2014 In Retrospect

For our country, 2014 has been a dramatic year to say the least - to the point that by the end of the year I refused to listen to or watch the news.  I have also found world news too much to bear. I have therefore made a conscious effort to not comment, in my blog, on many current news events throughout the year.

So I sit here, with only minutes left to this year, and, for the first time since I started this blog, I have decided to do a year in review.  I will not do a month by month review but rather pick out what I believe to be major highlights of my and my family's year.

In January, I made a new year's resolution for the first time in decades; to speak less and listen more.  This has been, at times, difficult, and only this morning, during a reflective moment, told myself I need to continue with this discipline, so I will.

In January, I also read Gone With The Wind for the first time when a friend offered to loan me her copy of the book.  I loved the book and regret not reading it a long, long, time ago.

In May my sister visited Sydney and extended family to celebrate her 60th Birthday.  It was a special time for us all.

Mr Honey Pie and I headed off to the desert in July...winter being the only time to spend time in the desert and although we visited some exotic places, it made me feel so appreciative of our home comforts. 

August saw the family pull together as we moved our Mum out of what had been the family home for the past fifty three plus years.  Poor Mum suffered a mini-stroke the week of the handover.  It was an experience we would have wished she never should have experienced. Especially at her age.

In September our second son had a piece of his jewellery selected for a prestigious exhibition called A Fine Possesion at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

Mr Honey Pie's side of the family had another addition to the family in November (and so another quilt was created)

I think one of my disappointments would have to be how nature failed Sydneysiders in 2014

each time there was some exciting happening in the night sky by filling it with clouds.

Clouds are not as exciting as an eclipse.

We missed out every time. 

Happy New Year to all my blogger friends.

May 2015 be everything you want it to be.

Guess How Much I Love You

Finally...my GHMILY quilt is ready for gifting!

I love this idea of using a vintage doily as a label.  I'm quite happy with how it turned out.  I bought a pair of the doilies years ago with the intention of using them as I have for this quilt but until now the opportunity hadn't presented itself.

Baby Charlotte is a month old now so Mr HP and I thought we really should make an effort and visit the new addition and her family.

So after a spot of Christmas shopping we visited the happy family.  After two little boys, the entire family is in love with the new princess.  She is Mr HP's sister's sixth grandchild and the first grand daughter.  Need I say more?

 

A Place

There is A Place called the World Wide Web.

It can be good and it can be evil both at the same time.
On the good side...it is a great source of information for the DIYer and today, I learnt how to baste a quilt using the plank method.

No back breaking, finger pricking experience this time, but it still took me a good two hours to baste this cot quilt. Hopefully next time will be a bit faster as I now know what the process entails. (I must admit I watched two videos over and over again before proceeding.)

And, to keep you updated...baby Charlotte was born on the 7th...so I'm a tad behind...

Two (2) Make-In- An-Afternoon Projects

I'm desperately trying to get my sewing/crafting mojo back after weeks of resettling our Mum from her big move.  She has moved out from what has been the family home for over half a century.

At the end of it all, Mum had a bit of a health scare.  What could have been a drastic outcome, she is now being treated for what the doctors call 'a mini-stroke'.  My sisters and I now are coming to terms with the realisation that Mum, despite her resilience, is aging and will become more and more dependent as time goes on.

In her younger years, Mum was an enthusiastic seamstress and I was into my teens before I ever owned a dress with a 'label' stitched into it. Believe it or not, my first 'label' was a gift that was sent to me by an uncle who lived in England.  The next one was probably one that I bought with my own money when I started my first job as a sixteen year old.

So, I found out recently, that Mum's stash of fabrics (which amounts to a couple of hundred metres) was in fact a 'revenge' stash.  Back somewhere in the middle of the last century, my Mum would buy tobacco, cigarette papers and safety matches at the end of her work week to support my Dad's nicotine habit. In revenge, she would buy herself some fabric to add to her stash.  It's a bit sad that she didn't get to enjoy her stash which I have now inherited and am pondering what to do with.  I am trying to sell some of it for her but as yet not having much success.

My sister wants me to make some cushions for her so I will be going through the stash to see if there's anything suitable.

In the meantime...here is a little skirt I whipped up for Little Miss Six from a sequined stretchy fabric which I found in Mum's stash. 

I have made this skirt for her previously, from a piece of leftover cotton print but I adapted this great little tennis skirt to make a dance skirt.  I used the largest size pattern and added a quarter inch all around to allow for a bit of extra length and to add a touch of twirl to the skirt. The last time I made the skirt, Little Miss six was probably only four years old, and she'll be seven very soon.  

I hemmed the skirt using a 1.5 inch wide strip of the selvage folded in half and stitched to the bottom edge in the same fashion as the waistband.  I used the selvage because it has no sequins on it.  This gave me a little bit more length too, especially since hemming it in the normal method would shorten the skirt.

When using knit ribbing, make sure it is knit fabric that is intended for ribbing and not for making tee shirts. Tee shirt knit will not give you enough support for a waist band.  I learned this the last time I made this skirt and the resulting waist band was way too lose. 

