17 in 2017 - Tablerunner #4 finished!

I have finished Tablerunner #4! This one was pretty simple to whip up, it measures 23 x 16 inches. You have to love a quick disappearing 9 patch! I tried to lay the blocks out so no two fabrics were touching each other. But I noticed while doing the binding, two long thin rectangles are the same print next to each other. Oh well! 

I just did straight stitching on each side of the seams. I thought the blue binding would work with the orange. 

And here is Dolly's favourite spot! This is her "stop sewing and give me attention" face.

Wordless WIP Wednesday #8

17 in 2017 - Tablerunner #3 finished!

I finished the binding on Tablerunner #3. This one measures 13.5 inches wide and 36 inches long.

I really wanted the dark red for the binding but I only had enough to make the binding 2 inches rather than the usual 2.5. Wow, what a difference that 0.5 made to my fingers when I was sewing the binding down. It was tough getting my needle through all that extra layers. It wasn't as smooth sewing as usual.

This is the backing. Think I like it as much as the front!

These photos were taken in the entrance hall of the house. Another suitable place to take finished photos. Well, 3 runners down, binding on one and another one WIP. So that is 5 in 5 months, 12 to go! Get sewing Helen!

Tablerunner #5 - Designing a Rainbow

I am finding my sewing groove. These photos are from our recent holiday. Once I had sewn together this tablerunner, I still had fabric and time left over so I cut 3.5 inch squares with the idea of doing a simple disappearing 9 patch block. 

So fast forward to this week and I assembled them into the 9 patch blocks and then cut them in quarters. I liked the way all the larger squares were in the middle so sewed them together that way. Once all six finished blocks were together I added a few inches of solid orange Kona to the borders.

After that it was a matter of sandwiching it and then quilting it. I have just gone for an echo stitch on either side of the seams. The binding in now pinned down ready to sew after I have finished the binding from yesterdays WIP! I have a binding que!

So in the meantime my thoughts are turning to tablerunner #5. Its time for a rainbow. I have raided the scrap box. Let the ironing begin!

Wordless WIP Wednesday #7

New Sewing Space!

Things are starting to get organized in the new house and it is starting to feel like our home. Unfortunately it doesn't have a fourth bedroom to turn into a sewing room, so I have a space in the main living area which works out well. Makes me keep it tidy! I have a new shelving unit next to my new desk in which to keep stuff. I had to close the blind to get the light balance right for this photo, but when the blind is open there is a pretty view to a small garden bed and the sunlight streams in till lunch time.

I did purchase these pale blue storage boxes to keep all my Kona Solids in and to be stored out in the shelving unit by my sewing machine but they are a cm to wide! Bugger! Another trip to Ikea might be on the cards. So I have this stored in the laundry. Scraps in the cane basket, material for backing and wadding in the three clear plastic tubs and each of the drawers has a colour devoted to it. Yellow is overflowing for some reason!

Lots of scraps! I transferred them from another tub and discovered all these scraps I didn't remember having.

And to finish off with a photo of my bookcase, just for you Ruth. I did cull a lot of books in the move and this is what is left.

Oh, and there is one more new addition to the sewing space. Meet Dolly. We finally gave in to two years of Milly pleading and brought her a kitten. She is a sweetie and has blended into our household like she has always been here.

17 in 2017 - Tablerunner #2 finished!

I have finished the binding on the second table runner for 2017. For those of you who pop into my blog regularly (hi Ruth!) you will know that we have recently moved again, twice in four months. So in this house I am still finding the perfect background to photograph a runner. The outside wall with an interesting rendered effect?

Or the side fence?

Or inside on my table?

Holiday Sewing

We have moved house these school holidays. For the last time for a long time I hope! I didn't want our two weeks to be consumed with unpacking so I booked a house in Fremantle for a 5 day "city break". It was lovely, we ate out every day, drunk too much and caught up with some shows on ABC iview! But I also packed my sewing machine. This was my view from the machine.

I purchased this material last year while in Vegas, time to cut it up. I trimmed it to a rectangle then placed the four prints on top of each other and sliced it in three.

