Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A Crafty Week - 15 Minutes with Kate

I am happy to report I had a great week this week, probably helped by the 5 days I didn't have to go to work because of the Easter long weekend.

Tuesday I did nada which didn't auger well for the rest of the week. Instead of sewing  I made a mountain of fudge and rocky road and bagged up a load of Easter gifts for people at work so my entire evening was taken up doing that. Sometimes real life intrudes and that's just the way it is.

Wednesday - I attached the binding front and back to the Sparkle All the Way Christmas Quilt. Yes - I cheated. I machined that binding on. What's even more shocking is I used zig zag. And guess what - my head didn't explode.  This quilt was a PhD from August of last year. I'm glad to see the back of it. This years Christmas quilt is so much prettier.


Thursday - I attached the binding to the front of Little P's Go Crows quilt in preparation for hand sewing it to the back .

Friday and Saturday - I hand sewed the binding down on the back of the above mentioned quilt. Another finish. Extra brownie points should be added because I also taught Little P  to scream "Go Crows" at the top of his lungs.


And here he is examining all the different Elmo's and having quite an earnest conversation that only he and Elmo understood.


I bought Christmas ribbons on sale  ...yep I'm getting in early this year. Now I need one of those ribbon holder doodads because I am amassing quite a collection of ribbons.



Sunday - I finished two stitched blocks for the 'Tis The Season quilt. I'm hoping to find gorgeous fabric this week so I can complete the blocks as I finish stitching them. Naturally I have 100 metres of Christmas fabric in my sewing room and nothing goes well with what I have in mind for these blocks. I'm pretty happy with how they're turning out given my track record with hand sewing. An even stitch length would be nice but one can't have everything.




And I only just realised my reindeer and my birds are blind...poor eye-less things. Tough.

Monday - I finally got round to making 4 Paper Pieced Blocks for the PP Quilt Along.   I'm hoping to get a load of these done this week since I'm so far behind I'm probably never going to catch up. I've already amended my original "I'm going to do a full sized quilt" to "this would make a great baby blanket ".


And I started another stitchery for 'Tis the Season. It's actually really hard to stitch in a moving car, especially if you're driving.


I'm kidding. Mr. P was driving.

I'm pretty happy with this week. 2 quilt finishes , a new project and two stitcheries.  I'm feeling like the Queen of the Crafting world!

Hop on over to Kate's for more 15 minute reports.




18 comments:

Marg said...

Your head didn't explode from not being able to use a sewing machine all weekend either, well done.
You certainly achieved quite a bit during the week.
Little P's quilt is still the wrong colour.
Aha the grass is green those photos can't have been taken at your house!!!!
I love the blocks you are doing for hand stitching, are you sure you don't have any Xmas fabric that you can use in that huge stash of Xmas fabric at Casa PJ's.
I like the fabrics you are using in the pp blocks.

seabreezequilts said...

WOW I am impressed. Great weeks acheivement. WIll have to do my round up when I get home from work today.

Paulette said...

Good golly, you were the busy bee! Listen, machine sewing the binding is NOT cheating. It is just a different technique is all. I love that Little P is communicating with Elmo. Way to go on the paper pieced blocks! They are stunning. And finally, since when to reindeer have to see? Isn't that what Rudolph is for?

Tracy said...

Shay, very pretty...one day I'll have to take a photo of what I quilted; pillows...maybe on Q for the A to Z Challenge I'll take photos of them!
you do great work!

Kate said...

Wow! That's quite a week, 6 out of 7 days and two quilt completions!

Very cool about teaching little P to scream "Go Crows". My Guy taught our kiddo to howl (like a wolf) at the moon when she was about that age. (Why I have no idea other than it appears to be some father/daughter bounding thing).

Love your stitchery blocks. French knots work well for eyes should you be so inclined to grant the critters in the blocks the gift of sight.

9patchnurse said...

Wooooo! Great job. I really love that xmas quilt, I really need to get more red with white dots. I used mine up and it's such a great fabric to have. Your stitcheries are fabulous. Great motivators for me. Thank you.

thea said...

Great crafty week and in the middle of all that Eastery goodness! I love the crow quilt and obviously Little P does too. I think the stitching is great, I am almost tempted to try it (emphasis on almost) -- maybe next year.

You are the queen!!

AnnieO said...

Proud of you! Especially on the embroidery--isn't it way easier than you thought? I find it very relaxing.

Yay for finished quilts! I do machine sewn bindings a lot, especially on quilts that are going to be washed bunches. Good on you for your perserverance.

Marti said...

Fudge, Rocky Road, and I heard you say brownies even if it wasn't something you made. I wish I worked with you! Wow you've been busy this week. Good to know that machine binding won't cause permanent damage to one's head, though I really like putting on binding by hand. Next time I'm in a big hurry, I'll machine it.

Elizabeth said...

Wow! You always get so much done! Little P is adorable with his quilt, your stitch work is beautiful, your paper piecing is amazing and I love the Christmas coins! Great work! 15 minutes really adds up!

xo -El

Kirsten said...

I love the picture of Little P. communicating with Elmo - such a smart kid - must be Grandmas genes:-)
And I am really proud of you, although I wonder if I should stop reading your blog. You frustrate me:-) You ARE the crafting queen and I really like your stichery. Where did you get the pattern for that...I am tempted to try that.

Deb said...

By hokey Shay, did you have time to sleep at all. What a massive achievement, well done you. Pleased someone is doing something!

Lorraine said...

I am with Marg...that quilt is still the wrong colour...and fancy getting a child to yell out swear words! :) Nice that you have the quilt finished though because we won't have to look at it again! LOL
You have been busy ....away for the weekend....and crafting up a storm - I didn't do much stitching over the weekend..but have a bit planned for the next couple of days which I have taken off work....because I am l-a-z-y!

Leanne said...

It's a wonder your fingers aren't bleeding, with all that sewing.

Mistea said...

Well done on the finishes - who said birds and reindeer need eyes when they are stitched. That quilt is going to be lovely, like that it requires shopping - can't wait to see the new fabric to go with it.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Unknown said...

ok, just tired from reading and viewing your achievements! wow, I am so looking forward to getting a bit more active as this foot heals.
am knitting still. what will I do with all those socks?

Baa-Me Kniits said...

See what you can do when you have no computer and no machine...WOW! I love that block for the PP quilt along and the christmas stitching is lovely.

Check out my Easter post, Lucy is going to be doing the blogtour, can she come to your house?? Hope you had a nice Easter :-)

Anonymous said...

I think the reindeer and birds need eyes - they would be thanking you forever if you granted them the gift of two small French knots each (2 second job, go on Shay). Reindeer would look particularly fabulous with wonky eyebrows too. I love the picture of Little P and a hundred Elmos - too cute and I think the colours are rather funky and good for a little boy, GO CROWS lol - I have no idea what it means but it sounds good :0)