I'm constantly struck by the generosity of crafty peeps. People give of their time, creativity and effort and encourage and support one another with their projects, successes and occasional failures. Sometimes people give practical support too and such was the case this weekend. I had a lovely day Saturday and my own private free motion quilting lesson thanks to Kris from Life at Rosemary Hill who gave up an entire afternoon to come and show me how it's done. Now I'm not saying she had to stay the whole afternoon because I bolted the front door and told her she wasn't leaving until I had a clue. I prefer to think it might have been because she is one fabulous lady in every sense of the word. Plus I bribed her with cake. Naturally we both had our cameras charged and present. Naturally we didn't take any pictures. Bummer, because we are both gorgeous babes in real life.
In between gossiping (no reputations were murdered or besmirched I swear ) I learned how to get the throat plate off my machine (that's right I'd never done it before- doesn't the machine service dude do that? ) , I learned how to clean out all that fluff (I filled a wheelie bin ) and I learned how to pull up a bobbin thread to the top of the fabric. I know you're all wondering how I managed to sew for so long without knowing this basic stuff aren't you? Me too!
This was my first real attempt at FM quilting with a slight clue of what I was doing. It made so much more sense once someone explained it to me. I swear I've googled and read tutorials until I almost went blind, but yesterday something just clicked. I think. Now it's all about practice. So this week, I'm going to do 15 minutes a day and see how much improvement I've made at the end of the week. Thank you Kris for giving up your Saturday afternoon to stop my infernal whining about how I can't FM quilt. The rest is up to me.
This was my first real attempt at FM quilting with a slight clue of what I was doing. It made so much more sense once someone explained it to me. I swear I've googled and read tutorials until I almost went blind, but yesterday something just clicked. I think. Now it's all about practice. So this week, I'm going to do 15 minutes a day and see how much improvement I've made at the end of the week. Thank you Kris for giving up your Saturday afternoon to stop my infernal whining about how I can't FM quilt. The rest is up to me.
Otherwise it was a really quiet weekend aside from my squeals of excitement when Mr. P brought me fairy floss home from the hardware store. I'm still wondering which department they sell that in...
Mr. P cooked Kirsten's Lemony Garlic Chicken and it rocked our taste buds. Miss P's verdict was "Thats the best meal I've had since I moved out of home". She took home the leftovers. It really bothered Mr. P that his didn't look exactly like Kirsten's and I'm starting to think that if Kirsten stopped posting recipes my family would starve to death.
I made a cover for my new diary and did a couple of Christmas projects I cant show here.
And these mystery objects got started. More on those next weekend.
I'm starting to wonder whether I'll ever quilt again. I am ignoring all my WIP's because I've completely lost interest but have vowed not to start anything new until the WIP's are done. See my problem?
23 comments:
Now that's your first mistake. Not starting anything new until you finish something. I know it's logical and makes sense, but it just doesn't work for quilting! I like the book cover. Great fabric.
Oh, and I love that you think that someone coming over to boss you around came from the goodness of their heart. Lol! I had fun too and it was good to actually meet you!
Oh, And which hardware store had fairy floss? Mine just has a sausage sizzle. I need to get a new hardware store!
Oh goody, I'll be able to send you all my quilts to be quilted, yay!!!!
I'm glad Kris posted a comment already as we would have only had your word that she came out alive!
Hmm no veges with the chicken!!!
The journal cover is gorgeous, I love the fabrics you chose. Lovely bright happy colours.
Are you building a wall? Making dice to sell at the markets?
I thought hardware stores only ever had sausage sizzles, yay for Mr P finding one that sells fairy floss.
I'm with Kris - fairy floss at the hardware store?? I need to go there.
Great that you have a clue at FM quilting - when you've got it all sorted you may like to let me in on the tricks!
Great cover for your diary. You gotta get going on something new then the old things will push their way in the queue.
Enjoy the week and all that practice.
Now you have bamboozled me....what are you up to??
Love the cover for your journal as well, very stylish!
PS I saw a babushka doll set of salt and pepper shakers this weekend and thought of you, sorry I didn't buy them and now I can't remember where I saw them??
okay I spent most of my "snow" day fm quilting and it set me over the edge..the thread keep snagging/shredding/jamming at the needle. 4 needles later i switched thread ... got better but not much ... thankfully it's a window warmer and not something immportant ... send her my direction (and tell her to wear warm clothes!)
