Tuesday, October 18, 2011

15 Minute Challenge with Kate

Thanks to the magnificent Kate for hosting another week of the 15 minute challenge. I'm posting early this week, although it's Tuesday here already. In case I haven't mentioned this in the last 5 minutes I'm going away this week so Im working against the clock.

It's been a reasonably good week for sewing at Maison Pyjamas. I've gone fabric basket crazy.  You may recall my disastrous attempt last week. Not to be beaten by fabric and bad mojo I went ahead and tried again.   I'm happy to report success.

For a friend who is having a birthday this week

For my scrappy Swap partner - Side 1 

Side 2

For a special friend 


A little bit of quilting happened on the Blue and Brown Quilt. I have a lot more to do ! I'm making this a priority after I get back from holidays.


I started a new stitchery from one of Michelle's patterns. 


I played with some selvages.


And the Merry Go Round quilt got quite a workout. Getting to this stage was not without a significant amount of unpicking and quite a bit of swearing. I had a case of "everything I touch turns to s***" on  Sunday.


Can anyone else see where I managed to stuff up?



Discovering I had sewed them together upside down did not thrill my heart. 


Unpicking is not my favourite thing this week. Neither was realising I was 9 blocks short when I thought I was finished with the block making! Hopefully my relationship with this quilt will be repaired by a little "absence makes the heart grow fonder" therapy.



Current tally on the "7 quilts finished before the end of the year" deal:
1 completed 
1 ready to be quilted (by me ) 

1 in the process of being quilted by me
2 ready to be quilted (by the quilting guru ) 
Lots of progress on the Merry Go Round Quilt this week 

No progress on the poor Hourglass Quilt (sorry Thea!)

31 comments:

Three Birds Inspired said...

Look at all the baskets! And I am loving the Merry Go Round...

seabreezequilts said...

Love your baskets they look very professional. Reminds me I have to get started on Teacher pressies soon as well as pressies for my quilting pals oh well after Queensland.... yippee. But I do have unpicking in my future looked at the photo of my quilt and have realised I need to swap a couple of blocks bugger. Have a lovely holiday.

Char said...

I knew you could do it. The baskets are great! I love the stitchery the selvage blocks and since you know I like brights, the Merry Go Round quilt is gorgeous!
I guess you deserve a holiday after all that work.

Karen said...

A big check mark on success with handles! Love the baskets, they are addicting!

Canadian Abroad said...

A bottle of wine shared with a friend will make everything seem finer and better. Can't wait to see the holiday pics! At least the ones you manage to take in focus!!

rosie said...

All I can say is .... lucky friends....

Michelle said...

What terrific baskets! Way to get back on that horse and ride. :-)

Merry Go Round quilt. *Sniff. It's being mean to you because you refuse to give it to me. ;-) LOL!

Have a wonderful vacation!

Keep Stitchin' said...

I envy you, you look like you had so much fun! Lucky friends!

Jennifer said...

Thank goodness for that little unpicker, they are worth their weight in gold aren't they.....have a great holiday!

Helsie said...

I knew you would conquer those bags and wow did you ever! Lovely. Your friends will love them.
Have I seen the merry go round quilt before? Don't remember it. It is so striking. I enlarged the photo so I could see the blocks and I am in awe of anyone who matches up like you have done. My hero!
Cheers

Anonymous said...

Wowee! Look at you go miss "I can't make bags!" Ummmm I think we can safely say you have mastered them now yes? Yes!
Next up master of the zipper ;)
Yip and you know I'm not going to stop bugging you about it. One day you'll give in just to shut me up LOL
Have fun on your holiday!

Brenda said...

Yay for you!

Kate said...

Okay, you're making me want to do a selvage quilt...

Razzle Dazzle Quilter said...

All that in 15 minutes!!! Wonder Woman! Love the fabric baskets. I have often looked at the pattern. They are on my one day list.
Your merry go round quilt is looking fantastic!
Have a great break.
Cheers
Linda

Deb said...

Gosh I have been out of the loop. Where are you whizzing off to on holiday, somewhere exciting and relaxing I hope. You have been amazingly busy with all of your sewing this week, wow have you managed any sleep?? Have a fab holidays.

AnnieO said...

You're making lots of lovely fabric reappear in baskets! Excellent. And progress on many other fronts...wish I could say as much about my quilt goal list!

Kirsten said...

love those baskets...and ALL of thequilts...have a great trip!

Marg said...

Love the baskets, they all look gorgeous.
I really love the fabrics you've used in the blue and brown quilt.
Poo to the MGR quilt, don't you hate that when you sew bits together around the wrong way. That happens to me way too much.
Susan - "A" bottle of wine? bwah ha ha ha haaaaaaaaa

Michelle Ridgway said...

Your baskets are just gorgeous. I love them all. Thrilled to see "Skates" getting stitched.

Mistea said...

Lovely Merry Go Round - that sure is one happy quilt - Big smiles here!
Those baskets are very pretty and sure are lots of fun.
About the zip - you have lots of practice at straight lines - it'll be a cinch!
enjoy your break in the sunshine!

Nana B said...

Jealous!! I love those bags!! They have been on my to do list for too long.

Kris said...

You productive woman! I love, love, love everything you have been working on this week. Have a wonderful time away!

Elizabeth said...

You always amaze me! I love everything you did this week! I think my favorite was the little bag for for scrappy swap partner. The colors and fabrics are just so cheerful! Nicely done.

That blue and brown quilt is so pretty. And I love the new stitchery. Your string blocks are AMAZING! and that Merry-Go-Round quilt blows me away. I hope the 'absence' therapy works for you because that is going to be one fantastic quilt.

Good for you! Wow!

xo -E

P.S. I was just a little bit proud to see the notebook in that first picture. It really is OK to use it. If you use up all the pages, we can always cut more for it.

TheLab said...

Can't WAIT to see the blue and brown quilt finished.

Love the baskets!

Kristie said...

Good progress this week! I am not a fan of unpicking, either, yet it seems to happen all the time....

Especially love your little scrappy bag!

Rachaeldaisy said...

You are such a busy bee making lots of honey!

Anonymous said...

Such a colourful post Shay - I love it. From the baskets, to the stitchery to the patchwork - gorgeousness by the bucketload. But oooopsy about the stitching error - bummer! Are you going somewhere? (kidding) lol

Paulette said...

You did it! You conquered fabric baskets in a big way! They are all so, so pretty. I am just so proud of you.

Whoa, I must have missed or forgotten about the blue and brown quilt, but I'm really crushing on that particular blue fabric there. It's going to be stunning, I can tell.

It looks like you're making excellent progress on your goal. I should be so determined. Happy stitching!

Marti said...

Oh wow! I love the merry go round quilt! It's a real looker.

How did you do the selvage blocks? Are they sewn to a solid block or just sewn together and ironed flat? They look good to me.

Kate said...

Wow! You've definitely been on a roll. Great projects. I love all your baskets, very cute. The Merry Go Round quilt is absolutely gorgeous! It will be worth all the unpicking when it's done.

Enjoy your trip. I'd say stay out of trouble, but then what fun would that be?

Mindy said...

I'm so glad to see you've tried the baskets again, they turned out great! The Merry go Round looked intimidating to me to start with. I think the angles scare me. Geometry is not my strong suit. Kudos to you for sticking with it. It's looking so good. I like the way you do a little on one project and a little or a lot on another, it makes it so interesting to see what you've been up to!