Passacaglia # 31 and 32

I continue to be a bad blogger, with all too infrequent posts, but frankly, I have been working, and I have preferred to stitch, rather than blog, in the few moments I've had lately.
ANYway, here are the two most recent Passacaglia blocks.
Same fabrics as # 28 and 29.

Passacaglia # 30

Well, even Christmas madness in the home of a pastor can quite stop the production of Passacaglia blocks.
Stripes and soft pinks and reds and a really green green :-)

Passacaglia # 28 AND 29

I'm sorry it's been so long ! I really, truly apologize, but ... life happened, and then the camera decided to play hide-and-seek, and ... BUT there they are. Two blocks have been finished since my last post, both fussy-cut (and cut, not printed, unfortunately, but the repeat was not Inklingo-freindly)

Number 28, made from the same fabric as the 3 previous


Number 29 is made with the same fabric as # 16 which seems easier to understand, than the fact that the above and the 3 previous were made from the same print ... in the same colourway :-)

Passacaglia # 27

I'm seeing a tendency here !
Every other week, I work too much (paid work). Full gale from 10 in the morning and until I drop into bed, while I constantly feel that I'm behind. The other week, however, things are fairly smooth, and I can do what is needed at work, within an ordinary 8-hour day. Those weeks more stitching happens, and blocks gets finished :-)
This is one of the easy weeks :-) So a block is finished and can be presented this Monday evening.

This is the third block from the fabric that the two previous has been cut from. The common ground does not seem obvious to me, except in the coloring, which is very nice. It also teaches one, that with judicious cutting, one fabric can go a long way.

Passacaglia # 26

Well ... it has taken me 10 days to get this one done.

Fussy-cutting had to take place, and the repeat in the fabric did not lend itself well to printing with Inklingo, so the stars / flowers had to be hand-prepared, and then, when I started joining them, I actually had 3 "misfires" with the internal squares.

Well, it is finished, and is looking pretty good ... even if I say so myself .... and it is not all that easy to tell, that this is the same fabric that was used in the previous Passacaglia-block (# 25), but it is :-)

Passacaglia # 25

Yes ! And with fussy-cut fabrics too :-)
I had to hand-prepare the flower on this one, because the repeat on the fabric was not compatible with the size of the bits I used. Oh, well. Could have been much worse :-) I printed some sheets of freezer-paper, cut them out, and set to it.
The next one is fussy-cut too ... and hand-prepared. Stay tuned :-)

Passacaglia # 24

Another one bites the dust :-)

This one is an attempt to copy one of Lucy Boston's original blocks. She used a pink-and-yellow irregular stripe, and the closest I have come to that is the batik used in this one.

She also used 4-patches for the internal squares of the block, which - naturally - made me do the same.

Passacaglia # 22 AND 23

Well, what do you know. Two finished in this past week.
Both are versions of the blocks in Lucy Boston's original.
On this first one, she uses a striped fabric where I use green. I think I should have done the same, rather than have a timid little grey stripe (that doesn't even match properly), BUT, it is done, and it will work well enough in the quilt.

The other one is a pink-and-green version of Lucy Boston's red-and-white original.
MAN that woman had an eye for what colour can do for a block. Even if it is me doing them, I still get exited about how each block turns out. And even when I think I can predict what it will end up looking like, many (most) of them still manage to surprise. This is a *very* satisfying quilt to make, even if it is just "one block" and "all" that differs from one block to the next is colour-placement.

Passacaglia # 21

Oh dear :-)
After a slight hiatus, another Passacaglia-block within less than a week from the former :-)
This one is - in general style - copied from one of Lucy Boston's original blocks. Her checkered fabric, however, is blue, not pink :-)
BUT, I like it

... and 20 blocks on the design-wall.
It will be (at least) 4 x 6 blocks, since I have 2 fully prepped and 2 partially prepped blocks.

