A FINISH! ...and that's a UFO!

Good Friday morning from a rainy and windy Mauritius! 

It's the beginning of 'winter', or 'cold season', as the locals refer it to. It's past middle May and the last days the weather is typical for July/August; rain, wind and drop in temperature. Meteo predicts the temperature drops to +11C  / 51.8F on the plateau this 'winter'. BRRR! Some of you may be laughing, but with high humidity and wind, this sort of weather IS cold! Time to wear warm sweaters and socks! 

We took advantage of the sunny weather and did some long overdue yard work. Can't believe how overgrown it was! Not really a surprise; the summer has been hot and lots of rain, perfect condition for all plants, and WEEDS! 

If you have read my latest posts, you know I'm determined to finish as many as possible of the accumulated 15! UFO's. I'm happy to say I do have a few finishes and here's the first one: 

This is #12 (my UFO list).  1728 squares pieced together! Most of the squares are from my stash and others from swaps. There are a few duplicates. 

I made the blocks last year, but never made them into a quilt. 

The back! Yep, I decided to piece the back. Makes it more interesting, doesn't it? 

First I chose the pretty floral fabric and added some matching fabric that picks up the colors of the flowers.  

What was left is cut into strips, and squares measuring 2', 2.5', 3', 3.5', 4' and 5'. Happy to say all these fabrics are used up.

After working entirely on big quilts, I needed something smaller to do. I know I've said I'm not going to start anything new until some UFO's are done......... but.... After finishing 3 quilts recently (posts later), I think it is justified! :) 

I admit it; I have a soft spot for Advent Calendars! I used YLI gold metallic thread for quilting, but I didn't find it easy to use. Usually I use Superior Threads' metallic (my favorite), but I didn't have more and to order to get it shipped FedEx Express costs about $50! Better use what I have, I thought! I've left to hand sew the binding.

Speaking of metallic thread, has any of you tried Yenmet for quilting or embroidery? 

I'm working on another UFO. This is the one that was supposed to be the back for another quilt, but I decided against it.

 

I've quilted (stitch-in-the-ditch) all the 17 'flying geese' blocks. I'm enjoying the process and due to the nasty weather today I'm going to continue quilting the orange rectangles, I think... that's the plan, but with me plans always fail! I may also find something small to work on in between...

HAPPY QUILTING!

Progress on UFO's - AGAIN!

UFO's! UFO's! UFO's! That's what has been going on since my previous post! I have not started anything new, even if that has been very tempting a few times. I'm determined to finish as many UFO's as possible this year and so far so good! The PSQ #1 and the Scrappy Christmas Quilt - here - are both FINISHED! No photos yet. 

The last couple of weeks, I've been working on PSQ #2 and the Pineapple Quilt. For the PSQ #2, the blocks were done last year, but not pieced together. As you can see here, 3 blocks were missing (still not found!). New blocks were made and a flimsy was born! 

Does it happen you add pieces of batting together? I do, I zigzag the pieces together. I'm running out of batting and for this quilt I have pieced five pieces together to make it big enough.

A sneak peek of the pieced backing. I always pin and thread baste the 3 layers together before quilting. I've had my share of puckers when using pins only and don't want a repeat of wasted time ripping seams! I was wondering why the cat was so quiet and to where he had disappeared... HA! Under the table, on the quilt! Cats always find the best place to keep warm.

Poor 'Dear Nina'! This is how the bobbin case looked like after less than half of the quilt was quilted!

 It's all done and I hope to get the scrappy binding on by the weekend. 

42 blocks! Phyllis over at Jambearies suggested I add an additional row on one side and one at the bottom and call it quit, to make it a good size throw. ...and so I did!...so far! I'm not going to make more of these blocks, at least not for awhile! LOL. Elzaan over at Huisvlyt suggests a piano key border! ... which means the quilt would keep growing! I think that would look nice, but really, am I willing to add more work to it? I have to decide on backing too. Any suggestion? Scrappy? I may have some 'ugly' fabric that can be used. 

Removing the paper from each block took F-O-R-E-V-E-R! 

At one point, while making the pineapple blocks, it didn't look like it made any dent in the amount of strips at all! But now, after sorting strips - again - the amount is reduced from two to one box! Yippie!!!

HAPPY QUILTING!!!

