Back to school, and Binding and Hexies

Was that really two weeks off school?  It really didn't feel like it!  For most of the holidays my body clock still woke at 7am, but this morning . . . I did not want to get up!  And then I got a text from the girl who covers Breakfast Club - she wasn't well, could I possibly . . . How long until the next school holiday?

After a day at work, I managed to fit in a little bit of sewing this evening.  Mega thanks to both Jackie and Heather who suggested a darkish binding for the 'warm and cool' log cabin quilt.  I found a dark orange in my stash which is perfect, so that has been machine stitched onto the front.  There is plenty left over and I think it will be perfect for the British Racing Green (Jelly Roll Race) quilt top too, so that's two solutions, thanks girls.

Instead of sewing binding on tonight in front of the TV, I started tacking fabric to the hexagons that arrived earlier in the week - 62 down just 13 more paper hexies left, so I'll start joining them soon, but I have loads more fabric scraps, so this could be a nice size.  I'm going to join them randomly, not as flowers

Straight Line Quilting (Hadley Style)

I have been pondering how to quilt the Stained Down Under (sorry, I still haven't thought of a better name) quilt.

I really like Hadley's approach, but didn't want to start in case it was too hard work.  I decided to use the technique on the Racing Green quilt, and see how I got on with it.  My machine doesn't seem to pull the fabric through at an even rate, so I was pulling it through to help, but it's really made one of my hands ache.

Well, Hadley, I love the effect, and thanks for showing what you did, but it's not for me!!!  (Hadley did 119 lines of quilting - I've done 32, and that was certainly enough for me!)

Hadley, I am in awe!

Jelly Roll Race (Racing Green)

After my failed attempt to make a quick quilt top, I decided to try a new technique - a Jelly Roll Race.

I used this post as my basis, but I joined my strips at 45 degrees rather than at 90 degrees.  Apparently joining the strips results in one strip 1600 inches long - it certainly look up loads of space on the sewing table.  This part took about 35 minutes

I chopped 20 inches from one end, and then picked up the two ends and started sewing them together.  That took about 15 minutes, but was wonderfully monotonous as I didn't have to think about anything.  When I got to the end I cut the fold to make one piece - long and thin.

And then I picked up the two ends and started sewing them together . . . then cut the fold, then pick up the two ends . . . five times altogether  . . . and this, after just over an hour, is the result

Next step is ironing, basting and quilting, but I think this will make a good boy quilt for the Siblings Together (number 2, Hadley!)