Sunday, August 30, 2015

Sunday Stash Report

Its been another crazy busy week with so much going on here and not all that much time to sew... well not as much time as usual to sew.

It was another week with rehearsals - full dress rehearsals at that Sunday afternoon, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and first performances Friday and Saturday nights. Had a bit of sewing for that... had to fix up the cat costume... add elastic to waist band so the size 18 pants fitted out size 10 pregnant actress, also add a sign saying "Cat" to the back of the shirt and put velcro on it so the tail could be attached and removed as per script. Then after the performance on Friday had to do major repairs to the horse costume as the actors stepped on it and ripped it... I was also busy blinging up two hand bags for the leading lady. One I made fabric flowers for (that was fun) and the other I glued a packet of plastic "gems" too. In total I used about half a metre of fabric.

I managed to get Going Green's backing fabric completed as well as Pink Pizzazz. They both now need to be pinned and quilted. Since Pink Pizzazz is a group project I might ask and see if someone else in our patchwork group will quilt it (I quilted one earlier this year) If they will I get to count it as finished and so can calculate fabric usage... what I donated which will be all the backing.

And then there are the hexies... been making a bit of progress there too

Week 35

         Fabric Used                     0.51
         Fabric Added                   0

Year To Date
         Fabric Used                    114.37
         Fabric Added                    42.40
        


Net Used/Added                       71.97m   


Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times

Friday, August 28, 2015

Not so Flabby Friday

By sheer determination I have really improved my exercise stats for this week. For the last 7 days I have made it to 10 000 steps on all but one occassion. One night I had onlyn 3.500 steps. This had happened a few nights and I had jogged on the spot or around the house determinedly to get to that magic 10 000 but this one night I was so tired that I thought... no ... bed. Probably a good choice. Walking the dog is a much more satisfying way of getting those numbers up but sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

So this week
Friday 10 460
Saturday 10 038
Sunday 10 010
Monday 10 063
Tuesday 10 005
Wednesday 4 467
Thursday 11 525

I am really pleased with these numbers, considering that for months... since April I haven't been recording my steps consistently and I don't think I actually made it to 10 000 more than a couple of times in that time, if that. I had issues with my fitbit recording for a start. I usually wore it..and the lights would come on and show progress through the day but it wasn't going through to the phone.

I can't say that my eating habits have markedly improved. I have tried to not snack quite so much although I have to say that bar of white chocolate that a gentleman at the aged care home where Fixit Guy and I go each week to conduct the service for our church, well it didn't last long at all.

Anyway now the weather is warming up I might be able to start dragging my butt out of bed a little earlier and start walking the dog in the morning... sometimes that might mean he gets two walks but at least if we go in the morning when the day falls apart we get at least one walk in.

How have you gone fitness wise this week

I took this photo whilst walking by the river this week. Some fire bugs had lit up the river bank on the other side to where we were. The fires were bought under control quickly and away from houses so no damage done. This hollow tree burnt out completely in the end so probably not so good for the many animals who probably used it as shelter but it did make a rather spectacular sight as it burned

Embedded image permalink

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

WIP Wednesday Another Crazy week

I've had another really crazy creative week!

Last week I told you about making a horse costume for the play that my husband, Fixit Guy is in and for which I am prompt. This week the making and fixing for the play has continued. I have added

Making a pair of breasts - well 2 pink cushions

Decorating 2 handbags - blinging them to within an inch of their life (yay for hot glue guns and fake rhinestones )

Working out how to attach a cats tail to a costume so it can be easily removed and reattached.

Making a "CAT" sign to attach to said cat costume

Putting new elastic into the pants of  cat's costume

Attaching elastic to a bowtie to allow for a quick costume change.

Its all been rather fun but time consuming. I know some patchworkers get annoyed when asked to mend things or make non patchwork items for family friends and in my case the wider community, but I don't mind at all. Its been fun to be part of the process.

