Oh Happy Happy Day

There's an awful lot of blog posting going on in Fairybread Land lately, and the sad thing is that one day I'll just disappear again. But then with winter not too far away hopefully I'll stay true.


Today is a Happy Day. The postman came bearing fabric from the US (in a blo*dy big box). Normally I get one or two envelopes, but this time a box. The order was dispatched from Whittle's Fabric last Saturday, and here it is on the Monday 9 days after. Pretty good service. Whittle's say on their shipping page that they don't ship to Australia, but they do. They bent under some pretty heavy blogger pressure apparently.

I usually buy 1800s Repro fabric, but this time I bought some modern and/or bright fabric. I've been reading my Material Obsession books bought el-cheapo from the Book Depository in the UK. I'm quite inspired. *Aussie and Kiwi alert* all the books are heaps cheaper than in Australia, plus postage is always free. Compare the prices - you can easily pay double here. It's very fast, less than 10 days, and you can have all the prices displayed in A$ on the site if you like. HIGHLY recommended.


Anyway, back to the fabric. Bought some dots, stripes and stuff from modern designers, but I think the floral is my favourite. I bought 4 yards so I can use it as a border or something. Better than Christmas!

Would Anybody Like It?

It's a bit scary to admit this, but I bought 2 of the same magazine this month. We are deprived of US Quilt mags here, so when I see this one I snap it up. I thought the cover looked familiar, but I sometimes look at the webpage for this mag so I thought I must have seen it there. Not til I got home and had a browse did I realise I already had it.


If anybody would like it please let me know. I think just Aussies and Kiwis as everyone else would have easy access to it.

Will Somebody PLEASE Save Me From Myself...

Oh God! What is it about these things that suck me in? My first thought was "you've got to be joking!" but for the 12 or so hours since then I've been thinking about it most of the time. Think of those tubs of boring fabric acquired in the early days of quilting that could be used up. In fact, why do I still have that fabric? I sold a lot of that stuff on ebay some time back, then used the funds to buy more fabric, of course. I seem to have this huge amount of boring green that could be hidden in this quilt among brighter fabrics.

I'm still thinking about it, but I did buy a huge amount of plain white fabric today, just in case I ever need it... It's sort of like looking at a train wreck - you don't want to look but you can't help yourself. BTW I know there has been a terrible train crash in Belgium, and I hope no blogger has family or friends involved.

If you still want to know what this is about, look here, but don't say I didn't warn you.

O M G it's H O T. It's weather for sitting still, as any movement causes sweat to roll down your face and drip off your chin. It's a day for lying on the deck in the shade, but only with about 10 layers of mossie repellent on, as the mosquitos are vicious after the recent rain. Even the heat off the laptop feels worse today.

I've been doing some hexagons as the thought of sitting in front of the machine isn't attractive. It feels sinful to be making these huge hexagons as they grow so quickly, but if it means I might finish it this year rather than next then it's a good thing.

I've been trying to use big prints for the plain hexagons and have re-discovered this piece of fabric. I know it's been there, but I've only really started to appreciate it since I've been working on this project. It doesn't have any writing on the selvage as it isn't a very big piece, but I've got a feeling it could be a Sharon Yenter print. I might try and have a look for it, but I'm sure it's out of print now. I'm trying to use green and pink as the primary colours for this quilt. The colours in the photos look a bit washed out due to the strong sunlight. Chloe is sitting in the sun in one of the photos, but I can assure you she didn't last long!

Feeling the Heat

This is Simon (official name Simon's Secret) but I don't call him that unless he's in serious trouble, but it makes no difference anyway. He does whatever he wants and I let him - he has it made. Si is getting old now. He's 13 and I've had him for 12 of those 13 years. He is a sweet soft old gentleman who doesn't much bother anyone, knows his place in the pack which is at the bottom mostly, out of trouble. He will put up a bit of a growl if young Chloe is foolish enough to try and steal his bone or food, as there is one constant in life and that is that NOTHING comes between Simon and his food.