Progress on UFO's during the Lockdown

It's Monday again! How did that happen?! Hope you all had a great week. Lockdown continues (to be eased, phase #2, as from May 1, 2021) and the week has been wet, wet, wet! Lots of rain which caused flooding in the South-eastern part of the island. It has been raining in our area too, but that's nothing compared to the South-East. No venture out except twice a week (lockdown restrictions) and the rain! Thank goodness for fabric and notions, stay inside and stay dry! 

I've taken a break from the pineapple blocks. I am going to make more blocks, at least one more row to the side and bottom, which would make a good size throw. I may do two rows; twin quilt, depending on the strips I've left. ...as if that is a problem; I can always cut more, if needed! 

Since my previous post, I've been working on other UFO's. 

The PSQ (with the stubborn backing) is quilted and trimmed, ready for the binding! I haven't had a close-up' look on how skewed the backing actually is, but after a quick look it doesn't look that bad. 

The scrappy Christmas quilt is quilted too! I had in mind a red and green scrappy binding, I shall see what I have left of Christmas fabric. 

Does any of you use Aurifil 50Wt for quilting? This is the first time I've used it (ran out of SuperiorThread's King Tut and Masterpiece). I love it! 

Pinned and thread basted! The 'flying geese' and blocks are leftovers from this quilt. Bits and pieces of 'ugly' and 'not so ugly' fabric are added. This quilt was supposed to be backing for another quilt. During my creative process - haha! - I came to the conclusion it's too beautiful to be hidden at the back of a quilt! What do you think? 

Any suggestion how to quilt this one? I'm thinking 'stitch-in-the-ditch' on all the 'flying geese' and blocks.  Maybe cross-hatch quilting on the rectangles and FMQ on the bigger pieces? I didn't take photos of the latter, part of them can be seen on the previous photo, side of the table. 

As if this was not enough, I've pieced together another PSQuilt.

How come 3 blocks are missing? I swear I made 48 blocks, because I made the other PSQ first, wanted to use up more 2.5' squares and knew exactly how many blocks are needed. I did count the blocks several times before I put them away (last year). I've been hunting high and low but didn't find them. I'm sure the troll has stolen them!!!  I had to pull out all the 2.5' squares already cut and made 3 new blocks. 

I don't think I have a 'square-problem'! LOL I had fun making the 3 extra blocks, now I'm tempted to make more 36-patches blocks for another PSQ! I really want to use up more of these squares. 

...and 5 new blocks for the scrappy 1.5' quilt. 

A new week, new possibilities. Not sure what I'm doing today. It's raining. Binding has to be cut and sewn to the Christmas quilt and PSQ, I may do that, but first..... COFFEE! 

HAPPY QUILTING WEEK! 

Patriotic Table Runners, This and That

 I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. For us, it was just normal days. Here, compared to Norway, there are no public holidays related to Easter. In Norway; Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays. Now that we are on partial lockdown (phase #1 in reopening), all church services are closed. If you would like to know more about lockdown Easter celebration in Mauritius, click here. 

UFO's are put aside, since I'm currently working on two Patriotic table runners. It's a custom order to one in the US. 

OOOH! That photo doesn't look that good, shot in the late afternoon in lamp light, but alas, you see what it is! lol This flag is in the centre of the table runner, which measures approximately 82 inches / 208 cm). Since the customer wanted a monogram, I have hand embroidered 'May 17, 1814' at the top and bottom of the flag. This date is the day the second oldest (after the US) constitution was signed and celebrated as Norway's National Day. 

The second table runner is shorter and doesn't have any monogram. Not visible here, but the pinwheels differ slightly from the longest table runner. Both are quilted and ready for the binding. 

Does any of you have an on-going project? 

My insanity project! 1.5 inches squares. So far, I have pieced together 1512 squares. For not being overwhelmed by all these tiny squares, I piece them together when I see there's enough for 2-3 36-patch blocks.

All the arcs for the Double Wedding Ring quilt is done.

...and in between quilting and housework

LHN's 'Coffee Menu'. Love how it turns out! Not much left to do. I love doing counted cross-stitching again; fun and relaxing. 

Our bougainvillea in full bloom.

HAPPY QUILTING!  

APQ's UFO Challenge 2020 - June Finish

 It's already Tuesday afternoon and a week since my previous post where I posted a sneak peek of a UFO I worked on during the lock-down. 

This is Quiltsy Team's and APQ's UFO Challenge 2020; #11 - June challenge. (My UFO list #16) Twin size quilt. Finished August 6, 2020. 

