plenty of sewing time

Just popping in with a short post …

Mum is doing well; she has improved physically in the week she has been here which is a good sign. She is no longer stooped and shuffling; being undernourished will do that to you! Instead, she is eating very well and has regained her usual stride. Yesterday she even worked out in the garden with WM for a couple of hours.

Her biggest interest is reading and she spends hours absorbed in books. This frees me up to be in the sewing room so I am getting quite a bit done.

A couple of weeks ago, my quilting teacher donated a partially completed quilt to Caring Hearts Community Quilters – all I had to do was finish the quilting, make binding, attach it and sew it down. I have done all but the last task, so no photos until I show you the finished project!

My Jacob’s Ladder Goes Barn Raising is quilted. Life is so much easier when I think about the quilting before I pin baste; then I can position the pins out of the way of stitching lines. The quilting was done in no time but it seemed to take almost as long to sew in all the ends! You can’t see it here (because the photo is pre-quilting); I sewed diagonal lines about 5” apart through the centres of the squares that make up the diagonals.


The binding is cut and waiting for the strips to be joined.


I have also been knitting! Shock of shocks!!

In the past three days, I have worked on Crinkles Hoodie by doing a three needle bind off on the shoulders and starting the first sleeve (the photo, which is of the back, is really not worth showing but I know you like pictures! LOL)


Last December, I started knitting Charley Bear for my great-niece who will be two next month; I began on the train on 16 December and haven’t touched it since. On Monday, I stuffed the body and head. I am so not enjoying this! There are so many fiddly little pieces to come, of the type: CO 4 stitches, K 2 rows, increase either end of next row, knit 1 row. Bind off! I have no desire to be a toy maker! The head is on the left; it seems proportionally too large for the body!


And I’ve finished a pair of small women’s socks which were started on 21 February. The second sock was cast on 6 March.


My current reading is varied, but includes 100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake. She started a blog a few years ago and it led to a book! Our copy only arrived yesterday so I’m not really in a position to write a review just yet. It certainly is an interesting read.

There are some advantages to having had to cut back on my away-from-home activities, at least for a few weeks! ;-)

Linking up with WiP Wednesday and Yarn Along when they go live.
         


PS Is anyone else having trouble with Firefox working very slowly or is just us?

works in progress

Everything I have been working on this week is not originally my project. However, they all need to be completed for the Airing in April so I had to get them done, sooner rather than later. Most of my own projects are at the basting stage and I need to make a trip to my LQS to use the big table there for that process so now was as good a time as any to work on other people’s projects!

Here’s what I've been working on (or plan to work on) this week:

1. four patch quilt – to be bound and labelled
2. triangle brights and flowers – to be bound and labelled
3. pink brights and gingham – backing required
4. K’s project – quilt, bind and label (binding supplied)
5. QAYG string blocks – 14 more blocks needed

At our community quilting group, when projects go to the long-arm quilter, there must be a top and a backing. When projects come back from the quilters (who volunteer their time to help us), the project is usually given back to the original maker to bind. Sometimes the original creator is not there – either they are a member who is absent that day or the quilt top was donated.

Projects #1 and #2 came back from the quilter but the original makers were not there so I ended up with the quilts to bind and label.

For some reason, the member who donated project #3 did not provide a backing so I was asked to make one.

Project #4 was donated to our group by my quilting teacher – the quilt sandwich is made so the trickiest part is done for me!

I have already made a quilt from the donated QAYG string blocks (project #5) but I still have 28 x 9” blocks left. That’s not enough to make a quilt in the size required in our group so I will have to make some more blocks which shouldn't be too much of a hardship given the number of scraps around here!

So, how has my week gone so far?

MONDAY

I didn't do any cutting or sewing: the heat/humidity has stopped me sleeping well and I was too tired to use my rotary cutter and sewing machine safely! Instead, I auditioned fabrics for bindings for projects #1 and #2, both 280” around.