Passacaglia # 20

And another Passacaglia-block.
This brings the total to 20, and I have another 5 prepped, so ... it should be at least a 60" square quilt ... and with borders, it will be larger :-)
This one is a "Devils Claw" version, and having finished it, I will confess, that should I do another one of the same kind, the centre would be the same fabric as the squares between the stars, in this case, the brown with pink dots. I will not remake it tough. I am a firm believer in burying your mistakes within the quilt. Once it is all joined, it usually works, and if there is one or two blocks that don't work within the mix, I just take it out and make a new one. Not necessarily the same as the one taken out, just another one that I think will fit better.
... and this is the reason you're not getting a picture of the 20 blocks on the design-wall. There is one in the mix that stands out too uncomfortably (this one), and that will probably become a pillow or go on the back of the quilt. It just doesn't work with the rest. SO, a picture from the design-wall will have to wait until I have # 21 pieced :-)

Passacaglia # 19

FI-nally another Passacaglia-block finished.
I'm not so sure about this one.
The start of it was the fussy-cutting of the striped circles, and now I have a block, where every element seems to be in competition with every other element, clamoring for attention.
... And, as it turned out, this is the only block with no green anywhere on it.

Oh, well. It will probably go into the mix all the same. That is the beauty of making a scrappy-style quilt, even when each block is as controlled as these are. As I've heard Kaffe Fasset say "When in doubt, use 20 more colours". So ... 20 more pinks should just about do the trick :-)

Another week

Uh, oh. It's already October 9th, and I have not been a good blogger, since my last was September 30th. I blame it on work. Paid work. I thought I was going to have less work in October than I had in September, but these first 8 days have been more, so ... no Passacaglia blocks to show, since none have been finished.
And the "other stuff" I'm working on, is practically classified, so I can't show you that ....
What I can show you, are some pictures of some "kidlet bags" I made for the two teen-agers and our "lodger" neither of whom have any "real" space downstairs.
This does not prevent any or all of them from dumping "stuff" everywhere, so ... to keep at least some surfaces relatively cleared, I made these, so that I can put their "stuff" in there, and get it off my surfaces.

The pattern is out there on the web, actually right here, and is made by blogger jcasa

I made mine, using Japanese fabrics for the shell. The main shell is made with a rather hefty half-and-half linen and cotton, two with hedgehogs, one with squirrels, and I actually enjoy seeing them there on the wall.

Besides, the 3 bag-owners, are becoming used to finding their "stuff" in the bags ... to the extent, where they have started putting things like id-cards, keys and wallets in there, so they can find them again.
All in all, a very useful addition to our household.

Passacaglia # 18

Well, on this one, I started with the centre.
I like those circles :-)
And then the striped fabric for the stars.
It does have a bit of an impact, this one :-)

Passacaglia # 17

Finally. Another Passacaglia-block.
Being sick and trying to go to work is not conducive to doing other things, so, it's taken a little while, but here it is. And I've got the next ones prepped.
However, I am running out (have run out, more or less) of fabrics that looks interesting when being fussy-cut / printed. I have ordered two fabrics, but
Oh, well. Here it is. Not one of the most interesting ones, but it will work well in the finished project.
And here are the first 16 on the Design-wall.
I think it will end up on a 4 x 6 block setting after all :-)

No Sewing Progress - but some Tiny Totes

I'm sorry to say so, but there it is.

No Sewing.

Teaching has started, full gale, and what with holding about 3 jobs this month, and having a house and a family to say "hi" to, just occasionally, sewing suffers.

I have two Passacaglia Blocks printed, but haven't even cut the bits apart !

HOWever. This weekend, no work outside the house takes place, so the plan is, to finish preparing those two, and - hopefully - get some more Sampler blocks ready to publish.

BUT, just so that you won't get a post, completely without pictures, here are some pics of the Tiny Totes I furiously made in May, preparing the Free Pattern for Inklingo.


