a little bit of quilty colour for your Sunday

So pleased with my 'courthouse steps' quilt top, it's a little crooked, and just a little wonky! I tried not to think too much about my fabric combos, just dug deep into the baskets and mixed things all up. Lots of bits & pieces from quilts I've made over the years. Here's a few close up pics of the last batch of blocks . . .

Mr D was happy to hop up on the chair for a photo of the whole quilt, 

it ended up half in the sun, half not, 

pretty, but not what I was after . . .

so I asked him for another shot, yep that's better . . .       

And joining in with the nation wide #goingonabearhunt🐻    

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

Stay safe, Linda

in which Pooh leads the way

Where are

we going Pooh?

Home Piglet.

We are going home,

because that's the best thing to do right now

Stay safe, Linda

courthouse steps {update}

Planning to spend some time with these courthouse step blocks this week. Carefree cutting and simple stitching. Feels good to use what I’ve got here in my stash, digging deep to find more variety.

Here's a peek at what more of my string blocks will look like all together in a quilt. Seeing them spread out like this on the 'design floor' is certainly spurring on more stitching - it's a bit like eating potato chips, you know, you can't stop at just 1 or 2 -  and gives me an idea of how many more blocks I might need until I get to the "finished" size.

And thanks to a comment from Ruth, I checked out this link here. Ah I get it now, it’s not about always sewing a wonky slanted seam; it’s also about how the different widths of the strips make for the crooked look! Using strips in varying widths from 3/4" - 2" means each block turns out a different size.
And having a few blocks where a fourth strip is added creates a crooked look too when all grouped together. The extra row helps bring the block up to the right size.

Once trimmed up they all look fine, and charmingly wonky & slightly off centre!

And here's how 20 blocks look so far . . .

. . . still at least 10 more blocks to go I think

 

You can find Bonnie's free tutorial over here at quiltville
Linking up with Kelly for 'needle and thread Thursday' here at myquiltinfatuation

and hey, let's all sew lots and keep the quilty inspiration flowing here in blogland!

Until next time, Linda

crooked courthouse steps

Completely inspired by Margaret from semichaotic - shamelessly copying joining in with her fun, funky courthouse steps, she's made an amazing 182 blocks!  Free pattern from Bonnie at quiltville.blogspot. The pattern suggests 7 1/2" blocks, however I'm making mine 12" blocks, they are quick to sew and I'm using up heaps of my thin strips.
Like Margaret, I’m using anything and everything, digging deep into my string & strip baskets and dividing fabrics into “neutral” and “others relatively solid or bright” - with no colour scheme as such.

However, it's kinda hard getting these to go wonky. I need to practise more at letting things organically lean this way or that {wink wink}, or maybe trim things at a slight angle to get my block started off in a fun direction. Or, even try aiming for the centre square not to be dead in the middle when I trim my finished block to the right size.

My next batch looked just a little bit wonk-ier . . .

and down on the design floor . . .

With todays batch, I used more stripes & checks to counteract the 'feeling too flowery' look. They mixed in well . . .

Many of us are spending extra time staying at home, it's trying times for sure and it's hard not to feel overwhelmed. And it feels good to have some comfort sewing underway, easy mindless sewing, no thoughts apart from which fabric strip to add on next.

Not too sure how big this is going to be, but I can guarantee more blocks coming soon 

. . . until next time, Linda

florals & plaids

I haven't felt like sewing lately, lots of other things happening. But today I wandered into the sewing room and had a little play. The 'flea dash market' pattern {see here} by Jen at Amitie has been in my folders for years. I decided to take this traditional block and give it a touch of something new! 

Here's how my design wall is looking . . .

I’m eeking out every last bit of my #annamariehorner fabrics, lots of different ones, little leftovers from other projects, and mixing them up with 'Harriot' woven plaids by carolynfriedlander for the backgrounds! When going all-out scrappy, I find having a 'receipe' helps control some of the chaos!

And look what happens when I add a little scrappy sashing & corner stones, 

sew scrapilicious . . .

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

until next time, Linda

summertime reading #3

Here in NZ, this weekend marks the official end of summer
It's still hot & humid
and we're still getting our toes wet in the sea!

photo by Nic

{follow the link to see more of my niece's nature pics}

And I'm still reading more than sewing! I really enjoyed 'Where the Crawdads Sing' by Delia Owens, a compelling story of a girl living in the unforgiving coastal marshes of North Carolina. It is a 'who dunnit' story, but it's wrapped up in beautiful writing, with delightfully delicate descriptions, and it's clear the author knows this land intimately.
And, it kept me guessing to the very end! Surely this could make a great movie!

'The Flat Share' by Beth O'leary was an easy, quick read. Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey is a hospice nurse, working nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it seems the perfect {if a little odd} solution, Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work during the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time. They haven't actually met, leaving each other post-it notes as a way of communicating.  Funny and sad. And the characters were interesting!

'The Place on Dalhousie' by Melina Marchetta was another great read. It's a novel about building a family and healing after the past tragedies.

"After Rosie Gennaro and Jimmy Hailler cross paths and enjoy a brief fling while travelling through Queensland, neither expect to see one another again, but fifteen months later, Jimmy learns Rosie has given birth to his son. Rosie has reluctantly returned to the house on Dalhousie Street in Sydney, the home she once shared with her family, before her mother succumbed to cancer, before her father’s sudden death, but in which now her hated stepmother, Martha resides.

The house on Dalhousie is more than just a home to Rosie, it is all she has left of everything she has lost. As far as she is concerned Martha, despite being the legal owner of the house, is an interloper with no legitimate claim. The two live together as if strangers, Marta is no more fond of her sullen stepdaughter than Rosie is of her. 

Marchetta explores this complicated relationship, and it’s progression, thoughtfully"

It's real, it's messy it's complicated, and I loved it!

The Seven Sisters series tell the story of adopted sisters and is based allegorically on the mythology of the famous star constellation.
'The Sun Sister' by Lucinda Riley was recommended to me by a friend and was to be my next book to read. However, on reading the blurb, I discovered this book is the sixth instalment, so I'm thinking I may need to start back at the beginning and work my way through the other books first.

Anyone else read this series? Can each book be read as a stand alone? Until next time, Linda

meadowland #2 top finished

I do usually finish my quilt tops but not all are quilted - it really depends on whether the quilt is destined for a particular purpose. Sound familiar?
Loved to hear your stumbling points . . . fabric choices? stickability for repetitve piecing? quilting? binding? And your favourite part of quilting?

Here's a few progress pics of my latest finish, 'meadowland' quilt . . .

As Suz from allthegoodonesaretaken recently commented, keeping the same background fabric affects the overall quilt so much with this pattern. I used the same fabric in the corners and in the center squares, 'crochet' by Alison Glass.

Oh, and I'm sure you can guess... my favourite part of quilting?
... is choosing fabrics and mixing it all up!

Linking up with Kelly for 'needle and thread Thursday' here

Until next time, Linda