 

Then I read a novel in a day! It was The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen – historical, romantic (Christian) fiction. Ms Klassen has been described as a ‘modern day Jane Austen’ – I’m not so sure but it was a light, enjoyable read.

TUESDAY

I auditioned fabric for the backing of project #3 then put the fabric in the washing machine (on the  ‘easy iron’ setting) because it was stiff and very creased. It’s the same pink fabric in the photo above.

I cut the binding strips, joined them and made binding for both quilts. I then made labels for both quilts from leftover triangle scraps (note to self: write the label after attaching it to the quilt – or write smaller!).

I had to watch a video on binding, because I haven’t bound a quilt for over a year and couldn't remember how to start! Thank goodness for YouTube and all the generous video makers! Eventually, I attached the binding and label to project #1 and began the task of hand-stitching the binding down – I got a little more than halfway (the quilt is 280” around) before it was time for bed!

What looks like a brown and white check is actually tiny white stars on a brown background; which I didn’t notice until I’d already cut the binding strips. It doesn't look like a good choice with that blue backing; but the quilt was mostly browns – here’s a hint (see the checked fabric in the block?:

WEDNESDAY

I started writing this post before I got on with attaching the binding and label to project #2, then I watched another video on mitred corners because mine just weren’t working! They are fine on the front but the back is terrible! I attached the label to the quilt then started sewing on the binding. I got to the second corner and realised there was a hole in the fabric, eight on the fold line of the binding. I had to undo twenty inches so I could remove the hole – it was close to a join in the binding strip – and rejoin the strip. I was about to start sewing again when I realised I was attaching the binding to the back of the quilt! *sigh* 

If it were my quilt, I might have been tempted to keep going but it isn’t and I couldn’t take the risk of bad corners on the front of someone else’s quilt so I spent more than thirty minutes un-sewing the rest of the binding! :-(

Things improved somewhat; I got the binding on eventually. It’s not perfect but it really is the lest I can do. After pressing the binding (I can’t remember ever doing that before but I think I must have – my teacher is very big on pressing) I moved onto project #3.

Piecing a backing involves a bit of maths and, for me at least, the rough drawing of diagrams. Eventually I had it sorted and went to find some strips to join my pieces together – I can’t help myself; it has become my signature to have a panel or some sashing on the back of my quilts. This isn’t mine but I did it anyway. I cut the pieces for the sashing and for the backing. There was some more reverse sewing after I sewed the right side of one piece to the wrong side of another piece but, all in all, with the help of lots of pins, I got the backing finished.

What looks like an off-what fabric is actually a very pale pink. It has some lovely details on the fabric which, of course, can only be viewed close up.

Because I have so many other projects to quilt in the near future, and because I think J. would like this quilt in this year’s Airing, I am not going to attempt to quilt it myself. I will pass the backing and the flimsy on to our coordinator, who will in turn, pass it on to one of the long-arm quilters. If I feel so inclined, I may even make the binding to go with the quilt. I’m thinking I’ll make it out of the same fabric as the back – I have some binding left from project #2 and lots of that fabric left. I’ll think on it – it may be too much having the same binding as backing fabric.

THE REST OF THE WEEK

So, here it is, Wednesday evening, which still leaves me two full days to work on the other two projects and to get the binding done on projects #1 and #2. I’m linking this post with WiP Wednesday over at Lee’s blog, Freshly Pieced.

What about you? Are you crafting this week or is something else occupying your time?

bronchitis and books

Since I came home from mum’s late last week, I have been knocked about with a bout of bronchitis. Yesterday was the first day that I felt able to do more than sit in a chair and cough!

Today I have plans and the first of those is to write this post!

The past twelve days have given me a chance to participate in a hobby I rarely indulge: reading!

It started while I was at my mum’s. I received an email from my second cousin, who told me that he had just published his first book -- “a golden age mystery novel”. Of course, being a fan of mysteries, I went straight to Amazon and bought An Echo and a Light for my Kindle; which I read through the app on my iPad (poor Kindle, it rarely sees the light of day now; in fact, since we moved, I don’t even know where it is!)