I have done a little patchworking. Having put the flying geese borders on Going Green last week I went ahead and added a 5" (4.5" finished) green border with multicoloured 9 patches in the corners



and mid way (top and bottom) and 1/3 intervals  (sides) - so that was 10 9 patches in total. I have also started to make the backing for it. I am piecing the backing (as has been my habit of late) and its taking almost as long as the front because I am designing it as I go. I have used up the rest of the green I had bought for the borders on the front as well as a piece featuring birds and  bird houses. I have no idea where it came from but it fits in with the Going Green theme.



It's still not big enough so I"ll add strips of the lovely Robert Kaufman fabric I used in the centre of the birdhouse fabric. I've had it for ages but never quite known what to do with it. Its still not going to be quite big enough. I have a heap of half square triangles measuring something under 2" - leftovers from the flying geese made for the front border. I think I will make a sawtooth border with those. Its not going to add much but will add a little.

I have also been beavering away on my hexagons. I used to be able to work on them a bit during the play because during rehearsals I didn't have to sit in the dark in the wings. I used to sit in the audience, in the light and could stitch away during the breaks when the director and cast were discussing things. Not any more though. I can stitch during interval though so might get a few done.

I now have 14 flowers made, 23 more hexies basted and a heap of hexies cut!





Still not sure of the pattern I am going to make with them but thus far have been making colour centric flowers. I am using all scraps (3" squares) and putting together 6 hexies which "read" the same colour with a lighter (or darker occasionally) one in the centre. I think I will wait till I have finished sewing the hexies before deciding on a design. It will depend on the coloured flowers that I end up with.




I do love the crazy little cameos that are coming up on the scrappy blocks. So many reminders of quilts past



And today I started work on making a tablet cover (ipad etc) for Fangirl to send off in a swap. She has done a lovely cross stitch design and I have to sew it into the cover. The process has been delayed somewhat cause she forgot to wash the design before she gave it to me and it still had the marker pen on it so I've quickly rinsed it out and waiting for it to dry before proceeding further.

My POD paper piecing project hasn't been touched in a month. I must get back to it. It was on my goals for this month but nothing has shifted there.

I had hoped to work on Pink Pizzaz too but nothing happening there either. Will have to get my skates on if I am to get it done by next Wednesday which was my plan.

How has your week gone? What have you been working on?

WIPs on Wednesday WIP Wednesday

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Sunday Stash Report

This is a nil all draw this week. I haven't finished anything (tried to get Going Green Done but failed...ran out of time and enthusiasm) I have to confess that I have been captivated by my hexagon making and that is taking up lots of my time. I've got 8 flowers sewn together and heaps more completed hexies not yet fashioned into flowers and yet more hexie papers cut and pinned to trimmed fabric so making progress but NO finishes.

I haven't purchased any fabric... well no that is a lie. I have ordered some on line but I don't count it till it hits my doorstep so we shall have to wait a few weeks before I have to account for it. I ordered some from Massdrop and that always takes longer as you have to wait for the drop to end and then wait for it to be ordered and then wait for it to arrive at their warehouse and ... well lot of waiting. The fabric I've ordered is this lot, the scented half yard bundle. I wish I had the watermelon fabric whilst I was sewing madly for my friend Sam's watermelon themed birthday party. She might yet score another watermelony gift.



Week 34

         Fabric Used                     0
         Fabric Added                   0

Year To Date
         Fabric Used                    113.85
         Fabric Added                    42.40
        


Net Used/Added                       71.46m   


Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times

Friday, August 21, 2015

Fitness Friday - OR super flab Friday

Sigh
I haven't written anything for Fitness Friday for ages because there has been nothing to write. I have been doing less and less exercise, eating more and more crap food and thus putting on weight.

This blog was supposed to keep me honest and accountable but when I didn't want to be accountable and am not by nature dishonest... I did that well known and often used thing of avoidance. I tried a few weeks of "ho hum not been good this week... must try to be better... next week I will do better..." but coming back and saying "well not this week......but next week" got a bit old so... avoidance. Fitness Friday bit the dust

Sandy from "Quilting for the Rest of Us" made her blog post for that day "Fight the Funk" Friday but I notice that that too has bitten the dust but on that she talked about the stuff she did to look after herself mentally as well as physically.