Tote on top is made with the Inklingo Double Wedding Ring collection, totes below are made with the LeMoyne Collections. The 4.5" free collection and the 6" pay-for-it collection.

Finished size of these are anything from 6 to 10" square, plus handles.

Passacaglia # 16

And so # 16 is finished.
I like this one, even if the fussy-cutting isn't perfect. I just tell myself it lends character to the block :-)

Unfortunately I have not yet prepped # 17. I do have the main-fabric chosen, though, so I hope to prep it later today ... if time allows :-)

Passacaglia # 15

In this one, the diamonds that form the stars, are made from the same fabric as the previous one. A Kaffe Fasset stripe ... and this one has enough pink to satisfy even my little heart.

Passacaglia # 14

Fussy-printed Kaffe Fasset spiky stripe. It looked pinker in my mind's eye when I planned and printed it, on this picture it looks more blue and orange.
Oh, well. I like it :-) and it will end up in the quilt.

Passacaglia # 13

Finally, block # 13 is finished.
Took its time, but then, I had another one prepped that looked simply awful when I laid it out before piecing, so it was trashed, and this one was made instead. As you can see, there's recycling of diamonds and squares from two other blocks, and the white seems slightly excessively bright, BUT, this is the way it turned out, and it will go into the quilt.
Blocks 14-16 are prepped and ready to roll ... which is good, because I don't really have time to sew the next couple of weeks, but this way, I will at least be able to sneak in a thread every now and then.

Passacaglia # 12

... and here is block # 12


... and what all 12 blocks looks like on the design-wall.


Question now is : Do I stop here, or make another 12, or - indeed - 23 blocks .... decisions, decisions ...
(12 more blocks will give a layout of 4 x 6 blocks, 23 more blocks will give a layout of 5 x 7 blocks)

Passacaglia # 11

No comments needed, I think :-)

Passacaglia # 10

And this is what it can look like when you use a quite ugly stripe and fussy-print it. Linda Franz has a video at her blog about how to fussy-print with Inklingo, right here.

On to # 11.

Passacaglia # 9

Nothing like a sermon to get me stitching.
No. Truly ! I need to think, to ponder specific points, to mull it all through in my head, and what better company than some stitching.
SO, the ninth block in the series is now finished. Another 3 and it could become a small lap-quilt. But I doubt that I'll end it there.
Time will tell.

Passacaglia # 8

It is still growing.
Not one block a day, but at least a few every week :-) And they are still looking good to my eyes.

Passacaglia # 7

Well ... took me a few days to get this one finished. Life sort-of happened.
In a good way ! but still.
It is slightly soiled and messy-looking (most visible on the soft-pink centre row), because our eldest cat decided to nap on the partially finished block, and she is a black cat, who sheds a lot of hair, AND she drools when she sleeps.
Never mind. Once this quilt is finished, it will be washed thoroughly, and now that the block is finished, it will be soaked in lukewarm water, just to get the worst of it out.
I particularly like the way the soft-pink looks as if it has been superimposed on the green, and that there is a complete green square under the pink.

... and then it's on to # 8 :-)
I'll be back !

Inklingo KISS

... and in this case, KISS means Keep It Simple, Stitchers.
I'm taking a leaf out of Cathi's book, and sat me down this morning to stitch something with one of the new Inklingo Collections. I have resisted the Octagons that both she and Martha are already making, but since I "ordered" the 2" diamonds, I felt I had better start using them.
SO, I give you a Texas Star with 4" sides. Made with the 2" diamonds in the Inklingo KISS 102 Collection, and the Starpoints and 1" hexagon from the Inklingo Collection # 1.

