Life balance

Cleaning lady booked, life will start to look rosy again. Even though my lovely 18 yr old son stated on the recent census that the does up to 5 hrs unpaid work each week, his 5 hrs is not as good as a profesional cleaners 2!
Quilting almost finished in centre of quilt, have mail ordered thread for the border, hope it gets here soon. Almost ordered from USA, but the postage was huge and the time frame was 1-3 weeks, I need it before then.
I do have some thread, but always on the lookout for more. This is one of 3 boxes, plus theres more in a few more storage places.

This is the front of the quilt, just a small corner, I am so pleased its almost done, the batting is polyester, soft and lovely but a bit slippery under the machine, more suited to hand quilting OR a long arm - still dreaming about that.

A lovely quote I found on another blog :

Sooner or later we will come to the edge of all that we can control and find life, waiting there for us. ' Rachel Naomi Remen.

Work life balance or life unbalance?

The last few weeks have been hectic at the very least, an attempt at being social, trying to be creative (always in my head but almost never in reality on actual fabric), and going to work - which is extremely tiring especially with an extra shift and some overtime thrown in.

Oh and I am about to get a house cleaner again.
I did finish the birthday quilt, the recipient loves it, and I am very happy with the finished look. The border is the same fabric, fussy cut to get the flowers to flow round the quilt, and to get rid of the mustard part of fabric that just killled the quilt.
I am pleased with the quilting, it was a bit easy to do, didn't compete with the lovely fabrics on the front, but made the back look a bit fun.
Now to get on and finish the pieces for the Queensland Quilters October quilt show. some are already nearly finished, might have tome to start a (very)small piece if I am managing my time cleverly.
The problem of work life balance being out of kilter might be just because its the change in season and some unsettledness about the hot weather about to come or is because of my fast looming birthday - the last of my 40s?
Whatever it is I need to get a grip, call the cleaning agency, buy myself a birthday gift, and get quilting.

The average machine quilter

What does the average machine quilter look like? not me obviously.
I am not trying to justify myself, just to say we come in all shapes and sizes.

I got some strange looks yesterday when I chose the lime green back and the bobbin thread for my current quilt. I have just started to machine quilt it, these are the bobbin colours - I will use similar colours but variegated on the front, some of the bobbin will be green and some a fun purple thread.
Scruffy is helping quilt too - he is not very happy when I move him, then he just gets comfy again and sleeps. Maybe he likes the hum of the machine.
It is a cotton batt and is moving like warm butter across the machine, almost a bit too smooth and I am not using my Supreme Slider either!
It is a dream to quilt, I am doing a simple modified feather and swirl design, and yes the back will have these 2 colours and be fantastic.

Reverse sewing

back of quilt -happy with this quilting

I have spent the last week sick with a cold and nasty cough, just the right thing for unquilting, It is a large quilt, black and white with some colour. The quilting design I was never happy with, and when the deadline passed for last years quilt show and it was unfinished I put it folded neatly in a cupboard.
Now I have renewed sense of design, I am in the mood to finish it. I have spent some time unpicking, now to get the 'right' design and get it finished. Always working to a deadline is good - it makes me try to get things done.

front  -one corner

Not entirely sure of the quilting design yet, I did have a dream about it last week, but of course it is a bit hazy now, should have drawn it straight away.
I do have the thread though, bought it in Sydney at the quilt show, a long way to go to buy thread I know, but I knew what I wanted and where to get it from. When there is a limited stock of good thread in Brisbane, and mail order is the next best way to get what you want, to go to a quilt show to get it is a good idea.
Watch this space to see if I can get two large quilts finished soon!

Colour solution

I have almost finished the quilt top, the solution was to use the large bright prints for the sashing -not the blue I had purchased. This is similar to another quilt I made  a few years ago pictured below ( a much better picture) and the solution was the same. Sometimes the solution is right under your nose, you just have to find it. The yellow was just perfect for the cornerstones for both quilts funnily and I had enough of the prints to use for the sashes.
Two very different quilts with the same theme- stars- and the same style of using those beautiful prints.

Now for the border. Then the quilting, working to a deadline is just what I need to get it finished..

Yesterday I have a lovely morning tea and chat with a like minded group of friends the "Broad Strokes" girls. we always seem to have an array of exciting things to show and tell, no pictures unfortunately, but plenty of ideas were shared, so look out for some exciting things in the next few months.

More colour decisions

I have made all the blocks! they have some temporary sashing and are a bit messy as I have had to get them off the floor. The pink and black fabric is actually quite good, the yellow good, not so sure on the blue which I bought the most of - of course!
Time to get sewing and get the sashings and borders done.
This is meant to be a fun quilt, one that you want to snuggle around you on a cool day or in front of the TV. Its not a great work of art, but a quilt with some personality and zest and surprise.
The next work is another flood quilt, there have been some surprises with these, some are dull, some quite fun and inventive, others are scrap. All a bit different.

It takes all sorts. I have quilted each block separately with a meandering design which hopefully draws a circle- sort of. After finishing it, I would have liked to have done the quilting starting in the centre so it went from the centre out instead of around. A lesson learnt.

Colour

A lesson in colour and big prints today.
This is a quilt I am making for  a birthday gift. I am using some Jane Sassaman fabric I bought a few years ago when I had an injured shoulder and could not sew. It made me feel good to have the fabric in my house. 

But now I have to use it.

The 12" blocks are easy and simple and hopefully will make a cuddly warm quilt.
The sashing is the next move- yellow seems to be the colour of choice, I have 3 more large blocks to make. It also needs some blue( dark ). The Sassaman fabric is just lovely but somewhat difficult to use as most of them are large prints. The green is a bit overwhelming at the moment, maybe it needs to be toned down a bit. It looked better when all the fabrics were laid out on the bench.
Yes I should have thought it all out a bit better before I started, I can always make more blocks and make another quilt- there is enough fabric!
 The hand dyed is Lisa Walton.
Some funky sashing and a nice border?  the birthday is August 8th so I am on a tight deadline.
It also needs more orange, might have to mull over it a bit tomorrow on my day off -maybe some pink/red as well. It will be 20 blocks, maybe enough left over for a lap quilt.
Colour is so fickle when you are tired
Hopefully it will be ready for quiting by the weekend.