Well, here it is, eight days into June and I haven't let you know what I've been up to for over five weeks. Sorry about that. May was a busy month workwise, and we were lucky to get away for a week as well. June is quieter work wise, and now I'm home from a little jaunt to Canberra, I've got lots of time for sewing.
Do you recall that "quilt as you go" quilt I had almost finished last month? I was so unhappy with the misalignment of the sashing strips that I've unsewed the whole lot, removing the binding and the sashing strips, back to the original QAYG blocks. I have searched further using Google and YouTube and found better tutorials on how to do the sashing. So that will be another project for June - doing it right this time!
Remember these blocks from last year? I've finally got around to finding and cutting sashing and cornerstones from my stash, and making a border of leftover pieces from the fat quarters. I'm halfway through piecing the top, and I will need to make a backing and baste it, before quilting and binding. But it will be a good one for a new baby, I think. Sadly there isn't enough of the sashing fabric to bind, so I will think of something to use. Probably a scrappy binding - I have enough leftovers from previous quilts.
Granddaughter's birthday was 31st May, so I made a quick and easy bag for her hopscotch, ready to hand it over at her party. She isn't quite into hopping on one foot/leg yet, but jumping from square to square is allowed in hopscotch when you're little. But another lockdown happened and her party was postponed. I handed the gift over at the weekend when they visited.
I also made another basket (Ikea shelf size) for her toys. This was a different pattern and I like it even less than the first one I made. Next one will be a basic box, with inserts to put cardboard. It will hopefully be more sturdy than this one! And now I've just realised that I didn't take a photo of this basket before it left the house at the weekend. So you will just have to imagine it! ☺
There was one textile related visit last week, to the Pioneer Women's Hut Museum near Tumbarumba in southern New South Wales. It is committed to preserving rural women's heritage, and has an amazing collection, really well displayed and curated. There is one hut dedicated to quilts, but the other exhibits were really interesting too. And there was one hut built recently to house and display a local lady's button collection - which must have been enormous. So worth visiting - Covid and borders (state and national) willing. Here's a photo of my favourite quilt in the collection on display.
Goals for June/July:
1. Finish sawtooth star quilt top
2. Make up backing for sawtooth star quilt, baste, quilt and bind
3. Finish red, white and black Strip Twist quilt top
4. Make up backing for Strip Twist quilt, baste, quilt and bind
5. Finish a better fabric basket for the granddaughter
6. Make a knitting needle roll for a friend
7. Re-join QAYG blocks into sashed finished quilt
8. Continue to hand piece the Quattro quilt at night when watching TV
Let's see how I go with these goals!
