Block of the Month. In theory.

It seemed like a good idea. Every month I’d get a pretty packet, and make up a block. How hard could it be to do one block in a month?

Yeah, famous last words. I now have 8 pretty packets sitting in my BOM drawer. At least, four of them, I have opened.

When I first signed up for the BOM, someone asked who was joining the Flickr group, and someone else (Becky, I think), asked what the point of a group of the same blocks would be. And I agreed. And then thought to myself, that I wanted my quilt to be a bit less formulaic, and a bit more me. The first block arrived, I looked at it, and I pondered. Should I reverse some colors? Or would that screw with the balance of the whole quilt. Block two arrived, and still no idea, and it was tucked away with block one. Then block three. I liked the block, but I most confess, as much as I love Vintage Modern as a whole, the large florals are my less favourite. And Block Three had a lot of those florals. And it was very red. I got to wondering, what would a small green flange around the middle look like?

And like that, I was set. A small addition, an embellishment to each block. Still the same blocks and same colors, just with a touch of “me” added. A couple of weeks after that, around the time block four arrived, I had an afternoon spare, so I pulled out the four packets, and cut all the pieces for all four blocks. And then put them back in the packet. I ended up taking them to camp, and got the first one finished there, and this last week, have managed another two.

Block One, at camp. Small green off-centre ruffle added to centre diamond.

Block Three, this week just gone. The one that started it all, with a 1/4″ flange around the centre.

Block Four, this past week also. I added corners to the centre block in Red Snickerdoodle, and at the last minute, also reversed the direction of the green flying geese so they were pointing in instead of out. And so glad I did. Love love love this block!

Three down, five to go. Block two will be next, as it’s cut out, and then we’ll see how the mojo goes. At least I know I’m not the only one behind on the blocks!

 

{flogging my blogging today over at With Some Grace for FYBF}

progress…maybe.

So I started the quilt-in-a-day challenge. And given the various demands on my time, I got a fair way in. But then, the quilt sat, and sat and sat. And finally over the weekend, I got the binding attached to not only that mugrug I’ve been blathering on about for weeks, but also the star quilt. Perfect timing now the nights are getting cold, stitching it down will be a pleasant way to snuggle under a quilt while watching a bit of telly. I must admit, the stitching of binding is probably my least favourite part of quilt making. Though on the upside, today is Tuesday, so a bit of Big Bang Theory while stitching sounds like a pleasant way to pass the evening. It also means, aside from my swoon blocks which I have packed away for now, the decks are reasonably clear, freeing up the machine for small people who are keen to get their share of quilting time!

 

One small person is in bed, one at preschool, one at big school. With 2 hours until pickup, I’m rapidly running out of time to get much done. The girl and I have been out at a friend’s place this morning, and now she’s in bed, I’m thinking some lunch, a spot of housework and then if I can manage it before she wakes, a bit of down time in the sun. Maybe with those quilts, maybe some knitting, possibly some painting. I was quite excited to get notification that my fabric has shipped, so now I just need to wait so I can sew and prep charm packs for the shop. I also received a delivery of handmade paper from the States yesterday, and it is even more delightful than I expected, so I’m keen to order the remaining supplies and get stuck into some journal binding. I think my to-do list is conspiring with the housework to keep me away from my studio, both are growing exponentially. Time to knock them on the head. Mojo, oh, mojo, wherefore art thou?

lay wif me, pwease.

Hi. My name is Little White Dove, and I am a quilt addict. Well, more correctly, a blanket addict. As nice and snuggly as doonas are, I just can’t feel warm without the weight of four or five blankets. Growing up, we always had a couple of wool blankets, and a quilt made by my mum, so maybe that is where it comes from. Maybe it’s ingrained from my (increasingly far-distant) childhood. I remember in our first home, there were tall poplars across the street, and even on a sweltering January evening, I would insist on being covered by at least a sheet. In case the trees fell down, you see. Because we all know that if a tree falls on your house, a thin cotton sheet will be the difference between life and death.

 

Or maybe it’s something even more basic than that. My two eldest children are wildly divergent in their bedding tastes. Bear, at 5, so much more like me in his general personality, is much more like his father, and will kick the blankets off, even as the July frost grows thick on the ground. And in the same way, Bubba Boy, like his daddy in so many ways, and yet, at bed time, his mama’s influence shows through, and on the hottest of evenings, where even pyjamas seem too much, he will insist on at least one blanket, and if he can get away with it, a doona as well.

