Day Three… and Not a Stitch Was Sewn

 Day three of four turned out to be a bit of a bust as far as sewing was concerned. The whole day slipped away into chores and a little burst of happy news.

Mid‑morning the phone rang: Sally Skyline had returned from the spa and was ready for collection.

Well — that was that. I dropped everything, grabbed my keys, and was out the door. I was home again in under thirty minutes, feeling rather pleased with myself. Once Sally was safely settled back into the happy room, I picked up where I’d left off with the chores.

That’s when I discovered a huge paper bag sitting in the porch. A friend from club had mentioned she’d drop off some books, but I never heard the doorbell. Either it was a very quick drop‑and‑run, or she called while I was out rescuing Sally.

I set the bag beside my chair, finished the last of the chores, and finally sat down for a look. What a mixture — books and magazines, some definite keepers, and the rest will be passed along to new homes. I spent a very pleasant couple of hours browsing and reading about patchwork and quilting. But not a single stitch was sewn.

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A Closer Look at the Keepers

Among the books was a magazine that immediately caught my eye. The cover design with the daisies and poppies — had it firmly in the keeper pile before I even opened it. 

Singular Sensations was another one that had a lot going for it before I even looked inside. Maybe it was that blue design on the cover. 

You know me and blue. One quick browse and it went straight onto the keeper stack.

I took a little more time with Rose Windows. 

There are some truly stunning designs in there. I’m not sure I’d ever make one, but there’s a tree‑skirt idea that has possibilities… so into the keeper pile it went, at least for now.

It’s joined by Bakers Dozen by Jen Kingwell 

and Simply Stars 

the latter has several different approaches to creating beautiful star quilts, which is always useful to have on hand.

A few books landed in the “maybe” pile, and there were a few definite non‑keepers. But all in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon of browsing, dreaming, and discovering.

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And that brings us to today — my fourth and final day off. Believe it or not, I still have one or two chores to achieve before I can sew. Not least another good tidy‑up in the sewing room. If I’m to make a pieced back for Kaiy’s quilt, I’ll need to clear the clutter off the table so I can work with large pieces of fabric.

All those new books will need to find homes too.

I’m off to get busy.

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Day Two of Four — Gardens, Gifts, and Kiwis

Today is day two of my four days off, and before I could settle into my room there was garden work to be done. Tony pulled out the edge trimmer and lawn mower while I headed into the big greenhouse. The tomatoes have slowed right down now, and although there were still a few green fruits hanging on, the vines themselves were looking very tired and brown.

I picked off anything with even the slightest hint of colour and lined them up along the kitchen window to catch the sun. Then it was time to pull out the exhausted plants. After that I gathered the ripe chilli peppers and three courgettes. That was quite enough for one session. I handed some of the bounty over the fence to the neighbours, then headed indoors.

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Once inside, I made a beeline for my happy room and got busy with the Kiwis. I had some precut strips left over from a previous project, they were ready to go, so I started sashing the blocks, then cut a few more, and before long I had them all joined together. With the sun shining so beautifully, I decided it was time for a walk. I popped a bag of produce together and wandered down to Debbie’s house — she’s always delighted to take a share of our surplus.

Back home again, I turned my attention to the borders for the Kiwi quilt.

As you can see, I opted for the caramel colourway for both the sashing and the borders, with that narrow black strip giving the eye a place to rest. That’s it for this one for now. It clamored to be at the top of the list and I listened, but next I really must get a back made for Kaiy’s quilt — and give it a name. I’ve toyed with Inkantations, since she’s an artist who works a lot with inks, or maybe Spellbound. I’ll let the right name come to me once I’m quilting it.

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Meanwhile, I promised to show what I worked on at club yesterday. It was a very quiet gathering, with only four ladies attending. By 1.30 two had gone home, leaving just myself and President Ann. We decided to call it a day and head off early. I’m happy with my progress though.

