Waiting In The Wings

Friday, March 18, 2022

Slow, slow stitching

More or less four weeks since I wrote anything here,
I think that's a first!

Definitely slow progress on all fronts, but progress all the same.

March is officially the beginning of Autumn here in New Zealand 

already the leaves are turning on our Japanese Maple and the huge oak tree
in the garden next door.

I'm now in a heavy duty splint with permission to enjoy my stitching and
quilting in small chunks of time, there are only small chunks of time
because I have so many physio exercises to work on!

So, what have I been spending time on in the past week of cast freedom,

creating order in my blue quarter/half yard drawer,
sorting through scraps a little at a time and cutting hexagons
out of suitable sized small pieces

and to save time I decided to try one of the glue sticks made
for that purpose, it would also
put less pressure on my hands, never done this before and did wonder about the
removal of papers, after one hour I decided to see if I had success with a tidy removal - 
no, I did not!! I shall be back to basting with needle and thread.

I have a new book


and I don't truly know why I did this when Judy Newman quilts
are pretty detailed and I had limited myself to easy, peasy projects making
use of squares, decent sized triangles and so on.
However, there is one particular quilt in the book which I had seen earlier
Hedgerow
is deliciously scrappy and medallion style.
Just the name of the quilt took me back to my early years back home in
Lancashire living by the moors, farm fields with old stone walls
and also rambles through woodland with mixed hedgerows, collecting
bluebells to take back home to Mum, making daisy chains with friends.
I realised I was once again becoming excited about my quilting after the
past few months.

Hedgerow is definitely going to be started pretty soon, yes, I know have a few
projects on the go right now but I like to work that way. I love making a start on new 
new quilts.

So, guess what arrived in my little studio as I was feeling more energised


another squirrel!

Here is the beginning of my appropriately named quilt

FRACTURED 2


This is a pattern by Kathy Doughty and I made a quilt using this quite a few
years ago,  check out the Fractured QAL label below, given the circumstances I find myself in I just had to do another one!
The pieces are just placed on the design wall, a little stitching planned for the weekend
along with placing an order for the new Kaffe Collective fabric range.

Time to close, my fractured wrist is telling me enough  right now and
as it seems I have something by the name of a rotator cuff tear in my right
shoulder which is quite frankly extremely painful, even down the whole arm,
I really have to keep to my limits.

Happy Quilting

Maureen




17 comments:

Nancy J said...

Would freezer paper work for the hexie pieces, I used that when I did a Mariner's Compass years ago. Love the fabric placed in such a neat colour arrangement, hope you are going slowly, definitely autumn here, only 9C this morning.

Linda Swanekamp said...

So good to see you post! First signs of spring here as the bulbs are up about 1". I love your description of your early home. I am in love watching, "Escape to the Country" on my Roku stick and imagine how heavenly it would have been growing up in the country in England. I am all in for multiple projects.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Your Fractured 2 is going to be wonderful if you keep using those KF fabrics! And Hedgerow sounds enticing. Your descriptive memories really set the stage. Good luck sticking to your limits (especially with squirrels on the prowl). And OUCH for that rotator cuff tear.

Julierose said...

So so wonderful to hear your joy for quilting has begun to return--you must be feeling better!!
I use freezer papers for my hexies--I cut them to the exact size I want and then iron them on fabric and scissor cut out a 1/4" or so seam to fold over and stitch by hand--I love this slower method...
I find it a lot easier (and no mess) then glue--don't like the glue method, but that's just me--I know a lot of people swear by it. I am not in a hurry so
no muss, no fuss...Hugs for a super weekend...Julierose

O'Quilts said...

Wahoo for progress!!! Wahoo to see you posted!! And wahoo for more Kaffe treats..you so deserve t hem xoxoox

gayle said...

Ow ow ow! Take it as slow as you need to!
I've glued some hexies and found that they popped off the glue after they'd sat for a long while. (I'd prepped a bunch way ahead of time, trying to be efficient!)
Your Fractured is going to be gorgeous in those glorious Kaffe colors!

Linda said...

Loved reading your post, Maureen. Please be careful not to overdo things. Fractured looks a very dramatic project - fabulous Kaffe fabrics of course.

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Hi Maureen. Loved this post so much. I had to stop and track down Hedgerow and love it too. Also that book...Judy's quilts are so beautiful. I just got the papers to do a giant hexies quilt. So loving your hexies too. Fractured looks amazing. Heal fast!!

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I think Nancy J's suggestion of freezer paper for your hexagons might be a good workaround for you. I hope you have one of those mini irons that are lightweight. I love the Fractured quilts and you have a great start on one.

MissPat said...

So good to hear from you. Slow progress is progress. And yes, Fractured 2 is a very appropriate name. Looks interesting. Take your time and do a lot of fabric petting.
Pat

FlourishingPalms said...

Gosh, I'm sorry that your surgery and physio is interfering with quiltmaking! Still, I'm sure that makes any time you can find even more special. Your Fractured quilt block(s) look lovely! It's always effective to have a color pop with black and white. Keep healing!

QuiltGranma said...

Good to see you back again! So sorry for the physical pain you are having, I too am having to be careful not to overdo. Wishing you success with your projects.

Judy Martin said...

Fractured 2 is going to be so great!
Best of luck to you as you carry on bravely.
xo

audrey said...

So happy to hear that you are on the mend! Your book looks fabulous. Sometimes that's all we need is just the visual.:)

Kaja said...

So lovely to her that you are recovering slowly and able to do even a tiny bit of sewing. Fractured 2 already looks like a winner!

Ann said...

We are all delighted that your surgery is a success and glad you have an easier cast.

Julie said...

I use glue for my epp, but but for hexis I thread baste, much prefer the ease of popping out basted hexis. This is the method I use, so I'm not stitching through the templates as well.

https://justjulielou.blogspot.com/2015/05/hexi-love-tips-and-tricks.html