My Fitbit buddies will have noticed that I have fallen off the radar with that ... almost completely. There were a few things behind this. Firstly when we were in Malaysia in April Fixit Guy lost his fitbit. It got dragged off his wrist by the crush of people getting on a train in KL and the last he saw of it was it dropping down between the train and the tracks as the door closed (with him on the train...) He was my main motivator... I was always trying not to get too far behind him (and usually failing madly. I blamed it on the fact that his legs are much shorter than mine. I'm 3.5" taller than him) But then I had issues with my fitbit... it wouldn't record my steps (the fitbit wasn't talking to my phone) It wouldn't tell me it was going flat. Do you know how devastating it is to be half way through a 5000 step walk and realise that your fitbit is flat. It knocks motivation for 6. Eventually I got my fitbit talking to my phone again - had to reset it although it still isn't telling me when it is getting flat...

Over the winter, with Fixit Guy no longer going to work and me no longer walking with my girlfriend, getting up on a chilly morning and going for a walk has gone out the window. You are kidding me... get up and go out when its cold. Uh uh. This little snuggle bunny burrowed into her lovely warm quilt and stayed in bed. My days are too busy to fit in a walk later in the morning so we have only been going for our afternoon walk and even it has taken a real beating of late with various evening commitments meaning we haven't had time. There has also been my quilting jag... I got right into it and I'd be sewing and no way I wanted to go out for a walk at 5PM

So... I have lots of excuses as to why my exercise routine has been shot... I have also been staying up really late which makes me tired (and so inclined to snack) and not want to get up in the morning but then I end up staying up late at night, having a few snacks to keep me going, sleeping in the morning so not being able to fit in a walk... and it goes on. Excuses excuses excuses.

But I am back to almost being the heaviest I have EVER been - over 97 kgs. Not good at all. So I have to do something about it.

Yesterday I determinedly made it to my 10 000 steps. Its been the first time is ever so long that I had that tingle on my wrist and it did feel good. I did have to jog on the spot for 800 steps before getting into bed but that is the best reason for staying up an extra few minutes I think I can have. I did the calculations this morning and I figured if I had a 15 hour day (8-11) out of bed then I need to make around 700 steps an hour to get through (its actually 666.66) my 10000 steps or 12 steps a minute. That is doable now isn't it... well not when I sit in my chair typing a blog post for an hour but still... over the day I SHOULD be able to do it. I am going to give it a red hot go.

Our evening walks have been made more difficult because at the moment FG and I are involved in the next production of our town's amateur theatre production. He's on stage and I am prompt and helping with props etc (hence why I had to make a horse costume!!!) Rehearsals are 2 evenings a week although now that production is only a week away its been 3 evenings plus Sunday afternoon. It does make it difficult to get out for a walk AND have dinner and get out the door by 6.30PM. However I am determined to have  go and try hard to make it.

NO



Will you join me in making some improvements to your life's health habits?

That is going to be my goal for this week. Make 10 000 steps each day. Check back next week to see if I have made it

EDIT
Its now Friday evening and I made it to 10 000 steps today too. Go me

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

WIP Wednesday - a little bit of everything

I've had a go at quite a few projects this week.

Got stuck into my Amy Gibson 2012 Craftsy BOM blocks. I made 2 dresden plate blocks,

 2 paper pieced blocks


 I had an issue with one of the paper pieced blocks... didn't realise that there were 2 circle of geese patterns... one going clockwise and one counter clockwise. Needless to say I made 2 from one and 1 from the other and it was only when I was trying to put them together so as to work out the order of the colour of geese I wanted to sew on my last block that I realised what I had done... and even then it took me a while.. couldn't work out why the geese weren't lining up. Yes the patterns were labelled. No I hadn't taken any notice of the labels. Eventually figured out what I had done wrong and made the other 2 blocks I needed going the right way and am contemplating making another 3 going the other way now... but we will see.

