Not Quite to One Hundred Yet

I decided to have a look at my list of posts and found several (bad) drafts, which I have deleted; except for the following, from about January, which somehow didn't make it out into the ether (or did it?):

My friend bought that book (Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space by Lois Hallock) and I read it from cover to cover - twice. The best thing I got out of it (apart from being envious of all the lovely matching cabinetry and tables)was a great way to fold fabric. The book suggested using a cutting ruler but I used a piece of cardboard which I cut to size so I can fit 3 piles of fabrics on each shelf. It took 4 days to refold my stash (not including the fat quarters which took another day and a half) and my friends think I am really sad but I love seeing my stash in neat, even piles and tidy. I can see what is there so much better. Yep - my friends are right - I am sad!

Do you agree?

Okay, here is a picture of the stash after the folding marathon in January (There is even more fabric stuffed in there now!):
So I'm 2 0r 3 posts* away from the big round one. Do you think I will be able to find something for a prize in this lot? What do you fancy? A bit of country, a little bit of (bright) rock'n'roll? Perhaps some warm fuzzy flannel, or crisp 30's, or colour saturated batik, or . . .

The boxes along the top contain about half of my collection of quilting magazines. I have 2 more book cases of them elsewhere. I may not be "Quite One Hundred" yet, but I don't think I'll use up all this even if I do last that long with all my marbled faculties!

* make that 4 posts away. I've just checked and this is number 96

Eeek!

What is happening to bloglines? I don't check for a couple of days and I have 656 posts to read! When I look to see who of you has been so prolific I find that lots of posts are "repeated" (I don't know why bloglines does this). Whew, I can relax, you are all human after all and not super duper multi bloggers leaving me in the dust, like I thought!

I have been working away on one of the borders for our club raffle quilt. A friend came to visit the other night and while she sat on my sewing chair and chatted I spay starched the last of the leaves for appliqueing. It is really pleasant having someone to chat do while doing a job like this.
Yesterday I went out to Janice's to quilt a community quilt top that I had been given to finish. Took me 5 hours on her Swiftquilter from start to finish. Not bad I thought. Immediately after dinner I fell into bed and stayed there until morning. I was tired!! (but pleased with my efforts.)

PS: My 100th post is coming up soon. In the spirit of blogging celebration when I get around to making it and you leave a comment on it I will put you in the draw for a squishy packet. What will be in it I have yet to decide, but I have plenty of fabric to choose from! I will post a piccy of what is up for grabs when my batteries are recharged (yes, that is both kinds of batteries, the camera ones and my energy ones.)

That deadline is a wonderful thing!

I haven't posted in a while and have been "gently" reminded by a couple of friends that I haven't (grin). My excuse is that I have been working on my entry for the NANZQ (National Association of New Zealand Quilters) Elemental Challenge. I have been cutting it a bit fine (as usual). Today is Wednesday and the closing day is Friday. Got it finished last night and in the mail today. Should get there in 1 or 2 days they tell me at the Post Office. I hope they are right. Aren't deadlines a wonderful thing? I would never get anything done without them.

The challenge involved interpret the elements – Air, Fire, Water, Earth – in any way you wish in a quilt that must measure 150cm high x 50cm wide. This is an unusual size for a quilt. I chose Air and I wanted to show the idea of the weightlessness of air. It didn't turn out the way I was hoping but since I was doing it I have entered it anyway. It tlooks more like a thunderstorm than weightless air so I called it "There's a Storm in the air". It is my first time of entering a NANZQ challenge so I have entered it in the rookie class. I'm going to be brave and post a detail piccy:

Remember the Triple F?

Last year I designed a 4 part challenge for my club called the Triple F Challenge. Triple F because it was the Fabulous, Fat Quarter, Four Month Challenge. I posted photos of some of the finished quilts in December of last year. Here are a couple more which have been finished and were shown at club last Saturday:


The rest of the club's Show & Tell for July can be found on the Cotton On Quilters blog here.

8 Random Things

oops, I published this without finishing # 6. See below.

Meggie from Life's Free Treats has tagged me for the 8 Random Things meme, thanks Meggie, you can come on home now :-)

1. When I was about 10 I can remember reading a book and being so involved that when the characters said they had to wait until tomorrow to do something I put my book down and got off the bed, thinking I would have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happened next. What a joy (and a "well, doh!" moment) it was to realise that I could keep reading! I love reading. I read every night when I go to bed. I can't bear not having a pile of books waiting to be read.

2. I learned to use a sewing machine when I was a kid by sewing hems on torn up sheets for hankies. Now the kids use only tissues (supplied by moi of course) and seem to need to leave the room every time they want to wipe their nose. When did I miss this becoming a socially unacceptable activity?

3. I hate my pin container to have anything but pins in it. (You will know this already if you have been a regular reader of my blog.)