On Tuesday afternoon, I made an entire quilt top for our niece who is expecting baby number three in November.  For niece's baby number one I made a quilt like this and for her baby number two I made this one.  Both are boys...they are now expecting a little girl and I fell in love with the cutest quilt top kit/panel which I found in a quilt shop in Cobar on our recent holiday.  

Isn't it just the best? And yes, Cobar has a quilt shop!

I was very surprised at the speed with which the quilt top came together.  It is very easy to make and the only thing I wasn't happy with is the length of the quilt which I altered by adding a strip of sage green polka dot fabric from my stash top and bottom to make it a longer quilt.  I like to make my cot quilts large enough to be used as a bed topper once baby is old enough to go into a toddler bed or even for a single bed. 

I hope this inspires others to get back into the swing of sewing after a major life event which has thrown you off course.  Sometimes we just have to take little steps...

I have linked to 

When All Else Fails...

Read The Instruction Manual

My Alphabet Quilt is coming along nicely, but not without some angst.

I decided that I will do some free motion quilting on this cot quilt but in my haste thought I knew it all and happily quilted away on my sewing machine without realising the boo boos I was creating.

For some reason I assumed that if I used the selection free motion floating on my sewing machine menu and the open toe stippling foot, then there would be no need to drop the feed dog.

Initially I had even assumed that I needed to use my walking foot.  Just WHAT was I thinking?

After many frustrating attempts, failures, and unpicking metres and metres of thread (wasted, I might now add), I decided to very CAREFULLY read my sewing machine handbook.

I realised I was making two mistakes:  

1.  I had not adjusted the tension. 

2.  I had not dropped the feed dog.

Once I realised I needed to make these adjustments I did some practice runs on large rectangles of sandwiches and made this hold-all from one sandwich I had FMQed. 

My Alphabet Quilt is now quilted, but far from perfect.

It's amazing isn't it, how we can fool ourselves into thinking that a panel of fabric will save time.

I bought this particular panel on special in 2012 and while I do adore it, once I started quilting I realised how time consuming it could be because if I let my perfectionism take over I would actually be hand quilting each letter of the alphabet.  It took a lot of obsessing before I convinced my self that there is just not enough time to do this.

As you can see, my finished FMQ is not the smoothest flowing finished product, so again, I have to allow myself the reasoning that for a beginner it's okay.

So here are a few hints for those just starting out on FMQ on their sewing machine.

SOME Very Basic Free Motion Quilting DOs & DON'Ts

DOs:

DO read your machine instruction manual very carefully and follow it to the tee.

DO pre-wind as many bobbins as you can before starting your project

DO clean and re-thread your machine before starting your FMQ project

DO change your machine needle to the appropriate size, my machine suggest a size 80/12

DO spend as much time as practical making some sandwiched rectangle to practice your FMQ

DO practise 

DO be adventurous  

DON'Ts:

DON'T clutter your sewing area

DON'T sew too slowly - once you've mastered FMQ a little, you'll find sewing faster will actually give you a better, more even result

DON'T be afraid to invent  new styles for FMQ

DON'T give UP practising FMQ

DON'T give up

I found this video helpful  (and this) to get me started.

Tardiness Results in Post Out of Synch

I haven't been very good with my blog posts lately.  Life just seems to get busier and busier.
My sister  visited us in May, for her sixtieth birthday celebrations. She lives two and a half thousand kilometres away in sunny Queensland.  She spent four weeks with us , sharing herself  between her siblings.
We celebrated by having a Sound of Music themed party.  My sister, always the family clown, had a couple of changes of outfits...her first was, Liesl sixty years on, yes, that's right, sixty years on and the other was Maria as a nun.   Here is "Sister Maria" receiving the quilt that I made her. She loved it and she was so surprised to see what I had done with her blocks.  She couldn't wait to get it home.

And here she is as Liesl sixty years on.

Other Sound of Music cast members to attend included Whiskers on Kittens, Me (a name I call myself), lots of boys in lederhosen costumes, Baroness Elsa Schrader, and Maria as a novice.

Since then, I've tackled my next quilt project for Mr HP's niece's third baby.

G is for giraffe, and...girl.

Here it is ready for pinning.

And here is the backing.

Aren't these lambs just so cute?

It is a rather simple quilt, and I'm counting on getting cute appeal from the fabric itself.

Cheating I know, but what inspired me to keep this quilt uncomplicated is the expectant mother, who I know will allow her baby to use this quilt however she wishes.

You see, this Mum already has twin girls, and almost five years ago I also made the twins quilts. The two quilts made for them were almost identical, and I know that both girls love their quilts and treat them as security blankets.

You know, this, I think, is the highest complement for a quilt maker.

I like to see my quilts being enjoyed.

Oh, and by the way, baby number three is due 8th June, so I better get cracking...

Linking up to 

Day 174/366

Remember this?

Baby Jorja was born about four weeks ago.

We have yet to visit the family and their new addition.

By all accounts, she is a little angel.