He can be flat out puffing and panting like in the photo, but if I move toward the kitchen bench the head comes up and tilts to the side, then if I go into the pantry where the dog food is kept he's young again, springing and twirling like a puppy. Then the bum hits the floor and he somehow manages to move backward, sideways or wherever he thinks the food bowl is going to land without getting up from a sit. It is truly something to be seen.


He loves his mother too - that's me of course - and as you can see he sleeps on the bed. If I leave him say in a friend's yard with them and their dogs while I dash home to grab something, he sits at the gate waiting for my return. Unable to be distracted, except momentarily of course by food, he's back at the gate, occasionally letting out a mournful WoooOOoooOoo... til I come back. Heart wrenching.

I was reading about Kipper and Thomas today, and remembering Libby's Harper who recently went to where all Good Dogs go - I hope I have Simon for a few years yet.

More Hexagons

I've started doing some more hexagons to have a hand project, inspired by these amazing quilts on the Fun with Barb and Mary blog. I emailed Barb and she said it's ok to link to her, so have a look at these fantastic hex quilts on her blog. Barb's quilt was made using 3 inch hexagons with the smaller diamonds, but I decided to do mine 2 1/2 inches as at the time the LQS had the 2 different sized diamonds to go with that measurement, but no 2 1/2 inch hexagons. I thought to myself that I would get started on the diamonds and look online for the big hexagon papers and template.

Trust me to decide on 2 1/2 inch hexagons as they don't seem to exist. Hex papers go up in half inch sizes til you get to 2 inch, then go straight to 3 inch. I have searched the world looking for them with no luck. So I thought 'well I'll have to make them'. I'm all for convenience so I always buy papers and a template, however after half an hour in Officeworks this week, I have learnt some new and useful things. I didn't know that copying paper was 80 gsm, and that there are all different weights of paper up to 200gsm which is a light cardboard. Fancy that? I bought 100 sheets of 200gsm for $10, then paid a dollar or so for them to photocopy onto about 15 sheets, and have enough leftover paper to print hexagons for a few years.

First I printed off the hexagons from this website, but even though I put 2.5 inches in the box, when printed the hexagon was a bit smaller than this. So I photocopied the page at 105% and it came out the right size. Only 2 hexagons will fit on the page so I'll make up a page with the 2 hexagons and some diamonds in the gaps and use that as my original. I also bought a sheet of template plastic to make a template.

It's been fun cutting the fabric to make stripes or fussy cutting flowers or berries and stuff. I have the scrap bins out and am trying to use some of them. I'm trying for green and pink as the main colours in this quilt.

I've finished the quilting in the light hexagons, and am arguing with myself about doing the red ones. I could probably get away with not doing them, but that's no attitude, is it? I'll think about it.


Meanwhile I looked out the bathroom window this morning to see this tree branch down, just missing my fence and the banana tree. Close call. It would be nice not to have a fence while all this empty space is around me, but with beagles there is no option. It's quite a big gum tree, and I've been told that they can be called "widow makers", as the branch soaks up water from the rain, then gets heavy and falls on your head without warning. There has been plenty of rain over the last few days but not much wind, so I'd say that's what must have happened.


I love having the big trees around, but when you see this you have to admit that the whole tree could fall over and land on the roof...

It's raining today, in fact the rain on the roof woke me up this morning. The good news is that the tanks will be full, but the bad news is that the house will be smelling like a wet dog before long. Chloe wants to be outside, but she doesn't like to get wet. I sent her out to do what dogs need to do outside, and watched her spring over a patch of wet grass to land on a different patch of wet grass. Whatever. I try to take photos of the rain, but it doesn't really work. Beyond the trees you can usually see the water of the bay, and Nth Stradbroke Island, but not today. Can you see the water pouring down the road?

