Another quilt under the sewing machine

Spent a lot of time this afternoon on my hands and knees. The kitchen floor is the only place in the house big enough to baste anything larger than a wall hanging. Anyway after a lot of shuffling around and a lot of this stuff

I finally had this basted and ready for the machine. Speaking of which after having finally persuaded my Singer that it was happy to piece I didn't want to change any settings so got this out from the back of the cupboard.

It worked like a dream. The hardest thing was remembering how to insert the bobbin as it is side loaded rather than top loading but once thar was sorted off we went and quilted. I'm only doing some straight line stitching on the light fabric. Enough to make the dark stand out but no more than I have to. This quilt top has waited years to be finished, it has been tucked away in the back of the UFO cupboard and now I want it finished so that means quick quilting. Nothing fancy. Hopefully it will look ok.

Naughty Sewing Machine

Sometimes my machine seems to have a mind of it's own. One that has a completely different viewpoint to me. Spent this morning piecing some multi-colour fabric for a block in my sampler quilt, cleared everything away and had a break. Came back this afternoon wanting to piece two large White pieces for the backing of another quilt. Changed the bobbin and the top thread and sewed a test piece. Machine wasn't having any of it, tangles everywhere. Checked everything, found new bobbin and refilled, same result, changed top thread, same result, changed combination of threads, same result. By now starting to get annoyed. Put back bobbin and thread from this morning, green bobbin, dark cream top thread, and sewed perfectly. At this point I gave into the machine and now I have a seam on the white fabric sewn in green and green. At least it is only for the back of the quilt. Hopefully the sewing machine will let me make decisions about thread colour in future otherwise there could be some very unusual combinations happening

Knitting in the library

Once a month I get together with friends in the local library and we have a knitting afternoon. It's nice to spend the time with people who enjoy being crafty and appreciate the effort that is put into handmade things. It also gives us the chance to put the world to right. The only problem is that it is very easy to lose track of where you are in a pattern, which is exactly what I have done today. I completed a couple of inches of ribbing and then needed to change to a different size needle for the body. Changed one needle but forgot about the other so have been knitting with a 7mm needle and purling with a 4.5 mm needle. You'd think I'd have noticed but not till I got home did I spot what had happened. Good thing it's more about the company than the knitting.

Happy Postbox

Look at what turned up in the post today.

The 6-1/2" strip cutter is going to be just perfect for cutting borders and as for the heart cutter;  well I foresee applique in my future.  As for the red fabric, isn't it lovely.  Originally it was going to be the back  for something I pieced a long time ago but I think I just changed my mind.  It deserves to be on show.

Everything came from http://www.ladysewandsew.co.uk/  I ordered it all on Thursday afternoon, they emailed me on Friday to say it had been dispatched and it arrived first thing Monday.  They even sorted out a problem I was having using a discount code on the website with no hassle and no fuss.  I think they might be getting more of my custom.

This months creations

Since I bought my Accuquilt Go I seem to have made more bits and pieces in a month than I have in the last year. Because I keep trying different block patterns with it I seem to be on my way to making a sampler quilt. I didn't set out with that intention but as I have now made 9 blocks and have plans for several more an accidental sampler it is.