You are getting into modern art now, Mrs. P? I just took my machine to the service guy yesterday. It's been in the attic for, oh, 10 years. But your craftiness makes me want to do something, so we'll see. I can't believe, looking around his store, how much sewing machines have changed! Does your machine have a computer? I'm thinking candy floss is like our cotton candy? Can't ever find that anywhere around here unless there's a carnival.
Cool that you are learning to FMQ. I justified a new machine so I could do that and I haven't even tried (had the machine since March - ooops!). Hope your lessons go well.
Sorry to be dense, but is "fairy frost" what we in the US know as "cotton candy"? If so, I like your term for it better!
Filled a wheelie bin, eh? Not sure I believe you but I thought that fairy floss was thread lint at first.
Glad you got some private lessons and your brain immediately responded. It's nice when that happens. Nice diary cover. I hope you do start something knew as Kris suggested. The human brain is really only stimulated by things that are NEW.
Did I miss the post wherein you talked about building an igloo? What in blazes are those white blocks for?
Oh, I'm so glad to hear your FMQ lesson went well. Sometimes it takes just the right kind of instruction. You're a hands-on learner, it sounds like.
Mmm, the chicken looks good. And I love that journal cover!
Oh, there were a couple of good words in her for if you take up Translation Tuesday again: Wheelie bin = Wheel barrel and fairy floss = cotton candy.
OK, so yay for FMQ and you! I'm excited for you.
I'm very intrigued with all of those mystery objects all painted white. I think I count nine of them?
Oh and your journal cover is gorgeous. LOVE those fabrics!
Glad you had a really nice weekend.
xo -El
I love FMQ - now everything I quilt has some thrown in there somewhere - be warned, it is addictive lol.
Those white blocks are very intriguing - the mind boggles though I love the igloo idea above.
Great book cover and the chicken looks scrummy (so does the candy floss mind) though not together!
My machine is due a de-linting though I'd better wait till my wheelie bin is empty - it's amazing what builds up down there under that cover plate.
I think your chicken looks gorgeous! I'm so glad everyone liked it and I feel honored to garner a mention, a link, and a photo in your post :)
I love cotton candy (as it's called here, but the previous poster was right - we can only get it at amusement parks or carnivals). Maybe your hardware stores are different than ours...
I have no idea what those brick-like things are, but I expect we'll find out soon (I hope so, anyway).
Kirsten
So cool! How wonderful of Kris to give you private FMQ lessons. It's interesting how watching a live person demonstrate and being able to ask a question right at the moment can make a difference.
Yay for Mr. P, and Kirsten's recipes.
Love the fabric on your diary cover.
Hmmmm. How curious (about the block thingies).
As for whether you'll ever quilt again, I'm feeling the same way.
Why does it not surprise me that Kris did that wonderful thing and came round to teach FM'ing, she is such a hunny just like you.
Chicken looks yummy but give me the fairy floss and I'd be like a pig in muck!!!! yummy
Fairy floss? Is that Aussie for cotton candy? That's what it looks like anyway. I like the name Fairy Floss better than cotton candy. There is nothing cottony about cotton candy, but it coud definitely be considered fairy flossy.
I'm with P. Are you building an igloo? I'm very curious now.
The chicken looked yummy, and I'm rather anti dead animal in my kitchen. Since it was in your kitchen, I thought it looked great.
So that is what you were doing while the pageant was on or was it after the pageant. Glad you got a lesson in. I thought the fairy floss was the fluff you got out of your machine lol.
How wonderful to have a teacher nearby. It took me ages to work out how to get the bobbin thread up to the top even looking at instructions. Then when it finally sunk in it was so easy.
I don't even want to speculate what is going on in the garden, with you it could literally be anything!
I love that fairy floss comes from the hardware store. Actually I love that fairy floss comes from anywhere (here we call it cotton candy, and I have never developed a taste for it)). But I'm smitten by the idea of going in and asking for 5 pounds of 10-penny nails, 3 lengths of copper pipe, and a fairy floss.
Boy, I am envious that you have your own tutor, cook and cotton candy.
Are those salt licks for deer? ha!
Wow...what a fun time the quilting sounds like...and that lemon chicken looks scrumptious.
It is wonderful how many neat people there are in the world, isn't it!
fairy floss? like cotton candy that you eat?
i love me a good mystery....now let's see...no don't tell me...they're square...giant sugar cubes...no, they're slick...about ten of 'em....necklace beads....no they're too large and spray painted....
i give up.
oooh i know someone else who would really like one of those fancy smanshy diary covers??? seeings as I have mine back from the world of things that are lost!!!
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