Attacking a block swap UFO

'Hello' from a cloudy and wet Sunday evening this side of the globe! 

Surprise! It's raining! We are getting the outer cloud bands from cyclone 'Dumazile'. It is expected to pass between Madagascar and Reunion Island, but we all know how unpredictable these storms are.... We had a couple of sunny days earlier this week and we were able to do some yard work. My goodness! With all the rain we have got this year, the garden has become a jungle! Still lots to do, but that has to wait! 

What's better than to stay inside sewing?! :) It's pouring down right now!

What have you been up to this week?
I've made a few table runner tops and finished the two Norwegian flag mug rugs (see my previous post). When I remembered to take photos today, it was already dark. 

As you may remember, I have quite some UFO's. Who doesn't?! 

Friday afternoon I had a look at my oldest UFO; the 'Sunbonnet Sue' quilt. It was not my intention to work at it now, but I got carried away and have been sewing the entire weekend! 

Most of the blocks are swaps from 2010/2011. I missed the 2012 swap though and to make a decent size quilt I decided to make some Sunbonnet Sue machine applique blocks, 16 blocks altogether. I finished about half of the S.Sue blocks last year, got bored to tears with it and put them away! I did a marathon sewing yesterday morning and finished all the S.Sue blocks!

I didn't pay much attention to the blocks when I received them and I thought it would be an easy task to piece them all together. WRONG! 
The blocks are supposed to measure 12.5 inch square. Most of them do, but to my surprise - and annoyance - some blocks measured less. Attention were not paid to the seam allowance and 7 (!!!) blocks measured less then 12.5" square! The measurements were off from 1/4 to 1/2 inch!  

This is one of the 'out of size' block! Take a look at the bottom and to the left; as much as 1/2" too small and it won't fit together with the other blocks! What would you have done?? I noticed the seam allowance was way off, almost 3/8"! I decided to rip the entire block and start over again! :((

Another one that is way off, but not as bad as the first one. 

My dear helper!  I think he feels sorry for me! 'Mommy' was not happy today when he decided to do 'aerobic' on the blocks layout on the floor!!!! lol 

They look much better now. The one to the right is still little bit off, but I managed to adjust it when I pieced the blocks together. These are only a few that didn't measure 12-1/2", altogether I had to rip and re-sew 7 blocks! 

Needless to say I'm still annoyed! This was totally waste of time and it shows how important it is to pay attention to measurements when piecing blocks! I'm not saying my blocks / work are perfect - they are not! But when a block has to be 12.5 inch, 12 inch is not acceptable. There's no seam allowance and how do you make it fit together with the 12.5 inch blocks?? 

All blocks sewn together in rows. I wanted to finish the top today, but with all the ripping and re-sewing I had to do, I'm POOPED! 

It feels like it's time to get the feet up and have a glass of wine... or two....! :) 

HAVE A FABULOUS SUNDAY AND HAPPY QUILTING! 

Do I really have a problem?

Some days ago - after talking about boxes and boxes with squares, and that hubby threatens to move out because it's not space for him anymore - one said to me; 'you have a problem'! LOL 

... and here is my 'problem'...

Yep! Boxes with squares in different sizes!

The squares are sorted on sizes and some boxes had squares in different sizes. Spent some time today organizing and cutting more scraps. Reduced the amount of boxes with three, a good sign! :)

I think I have to show you what is hidden in some of the boxes

This one, it's the large black one to the top right on the first photo.

It consists of 5500 2 inch squares, all from earlier swaps. Still it's not enough squares (from swaps) for a King size quilt (108 x 108 inch)! :) lol I do not plan to make a King size though, even if that had been fun! The problem will be to quilt it on my 'Dear Nina'. 6400 2 inch squares are needed to make a King size quilt! 

Christmas fabric - 2 inch squares. I have no clue how many there are, I haven't counted.

These boxes consist of 2 and 2.5 inch squares. Some are for a possible next swap (it's not confirmed it will be another swap this year) and some are just for me. :) The box to the right consists of orphan blocks and HST (half squares triangles). The idea is to make a 'wild' quilt using up all those HST's. 

2.5 inch squares. No counts. 

Batiks..... need to cut more.... The idea was to cut and sell small packages containing 50 squares each. I did it 3-4 years ago and sold it all on Etsy as well as eBay.

You may wonder; 'what does she do with all those squares'? 

My answer is; 'I'm addicted and I'm working on it!' :) 

I have just finished thread basting my second Postage Stamp Quilt where I have used squares entirely from swaps. 

That will be another post. :) You can see the first one I made from swaps here 

HAPPY SEWING! 

September PSQ charm swap

 Are you ready for the September PSQ Charm Swap?

Have you been cutting squares like a mad (wo)man? 

I have lots of charms already cut and stored in boxes and it was quite easy to fill up small plastic bags with 100 charms in each - ready to fly out of Mauritius. :)  

You can read more about the swap here 

... and here is all the info you need BEFORE you sign up for the swap.