 

And so, when it came time to redecorate the children’s room after the renovation, I immediately began planning quilts, plural. One per boy, possibly two. And yet husband insisted that doonas would be much better. In the end, we compromised, and each boy now has a quilt cover and a bed topper quilt. The quilt cover is made from backing-width flannelette, with a feature segment of orange corduroy,  and a small amount of patchwork, and the quilts are a basic D9P, with the green flannelette as the backing. So lovely and snuggly.

 

Though a tad warm when a certain little three year old softly calls out, and strokes my face as he gently asks, “Lie wif me, pwease, mama?”

 

 

(and yes, I am aware the binding hasn’t been stitched down. I’m kinda lazy like that!).

a piece of cake…

Layer Cake that is! I had big plans for today. The children were angels all morning. The house was clean. The fabric came out, and I started sorting. And pinning. And as the children slept, I started to sew, only the thunk of my needle hitting fabric disturbing the silence.

And then life happened. Technology happened. Five hundred spanners in the works. But a couple of work-arounds, and more than a liberal dose of finger-crossing, and we should be good to go. The day started brilliant, went to pot, and is looking up again… Two little snuggly quilts are in my sights. Two days til the weekend, can’t wait! Let’s do this!

Houston, we have a quilt!

 

Well, not a quilt, but it’s getting there! I’ve got almost all the fabric for Baby Bear’s cot quilt cut (I need to go buy some more of the red, fingers crossed my LQS has some left!). If it looks familiar, that’s because it’s the same fabric as Bear’s Jacobs Ladder quilt. I’m hoping to swing a bit of sewing time to start peicing it today. And yes, I know it’s a bit late to be making a cot quilt for a 6 month old baby, but in my defence, our cot converts to a toddler bed, so the quilt will get quite a bit of use. I do need to get it done now, as it is getting quite nippy at night, and it won’t be long before the small one needs more than winter pj’s and a sleeping bag. The plan is to have it sandwiched by the end of this week and get it quilted over the weekend… hmmm… best laid plans and all that!

 

It’s shaping up to be a productive day. The house is clean, the washing up done, and I’ve even managed to cobweb a couple of rooms. I’ve had half a cup of tea, read some stories, a couple of rounds of ‘The Duke of York, and it’s not even nine o’clock yet! On the horizon for today – a wander to the shops for said fabric, a spot of duck feeding, maybe a babycino if the small one behaves, and then swing by the library on the way home and grab some new books for the 50/50 challenge. Some quilt peicing, a painting that came to mind this morning, a coffee I can finish, a new batch of bath fizzers, and 5 million loads of washing.  What a list! Let’s do this!

Here we go again…

Morning, Monday (and no, it’s not good. My day started when the time had a 5 in front of it. Not. Happy. Jan.)

 

Ugh, what a weekend. Sick boys and rain. Not a good combination. The smallest one now has a bunged-up nose, which means he’s not feeding properly, which means I was up 17,000 times last night. Ugh. And the toddler is improving, so he slept quite well, meaning Running Bear was only up once. Double Ugh. But I won’t complain too much, as Running Bear is on his way down with the same ickiness. Fingers crossed I don’t get it too. (As an aside, I can’t believe how early the ‘man flu’ starts, the toddler is such a drama queen when he’s sick. At two. We had a tantrum because he wanted a drink. Being midnight, his slave mummy wasn’t by his side within .35 seconds, so of course, one must throw a tanty, no?)

Anyway, it’s Monday. A nice, quiet, get-better type of Monday. Some Baby Einstein for the toddler. Lots of cuddles. Some laundry to churn through. And, if I’m lucky, and the boys nap together, a quick tidy of the studio, finish a painting and maybe some sewing.

 

Something I have been meaning to show is this changemat I made for myself. Came in handy when we went to the in-laws on Saturday and we had an explosive nappy half-way there. And man I’m glad I used PUL on the bottom of the front!

 

A simple disappearing nine-patch, with quite a bit more of the beige in it that I’d planned, but hey, that’s the way these things go. I did FMQ in the large squares. The first square is quite dodgy, as it’s been a while since I’ve done any FMQ, but once I found my groove, I was happy with the results. I’m planning another d9p, and have learnt from my ‘mistakes’!

Ok Monday, let’s do this thing!