Nose to the Grindstone

With the Secret Quilt safely finished and hidden away it's time to step up the gears and tackle my still healthy list for pre-Christmas stitching.  (I may have to start ignoring housework, laundry and decent meals for the family in an attempt to get a wee bit closer to ticking things off the list!)

In the past week I have completed the Secret Quilt, hand-stitched 500 inches of binding (on 3 different items, lest you think the Secret Quilt is enormous!), cut and pieced 20 blocks for DS Surprise Quilt,

I love these blocks - they make me smile!

made a start on stitching the November Birdie Stitches block (will take a pic when it's finished), finished my Angel advent calendar, made a retractable house tape measure and a rose crocheted brooch and sewn 3 log cabin blocks for Bee Blessed.

That's good going for life in these here parts at the mo, here's hoping I can keep up the momentum and achieve all that I'm planning to on time!

All Ready For Thursday

Here she is -

Finished at class last week and ready to be filled with treats for December!  Really enjoyed this wee project and LOVED being back at class and having a giggle or two while we stitched.

Oops!

So, there I was today thinking I'd be all smart and prepare my Secret Quilt reveal post for just after the Christmas hols - mainly 'cos I'm dying to show you all now but can't.  Except I sort of did - to anyone who has Sew Me in their google reader at least.  A slip of the finger meant I hit the publish post button instead of the options button and whoosh away went my post into the ether.  Frustratingly there's no way to get it back either as deleting the post does not mean the post is removed from google reader's cache (good to know after a mishap - not!).

So apart from being the world's slowest sewist (try saying that after a few pink bubblies) I am also the world's dimmest blogger.  So you now all know how I have supposed hubby likes his quilt and how I hoped you had a good Christmas break.

Duh-uh Sa-rah!

To make myself feel less daft here's two wee makes I managed this week for a sewing friend's birthday:

Retractable tape measure (Patchwork Pottery pattern) and crocheted brooch (new pattern which I love)

Hope to be less of a blog idiot tomorrow!

Cutting and Hatching

Well, not huge progress to show you today but I have been busy.  Busy cutting lots and lots and lots of squares and lots of even smaller squares so that this

has become this in readiness for DS's surprise quilt.

And before I cut I hatched the plan for the quilt design -

I am excited to see this one coming together in these fun, bright fabrics!  More soon, I hope.

Test Run

I decided that before I chop into the fabrics for DS's Surprise Quilt I should give the block I have in mind a trial run.  So here it is -

I don't know what it's called - do you?  Looks like a kind of double bow-tie, but I can't seem to find a name for it.  The calculations for this block weren't too taxing but I wasn't quite sure how to size the little corner triangles.  I think it all came out okay, even if it is just a little under 12.5" - well DS isn't going to measure them is he?

So now to take the ruler and rotary cuter to that lovely stack of Snorkel fabric!

BTW - in case you think I'm abandoning the Secret Quilt in favour of this Surprise Quilt - I'm pleased to say that the Secret Quilt has now been quilted and the binding is machine stitched on  - I just need some privacy to be able to bring the quilt out and finish the binding by hand.

Just what I need

When my sewing time has dwindled away to practically nothing each week, and I have a list of projects the length of my arm that NEED to be finished (and even some still to be started) very soon, another quilt project is just what I need - NOT!

But you see, I so, so want to make this one.  My lovely son has been complimenting other quilts and projects I've been making for a long time now and hinting subtly and sometimes not so subtly that he'd like a quilt one day.  We agreed that we would keep our eyes peeled for the right pattern and that I would one day make his quilt.

So I've been holding on to a couple of pattern ideas and just last week found some fabrics that will be perfect for him

Cosmo Cricket's Snorkel for Makower and Klona Ash

So now I can't resist, even though another Christmas deadline was not part of my plans!  He has been very patient and he's been very excited about the Secret Quilt's progress (he has been let in on the secret), and I just think he'll be so chuffed on Christmas morning when he receives something he's not expecting.

Boy, have I really got to get busy!!!!!

Up Next ...

I'm so excited to be going back to class tomorrow night!  I was green with envy that I had to miss out on the jelly roll quilt class because of post-operatve non-driving - see what they made without me.

But finally, finally I am able to head over to Belfast tomorrow night for a new class.  We'll be making Advent calendars from panel kits for the next few weeks.  I love all things Christmassy so I'm really looking forward to this project and I've chosen my kit.  Isn't she cute?

Now, I know that amid all the modern Christmas making going on out there my little traditional angel will probably not be most of your cup of teas.  In fact some of you may currently be hyperventilating at the sight of gold and reds and greens -

breathe deeply!

in .... and out ...

there, see you're okay really.

But I like her very much and can't wait to make her up, fill her little pockets with treats and count down the days to the festive celebrations.  Off to pack up my machine and bits and bobs in readiness for the fun and community!

Busy, busy

Life is rather rudely getting in the way of a hefty sewing To Do List and my blogging time these days.  At this point I should be well immersed in my festive sewing projects but instead I'm tinkering around the edges.

The return to work post-op, combined with an office relocation which means I now have to waste spend time travelling that I didn't have to before, is seriously impacting my productivity and fun - ie sewing.  Life chez Sew Me has become manic in the past two weeks and since I'm not envisioning that an extra 3 hours a day will be created just for me, it looks like I'm going to just have to get used to it.  Anyway, moan over!

In a spirit of defiance, or perhaps just hopefulness, I am still clinging to plans to get my projects sorted in time for Christmas gifting.

Last weekend I squeezed in a few hours to make a wee bit more progress on the quilt that's a secret.  There's not a lot I can show you that's very interesting, but here's a wee peek anyway -

I do need to discipline myself and make this one a priority to finish as there will be one terribly empty stocking if it's not ready for the big day!  It is getting there, some bits are turning out better than I expected, but the maths challenge continues on the making of this from the outside in. Another two stages and I hope to leave the sums behind!

Little Miss Shabby has also posted her November Birdie Stitches block (only one more to go!). She has designed a lovely Thanksgiving themed block with the cutest turkey I've ever seen, but sadly since Thanksgiving is a holiday we don't celebrate in the UK this one doesn't feel like it would have much meaning in my quilt.  So time for a redesign ...

November?  November?  It was harder than I imagined to come up with a design that speaks to me about November.  The only 'holiday' I could think of is Guy Fawkes on 5th November, but here in Northern Ireland I'm afraid we don't really celebrate "bonfire night" either!  So what then?  Well, here's what I settled on (with a little artistic assistance from Aimee Ray's Doodle Stitching) -

It's a wee personal one and not very obvious to anyone outside my household, but as November is the month we celebrate the arrival of our beautiful son into our lives this one is Birdie Mum wishing Birdie Son a Happy Birthday!  Well, that's the plan anyway, show you more when it's done.

Now I need to head off and make the most of the few hours that are left making some progress on something!