WOW: Ouch! My Sitting Down WOW!

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Well, this is me today. I can't show you my face as I'm grimacing and have Einstein wild hair.

Definitely not fit for the camera. Why? I have pinched a nerve in my lower back and oh boy, do I feel it!

It's all I can do to sit wrapped up and stay cosy. I'm taking anti inflammatories and getting up to walk every hour for as long as I can before the pain is too severe and I have to sit down again.

I am so frustrated. I have so much to do, but am stuck sitting down. I'm really sorry to have missed an opportunity to see a Love Entwined Quilt hanging on display this past weekend at a local quilt show because I couldn't even sit in the car, let alone walk into the venue. I'm not catching up online much either as I feel sick after 20 minutes of looking at a screen. So I'm spending this time reading books and drawing sketches. I'm trying to see the positives of this injury imposed slow down.What else can I do? Hopefully I'll design some extra quilts during my downtime. 

The worst bit? The way I sustained my injury: sneezing whilst I was bending over.

Honestly, it's so ridiculous I can't even believe it. 

Please send me all your positive healing thoughts, I need as many as I can get!

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

BOM 2018: My 'Love Always' Background Options

I'm so excited about my Love Always quilts. I'm making three of them and just one will have a dark background. I thought plain black was just too dark and dramatic for me, so I opted for charcoal. My plan is to have one dark background, one light background and one classic red and white version. For the dark background, I'm currently looking at three backgrounds.

This basic grey by Moda is gorgeous. Actually I love the whole grunge range.  I always think grunge is the perfect background in any colour, I love the subtle variation when you look at the whole length of fabric, so I was delighted to discover that Moda do a grunge in grey. It's a proper grey and it's gorgeous. I can definitely see my Fassett brights popping on the background.

But then..

I saw this grey grunge in polka dots. Now, I'm rather partial to polka dots and this fabric just called out to me. I couldn't ignore it. So I'm trying to decide between the two. The dots are gorgeous and will definitely add an exquisite element of fun to my Love Always blocks, which I think will work really well with the Fassett fabrics I'll be using in my applique.They're both grunge, but the shades of grey are very different.

And I still have my Fassett background, below. I originally purchased this because I saw a talented quilter in the Queen's Garden BOM Group, Sylvi Sealy, making up blocks with this background and I could see how well it would work for my dark background Love Always.

It's called 'charcoal' and photographs much darker than it appears in real life. In these pics, it's looking more realistic - it's a kind of teal shade with charcoal dots. 

Overall, the look is definitely blue greenish.

and I just don't like it!

It's a gorgeous print for something else, but I don't like it with my Love Always blocks.

I feel it would make my quilt look very teal-ish, which isn't the look I'm aiming for.

Although, now I have quite a lot of it, 

so I might just go ahead and design a teal inspired quilt in order to use it up!

So it's a choice between my polka dot or plain grunge. 

And honestly, I am completely divided on which would work better.

My next step is to create my first Love Always block and audition it against the backgrounds and make my final decision then. I really love them both!

Love Always is my current paid BOM. 

It's an applique and pieced quilt. 

You can start this BOM today! 

Simply click the quilt image to learn more.

WOW: My Future Background Stories..

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

So, I'm getting all my prep down to charge ahead through my Love Always quilt. It's such a gorgeous quilt that I'm making 3 of them. Yes, 3! I've been putting off making a start until ALL the fabrics had arrived so I could 'power' through them all at once. Then I realized that now might be the time to invest in a Brother Scan N Cut machine because there's so much fusible to be cut - having it done for me would be such a time saver. But then again, I feel they're too pricey and simply haven't done it yet. So, I've been working on Morning Glory until the time was right. I'm still undecided on that, but at least the backgrounds for my dark Love Always are lined up, ready to choose.

Which one will it be? Come back on Friday when I finally commit!

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

BOM 2018: Morning Glory: How I made the Star Block

You've already seen my set aside Star Block of a few days ago, here's how I made it:

 These are my cut pieces for one block

 I marked my seam allowance with a dot so I would know when to stop, and then stitched. Do the same on all 4 x pairs.

 This is two halves of the block. Each consists of two units. 

Make sure all the seams go in one direction. 

That way, when you join the centre, the centre will butt together. 

 Joining in the middle 

 You can see that my seams are all turned smoothly in an anti clockwise direction. You can go clockwise too, what matters is that you keep it consistent. After sewing the middle together, I open the very middle seams that were bunched to lay them down flatter. 