I think I'll print another handful of starpoints and diamonds and hexagons, and make a nice set of coasters to have around as a white elephant :-)

The Rabbit-plant

We have pots on our deck, and in one of them, the green foliage went and died. However, the rare, but beloved, rabbit-plant turned up this morning :-)

Passacaglia # 6

Well, here's block # 6. Six blocks in 8 days isn't bad :-)


And the blocks finished so far, on my design-wall :

Passacaglia # 5

Well ... I am having a ball, aren't I :-)

I must say, that this one does not please me very well. Actually, I think I quite dislike it. BUT, it is done, and will probably end up in the quilt anyway. The fabric for the centre-squares was not placed completely correctly, so they only fit really well two and two, and this little bit of being off sort-of messes it all up ... plus, the pink of the outer diamonds does not blend well with the pink of the centre motiv.
Oh, well. Live and learn. Block # 5 is finished. On to block # 6 :-D

Austentatious - 2 - Pride and Prejudice

OK, so I've been doing patchwork, as can be seen from the past couple of posts. I do the blocks in a combination of hand- and machine-piecing, and when hand-piecing, I like to either have the telly running with something, or listen to an audio-book. Nice "me"-time

And this is my second "response" to Stephanies Jane Austen-challenge. Actually, it is item 5 in my original post : Acquiring and watching the old (1980) BBC adaptation of P&P.
It's the one where Fay Weldon wrote the script.
And I have acquired, and have been sewing, and watching ...
And what do I think.

Well, it does not age well. Elizabeth Garvie is as delightful an Elizabeth Bennet as anyone could wish for (and she does remind me of my good freind Linda), and David Rintoul is as wonderfully horribly proud and disapproving, and lovesick a Darcy as anyone could wish for, but ...
It is theatrical. Done in a style completely different from the way the more recent adaptations (the 1995 series and the 2005 movie), and thus comes across as slightly stilted at times. People waiting for other people to speak, actors wanting to stand in the right place, before commencing to speak. That sort of thing. And - as seems quite usual - the sisters are generally too old.

So, is it a waste of money to get it ? No. Not if you are an avid Austen-fan. It has its moments :-)
AND, it has the most true-to-Austen dialogue of the lot. When not being direct quotes from the book itself, it draws heavily on Austens letters and her juvenalia. Fay Weldon must have sat herself down and read everything, before writing the script.
And - of course - she wrote the wonderful little "Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen" at the same time, which has now moved to my bed-table, to be perused at leisure. Fay Weldon is a wicked, and very clear-headed reader.

What I don't like about this version ?
What I dislike about most versions : The sisters are too, too old ! The only version that got them right, agewise, is the 2005 movie ... and that - incidentally - is also the only one, which doesn't try to make Mary ugly, just clueless.
Wickham. He is just not a believeable bad guy. Same problem as with the Henry Crawfords and the Willoughby's of the various versions. Hard to find someone young, charming, sexy and bad-news'y enough for me.
Mrs Bennet. I cannot for the life of me fathom what Mr Bennet ever saw in her. That is easier to understand in the other versions.

And this fulfills the second item on my Austen-challenge list :-)

Passacaglia # 4

Well ... here it is.
And this one looks almost like it is a cross between a LeMoyne star and a block from Patchwork of the Crosses.
... and I've got # 5 printed :-)
Maybe I should print # 6 too, just to have it at hand, when I finish the next one ?
Sounds like a plan to me :-)

Passacaglia # 3

And now the third block is finished.
This really is an exiting quilt for me to make. And as each block is made, the fabric-choices - and placement thereof - churns in my head.
They are tremendously fun to make, and it is exiting to see how different the same block can look, just by manipulating the colours.
In this one, however, there is a variation. The 4 centre squares are made out of triangles. BUT they still end up squares, and the general layout of the block remains the same :-)

Obsession

Well ... what else would you call it. Up before anything to print the shapes, and then rush home from work, and do nothing but the most cursory of stuff in the house, all in order to be able to sit down and make the next block.
When you look closely at it, you can see that it is exactly the same block with regard to shapes used and their position, compared to the one in the previous post, but it almost defies belief, seeing that they are so very different. And all due to choice of fabrics and their placement relative to each other.

I am in love !

What a header, eh ?