Anyway, it isn't good for taking photos today. I'm slowly coming along with Mum's Christmas Present (Last Minute Lucy). I have ironed on the Pellon, which I think might also be called Vliesofix, to the backing fabric and basted. Then I tried to do some handquilting with pitiful results. Needless to say I'm booked into a handquilting class (hoop free) later in the month. I tried to do it with the machine and it isn't too bad. I'll finish it this way.

I took this photo this morning to email to my friend Di as she gave me this plant and can't believe that it's still alive. Well it is, and it's flowering! After I took the photo I noticed the "No Gimmicks, Just Cheap Cars" in the foreground. Need to look at the whole photo, not just the thing I'm photographing. So I took it again, then noticed all the other cr*p on the table. Really I need to have a cleanup today.

Way in the background is the sailing pile - ie 2 sails plus the boom, 2 PFDs, a towel, water bottle etc.

Behind the plant you will notice the life of a beagle owner. Absolutely everything must be up on the table or bench, not too close to the edge and with all the chairs left in at all times. The star blocks I've been cutting out while watching the cricket, Mum's hexagons, and all the scrap bins and assorted other fabrics because I have started more hexagons.

The problems of an open plan house - there isn't any hiding of the mess. Luckily I live in the sort of place where you don't get many people just 'dropping in'. It's such a pain to get here that people ring first to arrange a visit, but I like it. I like having a bit of space around me, I like living alone and I like a bit of isolation.

Laura's Quilt

Laura's quilt is one of the Christmas presents I still need to finish. I just got it out of the bag that I brought it home in from Christmas Day (!) and took a few photos. It's draped on the couch which is why it looks a bit upside down. I've tried to do some free-motion quilting as I've decided that this year is the year I will learn to quilt more than straight lines.




If you look at the Flickr Chinese Coins group you will see that this back is fairly unimaginative, but then she doesn't know that! Worked well with all the bits of pink fabric I had. Laura has a sign in her room that says "If it's Not Pink, it's not Worth Having".

Luckily it's not quilt weather here in Australia, so there isn't a great deal of pressure.

Nursing

Now I know there are plenty of nurses out there, and I've noticed that quite a few bloggers are doing nursing training. I've been nursing for 28 years, so when I see something like this list that has come in an email, I can identify and have a laugh. Please don't be offended - and the one thing I will stop at is eating out of a bedpan no matter how clean!

You know you’re a nurse when...

1. The front of your scrubs reads, ‘Nurses... here to save your ass, not kiss it!’

2. You occasionally park in the space with the ‘physicians only’ sign – and knock it over.

3. You believe some patients are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them.

4. You recognize that you can’t cure stupid.

5. You own at least three pens with the names of prescription medications on them.

6. You believe there’s a special place in hell for the inventor of the call light.

7. You believe that saying, ‘it can’t get any worse’ causes it to get worse just to show you it can.

8. You wash your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom.

9. You believe that any job where you can drive to work in your pyjamas is a cool one.

10. You consider a tongue depressor an eating utensil.

11. Eating microwave popcorn out of a clean bedpan is perfectly natural.

12. You’ve been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider it a form of birth control.

13. You’ve heard a patient with a nose ring, a brow ring, twelve earrings and covered in tattoos say, “I’m afraid of injections.”

14. You’ve ever placed a bet on someone’s blood alcohol level.

15. You’ve told a confused patient that your name is that of a co-worker and to call if they need help.

16. Your bladder can expand to the size of a Winnebago’s water tank.

17. You have seen more penises than any prostitute could dream of.

18. You believe that not all patients are annoying. Some are unconscious.

19. Your family and friends refuse to watch medical sitcoms with you because you spend the whole time correcting everyone and pointing out upside down x-rays.