Richard (his nom-de-plume) has even included a character with our mutual family name – Loder! What fun!

The fictional town of Chadfield is based on the town of Lichfield where “Richard” lives. Here is a video he created of photographs of his town as a promotion for his book.


After reading Richard's novel, which I enjoyed, I set off on a quest to find more books to read – this time from the digital collection of my local library. In a week I have borrowed five ebooks and two audiobooks. I enjoyed all but one of them and would recommend them to you if you are a fan of the mystery/suspense genre. (The one I didn't enjoy I have not included here.)

They are seen here in the order I read them. Some I enjoyed more than others (as is always the case) but I have no qualms in letting you make up your own minds. Because of my own particular tastes in books, none of these books has erotic scenes, all have at least a hint of romance and only one (Seven Kinds of Death) has repeated use of “foul” language. The Prayer Box is not a mystery/suspense novel although there are several mysteries that are unravelled through this gentle story.
   

What have you been reading lately?

one of those days

You know the kind I mean.

Where you seem to take two steps forward and one step back.

Where more ripping takes place than progress.

I started out with these:

When I first started at Caring Hearts Community Quilters, no-ne told me what size to make the quilts, just “single bed toppers”. I didn’t know what that meant but then I remember that the wraps I knit were also single bed toppers and they are 40” x 70” (28 ten-inch square in a 4 columns, 7 rows configuration).

And so I pieced this quilt top in the same way. It came out 44” x 77”. I pieced the backing to be two inches larger all round – 48” x 81”. 
There it stopped. I never got around to quilting it.

A few months passed and I found out that the quilt size required was approximately 54” x 64”.

Clearly this quilt was too narrow and too long. I have known that for several months but have only just got to this UFO.

It should have been no problem. Remove the bottom row. Make two more squares. Cut some more sashing. Put it back together.

Cut the back down and find a way to make it wider. Ah yes, ten inches wider. Three sashings at 2” each plus a four inch panel of the main fabric – just as well I still had some of the fabric in my stash.
~~~~~~
I decided to work on the backing first – it’s more straight forward. First cut it down to 70”. Then unpick two 70” seams to remove the pieced panel.

Cut 2.5” strips WOF (width of fabric). Join the strips to make sashing 70” long. Sew the first sashing to the pieced panel. Oops! Should have used pins – unpick the whole lot! Re-sew.

Pin the second sashing to the other side of the pieced panel and sew. Good job. Uh-oh! What’s this? The sashing has been sewn on upside-down so that the joins are facing the outside. Unpick 70” of stitching. Re-sew.

Iron and cut two four inch strips from the main fabric. Join to make a panel. Sew sashing to panel. Perhaps I should have used pins? Err. I think I’ll get away with it!

Join two narrow panels to each other. Sloppy! Should have used pins! Rip. Re-sew!

Sew the narrower of the two side pieces to the stitched panel. Haven’t you learnt yet? Use pins! Rip. Pin. Re-sew! Pin last piece of backing to the panel piece, sew!

Backing finished – go and have a late lunch and read for a couple of hours!
~~~~~~
Ah, feeling better. Time to face the quilt top.

Rip the bottom row. Assess the situation. Find some appropriate scraps. Fortunately I have some strips of three of the fabrics that are used in other blocks. Measure the original blocks. Cut strips. Iron. Cut more strips. Sew strips in pairs. Join pairs (Look, mum, no pins!). Continue until blocks are made. Press, measure for size. Oops, too small.

Find another strip for each block. Rip one seam in each block. Add new strip. Press. Trim to size.

Cut 2” strips WOF to make sashing. Cut two 9” strips. Pin. Sew to blocks. Measure. Cut two 11” strips. Pin. Sew to blocks. Attach one block to the top and one block to the bottom of the four blocks that had previously been removed from the quilt top (because they have been made from the almost the same fabrics and need to be separated). Join sashing strips. Pin to side of blocks. Sew. Press.