 This is the front. I added the triangles at this stage

 You can see from this seam that I started from the centre and sewed down on each side. 

It's a Y seam. 

 Lastly, I added the squares 

 And again, I stitched from my my pre marked dot down. Then turn and repeat on the other side. 

 At this point I turn

 And stitch from the other side down 

 And this is the other side. Again, you can see my pen dot mark.

 Fully stitched

 This is how I pressed my star block from the back

And the front. 

As I showed in my previous star block post, I check all my blocks  against my 5.5 inch square. 

They always measure 5.5 inches because I keep my seam allowances at a quarter of an inch. 

Some people do a fat quarter or skinny quarter seam allowance. I always prefer a thread thickness less than a quarter. That way, when you turn the seam over, that thread width difference always creates the perfect quarter inch seam. I suggest you test on a scrap of fabric or make a sample block to work out your best seam allowance width for you own hand. There's nothing worse than having a Le Moyne star block that is too small. Neat, accurate seams ensure that this won't happen to you. 

Morning Glory is my current paid BOM. It's an applique and pieced quilt. 

You can start this BOM today! 

Simply click the quilt image to learn more.

BOM 2018: Morning Glory Part 4

This month it's time for another classic block. 

It's all about the stars. And how lovely they are!

Here's my front and back

and a close up of my centre front seam. It's pretty good, but there's still room for improvement. 

I suppose I'll have a perfect one to show you by the time I make the 16th block!

Don't forget to iron your seams. I'm using starch (which is optional) so I have a crisp and neat block to sew into position when it's time. As I iron down my seams, I move them to the side moving in a clockwise rotation, I find this creates a nice flat block.

OK, 1 x down, 15 x to go!
Tomorrow I'll show you how I did it..

Morning Glory is my current paid BOM. It's an applique and pieced quilt. 

You can start this BOM today! 

Simply click the quilt image to learn more.

WOW: Morning Roast Chickens..

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Thank heaven for husbands. My DH was up at 5.30am prepping these chooks and getting them in the oven before I'd even stirred from my warm, cosy bed. They're being prepped for my sewing group breakfast this morning. My job is to bring the mini chicken rolls. My DH is already out of the house getting fresh sourdough bread rolls from the bakery and last night I made fresh mayonnaise. I was feeling completely smug and well organized until I realized I had run out of disposable gloves, so now my DH has to stop by the supermarket too. Thank goodness I have some help this morning so I can get out on time. 

It's going to be a morning of shared food, encouragement and a round table 'showcasing' what each new sewing student has managed to create these last 3 months. It's a lovely way to end the term and enjoy each other's company before breaking for Easter.

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

FREE: 'Queen's Garden Easter Party' Table Runner!

Table Runner Finished Size: 44 x 24 inches

The hunt is on! This Easter, a mischievous rabbit has snuck into the Queen’s Garden Easter Party and is on the loose, running amuck between the flower beds. Could a naughty bunny be any cuter? Let your imagine and colour run wild as you make this gorgeous table runner to compliment your Queen’s Garden quilt. This table runner is a whole lot of fun and is the perfect project to make alongside your Queen’s Garden quilt. 

It's completely free and available to all my Facebook Group members (download it from "files") and for my BOM 2018 members, it's already in your download area. 

You know how much I love seeing your work, so be sure to join my Facebook BOM Group and share your own thoughts and ideas as you make your block.

Queen's Garden is the free BOM for 2018

We are currently up to Part 3. You can join anytime and download all missed parts.

The Queen's Garden Easter Party Table Runner is now available to all members as a free bonus Easter project. To take part, simply join my BOM Group OR the Queen's Garden BOM Group (this BOM is so popular it has it's own separate group!)

WOW: Bouncing Back After The Flu

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

This past week I've been battling a nasty virus, coughing and spluttering and trying to rest as much as possible. It seems like everyone has a bout of something at the moment so I've been staying indoors determined not to spread whatever it is I have.

Today I'm finally out of bed, although still a bit woozy. I'm planning to conquer this messy corner of mine. It's full of fabrics that I tried to shelve in some kind of 'style' or colour blocking, but it's not working for me. I've decided to pack all these fabrics away and leave this shelf area for my WIPs exclusively. Yes, I'm serious. I have so many projects on the go, my usual WIP chair that I usually drape projects on and around simply can't cope. It's time to get organized and upgrade to an entire shelf.

Also, I just realized that it's Easter in just over a week. So I have to get cracking with my annual Easter Project.. as soon as I make some shelf space for it.

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up