Monday, February 11, 2013

A big pat on the back

Ok so on Sunday I blogged that I was going to complete the January and February Lucky Star BOM Blocks and that I was going to pick from my stash instead of buying more fabric! 
Anyway I found this wonderful pile of fabric that I was saving for who knows what.  Its Pat Bravo's Dreaming in French collection and I thought well there's no point leaving it in a box in a cupboard - let's use it!  I am just hoping I have enough for the whole project.

So after a slightly delayed start (we went fishing and the only thing we caught were pippies which got the kids (and me) quite excited) I finished the January block last night and managed to finish the February block today, while my 3 year old had a much needed nap.  The colours are much truer in the picture at right rather than the blocks.  Not sure what happened there.  And yes I do need to iron better.

I do have a rather large pile of largeish offcuts from the blocks.  Maybe I should cut the starting strips smaller so there is not as much wastage.  Any ideas peeps?



I am quite pleased with myself and I am thinking this method of blog your goal for the day may work in the future.  A bit like writing a list for lots of people to see and shaming yourself into doing it so you don't look like a big wally :)

Linking up to Lets Get Acquainted Blog Hop.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Sew Your Stash Thin 2013

So I'm feeling way more motivated since posting yesterday.  Thanks to everyone who has visited and taken the time to comment.  Your lovely comments mean a lot.  So my advice to fellow bloggers who are on a bit of a downer - BLOG!!  It is amazing what a bit of encouragement can do for the soul.

So I thought I would take advantage of my returning motivation and post this morning what I hopefully plan to WILL accomplish today.

I joined in the Lucky Star BOM at Don't Call me Betsy and today I am going to sew the first 2 blocks!  I was originally going to make it an all solids quilt but I've decided to join in AJ's Sew Your Stash Thin 2013
sew your stash thin 5
 
So with that in mind I am going to use fabrics from my stash.  So my Lucky Stars won't be exactly what I wanted but I'm sure I will be able to find something I like from the stash, right??
 


Saturday, February 9, 2013

That (insert expletive here) Tablerunner!!

It's been a slow start to the year in Red Raspberry land.  One thing I haven't shared is the one handmade gift I did actually finish before Christmas.  This tablerunner that I made for hubby's Mum.
 I don't know how something so relatively simple became such a pain in the butt!  It started out ok. Came up with the design, made some half square triangles using some of my favourite Amy Butler fabric, sewed it all together and then it just went downhill from there.
 For the small pinwheel blocks I had used a very similar colour fabric as in the large blocks so the pattern just seemed to get lost and just looked a right old mess.  Anyway instead of just making 4 new small blocks I decided to sew some sashing strips between the blocks.  A whole lot of unpicking and resewing later and I had blocks that didn't line up and something that was starting to resemble more o a tablecloth than a runner.  So I unpicked all that bloody sashing, made 4 more small pinwheel blocks and sewed it all back together.
 And now this is the part where I get to quilt it right??  Wrong! One of the triangle pieces along the outside didn't meet the edge and not just by a tincy wincy bit but by about a quarter inch, my seam allowance!  Many, many swear words later I though what if I unpick one side and then try to stretch it to fit.  Guess what??  Didn't work so I unpicked the whole triangle and sewed it back in and the bloody thing still didn't meet up.  Would anyone else have ripped it to shreds by now?!  When my sanity returned, I cut out a new ( extra large) triangle piece, sewed it in and thank goodness it worked.
It has a pieced back and I quilted using straight lines and then used a pieced binding with the scraps of fabric that were left over.  I love the pieced binding.  I am going to do this more often!

I think it looks ok.  I have never ever unpicked this much in my life and will never ever do so again.  The whole project probably took twice as long as it should have but I am quite impressed with myself for not chopping it into small pieces and throwing it in the bin!  And best of all is my husband's mum likes it and it is now on her dining room table.  (unless of course she whips it out just before we visit and throws it in the cupboard as soon as we leave!)

Lessons learned: 
1.  Spend more time planning and cutting accurately instead of going guns blazing into a project.
2.  If you are unpicking a lot, make sure you have bandaids handy so when you stab yourself multiple times with the pointy bit of the unpicker you don't bleed all over your fabric.
3.  Buy new quick unpick as the old one is now worn out.

Oh and I must share these.  My little peeps are huge Peppa Pig fans so I appliqued some T-shirts for them.  The sewing is absolutely atrocious as I was having a 'not in the mood for sewing day' and it usually looks crap then.  Most of the time I would match my thread colour to the fabric and if you are doing raw edge applique and can't sew straight this is what you would do, but I was trying to be clever, for as anyone whose kids watch Peppa Pig will know all the characters have a kind of darker outline around them.  I would lone to do a whole quilt af all the little characters.  I think it would look fantastic.

Linking up to Small Blog Meet at Lily's Quilts
Lily's Quilts

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Blog Tag


I was tagged a little while ago (actually more than a little) by Lisa from Hilltop House Creative Works and Chrissie from  made by ChrissieD in a blog tag game.  As both ladies asked different questions I thought it would be interesting to play along and answer all 22 questions.

HERE ARE THE RULES TO PLAY BY:

Every tagged person has to tell 11 things about themselves
The person who tagged you asked 11 questions, answer them
Ask 11 questions for the (up to) 11 blogs that you're going to tag  (the people you tag should have less than 200 followers)  
Mention the blog that tagged you, but don't tag them back.

