Back on the Frame Again.

 Yesterday started just as planned, with a cauldron of relish bubbling away on the stove. I was up with Tony before six, so the pot was on before seven. It needs a good 90 minutes before anything else can happen, so I took the chance to relax and catch up on some blog reading.

Once Tony headed off to work and the cauldron had done its time, I moved on to the next steps of the recipe. While it bubbled some more, I set about loading the anchor quilt onto my frame.

I'm happy to report that there was plenty of backing fabric this time. 

With the relish still simmering, I wound four bobbins and got myself organised. When the relish was finally poured into sterile jars and the dishes were washed and put away, I treated myself to a quick cuppa before starting the quilting.

I was glad I’d chosen a simple design — it’s been a while, and I was definitely wobbling a bit. A practice piece might have been wise but never mind. It is what it is. The smell of vinegar still hung in the air, and it wasn’t a day for wide‑open windows, so a headache settled in and refused to budge. I decided to step away from the quilting at lunchtime.

I spent a while looking for this year’s Christmas ornament and I think I’ve found it, so the afternoon wasn’t wasted. Hopefully on my next days off I’ll have time to gather the supplies.

By the time Tony came home I was already back to quilting. I did a quick turn while tea cooked, then finished the quilting after we’d eaten. As you can see, it’s still not trimmed — that’s a job for the next round of days off.

Back to work today, so I might sew a few hexies, or maybe start joining those 2.5‑inch squares here and there before or after work.

The good news is the rain clouds have finally blown away, and the sun is supposed to return to Timaru. With any luck we’ll warm up and dry out a bit. Fingers crossed. I know some of you are hoping for cooler days and a drop of rain, while others are wrapped up avoiding the snow. Whatever your weather, I hope you have a wonderful day.

I Zoomed Along Today.

No work for me today, though I was still up early with Tony.  Once he had departed for work I continued the morning cutting squares for Kaiy’s quilt, but when Chooky opened up her Zoom chat I joined in there instead. I ended up spending a good portion of the day sewing and chatting with the girls. I forgot to grab a screenshot of the group, but trust me — all the regulars were there, chatting and sewing away as usual.

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I still haven’t quite finished cutting my 2.5" squares, so for the Zoom session I switched over to my hexies. This is where I was at when I picked it up this morning:

I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this piece. It’s a true scrappy concoction — so many different fabrics, some mine, some bought ready‑basted from sales, op shops, and Facebook, and others just odd scraps that have drifted into my stash over time.

But I’ve enjoyed creating the flowers, and I’ve enjoyed the process of joining them, even if I did lose my way somewhere along the line and had to fill in a few gaps with random hexies. Never mind — it all adds to the scrappy charm.

Looking at it now, after today’s progress, I think I might be starting to like it again.

It looks small in this image, but I’m pretty sure it’s as big as it needs to be. Plenty big enough for a crib, or even a lap quilt. I’ll tidy up that right side and call it done. I’ve got a piece of polar fleece ready for the backing, so that part is sorted. I'm not sure when it will make it onto the frame for quilting, I'm hoping to load The Anchor tomorrow and make a start on that.

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During a break for tea, I sliced two bowls full of tomatoes, added 2 kg of onion, and left the whole lot to brine overnight. Tomorrow’s job will be making a batch of tomato relish — the house will smell amazing and hopefully I'll get a great start at quilting The Anchor while the relish is bubbling.

Not a bad way to spend a cool, grey day — with intermittent showers and the sun making the odd half‑hearted attempt to break through. A little stitching, a little chatting, and the promise of quilting and relish bubbling away tomorrow.

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Cutting My Way Through Kaiy’s Colour Palette.

In my last post, when I was swearing about ordering the wrong size of backing for the Anchor quilt, I mentioned an idea that just might use up those extra two metres of fabric. With all my chores completed on Thursday morning, I spent some time rummaging through my batik collection, looking for colours that might be perfect for my daughter, Kaiy. (I hope she's not reading this. She's been known to pop in from time to time. If you are Kaiy....Surprise! I'll see you in June and bring it along). 

I was fairly sure I knew Kaiy's preferences but thought I’d better check. She sent me a mood board — 

and I wasn’t far off the mark. She’s gotten a little brighter in her choices lately. A quick photo of my fabric pull went off to Janice to make sure nothing was trying to leap out of the pack, and then, after some quick maths (ably handled by the co‑pilot), I was off and running. I don’t even have to pull out a calculator anymore; I just waffle at the co‑pilot and it sorts everything out for me. I could get used to this.

Anyway! I told it my block plan, the size of the squares, the layout, and the size of my backing piece, and asked: how much fabric do I need? In no time at all it informed me that I’ll need 1,225 two‑and‑a‑half‑inch squares — about 22 fat quarters. I do have fat eighths and various bits and bobs in the mix, so I suggested aiming for 25 fat quarters’ worth, just in case. Co‑pilot agreed that was a sensible idea. It also worked out how much fabric I would need for sashing strips and binding! Amazing. I weeded out a couple of repeated fabrics and some in very similar colours. I'll keep them handy just in case. I think I ended up with 25 or 26 fat quarters worth of fabric pieces.

Then I started cutting… until my back complained. By that point I had about a third of these pretty pieces done. I spent the next couple of hours in my comfy armchair playing with hexagons. I really should take a new photo of those — they’re coming together slowly.

