Getting into the quilting swing of things again - hopefully

I feel the past six months have been a nightmare on the quilting side of life but hoping that I can now begin to spend more time with my fabrics and my sewing machine.

I've been trying to really make my sewing studio organisation easier to work with and put aside one project in order to deal with a squirrel which arrived yesterday so  things must be improving!

Last post I had made the fortunate discovery of 16 patch blocks tucked away and began making more, still more strips ready to cut on my Accuquilt

I had also begun on the blocks earlier in the year on a  quilt for eldest grandson

and whilst I was enjoying stitching these I decided that with the number of 8" blocks needed I  would put on hold and go with something using larger blocks, I turned to the pattern for Slashed  Squares, tutorial purchased from Lynne at The Patchery Menagerie, made a start and love these large blocks for the initial stage. Great tutorial by the way.

The blocks you see above were the result of my time at the machine yesterday, in total I'll be making 30.

I made mention above of sewing room organisation, the room is quite small so do I really need to find another basket in my fabric racks for even more fabric??? I decided that yes, I could make a little more space and bought a few of the latest Tilda range 'Chic Escape', I have in mind a few pillows for around the place and possibly a small throw size quilt. Perhaps I'm being too indulgent and maybe feeling a little sorry for myself over the past few months but what the heck, we only live once and I ain't getting any younger.

This is my favourite

Just a few more
 

And I fell for the new Tula range Tiny Beasts, hopefully these will be here over the weekend or Monday.

Guess I should end this post here but must share with you a photo of a few regular visitors

hoping that a certain someone - guess who - will be kind enough to give them a little breakfast.

It is duck shooting season here in NZ, a practice I abhor, strong word perhaps but true for me, so we have lots of ducks around this area right now all trying to escape the mayhem. This happens each year, there are even signs here and there by the road side  - Caution, Ducks Crossing!

That's all from me, back to tidying and storing, see you soon.

Happy Quilting

Maureen

Serendipity

What could be better than a stunning sunrise to begin the day - 6.55am.

A busy week but not much quilting happening although I have to tell you that my 16 patch blocks using the vibrant raspberry pink found a new home in my parts box!! I had nine blocks sewn and up on the design wall, stood back to see the overall look and was horrified, the pink was still overwhelming and I just couldn't carry on. So, lesson learned and off to the parts box with ideas buzzing around on what to do next.

When I opened the box I had a nice surprise - you might remember the photo below from a September post

the beginning of an orange/red/yellow 16 patch with a hint of pink. I had stitched up five blocks and had other strips sewn and cut into rows but for some reason decided to stop, needless to say they have now been resurrected and I'm off to a good start with this 16 patch! I'm not sure how many blocks I need right now, not wanting to make a large quilt, just throw size probably. The blocks will measure 8" finished.

 That's all I've achieved on the quilting side of things although quite a bit of fabric folding and tidying has been going on.

I bought myself a new desk for my computer, adjustable height and perfect for me to rest my right arm to avoid the drag on my shoulder, seems to be working well but I can only spend short spells here.

I've spent  some time just sitting in the garden enjoying the last of the Autumn weather, we officially enter Winter today so it's going to get colder pretty soon and preparing for the change in weather Ive been hanging feeders up for the birds,  the tauhou (silvereyes) are loving the filled coconut shells. They're gorgeous wee birds flitting about like crazy.

Happy Quilting

Maureen