I'm nearly a week behind which seems to be the story at the moment...

Anyway, last weekend was clear apart from my work Chrimbo party on the Friday at The National Media Museum. Even though it was a free bar i managed to not get spectacularly drunk (probably my mouth didn’t stop flapping long enough for me to drink very much) so i wasn’t nursing a hangover on Saturday morning.

My normal pattern for a weekend is to give myself a completely unrealistic to-do list, and then get all cranky on Sunday evening when I’ve only got hardly any of it done. I still had the unrealistic list but managed to get enough done to avoid the crankiness on Sunday evening!
I was up fairly early both Saturday and Sunday as Curly Boy was snoring like a lion. I was spitting feathers when i couldn't stand it any longer and had to get up, but i guess i have him to thank for me having so much time.

Amazingly I got my Orange and Teal wonky log cabin quilt finished!



I quilted it on the frame and I finally remembered to take a pic of the frame with the machine on for those of you who have asked. Sorry – i did mean remember before now, but better late than never?



I don’t know how I’d describe the quilting. Sort of lines and squares? I love how it looks on the front....



but it shows up even better on the back.



It was good fun and QUICK to do. 5 hours including the ½ hour ish to put it on the frame. I didn’t realise having THAT much fun quilting was possible and judging how achy my legs and bum were on Monday morning – fantastic exercise too.



I even hand sewed the binding down apart from ½ side which i finished on Monday night. The binding it wasn’t even on my list! That’s a grand total of 2 UFOs done!

I also made a block for the Around The World Quilting Bee, finished the last couple of bits on the Reversible quilt (blogged about on Saturday), prepared a few blocks for the Josephs Coat quilt a long, embroidered a label for the Bento Box and even did a bit of tidying up!

Busy busy...

I think i have had the busiest 3 weeks in history not helped by my back.
2 evenings of rotary cutting last week and I managed to totally cabbage my back to the point that the muscles around my ribs have been so tight that my stomach has been really upset, and I’ve been a bit pukey. Nice.

But being a brave little soldier (yeah...right!...) I managed to do just about everything i needed to do with the exception of going and seeing my favourite girlies dancing last Saturday night. I was gutted that i missed it and I’ve been popping the pain killers ever since until i could finally get the Osteopath last week to get it sorted. Thankfully it’s on the mend now but I’m trying to avoid the rotary cutter. That shouldn't be too hard as i shouldn't be cutting out for anything new anyway with a list of UFOs as long as it is!

The evenings I spent rotary cutting was the fabric for 2 quilts that Mum and I made at a class last Saturday. My Mum is THE hardest person to buy for so i thought i'd book us into the class as her birthday pressie. Here’s my finished lap quilt made with Amy Butler Love.

Front...

Back....

I chose Moda Panache for Mum and it looks lovely so I’ll try and remember to snap a pic of it next time i’m at her house.

I finally stopped ignoring the Bento box and after unpicking the crappy pattern I did last week on 4 blocks, I cracked on with it again.

After a disastrous start to the whole quilting frame malarkey – like EVERYTHING seeming to go wrong – this was an absolute breeze. I started quilting it on Sunday and finished the last 20 minutes before work last Monday. Probably 5-6 hours work in total with very little hassle and no thread snappage! I love the swirls and loops and it was a joy to do. It’s all bound and washed although, the downside of using unbleached cotton is that it wrinkles like the hell for the first 2 or 3 washes until it softens.





That’s 1 off my list of UFOs and I've managed to quilt another one today so I'll show you that when I've hand sewn the binding down and the light's better. So, it's nearly 2 down, 10 to go!

Not much progress.

It’s generally been a bit of whirlwind couple of weeks.

I have a ton of UFOs, but also a ton of social events which eats into my crafting time so I’m really trying to not put too much pressure on myself to finish up my mahoooosive list, but still actually achieve something!

In the main I’ve been working on this.



