Overdoing it

The creative quilting bug hit hard on Monday and didn’t let go until yesterday afternoon. I worked almost non-stop on an idea for a lap quilt, and as a result I have completely wrecked myself! I don’t believe it! Both hands, wrists, forearms and my shoulders are weak as babies today and man oh man, do they ever ache! I’m afraid I’m going to be on the sewing sidelines for a while!

So….what in the world was so important? Two design roll of Free Spirit’s Wrenly by Valori Wells!

I had a great idea to make wonky log cabin blocks:

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And then I had the idea to make a couple of wonky houses and wonky hearts:

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And then I thought: how about sewing all the strips in a design roll together end to end…then find the center & cut in half and sew those two long strips together…then find the center & repeat & repeat & repeat?

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Oh, argh!   Now I have two little tiny quilts and some miscellaneous blocks  when what I really want is one comfy size lap quilt for snuggling under with a good book!

Hummm…..how about I cut up the strip quilt and use it as a border around the wonky log cabin blocks with some grey sashing in between?

Since I’m showing what I’ve been up to, I’ll just go ahead and empty out my on-going projects baskets and show you what else is on the go, eh? (these two baskets live in the living room where they valiantly try to contain everything I am currently working on. The rest of my WIPs live in the closet, away from prying eyes.)

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This is a garden-themed bow-tie quilt that I’ve been working on for more than a year.

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I decided that it wasn’t busy enough, so I’m sewing hexie flowers into the blank spaces. What was I thinking???

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And then Moda Bakeshop hosted a trifle dish-themed quilt sew along, and I just had to join in because I adore trifle – it’s my favourite dessert next to strawberry shortcake. Just calling the quilt a “trifle dish quilt” guaranteed my participation, lol!

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This is as far as I have gotten. There are 4 more rows to go.  I’m using up my little collection of 1930s reproduction prints.

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Also in the on-going projects basket is my Grandmother’s Flower Garden, which hasn’t progressed one inch since I posted this update here:

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And last but not least, today I am wearing another skirt that I sewed. I didn’t use a pattern…I just bought some stretchy material and measured around my waist, subtracted a couple of inches and sewed it into a tube. I hemmed the bottom with a zigzag stitch (and it made this really pretty lettuce leaf edge for some reason but I love it). I turned the waist over twice and then sewed a narrow seam around the top edge to hold it down. Voila! A skirt!

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Congratulations, you made it to the end of the post!

I am tired of talking about sewing. I think the next few posts will be non-sewing related, eh? Good.

Now I am going to go and have a cup of tea and piece of home-made sourdough toast (from bread that I made yesterday) because my wrists ache just from typing all this. Come over and join me if you can spare a minute!

Flirting the Issue!

I made a skirt today!

019This is the Flirting the Issue skirt by Anna Maria Horner. You can find the free pattern here!

032You can wear it with a belt or by itself. I’ve made a sash with the left overs.

031I’ve been wanting to sew some of my own clothing, and making a couple of skirts and dresses for the summer was on my Retirement To-Do list.

028It isn’t the most flattering on me, having the gathered elastic waist band and all.  And it certainly doesn’t hide the 20 pounds I’ve gained (arrgh!) But it doesn’t look that bad, either. All in all it’s acceptable and I could be seen in public wearing it.

022Samson agrees. He’s always happy to be seen out in public with me!

025The skirt is cotton voile. I didn’t even know what voile was before I went into the fabric store. Let me tell you, cotton voile is the most wonderful light and buttery-soft fabric you could ever ask for. Perfect for a hot summer day!

021It’s lined with a piece of blue shirting I found in my stash.

033Pretty good for not having sewn anything clothing-wise in over 20 years!

018That’s it for the fashion show! Phew!