20. You don’t get excited about blood, unless it’s your own.

21. You’ve sworn to have ‘do not resuscitate’ tattooed on your chest. Soon.

22. Discussing dismemberment over a gourmet meal is perfectly normal to you.

23. Your idea of fine dining is anywhere you can sit down to eat.

24. Your idea of a good time is a cardiac arrest – at shift change.

25. You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac.

26. You believe that ‘shallow gene pool’ should be a recognized diagnosis.

27. You believe that the government should require permits to reproduce.

28. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall anyone who utters the phrase, “Wow, it’s really quiet, isn’t it?”

29. You have ever wanted to write a book entitled, ‘Suicide: getting it right the first time.’

30. You have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say, “I have no idea how that got stuck in there.”

Technical Help - Fixed Thanks

A couple of bloggers have told me that I am "no reply" in comments. I have looked everywhere, even in help, for a way to turn this on, but I can't. Can anybody help please?

I've been making a few more checkerboard blocks. I've tried to use some ugly fabrics, I tend not to use them if I don't like them, but really I should use them up if I can. I don't like the brown fabric that's with the blue/green one, but no doubt it will get lost in the final quilt. I like the yellow and grey one, the yellow is from the range with a name like Honey and Pewter.


I have also tried to make blocks with low contrast between the two fabrics as is done in the original quilt. I like the block with the 2 purple/pinks.


I've also cut some star blocks for future use. This is very unlike me as I really don't like cutting for a quilt. I've been watching the cricket (aahhh I miss work like a hole in the head), and while doing so I've been cutting. I now have a little pile of star blocks that are blue with cream, but for some of them I've added a little bit of red, pink or cheddar.


Sailing day today, so the cricket will have to go on without me. It looks pretty clear that we will thrash Pakistan, so no need to worry.

Sailing

One of the reasons I haven't been doing a lot of sewing, apart from the heat and being lazy, is that I've been sailing. I haven't had the boat long, and have had problems with the trailer and getting the mast up on my own, but I'm working on it. Today is going to be a bit hot, and there is just enough wind, so I'm going to go out. I have the 30+ sunscreen at the ready, plus my hat and sunproof shirt, 4 litres of water and a bit of lunch.


I'll be able to have a swim which will be nice. A scheduled swim I should say as I don't want to have bad sailing karma and fall in. Luckily the boat tends to sail itself into the wind, so if I fall off I should be able to catch it, but of course we don't talk about things like that. Not enough wind today anyway. Life jacket always on just in case.

I feel for some of the poor Aussies like Mereth who are having terrible heat today, and there are bushfire warnings out for some parts of the country. After the terrible fires last year where many people were killed, there is a new warning category which is 'catastrophic'. Some of the warnings out at the moment are in this category. Some people stay to defend their homes, but if it were me I'd have the dogs in the car and I'd be long gone. Maybe some of the stash too if there was time!

Cutting Strips

I've been working on Mum's hexagons but had to stop because I didn't have the stuff to put in the middle. I've decided on using some Pellon - not sure what the rest of the world calls it - I managed to buy some yesterday.


I've been watching the cricket on TV, but with no handwork I felt like I was sort of wasting the day. I don't like the cutting fabric part of any project, so I decided to do some strip cutting while watching TV. I've been cutting 2 inch strips for the Checkerboard quilt plus some random strips for future use. Then I cut a 2 1/2 inch strip from each fabric before I put it away. I love looking in my fabric boxes which I've sorted into colour groups. I love this blue toned one, but I realise that I hardly use blue repro fabrics - I'll have to make a red white and blue quilt. Or maybe blue and cream.


Then there is this purple box which I love. I have had a bit of trouble cutting some of the fabrics, because if I use it, then it's gone! I've also tried very hard to cut strips from the fabrics I don't really like.
I buy most of my fabric online from the US (so cheap), and I pretty well know what things are going to look like in the flesh. Occasionally I go to the LQS to have a look at everything, but I rarely buy anything. It's not right really, but I just can't pay the big money. Most fabric here costs A$22 = US$19.70 a metre, where I can buy fabric from the US for US$4 = A$4.45 a yard or US$8. What can you do? I also find that you get spoilt seeing things on the internet that the shops here haven't got in yet. I went to the LQS ready to buy some of the Rouenneries fabric I'm using for Mum's hexagons, but although it was available on the net they didn't have it yet. It had arrived to my house from the US and they still didn't have it.