Make another sashing strip. Add to other side using pins. Sew. Press.

Collect rest of quilt top from the family room. Look at it. Shake head. Look again! Realise the last sashing added wasn’t needed. Rip off newly sewn sashing.

Pin completed block column to rest of quilt top. Sew the last seam (finally). Begin pressing! What’s this ?!*^~*?

Can you see the problem here? Look closely at the top two block on the right and the two below them.

Leave it in tears. Go back to book!

the joy of belonging to a local library

Having access to free books from the local library is such a blessing! I have borrowed from a local library since my earliest school days and I tend to take it for granted.

Now, in this wonderful age of the internet, I can (and do) borrow audio-books, ebooks and print books. In this way, I get to read books that I would otherwise never knew existed.

This month, I have borrowed the following from the library:

• the books in print

• I have yet to open The Quilt: a history and a celebration of an American art form
• I really liked Cut the Scraps – in fact, I might even put it on my wish-list (I have a birthday in April)
• The book about Kaffe Fassett’s V&A Quilts was interesting but I won’t be adding to to my collection
• I have yet to open Kaffe Knits Again
• Prayer Shawl Companion has some interesting patterns (including one by Kaffe Fassett) but I won’t be adding it to my collection; readers who consider “prayer shawls” a peculiarly Christian expression may be surprised by the inclusion of all faiths and eastern mysticisms

For entertainment, I have a tendency to gravitate towards mysteries and romance novels, as well as biographies and non-fiction books on subjects that interest me – e.g. history, culture.
I have borrowed this digital media (listed alphabetically by title for convenience):

• A Lady of Expectations by Stephanie Laurens (e-book) -- finished
  - Jack Lester has to find a bride but where can he find the perfect woman?
• A Man’s Heart by Lori Copeland (audiobook) -- finished
  - after the death of her father and her best friend, a young woman struggles to salvage the farm, honour a promise and win back the man whose heart she broke
• Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady by Carol Baxter (e-book) -- slowly reading
  - the story of Australian bushrangers Frederick Ward and Mary Ann Bugg; I’ve only read a couple of chapters and am finding it fairly dry
• Old Tokyo by Sumiko Enbutso (e-book) -- so far I have only read the introduction
  - a walking tour of Tokyo’s old downtown
• The Golden Mountain by Irene Kai (audiobook) -- reading
  - the story of four generations of Chinese women and their relationship to USA (the “golden mountain”)
• Town in a Blueberry Jam by B.B. Haywood -- finished
  the first book in a mystery series featuring amateur sleuth, Candy Holliday
• Under the Summer Sky by Lori Copeland (e-book) -- finished
  - a romance set in North Dakota in the late 1800s; written by a Christian author, there is a list of discussion questions at the end of the book

What have you been reading lately?

I've been reading

Because I mostly read ebooks, I don't have photos of book covers and don't want to take them from other locations on the web without permission. I apologise for the lack of pictures but it is, after all, a post about reading! LOL

 The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society is the one fiction book that I have read lately which stands out; not because the writing was particularly brilliant, but because it is set in post-war, previously German-occupied Guernsey -- something I've not thought about before. It's a simple story, told well enough to become compulsive but easy reading.

The book is obviously popular, over 10,000 people on LibraryThing have read The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society. The book was written by Mary Ann Schaffer, a retired librarian in her seventies who died before the book was published. The revisions were done by her niece, Annie Barrows. Written in the format of letters, it is an unusual format but works well in this case.

While travelling to my mother’s earlier this month, I finished the first section of Mao’s Last Dancer (by Li Cunxin), the autobiography of a poor Chinese boy who became a famous classical ballet dancer. I have not seen the movie and probably never will now that I am reading the book. I am actually reading this book in print format; perhaps that's why it's taking me so long to get through it! ;-0

While sitting around the motel room in Moree after mum's surgery, I read Head Over Heels (by Sam and Jenny Bailey). It is the biography of an Australian country boy who dreamed of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a farmer – and how he reached his goal despite becoming a quadriplegic in a dreadful car accident when he was just nineteen.

