July status

This July has been a good month - I've been really productive and made good progress on several projects.

First of all the blanket for my Dad is almost finished.

I need to make another 25 squares which will only take a couple of days to do.
I really like this project, it is fast and very fun.

A block for Jeanne at Grey Cats Quilts for her month in the Scappy? Sew Bee It group. Those giraffes are so fun!

American quilt block

I made 7 blocks for My American Quilt. The center 9-patches are hand pieced and some of the scraps are gifts from American blogging friends. Its a great scrapbusting project!

I finished 27 crocheted flowers and have 30 half done for the flowerbed project! Great project when watching the Olympics:-) .... but one of those projects that I have absolutely no idea about what to do with!
Its just so relaxing, cute and eats a lot of my old yarn:-)

I dug out these super old squares - cut in 6x6 centimeters (they are from waaay back - when I denied that I ever would succomb to that nonsense sewing anything in inches... hahaha!!!!) - and I made 29 blocks. I have enough squares left to make another 15 blocks.
They will be super for quilt practising as they do not fit with anything I have now:-)

I handpieced 16 hexagon flowers in my Hope Valley fabric for the Hexi MF quilt along

2 huge blocks for the Tetris quilt went through the machine quick and easy and was photographed taped to my frontdor....

... and I cut 2½" squares of a lot of old and ugly fabric - and made 9 blocks for the Vomit quilt - more or less done chain piecing and as leaders and enders.
I am determined to kill as much of my ugly and old fabric as I can and these blocks do make a dent although I suspect that I have scraps enough for at least three more quilts of this kind.
But it is easy to do - some mindless sewing - and very addictive when you put them up on your design wall and discover that it actually looks good!

I knitted 1 square of variagated Zauberball yarn for my shawl

And last but not least - I learned a new skill - how to make framed purses and participated in a secret partner swap, which was very fun:-)



Despite whining for a week about a nasty cold and not realising that I actually made a lot in between and also being away for a week I'm absolutely thrilled about this month's status!

So go away bad consciense - today I'm beginning my new project with The Lazy Bums!

August will be dedicated to finishing my dad's quilt and an old UFO and maybe throw in a few hexies and vomit blocks.

Who knows - the summer may turn up eventually and I may finally order that new sewing machine.
Miracles do happen!!




edit: Every first day of the month Lynne from Lily's Quilts hosts Fresh Sewing Day showing the previous month's work and I'm linking up for the very first time in the small blogs category.

Zum zum... I'm a naked bee..

I joined a bee called Scrappy? Sew bee it!. It is fun and exciting and it is nerve wrecking!

Perfectionists like me with unmistakeable stress symptoms should stay away from that kind of commitment. Because it IS a commitment no matter how sweet and funny and kind and lovely all the other bees in the hive are. Because they are all that I go overboard and before I know it I'm deeply involved in the perfectionists mad, mad world. And start eating chips, crackers and peanuts.
Nuts!

So I work my b*tt off to make the block for the first month as best I can - preferably waaaayyy better than possible - and I can feel the ache in the stomach grow because I'm fully aware that this is the first time ever, ever, ever! that I'm giving a patchwork block away - to be judged, scrutinized and laughed at - which I just know will happen. Especially to me. Only to me in fact. Everyone else makes perfect blocks. Thats a fact.

Its a horrible feeling. Because you see... I know that I'm not that much of a genius in the sewing area.
In spite of decades of sewing experience I'm painfully aware of the millions of much younger women with practically no knowledge of what they're doing (they just do it - how lame and unfair is that?) who can sew much nicer blocks than me because they have the perfect scraps!

They own the best modern scraps and I don't. It s*cks. And I HATE them!
All 2,47 millions of them!

Finally I produced an acceptable block. And I'm SO proud because the little bugger is only 1,5" square so it took me a lot of time to sew and a lot of time to press it so it would lay flat. As in perfectly flat. And then I took a photo of it...

Burned block. Yes. It is.

.. and I see it.
I have burned the darn thing pressing!!!!
In the meantime the weather has gotten so hot (I'm also annoyed, but that has nothing to do with it!) that I more or less strip and sew another little block dressed in practically nothing. Giving up is NOT an option!

I rip out the burned block (actually the entire big block) and this time I noticed before I sewed the new one to the rest of the big block that it is burned too!!!

This is where I kick the stove on my way to raid the refrigerator.
First I emptied the youghurt bottle. Then I ate a large piece of cucumber, 2 tomatoes and some leftover coleslaw with a large slice of rye. Then I hit the shower because I could smell myself and wrapped in the large and totally ragged pink bath towel that match my fair and freckled skin so well I decided to make some proper dinner.
An omelet with bacon, 2 springrolls and ½ a bag of crackers had no effect. I was still hungry. And fat(ter).

I made block no. 3 wearing nothing but the pink bath towel and an enormous amount of determination.



Sneak peak of the big block

The block turned out nice. Very nice. And I pressed it very carefully, sewed the big block together - admired my work - and took a nap. I was exhausted.

When I get up I discover that the lovely bees in the group are talking about making another block - a signature block. WHAT??????

But - energized by the previously consumed small snacks I throw myself at it and suddenly I have designed and sewn the ultimate signature block - still wearing the pink rag that suits me so well. The temperature has passed 30 degrees C - a blessing that comes with living on the top floor under the roof - so I cannot be bothered getting properly dressed.

Signature block. Sneak peak.

I took a photo, packed the blocks and wrote a nice card to the lovely bee queen, who will recieve the masterpieces next week and without any doubt will faint discovering their outstanding beauty. 


And now I think a lot about designing a fabric fig leaf.
Quilted of course.

To be worn on hot days instead of a pink rag;-)







disclaimer: this post must be read with proper regard to the imbedded irony and poor attempts to pity myself.
I actually enjoyed making this block and I don't hate anyone. Not even Nicky with the beautiful and modern scraps;-)