The Emperor Pigeon #1

Today is either day 47 or 48 of our current lockdown. By lunchtime on Tuesday 17th August, we were pretty confident we'd be going into Level 4 lockdown that night. We emailed staff advising them to take their laptops home and half-jokingly said, see you next term. I called in to the bakery on the way home to stock up on chicken pies for the freezer and the diary next door for milk, bread and eggs. 

I have spent the last six weeks doing school work Monday - Friday. I have prepped a tonne of resources for the Year 10 team which I hope saves them some work over the holidays and next term. I've been sewing in the evenings since there is no gym at Level 4 or 3.

My biggest finish to date has been a hexie quilt named The Emperor Pigeon by my nephew when I was working on it last school holidays.

This was going to be gifted as a charity quilt, but the Monday Modern girls convinced me it was a keeper so I hand quilted it.

Given lockdown conditions, I used a mixture of about three threads off the shelf. I particularly like the way they weave together on the corners.

This one is definitely a keeper. Or a keeper within the whanau at least as I think I will gift it to my niece for Christmas.

Finally, finally The Circle Game

Six and a half years after making this quilt, it's quilted. Fully quilted. I went back and added an extra row of quilting around each of the semi-circles using an off-white thread. Just for extra stability with the wool batting.

The background came from Spotlight. Surprisingly. It's one of their Cloud 9 fabrics. I chose it because my mum hates rabbits digging in her garden!

An Octagon Cushion

I didn't care for one of the patterns supplied in last year's Treehouse Textiles Cushion Society. It was too unsymmetrical for my liking. I repurposed some of the fabrics into an octagon cushion inspired by another  of the Treehouse patterns.

I took the paper pieces and fabric home for Easter and then left it there as I was working on my Circle Game quilt at the same time.

I finished it when I was home during the school holidays, and left it there to live on the couch at my Mum and Dad's new house.

I have one kit left from last year. I am looking for an alternative way to make the stars. That is. a faster way to make the stars!

Finally! The Circle Game

I made the top of the Circle Game quilt in 2014 and it has sat unquilted since then. It is entirely hand stitched. I am totally impressed with how small my stitches are. I think I would struggle to get them that small now - my close up eye sight has worsened.

This first photo shows how un-flat(!) it is!

Inspired by IG quilter, Bec of @sew.be I decided it was time to try black thread quilting. So for the last six weeks I have been working my way through the 16 circles. 15 are pictured. Not sure which one is missing from the photos.

I am now working my way through the semi-circles around the border. All being well, another week and it should be done.

Truly Scrumptious Quilting Update

After mentioning I was struggling the DMC thread, one of my quilty friends @ Monday Modern Quilt Group, suggested I try Aurifil 12 wt. It is making my quilting life much easier. It is so much easier to pull through the fabric.

I reckon another couple of weekends and it will be done.

In the meantime, I posted my FWSG quilt after work yesterday so it should be in the hands of my cousin Moana early next week.

Finishes

It's been a while. In fact, so long, I have two quilts finished.

Firstly, the proverbial quilt featuring the lyrics from one of my favourite The [Dixie] Chicks songs. Coincidentally, the words kind of go with the big lockdown of 2020 when I put this one together.

Being shot cotton and hand quilted with a wool batting, it is super soft. While I remember, this quilt contains little bits of 'other' blue gingham, as seen in the G above, given to me by my Gran's cousin. She passed away in March 2020.

Even more recently, like this weekend, I have also finished my other big make started in February last year - the Free Wheeling Single Girl quilt.

It's a big one. About two metres x two metres. Again it is hand quilted with a wool batting. I splashed out on a wide backing for the first time. It weighs a tonne. This one is destined for my cousin. The first on my Mum's side to turn 50. 

I like both of these quilts very much.

Proverbial Quilt Quilting Progress

If truth be told, I would like to crosshatch this quilt! It is my favourite for the look and feel, but there are too many 'bits' like the letters that would break up the cross hatching. So my plan is to outline the letters with a dark-ish blue (EZ12) and the do some straight-ish katha-ish lines using a variegated blue threat (EZM97). So far, ok.

I look forward to getting stuck into this in the school hols which start at the end of the week. I have been tired for a week despite sleeping really well. Had my first Saturday afternoon sleep in month last Saturday and then I realised, it was nearly the end of term. It feels like the time we have been back since lockdown has flown by. But the last three weeks, have been mad with one thing after another and they've all been things that not been resolved quickly. I am hoping for a simpler Term 3.

The Kilim Quilt Finished

This quilt was finished a week or so ago, but it has been raining since then. Apparently. not enough rain to get the Auckland dams to their usual levels so we are still on water restrictions. I am convinced the council needs to a put a dam in my back yard as it rains all the time here! However, I took advantage of a break in the weather this morning a) to put the washing outside to dry and b) to take the finished photos of the Kilim Quilt on the neighbour's wall as per.

The main part of the backing was purchased on Trade Me. It is a textured cotton - maybe a barkcloth. The colours are just right. Most of the rest of the fabrics were left over from my Free Wheeling Single Girl quilt - which is next in the queue for quilting. Others came off the shelf. I was deliberate in using the yellow and orange binding as I didn't want orange binding on the orange backing.

And for a finishing touch, I added some orange stitching to my label. The quilt is quilted with a Sue Spargo variegated Eleganza thread. Her threads are my favourite for their texture.

Now for some inside shots -