Currently I’m reading another Australian book: In Search of A Wild Brumby by Michael Keenan. Brumbies are wild horses, introduced to Australia and considered by some as pests.

I also have in my pile of non-fiction books, Life at the Edge and Beyond: Living with ADHD and Asperger Syndrome (Jan Greenman) -- this directly impacts on my family and I really need to take the time to read this carefully.

But wait .... there's more!

How can one go to the library and not borrow craft books, more specifically books related to stitching! At the moment I am being inspired by these four:

• French Girl Knits (Kristen Griffen-Grimes) -- a book of patterns, two of which I would like to knit
• Design Your Own Knits in 5 easy steps (Debbie Abrahams) -- I need more time to take this one in!
• Long and Short Stitch Embroidery (Trish Burr) -- also known as needle painting, thread painting or silk painting; I would love to learn how to do this but not right now!
• Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again (Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston) -- a book written by two well known quilters with two very different styles; I love it and have added it and its predecessor to my wishlist!

 If you're over at LibraryThing and want to take a look at my whole book-list (I am adding to it slowly), I am, not surprisingly, ellebee57.

What are you reading?
Did anyone give you books this Christmas? 

What have you read lately?

In between baby sitting and knitting, I have finally caught up with all 113 blogs that I follow. That is probably a bit misleading -- there are blogs on my reading list that have not had posts published to them for months. But there were also blogs on my reading list that I have since deleted -- I found I wasn't really reading their posts, just skimming to see if there was anything interesting, then moving on without commenting. It was time for those blogs to go! It's hard enough to keep up with the blogs that really interest me and still find time for my other hobbies!


I have discovered a site called librarything.com where I can record what books I am reading and get recommendations for further books based on the books I read. Of course, the site can do other things too, but at the moment I use it as a database of what I'm reading and have read.

I have finished The Distant Hours by Australian author, Kate Morton. This is probably the best piece of fiction that I have read in a very long time. If you haven't read it, and you like mystery/suspense (it's not a detective story nor is a "horror" story), then I can highly recommend this. I certainly look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Since then, I have read several ebooks which I have borrowed from my local library and read on my iPad.  The rest of this post is taken up with a  list of books I have read and my 'review' of them.

Feels Like Home by Maggie Shayne was listed as a "Silhouette Sensation" which meant nothing to me -- but I soon discovered it meant the author was a bit more detailed in descibing the couple's intimate moments than I feel is necessary. One particular scene could easily have been omitted and the main story would not have lost anything. Obviously, this is why the book is called "sensational"! The basic story line (romance/thriller) had me reading as fast as I could to the last page to find out how the story worked out. Of course I knew it would but just how was what kept me reading! Even though I enjoyed the plot, I will not be in a hurry to read a book by this author or from the "Silhouette Sensations" collection again!

Then for a change of pace I read Anh Do's biography, The Happiest Refugee. Ahn Do is an Australian comedian of Vietnamese descent. The book was his life story from his birth in Vietnam, through coming to Australia as one of the "boat people", to his childhood and teenage years in Sydney and finally to his successful career as a stand-up comedian. The book was always positive and upbeat, despite including some tragic stories; a light-hearted read that I easily finished in less than twenty-four hours.

After that, I read a detective story, Gently by the Shore, by Alan Hunter. This series of books has been made into a television series, starring Martin Shaw as Inspector George Gently. I quite like the TV series but I think the books are more rounded and bring more depth to the character. In this particular story, Gently's assistant isn't anything like the character we see on television. Nor is the story set in the north of England as the television series suggests. I enjoyed reading as Inspector Gently did his own thing, quietly and methodically collecting clues, following leads and finally, of course, catching the killer. I plan to read more of this series.

