Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Dusk!

Howdy Hey there ladies and gents! I've finished making blocks for my quilt! That means it'll only take about a day to sew the blocks into rows, and the rows into one unit, and to add the borders! Then all I have to do is buy some batting, choose and buy fabric for the back, baste everything, truss it up, quilt the dang thing, and bind it! All this CAN be done in the month before Willie comes home, but probably won't be.

Exciting things are coming up! Tomorrow, as a big surprise for both of us, Katie will be on a layover in Toronto (on her way to Halifax, but I'm jealous about that) for a few hours, so once I'm finished at W&W for the day tomorrow, I'll head over to the airport and maybe get some precious books back. Oh right, and see a dear friend who I wish I got to see much more often.

Whom? I should know that.

Then, on Friday, heading to Ottawa for race weekend! The moms came back from the States with a whole trunkload of beer, which I only just found out is NOT "just because" but is to be brought with us. Which is fine by me, since a) I'M not running, and b) it's also my birthday!!! But not my 25th like I keep thinking it is. It's really getting embarrassing not to be able to remember how old I am when people ask. I guess it's just been the longest possible amount of time since I had a birthday, so my memory's getting a little shady.

The down side to life right now: JUNE BUGS. EVERYWHERE. GROSS.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

putting on armour



Apparently I've got a hell of a day coming up at work. As preparation, just watching some Flight of the Conchords.

And enjoying some heat, and some flowers.

AND SOME COFFEE.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Blom Brothers' Birthday Bash

 Oh yeah, I have a blog that I should maybe update sometimes. Not too much happening in the past weeks, other than celebrations for my brothers' birthdays. Lots of work, keeping busy, spending some time with the niece. Wanted an adorable picture, but she saw me and made this face...
 But still, enjoyed some excellent sausages on buns, with a bottle of Tavel, which apparently is one of the only authentic rosés.
 It's quite delicious.
 On the quilting front, I'm getting there. I finished the cutting!
 There was a lot of it.
 And some piecing.
And more piecing. NOW I have to make the star blocks. But then I just sew 'em all together, add some borders, and the quilt top is done! Yeah!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Change of Plans

 So I've already decided not to design my own quilt. There's just too much I don't know and should practice on other designs first. Like bias cutting! I've chosen a Secret Gardens design, which involves a whole bunch of diagonal cuts and stripes and that sort of thing.
 Looks pretty complicated! I'm still using my original inspiration for the colours, and I've now pre-washed and colour-tested all of the fabric. The one on the right? I wish it showed up better, because I think it's my favourite.
 The processes are all different when quilt-making, but luckily I love every part of it. Even the colour-testing.
 Unfortunately, the red fabric is far from colourfast. I pre-washed it twice, but there's a good chance it will still bleed, meaning that the finished quilt likely won't be machine-washable. So sad.
 Doing some bias cutting! Enjoying the colours together! But I had to stop because my sewing machine started making this terrible clunking noise, and then I ran out of thread. I've clean and oiled the whole thing and it's running smoothly, but I won't be able to get back to sewing until tomorrow night. Some time between then and now, I'll have to go to the store for thread and sewing machine needles.
 Now I've got a bunch of these! They're pretty.