 

Vote for Quiltsy Team Kaleidoscope Challenge - My UFO finishes for May #part 2

WELCOME JUNE - my birthday month! 

Again I should not ask 'where did May go' , because that seems to happen every time I do a new blog post. Even if the intention is there to blog more often, I get busy with other things and it fails every month.

Being an Etsy seller, a lot of time goes into making new items for my shop, different team activities and promoting. 

Recently, the Quiltsy Team on Etsy, decided to have a Kaleidoscope Challenge.  9 talented members participated and now it's time to vote. 

Go to the Quiltsy Team Blog and vote for your favorite. 

**************

I have been busy sewing and most important is I have finished all my UFO's for the 

Quilts Quilts Quilts Team Challenge!  Here are the UFO's I entered for the challenge. 

I have made PSQ's earlier, but this is the very first one where I have used charms from different swaps, hosted by Mary over at The Curious Quilter. If you want to participate, there will be a another swap in September.  

I'm pleased with how it turned out and especially I love the border. I also love the crinkled look after washing. 

Another big UFO I have finished, is my scrappy green log cabin quilt.

It was put on hold because I couldn't decide on how to quilt it. It ended up meandering.

I love log cabin quilts and I'm very pleased with this one. 

I had a lot of green 'old' fabrics in my stash and this is a great way to get use of it. 

Here's my other log cabin UFO! Haven't touched it this year. I think I should give it a go while the fabrics are still available, not sure I have enough. 

Custom order - Table runners - Charms PSQ Swap - Log Cabin Quilt

GASP! It's more than 3 weeks since my previous blog post! My intention is to do a blog post once a week, but it seems that isn't always possible. Some finishes, gardening and a couple of hikes have kept me busy. 

UPDATE: I started working on this blog post about two weeks ago. Then we lost our beloved Birre-Liten (cat). He was such a special and loving cat and we miss him tremendously. It has taken me some days to gather myself; life has to go on.... 

The customer order is done and on the way to Canada!
(Received by now and the customer is very happy - makes my day!) 

Four placemats

Teapot cozy - front

... and back - or your choice :) 

Four lined napkins

I love these fabrics and I loved doing the customer order! I have some fabrics left and I'm thinking of a table runner... 

I have a few other finishes; 

an olive green check star table runner. 

.... and a pink/light cream HST table runner

I don't really have a sewing room... My 'sewing room' is the dining-room table, the fabrics and notions are stored in the studio and bedroom. A couple of weeks ago I decided tidy up / clean the studio. I had stored quite some containers and a couple of baskets in one corner of the room - because there are no other place to keep them! Years ago I bought a basket on Rodrigues Island (10th district of Mauritius) and since it is quite big a lot of things can be kept in it. On the top there were lots of plastic bags... Why have I kept all those plastic bags?! 

I removed all the plastic bags and guess what I found?!

Charms!!! 2 and 2.5 inch charms from a swap in 2012! Most of them from the US, but also Australia and Canada. Earlier this year when I collected all the 2.5 inch charms from several swaps, I thought I had them all... I had totally forgotten these! What a treasure! :) 

... and speaking of charms... I have received all the charms from the first 2014 PSQ swap; 900 2 inch charms; from England, Canada and the US. 

I've been working on the green/light cream/yellow log cabin quilt again. My idea was to make it a queen size by adding a 'flying geese' border, but I didn't have enough of the light cream tone-on-tone.... Instead I added two strips to the first border I had already added and it is now a good twin size quilt. Fabric for the back as well as batting is on the way from the US. I was fortunate to get fabric to half price and batting 20% off! 

I had a couple of leftover blocks from the log cabin quilt and made them into table toppers.

Love using up bits and pieces!

Set of 4 coasters.

Set of two black / gray coasters

Our 'hiking season' has started and here's the link to one of the hikes we've done recently.

It's a beginning! Postage Stamp Quilt Charm Swap 2012-2013 and a new project

Over the last couple of years I have participated in the Postage Stamp Quilt Charm Swap hosted by Mary over at The Curious Quilter. 

My swap partners are from the US, Canada, Australia, Croatia, Sweden and a couple of private swaps from Germany and Malaysia. 

In 2012 & 2013 I didn't have time to start working on these squares. At the end of last year, after the last 2013 swap, I decided I will work on them from the beginning of this year. So far I have kept my promise! :) 

Well, it is not fully true that I didn't work on the squares last year; I did sort about 400 squares on colors. It's a tedious job, I got bored and put it all away. Christmas and New Year came and went and  in the beginning of January I pulled out all the packages containing 100 squares of 2.5 inch each. 

Here are some of them...

About 3000 2.5 inch charms sorted on colors

A couple of weeks ago I started sewing some of the charms together

7 blocks - 36 squares in each blocks - 252 squares - so far! :) 

I hate plans (they always fail!), but I hope to do one block per day or 2-3 blocks per week. I still have yet to decide on size and how I want to assemble the blocks

I've had these beautiful layer cakes sitting on the shelf since 2009/2010 (if not mistaken)!!!  The idea was to make Bunny Hill's 'A Tisket, A Tasket', but that never happened! 

