The morning after the night before...

I finished off the Architextures Spring Carnival cushion last night; I was not happy.

Don't get me wrong, I love everything that's there, but feel like maybe piping or binding would have made it better, but I am not going to unpick again.

Just to top my day off, the pillow form I thought would fit, was way too big, so I had to cut open a smaller one and then give it some extra stuffing and hand-stitch closed.

Oh and then, whilst parent's were no doubt away, some local teenagers were doing the sleep-free party thing all night, so not much sleep for us either, and more than usual grump round these parts today!

I did manage a few front and back shots inside and out before the rain came, and came and came...

Just for those who like a stat or two...
Fabric - Architextures - Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman
Pattern - Ferris Wheel aka Spring Carnival, templates from Katy Jones/I'm A Ginger Monkey
Pieced with Aurifil 50wt in 2021
Quilted with Aurifil 12wt in 2021
Wadding - Vilene H640
Finished size - 19" square

So I did not get my sewing machine out today; I thought it was better not to tempt fate, but played with Touchdraw, spent a few merry hours in a Brit Bee 'email conflab' and watched trash TV instead.

Hoping your weekend felt a lot more successful than mine xxx

Changeable...

The weather and my mood have swung from good to bad and back again today, and quite frankly I will be glad to start again tomorrow.

Legoland plans have been abandoned for this weekend; long car journeys, irritable kids, queues and rain are possibly my least favourite things, so no thank you!

Instead, the girls and I went to the leisure centre 'fun day', where, to be honest, all the fun to be had was watching the lady trying get the candyfloss to stay on the sticks!  We collected some goodie bags and were home in 30 minutes.

Pah!

And I had a misadventure in piping.  I finished my Spring Carnival cushion, I added piping as I thought it would be a brilliant finishing touch, having seen Svetlana's beauty last night.

Wrong.

I have just unpicked the whole cushion and piping and zip, and I am not happy.  I will be back tomorrow.  I will be smiling again... I hope!

Friday finish...

Well not a total, full-on finish, but I have managed to get my Architextures EPP all sewn together today.

Having started basting my hexies at about 5am at Gatwick before our flight away, I have plodded slowly, and I love how it has turned out...

This will be sewn up into another cushion - I have a few of those will be cushions project stacking up, so hopefully I will have a run of actual, 100% finishes very soon.

Tomorrow, I will put the Stitch-Teasers out of their misery and show my September block requests, I am pretty excited about this!

Hasta mañana chicas xxx

Spring Carnival Finish...

I have stitched away slowly on this one since June, and now summer is over, and it is done...

With a whopping 26" cushion pad, it has to be one of the comfiest lounging cushions ever, although it does not go with anything else in our living room!

I backed the carnival panel with some fusible fleece and did some simple straight line quilting at 3/4" intervals in aqua (5006) 50wt Aurifil.  Joined the front to the back with a french seam, and there's even a 'hidden' zip!

Ballet lessons start again this week, so I think I need to get sorting another little EPP project, to wile away those happy hours x

It's oh so quiet...

...well it was, for 6 whole hours.

The kids all merrily trooped off to school this morning, and I had the house to myself for the first time since the beginning of the holidays, all barr about three-quarters of an hour a couple of weeks ago!

I was home by 9am; by 9.30 I had whipped up a new lanyard for work, (heck, I have been wearing the standard issue too long, and if I have to be there, I'd like a little FMF for company!)...

Then I parked myself out in the garden and stitched some more of my Spring Carnival...

Obviously by 3.30pm all semblance of relaxation and calm had been forgotten, but it was lovely whilst it lasted.

Banking on it!

Yep, you can guarantee rain on a Bank Holiday and pretty much put money on anything we were planning on doing being an outdoor activity and therefore met with a little less than enthusiasm.

So I did ALL the holiday ironing first thing; despite shutting the huge pile in the garage all weekend and hoping it would go away, it was still there this morning, so I bit the bullet, but I do feel a weight has been lifted.

I then finished off the little Liberty purse - hurrah!

The sewing machine sprung into action without a hitch; feeding the flexi frame through the top channels was a little more stressful, (insert a huge selection of swear words here), but I didn't need to unpick, so I will call it a success...

I used some blue Essex Linen to frame the Liberty panels and lined it with Kona some-bright green-or-other, and I think it looks rather cute.

I am going to add this to my Brit Quilt Swap package for my partner.

I have also been sewing up a few of my Spring Carnival wheels today, because they are BIG and don't make my eyes go as squiffy as the 1/2" hexies! 

My mojo, it appears, is slowing coming back to me at last, which is a bit of a relief!  I just wish the sun would come back too, then I will be a happy bunny.

The Carnival is coming along...

I have been slowing plodding along with my Spring Carnival EPP.

Without the Ballet lessons, and only sporadic swimming, I have not had my regular fix, but I have increased from just 3 finished wheels at the end of July to these...

I will be keeping the little stash of basted pieces by my side over the next couple of weeks, in the hope that I can get this finished before the end of the school holidays.

I also have plans for some Liberty hexies, I'll show you tomorrow, then maybe some festive piecing; so many options, too little time!