To create this quilt, I have pieced together 1.5 inch squares to 36-patch and 9-patch blocks. Each block measuring 6 inch square.

 I don't remember exactly when I started cutting and piecing these blocks, it may be back in 2018 or earlier. Madness? Maybe! LOL One suggested 'Covid Madness Quilt', perhaps that's what I'll call it?! 😊 

The idea was to free-motion-quilt it in an allover meandering pattern. After several tries, skipped stitches and lots of swear words, I gave up! I even tried different size needles; from 75/11 (as I usually use) to 90/14, nothing worked! Second attempt was 'stitch-in-the-ditch'. Not a problem, but after two seams on the long side I gave up because I didn't like what I was doing. It did not look nice! (Fun to unpick! NOT!) Third and final attempt was diagonal seams, which made me satisfied! 

This is the back. I didn't have any wide backing and purchasing fabric from the US during the lock-down was out of the question. I put on the thinking cap and after some days I came up with this idea. I had more of the 36-patch blocks and I pulled out some fabrics that have been sitting there 'forever' and I didn't think I was going to use them for anything else. 

Closeup of the back. The pieced blocks on the front and back are the reason why the FMQ didn't work out; it became too thick. It may have worked on a longarm, but not on dear 'Nina'. 

It feels good to have finished this UFO and that I have used scraps and fabric from my stash. I didn't use all the 36-patch blocks I had for this quilt; I have 16 blocks I didn't use. Madness is I'm still making more and can add 8 to the 16; 24 blocks. I have a few ideas, but that has to wait!  

**********

APQ & QUILTSY TEAM UFO CHALLENGE LIST per August 11, 2020

#1 - Log Cabin #1 (my list #13) - April

#2 - PSQ / Pinwheel Lap Quilt (my list #10) January FINISHED!

#3 - Scrappy 2" strips (my list #15)

#4 - Black / White Wall Hanging (my list #7)

#5 - Deer Log Cabin TT (my list #17) July

#6 - Nifty Nurses Wall Hanging (my list #3)

#7 - Log Cabin #3 (my list #18) March FINISHED! 

#8 - Snowman Village Wall Hanging (my list #9) August

#9 - Log Cabin #2 (my list #14) February FINISHED!

#10 - Snowman Village WH Attic Window (my list #8)

#11 - Scrappy 1" squares (my list #16) June FINISHED!

#12 - Star Batik Quilt (my list #12) May

My UFO's for April, May and July are FINISHED as well, I've yet to take photos. 

  

This and That

Hello everyone! 

 I hope you all had a nice Easter. No public holidays here, just normal days for us. 

How are you doing and what have you been up to recently?

First days of this week have just flown away. Today is actually the first day this week I'm not going anywhere! It's raining too, so what's better than playing with some fabrics and a little bit sewing?! 

Thanks for your comments on the daisy blocks! Since my previous post, I played around a little bit and decided to make three more blocks of each and turn them into two different table runners and table toppers

As most of you know, quilt fabrics etc are not available here and has to be purchased mostly from the US. I prefer to use unbleached cotton batting, but since it is a bit 'yellow-ish', I prefer to use white (bleached) for items where I use white fabric. I thought I had enough left for these items, but not so lucky. More on the way and I should get it by middle May. I didn't find anything suitable for backing in my stash and found an excuse to order! Haha! It should be delivered by end of next week, I hope! 

I have a soft spot for everything COFFEE where coffee fabrics are included as well! :) Last week I received these yummy coffee fabrics

Actually I needed one of these fabrics to finish a table topper. How come the other two ended up in the shopping basket too?! LOL

I was quilting happily away today, was thinking I can finish this table topper...

Nope! That didn't happen! Take a look at the spool! About 3.5 x 12 inches left to FMQ and ran out of thread! UGH! OK, no problem, I ordered more about 2 weeks ago and should get that parcel by next week as well! 

I love to use up bits and pieces of fabric and I've made two zippered pouches / makeup bags for the upcoming Christmas Show in Vadsø, Norway.

I was hunting through part of my stash for hook and loop tape the other day. I found it, but what I also found was these treasure boxes! :)

The one to the left contains 2" and 2.5" squares. The other one contains the same, but also some stripes. I have to admit it; I have lost control on how many boxes I have with pre-cut squares! Maybe this is a hint that I should 'attack' some of these squares and turn them into quilts?! :) 

I finally received these yummy fabrics yesterday! 