Read on, and you will know more.

It was my b'day yesterday, and a very dear freind sent me a book as a present. It got here two days early, and I *had* to open it. It contained Diana Boston's book about Lucy Boston's quilts (and in spite of what it says on the website, it is no longer out of print).

Now, I know that many, MANY Inklingoists love Lucy Boston's Patchwork Of The Crosses (POTC), and I think it a fine quilt too, but I can resist that.

Even in spite of Linda Franz's book and printable Inklingo collection for it.

What I could not resist, was the Passacaglia-quilt in that book, and I'm sorry, I am unable to find any pictures on-line of that quilt, so you will just have to grin and bear it, and wait for my showing pictures of the individual blocks here, as I progress.

ANYway, I fell in love.

Hard.

Really, really hard ...

Like a ton of bricks :-)

It is quite a while since I fell this hard for a quilt, and felt that I had to make it. Now !!! Oh, I have lots of quilts I want to make, and quite a few that are being made, but I think the last time I wanted this desperately to make a quilt, was when I started my Dear Jane quilt 10 years ago.

Anyway. All this conspires to the fact, that the first block is finished, and that I got up early this morning to prepare the second one before leaving for work. That way, I can dream about getting home and sitting down to stitch immediately.

I think it is called "obsession" :-)

The picture here, is my version of the simplest and most boring of the blocks in the Passacaglia-quilt. The next one will be slightly more fun. HOWever, you can see - on this one - that the basic unit is the LeMoyne star. I'm using the 6" Inklingo collection, but you can make the blocks with the Free Collection too :-)

Knitting Socks

Knitting socks is - to me - a lovely, mindless way to spend an evening in front of the telly. I don't really have any quilty handwork, and I'm too, TOO fidgetty to just sit there. If I do, I end up snacking a lot, and end up feeling bloated, fat and uncomfortable.
SO, knitting socks it is.

But really ... knitting the same type of sock all the time tends to be boring, SO when looking through the summer issue of knitty, I found this pattern, and since I already had this yarn (and no, you really, really don't want to browse that shop ... it will probably be very, very expensive to do so), and the double-pointed needles, I started.

Now, some of you who read this blog probably already know, that English is not my first language, but I usually have no trouble with it, so I forged ahead.

I have not unpicked this much in the longest time !

Oh, well. BUT, sock # 1 is now finished - as can be seen from the picture - and so far, sock # 2 is much smoother sailing.


... but let me tell you, taking a picture of a sock on ones own foot is not quite as easy as might be imagined. Oh, well. It looks as it looks :-) and I like the way it looks, actually.

Another Sneak Peek on the Sampler

And these are the blocks that I've finished - so far - for the Inklingo Sampler blog. It is still loads of fun, and I'm learning such a lot about machine-piecing patchwork.
I am not very good freinds with my sewing-machine, so I am definitely out of my comfort zone here. HOWever, it is fun.
All of the above blocks are 6" square. Some started out being 5", but were log-cabined with a strip on all 4 sides.
BUT, I'm hand-piecing too :-)
All the non-square (i.e. hexagonal) blocks, are hand-pieced or hybrid pieced. Same goes for the square, but absolutely wrong size blocks I've made using the LeMoyne star 6" collection. Blocks can be made with the free collection too.
ANYway, these are the blocks that will be published on the Inklingo Sampler blog in the course of the next few months.

Super Karla is finished !

The Super Karla shawl is finished.

It was loads of fun to knit, and perfect for someone as impatient and easily bored as myself.
Lots of different lace-patterns in there, so ... might be said to be a sort-of lace-knitting sampler.
I added an extra row of squares, because I had lots of yarn left when I had finished the last full row of squares in the pattern. IF you decide to knit it, 2 skeins of Noro's Kureyon Sock-yarn will get you there with the pattern as it is.


Since I added another row of squares, I broke into the third skein for the border ... but not until then !

