Happy New Year!

It is already the 2cnd and I haven't blogged to wish a Happy New Year yet!

I have actually been sewing! I thought I would make space in my sewing room by getting some of the UFOs finished. That seemed like a good idea-----use some stuff up and empty some containers too.

This is a lantern box which didn't get done in time for Christmas 2009 but is now my first thing finished towards Christmas 2010! I will probably put it away somewhere safe and forget where I put it now. Of course I have now realised that the flat little selection of fabric now needs a box and takes up more space than before. The inside is done in dark green satin but I am not untying the bow again!


The next UFO was the quilt below which is a scrappy that has been added to, on and off, through 2009. This weekend I thought it would be an ideal project to get finished.



I measured it and decided to add the border with a plain border on either side. This has the added advantage of enlarging it and giving a better setting to it. That took a while but it all went smoothly. Then it was a case of hunting through fabric to find enough for a backing. This too was successful even though I had to join fabric to get the right size.

The backing was pressed and pinned to carpet. The top was pressed and ready to be laid over. Ahead of me was a whole weekend to get on with the quilting which I am really looking forward to. I went to get the big piece of wadding I knew was on top of the shelves. I bet you have guessed what happened? The wadding was about 3" too short!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't have any other of a similar weight to splice so am going to have to be patient and get some more!

Do you remember that song "There's a hole in the bucket!"?

Ours is a modern version involving a car and a lane and a river and a flood! There is nowhere in town selling wadding. The ideal thing to do would be to nip through to Penrith and get some wadding there and be able to get on with it. Can't do that as no way to drive the car out since November, and now the battery is flat :o(

Okay I will have to order some and see what happens. The postman has been walking along with our mail but will wadding come in a parcel van and if so will he leave the van at the end of the lane and walk along carrying it?????

Watch this space :o)

UFO is now an FO!!! :o)

Well it has taken thirty years but it is now complete. It has been quilted, washed,blocked and bound.
It is done!!! I can't believe that I have actually finished it, after all this time.

The colours had got quite dull over the years but now that it is freshly laundered and the trial markings have all been washed out it looks like the tmaterials were just bought this month.

It is the first time I have made a sort of traditional type of quilt and certainly the biggest quilt I have made, so I am feeling very pleased to have done it. Moving it around the sewing machine, to do the quilting, wasn't a problem as the machine is set onto a 6' x 3' table.


I did have a problem crawling around to block it out on a spare bedroom floor.
At one point I got really bad cramp in one foot and couldn't get up or down and the quilt took up the floor space so couldn't lie down and moan either!!!

Can't understand why quilting isn't counted as an Olympic sport considering the contortions we go through

UFO progress.

There are only a few edge pieces to sew in before I set this onto the base fabric but I am very undecided about which fabric to use.

They all have their merits.
The plain fabric will set off the quilting very well.
The small print is very like the character of the other patterns used.(mainly Laura Ashley)
The dark, larger flowered fabric sets the piecing off, but any quilting will not show very well.

Usually in a situation like this I can make my mind up when I see the pictures lined up next to each other but this time I am stumped as to which way to go.

Perhaps a different colour would be better?