I had dithered about what to take and, in desperation, grabbed my hexie box as I dashed out the door. I’m so glad I keep a stash of ready‑made flowers and basted hexies — perfect for grab‑and‑go stitching.

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So there you have it. Time now to think about cooking a meal and settling in for the evening. I might be back tomorrow with news of my antics on day three of four. 

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Four Whole Days Off.

I have four whole days off, all together, in a row. What a luxury.

Today was patchwork club day, and I really wasn’t sure what to take along. At the last minute I grabbed a bunch of hexagon flowers and stitched a few of them together. I’ll show that progress another time, because first I want to show off something else.

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In my last post I mentioned that I’d made a decision about which of my WIPs would get attention once Kaiy’s quilt was completed. Well, today that project jumped straight to the top of the list.

After I got home from club, I wandered into my room looking for something to play with. I should piece the quilt back for Kaiy’s quilt, but that job involves crawling around on the floor, and I didn’t much feel like doing that today. I’ll save it for Monday, once Tony is back at work.

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So instead, I pulled out my RSC Kiwi blocks and started playing with them again. I auditioned a few fabrics for sashing and borders, and I think I’m getting close to a plan. I ran out of time to start cutting and sewing today, so that will be tomorrow’s job.

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I do have some garden work that needs doing tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll still have plenty of time to play as well. I’ll be back soon with an update.

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A Finished Quilt Top.

Some projects seem to grow quietly in the background, don’t they — a block here, a seam there — until suddenly you stand back and realise you’ve stitched your way into something whole. That’s exactly how Kaiy’s quilt has felt.

Today I sewed the final seam, pressed the last row, and spread the quilt top out across the floor. Tony did his acrobatics at the top of the ladder again to get this image. All those magentas, teals, pinks, purples, and blues I chose using her mood board as a guide, have finally come together, and they’re playing beautifully with one another. It’s bright without being loud, cheerful without being chaotic — very much a quilt with personality, just like its intended owner.

There’s something satisfying about this stage. The top is done, the colours are settled, and the quilt has taken on its own character. Now it’s time to turn my attention to the backing fabric. I'll get to that in a few days.  But for now, I’m simply enjoying the moment. Another quilt top finished, another step closer to wrapping someone I love in something handmade.

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I also made a decision about which WIP will be getting some attention very soon.

More about that soon.

 

Zooming along.

I had planned to get a few chores done this morning before Joe and the family arrived, but those plans went out the window the moment I spotted a Zoom invite from Chooky. That was that —most of the chores were forgotten, and I headed straight into my sewing room to play while we chatted.

I carried on with the blocks for Kaiy’s quilt, adding more black strips to the long sides. I also had a little tidy up and even managed to do some ironing, in between blocks. Partway through adding my black strips I discovered I’d cut some of them too short, so I took the time to cut a fresh batch at the correct size. Once that was sorted, I made some really good progress before Joe and co arrived.

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We had roast chicken for dinner, followed by frothy jelly. For anyone unfamiliar, frothy jelly is simply a jelly mix with yoghurt, cream, or milk whipped into it once it has cooled — I’ve also heard it called Jelly whip or flummery.

After lunch we spent some time outside. The children love having a run around the garden, and today they found a visitor, so Grandad was summoned to help.

Closer inspection revealed that this beautiful dragonfly had lost a leg and another is damaged. Grandad gently popped him onto the BBQ cover, and we watched as he made his way slowly down the side and tucked himself out of the wind.

He’s still sitting there now, several hours later.

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Once everyone had left, I went back into my room for another round of sewing. I was having fun, so I decided to get the blocks made into rows — and since I was still enjoying myself, I kept going and started joining the rows together.

Here you can see the first five rows. There are two more to add: one still needs to be constructed, and the other doesn’t yet have its black strips.

I’m back to work tomorrow for what will be a very busy week, but I’m hoping to get those final two rows completed, and maybe even stitched on. I might have to give some thought to what I might work on next!

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