4. I'm in love with my coffee machine. (Again, discernible from a previous blog post.) In second place is my dishwasher.

5. About 25 years ago I spent the enormous sum of $750 on a dress outfit. I still can't believe I did it. (Profligacy has NOT waned, though.) It was gorgeous. (And that's not counting the other one I paid $500 for - yikes!)

6. My son was born 4 weeks early, while we were away on holiday, undiagnosed extended breach birth ending in an emergency caesarian, and yes, my waters broke in the wee small hours

To continue, my waters broke in the wee small hours of the morning and by the time I got to the hospital it was pouring out (do you really want to know this?) and daylight had arrived. I remember getting out of the car and looking up at the building and hoping, fervently, no one was watching. I've had only one child so I guess it is predictable that I'm going to remember EVERYHING about his birth. There is more gory detail but you have probably had "enough already".


7. I have NEVER dyed my hair.
8. I once embarrassed myself highly when I attended a vice-versa party at a rugby club (a rugby club! I hate rugby - what was I thinking? oops, very unpatriotic to not like rugby) without dressing up as the opposite gender. I headed to the loo marked "ladies", which of course turned out to be the "mens" - they had switched the signs because we were supposed to have switched gender. If I could have fitted through the window I would have climbed out and quietly gone my way (and that was in my skinny days). When I finally emerged it was to a sea of faces ALL LOOKING AT ME!

I'm supposed to tag 8 other bloggers so if I tag you and you don't like tags, or you have done it before, feel free to ignore!

In no particular order:

Helen Conway of From Down The Well. Helen, you make me laugh!

Teodo from Appunti Patch. Teodo I love having the Italian perspective.

Kirsty from Two Time Leaves. Kirsty, you have probably been tagged a zillion times already but I gotta love your byline (opinionated quilt designer with a limited attention span seeks validation…) and your zany sense of humour. Your quilts are pretty alright too :-)

My good friend Janice from Quilts, Grandkids & Delphiniums. Janice you inspire me SO much.


Oops, clicked "publish post" by mistake and I've only got to 4!


Megan from The Scent Of Water. Megan, your photography is wonderful and your words even better.

Helen from Pixie Post. Helen, I enjoy your comments on life's joys and struggles.

Margaret from MG Quilts. Margaret, I see a quilt in every photo you post. I want to make them all!

May Britt from Abyquilt. May Britt, you live in the land of my forefathers. I'm glad to 'know' you.

Power Quilting (of the candle kind)

It is the middle of winter and we had a 5 and half hour power cut last night from 4.30 pm until 10.05 pm. (It gets dark about 5.30 pm at this time of year.) It makes sewing a challenge! I have a new appreciation for how our fore-mothers coped with less than ideal conditions. The machine was out, the iron was out, precision rotary cutting was out, hand sewing ruled. Could I do some hand applique on the raffle quilt? No I could not! The lighting was really bad, my stitches would have been of the frogging type (rip it, rip it, rip it - you get the idea). What could I do while I was sitting in the dim light of a few candles? Aha! I had some berries to prepare for the raffle quilt. I had the cardboard circles already cut out and it only required rough cutting of the fabric. If I held the cardboard circle on top of the fabric I could see well enough to cut a rough circle. Threading the needle was interesting. I abandoned the small needle I usually use and used the longer large-eyed needle that JUST HAPPENED TO BE SITTING IN MY PIN CUSHION by my chair (lucky, eh!) Then I held the needle in the circle of light cast by the candle and voila, I could get it threaded. Doing a running thread wasn't as difficult as threading the needle and I managed to get 21 berries prepared:
They just need starching and pressing now.

More Country Quilting

Frances and I went out to Janice's yesterday so Frances could have a go on the quilting frame. We were going to take Lorraine with us but we couldn't get her to answer the door. We thought she must be having a really good sleep but it turned out she had ended up in hospital in the wee hours of the morning. What a bummer. She is home now but is awaiting surgery. I hope she doesn't have to wait too long.

Frances decided to quilt the top she made last year at our club's mystery half-nighter. She thinks it is too bright but I think it is just great. I think she is going to give it to her nephew.

Frances pinning on her quilt:

Still pinning the quilt!
Getting underway:
What happened here? Are there any technical-minded quilters out there who can explain how this happens?
The back of the quilting:
Finally finished:
Pretty good for a first effort I thought. I just lazed around while Frances did all the hard work. I was going to do some hand applique on the club raffle quilt but France's daughter Amy came out with baby Georgia Rose to see what we were getting up to. So I had a lovely time being a pretend grand mother giving her lots of cuddles and kisses and playing on the bed that Janice has in her studio (great idea having a bed in your studio!) In fact I might have fallen asleep if I hadn't had Georgia Rose to keep me entertained. We were joined by Kaz, the German Shepherd, who did a good job of barking when we arrived.