Obligatory Sewing (And a little bit of fun)

My 'couple of days off sewing' has turned into an entire week!

It's been busy, and I've been away again. Then it got a bit difficult to get back in there, because my sewing room's such a kip with bits of fabric everywhere!

But I presevered, and managed to clean it up a bit, because I've got some obligatory sewing deadlines coming up soon eek!

Like a bunch of coasters. Somehow I agreed to an order for coasters. I thought it'd be easy enough, you know, with them just being a bunch of squares with some batting in between. It's taking a little longer than I've expected though... Maybe I'm not in the coaster frame of mind, ehehe.

coaster cases

Then I owe Mum some sheets. She sent me these AGES ago. They're flat, and she wants them made into fitted sheets. I may have to haul out my old Singer from its cabinet to tackle this job. Actually I'm starting to wonder what in the world Mum does with all her pillow cases and sheets - there seems to be a never ending supply of them...

But of course, I've also managed to go off on a tangent a bit, and played with my scraps. My goodness, what a mess there was!

scrappy mess!

Scraps which got sewn into scrappy log cabin blocks! Whoops I think the next photo might be upside down ... (!)

You can see them in a little more order in the next picture... 

I've got 8 scrappy blocks now. Heaven only knows when I'll produce some more...

To everyone with little people in their households - happy school holidays! To all else, have a great weekend :-)

This Week's Progress...

...is, err, actually not much progress at all.

My mojo is definitely off this week.

Thought I'd try get some basting done for my Meadow Friends Boy Quilt, but this is how far I got:

It didn't matter how I tried it, when the kitty wanted the quilt - she got the quilt.

That decides it - I'm taking a couple of days off from sewing.

Back soon!

Xox

Bizzy Kid a.k.a Nephew's Quilt

I got a start on Nephew's Quilt today. I figured it would be wise to do so, if I want it finished by his birthday in early June. You never know what might happen at work - it isn't uncommon to be suddenly dumped with psycho deadlines these days.

So there was some fabric auditioning...

A quick pattern purchase from Cluck Cluck Sew

Realised that I must be so very unimaginative because my fabric pull is suspiciously similar to the fabric in the pattern... hmmm

The first few blocks...

Hoping it all goes well!

Have a happy week ahead!

Wish List

There're a few quilts that I would really, REALLY like to make. At some point. In the near future.

Like a triple irish chain quilt. I'm mad about one from Magpie quilts, you can see it here and here - MAGNIFIQUE!

And maybe a Red and Aqua quilt, because I've never made one before.

Plus I've been planning to make a quilt for Nephew for his birthday. It's coming up fast now, so I should seriously get a start on that one. I'm thinking something like Alison's Bizzy Kid. Come to think of it, why not Alison's Bizzy Kid?? Hmm, I might even go order the pattern right now. As in after I finish posting this, now.

Then again, perhaps I should be good and disciplined and start tackling my UFO's. 

Like my yet unfinished scrappy trip around the world, which still needs ... actually I can't remember how many more blocks I still need....

Or this Meadow Friends boy quilt, which needs to be basted and quilted:

So many choices! But oh my, what sweet choices :-) Wonder which one I'll pick first...

Hope everyone's having a good week!

Low Volume Finish

Phew! Is anyone else glad those elections are over? I'm just grateful things went (relatively) smoothly and a new day dawns peacefully with promise of hope. With all the turmoil we hear about around the globe these days, I hope we never forget to count the little blessings. We don't like extreme views and actions here at A Fabric Case. Except if it involves fabric, of course, ehehee.

Right, so that's my little lecture done (a sure sign of getting along in years, sigh) we can now move on to more exciting things. Like my first finish for May. MAY, can you believe it - where has the year gone???

Our camera has decided to stop fooling around, so I as able to take lots of happy photos. Here's a shot from the right:

Another shot from the left:

And one from a bit further away:

After my experience with straight line quilting in my last couple of quilts, I took great care when basting this one - made sure everything was nice and flat and taut etc. It DID pay off in the end - my puckers and distortions reduced significantly, but I have to admit there was also a fair amount of coaxing and cajoling (and upper arm muscle!) involved.  The only thing I didn't do was sing to it. Perhaps I'll try that next time, eehee.

And I have to show you this backing fabric. I've had it for a couple of years now but I can still remember that it's from Moda's Kashmir collection - because it's soooo pretty in real life.

I bound the quilt with a solid - Bella solid in Mist. One of my favourites. The aqua is so fresh and I think it matches the quilt's overall look.

I've named this quilt The Quiet One. Suits it perfectly, don't you think?

Low Volume (and Taxes)

I'm taking full advantage of my sewing mojo, and have started another quilt! Is that madness?

I've been inspired by all the beautiful low volume quilts that's been cropping up all over the place, like here and here. I love the quiet subtleness of these quilts, so just had to try make my own. 

I must admit, I'm being very good at cutting into my stash lately. It's getting easier and easier to use up bits of the fabric I've been hoarding. But of course there're still some prints which I just. Can't. Bear. To cut up. 

Anyway, I'm going for ANOTHER patchwork quilt. and have chain-sewn a tall pile of low volume squares together.

Ready for the next step - rows!

In other news, if you haven't declared your taxes yet - do it NOW! You still have a few (short) hours to do so. One year I was 2 weeks late filing, and suffice to say that I'm still lamenting the MILES of fabric I could have bought with the penalty I had to pay :-(

Anyway, tomorrow's Labour Day, so have a good holiday, and happy sewing!

Where's the Dino?

It's actually been a productive week  on the sewing front. But our camera's gone funny, and what's a post without a photo right? But then again, what's a blog without a post? Then I had a brainwave - there's a camera on my phone! Honestly, I can be such a duuuh sometimes.

So here's a finish to share - a patchwork quilt.

I really like the colour play on this one. And really, really heart this dino print - so cute!

I quilted this one in the ditch - and had a few problems. Am I the only one whose layers shift whenever they straight line quilt??

Thankfully after a wash and dry it seems to have evened itself out. But I'm still hoping that I'm the only one who will notice the distortions.

While I'm here, I'd better share an earlier finish. You'd seen this quilt before, just without the binding. 

This one was free-motioned quilted, hee! (Sorry about the camera phone quality!)

I finally got my binding fabric, and got that sewn on. In the end I went with the same fabric as the back, which is from the same Windsor Lane line.

So that's another one to add to the basket:

Oh, and before I forget, I still have one extra Windsor Lane charm pack, up for sale. Just drop me a comment or an email if you'd like to have it.

Well, I must say this isn't too shabby for someone with a sulky camera now, isit? heheee

Have a happy weekend, everyone. And happy sewing!