And 2 hexagon blocks


Speaking of hexagons... I plan to write a separate blog post about them... but I have started a hand project and am currently sewing away madly on English paper pieced hexagons. Haven't quite worked out what the heck I am doing... but so far have about 70 basted


 and started to stitch my first 7 piece "flower" together. 



I have another 110 cut out and pinned to their papers so am making great progress. 



I have been doing them whilst sitting in my seat and doing my job as prompt at rehearsals for our Little Theatre play. I won't be able to do them any more as we are into our final week of rehearsal and so I shall have to go up on stage and be in my prompters box... in the dark with my torch reading my script. 

Speaking of the play... that brings me to my most unusual sewing project for this week. I had to repair the horse costume... not a costume for a horse but the costume that is a horse. The one they had was falling apart... the fabric had perished. It was made for a panto the Little Theatre put on when The Beast was about 12. He's now almost 28. Funny thing... when it was made he got to play the front end of the horse. This time his father is playing the back end.....For part of the play anyway. The costume was getting more and more wrecked and at Tuesday's rehearsal one of the legs came off so I bought it home with me and basically remade it for rehearsal tonight. I gave up my day at patchwork to do it. Its no great work of art and basically I just followed the pattern that old one had been. I even reused the legs. 

 
Its not particularly realistic but then... horse costumes usually aren't are they? I didn't get a photo of the guys in it tonight but will try to on Sunday at our next rehearsal

The other project I have been working on this week has been the borders for Going Green. 

I decided to add one more border, using the green fabric I purchased in Rockhampton on Friday. Initially I was going to just do plain green all around... then I got to thinking and decided to add some nine patches in the corners... and then one in the middle of the side borders... no 2 nine patches spread out on the side borders... and one strip of blocks in the very centre (to make them long enough) and perhaps one more nine patch centred on both ends. 


So far I have the side borders on but the horse costume took over today.

And then tonight I put the bow tie needed in the play on elastic to make it easier to get on and off....and that's been my week

How have you gone this week? What projects have you been working on?

WIPs on Wednesday

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Mid month Goal review

Its half way through the month so time to review my goals that I set for August.

POD Quilt. I haven't worked on this at all. I have to make the last block (block 30) and remake block 10 as well as make several extra blocks. I have printed out the block patterns so that is a start. I had thought that I would take this project away with me but I realised that I would need to take too much fabric with me so I didn't take it.

Amy Gibson Block of the Month blocks - I've made huge progress on this one. I made 5 different blocks (one twice) and I did take this project with me when we went away for 10 days and I got 5 made including 2 using hexagons and 2 using dresden plate. I was thinking I wouldn't make these particular blocks but in the end I did and I really enjoyed making them. In fact I have cut out a heap more papers and am planning on having it as an on the go project.



 


Going Green. I have put on the first two borders and have bought some more fabric to add a third plain border.



Pink Pizzazz. I have started to put the backing together. I've made a strip to insert in the fabric I am using to make it wider, using a variety of hearts and pinwheels. The pieced hearts were made using "Made" fabric from another project and the other two hearts were ones made for a raggy hearts swap our group is having next month but which were made the wrong size


Make a Bag for my friend. I have made two bags for two friends :) A watermelon bag for my friend Sam and a green bag for another friend.






Sunday Stash Report - some additions

I have only one finish this week - a green carry bag that I blogged about earlier on in the week here. It was fully lined with pockets on the inside and out. I did a sort of crazy log pattern/crazy patch on one side and fussy cut some cute animal pictures and worked them into a nine patch on the other. The middle block was the pocket. I had all sorts of issues with the iron on interfacing but managed to get it done in the end. I used .88m of a metre



We spent the last couple of days in Rockhampton and I visited a quilt shop there I hadn't been to before - Needlework Cottage. I've heard of it, of course, but just never made it. I had extra time in Rocky these last few days so found it. I am collecting bike fabric for a special project and found 2 lovely prints there so I got .3m each. Originally I had ordered .25cm but the shop lady suggested .3cm as that was the repeat for both of them (and for most fabrics apparently... that or .6m)