Not on my UFO list but it’s what i really want to be doing. It’s the time of year. There is nothing more lovely that curling up on the sofa with the fire on, hand stitching.

Doesn’t help that i put another quilt on the quilting frame last weekend, started quilting and made a complete hack job of 4 blocks!!

I drew on the design thinking “how hard can it be to jut follow the lines?”. Erm...very hard!! I think i was trying to run before i could walk.

The shapes were so wonky i actually laughed. Very loudly. I guess that’s preferable to taking a sledgehammer to the quilting frame though.

After ignoring it for a few days i will be unpicking it this weekend and will opt for something a little easier. I'd like to get it finished by the end of this weekend if i can just ignore the lure of the cerise pink flower petal!

Americish?....Britican?...

Posting the picture of this block last week was quite appropriate as last weekend started with Curly Boys Citizenship Ceremony. Yup...he’s now a Brit!
(Well, kinda. He hasn’t given up his US citizenship so now he has dual nationality)

He has been here for 7 ½ years and has had Indefinite Leave to Remain for the last 6 (ish) years so would be able to stay here for as long as he wanted anyway, but he wanted to become a UK Citizen.

As he says, all the previous immigration steps have been essential to allow him to move here in the first place and stay here with me. This one has been about him being allowed to vote (which is really important to him), and declaring that he is ‘home’.

The ceremony took place in the Leeds Civic Hall. After waiting and queuing for various things - I’m sure to test whether the new to-be UK citizens had mastered the British art of queuing - we all trooped into one of the beautiful oak panelled halls.

He first had to say the Affirmation of Allegiance (as he opted to have the non-religious one):

I (name) do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her Heirs and Successors, according to law.

...and then the Pledge:

I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfill my duties and obligations as a British citizen.

He was presented his certificate by the very jolly and uniformed Deputy Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and a photographer took their picture along with a portrait of Queen Lizzie - looking rather marvelous in her Queenie finery.

During the ceremony the Deputy Lord Lieutenant gave a lovely speech where he talked about everyone’s journeys. Curly Boys has been fairly easy but there will have been people amongst the group that the journeys won’t have been quite so easy. There were people from (amongst others) Somalia, Iran, Iraq and Zimbabwe and although i don’t know their stories i can probably hazard a guess that their journeys may not have been quite so easy. I wish them all the health, wealth and happiness in their new lives here.

Other than going for a lovely lunch and a wander around the German Christmas market, afterwards we celebrated by re-mortgaging the house for a box of American goodies.

Since then I’ve already inhaled 2 of the Zero bars and plan to bathe in the root beer once I’ve remembered to get some ice-cream from the shop!

Deadlines...well kinda.

Rather than working on my UFO list I’ve been a bit distracted by a few other projects.
It’s not me going off the boil already (honestly!) but these really needed to be done as there were deadlines to meet.

First up is little colourful and rainbow inspired things for Trashys Rainbow Swap – that needed to be out 1 day before i actually put it all together (oops!).



A block for Courtney for the Quilt Around The World Bee.



She wanted us to create a block with something about where we live, and something about us. A Union Jack was quite fitting – with some selvages of my favourite fabrics.

This was my first attempt at foundation piecing. I can do English paper piecing standing on my head but this....jeez. I think the block took me about 5 hours in total – not that you can tell from all wonkyness going on. The whole point of foundation piecing is for accuracy so i think i must not have quite grasped it. I probably should have read some tutorials or instructions – and didn’t - so the wonkyness and inaccuracy probably had something to do with my ‘make it up as you go along’ approach. Having said that all that, it does make me smile.

And I cracked on and made a cushion for The Pillow Talk Swap that needed to be out by the end of the month.



It’s my swap partners favourites mixed with an idea from quilting magazine. I quilted it on the stroppy Janome who for a change managed to behave herself while i quilted it. I didn’t want to part with it so I’m adding making 2 for me onto the (ever-growing) list of projects i want to do.

