slow progress as a leader ender project.  This is the first quilt I have ever cut directional fabric directionally!

I have a few more blocks sewn together than what I've got here... but you can see how it is starting to come together.  I'm thinking of calling this my D/S quilt (dominant/submissive) as the blocks either are very strong and bold... or a bit more pretty and delicate... then there are some blocks that are switches... and could go either way depending on who they're mixing with.  Needless to say, I read a wide range of romantic fiction :o)

I have really knuckled down and made terrific strides with my Whanau and Friends quilt.  All the blocks are made!  Woohoo!

I had a few problems sorting out this top section, as there were some very odd sized blocks and I just couldn't work out how they were all going to squish together.

But I finally found a solution, and this was the last little section that needed to be pieced together.

 And all laid out together.  I have just got 3 more seams and it will be done.

 Over Xmas I decided to sew together a Fen Dress, using some batik fabric I have had in the stash forever, with a nice mix of blues, browns and rusts.
 

The Fen dress is a pull over dress, with no zip or buttons, that I figured would be cool for those sticky hot days, and also layer well as things started to cool down.

The pattern is quite versatile with options for a top and dress... v neck or round neck, with or without sleeves, and a straight, high/low or shirt style hemline.

And check out the pockets (sorry it is upside down)... I used a darker fabric to try and create the illusion of shape... it does somewhat work. 

I was really interested in the neckband which is a woven bias strip and an easy way of forming the vee, this is a technique I definitely will use in other items.

Worn as is... it is a bit shapeless... this was not unexpected as this is what it looks like on the pattern linedrawing as well as the samples on the models.  I do find the v neck sits a bit odd as it is quite wide (will expose bra straps if you are not careful) although it is not very deep.

Adding a belt to the dress instantly adds a nice bit of shape.  Of course, it also adds a bit of weight... so no longer the perfect "heatwave" dress... and it brings the length up a bit too much for my legs, especially to wear to work!

So we have the addition of pants!  And this was the outfit of the day.  I do find the cotton tends to cling to the pants, so I have bought some lining fabric and am hoping to add this to the skirt section - with a straight hemline so that it brings the front hem down to a socially acceptable level.  WE will see!

As the weather continues to cool, I think it will work well with long sleeved tees underneath, and fitted cardy's on top, even a scarf... can't wait.

After making this dress, I had every intention of making it again, with a few adjustments... mostly the neckline, and making some modifications to the hem... but I think I might have found a couple of other patterns I might prefer more...

I had a sneaky order from Fabricworm turn up... with some organic cottons... some of which might just be enough for some colour block versions of those patterns.  We will have to see what happens.   And what doesn't turn into clothing is going to be just fine turning into stash.  Win/Win.

Whoops, so I might have started two new things...

January is probably my worst culprit for new projects.  Having such a long holiday period... it is just so easy to start lots of things.  But I promise they are all good :o)

I decided to keep with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this year, and have been identifying all sorts of patterns that I like that would be great for this purpose.  I finally decided to work with the Double Nine Patch block.  This month is Light Blue month... and I finally got around to starting this project... yesterday.

I am cutting 2" little squares, using scraps for the coloured places, and the same white on white for the plain blocks, with black squares in the centres.  So far so good... just need to get this block sewn together before the end of the month.

The second project I have started is a fun applique also using scraps and a pattern booklet by Piece o Cake Designs that I have had for ever.  The pattern gives two variations of the quilt - one with a cute pieced background (which gave me the inspiration to push the concept just a little bit further)...

 and one with a regular boring old background.

Working with the funky pieced background idea, I decided to try piecing together some of my low volume scraps and make irregularly pieced block sized chunks.  These blocks finish at 12" square.

So the background and the foreground are all completed from scraps...

And I decided to use a free motion black outline to attach the shapes.  Never tried this before and I am pleasantly surprised at how it turned out.  It really suits this kind of scrappy/funky project.  I did ponder whether to add several rounds of stitching in a sketchy kind of way, but chickened out and decided to just stick with one - which gives quite a clean finish.

As is my usual routine, I hand stitched the bias stems for the branches... but for a change tried this Wonderfil Invisafil thread... in a really unattractive apricot kind of flesh colour... and was amazed how well the thread disappeared into the fabrics!  Although I have used this thread for FMQ (and also been surprised at how it absorbs the colour), I hadn't tried needleturn applique with it.  I will definitely be using this kind of thread again.

In getting other things done news... I am still adding to the Whanau and Friends quilt blocks.  I really like this 18" block and how it includes the stitchery... but in a very understated way.  Although working with some of these wide stripes cut into jelly roll strips is a bit awkward.

The lower half of the quilt is slowly filling up.

And in other even better getting things finished news... I finished and gifted this lovely baby quilt.

Love how the stipple ties together the striped rows, and the edge stitching around the grey stripes and boxes gives it structure.

I played with a simple unembellished feather for the navy borders...

And repeated a similar sort of design in the blue accent blocks.

The magic flange binding is the only way for me to get binding sew on within a week, and although I had some wonky moments, I'm feeling like I can maybe conquer this technique.

From the back...

As the end of the month and returning to work draws closer, I have been thinking about my goals for this month and year.  I read somewhere that the new year started on 1 February... January is just a trial free period... and I seriously agree with that sentiment. 

Working on the Whanau and Friends quilt as a major focus means that an old WIP could actually get finished!  This has been very satisfying, as has getting my RSC project underway... as I really enjoyed this process last year.

I realise that I have a huge amount of quilt tops requiring quilting... and I need to decide what else to focus on this year.  I would like to make progress on the following to start off with:
*get last years RSC quilt quilted, finished and donated.  First step is to construct a pieced backing.
*get the binding sewn on the Stack, Shuffle Slide quilt from last year and get this finished and on the bed.  First step is to choose a binding fabric and start cutting.
*work out where the Bernina Zen Chic triangle quiltalong is up to and try to get back on track with this one.  First step is to print out the missing instructions.
* continue with the Whanau and Friends and Cross Tile blocks as an ongoing process.
*complete blocks for the 2018 RSC and Backyard Birds blocks monthly.

Spelt out like that it doesn't look so bad?  Maybe?