presenting a finish

It's really time I present this one - it's been finished and waiting for me to either clean up my design floor or take it outside for a few pictures. So I took it with me to hand in a paper and stopped along the way cycling home. I present:

name: redorangepurple (BeeBiased 2014)
size: 66" x 60"
patter: Thrifty (the pieced block) + solid squares
quilting: machine quilted on my machine in a diagonal lines
back: framed signature blocks

Löni

crazy mail day

This morning I gotrung out of bed by one of my favourite persons - The Postlady - she asked me to come down as she had some overs ized stuff for me. That usually means I get a swap item ... so I go downstairs and there is a pile of oversized letters and I ask if I can just go through them and pick mine, well she said the were all for me.

That made 4 letters ... ok one was just full of papers I need to send in an application ... but the important stuff ... The first quilt (in order of posting date) is this one - made for the April swap of the Doll Quilters Monthly - now ignorant me needs to find out about diamnods and baseball because "diamonds are forever" was the theme -- I really don't know anythign about baseball except thea use a ball, a bat and funny gloves - ohh and they enjoy sliding through the dirt.

Then the next one - coming from Australia - is the May contribution of the same swap - the theme was "modern" - my partner is very patient because I still haven't finished hers - I know bad bad me.

I think that one is going to be a competition for the leave-mini that is currently on my fabric cupboard, maybe I will exchange them monthly or so ... And alst but not least - I got me a pincushion - actually after waiting for 3 years to get a pincushion in a swap I got 3 today .. (each doll quilt had a small one riding along). Well but this one is very special - well yeah because it's really big and because it's a frog and I have a little somethign for frogs and green. And it came in a July swap - and I'm goign to take it as an early birhtday present.

So yes I think that poor bugger will be full of those basting pins once I'm done quilting redorangepurple that I spend all evening yesterday on my knees to pin baste. And I always have the pins all over because I just take them out while quitling and throw them on whatever "clear" surface I can find and of course they end up on the floor while I quilt-wrestle ... so maybe not this time.

Löni

getting things done

sometimes you need a little kick in the ass to get some more sewing done ... I first started this quilt about a year ago when I chose the block for the bee Biased Bee to sew for me. I finished the top somwhen later that year and only now got around to just figure out a backing.

I had all the stuff set out and started actually piecing and then decided the "siganture blocks" where too colourfull to just sew directly to each other and I wasn't really lookign forward to cuttign up the flannel - I was a bit afraid it wouldn't be big enough in the end ..

So I completely threw that decision over baord and went hutnign for the remainder fo the solids I used for the front and started piecing a backing ... which now turns out o be almost looking like a second front ...

If you wonder what the white spot is for - I plan to use that instead of a lable to put all the swap information down ... Now just a few more stripes of red and I can go on to basting and then eventually quitling. Well as soon as I cleared up more of my floor ...

Löni

in need of colour

I haven't done much sewing lately and when I did it was all pale colour for bees ...

May for Stash Bee Hive#8

May for NewBee Bee Hive#8             and         quite a while ago April for Stash Bee Hive#8              

So I decided I had to get out one of the colourful UFOs that was missing a border so a lot of colour but still not much sewing ...

Now I just need to finish the back - that screaming red flannel with that small pile of signature blocks - and decide on a quilting design.

Löni

linking up with WIP Wednesday

first day of the holidays

Well ok it's probably more the second day - I spent the first one cleaning up and doing laundry and packing and cutting fabric ... After an unusually uneventful train journey I did dive head first into sewing ...
Ok it did take me a while to set up the sewing machine - the old Lady is a bit well, let's say she sometimes has her own mind. I should probably introduce her to you at some point - it's an old PFAFF machine, and probably the grandma of my main machine and mother of my heavy duty machine ...

Anyway I did get some sewing done yesterday - as I decided not to wait on the last bee that is hmm ignoring me and went ahead and assembled the top.

ehemm yeah I folded it over night - you will see the reason in the next picture - and didn't iron it for the photo shoot

In the evening I went for a puzzle - while watching, or rather listening to an Austrian movie I knelt on the floor arranging and re-arranging and changing and ... I'm really glad my mum has such a large free space in the living room .. I'm sure to spend some more time arranging and re-arranging in the next few days.

Today I spent most of the day in the garden, planting a rose and some other perennial things, and a few strawberries that are of the early kind, and I got the wood I need to fix the wood-shed roof ...

Tomorrow is for visiting the park I worked at for a year, getting tea and some fresh meat and tinned sausage, and catching up with old friends ...

The Ladies - very headstrong ---- the meat is the kids, nieces, nephews

the drying beds for herbs and in this case flower petals for teas .. 

Löni

Goodbye July

Seems another month flew by - time seems to pass faster the older you get. I woudl say July was much more productive than August will ever be. I am officially on summer break - but that just means I need to write papers. (I'm now on my second breakfast break - sort of.) Well after spending 8 hours reading and writing I usually don't feel like sitting down to sew something. So yeah August is going to be an unproductive month.

This is what July was all about - bee blocks .... some more bee blocks  .... and bee blocks - well mostly incoming bee blocks - but I actually did have to sew one to send out ...

still waiting on one Lady to send the blocks

I'm ready to give up though and just do them myself

I did get started on the binding on this quilt ... well yeah but I haven't gotten much further - didn't really have the time for movie nights - not that I have any new DVDs to watch. But I started two new proects in July - one was more or less voluntary the other was for a swap.

