Climb every mountain.....

This one is for Dorothy who wrote to say how much she has enjoyed seeing Phil's photos and that she too, loves to do so - and who wouldn't, living in the vicinity of this mountain?  Mt Egmont is the old name, it's now Mount Taranaki but, a rose.............  Phil took this with a point and shoot camera a year or two ago when he was up that way on holiday, he couldn't believe his luck at being in the right place at the right time.

I've been doing some tidying and de-cluttering, each week I take a few books into one of the Op Shops and next it will be some cds.  Over the weekend I put ten classical cds onto my computer and iPhone which will give a little more balance to the several hours of music already there.  Beethoven's violin concerto and Elgar's Cello Concerto plus the four soundtracks from the Inspector Morse television series, which is now playing in the background.

Here's another side of the pincushion - two down, four to go!

On the design wall at present is another string quilt, what a surprise! I've also finished machine quilting around all the picture blocks of the quilt my granddaughters drew, now I must look out my embroidery threads and work on the individual blocks.

The block I wanted to share today  is another from  my 5 inch squares class, not sure where it came from; I remember being surprised at how popular it was because I had also shown the Altered 9 patch which hadn't inspired much enthusiasm at the time.

This is the Altered four patch -

So, take one four patch

and slice it four ways, I did this one and a half inches from the centre seam in each direction, trying not to move the pieces.  Then leaving the four outer corners and the centre four-patch untouched, reverse the centre squares made of two rectangles - resew.

Great isn't it, to get that effect without having to cut and sew fiddly little pieces.

This last photo Phil took in the Wairarapa recently, such an iconic little house.

Just a short visit today, I'll post more before too long.
This quote seems apt bearing in mind the news from South Africa, "I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying." Nelson Mandela

Thanks for stopping by and welcome to my new follower, Kelly.

June

City and Star

Early morning in Wellington City as seen by my son; that's Petone in the distance - in the sun! and the fountain was in full glory.  [click to enlarge please to get the full glory]

I thought you might like to see how I altered the Hunter's Star pattern to include it in my class;  I remember having difficulty with the rhomboid shapes, so I took a look at the page of directions -

It looked complicated and I would need a template, or a special ruler - then I took a close look at the actual block and drew a grid on it.

So simple really, two squares and eight half square triangles - I could do that!

I chose calico and plaids, Needlecraft from Palmerston North used seven inch squares for their Fabric Friends club, so I had swags of them - they also had more plaids than the average shop.  My method of making the eight half square triangles was to draw in the diagonal lines, sew a quarter of an inch on either side, press the block then cut into four [the dark pencil lines] only then did I cut on the diagonal on the brown lines.  This way I found minimised the distortion of sewing on the diagonal.

Please excuse the hairy edges - these samples have been in and out of my folders so many times over the years, it's high time they were put out of their misery and actually made into something.....

Then came decision time - how to put the blocks together.  You will understand that what you see is only quarter of the pattern, and there are many ways to assemble it -

After much thought, mine went together like this

Some decent size pale places for quilting I think, maybe a thistle to go with the plaids?

I want to share another photo with you, taken by my son one early morning at Wainui beach when it was windy and cloudy -

What an amazing spotlight effect - love it!

Thanks for stopping by, and remember - "Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated.  You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps." David Lloyd George

We'll talk again soon
June

Winter and w.i.p

This is the view from Karaka Bay, across the harbour entrance to the Wainui Hills and the hills behind Wainuiomata - the Orongaronga range I think.  How lovely it looks - and how cold it is!  we have been spoiled with such a long, beautiful summer - thank goodness for merino thermals!  Photo of course courtesy of my son Phil.

I've been sharing some pincushions lately, and here's another one -

Well, one face of the six to be precise.  And I think those pins are from Qantas.  The canvas was quite fine and the idea was to 'design' different stitches for each side; I always loved doing canvaswork, found it very soothing.

I've been doing more with strings and right now the sewing room is an untidy mess as I decided to check out the tops with their backings and which will I quilt next?  .........  found some I'd almost forgotten about!

I have started quilting the top my granddaughters made, or at least they painted the calico to make pictures, I joined them and have stalled wondering what to do - it is such a large piece!  I then had a brainwave, cleared everything off the big kauri table in the living room and hauled out the machine I bought on a whim after the Palmerston symposium.  I have no wish to bad mouth any product but have had considerable trouble with this machine so relegated it to a corner.......... out it came, set up, plugged in - and then I had to read the instructions!

So far I have done a wavy line round the pictures, lots of thread ends to be sewn in later.  Then I thought I might have a look at other stitches for the white sashing, so back to the instructions and I'm trying out some of the fancy stitches.

and I've numbered them for future reference - the ordinary stitched to the right were because I hadn't read that I had to press the # key first, before the number....... who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!

