Empty spaces

It must be some sort of law of physics, that any available and 'naked' horisontal surface, will fill up in no time flat if left unattended for more than 5 seconds.
Showed you my nice, ready-to-work-on table day before yesterday. Well, yesterday I did laundry. DH thrifted a sack-full of table-linens a while back. Lovely stuff. White, damask- and jaquard-woven stuff, lots of napkins, two sets (each of 14 or 16) embroidered with monograms.

Most of it has been laundered and ironed for the longest time, but ... during my marathon clearing, cleaning and washing day yesterday, the last load of the white linens surfaced, and ... now my table looks like this. Again.

Time for some ironing, I think, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll reclaim my 'empty table' before going to bed tonight.

Setting myself up for success

Hello again. Two posts in two days :-) Don't get used to it :-)
Well, right now I'm feeling the need to do, and in order to accomplish that, I need to try and set myself up for success.
Knowing me, is (also) knowing that I have the attentionspan of a concussed sparrow most of the time. If I'm bored, I fiddle, and twiddle, and get restless, and ... move on to ... something else.
SO, to ensure that I actually get anything done, I need to make deals with myself. Not in the grand, all-encompassing manner I like to do, but in the small ways.
Yesterday I showed you my sewing-room table. I couldn't handle 'clear the table', but I was perfectly able to handle 'Do 5 minutes on the table', so that's what I did. A grand total of 7 times, and it was ... done.

Some of you who read this blog have seen my 'Boxed Stars', and some of you even know that I'm hand-quilting it. That has been stalled for the longest time, so, yesterday, I decided to set myself up for success in that respect also.

I made a small box, holding everything that I find essential for hand-quilting.
Needles, thread, scissors, Hera-marker, Roxanne thimble, ruler (for the straight lines I want to quilt). On the side, a big book that I place under the frame when I mark a section.
And then, one of the most important things in my setting myself up for quilty success : Before I put it aside 'for now', I thread the next needle and do the first few stitches. That way, I can just pick it up and get going.

One (more) thread done, about a zillion to go ... but that is ok. It's going to be a wonderful quilt in the end.

Hello again - Cinderella'ing

Well. That was a very long silence, but ... life has been happening. Life and not much (any) stitching.
Excuses out of the way now :-)
I hope I'm back on the block now.
And I'm ready to get back to some stitching.
Problem is, before I can stitch, I need a place to work, and - as always - when things backslide, they backslide, and one of the first places to suffer, and last places to be rescued, is my sewing-room, and ... the table.

SO, nothing for it. Cinderella needs to go on duty (hence the 'Cinderella'ing of the title of this post). You know, Cinderella went to the ball, but before that, she had to clear and clean and scrub and sort and .... So ... yesterday was Cinderella-duty, i.e. Cinderella outside of the ballroom. And just so that you'll know I'm not pulling your leg, here are the pictures to prove, that I actually did something :

Table before I started
After 15 minutes of Cinderella'ing
After another 15 minutes of Cinderella'ing
This morning (and yes, I moved the 'puter in here, since DS is writing his end-of-term thesis in 'the office' and cannot for the life of him keep is mouth shut, and I need peace and quiet to work, so ...)
The remaining problem identified : Piles of neatly folded and lovely, lovely fabric that has no place to go. As you can see, I seriously need to get some stitching going ;-)

An old project is finished

I don't think I have shown you this project before ?
It is (as is now my wont) made with Inklingo, in this case, the Drunkard's Path Collection, AND the 1.5" circle that is in several Inklingo collections (if you want to see which, go to the Inklingo Index of Shapes)

It's two placemats, and I'm frankly amazed at how much visual change the applique'ed circles gives ... and how much the colour of the circles means to the 'expression' of the thing.


ANYway, they are finished and will now to into the box I have of white elephants, ready to move out into the world as a gift at some point.

Another one bites the dust

This one is a remake ! This one, in fact. The green of the centre 'leaves' was just too ... green, SO, when (yet another) yard of the fabric arrived, I decided to re-do the block completely. And here it is :

Three more Passacaglia-blocks to make ... and hopefully, only three more !

Passacaglia # ???

Yes I really don't know which number of Passacaglia-block this is ! I haven't counted them recently, and I still need to make (at least) 4 more to have the full 35 ... and be crossing my fingers that the 5+ I'm (re-)making will fit in with the ones I've 'kept' ... if not, I fear that I will just have to make what I have work !

Never mind : here is the most recent Passacaglia-block. Fussy-cut from the same fabric as that used in the post on Passacaglia below.

Red and shirting

Since I have too much that I 'ought' to be doing, nothing of that gets done. I need to make another 5 Passacaglia-blocks (at least) to replace the ones that got taken out of the equation, but ... instead of those, hexagons happen.

Made with Inklingo (naturally), with 3" sides. Mostly reds and shirtings, but a wee bit of yellow is in there when a visible third colour is necessary.

