One PLUS ONE does not equal TWO

I am dumb.. I mean COME ON!!!

I had a stack of 4 patches left over from my 4 patch variation quilt, so I thought I'll make the onpoint 4 patch quilt.. well lets just say I can't add up.. I was 90 short, not one or two or twenty but NINETY!!! Oh my god.. I hate to admit it, but I have signed up to do a distance learning course this year in ACCOUNTING?? is that funny or what??

I have a four day weekend this weekend.. I managed to snaggle a day off work on Monday before the public holiday..... so I am thinking to myself... FOUR DAYS OF SEWING.... I'll get a head start Friday night after work!

Friday - it was 43C coming home (43c = 109F apparently).. so no sewing too freaky hot..

Saturday - well it was hotter, they said it was 42C in Newcastle but I am out in the sticks and no chance of an 'ocean breeze' out here.. how hot was it?? damn hot! so I did manage to do a bit of sewing on the said four patch (pic is in previous post) I have about 9 rows to go and about 90 bloody 4 patches to make.. Oh and of course I can't just use any old fabric so now I am searching the stash for my scrappy quilt 'til still look scrappy but not like 'the stupid cow ran out of fabric and just used any old thing to finish this sucker' look.. you all know that look? I got mighty cheesed off with myself so I just fiddled with my hexagon quilt (only one row to go peeps)

Sunday - well its not hot, its overcast and I have a few things on the go already.. I really want to finish my four patch top but I keep getting distracted by kids / cat / fabric fondling

I have a confession of sorts to make.. Well I dont really think I need to confess as this blog IS called 'Fabricologist Anonymous".. I um, needed some fabric to finish off this quilt.... (some have seen it before)....

... and its friend the backing...


Yes, dear readers, its the "Bendigonia Behemouth"... another 'additional factoring error' in ALL its glory....
Now when I half made this top (the nine patch / cobble stones) I had realised I had grossly under estimated the fabric I needed so I swiftly went and bought another 8 meters (um 9 yards for you non metrics amongst us).. well of course do you think I can FIND what was left over??? approx 4 yards of fabric disappeared.. Now I am thinking I may, just MAY of used it for something else (signature squares for last years retreat???) anyhoo, so whats a girl to do??? (this is the confession bit here petals)


GO SHOPPING!!!!!

OK of course the quilt shop I bought the original fabric at, doesn't have any left and hasn't dealt with that mob for awhile... so I did buy some other stuffs... so the next shop I went to, well that had something so close that I am going to use it and stuff what anyone says... and of course, the little wool shop nearby had a heap of stuffs on sale, so I mean, COME ON... whats a girlie to do???

You likey??? See the fabric on top, you know the Bella solid??? well thats all I went out to buy... LOL I did get some lovely burgundy batik (if batiks can be lovely - eek they still feel like shower curtains) for a wee floaty thing on the Adelaide Signature squares.. and I did get a red oriental to put with the Bendigonia Behemouth.. I am still mathing out how to sort that one out.. (I want the 9 patches to be centred the siggy's? not so fussed).. the rest is stash.. isn't the French fabric lovely???? most stores in here have sold out of that sucker so I was lucky to 'find' that much.. no charm squares to speak of anywhere down here!

OK I am going back to the ironing board, back to the sewing machine as I want to have a few things accomplished on my days off...


Wish me luck petals and pray there is no adding up for me to do!



Lissa

Friday Night Stitch In

Hello petals...
I signed up for the Friday Night Sew in (button on the side there).... what did I get up to??? well considering I nearly forgot about it ROFL not a lot! I had a crap day at work (I am a debt collector for the state government) so one of the girlies at work and myself took ourselves off to the bar after work.. of course I was driving so I could only have a couple of drinks (two large vodka's) so of course, I couldn't run the gauntlet home so I had to wait a wee while for my drinks to 'absorb'.. do you know what? vodka makes me sleep (I am an insomniac btw)... anyhoo, what did I get up to??? wellllllll


the centre of my Adelaide Signature Squares is done.. I am going to put a border around this and as I had two more signature squares I am putting them into the border.. the backing is washed, I have the rest of my batiks out so I have audtioned a few and will do a pieced border..

This top should (and I use that word very loosely) measure about 60 x 72 " when done.. a large lap size...

I am not a fan of batiks, I like the palette I just dont like the 'feel' of the fabric.. it reminds me of the shower curtains that would stick to me when I was a kid trying to have a shower! I loved it when my parents reno'd the bathroom and we got a slidy door no more sticky shower curtains!

of course, I had started the signature squares, so wasn't a HUGE amount of sewing involved (two hours mebbee???).. so I dragged this out..


I am a 'leader/ender' sewer.. I made these four patches as leader enders last year, I made the four patch variation out of them and have enough for this sucker.. (well I might have to make some more but not too many).. I ran out of the double pink fabric so I ordered some from the US.. I bought it in backing width as it was a lot cheaper than buying it by the usual 44".. crazy... anyhoo, I am half done with this one.. I did have to do a bit of unsewing with this top, cause I kept sewing the flippin' triangles on the wrong way! doh! This top is made out of 19th Century / Civil War reproduction and a couple of 'would be if they could be's'... its more pink in real life that in the pic, I just suck big time at takin' pics.