Materials : Kureyon Sock-yarn from Noro, 3.5 mm needles, and pattern from Karen Noe.

My Design Wall

Well, this is what it looks like at the moment.


I'm really sinking my teeth into the Sampler, and I am enjoying every moment of it. This is fun !
Those of you following the Inklingo Sampler blog, can see many of the blocks that I'm planning to keep you entertained. Most of what happens until the end of August is up there.
And yes, there are hexagon-blocks in there as well :-)
They can be made square or be left as they are, and be made into their own project.

Boredom and remedies

I knew I would be bored at work yesterday. I am a sub. at that place, and have a 3 hour break in the middle of the day some days, seeing that it's a public office, and we have to have a late opening day at least once a week. So, everything closes down from 1 to 4. And since it is not "my" office, I cannot do any of the zillion small tasks that are postponed. I can only do "this much" and nothing more. The tenured staff needs their priorities, filing and organizational systems respected. Also, I live too far away to go home, and 3 hours really is a lot of time, if you are on top of your work. I am fortunate enough to be that at the moment so ... what to do.

Well, I came prepared.

I brought some sewing and a DVD to watch on the 'puter. The newest BBC "Sense and Sensibility", (imdb-entry with list of cast etc. here)and my present "carry along and work on forever" project. Rectangle hexagons.

Got another rectangle made, and watched most of S&S at work, and finished it off when I got home.
And how do I like it ?
Well ... its major flaw is, that it is not the Emma Thompson version. The only thing that was clearly better in this one, was Edward Ferrars. I like Hugh Grant a lot, and find him charming in 4 weddings and Notting Hill, but I think his playing EF in the old (movie) version, was the one disastrous mis-casting in that one.

The major flaw with the new one, however, is (to me) that I cannot see Willoughby as instantly appealing. He is not at all appealing, romantic or dashing to me. I found his acting in Mamma Mia flat and unintersting, and thought it probably had to do with having a quite uninteresting part, but that does not seem to be the case. To any and all of you who love him, I apologize. He simply does not click with me.
I can sympathize with Marianne not falling instantly in love with Brandon in this version, and her eventual joining up with him, but ... Willoughby ... no.
I guess that Willoughby, Wickham (in P&P), and Henry Crawford (MP) have the same problem. They need to be charming, handsome and urbane, but also need to be seriously bad news ... and to find a young enough actor to pull that off seems very difficult indeed.

So. Do I recommend this version ? I really don't know. As I wrote, the major flaw is, that it is not the Emma Thompson movie, and for someone who does not have that sort of prejudice, or disliked the movie, I think this one could be a very good introduction to S&S.

And this concludes my first "task" in the Jane Austen Challenge.

Announcing a new blog

So, it is July 1st, and I have (yet another) blog.

You would think, what with the two I am already running (Inklingoprojects and this one), I had enough on my plate.

But no.

Maybe it is because I bore so very easily, and my present projects are all at a pretty boring stage, that I have felt the urge to actually do something I've been thinking about for a long time : Making a sampler, using Inklingo.

So, here it is : the Inklingo Sampler blog. Not very interesting - yet - but the plan is, that for as long as I've got the stamina for it, I will publish a new block every Friday.

So far, all the blocks are really simple to make, can be fully or partly machine-pieced, and the majority are 6" finished ... or smaller, so they can be log-cabined and still end up 6" unfinished.

The picture in this post, shows the blocks I've made so far. Most of them are made with Inklingo shape-collection # 2 (which is extremely good value for money, but, alas, only for Windows-users and only on CD), and more will be coming. You can, however, make many of the blocks using the free collection. The blocks will not finish at 6" then, but at varying sizes if you do that. Bottom line, however, is that it is a fun, easy and very inexpensive way to try out Inklingo.

Today's post on the Sampler blog is merely to announce that I'm here, I'm making blocks and I'm inviting you to join me. It also has links to much of the free stuff you can find that centers on Inklingo, including the free collection.