Applique update and other things.....

It has been a couple of weeks since  I posted here, and I am not really sure where the time has gone.  It has been busy, but finally I feel like I am catching up.

I have half way finished the machine quilting for the Ohio Star with zig zag setting.  I wrote about that last time.  I need to have it totally completed by 24th August, so have been spending 30 minutes here and there over the last couple of weeks. 

I just did some "in the ditch"machine quilting, and parallel lines along the zig zag part.  It is going off to a magazine, and it was kind of hard to explain how to do that, but hope it works out.  On that subject, I had an email from a lady the other day telling me that instructions for a quilt of mine in a magazine was wrong!  OMG!  I hate this.......I went and got out what I had written,  and it appears that the editors had changed what I wrote.  The lady had cut out the whole quilt!  Do you ever cut out the whole quilt before checking that one block is right?  I am really upset about it, as my name will be next to this error for many years to come.

This put me into a bit of sad spot for a few days, until I got a Facebook message from a friend congratulating me on my prize at the Melbourne Quilt show.  What prize???? was my reply.  Yes, I did enter a quilt, but no one "official" had been in touch (and still has not) to tell me I had won something.  I got a "runner up"in applique section apparently.......but have no idea if I actually won anything, and have not received my quilt back yet.   More on this story next time.

I decided to start a new applique project.  This is going to be my "traveling companion"for a while.  It is just red and white, which means I don;t have to take lots of different fabrics or threads.  Just one needle and one thread with the work.

I took some photos of the process.  I showed the photos of the original HERE

 I cut out the design, but folding the freezer paper into 8 parts

 I drew the design onto the back of the white background fabric and tacked in place

This is what the right side looks like when tacked in place

Cut away the fabric on the top, and turn under.  you clip the tacking, and remove it as you go

You can see here, that when you remove the tacking, the wholes are left and this helps you turn under easily.

When you come to a narrow piece like this,  you just slit down the middle and turn under

It just all stays in place until you are ready to turn it under

These are my tools.......straw needles and Auril thread

When you come to a tight spot like this you need to clip the inner curves

On the back you can check that I am keeping to the lines.  |My stitches look like little running stitches.  You can click on the pictures and get a closer look.

Here is one of the finished shapes.  I am really enjoying this one.  I love applique, and love doing this way with cut-outs.


If you are wondering......I am working on the next pattern for the Past Reflections.  Maybe over the coming weekend.  Stay tuned!

zig zag setting

 You will be very please to hear that this post is nothing to do with computer problems or other things that went wrong!

I finally got a chance to spend some time doing something productive for myself.   I have had a collection of 6"Ohio star blocks in the UFO box for ages.  When I went poking through the boxes recently, I decided that it was time to get it finished.  I have always had a soft spot for the zig zag setting.  The first time I tried to recreate such a sashing I made a real mess of it, until one of my friends told me it was made like a "strippy"quilt, with triangles.  I am going to machine quilt it, and actually cleaned up my sewing table so that I had the space to baste it.

So far I have just stitched "in the ditch"around the stars, and have no idea what will come next.  Some kind of parallel lines in the sashing, and made some stars in the large triangles.  Will see what I can come up with.

While I was cleaning out the sewing room, looking for space, I found my collection of McCalls Vintage quilt magazines.  These magazines are so inspirational if you like old quilts, and I do!

I actually found something that I thought I would make.  Are you aware if the German scherenschmitte paper cutting techniques?  You fold paper in halves, then quarters, and finally 1/8ths then cut out the design.  I love working the cut outs in applique  -  it is a real challenge.

As yet I have not decided on the colours, but after seeing the Red and White exhibition at the Sydney Quilt show, I have a bit of a hankering to make one.  It would be a really good travelling project as I could just baste the two layers together, and then cut away as i get to that part.  No need to carry lots of different fabrics or colours....just the one.

Tomorrow we are setting up for the Sewing Stitching and Handcraft show at the Adelaide showgrounds.  If you are going, please call by stand S25 and say hello to me, and my daughter Natalie will be with me Friday and part of Saturday.  It is going to be another cold weekend here, but it will be warm inside, so we hope to see a lot of people coming through.

This show is organised by a wholly owned South Australian company, and we like to support the locals, don't we?

Past Reflections-- yet another update

You will be sick of hearing about this.  I am!  A number of people were getting error messages when they went through the purchase process to get this month's block.  I tested it myself, and got an error message.  Frankly it is beyond my knowledge and skill to fix this on my own.  I have sent an SOS to the website lady to help me, but in the meantime I have done something different.

On the top right had side of this blog, you will see a photo of the Wreath block.  If you click on that you should be able to automatically download the pattern.  It is suppose to be 10" but is slightly smaller.  Bear with this one, as I am not fixing it now.  Just print it out a little bigger if needed.

If this works, I will do it this way each month, but you will have to get it within the month.