This top should measure around 80" square when done.. not sure about adding a border to this quilt, but if I do, it'll probably be about 90" square

Now I would of liked a finish last night, I am trying to get all my UFO's up to top stage so I can start some new stuffs LOL


My hubby asked the question last night... 'where are we going to put all these quilts?'

My reply was 'bend over and I'll show you!'... hahaha.. we have a quilt 'chair' I have quilts piled up so high that they are toppling over :O) its a VERY unusual decorating item, one I've not seen one those home reno shows..

anyhoo, thats it from me.. I am off to do some sewing and off to do some washing while the sun is out.. its a beautiful day here in Newcastle Australia and NOT HOT.. woohoo.. last Saturday was 15C (30F) hotter than our temp we are expecting today..wooohoo..


take care petals :O)

Lissa

Tempting the Fates (or the evil pussy cat, whichever!)

Now now, dont be surprised, tis a post from me, again in the same month even... what is going on with the world, has it gone crazy??? I intend *cough*cough* to blog about my finishes or even flimsies, so at the end of the year, I can actually say 'Holy crap I did finish some stuffs'.. so without further ado...

I have been playing with blocks this week.. Once a year I go to quilty retreat with about 150 of my closest friends.. now this is always fraught with a little apprehension, as I dont like crowds.. thinking about it even now, I get that heart in the throat feeling, but I go each year and have fun each year and get a wee bit tipsy (sometimes drunk even).. and I sign up again for the following year! This year we are off to Bathurst, which is about a 5 hr drive from here :O)

Anyhoo in thinking of the retreat, I thought I'd better work on my signature squares from the LAST retreat (of course the year before and the year before that aren't finished but we wont go there)... Last year was half square triangles the theme was 'wine and roses'.. the colours had to be wine or rose coloured and batik (or rose)...




This is my first layout.. I thought hmm its so-so.. went to get a drink and a snack.. and come back to this....I know I was very very stupid.. I mean, he was EYEING off the blocks in the pic above, but sheesh from quilt layout to destruction in seconds... I swear he must be speedy gonzales! :O)

well seeing tho the booger cat didn't like this layout.. I tried this...

what do you think??? I think I like it.. the four that make up the pinwheel's are my roomies and I at the retreat.. I have a bit of fiddling with colour placement, but I am happy with this..

I also finished these two tops this week, and they have been posted off for a quilty holiday already... The first top is the blocks from the 9 patch swap I did with Christine last year..I am very happy with this.. I did try blue and also red as the alternating block but the brown sets it off nicely.. this will be a lap quilt for the lounge (we have big laps here)


This quilt top is from an AP&Q magazine from early last year.. it was supposed to have a 'pie border' (english paper pieced circles) now I just knew I'd never get it finished so I added more blocks to make this quilt humungous.. its a very very large twin size, I just added a very small float of 1" and then another border which I'll trim back to 3".. I think it looks good... my eldest boy likes it so I might have to share!


Speaking of booger cats (he is no longer a ba$tard cat by the way, he has been very loving this week, he is not a friendly cat at all, but he has been wanting to sit near me, and follow me around and snuggle next to me when I am watching TV.. I know, he must be on some chill pills or something!) The kids think this pic is funny, cause you can't see his legs or tail, its all there peeps.. the kids call it 'octocat' but alas, a cat doesn't have eight legs silly kids, but its still funny.. this is cosmo's fave sleeping position...


This is his other fave spot to sleep.. I chopped my sons head off, as he'd KILL me if I put his ugly mug on my blog.... he has just had most of his hair chopped off.. he has one of those 'rock band' hair do's now.. oh the joys of almost 16 year olds.. I shouldn't complain as 3 years ago, he wouldn't brush his hair or wash it without us nagging him, now I am always looking for my hair straightener! The beast's hair 4 months ago, was longer than mine and was heading to his waist.. he had 8" off last hair cut! its lovely hair though.. If only his 14 yo brother would look after his hair.. boys eh??? anyhoo... here is a pic of Cosmo the no-so-bastard-cat in his fave spot in the world... awoken by the beast for the photo opportunity! (yes it is a shoebox a smallish shoebox for a very large fluffy-bastard-cat)

well off to do some sewing and some washing.. we have sunshine today after 3 weeks of very iffy weather.. of course sunshine after 3 weeks of raining makes 1. the grass grow VERY long and 2. makes the weather very muggy :O( muggy = poopy weather.. Dags mowed the lawn on Thursday and I swear it needs doing again.. Miss Smelly is off to her friends for a swim in the pool so I'd better get some clothes on.. apparently going out in the car in your pj's isn't acceptable it embaresses 12 yo's.. who would of thunk that???

take care and quilty huggers.. 'til next time


Lissa