The mojo is back

I don't know whether it is just that I have finished off a few quilts lately.  Or whether it is the change of season and spending time at the beach.  Or even if it is that I don't have much consulting work on at the moment.  But whatever it is, I am LOVING the quilting.  I am even enjoying the hand sewing.

This new project with Sue Ross, get results up on the design board fast.  So fast I have opted to do two quilts.  I figure what doesn't work on one, will work on the other.  And, at the serious risk of challenging Kimbo for the position of teacher's most prolific pet, I am even contemplating a third to surprise you.

So in class I had cut out my two main quilts.  The first with barkcloth from a holiday 10 years ago in Hawaii, and the second with a piece of fabric from the remnant table at Kim Bradley's shop which was $3 per metre.

Now girls, can I just tell you that IF you were planning to embark of heavy use of barkcloth in your quilts, you might want to have a chat with me.  Because that stuff is seriously less stable that your average quilting fabric.  I may also have not been as accurate as I thought in cutting out those diamonds, but the process was a mite more challenging than I expected.  (But in my new "everything is awesome ..." mode, even that was OK.)  Two of the points are a little bit shy of pointy, but I have channelled my inner Gwen Marston and ignored that.

As someone pointed out in the last class, the centre gets messy when you have so many large scale prints happening.  So it needed a centre.  And here is a little Anna Maria Horner number I whipped up from the stash.  I like it.  But I also made an alternative, just for fun.  (I told you I had the mojo going.)  I like the AMH best, but won't set it on until we have moved a little further down the quilt design track.

By contract, my $3/metre fabric was a dream to sew, and I have 8 nicely pointy points.  As you all predicted, the centre really stands by itself.  The seams even match so I don't have to cover it over.

So for the next few weeks I am trying to finish the border around my stripey star quilt and get together a few bits and pieces to use around the outside of the ones in the photos here.  As part of this, I have even resurrected the tiny lone stars.  I am also thinking about dresden plates.  Told you, I am on a roll.

More soon from the manic quilter ....

You know you have a problem when….

You know you have a problem when you start recognising fabric by the thread left on the design wall…..

It's a piece of thread from Tula Pink's Parisville fabric!

And you know you have an even bigger problem when you start using your bathroom vanity as your cutting table!

A little progress here in Crows Nest. I have been very good and have only been sewing outside of work hours, during the day time I have been spending my time looking for gainful employment.  But in my lunch break I might do a little binding…. the fabric selection has raised a few eyebrows but I am loving it!

A little "quilting haircut" in preparation for some binding - yes it was in serious need of a haircut as you can see by the amount of threads I collected it took forever, like ages and ages and ages, like four hours of snipping threads…. the joys of sewing with shot cottons!

Plus this evening I have spent a bit of time on my design wall continuing to play with this little project.  So far not a stitch has been sewn but it has been fun (and frustrating) playing with the placements.  I am  trying to decide if I like the big black circle in the top left corner???  Feel free to add your thoughts.

Happy sewing ladies, ciao

Kimbo