I always wanted to try the irish chain pattern - not necessarily in those colours - I would classify them under "store and pull out if want to insult someone by giving away something ugly" - but yes I do understand that some people might like that sort of colours. It was really ust about trying out the pattern and well using up shirts (blue) and bed linens (apricot and white).

 my "what did I get myself into"-baskets

Löni

So and now with the beginning of August comes the time to be "royally pissed" (reading books is not good for my manners) at certain persons who forgot my birhtday - aye middle of the month till the end should be enough time to send a card ... or do something else ...

Queen Bee

Yeah you have all been seeing the blocks pop up in various posts as a sort of add on at the end of other posts. Being still rather a beginner it wasn't easy joining a bee - I mean so many of them want "bee experience". The other problem is of course findign a stash bee - my bank account is not in favour of sending out tons of fabric to have people sew my blocks ... 

keeping the postal workers and esp. customs officers in work

In January it happend - I got into 2 bees - a beginners bee and an intermediate bee (of course there is a constant dscussion what intermediate means). I enjoy making the blocks and sending them off but of course "my months" are the best ... especially as I got both around my birthday.

June blocks - the intermediate bee

each one made 3 purple-red-orange thrifty blocks and one block in their colour

I rellay like having my birthday sort of extended into August. I'm missing one block for June, but that Bee is MIA so I will maybe have to wait a little longer or get busy myself. These are for July and I really like how July is turning out.

My design wall is occupied by the June blocks - so I had to turn my floor into a design floor, which means of course putting the blocks away again as soon as I'm done with taking pictures. As you can see I'm already behind and the newest block hasn't yet been on the "design floor" with the rest ...

I really love how that one is coming together

 Leo

progress report

This week ther is much less to report progress on ... yeah I sort of dug my teeth into something I knew I had to finish because the colours give me the creeps - but hey I'm a Swabian we don't throw away things just because we don't like them - if they can be used they will be used.

the whole thing measures 47 x 62 inches ... 

and I have no idea what to do with it now - any ideas for a border?

It all started with some blue shirts that the local THW - Federal Agency for Technical Relief was "throwing out" and some old bed linens I had lying around in apricot and white. They all worked nicely together being well washed (and used) so being soft despite the rather coarse/rough weave.I think I showed the trial block last week - well that's the top done - 1 shirt, 1/2 apricot linen, 1 white linen

Apart from that there hasn't been happening much - I got a few more Bee blocks, I guess I will need a second design wall. I have half of the June blocks, the purple, orange, red ones and 2 July blocks. But yeah the I didn't really work on those blocks - I mean I just carried them upstairs.

    

And I finally got around to sew my block for this fortnight (that's 14 days - I got some questiosn so I thought I woudl mention it) of the Landmädel QAL - sunset sewing picked an "easy" block: whirlpool, well I might have to do it again with less HSTs and more flying geese, maybe I will get the seams to mach better.

Ohh well yeah I did start hand sewing the binding to my bluegreenpink quilt - that I'm liking more and more especially the back ...

 Leo

progress report

Well I thought I would just overwhelm you with pictures - I had quite a busy time. Doing an excursion to Bavaria and then having a tournament on Sunday and a presentation on Monday morning. And now having well no voice anymore. So I've been mostly reading and sulking in bed drinking hot tea with honey not enjoying the almost 28°C at all ...

I started my Farmer's Wife quilt:

I made a NewBee Bee block that had the wrong colours so I made another one:

I started quitling "bluegreenpink"

I started adding my June Queen blocks to the design wall

I started "Spring"

I made a testblock for my month as Queen - and wrote a tutorial on it - sort of - I will still keep calling them "How-to's"

I didn't  work on:

hmm no it's getting late and the list is so long and I don't want to look for the pictures ... another time

 Leo

The usual suspects that I link to

progress

Well I am making some progress on bluegreenpink - I used the "perfect" backing to bast it, watching Torchwood again, I really need some new DVDs (sadly I have to say the public library here is very backwater about DVDs).

In the good news department - the time of darkness has started here - it's finally summer and we get to see the sun so to keep the room temperature down the only thing that helps is keep the blinds closed. At least the nights are still cool.Well  I got around and started on one of my projects I put up as my NewFO projects back in January (feels like that was ages ago) - it will be my "Spring"

the obligatory toes for size reference

I got the first set of Bee blocks this weekend (I asked for 4 6,5" blocks instead of one 12.5" block)

Have I shown you my "Finnland"-block yet? it's for a trip around the world quilt my May Queen planned. Well I chose her favourite character from the Moomins - Mymble:

So for June I have a doll quilt and a bee block left to do

 Leo

The usual suspects that I link to

feeling productive

I'm goign to be Bee Queen in June (and July but that's for another bee) and I had to come up with a pattern and of course make the blocks to see if the instructions work fine, and well yeah all the other reasons:

So I'm going to get a lot of blocks like those this month:

and because they are 6.5" I will get 4 blocks from each of the bees - life is wonderful

I also did get one Bee block for May done and the other one is still in the making but I have a few more days - well okay I have like 2 days today and tomorrow, but there is just a little bit left to do:

I also did get around to sewing some scraps together I ad left over fromt he "never again skirt"-project:

And most importantly I did get another quilt finished late laste night - now I just need to wait for nice weather to actually photograph it (and my other finish - yes there hasn't been a good sun since then):

 Leo

The usual suspects that I link to