Not being one to stick to one genre of book, I then went on to read the novel, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. For some reason, I had thought that this was a light-hearted book, but it was soon apparent that this was not the case. It had me riveted to the storyline and I couldn't wait to read what happened next. I can see why it was turned into a movie but I don't think I'll ever see it -- movies of books I have enjoyed rarely turn out to do the book justice!

And finally, last Wednesday I finished an autobiography, Choosing to SEE: a journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman, wife of Christian singer/songwriter, Steven Curtis Chapman. It is her life story but is centred around the loss of their five-year-old daughter through a terrible accident. I found it hard to put this book down. It has very short chapters and I would tell myself: "just one more chapter then bed". But I just couldn't stop reading -- and I finally went to bed at three in the morning!  I cried and cried while I read the second half of this book; real, heavy, sobbing tears. But that was okay, I had stuff I needed to deal with myself that I hadn't cried about -- so it was good to finally let go. The book is sad but it is, as the title suggests, a book about hope -- hope of eternal life and seeing their little girl again one day.
 
On Thursday evening  I downloaded Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's hard to believe that it's six years since this book was published -- but perhaps it only became popular after the movie came out in 2010. I haven't started reading this yet therefore I can't make any comment. I guess it will be a little like Under the Tuscan Sun; I found the movie a bit disappointing after all its hype so never read the book.

Well, that's what I've been reading -- what about you?

What's on your current reading list?

Just as with my knitting, quilting and sewing projects, I also have more than one "reading project" on the go.

On my iPad I was listening to The Wise Woman by George MacDonald, who was a favourite author of C. S. Lewis. This story was published in the nineteenth century and is described as a 'parable' or 'fairy story'. It was a little hard to get into because MacDonald's language is very descriptive but once the story got underway it was hard to stop!I finished it while doing some embroidery in Friday's beautiful spring-like weather.

I have since downloaded The Amazing Mind of Alice Makin by Alan Shea (read by Zoe-Anne Phillips), which is billed as historical juvenile fiction. Set in post war London, it follows Alice's imaginative life to which she retreats when her home life becomes unbearable.

Also on my iPad, I am reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton.  This was recommended by Renee of "Sewn with Grace" and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It is described as a gothic novel but I'm not sure that's how I would describe it.

All three of these books were borrowed from my local library, as was the audiobook downloaded to my computer: Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (the author of Angela's Ashes). This as an autobiography about how he came through teaching to become a writer. It is a little hard for me to understand because it is being read by the author who has an Irish accent and I have to listen carefully - not ideal when I am using my sewing machine at the same time! Nonetheless, it is an interesting read.

My Kindle has all but been forgotten in the excitement of owning an iPad but there are books there too. I am in the middle of reading the classic Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. It's interesting but not compelling reading; perhaps that's why I left it several weeks ago. There are many other books stored on that device when I get to them.

And, yes, I still read books in print. At the moment I am reading two autobiographies: Mao's Last Dancer, which was loaned to me by a friend in my sewing class and Be Your Best, by Australian swimmer Geoff Huegill, which WM and I bought for DD. She has finished it and kindly loaned it to me.

I have dozens of books on my library wishlist, in my Kindle and on my "to be read" shelf. Oh for a few more hours a day! LOL

The current favourite book in these little guys’ house is The Red Tractor.

What's on your current reading list?

I've been doing some light reading

A couple of months ago, I won these three novels in a give-away on Cindy's Fluffy Sheep Quilting blog.

It took a while from them to arrive from Ireland but they got here safely.

They are detective stories set in a small town in New York. The central characters are the quilting circle at Someday Quilts; specifically the owner of the shop, Eleanor, and her adult grand-daughter, Nell.

I have finished the first of the three books. I couldn't put it down so finished it in just a few hours. The ending was a surprise to me - I certainly didn't see it coming.

Those who read the post on my TV viewing habits will know that I am a fan of detective/crime shows.

This book is a combination of detective story woven around Nell's quilting journey - what's not to love? LOL