The table is great for moving the quilt around, I just have to remember to fold it away  - really don't want both cats sleeping on it all night.

I've enjoyed some lovely stitching days with my small group and when they come here, particularly at this time of year, I usually have a pot of soup on the stove and one of my friends calls in at the bakery on the way

It tasted great too!

This is the storm that probably brought the recent snow

The photo was taken from Petone beach, and that's Somes Island about to be engulfed by the southerly - courtesy son Phil.

I was about to say that I've made a resolution to post more often - then I read the thought for today - "That list of New Year Resolutions you made last year can be used again. It's as good as new." W.G.P
Ouch!

Thanks for stopping by, be back soon
June

I'm hooked!

The fishing must be good to risk these conditions!  Phil took this photo over Easter when he spent some time house-sitting for friends in Auckland - do click on it to get the full impact.

No, my hooking is quite different.  A few days ago Leann put a link to the Great British Sewing Bee - thank you so much Leann, I have loved watching the competition.  Good Old Aunty BBC, it's all done in a very civilised manner, the contestants are such nice people - and what's more I'm seriously thinking of searching out the patterns and dress fabric still hiding in my sewing room - how's that for being hooked?

Right now though I have quite a few things I want to finish and I have finally got my Dreams of Venice put together to my satisfaction.    The block has several pieces and I chose it to showcase the lovely fabric my other son brought back from Italy - a few years ago I must confess.  I selected a range  fabrics I wanted to put with it, then found the block which was perfect.

Lots of auditions later I had two blocks on the design wall -

Oh, sugar-plum fairy - blogger is playing up - took me several attempts to put that photo up and it's all distorted - this block is made up of squares!

See what the next one comes out like,

At last!  I loved the pictures on this fabric,  I showed restraint and used only two, but this lady with her cats and pot plants was so appealing.

Here goes, this is how I finally sewed the top.  Originally I had all the blocks in the same orientation but it just didn't work;  I made the blocks, then started wondering about how they should be set - and then, shame on me, decided just to join them up as they were all ready.......... lazy, lazy and as my dear Mum would have said, lazy people take the most pains!  Well, it took ages to unpick one half, then re-arrange some of the pieces as they were directional - I also should have sprayed with starch as I can see I shall have some troubles with the quilting.......

I wanted the Italian fabric to surround the other units which are about my life here in NZ and hold it all together.

I have several more things I want to share with you, but tonight it's like pushing water up hill, blogger is having an off day!

I'll try one more photo, back to Wainuiomata beach for the sunset -

I'm sure there's a taniwha getting ready to leap out!

Maybe there is something in the air, new moon, old moon - I know the drivers around Petone these last few days have been paid up members of the Idiot's Club!! and as my thought for today puts it, "If shared problems lessen the burden, how come we get so upset in a traffic jam?", PK Shaw.

Welcome to my new follower; I shall return soon and hope blogger is in a better mood!
June

Squares and Surf

I just love this photo, taken by my son, of the surf off the Wainui Beach.  I'm not quite sure what causes all the froth - but what amazing patterns - I see free machine embroidery and beading to do it justice.......






Here are another couple of pin cushions, the first is canvas work; I used a cross stitch pattern

and worked one petit point stitch [or half a cross stitch] per square.






The back was done in the same stitch but using variegated thread and worked in uneven quarters on the diagonal.

The second pincushion is part of a stitching kit - possibly of use in an emergency but I don't think the scissors would be very sharp!

Oh dear, the wheel looks a trifle wobbly!

The class I used to teach, Sewing Outside the Square, was based on getting the best use possible for all the charm squares I had acquired over the years.  I was constantly looking for blocks to adapt for the squares and a very basic one is the square in a square.

I used a 3" centre square, cut the 5" squares in half and using a partial seam, surrounded the centre.  I decided to put the squares on point and was fortunate I had a couple of batiks for the setting borders.

The edges are untrimmed - here is a detail -

Some variations on this theme,  this one using a bright multi patterned fabric for the centre,

And this one using more fabrics and a more subtle effect

There are other variations of this block, but I'll show just one more, this time a miniature version, almost a stack and whack -

Because they were made using 5" squares, they had to be cut into three strips, each at one and five eighths inch !! There is also some wastage and the block needs squaring up after rejoining the pieces.   I think I would prefer to move up to six inch squares!  anyway here they are from the class, I sewed a few together and will probably do a few more and turn it into a table runner for Christmas.

