Long Long List

So I decided to update my UFO / PHD / FIT list, and it is embarrassingly long - and there are also a few bags and scarves on my to-do list too!

So, 25 quilty things started to some degree or other . . .

UFO List

Selvedge Edge 

Irish Chains

Lone Star

Christmas STAW

Jen's Strings

Boy Racers

Rainbow Hexi

Rainbow Hexies

Yellow Hexies

Rainbow Stars

Christmas Tree by Candle light

Green Summer Tunic Top

Turquoise Patchwork Trousers

Australian Blue and Cream, see Nicky's Fractured Quilt

French Linen (need more fabric)

Sorbet Squares

Japanese Swapped Charms

Woven Five-A-Day

Australian Charms - Hexies Stars.  (Need more fabric)

Woven Denim (pieced, needs quilting)

Postage stamp Snowballs
Strings and Triangles

Calendar Quilt

Lisa's Curtains

Hexi I-Spy stars

Itching to Start

Tea Towel Table Cloth

Summer olives

10" Strings 

Tesssellated Sizzix Stars

What should I do first?

(I have a confession to make: Tessellated Sizzix Stars wasn't on the UFO list, but once I started cutting it was SO easy I just had to carry on!)

Still plodding

Annoyingly the next customer has chosen the same dark red  from fruit of the loom, but these are sweatshirts rather than poloshirts, and a much quicker-to-stitch logo

So while babysitting the machine during this lot I managed to get the Christmassy fabric stitched into nine patches, then cut into quarters

And all trimmed to size

And even completed the sweatshirts

Next I need to see what's in these two bags - they seem quite light so maybe not too  much work, and hopefully these will be their usual navy not *more* dark red!

Still the list is getting shorter

Postponed Plans

After my post yesterday morning I planned have a cuppa with Brian and Niki then get on with four customers' jobs while I considered lots of lovely options with my rainbow charms.

But while the kettle was boiling I thought I'd just phone Lisa. On Friday afternoon she had been waiting for a friend to arrive with his 5 year old, autistic sun, C, to arrive - she was going to baby sit C for a few hours. C is 5 and autistic.  Lisa has offered several times in the past, and C's dad had asked if she could do from 4 or 5pm on Friday, to 6 or 7pm. She admits she was a bit tipsy when he asked, but she happily agreed 

However the alcohol had enabled her to file away one significant fact . . . from 4 or 5pm on Friday, to 6 or 7pm ON SATURDAY!!!!

I have child minded an autistic boy before, with significant help from Lisa as well as Niki and Brian.  His obsession was motorways and time: C's obsession is doors, gates and locks.  C has virtually no language, but makes his choices very clear, usually by taking your hand and pulling you the direction he has chosen.  The best doors were on her floor (top floor) of the halls of residence, and the best gates were on the ground -  and they  were separated by 7 flights of 16 steps (no he wouldn't use the lift) so Lisa was getting worn out, so I went to join her - I know how much I appreciated help when I had R.  We had a lovely day spending 15 to 20 minutes at a time playing with doors, locks, gates, locks, doors, locks and gates, with occasional diversions to the lift (C pushing me into it) and letterbox (opening and closing the flaps).

I'm reminded why I have so much admiration for people who cope with autistic children either as parents, through work, or as volunteers - it's exhausting, although he is a real sweetie!

C unlocking one of several doors

So, in summary, no customers' work even got looked at, but on the train to Greenwich I did get to un-sew some hexies (as I've changed my mind about the design)

Old arrangement

Now separated into

 

and I did get to spend a day with Lisa :-)

NOW I'll start on customers' orders:

* Cushions of the seats on Martin's boat

* embroider logo onto t-shirts for the pre-school

* a circular table cloth for Mrs Rose

* repair a jacket pocket for a friend's husband

Countdown to Work

Just a day and a half left of the school hols, and my to-do list looks like this,

so I decided not to tackle any of the items on the list, and I made this instead! Isn't it pretty!