And you can find directions on how to make all the stars on the right on the Inklingo Sampler blog ... stars and a few other hexagon-blocks with 3" sides.

Award ???

Berit at Mit Lille Rosa Syrom has given me an award ... and I haven't got the foggiest idea who to pass it on to, because 7 is both too many and too few.
I follow, and check in on, quite a few blogs, and I really don't know which ones I enjoy the most.

SO, if you have a quilty blog, and want an award, please copy the picture on Berit's blog ('cause I can't seem to be able to do it), and put it on your own blog, and then ... tell us all 7 things about yourself, and here comes the worst part : They are to be INTERESTING things !!!

And in order to be able to pass the award on to you, I now need to tell you 7 interesting things about me ... and there really isn't all that much to tell. SO I've decided to tell you ,who read this blog, something you might not know about me already.

1. In 11 grade, I knitted a full-lenght skirt in bold cotton colours and with oodles of primitive patterns ( the style is called Hønsestrik in this country, and you can find pictures of the general style here). That was the beginning of a hitherto constant joy : Knitting.
   
2. I am allergic to most scents.
3. I started quilting in 1998, because I had a STUNNING stash of probably 10 F/4s that I bought, just because I loved the fabric. Yes, I know, TEN fat-quarters !!!
   
4. I love pink. Any shade of pink, really. Probably a rather pathetic attempt to overcome the total lack of pink from my childhood; my mother didn't approve of 'gendered' colours, so pink was a no-no, and I was continually dressed in 'blue is always nice'.
5. I love Jane Austen, and re-read the novels frequently. Not because of the plots, but because of the elegance and economy of language, and because she has such a sharp eye for human foibles, and is able to dress them up in a way that makes you forgive not only the rest of the world, but yourself as well.
6. I speak 2 modern languages fluently, can handle myself adequately in 3 more, and read yet another 3, for a total of 8 modern languages.
7. I can also read 8 dead languages (with the aid of a dictionary and a grammar)

... I hope there was something in there that you find interesting and/or at least one thing that you didn't know about me before :-)

Passacaglia again

After a long hiatus, I'm back with the Passacaglia blocks, and a new one has been made.
And I think I might have figured out why it has been stalled for so long. Not only have I been working too much, but I had 35 blocks finished ! Alas, quite a few of them do not work well with the rest, so I need to make 5-7 new ones ... if I do not run out of Background-fabric !
ANYway. Today I will be printing for the border, to ensure that I have enough background-fabric for that at least, and then see how many new blocks can be eked out from the rest.
And here's the first of the re-done Passacaglia blocks

Klosjes / Spools

This post seems to be a bit of a sales-pitch, and it might well be. But that is only because I really, seriously consider the below to be the best possible advice I can give anyone. And no, I don't have any kind of economic interest in Inklingo ... unfortunately :-)

Spools seem to be all the rage on the net at the moment, and I've seen quite a few people who have bought the Cindy Blackberg stamp-set ... which seems very nice, but will cost you 32 US $ + postage.

I, on the other hand, am doing spools with Inklingo. All the necessary bits are in the Lucy Boston POTC collection, and that is only 30 $, and no postage, since it is downloadable. Once you have registered and bought it, you can download it and be stitching in about 30 minutes.

... and no, you don't need any special equipment. A normal (cheap) inkjet printer, an internet connection, Adobe Reader (which is free), fabric, freezer-paper, iron, needle and thread.
If you're a bit iffy about printing with Inklingo on fabric, I suggest that you go to Linda Franz's Quick Start guide, order some of the free stuff (you need to register to get it, but Linda is one of the good guys)

And no, Inklingo will not ruin your printer. I've been printing with Inklingo for many years now, and have had the same printer all the time, and it still works ! so ...
IF you are doing Klosjes / Spools blocks, consider the cheaper solution .... and get the templates for a truly amazing quilt as well.

... oh, and there are directions on how to make the block/s over at the Inklingo Sampler blog.

The most beautiful book ...

I bought this book a while ago; Annete Gero 'The Fabric of Society', and it frankly cost a fortune ! but I also think that it is just possibly the most beautiful quilt-book I own.

There is Australian history, and quilt history. Pictures of some absolutely wonderful quilts (and some that are just plain weird), and then there are 27 patterns on a CD and on a pull-out pattern-sheet.
Inspiration for years to come.

... and naturally, the one quilt that I absolutely love, is one there is no pattern for. No matter. It can be adapted to be made with the Inklingo Orange Peel collection, Collection #2, one of the collections that has a circle on it, and a seriously big (applique ?) block.

... Maybe even the Baltimore Medallion block that has now been languishing on the shelves for some years ???
(well, I can see on this blog, that it was finished about the time I started the blog, and that was December 2006)

My mind is spinning with how to make it, and it might even happen some day :-)

Back on the blog ?

