Another Finish for the Month

In among everything else that has been going on this month, I have enjoyed just sitting and knitting.

As a result, I now have another nice warm scarf for the winter months.  

This is the third version of this pattern that I have made and I use the other two in high rotation during the colder weather.

I purchased the wool last July, but was rather engrossed with hexies at the time, so didn’t get around to starting it then.  The colour for this version was chosen to be close to a fabric scarf that I wear lots.  I don’t think I need to make any more now.

Mystery Solved

Remember I purchased this large safety pin at the Newbridge Swap Meet on Sunday and had no idea what it would be used for.

I looks like a giant’s nappy pin.  It was suggested it is a kilt pin, but way too big, then it was suggested it was for keeping a cardigan/wrap closed, but once again too thick, as it would leave a gaping hole in any fabric.  Is it a stitch holder for knitting?  No, too short and once again too thick and difficult to open.

A google search using their image search revealed the truth.  It is a Risdon Key Tag, although this one is a different brand.

They were designed with the flat surface over the clip to enable a number or name to be stamped on it.  They had various uses, one being for sailors to close their laundry bags, another being to “lock out” machinery while it was being worked on, so that no one could accidentally start up the machine.

So, not at all textile related, but still an interesting talking point collectable.

A Busy But Fun Sunday

Our Sunday got off to an early start as we headed out to have a look around the Newbridge Swap Meet.  Our intention was to have a wander around, chat with people we know who are also wandering around and buy an egg and bacon roll and coffee for breakfast, and nothing else.  You can imagine how that went……

Of course we did buy and egg and bacon roll and coffee and chat to lots of people we knew, but there was a bit of other shopping as well.  

This is my little haul.  I know my sewing room walls are full, but I can always do a juggle to fit in another lovely old poker work doiley press.  I have Mum’s Dorcas pin tin, but it is scratched from use, so it was nice to find this one in great condition for next to nothing and how could I resist that safety pin.  No, it isn’t a nappy pin, although it looks like one.  It would have to be for a baby giant.  It was also suggested it is for a kilt, but would leave a huge hole in it, and I’m also sure it wouldn’t be a knitting stitch holder, as it isn’t long enough and it takes quite a bit of strength to open it.  

Mick bought an old oil can and a thingummy for a tow bar, which he was very happy about.

A few books also came home with us and this one was bought solely for the title.  I started to read it, then skimmed part of it and then read about the last third.  It was OK, but not really the sort of story I normally read, although it does get good reviews.  I have to stop buying books solely because they have a textile related title.  However, I will count this as having read a book this month.

That was the first part of the day.  After lunch we hopped in Rosie the Suzuki Sierra and went out to our mate’s place again to get more blackberries.  They were much more plentiful this time around.  Most of these have been frozen.

However, we did have some for breakfast this morning. Yummo!

Then, in the late afternoon and evening I went up to the church to assist with the Twilight Pioneer Cemetery Wander, as part of the Bicentenary celebrations.  This was to take place on both Saturday and Sunday evenings, but Saturday got washed out.  

We had a little rain at the start, but all went ahead last night. I think everyone found the stories of some of the area’s first settlers who are buried here to be really interesting.

The sunset we ended up experiencing, looking over town, was beautiful.

As we enjoyed supper in front of the church.

A lovely way to end the day.

I’m On a Roll - Chookshed Challenge Done

I didn’t have anything on today, so it was the perfect chance to play with my new Number 10 from the Chookshed Challenge.

My Number 10 (as switched out) is to MAKE A SEA GLASS MINI QUILT.  I had popped this little collection of crumbs in a container to play with.  Unlike most of my chosen projects, this wasn’t something that had been hanging around in the sewing room, rather something that I had just recently thought of doing.  It would be so nice to get it made while fresh in my mind.

I’ve taken lots of photos along the way, so be prepared, as I talk through the process.

I do love sea glass and have a nice collection that we amassed mainly on the Isle of Man in 2018.  It fits nicely in its pretty jar.

Well, I made a glorious mess.

The plan was to make a mini to fit on my little stand that Santa is displayed on each Christmas.

I figured that the best way to work this out would be to mark out the dimensions on my cutting mat, fiddle around to make a heart template and then fill it up.

Not only do I keep all crazy little crumbs of fabric, I also keep crazy little scraps of appliqué paper. You never know when you can use them for small appliqué shapes.  Well, I made good use of both in this project.  So many of the little pieces had their shape determined by the shapes of those scraps.  Did it make a dent in the scraps?  Yes, for the appliqué paper, as they are all used up.  Definitely not for the fabric crumbs, but that was to be expected.

Lou and I have been having chats about overthinking quilt layouts etc., and I was determined not to overthink this. Having said that, I cut out what I thought would be good colours and laid them out and then decided that there needed to be more contrast and rearranged, and replaced fabrics and generally fiddled around with the placement quite a few times before finally settling on a layout.

Next question was what background fabric to use.  I didn’t want to use white, it would be too stark.  I chose one fabric that I thought looked like sand, but when I placed a few pieces on it, it just looked dull and dirty.  Another looked good, but there wasn’t quite enough.  In the end I settled on a piece of seeded homespun that I had in a box.

Then I taped the heart templates to the fabric and filled it in, and yes, I tweaked it a bit more.

All ready to quilt.  But how? Most sea glass quilts that I have seen have the patches raw edge appliquéd.  But, I had seen one version where there were wavy horizontal lines quilts across it and I really liked that look.  A bit like ripples in the sand.  Besides, that would be much easier and this piece doesn’t exactly have to be durable.

I had great fun doing this and it didn’t take long.  Don’t you love the texture on the back. 

And the front.

Now, how to bind it?  With my Santa mini, I just bagged it out and added triangles to the back corners as I went to clip over the corners of the frame.  That was not going to work on this one, as the quilting goes right to the edge,  However, I didn’t want a normal binding, so it was time to learn how to do a faced binding. 

It wasn’t that bad, and a little different to how I expected.  I love to learn a new techinque when I work on a project.

And, here it is, all done.  A nice neat finish.  I probably don’t need the triangles on the bottom, but I can add a dowel if I choose.

Now for the front.

Ta da!  On my little shelf in the kitchen, together with my jar of sea glass and a framed picture, which is minuscule shells.

Perfect for summer and Valentine’s Day.  I love it.

This was such a fun little make.  Not my normal style of work, but something quick and a bit improv.  There was no stress or pressure to have it made for any purpose, or time frame, or to get a kit or UFO worked on.  So refreshing.

Oh, and it is primarily blue, so also ticks the RSC box.  Bonus.

Off to a Flying Start

After I added my post here yesterday, it was time to make those Rainbow Scrap Challenge Blocks.  

Ta da!  Nice and simple.  Pop over to So Scrappy to see what else has been achieved.

Then, it was time to start making a beautiful mess.  I’m having a lovely time playing with these scraps.

When the weather cooled down in the evening we ventured into the garden.

It was time to dig the potatoes we planted in the tyres back in September.  This was the first time we have grown potatoes, although my Dad always grew them, so I had been involved as a kid.

We filled a bucket with 6.5kgs of potatoes from five seed potatoes.  A lot of them are quite small.  Was it an economical project?  We probably broke even.  I think I paid about $7 for the seed potatoes.  However, we didn’t plant them all and gave some to out neighbour.  It would have been profitable if we had planted them all.  Will we do it again?  Yes, probably, as they are easy to grow and fairly maintenance free.  And of course, it is always nice to have home grown anything.  Now to enjoy eating them.

OK, back to the sewing room to play.