Added a 3/4th of an inch to break up each of the prints and then sewed them all back together.

The quilting was up and down till I reached the point of no return, so reversed and made some sharp triangles. All that it needs now is the binding.

17 in 2017 - Tablerunner #1 finished!

Well its April and I have finally finished a tablerunner, only 16 to go! I'm happy with this, be nice to do some in different colourways or even a rainbow?

My sewing time is about to increase again. We are moving house again to a new town due to my husbands employment. I am taking the rest of the year off from my job to get everyone settled and sew!

Wordless WIP Wednesday #6

Wordless WIP Wednesday #5

Wordless WIP Wednesday #4

Sunday Sewing

Yesterday as I was looking for the perfect deep blue for the binding of my latest table runner I had a lightbulb moment. I wanted a solid, so I got out my tub of solids and I am pulling out all this beautiful coloured fabric and thinking why aren't I using it? What special project am I saving all this for? Why isn't my current project that special project? What am I waiting for?! So I pulled out all of my yellow, reds and oranges with the intention that they would be for the next table runner.

Then I sliced a bit off each. I even rummaged through my scrap tub and found a few orphaned jelly roll strips. Then I cut them into four groups, each roughly 12, 8, 5 or 3 inches

Then taking each group, started randomly sewing them together. Just had them piled up by my machine, grab one, sew, next! The ones above are from the 5 inch group. 

And here is the view taken earlier this week on my afternoon walk.

Wordless WIP Wednesday #3

Wordless WIP Wednesday #2

Wordless WIP Wednesday #1

Star Progress

Table runner #1 is progressing nicely. Not what I imagined.... but I'm going with the flow. I like the stars on point rather that just placed next to each other.

Hello 2017!

Hello 2017. We ended 2016 sadly with leaving Kununurra. I'll admit I was sad to say goodbye to the beautiful landscape and the lovely friends that we had come to call family, but it was time to go. So now we live 3,500kms south in a farming town. A small farming town with a population of about 65. Lots of things are different, we are all adapting. Part of the process for me has been unpacking my sewing machine at last! It was the first thing I packed when we moved as I wanted to keep it safe and it has been the last thing to be unpacked as I knew once it was out the box not much else would be done! So I have it set up, ready to go and I'm filled with such confidence that I declared to my sister on the weekend, "17 table runners for 2017? That should be doable! Right?"

Why not? Lets give it a go! So I pulled some fabrics with a friend who has a birthday in May in mind, got inspired by this block in a magazine and let the sewing begin!

A Rainbow Finish!

As mentioned in my last post I finished this quilt recently.
It ended up measuring 45 x 50 inches.

I'm really happy with the machine quilting despite going in an anti clockwise direction...

And it ended up with a first in the local Ag Show in the Jelly Roll Quilt category. Should I mention that it was the ONLY quilt to be entered in that category?!

Here are my quilting specs for next time:

Pressure dial on the back of the machine - 1. Upper thread tension - 4.
Stitch width - 2. Stitch length - 3. Top thread - Aurifil 50.
Bottom thread - Aurifil 50. Direction of quilting - Anti clockwise spiral.

Nailing the Spiral Quilting!

Well I finished the rainbow jelly roll quilt and it's at the Ag Show as I type. Made the deadline, yahh. If only I was that conscience with baby due dates! So not to let the sewing machine think its on holidays, I trimmed these mod mosaic blocks down to 13 inches, sashed the internal borders with 1.5 inches and the outer borders with 6.5 inches. Laid it out on the floor and sandwiched it. Just like that. No folding it up for a year and moving onto the next project, lets sandwich it now!

I learnt my lesson from the last quilt. Clockwise this time Helen, clockwise. Also lowered my foot pressure from 2 down to 1. Both have made a huge improvement in the movement of the fabric. Above is after two bobbins have been use, look at the outer rim of the spiral, hardly any puckering at all. I'm using exactly the same thread as from the rainbow jelly roll quilt in the last post, a pale grey of Aurifil. Its quilting like a dream, I think I have nailed the giant spiral quilting technique!