11 THINGS ABOUT ME:

I am an Aussie and grew up in the small coastal town of Yeppoon in Queensland which lies just north of the Tropic of Capricorn.  Just off the coast of Yeppoon lies Great Keppel Island which is part of the Great Barrier Reef.
File:Yeppoon.JPG
Main beach in Yeppoon

Now that I have lived in the city (Brisbane, Qld which is not a big city) I would love to return to the quiet life of a country town!

I am a trained beauty therapist and massage therapist.

My real job (besides being a mum!) is my home-based Spray Tanning business which allows me to stay home with the kids.

I love all types of craft!  Before I took up quilting I was totally into jewellery making and took a number of classes in Precious Metal Clay, Dichroics, Wire Jewellery and my favourite class ever was learning how to make lampwork beads.

I would like to learn book binding, glass slumping and lead lighting.

I like to bake but really detest planning and making meals!

I am a bad housekeeper.

I read way too much when I'm not sewing, hence the bad housekeeping.

I love 80's music.

I would love to own/run a sewing and craft cafe one day.

Lisa's questions for me:

What is the most memorable book you have read?  Can't think of just one of the top of my head but Dick Francis is my all time favourite author so anything he has written.  I am a sucker for fiction so hope you weren't expecting 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' or something along those lines ;) although I'm sure it's good.
What are you reading right now?  Close to the Bone by Stuart MacBride.  Would you recommend it?  Yes.  If you like crime thrillers, Stuart MacBride is amazing.
If you could have any job in the world what would it be?  Paleontologist or Archaeologist.
The song/group playing in your music player right now is...  The Ultimate 80's
What is your favourite animal and why?  Frogs.  I have always loved them, despite the slime!
Why do you like to quilt?  It's fun!!
Favourite meal to cook and for whom?  Well I hate cooking meals but I guess it would have to be Satay Chicken Noodles as both my kids think it's yummy.
What was the last thing you learned?  I recently attended a Resin bangle workshop.  It was fantastic.  Another very addictive craft that I can see myself doing more of in the future. 
What was the last thing you taught someone?  When I attended the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair I was demonstrating Raw Edge applique technique, so hopefully someone learnt something from that.
Your favourite colour is?  Raspberry of course!
What was your best trip ever or one you would like to go on?  My dream trip would be visiting all the ancient ruins around the globe.

Chrissie's questions for me:

Are you in a Quilt Guild, if you are then tell us about it.  Have just started the South West Brisbane MQG with my friend AJ.  Our first meeting is this Sunday the 13th January.  Very, very excited!
What's the longest you've lived somewhere and where was it?  My hometown of Yeppoon in Queensland.  I lived there until I was 26 and then I moved to Brisbane.
What's your favourite item that you've ever made and why?  Definitely the first quilt I made which is mentioned in this post -  my Kokeshi Doll quilt that I made for my daughter.  I still love it and it was so exciting to have it featured in Homespun magazine.

What books do you have by your bed?  Lot's of Stuart MacBride, Karen Rose, Mo Hayder and of course tonnes of quilting books and mags.
What do your friends and family think about you quilting?  My kids think Mummy is 'cool' because I make things.  ( I'm hoping that when they are older it will still be cool to make stuff)  My husband in his own quiet way is supportive but I'm very sure hates the mess I leave everywhere.  My parents, Mum especially and my Aunty Marilyn (who is a quilter) have been very excited for me the few times I have had a quilt published in Homespun magazine. 
Where are you spending Christmas day this year and who with?  Husband's family.
When did you buy your first sewing machine?  I can't actually remember, in my late teens sometime.  Up until then I was using my Grandma's old machine.
Why did you start blogging?  For a few reasons.  Mainly to get to know other bloggers and to encourage myself to stop procrastinating and continue with designing more quilts. 
Who is your favourite actor/actress and what is the best role you've seen them in?  I'd have to say Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption and I love Ed Burns too.
How/where do you store your fabric?  Umm...that would probably be all over the house although I do try to keep it contained to one large cupboard but it just seems to escape.
What's the best hair style you've ever had and why?  That would be my Princess Di hair in the 80's as I could go to bed and get up the next day and it still looked the same as I used so much hairspray to keep it in place.

I am tagging these lovely ladies:

Ange @ Heart of Charnwood
AJ @ AJ's Antics
Mandy @ Fell 4 U
And I am quite sure there were a few others but hotmail seems to have deleted the emails from those who were going to participate and it's been so long since I was going to the write this post I have forgotten.  Sorry ladies, but if this was you let me know and I will add you to the list.

My questions for you are:

What is your second favourite craft after quilting/sewing(if you have one)?
If you had the chance to change one thing you have done in your life what would it be?
If you were an animal, what would you be?
What is your all time favourite movie?
What is your favourite book/author?
What is next on your to-do list of things to learn?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
Why did you start blogging?
What is your favourite item you have ever made and why?
Who do you admire most in quilting blog land and why?
What is the most interesting place you have visited or would like to visit?

Sunday, January 6, 2013

South West Brisbane Modern Quilt Guild

The first meeting of the South West Brisbane Modern Quilt Guild will be held next Sunday the 13th January at Centenary Community Centre (The Hub).  To say I am excited would be the understatement of the year!  AJ and I would love anyone who lives in Brisbane and is interested to come along - Erin this means you! (If you can) :)

Visit our Facebook group to learn more.