I also found some lovely bright butterfly print that I plan to make a vest for a friend out of. He mentioned a few weeks ago that he would like a vest for Chrysalis (a Christian organisation that we both belong to. See here for more information) I got 1 m and hope that its enough. He's a pretty big bloke but I can always add more fabric) Actually I am thinking of sending him the fabric and he can get his mum or wife to do it since I don't have his measurements. That would get me out of it nicely :)

My final purchase was a lovely self patterned green fabric that I bought on the spur of the moment for borders on Going Green. I was going to leave it as was, (see my Wip Wednesday report for this past week)or else wait till I got home to see what fabric I had in my stash but when I saw this lovely fabric at a good price I bought it. I got 1.5m




Week 33

         Fabric Used                     0.88
         Fabric Added                   3.19

Year To Date
         Fabric Used                    113.85
         Fabric Added                    42.40
        


Net Used/Added                       71.46m   


Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

WIP Wednesday

Being retired is wonderful. I heartily recommend it. Fixit Guy and I are enjoying our week and a bit away.


Well actually I lie... the last couple of days FG hasn't enjoyed it as much as he might as he has been laid low with a nasty gastric bug. He woke up unwell on Sunday when we were at the town house in Brisbane with our family - Kombi Boy, Gamer Girl, Boyo and Fangirl. He stayed home whilst we all went out for breakfast and then back home we were joined via Facetime by The Beast, our oldest son who lives in Melbourne. He and KB were playing Grand Theft Auto on the net but as neither of them have the fancy headsets required to talk to each other through the game they just facetime it and chat that way. It was actually loads of fun ... but not so much for FG who was asleep upstairs.

Mid afternoon we packed up and drove up here to the Sunshine Coast hinterland where he and I were booked into a lovely Bed and Breakfast/ Adults retreat called Treetops Seaview at Montville. FG was still unwell. I drove the whole way up here and he basically slept and crashed into bed when we got here.

He's been recovering slowly but we have taken things pretty gently. We walked up to a cafe for lunch and then at night went to the tavern nearby Monday but for the rest of the day we stayed in our lovely cabin. We enjoyed the double spa and the open fire and whilst he slept I sewed. I got the bag made that I wrote about here.

Tuesday he thought he was well again and suggested we go out. I had started sewing and asked if I could just finish of the 10 flying geese I was working on.
They took about 10 minutes. By the time I had sewn them he had fallen asleep on the couch and slept for 2.5 hours. Needless to say I had enough time to sew all the flying geese together. They are for the border of my "Going Green" quilt.
 I also got the first border for it sewn on... just a narrow 1.5" strip of lime green spotted fabric. In the evening after we got back from our lovely meal at a local restaurant (where he managed soup and desert) I was able to sew the flying geese borders on as well.




So.... barring me deciding that it isn't big enough Going green top is finished. I certainly can't do anything more with it whilst we are away as I have run out of fabric for it and I'm not going to buy more for it when I have a cupboard full of possible choices at home.

Today we are leaving our little nest (our cabin is called Eagle) and driving to... not sure. We have to be in Rocky tomorrow after lunch. We hope to call in on FG's elderly aunt on the way. So... we might make it all the way to Rockhampton or we might stop somewhere on the way. We'll see. Not sure that I will get anything more done.

Oh yes - I''ve made 2 beanies on my loom and have another underway. My cousin Jo cut her hair recently as a fund raiser for cancer and a local charity. She is now finding the winter air a bit cool. She lives in Victoria so its much chillier than here in Sunny Queensland. I said I'd make her a beanie and I've made her one and made another while I was on the job. No photos (FG is fussing about a bit wanting us to get packed up and on our way so better finish off and not stop to take more photos :) )

How has your week been? Tell me about what you are working on!

WIPs on Wednesday WIP Wednesday