I hope I am ... back on the blog, that is. After a(nother) long silence, I'm slowly edging my way back into where I was before 2 full-time jobs ate all the time I had.
And I'm back getting some needle-and-thread therapy (or vitamin Q if you like).
Right now, my quilt-life is the hand-quilting of Boxed Stars that take up my quilting-time ... which is nice :-) It will be a finished quilt, in the fullness of time, even though there is still an extremely long way to go.
BUT, One Thread every day will see it done.

Dresden Plate ????

As this is written, I have beaten Cathi !!!
She is always (and I do mean ALways) the first person to publish a block when a new Inklingo-collection out, but this time, I seem to be the first person to publish a picture of a block made with Linda Franz's new so-called Dresden Plate Collection !

Let me be frank, just between you and me and the internet :-) Had I not known Linda well enough to check out anything new she publishes, this one would have gone by unnoticed by yours truly.
I don't like Dresden Plates.
Sorry, but there it is. I know that many people love them, but ... that's why they have both chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice-cream
ANYway. Dresden Plates leaves me pretty cold, but this one ! I couldn't resist it. And even though I am not good freinds with my sewing-machine, and I don't do curves, it is completely (!) machine-pieced. I haven't got a clue what the block is called, and I know I could have done it far more precisely with hand-piecing, but I love it. Karen K. Stone has a quilt with blocks like this (tho' more colourful) called Missisippi Wheel of Fortune.

Mother's little helper

Sometimes, just sometimes, it is pretty hard to get to the cutting-board.
Particularly when kitty Josephine (called "Feeneh") takes an interest.

She has become very sticky these past days, which is understandable, since our black cat was put down on the 2nd (unavoidable), and the rabbit moved out of here and in with another family yesterday. So ... from 3 critters to just one in less than a week ... makes for an extremely confused and sticky fur-baby.
To an extent where even my sewing becomes interesting. Usually, she only takes an interest when she can lie down in peace on the project, but now, even the component parts have appeal.

Good thing that no rotary-cutter was in action.

The block on the cutting-board is one of the upcoming blocks on the Inklingo Sampler.

Northumberland Star, Barbara Brackmann's Encyclopedia of Pieced Blocks # 2901b

And the winner is ...

Remember the give-away ? That started on December 24th ?
The Passacaglia-giveaway
The winner is found ! And is Deanna.

I have contacted her privately :-)

... and just so you won't get a post, completely without pictures, here is one of my Drunkard's Path flowers. Just the ones I could fit in on the design-board before Passacaglia took over completely :-)

Passacaglia # 34 and 35 ... and the full mock-up

And here are the most recent Passacaglia-blocks, the last ones made in 2009 :
First one made with the same striped fabric found in Block # 30


Next one made with the same fabric as # 32, 28, 27, 26, and 25. And, accidentaly, one of the two fabrics that Linda and I are giving away :-)

Finally, a mock-up of the 35 blocks sewn so far, on the design-wall.

I will be taking four out and making new ones.
They might look ok to you on the screen, but they stand out too much in the wrong way when seen in real life, so ... I'm there, but not there. BUT that's ok.

Happy 2010 !

So, we're out of the noughts and into the teens of the century and the millenium.
Strange ... but nice.

And today is the day, where I try to take stock of my needle-work projects.
I started fighting UFOs as far back as 2002. Then, I had "about 50" projects that were started, but not yet finished. The "impossible goal" was to get down to 10 or less.
When I reached that milestone - and what a happy day that was - I decided to reduce my number of PIGs (Projects In Grocerybags, aka : kits) and to try an bring down my number of started projects down to 5 or less.
... now that one is giving me some trouble ... and 2009 has not been good for my confidence. For the first time since 2002, I end the year with more projects than I started !
I'm still below 10, but ....

And what are they :

Boxed Stars (being hand-quilted)

Lone Star (top finished, to be sent out for quilting)

Drunkard's Path : a mostly machine-piecing project of which I have taken no pictures ... yet. Passacaglia takes up the design-wall completely, so the DP project won't go up there until that one is ... finished.

Rectangular hexagons. Sees occasional work when travelling or staying with freinds

Passacaglia. The only one that I'm seriously working on right now. I have made the 35 blocks necessary for a (roughly) 60 x 84" quilt (plus borders), but four of them are ... wrong, so I need to make another 4, and the wrong ones can then go on the back :-)

Give Thanks. Which I started preparing in 2008, put away during preparation in October of that year, and has not taken it up again ... might be time to evaluate, eh ? Either continue preparation, and actually do it, or give it up and re-distribute the fabric.

The Inklingo Sampler. One block pr. week

... and two knitting projects.

And 2009 did not give me any big quilty finishes. However, 2009 was the year where I started writing patterns, two of which are available for free from Inklingo, and 3 more that are available for free to the members of the Inklingo Yahoo-group. The making of patterns is a frustrating experience, because most of the time, I know how I would like it to look, but am unable to do it, due to lack of proficiency and software.
Oh, well.