spinning plates

What's happening in the sewing room?

Well, it's been a messy busy couple of weeks around here, 

and here's photographic proof {wink wink} that I just can’t stick to one thing at a time!

Not wanting to lose momentum with my 'evie' quilt, {see here for earlier details} I grabbed some more light - light/medium scraps and made up more kite string pieced sections. Once I had enough for twelve blocks, I started joining them all up. 

Wow, all my centre points lined up beautifully! When joining up the two halves of the block, I nest the centre seams and start sewing from the centre out in both directions. Then I open out that centre seam on the back when pressing. How do you tackle joining up points like these?  

Here's a few progress photos ...

- Evie popped up to the sewing room to check out my progress!

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Then I had a basting day! I joined up leftover pieces of batting & sorted out backings for three recently finished smaller quilt tops. I managed to get all three quilts layered & pin basted ready for machine quilting, and I really got a good workout that day! 

I plan to do some home quilting over the summer, so I'm super happy to have this little pile all ready & waiting to be quilted ...

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Later in the week, I was feeling a tad disappointed with a couple of recent quilt block fails. I guess not every idea ends up a good idea! 
But, not one to give up, I started making a different set of trial kaleidoscope blocks.  There's lots of different ways to approach making this quilt. This time I was really keen to have a play with the background corner colours. 

I started with a 10" square pack of AMH fabrics, sorted them out into mediums/darks, and added some lights from my stash. Then I began teaming them up first with my first choice for the background corners, the Solids Rose Coloured Glasses. Then I swopped the rose out for assorted light fabrics just to compare. 

I'll need to decide which way I'm going with those backgrounds, and I'll need to make up a few more blocks before that unexpected delightful secondary pattern occurs I think. 

Anyways, it's all lots of fun.

Check out my design options on the "design floor" 

pic #1

pic #2

pic #3

Just curious, which do you prefer, pic #1 pic #2 or pic #3?

Some people love to focus on sewing one thing at a time. But if you stop by often you'll already know I enjoy jumping from one thing to another. I wonder how many plates projects can I keep spinning at the same time during the fast approaching silly season?

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And just before I finish up, here's three great recent reads ...

'Lessons on Chemisty' is original & witty and I enjoyed it right from the start. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in the 1960s, where women were a rarity in the field. It's a man's world and the woman's place is in the home, remaining silent, and following along with what the men say.

However, Elizabeth isn't wired that way, she's headstrong and independent, and she refuses to tow the expected line.

Things start to change when she marches into the office of Calvin Evans, a respected scientist at Hastings Research Institute. It soon becomes clear that Calvin and Elizabeth 'get each other'. They have romantic chemistry as well as a love for the science of chemistry.
Just a few years later, Elizabeth finds herself a single mother and forced to find another career. She lands in the most unlikely of places, the host of a cooking show. 

It's a novel... a chemistry lesson... and, a cooking lesson all in one! If you ignore the chick-lit look of the cover and don't take it all too seroiusly, it's a delightful read!

Jodi Picoult does not shy away from covering relevant and to some, controversial topics, and 'Mad Honey' is another example of this. 

The story is told from the perspectives of Olivia and Lily. Olivia is a beekeeper and a mother to a teenager son, Asher. She left behind an abusive marriage to start over in her hometown in New Hampshire.
Whereas Lily is a teenage girl who just moved to the area with her mother. She is also hoping for a fresh start from a painful past.

Asher and Lily eventually start to date and fall in love and for once, everything seems at peace. Until one day, Lily is found dead and Asher is the number one suspect.

And... I cannot revel any more... except to say, I was surprised with the unexpected twist and it gave me lots to think about. I recommend you add this book to your 'must read' list too.

A regular weekday morning veers drastically off-course for five strangers who have little in common but their choice of cafe - their lives never to be the same again when an apparently crazed gunman holds them hostage.

But there is more to the situation than first meets the eye and as the captives grapple with their own inner demons, the line between right and wrong starts to blur. Such a good read, I had to keep going as it was unputdownable!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

🎄🎅🎄🤶🎄

Linda