Anyway, where I was going with this is that occasionally I buy something online that isn't that nice in the flesh. I wouldn't have bought the 2 blue fabrics in this photo, but then the black and cream fabric is really lovely, but when I ordered it I wasn't too sure.

The cricket is on again today but delayed due to rain at the moment, and it's going to be too windy to go sailing. I'll keep cutting strips and pinning Checkerboard blocks.

Finishing Hexagon Edges

Of course I didn't get the sewing finished in time, but Laura had so many presents I don't think she cared, and Mum understood. I've been thinking about how to finish off the hexagons. I've tried to add a few half hexagons to straighten the sides, but I don't like it.

I put the call out on the Hexagon blog of which I am a very bad member, and was directed to this video by Valentina who doesn't seem to have a blog but is part of the Sister Hexagon blog. It shows you how to put a facing on the back so that you can keep the points. I'll take the pink ones out and give this a go. Thanks Valentina.

Progress Report

It's only 3 sleeps to Christmas and Thursday is fully booked. Therefore today (already half over) and part of tomorrow are all I have left. Laura's quilt isn't finished, but it will have to be. Mum's hexagon/cushion thing will not be finished I fear, especially since I have now decided that it is a table thing not a cushion thing. If you put your head on the left you can sort of see that the 3 hexagons are down the middle tapering to a diamond shape at the end. Another flower has to go on the right side.

How I will finish it off is another matter. Like I say, I don't think it will be finished.


This is the backing fabric for Laura's quilt. Need to get upstairs and sew the top and bottom borders on, then get the back ready, then quilt it somehow.


And here is a bird's nest that I found on the ground out the front of my house. It was empty and had fallen out of a big gum tree. What I like is that the bird, apart from making an intricate nest, has used some bark and a piece of synthetic stuffing from somewhere. See it at the front?


Have a lovely Christmas if I don't get back onto the blog before then, and I hope your last minute sewing gets finished!

Last Minute Frenzied Sewing

When I say 'frenzied sewing', what I really mean is 'frenzied thinking about sewing', not actual sewing. I'm really having to force myself. This is the 4th attempt at making a quilt for my niece who is 6 yo going on 16. Yes she has very strong ideas about what she likes and what she doesn't like. The first 3 attempts were with totally different fabric, and this one is a full do-over. It's an easy Chinese Coin inspired by much gazing at the Flickr album of Chinese Coin Quilts.

They're all along the modern lines which is a look that I like, but don't use that often. I love these albums of quilts as they really help you figure out where you're going wrong if yours isn't turning out too well. I think the secret to getting the modern fresh look is white. White fabric and clear versions of colour - for some reason this has just occured to me as an idea even though I've done this before (see blog header). Oh and it has to be pink to pass muster.

This is a pretty average photo of the top with top and bottom borders to be added. It's the best of 4 quick shots. I've been thinking at great length about how to quilt it but really it's a bit too late, or as the family joke goes "a bit too close to Christmas" to be thinking about doing something new. I've been reading the blog about free motion quilting designs, and have bought the bobbin washers and the slippery sheet, so I'm ready to give it a go, but maybe it's best not to start with this quilt considering the time pressure.

I need to go upstairs now and consider the back. I'll do a pieced back but I'm not sure if I have enough fabric. I'm going near the shops later today so I can get some then if need be. I have bought the batting which is cotton and poly, and labelled High Loft, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. It isn't thick like the poly stuff used for craft etc, but thicker than traditional cotton batting.