However in my defence, I have (in what I try and call family time, even if I think of it as curfew) bound a whole stack of quilts.  You have seen them all at various stages, so I won't bore you with them individually but look at this fab pile: 

And from the end:

I have also worked on an embroidery for a pair of boxing shorts.  No, not boxer shorts, but shorts worn by a boxer.  Made by Susie Wong (?) they already have the boxer's name on the front,

but his mum wanted Granddad's initials on the back

in silver

with stars. 

I embroidered it, then machine stitched another piece to it, right sides together, snipped a hole in the other piece and turned the whole lot through.  It had to be stitched to the elastic part, so I hooped the elastic and stretched as much as I dared, then hand stitched the patch on.

 Have I told you we have a lot of settled travellers around here?

Anyway, it's done, so that's another tick on the list, so I think I've earned permission to look at moving one of these from the 'needs binding' pile to the 'finished' pile

Yes Katy, I have done my college work (-:

And family news: Lisa took her last exam yesterday, so is no longer a student, well done Lisa!  And Niki is going to work today for the first time as Front Of House Supervisor, (with additional responsibility for training all new staff) well done Niki!

 

 xxxxx

Who Won the Sweepstake?

Ok, I guess we all knew I wouldn't stick to the list for the whole 17 days, so whoever got today in the sweepstake- congratulations, you win!!!!

But I did spend a fab day with Lizzy - and she learnt loads and made this

Her husband always makes me feel very welcome!

Easter List - day 4

I'm not quite up to date, but there are a few hours left, so things could improve!

I've done a fire cooking pot embroidery to go with the caravan, I really enjoyed these and hope Fiona likes her block

And I've done loads more polo-shirts

Now time to do a bit more boring paperwork while I watch Last of the Summer Wine

Easter List - Day 2

I did do my essay (or at least the first draft) last night, so all 4 items got ticked off yesterday.

Today I can already tick off two boring jobs: sorting the car and invoicing the museum.

I have been thinking about ideas for a House block for Fiona in the Star of Africa Bee, and while I've been doing that I've also been sewing together all the Flirt Tumbler blocks that Jackie sizzixed for me and posted back. 

Sew,
          press,
                    sew,
                              press,
                                        tick off a third item

                                                  and then shout for joy -

A top that bypassed the UFO pile, and has gone straight to the as-soon-as-the-table-is-clear-I-can-baste-this pile :-) 

But don't hold your breath, husband is using the table as his office, and reckons he might be back in the shed by June!!!!

17 days, 5 lists, 23 projects, and still counting

I woke this morning thinking "yippee", 17 days off. Then I starting gathering up the lists I've been making for myself, I found 5 so far!

There seem to be 4 groups:

• Boring paperwork
• Money earning embroidery
• Blocks I want to make
• Other random stuff

And then there are also quilt tops I want to start/ work on / finish. Maybe I need another list, showing what to to each day.

I seem to remember something similar when I was studying for exams (late 1970s!!!!) I spent so long making a coloured revision chart, that the first few days had passed by the time it was finished, so I had the perfect excuse to make a new one!  Maybe Excel will make it easier - maybe I'll go and check!

A Few Finishes

 Last month a friend, Jacqui, lead the group at Chertsey Museum, and taught us how to do Padded and Raised work,  She used the theme of a rock pool, and gave us a number of examples.

I've finally finished mine

I have also finished stitching on the binding for a Batik Square Dance that has been in the PHD pile for far too long.

* * * * * * * *

To keep me on track I have written a list of projects to be finished before Christmas: at least the Square Dance can be my first tick!

• Christmas Waistcoat
• I-Spy for Dina
• I-Spy for Liz
• I-Spy for Jane (Chloe)
• Christmas sack for Chloe
• Christmas sack for Richard
• 12 place mats for Carol
• 2 Pairs of Patchwork boots
• Warm Stars quilt for Philippa
• Christmas Tree by Candlelight wall hanging
• Napkins for Anna
• Batik Square Dance  18th November)

UFO, HST and other TLAs (*)

At last I have managed some sewing, and I have been tackling what is probably my oldest UFO.  When I first went to Sandown park for a quilting festival, I admired a quilt that was about 8 inch squares, made from two triangles where one was blue, and the other was stripes of fabric. (Now I can tell you that they were HSTs using strings)

So I started sewing strips of leftover fabric, and cutting squares of blue and squares of strips, and joining them with two seams either side of the middle (if you don't understand, see end of the post, but be warned, very boring to make!) and ended up with 17 completed units

 
(no, I have no idea how I ended up with an odd number)

and a few dozen striped squares, and some blues

and two flimsies of strips waiting to be cut into squares

and a loathing of stitching HSTs that is still with me.