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This morning before work I pressed a few more fat quarters and a couple of fat eighths and even managed to get one cut before heading out the door to work. I’ll try to do the same over the weekend. Yes, I’m working, but that’s okay — I’ll be off on Monday and Tuesday. And my new piece of backing fabric should be delivered on Monday, so I’ll be spoiled for choice. 

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If you’re heading into a proper weekend, I hope it’s a lovely one. I’ll be working through mine, but there’ll be fabric waiting for me on the other side.

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There was some swearing!

 I had chores to get through this morning before I could play. First job: the washing machine on, even though it’s not a drying day. Next, out came the cauldron and in went 4kg of tomatoes with the usual ingredients for Ruffino’s tomato sauce. A smaller pan was filled with diced rhubarb and cranberry juice to stew down for the freezer.

I draped the laundry over Gran’s wooden airer and parked it out of the way. With the rhubarb done and the sauce still simmering — good things take time — I finally headed into my room to play.

It didn’t take long to get the hearts cut out in Vliesofix and fused to the same black as the rest of the anchor. Stir the tomatoes, start the appliqué, back to the tomatoes… By the time the appliqué was finished, so was the sauce. Into pots for the freezer it went, then a quick bite of lunch, and it was time to spread everything out on the floor.

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First the batting — I cut the right amount off the roll — then out came the backing. And that’s when the swearing started. It’s too small.

My own fault, really. I didn’t do the maths properly — I just ordered on the fly and hoped for the best. Lesson learned. I hope.

Janice suggested adding a bit of something else, but I do have another piece of the same fabric, so I could patchwork it to fit. But Tony, my hero, simply said, “Just buy another piece, love. Just do it.” So I did. 

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Now, the cut batting is spread over the frame to rest and lose some creases. A new LARGER piece of fabric is on the way, and the quilt top is pegged up where it was for yesterday's photo shoot so that it doesn't get creased and I don't have to press it again.

This time I’ve ordered far more wide backing than I need, just to be sure. And besides, there’s no such thing as too much, right? Any excess will slip happily into the stash. As for the huge two‑metre piece that turned out to be too small — I already have a plan for that. I’ll tell you more once the idea is properly brewed.

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So I spent the afternoon sitting in my chair, grumpily playing with my hexies. Tomorrow morning is fully booked with chores, grocery shopping, and an appointment in town, but the afternoon is looking distinctly hexagon‑shaped. Or maybe I'll make a start on the new plan....

The Anchor Motif, the Journey so Far.

As you know, this quilt is to be a wedding gift for my son Jiffy (Jonathan) and his bride Josie. I offered them a few choices and was delighted when they selected an anchor, Josie particularly liked my suggestion that it would anchor them together. I also mentioned that they wouldn't be getting a quilt exactly the same as the model I showed them.

Then I set off shopping not only my stash, but various stores both here and in Australia, gathering together enough fat quarters and fat eighths to put the top together. As you know I procrastinated for quite some time before I actually cut into the fabric and made a pile of four inch squares, all needing to be sewn back together.

The squares were not the problem. Once I finally got started on that process they went together very quickly, thanks to Chooky and a zoomy weekend. Then I realised that I had purchased the wrong border fabric and shopped the stash again. I found the perfect fabric, but didn't have enough, so a top up from an online store was necessary. Once we returned from our trip to Okiwi bay, I got stuck in again and in next to no time I had the new border fabric and outer border in place, next came the applique.

The Anchor. That had potential to become a big sticking point. I have wondered and worried about the anchor. I even asked for your advice in the last post I wrote. (Thank you to those who had something to say, it was all taken onboard and given thorough contemplation).

This morning, finally I decided it was time to heave too and get on with it. I cut a bunch of scrap A4 papers into two slices, spread the top on the floor and started playing. I didn't get anything pretty but I did get the right angle, measurements and a necessary confidence boost.

Next I pulled out my vliesofix, just enough to make a start. Then I pulled out a pencil and began to draw, right onto the vliesofix. First the fluke, that curved bottom piece, next the shaft and cross piece. Out came a round baking tin and a dipping bowl to create the ring at the top.

I cut them out roughly and had another play, took a deep breath and started to fuse onto the applique fabric. Then I had another check, yep, still good.

Next I started to think about the twiddly bits. 

• The bill tips or fluke tips. The pointy bits at ends of those bottom arms or flukes of the anchor that help it to dig into the seabed and hold in place.
• The Trunnions or the arms of the anchor needed decorative ends. 
• The Crown where the vertical shaft meets the base of the curved flukes, this helps the anchor to pivot and settle onto the bottom.

It's a wedding gift, a symbol of love, so why not hearts? More paper and drawing and I added five hearts. Yep, that works.

Next, I pulled everything off except the shaft and fused it into place onto my top. No going back now! (Deep Breath)!

Each piece went on in turn. I used the wavy line stitch on my machine. Not trusting myself to get those curves and circles just right with a straight stitch. It's an anchor! Waves are perfect.

The pieces went on quite easily and I am so happy with what I have so far. Oh My Gosh. I did it!

Just those twiddly bits left, but I'm out of vliesofix. Tony called in to the shop for me and bought more, but he is still at work...... 

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