What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

“Gardening” seems to be taking up quite a lot of my free time these days! I started off just doing a little tidying then I got some pots. I could have just weeded the bit of ground where there should be a shed but instead I seem to be creating a patio area. It could be a nice little spot for a bistro table but the view is of my neighbour’s rubbish and I have seen a rat out there so I will not be eating alfresco in that area!

I managed to remove most of the rogue sycamores ...

I'm back! Drinking water to rehydrate - I'm sure some would say it's still not enough, but I'm working on it. NO naps required, which was great! I did a slow, puttering pace all day, and that worked just fine for me. Did I make progress? Well, I didn't turn on any sewing machine; however, I'm working through that pile of stuff on the cutting table. 

Here's the cutting table in the morning before I started. YES - I remembered to take a before picture! So much stuff to deal with. 

The cutting table before ...

Whew – it has been hot this week in Devon although not as hot as London which reached 33 degrees! My first task at work each morning was to fling all of the windows open. I had a varied week, demonstrating the Q24, teaching an overlocker class, working on a customer quilt, reorganising the walk-in cupboard, and sorting out bolts of Grunge fabric. 

I did not venture far over the weekend, either staying in the shade or inside, just wilting. I tidied the shed and put together a shockingly flimsy shelving unit. When it cooled down I cleared the rubble out ...

Good progress is being made in many areas. I spent the entire morning on the computer. I used to resent that time as I wanted to be sewing. I still wish I were sewing, but I've resigned to the fact that computer work is required for what I do. Get it done, then you can guilt-free sew and hopefully meet all the deadlines!

Just how the heck is there constantly something that needs to be done? I'm making progress for the fall schedule and trying hard to reduce, consolidate, and eliminate the commitments on my time. So far ...

I really got stuck into things this week, maybe because I have visitors coming soon? I continued working on the strippy quilt top and got it finished so I could move the sewing machine out of the back bedroom. It is a bit galling that I will actually have to buy batting and backing for this project as I have 2 or 3 rolls in Scotland. I often dyed a sheet for the back of my quilts but I don’t have any dye or dare to use the washing machine here;) 

At work the new Bernina Hoop Frame arrived ...

 Oh --- another bonus about the TruEarth laundry strips—they are Canadian (Port Moody, BC). I remember seeing that on a website, but I forgot. Thanks for the reminder! I'm excited to give them a try!

I'm almost embarrassed to show you what I did for my 60-minute-or-less challenge, but as I said, it doesn't matter what you do, and if it takes only 60 seconds but gets done, that's perfectly OK. This item had been sitting near my computer in Studio B for months—probably close to a year. I finally tackled it yesterday. 

I have ...

Don’t be too shocked – I have done some actual sewing at last! At work I did a very nice Liberty star quilt for a customer and finally got to grips with the L890 project, “Bloom & Grow”. There were parts that I really liked on the project but others that I would probably change if I do it again or teach it as a Quilt-Along. Mainly, it is not super accurate but it is fast. The point of the project is to experience lots of techniques that the L890 excels at but sometimes I felt that it would have been ...

This week I have been glued to my 2 computers in every spare minute! Last June I was meant to teach a week’s retreat all about the “Art and Stitch” software for Quilt Direct but it was postponed due to low numbers as it is a tad niche. I was almost ready with the preparation then shelved it all thinking I would have months to finish it all off. Obviously, I got side tracked by moving and DIY so my good intentions kept slipping. Hence, I have spent hours finding, revising, copying, and checking all of my files! The ...

I will be good and keep this blog clean of "banned" topics. But there are times when I'd love to dive deep. I think it's essential to have venues that are free of that kind of stuff. I've often thought about starting another forum where I could rant and rave to my heart's content. In the meantime, DH gets the brunt of it! And that's all I'll say on that topic. 

By banned, I mean I had to ban specific topics from my Monday Sewing group because the conversations just went ugly, and that ...

It was Fergus’ 23rd birthday this week and he had an important gig in Glasgow but I missed both. It felt a bit weird not to be with him on his birthday for the first time and I did not make a Dalek shaped chocolate cake. At least he got to to spend time with his sisters – they are all so close at the moment which is lovely.

At work I finished a couple more customer quilts that will go to their recipients by Christmas. 