I cant accurately date the start of this UFO, but I recognise most of the fabrics, and remember whose quilt I used them in.  I can see Teddy bears from when Great Niece Emily was born (2000), and purple with white spots when a work colleague's daughter Sophie was born (2004), but none of the citrus fabric from when niece India was born (2006), so I'm guessing it was started about 10 years ago, and worked on a few times in the following half dozen years then put away.

Part of the problem was that I didn't want to make any more HSTs, and the other part was not knowing what to do with the blocks..  So today I took the bull by the horns, and make big pinwheels from the HSTs.

So that makes 8 pinwheels - NBG for making a quilt.

I can make a square and just use string squares in the middle, like this, and then add more strings around the outside (there are another 38 cut to size, plus the two flimsy, I wont run out!)

Or I could alternate pinwheels and strings like this,

Or I can return it to the PIGs group, and put the whole lot back into it's bag until I am next inspired . . .  anybody got any ideas, suggestions or preferences?

.  .  .  .  .  *      *      *      *      *  .  .  .  .  . 

UFO = Unfinished Object
HST = Half Square Triangle (explained brilliantly by Rachel at p.s. I quilt
TLA = Three Letter Acronyms
NBG = No Blinking Good
PIGs = Project In a Grocery Sack


There are plenty more of these if you want them!

Colour coding

A hundred years or so ago, when I was doing my O'levels and A'levels (translation for non UK residents - school leaving exams at 16 and 18, O=Ordinary, A=Advanced) I spent ages designing revision timetables - different colours for different subjects.

By the time I was happy with it, the first day had usually passed, so I needed to do a new one so as not to miss out on that subject's revision.  I think there just may have been some avoidance going on there.

The reason I mention it here, is because I found myself this evening colour coding my UFO / To Do list.  The projects which can wait until after Christmas are in green, while the projects I really should be getting on with are in red.  Looks very pretty, but there are still a dozen projects in red!

However, the first Cream Orphan D9P and the second Pure Blue have had the binding machine stitched to the front, so they now just need some hand sewing doing (the pile is now at 5), but Debbie tells me they can wait until after Christmas (have you seen they are in green now!  :-)

Meanwhile,I want to have a rant about my supposed friend Plum - I had a nice day with her and her diddy (!) little machine on Saturday, until I realised she was sewing with Aurifil threads.  I knew something was up as her spools were orange and my quilting thread spools are green.  Do you know she subliminally infected me with her thinking (she must be on commission or something) as last night my fingers did some tapping on the iPad screen, and I suddenly found that I am soon to be receiving

ta da

this

(be still my beating heart)

and the super lovely Meg at New Threads was not at all miffed at discussing colour descriptions and swaps at 8 o'clock last night!

A bit of a shock

It has just occurred to me that in 6 weeks time I will be boarding a British Airways jumbo jet, bound for Sydney.  And not only do some Christmas presents need to be made and finished by then, by the time I come back, there will not be enough time to finish and post any others.

So I thought I ought to marshal my plans and see what needs to be done:

Before I go
Draft Excluder for office at work (shouldn't take too long)
Heather's black and white and pink quilt (cut and partially pieced)
Log Cabin Christmas tree (mostly assembled)
Girly I Spy for Jane's great niece (got the fabric)
2 x Cream orphan disappearing 9 patch for Debbie (one pieced, one started)

To take when I go
Sister In Law - make a bag (got the fabric)
Mother - make a bag (got the fabric)
BQL Secret Santa Swap - make a bag (started)
Brother - Nah only joking, nothing for him!
Niece - finish felt dolls house (started, maybe take as hand sewing?)
Nephew - quilt and bind play mat / blankie (got the fabric. maybe take as hand sewing, it's a long way!)


Hummm, that's two finishes a week - ooops!