Except for a few threads to be tied in, and the addition of a label, the quilt is ready for gifting.

I have machined the quilt myself, on my sewing machine, very simply, by sewing around each circle while sewing the flaps down to make the petals (and form the 'fake' cathedral windows).

I chose the fabrics on line and I was a little anxious about how true to life the fabrics appeared online.

Well, I couldn't be happier.  

My first online fabric purchase and the selection of fabrics couldn't have been better co-ordinated, I don't think.

Let's see if I can attach label and tie in threads before the end of the weekend!

Then it's a visit to little Jorja, hopefully next weekend (if Mr Honey Pie isn't rostered on at work).

Day 128/366

Sneak Peak Peek.

Pancakes Twice

I missed Pancake Tuesday!  You know, it came and went and when I started wondering what all the  fuss about pancake recipes was all about it had come and gone!

Can't believe we're preparing for Easter already.

So we had pancakes for dinner last night.

These circles of fabric and wadding so remind me of pancakes!

Mr Honey Pie's niece and her hubby are expecting their first baby in May.

I'm making this super efficient cathedral window cot quilt for their baby.

It's a quilt as you go, no binding quilt!

You can find the instructions here.

I've added two more rows to make it larger.

As you may have guessed, they're expecting a girl.

I've managed to get The In The Pink Quilt Top  I've been working on off the floor.

Yes, off the floor!  It's huge and the floor had to be my design wall.

It is now numbered and pinned and some of the squares have been stitched. 

But now the cathedral window cot quilt is my top priority.

I've decided that my hexagon scrappy quilt is never going to progress if I don't double up on my fabric selection. (Hey I might even triple up or quadruple it.)  So I've taken that up again at night.  Hopefully this way progress will not only be quicker but I'll get to use up more of my scraps.

There's been no progress on my French General quilt top or the Dragonfly Japanese Fabric one.

It's been a long while since I've linked to WIP  Wednesday.

Why don't you drop by and visit Lee at Freshly Pieced?

WIP Progress Wednesday

WIP Wednesday.

1. The long hexagons are progressing slowly. Around 240 have been completed.

I'm still procrastinating about whether I should stick to only one hexagon per fabric, or just go all out and use up as many of my scraps as possible. If I take the second option, progress would be much faster.

2.  Dr Seuss Cat in a Hat cot quilt #1 has been labelled and gifted...yay!

Cat in a Hat #2 (above) is (almost) ready for sandwiching, basting and machine quilting.

3.  French General quilt top...no progress sashing cut.

4.  English paper pieced scrappy quilt is now hand quilted and awaiting purple binding. (Almost finished - phew!)

No progress on the following:

Do drop by and visit Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been up to this past week.

Happy Wednesday to you all.

Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday #42.

WIP Wednesday #40

Must confess, not much progress happening this week.

My main ongoing project, above, is slowly coming together.

It's frustrating because I know this Dr Seuss quilt top could be finished in no time but so many other things happening in our household at the moment that progress has been slow.

I'm sorry but that's all on the sewing front for me this week.

Be sure to check out Lee's WIP Wednesday post. It's her 40th WIP post.

For progress on other craft projects I've been working on check out today's other post here

WIP Wednesday

Mohair Sweater, finished.

With the left-over Mohair, I made Darcy.

Dr Seuss #2 is very much turning out as 

a-make-it-up-as-you-go-along quilt top!

I'm happy with how it's turning out.

Dr Seuss #1 is awaiting label (still).

Not much other progress going on this week due to health issues.

Mr Honey Pie has been very good though and re-do of study (Room #2)is at 

painting-all-finished stage, just waiting for my input now.

I have sanded back the Guest Bedroom desk,

now have to decide on a finish.

Hope you have all had a productive week.

Stop by and visit Lee @ Freshly Pieced, 

WIP Wednesday #39 and see what others have been up to this week.

Finished - Dr Seuss.

Some tying and some machine quilting.

Because it's only a cot quilt I felt comfortable machine quilting with the walking foot.

I failed at my attempt to free motion quilt so gave that up very early into the attempt, hence the tying.

Quilt Front.

Quilt Back.

Quilt Label. 

(Waiting for information to be written onto and then sewn onto quilt.)

By the way...Baby has arrived (two weeks early) but that's another post!

This quilt top was made from a panel.  

This panel is not for the faint hearted.

Don't be fooled into believing that it's a panel you can take home, cut out, add a border to and machine quilt around the frames.

It's not...for a start the panel is designed in a landscape layout.

The blocks are not equally sized...not even the ones that look they might be.

It's a challenging panel but I'm pleased with the end result.

Dr. Seuss Quilt Number Two will look quite different to Dr Seuss Quilt Number One!

Besides a birth, we've also had a loss, so things have been a little out of whack in the household.

Except for my pink mohair sweater no progress has been made on anything else.

Redecorating has stalled too and all I've managed to do on that front is empty out the study.

I'm linking this post up to Lee's WIP Wednesday # 38 at Freshly Pieced.  Do drop by and visit Lee and catch up on what she and her followers have been up to this past week.