Tuesday 29 October 2013

A Quick Catch Up

It's half term here. Though ours started early here with the girls off school with that tummy bug they caught. Which they then kindly passed on to me. This is unusual as I seem to dodge most germs that go by here. I guess there had to be an own goal eventually. On the bright side, I am pretty well over it now and with the girls out of routine I didn't have to drag myself out of bed at 7am Monday morning, which is good because I really, really would not have been in the mood.

Not much sewing has been going on. Lots of book reading though. Including this one.


I coiuld't hold out any longer as everyone else in the quilting world seemed to have bought a copy. I must say it is bloody brilliant and my brain has been working a million miles a minute with ideas as I go through it. It would probably help if I wrote some of these ideas down as I went along because as soon as I turn the page and a new idea pops into my brain an old one falls out. A sad sign of the times here.

Meanwhile, with the girls at home I've been letting them do their thing in the kitchen. I failed to get a photo of Helen's apple and lemon curd upside down cake, but trust me here, it was good! The bread girl worked her magic too, and I made the cookies.


Then of course it is the week that Halloween falls in so yesterday afternoon had them fully occupied with sharp knives and their imaginations. This is the first year where I made them do it 100% themselves. I was too busy eating cookie dough and popping trays into the oven. (Which might explain why my tummy was still off kilter yesterday. Hmmmm!)


But today I finally turned on the sewing machine. After too long contemplating the LV quilt and trying to decide how to quilt it I went with a boring straight line. I just could not get any inspiration. I was going to fmq it - in some sort of pattern - but when I sat down I just whacked on the walking foot and started following those seams. I just wish I could get the 'straight' part of straight line quilting down right.


The top thread is the variegated golden yellow, and in the bobbin is the pale silvery grey. This should keep me busy over the next couple of days.

Susan

23 comments:

  1. Delicious baking! It looks so yummy! Mine were not allowed to use the knife this year but the pumpkins are made and ready for Halloween

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  2. You'll need 500 book marks to indicate your favourite page... At least you are kept well fed while the ideas rush around your head! ;-)

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  3. The "straight" part of straight line quilting made me laugh. I made a quilt and took it to a college friend's home this weekend. The quilt is a wedding present for her son. She's an accountant. I did straight line quilting but the lines weren't evenly spaced. She loved the quilt - don't get me wrong -- but she could not grasp the idea of randomness. It was so funny. Great post!

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  4. Love that you have a "bread girl" :-)

    I always say that I quilt in "organic, irregular lines" because I suck at doing the straight ones. :-)

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  5. Totally want to borrow bread girl...

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  6. Good luck with the quilting.....and don't steal your girls Halloween chocolate!

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  7. Straight lines are so over rated, mine are never properly straight, I like to think of them as organic, rather than a bodge job as I don't like actual quilting! Keep the girls busy, and hopefully they wont drive you too nuts! x

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  8. Yum that baking looks and sounds so good. Those pumpkins are so great, the girls did a wonderful job. Straight lines...think of that song, blurred lines - way more character and personality!

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  9. I have a similar book of 500 blocks – and the same problem with ideas that drop out of my brain.

    Mmmmm- baking. No time for that here this week sadly. May just pop over and ride off the girls coat tails to get my fix.

    The girls are champion pumpkin carvers. Both of those look very scary!

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  10. Reading is good, and kitchen elves too! Cookie dough is definitely a food group BTW

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  11. HappY HaLLowEEn...to you and the family. Love your recently made quilts too! I'm a new follower. :)

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  12. Those pumpkins are awesome!
    Its not autumn here, so those big fat dudes cost a motza in the shops.
    No way I'd waste all that pumpkinny goodness by carving scarey faces! I s'pose you could leave all that lovely Aurifil and get back in the kitchen and make pumpkin scones. Yum.

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  13. Glad you're feeling better. I'm totally with you on ideas falling out of my brain ;) I think it's a quilters curse when we see so much inspiration! Must get that book! The pumpkins look fantastic and I really can't wait until my kids are old enough to bake, yummy!

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  14. Glad your tummies are back to normal. Happy Halloween fun

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  15. Sorry to hear you were under the weather, good to hear though that the girls kept you in baked goods!

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  16. Hope you get lots more sewing time this week! Jxo

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  17. ahhh, the wonder of half term :-/

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  18. omg have you got paul hollywood locked in a kitchen cupboard - your bread!

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  19. It looks like such a fun time in your home. Baking, quilting and pumpkin carving. Who could ask for more? Well, no stomach viruses would be a bonus...

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  20. In spite of the tummy trouble, it looks like the everyone is enjoying their week at your house!

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  21. I'm glad you are feeling better. I bet your house smells so good with all that baking. And straight line quilting is not boring, it will be excellent on your quilt.

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  22. It is no good being sick....but if you have to be, I am glad you had two silly girls around to keep the house full of warm smells.

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  23. Hope you are feeling better! Love the look of this Quilt blocks book too.

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