Last but not least I’ve been fiddling with bits of stabiliser and fabric for the Don’t look now quilt along. The conversation with Curly Boy the other night went something like this.



CB: That looks suspiciously like a new project.
Me: No, this one? Nooooo.
CB: It is isn’t it? That’s a new project and not a UFO.
Me: No it’s not a new project as I’ve been planning it in my head for while, so it’s not a new project. Technically speaking it’s a UFO.
CB : Well the pieces ARE kind of UFO shaped so i guess that would count as a UFO.

Haha. He’ll do for me!!

Joy in the New Year

I’ve finally decided to participate in Joy in The New Year over at Tallgrass Prairie Studio.
Unfortunately i dithered after i first saw it so now have 2 weeks less than i should have to complete, although I guess as no one’s going to come and lynch me if i don’t get them all finished so i might as well have a stab at it.

Here’s my list and i think i might have bitten off more than i can chew. All the quilts are quite large (approx 72” x 84”) so they’re not ones that i can get done that quickly.
I considered cutting them all in half as then they’d all be half the size and really quick to do, but then i realised that would just double my UFO list – so that wouldn’t work!

1. Hexagon pinwheel – to finish quilting (I’m just over halfway) bind and label.

2. Whirlygiggle – to quilt, bind and label.

3. Orange and teal log cabin - to quilt, bind and label.

4. Bento Box - to quilt, bind and label

5. Sue Spargo wool quilt – to HAND quilt, bind and label.

Hhhmmmm, not sure adding one that is going to be hand quilted to the list is the best idea I’ve ever had!

6. Momo quilt – to join the blocks, quilt, bind and label

7. Arkansas Crossroads quilt – join the blocks, quilt, bind and label

8. Eurovision Bee quilt - make 20 tiny log cabins, finish the top, quilt, bind and label

9. Bee Addicted 3 star quilt - make 15 or so blocks, finish the top, quilt, bind and label

10. String quilt - to make another 34 or so blocks (!!!!!) , finish the top, quilt, bind and label

11. Sew flowers on crochet blanket.

12. Finish doll.

As yet i have no plans for New Years Eve. It’s a good job really!

What I'd do with my lottery winnngs!

I wish i could win the lottery (although....doesn't everyone!). The Euro lottery last Friday i believe was 95 million Euros. Curly Boy’s is in a Euro millions syndicate at work so he spent a significant chunk of last weekend spending his winnings (that he didn’t win!) and the rest of the week feeling depressed that he didn't win!

Obviously the first thing I’d do is order Lamborghini Murcielago and book a holiday, then I’d look for a house that is just like mine but with enough space for a fleet of super cars and an extra room downstairs for my sewing.

Last week when Holly the Pfaff came, i sat at the dining room table and played with her. I loved it. Loved being close to Curly Boy who was in the Lounge watching TV or reading. We could have shouted conversations between rooms and he could shout me to come and watch the water tank explosions on Mythbusters (although i do have to admit that after the 4th time i stopped what i was doing that i told him that i wouldn’t be coming in again!).

Curly Boy noticed that i loved it too and jokingly suggested that i buy another sewing machine to keep downstairs (yeah, like i need any encouragement to buy more sewing machines!) but it has got me thinking. My theory was that If i moved my machine downstairs i might be more inclined to do a bit when i get home from work, or while tea is cooking, and be more inclined to sew after tea rather than laying like a vegetable on the sofa.

So here it is. My machine is downstairs on the dining room table. I’m not convinced i can be well behaved enough to stop my stuff getting strewn everywhere but in the last few evenings in between Judge Judy, cooking tea and The Dog Whisperer i got these done.

Blocks for Katrina for Bee Addicted 3

A pile of blocks for my Arkansas crossroads quilt

I've had to take a pic of the blocks on the lounge floor as - ahem - the Momo blocks are still on my design wall waiting to be sewn together!



I don’t whether this means that my theory is working or whether it’s the novelty of being able to check on the boiling pasta after a few seams. We’ll see!