Helen's Quilt

I have brought Helen's quilt on holiday with us. I have intentions of working on it while we are away. I did the same thing in February. I didn't do any then. This time it is going to be different. I know this because I have made some decisions. I love the stitching that I was doing on the quilt by hand. But it was taking forever. I was using two strands of embroidery floss, because when I started this project (a very long time ago - we're talking about three years here folks, at least) I didn't know about perle cotton and I thought that the embroidery floss would give more impact that traditional hand stitching. It does. But it still takes forever.

To complicate things, I stitched a little two close to the seams, so when I was in an area where the seams had been pressed on that side I couldn't get the needle in and out in one motion without creating a massive stitch that was totally out of keeping with the rest of the stitches. So I had to do each stitch by pulling the needle all the way through on the bottom side of the quilt and then feed it back up again in the desired position.

This was one of the reasons it was taking me so long. It looked great but I didn't want to play that game any more.

I've measured. Each of those wee stitches measures about 1/8th of an inch. What was I thinking?! So I am going to rip them all out. I got Helen's permission first. There are 20 'X's and 'O's on this quilt. It took me about three years to get not quite four done. The odds were that this was going to be finished for a grandchild, not Helen.

I ordered some perle, did a quick round of stitches to show Helen (and myself) and also to show her how much faster it would be for me to do it this way. I am making the stitches even bigger than I did in my Wonky Stars quilt. How very brave of me. I also stitched further away from my seams. You can teach an old dog new tricks!

It might not be as graceful a quilt. But it will be finished. There is a lot to be said for that. Perle cotton is my saviour. I hope to be able to show you a lot of progress on this by the time we return from 'up north'.

Susan

Quick Update

Well, it's Friday night in Aberdeen. We have had a terrific time here but we are back on the road tomorrow. It's a five hour drive south to Newcastle. This time I hope that I am not doing the majority of it in the rain like on the way up here. That was stressful on such a long drive.

Mum claims to be well on the mend. I shall judge for myself, and see if us being there is too tiring for her. All being well, we will stay until Thursday. Otherwise we will return home early, leaving instructions for her to rest. Not that there will be a fat chance of that as my stepdad goes in for a new knee on Friday! It's all happening in the north! The knee operation was only scheduled a few days ago. NHS waiting lists?! Not always.

Once we leave Aberdeen we also leave my brother's gloriously efficient Wifi, which I have been accessing with my iPad. I shall be back out of contact - unless I brave my mum's very archaic and frustrating computer, which is tantamount to signing my own insanity certificate. That computer is slow! Very, very slow! Irritatingly slow!

So I bid you adeiu and shall be back online Thursday evening - and then hyperventilating with happiness after the quilt show Friday.

Susan

The Best Laid Plans

Greetings from Aberdeen. We are going ice skating in half an hour. But don't let that fact make you think we haven't been doing the beach thing too. Emily's blue lips on exiting the North Sea after an extended body boarding session and my sunburnt nose can attest to the beach experience.

I would like to be able to say it has been nothing but fun and frolics since we departed southern regions, but unfortunately I can't. We arrived at my mum's Sunday and all was well. But that night my mum fell ill and by Monday she was hospitalised. She is home again now, but I brought the girls to Aberdeen earlier than planned to give peace, quiet and healing time.

Not sure where we will be when now. My mum is determined to be fighting fit for us to return. We shall see.

I can't access my emails despite my best attempts so apologies for lack of communication and replies to comments.

More later.

Susan

FWQAL Update

Slowly, slowly I add more blocks to my little stack for the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-Long. I am sticking with my theme of green and white and only (usually) one other colour. I still haven't ventured into the templates but am running out of blocks that I could easily do the maths on. The day of reckoning is coming closer, but not quite there yet.

Here are the latest three blocks to be added to my collection -

No. 62 - The Old Windmill

No. 70 - Prairie Queen

No. 81 - Snowball

I still plan on making a throw size quilt so I am going to have to make decisions about sashing - colour and width - and whether I want to be on point or not. Some blocks just look better on point. Conversely, other blocks look better not. When I have more made I will have to lay them out and have a ponder. I am good at pondering.

Everyone needs something they are good at. Me - I ponder.

Susan

Lost and Found

Last week, while I tipped my toy  fabric box's content onto the floor I told you that I found a quilt top. Unfinished, still with pins in it - which is why I found it. Pain gets my attention quickly. It was a disappearing nine patch - or D9P as I now know. (It took me ages to understand what that meant in the quilting blogland!)

So I took that quilt top and added it to my list of things to do, and then finished it so I could check off another item from said list. I am easily satisfied that way.

Here is my latest finished quilt. It's small but so are babies.

It measures approximately 31" x 37"

All I had to do to finish the top was to put the sashing on.

Then I quilted it in a 'daisy chain' sort of pattern.
Just meandering from one flower to the next.

The backing matches the sashing and shows up the flowered quilting nicely.

What really worries me about this lost and then found quilt top is I can barely remember making it. But himself says he can. That is just wrong! Next thing I know he will be eyeing up my fabric.

Susan