The layer cakes are

1) Aviary by 3 Sisters

2) Beach House by Blackbird Designs

My idea is to cut each 10 inch squares into four 5 inch squares, mix them all and make a twin quilt - 54 x 90 inches - but that may change! :) Whatever it turns out to be, I have to buy backing... in spite of being on SSD! (Strict Stash Diet!) :) 

I have yet to take photos of several items I've finished this month; hope to do that during the weekend. 

The craze is on again! / Progress on BD quilt

Do you know what I'm talking about?! :)

You are right; The Postage Quilt 2012 Charm Swap and Challenge, hosted by Mary at The Curious Quilter.

The sign up for the July swap is closed (of course - we are already into August). If you have missed the previous swaps, don't despair, there will be another swap in October.

Over the last week I have been busy organizing and packing all the squares. Last week I sent out

- 12 matching sets of 100 2.5 inch squares

- 4 newbie gifts - 50 2.5 inch squares

- 3 newbie gifts - 50 2 inch squares

Today I have sent out

- 11 matching sets of 100 2 inch squares

The squares are now flying out of Mauritius, to the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Croatia. Now I can sit down patiently and wait for squares flying in to Mauritius! :)

I don't have much to show and tell, because I'm still hooked up on Johnny's BD quilt.

I'm happy to say though, that all the quilting is done - just a few thread ends to be taken care of. I hope to start working on the binding in a couple of days.

Here it is - sneak-peak.... I've used flannel (made in India) for the backing. It doesn't match very well the top, but since it is a scrap quilt and it's going to be a bedspread, does it really matter?! :) To make this quilt I have used all fabrics from my stash, except only one fabric that I just had to buy! :)

Yesterday I made a fruit cake - check out the recipe here.



The 2012 Postage Stamp Challenge and Swap #3

The craze, the fun and the excitement is all over the world again!

Mary over at The Curious Quilter is hosting the 2012 Postage Stamp Challenge and Swap.

If you have missed the first two swaps, don't despair, you have the possibility to participate in this swap or perhaps the last one this year in October. If you are a newbie and don't have enough charms (100) for a swap, you can sign up and request a newbie gift of 50 charms.  For this swap you can read the details here and you have up to July 22nd to leave a comment here.  

Who can resist such a little treasure in the mail on a bad day?!

Allison in NH; thank you! :)  

I had so much fun participating in the April swap. I cut lots of 2 inch and 2.5 inch charms. My swap partners are in the US, Canada and Australia and a newbie gift ended up in Malaysia.

For the April swap, I had 10 swap partners for the 2 inch charms and 13 for the 2.5 inch charms. Easy mathematics? :) I received 1000 2 inch charms and 1300 2.5 inch charms! I have had a look at all the charms and if I haven't missed any, there are only 2-3 of fabric I already have in my stash. Isn't that amazing?! :)

I also had a private swap of 2.5 inch charms with Sally in Malaysia. Sally, I love the charms! Once again; thank you! :)  

After cutting charms like crazy for the previous swap, I thought I had sorted out and cut all the scraps... How wrong I was! There, on the top of the shelf was a shoe box full of something; Christmas scraps!

It took me 2-3 days to empty that box... I didn't know it was that much there! :)

Some of the charms cut for the July swap.  

This weekend I'm cutting more charms. The 2.5 inch charms are done and the 2 inch charms are all spread out on the dining table ready to be packed into parcels of 100. (Forgot to take a photo).

700 charms in the mailbox! PSQ QAL

Yesterday was like Christmas, birthday and I don't know what else! As the headline says; 700 charms in the mailbox! Yes, at one day! I was busy cutting more squares when DH returned from town / post office with all those treasures! They all are from my swap partners in the US. Last week I received 300 charms, from the US and Australia.
Yes, cutting more squares for the July swap! These are all fabric swatches from that box I was gifted last year. They are too small to be used for other things, so they are all cut into 2.5 inch and a few 2 inch charms. 

2300 charms flew out of Mauritius to the US, Canada and Australia earlier this month. It's so true, so true what one swapper said; 'Excitement all over the world'! :)

It's not too late to join the fun! Mary over at The Curious Quilter is hosting the PSQ Charm Swap and Challenge. You can read more about it here.

NNC is hosting a PSQ QAL (Postage Stamp Quilt - Quilt Along) this year.

Some of those participating are cutting charms, while others are doing it the easy way; jelly rolls. When the QAL was decided, I already had one jelly roll; 'Evening Mist'. I needed one more jelly roll and ended up with Moda Solids 'Natural'.

So far I have sewn the strips together and they are now ready to be cut.

Days are cooler and 'winter' is approaching. Our first hike of the season took place last Saturday, and you can read more about that here.