I mentioned my Venetian Dream quilt a couple of times, it's giving me some angst - I asked a couple of friends for their comments which crystalised what I was feeling - so, after some major unpicking I'm feeling happier.  Tomorrow it's on the menu to be ironed and resewn.

Now, to close this evening, here's a photo hot off the camera - I've just received this from my son.  Funny, as I came home late this afternoon from the dreaded supermarket [chocolate was the carrot that got me there!] I noticed the beautiful clouds and changing light and wondered where he was.......

Back to the Wainui Beach....

My thought today, thanks to Anonymous - " The average amount of sleep required by the average person is just five minutes more."  I can so relate to that!

Thanks for stopping by,
June

Who turned off the sun?

After weeks of glorious, sunny weather with clear skies we now have clouds sitting on the hills, rain and wind - but we can always get colour from our fabric and our photos, so here's a twilight shot at Castlepoint Lighthouse taken by my son recently.

Here's my Courthouse Steps top.  This was made when I started quilting again - or at least piecing - after my husband died, I did a Chinese Coins and then a log cabin variation around a nine patch that turned out to be not a square but I love the result.  While I was piecing that one I worked out my next pattern - do you do that? - I remembered a tin of 3.5" squares which I turned into scrappy quarter square triangles and then used them as the centre for the block.

I got a bit carried away with the piecing and on checking the number of blocks I decided to join some after the first 'round' to give the top a bit of life.

Here are some more pincushions - not quite sure why I had the desire to collect these - didn't William Morris make the observation -"Have nothing in your house that you don't think is beautiful or know to be useful"? well, I really can't say these are beautiful and only marginally useful.........

Colourful perhaps and sort of quaint - and then there's the swan -

Nice enough to have around the sewing room I think.

I mentioned that I was auditioning borders for a blue/green/yellow strippy quilt - I was having great difficulty making up my mind, so put it away for a while.  My stitching friends gave their opinions and I still wasn't sure -

I had cut the strips, again a la jelly roll tops, then had to add more - I must work out the math of doing this type if I'm going to cut my own strips from yardage etc.  and here are the two possible borders -

I tried them on the design wall

You can see there are modern and vintage fabrics, all of which I like, but it just didn't sing to me!

Then I had a brainwave! and here's what I shall do

Turn the piece so the strips are horizontal, cut the whole thing in half and use the fabric on the left!  I sincerely hope those wobbles at the bottom are just the way it's hanging!

Thanks for stopping by and remember, "The surest way to be late is to have plenty of time." Leo Kennedy which is a truth I prove all the time!

June

Wellington, Wonky log cabin and Waitomo

I just have to share this with you, another of my son Phil's photos taken very early one morning at the waterfront in Wellington.  The statue is by Max Patte, "Solace of the Wind" [2008].  On the subject of Phil's photos he has recently set up a pics site, if you are interested in seeing more (do I sound like a proud mother?, well I am!)

I seem to remember saying that I had used up all the thin strips - well, I was mistaken!  I was looking for a particular pin cushion and came across another bag of pale strings - I wonder what brilliant idea will come to me for these?  Talking of pin cushions,

Here's a selection of the "apple" variation.  The top, red one I bought at a quilt shop in Singapore on a stopover there on the way home from visiting family is Kotakinabalu.  Well, it was red, the base still is but the good old kiwi sun has toned it down!









Do you have a collection of pincushions?

Now this is another UFO - not sure if I will ever do anything with it.  I got this far at a class at the Symposium in Hastings in 1989 - what a great time we had there!  Such great hospitality - remember the huge crate of apples, free for the taking!  I quite enjoy the blanket stitching but I think I was the only one in the class who took several different fabrics - fussy cutting is too wasteful anyway......

And wasn't this the Symposium, Yvonne, when we managed to take all day to drive back to Wellington?  [4 hours max according to my husband]  We bought some beads somewhere on the trip, mine were autumn coloured - surprise, surprise - and weren't yours pink and blue?

Some time ago I shared the wonky hexagon log cabin that I hand quilted, well when I started piecing it I used light and dark fabrics - then changed to light and medium when it seemed too harsh.  I discovered the partial blocks recently, and decided to complete them.

Here's a detail -

I decided to set them in vertical bands of light and dark

I decided on a dark border and found this gorgeous fabric in my stash -

It seems to echo many of the fabrics in the quilt top - and as for the bottom right, well I did say it was wonky!!

The quote I want to share today resonates with me - soon I shall post a photo of my garden, complete with head high nightshade and a carpet of weeds broken by paving stones! - "Nature is a good economist; note the blades of grass which make use of the cracks in your concrete path." PK Shaw

And the very last "word" is a photo, long exposure, taken by Phil near Waitomo

Thanks for stopping by
June