Wreath block

If you have tried to print out the Wreath pattern, and got only one page, please try it again.  I got a text message late last night in bed, and could not think of what might have gone wrong.  During the loading process I print out a copy of the pattern to see that it all looks ok, and it did! 

Anyway, in the bright morning light, I have removed the file, and uploaded it again.  Fingers crossed!  This is the link HERE

Lets hope that is all sorted.  On a bright note, I got emails back from the EQ customer service, and the problem is that I can only have the EQ7 loaded on 2 computers at any one time.  The fact that the old one is not working any more is unknown to them, as they told me to remove it and then I could add it to the new desktop PC.  However, they can remove it for me.......clever people.    And they know when I loaded it and when I used it last.......bit scary they can track my usage.

Yesterday I managed to move my accounting package across, with all the data intact! and I managed to upload the PDF programme as well.  I use CutePDF for my files.  This is a free download thing, but if you want something totally better.....say for merging documents etc, you can pay a once off fee and buy this one from them.  I felt pretty good at the end of the day.....then I got the message about the Wreath.

Apart from playing with these devices I do get time to do real stuff as well.  Last year I had my first experience of home made Quince Paste.  Quinces are fruit like pears, but they are very hard to do anything with unless you cook them.  When they are cooked they go really dark red.  I made it my mission to find out how to make this paste.

This is my third batch this year and most I have given away.

This is how you do it:-------

I used 1.5kilo fruit, washed, removed the core, and chopped.  Cook in water on the Stove top until tender.  Drain then weighed .  Mine weighed about 1 kilo.  Now, use a stick blender or food processor to munch it all up, and put into the slow cooker, with equal amount of sugar.  Cook in the slow cooker on high, with the lid off.  It might take 4 or 5 hours, but at least with the slow cooker you do not have to be at it all the time worrying if it is going to burn.  You really only have to keep a close eye on it towards the end.  Stir with a wooden spoon, and when it gets so thick, you have to push the spoon through, then you know it is ready.

Let it cool a little and spoon into the little moulds.  These I bought from the packaging shop.  They are 100ml size.  I left the lids off overnight, then covered in the morning.  You could also spoon the mixture into oiled muffin tins, and let them sit overnight.  Next day slip them out with a knife and wrap in plastic.  You can freeze them, or just leave them in the pantry.

The quinces have finished here now, but there might be still some around in other parts of Australia.

Past Reflections---

bet you thought I had forgotten!  Well, I had almost  -  what with all the fuss about getting the new computer working properly, the end of the month had slipped by and it had not been done.

Do you want to hear the sad saga?  I thought it was all going well until I tried to use EQ7 as this is how I draw my blocks.  I went to load it on the new HP and apparently, I have exceeded my limit on the number of devises I had loaded it to.  There is no way around it, as EQ connects to the internet when you sign in and checks your account, and it will not let me activate it.  I have emailed them a few days ago and still waiting for a response........so in the mean time I had to do it on the laptop and that is ok, to a point, but I like the big screen where I can see what I am working on in full screen.

In advance, I am asking you to check the size of the print out you get with this block just to make sure.  It should measure 10", and goes onto a larger piece of fabric, so that it floats.

Also, you know all those "saved" passwords!   I had to remember all the saved passwords for everything I do, so that I could load them again.  Not very happy right now, and it is cold, and I feel miserable........blah!  grizzle, grizzle.......

Should you like to finally get a copy of this block, it is on the Legend and Lace website.  If you are new here, then you need register as a customer, and "purchase" the block, but there is no charge.  You go through to the end of the sale process, and you are emailed a link.  Click on the link and you will be able to download the block.

Thanks for being patient with me, and listening to my grizzles.  I promise to do better next time :-))

Upcoming workshop

For the past couple of years my friend Mary and I have been getting together to bring you a couple of different blocks/quilts in one workshops.  We call it "come and try......."

We have the date for this year, and it is Friday 7th August.  We will be holding this at our usual favourite hall, which is at St Paul's Lutheran Church hall, at McLaren Vale.  If you are on my mailing list you *should have* received an email about it.

Details are below:-

Come and Try………..

Once again Mary and Wendy are teaming up to bring you a variety of blocks or quilts that you can try in a one day workshop.  Try one new block, or try all of them.

   

Kaleidoscope                            Stack a Deck - traditional and modern

                                         Rolling Stone            Card Trick

These blocks are all machine pieced, and can be made from your scrap bag, fat quarter bundles, or fabric packs.

Friday 7th August, St Paul’s Lutheran Church, McLaren Vale, SA

10 am to 3pm

$50 includes Lunch, morning and afternoon tea

Contact Mary ph 0403005552 email kamrothe@internode.on.net

Wendy ph 0417084245 email willywd200@gmail.com

Requirements lists will be forwarded once your place has been confirmed