Well I thought I would be galloping away on my sewing machine
during our two (now to be 4) weeks of lockdown, but not so!
Since my last post I just haven't been able to move forward at all,
a list of proposed projects still pinned on the design wall
which is currently blank. Mind buzzing with hundreds of ideas for future
quilts.
So, this post is an amalgam of bits and pieces
and to start with we have the latest Kaffe Fassett book, beautifully photographed as always,
however some of the quilts shown seem to be similar to ones in his earlier
books but using the latest of the KFC fabric range, which I have to say are as stunningly colourful
as always - I shall definitely be ordering a few for my stash.
as always - I shall definitely be ordering a few for my stash.
Two books I particularly like from the early days are the ones below and
there are a few quilts which are interesting me greatly.
there are a few quilts which are interesting me greatly.
I decided to begin hand quilting Liquorice Allsorts whilst
waiting for inspiration to strike, I had in my box of Perle cottons a variegated
waiting for inspiration to strike, I had in my box of Perle cottons a variegated
one which works beautifully on the Orchid centre squares,
the background I used for photographing is a little dark unfortunately
but the colours are quite luscious in 'real life'. I hit a slight snag
here with the needle size, the point was nice and sharp, needle just the right length
but the eye was too small for the cotton to pass through, if any of you have
used Perle cotton before I would love to know the type and size of needle used.
but the colours are quite luscious in 'real life'. I hit a slight snag
here with the needle size, the point was nice and sharp, needle just the right length
but the eye was too small for the cotton to pass through, if any of you have
used Perle cotton before I would love to know the type and size of needle used.
I have been spending time organising yet again my fabric storage, cubes were bought
just before we changed alert levels and I'm using these for storing my
half yard KFC fabrics. Still need to go through the greys, whites and neutrals and
I just found a bin with more stash which I had forgotten about!
I just found a bin with more stash which I had forgotten about!
Sadly the light is not good again.
Other minutiae to show you is my favourite mask, we mask up when
leaving the house or entering essential business premises of which
there are only a handful including supermarkets, medical premises and the like.
leaving the house or entering essential business premises of which
there are only a handful including supermarkets, medical premises and the like.
I've actually been playing with fabric, cutting up three different colourways
of Sunburst fabric, there are three quilts I've spotted using this fabric so I'll give some thought
to which colourway to go with and then I need to cut them into individual
squares.
of Sunburst fabric, there are three quilts I've spotted using this fabric so I'll give some thought
to which colourway to go with and then I need to cut them into individual
squares.
Last up a new fabric from
Kathy Doughty -
click on her name the link will take you to her
store Material Obsession.
Aren't these budgies so cute!
Kathy Doughty -
click on her name the link will take you to her
store Material Obsession.
Aren't these budgies so cute!
Well that's all from me, perhaps inspiration will strike later today and
I should have something more to post about by the end of the week.
I should have something more to post about by the end of the week.
My thoughts right now are with everyone having been through the terror of Hurricane Ida,
the scenes were horrific.
the scenes were horrific.
Maureen
13 comments:
I'll say I've found a Kaffe-lover by reading your blog! You make me smile. Though I don't have Kaffe fabrics, I know so many quilters, like you, who love them. Glad you are enjoying playing with them, and his books. For stitching with size 8 perle cotton, I use size 24 chenille needles.
I use an 'embroidery' needle for Perle Cotton. Size of the needle depends on the weight of cotton thread (Perle comes a lot of sizes:).
I am currently working on a medallion quilt that uses the entire line with that budgie fabric in it. So much fun!
:) Linda (lindaschiffer at me dot com)
Those 2 older books are lovely, I have them both too, heaps of inspiration in them! I hear you about lockdown & non existent quilting, nothing has changed on my "design floor" for a couple of weeks now and MrD wants to set the robot vacuum cleaner going...
Just as well I did read down further after looking at the Kaffe books. I'll post your assortment of needles first thing in the morning, think I have a Facetime link up with Sharon in Alaska to see what we do next on the Colourwash wall hanging , our 10 a,m, is their 2 p.m. that suites her well. Love that thread with bronze tints.
Oh, your cubes full of Kaffe are wonderful! All that luscious color, just waiting to be played with. I really like what's emerging from those Sunbursts, too. Great fussy cutting :)
Good idea to begin hand quilting--that will help to get your "juices" flowing again--at least it does for me. I use a Milliner's needle for quilting with that type of cotton...they work really well and are easier to thread...
I love those sunbursts with the floral centers...so pretty--nice works all.
Hugs Julierose
Totally understand the lack of motivation to quilt even though there's plenty of inspiration. I suffered it during the early months of last year's lockdown and then later berated myself for "wasting" all that time when I could have been finishing projects. Sadly, here in the US, even basic precautions like mask wearing are vigorously resisted. Can't give up their "freedom" just to save the lives of neighbors and friends.
Pat
The Perle cotton for LA is gorgeous! I have been working on existing projects, doing what I can to move them to their next stages (more languishing here than I'd like). I have skipped this KF book - I love the eye candy but I rarely make any of his patterns. Those budgies are awesome! Love that neatly folded KF stash - good light or not. Pretty mask (we are wearing our cloth ones with the high-level filter again since the case counts are over the moon here with hospitals about to triage based on survival odds as they're so overfull). Take care and enjoy the hand stitching!
Laura Wasilowski at artfabric.com suggests 1/5 Embroidery Needles for stitching with our Sizes 3, 5, 8, and 12 threads. She hand dyes perle cotton in those sizes.
I love that Kathy Doughty fabric.
I agree Kaffe's books repeat the same quilt patterns over and over with the newest book using the newest of their fabric line. I enjoy seeing how they use some of the stranger fabrics.
Great fabrics! I have all sorts of mindless projects around that are just set up to do the next thing without thinking. That keeps me going when there is no juice in the tank. Eventually, it refills and I can make progress on those small tasks. Been cleaning my sewing studio which will help in the long term, but everything in putting away is a decision.
I have run into the same problem that you had with the perle cotton being too big for the eye of the needle. After trying out several different styles through the years, I finally settled on the Fons & Porters 'Utility' needles. They are quite large feeling at first, but after you get used to them, seem to work quite well. Best of luck working through your feeling stuck phase. I can't even imagine how the continued lockdowns affect your mental health and wellbeing. Just the amount of anxiety we feel here in the states gets wearisome.
I have noticed that for every person who becomes madly productive under lockdown there are three of us who pretty much grind to a halt. At least you are having fun looking through your books and playing with fabric; I'm sure you will get unstuck eventually. I'm a bit of a philistine with the big thread/small needles thing. I just use anything that comes to hand that works, sometimes embroidery needles, or shorter sashiko needles, sometimes things so old I don't honestly know what they are.
I suffered it during the early months of last year's lockdown and then later berated myself for "wasting" all that time when I could have been finishing projects. Berkunjung juga ke website kami Feed2Podcast sebagai situs terpercaya.
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