Ding Ding Round 3 in the FAL...

Well it's my turn to lay my virtual cards on the virtual sewing table and tell you what I hope to achieve in the third quarter of 2012.

Now as this spans the summer holidays, I am going to average my time out as just a little less productive than usual, as despite being off work, I will have constant 'companions', time away and who knows, maybe the chance to crack on with the 4 novels, (to read, not write), I have sat on my bedside table!

So I am going to go with my big three...

The Mystery Quilt, which has gone a bit more mysterious - I want this one DONE!!!

My Retro Flowers - I love everything about this too much to let it fester in pieces...

...and my Spring Carnival mega-cushion...

I also have my In The Frame Purse package and Brit Quilt Swap mini to complete this quarter.  But as I have to finish these, they don't really count; I only have myself to answer to for the 3 above unless I commit to the FAL, and my days of being lenient are over!

Linking up with Rhonda and the gang, how about you?

Going round in circles...

I feel like I am chasing my tail a bit at the moment; I am glad I have been able to make progress on both my current swaps, and have got a couple of bee blocks under my belt this week; more on those tomorrow, but I don't feel I am getting enough things ticked off my mental to do list, (read that whichever way you like!).

I have been spending way too much time chatting rather than sewing whilst at ballet and swimming, and so my Spring Carnival EPP is going very slowly...

And today I received even more inspiration of the paper variety...

Having seen, and maybe even stroked Tacha's awesome Union Jack quilt at Retreat, and spotting last Thursday night, mid-FQly Twitter-chatter, that languishing on my Amazon Wish List, Hexa-Go-Go still had a release date for a few weeks time, Book Depository however said 'in stock' and it was cheaper - so in went my order, and today I received the book!

At rushed first glance it sure is lovely!

I really am hoping to be able to spend a lot of the summer holidays in the park with the kids, so between the hexing and embroidery I should be all set to sew-on-the-go; we just need a bit of actual summer to make leaving the confines of the house a posibility!

To add to my optimism, I have just ordered some 4" hoops from eBay too, so bring on the sunshine xxx

Basted!

I have prep'ed all the hexies, squares and triangles for my mahusive Spring Carnival cushion...

I know I could have basted as I went, but it was quite satisfying getting them all finished, and then after a bit of counting, recounting and a bit more basting, finished again.

Now I can really get on with the piecing, and that is going to be fun!

It's Fabric Friday!

Well this week I have received a few squidgy packages, some I shopped for and others were gifts and I am over the moon with them all!

Firstly some long awaited yardage of Summersville from Brenda at Pink Castle - I did have plans, then I changed my plans, now I think I will wait until I have finished off a few other things first... probably!

With specific plans, I ordered the backing for the twin quilts.  You know when you just order with your fingers-crossed and hope that the online photo really is what you will receive, and when it arrives you are so totally thrilled that the plan came together?  Well these Essential Stripes from Seamstar so perfectly match the Reunion colours, and were on offer too, so I did a little happy dance when I ripped off the lovely tissue paper!

I also ordered 1/2m of Domestic Bliss to assist in making my Spring Carnival cushion - I know I won't need it for ages, but why pay two lots of postage and not take advantage of 10% off?

And then onto real treats...

A generous benefactor, who may have a lovely online shop in Galway, sent me an amazing sample pack of the full Mama Said Sew line to play with!!!  It's so gorgeous, I thought I was really going to have to think long and hard about what to make, but Lynne's ET Phone Home block is obviously a strong contender.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

And finally today - the mail to end all mail!

I got home to find that 'popping a few bits of Denyse Schmidt fabric in the post' actually meant 'sending a dream parcel of wonderful fabric that will make you giddy'!

My lovely friend Deborah, you may know her as Simply Miss Luella, spotted my persistent moaning around blogland about how we are so hard-done-by in the UK having neither Joann's nor Spotlight to satisfy our DS cravings and so she asked (asked!!!) if she could send me some.  Guess what I said!

I also received a smashing parcel from the one and only Terri - I asked if she could pick me up some DS fabric on her recent trip, (having found out where she was); and she also enclosed was a beautifully wrapped birthday present which I will, (if my resolve remains strong), save for Tuesday, and show you all then...

I have already gushed my thanks by email - but I need to say it again, online quilting friends are the most generous wonderful group of ladies and gents anywhere.

Now I am going to sit back and let my long weekend begin - I am not back to work until next Thursday, which is probably for the best, as I think I need to go and clear some space for all these new additions! xxx

Idle hands?

Not me!

Not only have I been passing time with embroidery since Retreat...

OK, it might have a puncture!

That's Aneela's little red bus to add to the collection, but I have also started on another mid-size project... a Katy Jones' Spring Carnival mega-mahusive hand-pieced cushion cover.

Using two charm packs of Domestic Bliss, and a FQ of Kaffe Fassett shot cotton, (yes Emily, that one!), I am still at the basting stage, but already loving it.  I know I could have Pritt-sticked them, but I like this bit too...

This should keep me out of trouble for a while; I was kind of hoping these would be my summer garden sewing projects, but they seem to work very nicely as sat on the sofa under a quilt projects too, which is lucky x