2018 Wk 29 Happy Holidays

I didn't post while I was on holiday as the iPad doesn't seem to like blogging, and life has been a bit busy since then, so today you get a couple of posts!

The holiday was fab - an apartment owned by friends of ours with a private terrace and a shared private pool - the beach was 400 steps away and bars and restaurants were not much further, so there was a lot of sitting here

Or swimming and sunbathing here

And there may have been a fair amount of food and drink!

But at times it was too hot to sit outside so I worked on this, finishing all the EPP (except one triangle top right - I didn't take quite enough LV fabric

and quilting with the 4 thread I brought, and finishing it with a round of EPP in the backing fabric to maintain the shaped edges

There was also a fair amount of hand quilting these blocks from the Gillian Travis Interchange Applique class

Even some ironing - but only blocks, not clothes!!!!

And I learned that how ever lovely my sharpied beads necklace looks, if I wear it all day when the weather is very hot and I'm sweaty . . .  there is a risk I may look very bruised where the colour has come off!

Then the holiday ended and we sadly had to come home - however, within 24 hours this beauty had come to live with me, so it's not all bad!

Parenting Problem

The ironing board is always set up in my house, with the iron ready to use at a moment's notice, but this is for *fabric* not clothes.

I have taught all the family how to carefully hang out wet clothes so as to avoid the need to iron them (and yes maybe my standards in that dept are lower than some).

So I have clearly not taught the girls the life skill of ironing clothes

Husband used to iron shirts before he met me, but did them the man's way:

And clearly *did* pass on that life skill

Although maybe not as well as he thought

So BOTH parents failed to teach that particular lesson!!!

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Work (and other 4 letter words)

I know plenty of people didn't get two weeks off over Christmas and New Year, and I know I'll (mostly) enjoy work when I get back, but . . .  really, do I have to go back tomorrow?

I've had a lovely sewing time!  As well as the stuff I showed on 27th, 28th and 29th December . . .

 I also have these three iSpy quilts now ready to bind and finish for a customer:

And I have a  new bag for my travel ironing board (for classes): thanks to the amazing Bag Lady,  Liz for the straps lesson

And I have another iSpy, this time as staggered bricks using the off cuts from the larger squares, which will sit and wait until a baby needs it

And I have this zigzag quilt which has been waiting patiently for ages to be bound:  I was peeved because two deliveries of Kona Cornflower came as two different shades and I didn't realise until too late, but I had to chuck it or complete it, so I choose the 'complete' option!

Decisions, decisions

I've had a busy week, and in the odd free time I've had to chose between sewing, or blogging - I chose sewing!  But now I have a free day, so I'm catching up with the blogging before I switch the machine on :-)

The Lower Juniors at school put on a production of Cinderella in the week, and last week they were having problems with their backdrop.  I suggested they stitch tape along the top so they could pull it tighter without ripping ... and somehow I brought home 2 backdrops, about 5m x 3m, each one thickly painted.  The sewing room is about 2.2m x 2.5m, and the worktable is just 18 inches wide, and this fabric was very unwieldy!  A tip posted on the BQL group  had me bringing the ironing board into the sewing room - I lowered it to the same height as the workbench, and put the sewing machine on it, which gave me more space to push and pull the backdrop around

Even so, it was hard work

 and the paint came off as a dust, so goodness knows how much is inside the machine!

I did get a bottle of 'thank you' and a card, and the production went well, so it was worth it - and the tip about the ironing board will be remembered!

I also managed another block for the March block lotto

and a trapunto block for Hilary's textured block