Boys, It's a Long Way Down

I've got to tell you that it's 8.5 metres from the ground to the top of my roof. Whenever anyone has to go up there, I fax the plans, give dire warnings, suggest cherrypickers and so forth. I draw diagrams, mention safety harnesses, and without fail the guys who get here to do the work know nothing about it. The same happened today when these guys turned up to put my new solar panels on the roof.

But even though they have harnesses, they haven't got them on. They have their Dunlop Volleys on (the roofers choice of footwear - have a look at the gallery photos if you have time to kill), but still... I walked down the street to take this shot and the boss followed me down. All along he's been calling out to them "hurry up, the barge is about to leave" and "come on, are you ready for the panels yet?". I must admit that some of his instructions were quite valid like "what do you mean you didn't take any measurements? Don't just guess!!" and "don't just stand there, wire it up while he's screwing them down!" We all know men can only do one thing at a time. It turns out that the boss was on contract ie paid by the job, whereas the boys on the roof were on an hourly rate. Gives new meaning to the phrase 'conflict of interests'.


Being a nurse I can't help but think the worst, so I said to the boss that they didn't seem to have safety harnesses on. "No, not a problem - we do it for a living" so I said "for a living I try to patch up people who have had accidents like falling off the roof. It's a long way down - the morgue or a wheelchair I would guess. I hope you have insurance as accidents happen..." I went back inside, then heard "don't stand there mate, you might slip" plus "be careful up there!" Hmmm. Anyway, they have finished without incident, but now the electricians are up there. Fingers crossed. Hopefully soon I will be generating power to send back to the elecricity grid.


As for quilty content to this post, the other half of the fabric I ordered arrived yesterday, so I am off and running with Mum's hexagon thingy. She doesn't read this blog so it's ok to talk about it. Here is the rest of the fabric. I bought far too much, but hey, that's what I do!

Postman Stops at the Gate

All normal programming has stopped, as the postman has just made a delivery. Last week I ordered some fabric from Quilt-This in an effort to inspire me and shake me out of my funk, and today half of it has arrived. So frustrating, when the fabric from the Rouenneries range I actually wanted to buy is almost all in the other envelope - only the second fabric from the right is in this one.


Living in the opposite hemisphere to the source of a lot of happiness (online US quilt shops), it's a fine balance when it comes to how much fabric to buy. I usually get what it is that I want (or just buy heaps of sale repro fabrics), then make it up to the maximum amount that can fit in one of these envelopes. Or two. One has to minimise the $$ spent on postage after all...

So of course they rarely arrive on the same day. On one occasion 2 weeks apart, with postmarks on the second envelope that show it had travelled via Belgium or France or some such foreign land. Planes do fly straight from the US to Australia, you know.


Not to worry, gives me something to look forward to - I really must get out more. I'm planning a little last minute hexagon project for my Mum for Christmas, inspired by this blog post, as this is exactly the sort of fabric she likes. I love the woven cotton/linens in stripes that come with this range as well. I am thinking a cushion or two with the hexagons then a (I can't think of the word) border around it in the stripe. The only word I can think of is a flange, but I'm sure that's not it.

I haven't ordered from Quilt-This before, but so far so good. One of my favourites "Quilters' Quarter" has closed, and my other regular is Fabric Shack, and they don't seem to have the whole Rouenneries range.

No Promises I'm Afraid

Its been 7 months since my last blog entry... do I sound suitably ashamed? I've lost the blog mojo and even the sewing mojo really. I've been reading a few blogs and occasionally making a comment, but then I end up in this weird place that has equal parts motivation and then almost shame that I can't get back into it. It makes me feel inadequate, like I just don't love it enough. It's not like I'm flat out, just worn out I think. Too much night shift maybe?


But then who wants to hear about that? No-one - pictures are what we come here for, right?
I have made some more Checkerboard Blocks and have abandoned 3 attempts to make a quilt for my 6 yo niece. I'm now on Quilt 4, which is totally different to the first 3 attempts, but of course not finished. I think it will be the last version.

Here are some more of the checkerboard blocks.