Gypsy Wife - sections 8 and 9

Yes, sections 8 and 9 are together, at least for the moment. I'm not happy 

with the bottom block on the LH side, so there

may be a little time spent unpicking at some point.

It's just getting that balance right, trying not to have

too many dark blocks clustered nor too many light ones and I think

I've failed with the above mentioned block.

I felt as if I'd hit a brick wall with these two sections, don't know why, but I'm

not doing any more on this until the end of next week, maybe the brain

needs a break from gypsies!

I took myself off for a walk the other evening when I was feeling

particularly peeved off with the whole thing, just before dusk the sky was

a delight to see, good for the soul! After that I arrived home

feeling much less stressed.

This was the view as I walked along the ridge looking out to

Rangitoto in the harbour - I've decided to try and take that walk most evenings

just before dusk to blow away the cobwebs!

Hope you're all enjoying your week and your stitching.

Maureen

sew, stitch, snap, SHARE

I'm working on a very late New Year Resolution - finishing projects!

First off the block - my Teapots begun in RSC 2015, these two I appliqued

down today.

I've tried to get a reasonable match with the colour of thread

and the main teapot colour, not that easy with Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs 

fabric.

The three below were stitched down early last year,  when all 12 are finished
I can set them out in their allotted place in the row and

 add the sashing and border.

The eyes take quite a beating peering a few inches away from the

needle to make sure it hits just on the edge of the fabric to be

stitched down, two is all I can manage at one go.

Something new now

Linda at Koka Quilts
and
Julie at JulieLou

have joined forces to create a new link up
sew. stitch, snap, SHARE
I'm heading over  now to join the link and you can visit by going to their
blogs above.

Oh, and in the midst of this torrential rain we've been having here
in New Zealand this Vireya had opened up in the back garden
to brighten my day!

Progress!!

Hooray - I feel I'm now "back in the saddle" with my quilting.

The yellow/green segment of Chinese Coins.

Starting on the red/yellow section Monday.

Concentration was needed with cutting the strips, it was so easy

to cut the original oblong fabric pieces in the wrong direction. so I now

have quite a few double ups in my parts box!

Measurements of the above segment 35" x 15".

I don't have a "set in concrete" plan for this small quilt,

I'll just play along and see where it takes me.

Is anyone else noticing that the list of blogs they follow

is becoming smaller?? I think a lot of folk are using Instagram

and Facebook, perhaps this is due to the amount of time

some quilters have available.

I love looking at the sky at sunrise and sunset this is 

one from a few days ago.

A truly "brooding" sky here!

Long Time Gone!!!

My post heading is nothing to do with the pattern

from Jen Kingwell which I wrote about a while ago.

This is giving a nod to my not posting for over two weeks - again!!

Let's start with a sunrise yesterday.

The reason for my continued absence

was my husbands'  health

problem, thanks to a mosquito bite right on the elbow.

Won't give the gory details but after visits to emergency,

three days on IV antibiotics for huge infection and three weeks of oral,

the elbow is slowly getting back to normal after growing to the size

of a grapefruit!

So, quilting once again took a back seat but I had been playing

with Gypsy Wife - two different versions of one block, deciding which

one will fit in best

My Chinese Coins took a back seat, way behind now as this week

was the last week for a link up. Below is a mock up on my

design wall from before my husband became unwell

I'm just playing around and have quite a bit more stitching to take

care of, hopefully next post will show progress - fingers crossed.

I have lovely hibiscus flowering in the garden, two below, and Leila now a one year old 

deciding whether to go up onto the roof  and watch the birds.

Back during the week - once again, fingers crossed!!

Enjoy the weekend.
I'm off over to visit Ann and Kaja
for a quick peek of my Chinese Coins so far.

Maureen

Colour, colour and more colour........

In the past two weeks I haven't been sewing, not on my own quilts

at least, but I have been quilting and binding a small colourwash piece

which I bought last year from
Wanda at Exuberant Color

I've always loved the stunning colourwash quilts made by Wanda and when
I saw this on her blog I quickly sent off an email!
 Just quilted vertically, the emphasis being on
the colour and placement of fabrics rather than the quilting.

I just had enough of the batik for binding but made a stupid mistake with the scissors
when I came to join the two ends together so
there are a couple of wonky bits, I am waiting for more of the
fabric to arrive then I'll resew.

In the package was a surprise gift of one of her
mug rugs

and what a beauty it is!

For a little colour co-ordination

this day lily is out in the garden,
it doesn't usually flower until August/September,
how come it's putting on a show in March is a mystery.

In the mail today

this will make good bedtime reading tonight and would
have looked a lot better if the postie hadn't
folded it in half when leaving it in the box!

Thanks to all for your good wishes, hope I've not missed
replying to anyone!

Time Out

I'm going to be taking a break from posting until Saturday week.

I have quite a number of health issues to deal with permanently

but a couple of them have been causing me some grief lately.

So, I'm going to just relax and enjoy pottering around. 

I have some

things I should like to re-arrange in my sewing

studio, I need a little time relaxing in the garden before

Autumn kicks in, more time for reading and just to

work on my quilting at a slower pace for a few days.

I guess my batteries need re-charging, they're feeling pretty run down!

The above isn't referring to my pacemaker batteries!

All the above hasn't stopped me buying a little fabric the other day

when my DH took me to look at a sewing/quilting cabinet. Opened out it gives 5'

of quilting space behind my Bernina, plus space on the left,

a great swing out section with a cubby  and deep drawer

and compartments on the RH side. One is now on order for me.

These are Tilda fabrics and not my normal colour choice

but I thought it's always good to try something different.

Reading your blog posts will, of course, still be on my agenda!!

Take Care

Maureen