Saturday 3 January 2015

Happy New Year

A belated Happy New Year to everybody.

I was going to blog a bit earlier however worked over the Christmas and New Year period and finally the weekend came...

Well, we are in the midst of a major bush fire here in South Australia (temperatures were over 40 degrees yesterday). Normally this does not really affect us as we live in suburbia, however last night the fire came awfully close. We live on the outskirts of town and my daughter woke us in the middle of the night as she had received a text from a friend. When we went outside the driveway was littered with ash and the smoke was becoming uncomfortable...the fire still being a fair way away but heading towards suburbia. Unreal...the ash reminded me of gentle snowing. Indecision reigned for a while and our electronic gadgets proved difficult in terms of getting accurate information. In the end we dragged out an old radio and listened to the emergency channel all night. Got very little sleep, just listening to the radio and the warnings. Packed a few random things and got ready to leave. By the morning the wind had changed with the fire heading the other way which has caused some devastation in the hills with many houses lost...the radio is still going now in the evening to see whether there is another change of wind. Apparently it is still burning out of control but so far no warnings for our suburb however still very dangerous as they are expecting thunderstorms.

I walked into the sewing room yesterday night trying to think what I should take...could not decide as there are so many valuable things in there, so that I decided not to pack anything from that room. I envisaged me standing there in a panic wasting time with confusion over what to take...so I closed the door.

Anyway, finally finished off my WIP today...yah! This has been a painful process

This should be a very easy quilt to make and normally it would be. The quilt is constructed using 4.5" squares, placing 2.5" squares on either side, sewing on the diagonal and then trimming the seam allowances to 1/4" seam. YES, except this is not how I constructed this...remember me talking about my obsession to use up my fabric? I had won a bundle of bright fabric some time ago, however I only had a Fat Quarter of each of the yellow and green fabrics and was determined to make this work. So I cut out 2.5" HST and carefully positioned them over my white squares, sewing them on the bias and cursing all the way through. Not recommended...while all possible, it was quite cumbersome to align the HST correctly. But here it is...tada, all done and absolutely no fabric left!



I am so happy that this is done. I will now complete my other quilt top and then set up my machine for FMQ.

Have you heard about Sewcalgal's FMQ Challenge? Sewcalgal has changed her blogging platform and can now be found as QuiltShopGal at www.quiltshopgal.com. Check out the 2015 FMQ Challenge...lots of options to participate, share and learn from each other as well as lots of prizes from very generous sponsors. This will be great fun.

Until next time
  
Karin

8 comments:

  1. Your new quilt top looks wonderful, so bright and cheerful! Perfect for cheering up a dreary (for those of us living in the northern hemisphere, anyway!) January. I was interested to read about the no-waste HST corners; I'd been pondering trying that as a method but it sounds like a right faff! Kudos for persevering and making it work. :) Thank you again for the pointers on FMQ; I've decided to join SewCalGal's (QuiltShopGal's?) FMQ challenge, to the best of my ability. Then maybe I won't be as spooked by that little phrase, "Quilt as desired." All the best for 2015! :)

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  2. Your quilt is very refreshing Karin, well done using all your fabric! I have made your disappearing four patch that you had in the "Country Thread" magazine. I am very happy with it just about to start putting on the borders. I am looking forward to quilting it.
    Thinking of you durning the bush fires, it is well covered on the news at night. As an ex Tasmainian I know how scary fires can be. Best wishes for 2015.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Wendy. Not sure whether you realise but you are a No reply blogger which means that there is no way I can reply to you. Check under my tutorial page on how to fix this ( if you want to). Would be nice to see your completed Disappearing Four Patch.
      Karin

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    2. Hi Karin, I have followed your instructions and I hope I am no longer a "no reply Blogger". Still getting the hang of this internet communication thing.

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    3. Still not working. Not sure...maybe look for different instructions on the Internet. It is quite a common problem. Will have to re look at those instructions on my page.

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  3. It's beautiful, Karin. I've always liked that star block and the colours you used just make it dance. Hoping that you and your family stay safe during this fire season.

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  4. How very scary Karin it must be living under that threat. Very rare here in soggy UK but devastating for those who lose everything. Our thoughts are with you and your community.
    Have always wanted to link up and say how grateful I am to you for sharing your knowledge on the Pfaff QE sewing machine. As a newish owner it has become my go to reference!! Love the quilt as with all your creativity.

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  5. Many thanks Karin for your email back. I think I have fixed the no reply thing although it now seems different from the tutorial. Google does love to fiddle with things. If I haven't fixed it do let me know.
    I certainly do appreciate the info on the QE. I accept that other readers with other machines may feel excluded but I guess most posts will touch some people more than others. Certainly your name/ blog is mentioned on the QE users group I belong to. So it is not just me that values your sharing of knowledge. It also gives me a taste of what my FMQ could look like if I had your skill. Can't blame the machine!!

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Hi...thanks for stopping by and commenting. Very much appreciated! I will endeavour to answer all comments via email. Please check that you are not a no-reply blogger as there is no way of responding to you (other than by reply on the blog). If you need help with this issue, please head for Tutorials for a link on how to fix this issue.

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