Speaking of Christmas, I had a long weekend and did some festive shopping at last ...

Not only was it a busy week at work finishing a hexie quilt, supervising part two of the DIY elephant quilt and being on hand to help with classes, each evening I forced myself to paint my bedroom. I had to keep shifting the bed out of the way to avoid getting paint on the quilt which is protected from Nessie by an old, cotton bedspread in dire need of a good wash;)

There was a big blowy storm and I was worried that the roof might leak onto my new paint but so far all is well. I can ...

I had a busy week supervising a DIY quilter whose first ever quilt was an ambitious foundation pieced elephant. She did really well but did not quite finish after 3 days so she may have to come back to finish the job. She left me with a family heirloom hexagon quilt to complete with a dense feather design.

Each night I went home, got changed, had leftover spagbol, took Nessie for a walk in the park then painted the rest of my sitting room green. It was a tricky job because bumpy wallpaper makes it difficult to cut in neatly ...

I have been keeping myself busy at work long arming and doing some tuition, as well as making teas and coffees for people on courses. In the evenings I put on my DIY dungarees and have been continuing to tart up the cottage. I am slightly dreading moving my belongings in because they will just clutter the place up.

I was meant to meet Mel from Looe and visit a Christmas Fair in Fowey but the weather was stormy so I had a 3-day DIY weekend instead. I painted just about everything I could see. The back bedroom is finished ...

I am gradually “cottagifying” my new place. It really needs a lick of paint but even just moving things around makes all the difference and I have not even got much of my own stuff here yet. My chum, Mel (who moved from Banchory to Looe) came for a visit and we mooched around the Pannier Market, posh shops and charity shops. I found some useful curtains in the Sue Ryder shop.

I had help to strim my overgrown grass and had fun getting a bit carried away with a pressure washer. I ran up some basic gingham curtains for ...

It has been long time since I had a room all to myself that was just for sleeping in. I had a room in Scotland but it was also an office, sometimes a music room complete with piano and drum-kit plus a sewing machine.  

I got the keys to my Tavistock cottage on Monday then had a dreadful, dark drive back to the caravan in the rain so I decided to throw some things in the car the next morning and just move straight in. It is fantastic just to have a 10-15 minute commute to work. There is a ...

I spent Sunday morning being interviewed by a prospective Landlord and am now having second thoughts about a house that I thought was ideal. I have to make sure that the endangered Slow Worms and Newts in the garden thrive. I am not allowed to paint anything even if it is scruffy and can be evicted at short notice if the garden is not correctly maintained. On the other hand, I also saw a Bedford Cottage in Tavistock which is rather small but the Landlady is considerably more relaxed;)

I don’t actually need to rush into anything at all ...

I have taken hundreds of photos this week – of things to sell on Facebook Marketplace. The local rumour mill has been convinced for months that something is more afoot here than me decluttering. When I moved here 24 years ago I said that I would only leave if carried out in a box but things change and I am going to make a huge move on my own. I am heading for Devon to start a new job as the Longarm Expert (amongst other things) at Quilt Direct. It is exciting, terrifying and sometimes overwhelming. To start with I will ...

My journey home from FoQ was not entirely straightforward. I made it to Fergus’ flat in Glasgow with no problems but when we decided to nip to the supermarket my car would not start, just like it did in June. I called the AA just after 9am the next morning and a patrol truck came about 2 hours later and declared that we would need to be taken to a garage. At 1.30pm we got towed as far as Asda in Cumbernauld where we hung around for 5 hours waiting for another  truck to take us further. This was ...

Let's start off with the progress report on the green scraps. 

I watched an entire episode of The Quilt Show, and all the while, I was pressing scraps.

Pressing scraps

The basket last night

And for reference, here's the basket from the previous day. 

The basket the previous day

This basket of scraps will be a good example of how slow and steady will always win. The amount of usable scraps in the basket for the 365-day quilt ...

I am not alone in the decision to keep that "wet" bag of scraps! And I've found a fun way to tackle what's left in it. 

I have a subscription to The Quilt Show, but I'm so far behind in watching the episodes. I'm way back in the 700 series. We were chatting about this at Monday Sewing, and it's hard for me to "watch" TV when I'm in Studio B. I'm back and forth between the long arm, the stash room, the cutting table, or whatever, and I can't follow along ...