It took 40 days!!!  (USPS with International tracking) 16 days from date of shipping until it actually left the US! Then transit through Germany and UK before it arrived here and 10 days at the Customs! I went to the Customs to pick it up yesterday, at least I got some minutes city dose! :) 

I also have to mention I didn't buy these fabrics only because they are yummy! :) I'm going to use them for two advent calendars! 

'Winter' is finally here! ...in spite of 'Kenneth' and 'Lorna' spinning northwest and northeast from us and will not influence the Mascarenes, according to meteo

 Quilts are out for the nights! It's time to LIVE again, not only EXIST! Feels good! :) 

HAPPY QUILTING!

Patriotic Table Runners and WIPs

Hello! 

It's Sunday again, two weeks into April already. Where did this week go?! 

Rain and thunderstorms today and Meteo has issued 'heavy rain warning' until tomorrow morning. No venture out in this weather and what is better than sew?! :)

The Norwegian National Day - May 17th - is approaching. 

I have a few patriotic quilted items in our Etsy Shop and after selling one table runner last weekend, I've been busy making two more. 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/505436334/patriotic-table-runner-quilted-norway

I had some fabric left of this fun navy blue striped ribbons and made a variation of the one above. (Soon available at RedNeedleQuilts) 

I was looking for a specific fabric the other day and instead of locating the one I was looking for, I found these

Aren't they beautiful?! Love daisies! 

I've been pondering what to make and it can't be anything else than a summer table runner! :) I pulled out a white tonal daisy fabric and a matching yellow to the turquoise (azure) fabric and made two different fabric combination blocks

DH is my biggest supporter. I often ask him for advises and this is his design

...and here is mine. I love both blocks, both would look great as table runner / topper. Hm.... I think I'll make one of each. 
Please tell me, which one is your favorite block? 

I haven't had much time for the Scrappy Batik Star blocks, but managed to squeeze in time to make two last night

...and in between, when I have some 1.5 inch squares for my insanity project....

Altogether I have 103 blocks x 36 (squares in each block) = 3708 squares!
For a quilt size measuring 72 x 90 inches, I need 6480 squares! Not more than 77 blocks (2772 squares to go)! YIKES! LOL Honestly, I'm not sure how big I'm going to make it. 
With all the blocks I already have, perhaps it's time to start sewing them together?!

HAPPY EASTER WEEK! 

Progress on a Custom Order and more

It's Sunday again, a hot and humid afternoon here in Mauritius. 

The rainy- and cyclone season. We had some nice, cool rainy days, but now the heat is here again. I hate this time of the year! Can't wait for April when it starts to cool down a bit! 

I have accomplished quite a lot this week and I'm happy with the progress on a custom order that actually is a UFO. 

Last year, I made several items to a customer in Canada. She loves red and white and this time the order was several items made from a mix of cotton quilting fabric and woven fabrics; squares and stripes. I had quite some fabrics left and we decided on a lap quilt and mug rugs. We agreed on small and big squares randomly placed for the lap quilt and squares and rectangles for the mug rugs. I cut the squares last year, (see this post), but 'life came in the way' and first this week I have been able to work on it. 

Since my previous blog post, I have pieced the quilt, added the border, pieced the back and made the mug rugs. This morning I cut the batting and the next steps are thread basting and quilting. For the mug rugs I have left to add the binding. 
Don't you love these red and white's together? I do! 

In between, I have done small jobs on a few other items

Pieced a table runner that is ready to be quilted and added binding to another table runner, table topper and small candle mat. The most boring part left; hand sew the binding! :) 

I have two mug rugs ready to be listed in my Etsy shop! 
Aren't these poppies gorgeous?! 

...and look what landed in our PO Box earlier this week!
Thanks goodness I didn't have to go to the Customs in Port Louis this time!!! 

I bought an Island Batik Charm Pack; 'French Roasted' together with a coordinating black/tan batik. Gorgeous batiks! 
Have you tried the 'Bloc Loc' rulers for HST?  I bought two; 2.5" and 3.5". Can't wait to try them! ...and more blues for my scrappy blue/white Irish chain quilt! :) 
Don't worry, I didn't break my SFD! (Strict Fabric Diet)! This order was placed and shipped at the end of last year! 
I'm doing good on my SFD; no fabric shopping this week! :) 

HAPPY QUILTING AND HAVE A GREAT SUNDAY!