What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

This week I have been glued to my 2 computers in every spare minute! Last June I was meant to teach a week’s retreat all about the “Art and Stitch” software for Quilt Direct but it was postponed due to low numbers as it is a tad niche. I was almost ready with the preparation then shelved it all thinking I would have months to finish it all off. Obviously, I got side tracked by moving and DIY so my good intentions kept slipping. Hence, I have spent hours finding, revising, copying, and checking all of my files! The ...

I will be good and keep this blog clean of "banned" topics. But there are times when I'd love to dive deep. I think it's essential to have venues that are free of that kind of stuff. I've often thought about starting another forum where I could rant and rave to my heart's content. In the meantime, DH gets the brunt of it! And that's all I'll say on that topic. 

By banned, I mean I had to ban specific topics from my Monday Sewing group because the conversations just went ugly, and that ...

It was Fergus’ 23rd birthday this week and he had an important gig in Glasgow but I missed both. It felt a bit weird not to be with him on his birthday for the first time and I did not make a Dalek shaped chocolate cake. At least he got to to spend time with his sisters – they are all so close at the moment which is lovely.

At work I finished a couple more customer quilts that will go to their recipients by Christmas. 

Speaking of Christmas, I had a long weekend and did some festive shopping at last ...

Not only was it a busy week at work finishing a hexie quilt, supervising part two of the DIY elephant quilt and being on hand to help with classes, each evening I forced myself to paint my bedroom. I had to keep shifting the bed out of the way to avoid getting paint on the quilt which is protected from Nessie by an old, cotton bedspread in dire need of a good wash;)

There was a big blowy storm and I was worried that the roof might leak onto my new paint but so far all is well. I can ...

I had a busy week supervising a DIY quilter whose first ever quilt was an ambitious foundation pieced elephant. She did really well but did not quite finish after 3 days so she may have to come back to finish the job. She left me with a family heirloom hexagon quilt to complete with a dense feather design.

Each night I went home, got changed, had leftover spagbol, took Nessie for a walk in the park then painted the rest of my sitting room green. It was a tricky job because bumpy wallpaper makes it difficult to cut in neatly ...

I have been keeping myself busy at work long arming and doing some tuition, as well as making teas and coffees for people on courses. In the evenings I put on my DIY dungarees and have been continuing to tart up the cottage. I am slightly dreading moving my belongings in because they will just clutter the place up.

I was meant to meet Mel from Looe and visit a Christmas Fair in Fowey but the weather was stormy so I had a 3-day DIY weekend instead. I painted just about everything I could see. The back bedroom is finished ...

I am gradually “cottagifying” my new place. It really needs a lick of paint but even just moving things around makes all the difference and I have not even got much of my own stuff here yet. My chum, Mel (who moved from Banchory to Looe) came for a visit and we mooched around the Pannier Market, posh shops and charity shops. I found some useful curtains in the Sue Ryder shop.

I had help to strim my overgrown grass and had fun getting a bit carried away with a pressure washer. I ran up some basic gingham curtains for ...

It has been long time since I had a room all to myself that was just for sleeping in. I had a room in Scotland but it was also an office, sometimes a music room complete with piano and drum-kit plus a sewing machine.  

I got the keys to my Tavistock cottage on Monday then had a dreadful, dark drive back to the caravan in the rain so I decided to throw some things in the car the next morning and just move straight in. It is fantastic just to have a 10-15 minute commute to work. There is a ...

I spent Sunday morning being interviewed by a prospective Landlord and am now having second thoughts about a house that I thought was ideal. I have to make sure that the endangered Slow Worms and Newts in the garden thrive. I am not allowed to paint anything even if it is scruffy and can be evicted at short notice if the garden is not correctly maintained. On the other hand, I also saw a Bedford Cottage in Tavistock which is rather small but the Landlady is considerably more relaxed;)

I don’t actually need to rush into anything at all ...

I have taken hundreds of photos this week – of things to sell on Facebook Marketplace. The local rumour mill has been convinced for months that something is more afoot here than me decluttering. When I moved here 24 years ago I said that I would only leave if carried out in a box but things change and I am going to make a huge move on my own. I am heading for Devon to start a new job as the Longarm Expert (amongst other things) at Quilt Direct. It is exciting, terrifying and sometimes overwhelming. To start with I will ...

My journey home from FoQ was not entirely straightforward. I made it to Fergus’ flat in Glasgow with no problems but when we decided to nip to the supermarket my car would not start, just like it did in June. I called the AA just after 9am the next morning and a patrol truck came about 2 hours later and declared that we would need to be taken to a garage. At 1.30pm we got towed as far as Asda in Cumbernauld where we hung around for 5 hours waiting for another  truck to take us further. This was ...

Let's start off with the progress report on the green scraps. 

I watched an entire episode of The Quilt Show, and all the while, I was pressing scraps.

Pressing scraps

The basket last night

And for reference, here's the basket from the previous day. 

The basket the previous day

This basket of scraps will be a good example of how slow and steady will always win. The amount of usable scraps in the basket for the 365-day quilt ...

I am not alone in the decision to keep that "wet" bag of scraps! And I've found a fun way to tackle what's left in it. 

I have a subscription to The Quilt Show, but I'm so far behind in watching the episodes. I'm way back in the 700 series. We were chatting about this at Monday Sewing, and it's hard for me to "watch" TV when I'm in Studio B. I'm back and forth between the long arm, the stash room, the cutting table, or whatever, and I can't follow along ...

Last Monday was a scorcher at 26 Celsius and I felt slightly guilty that my main activity of the day was spent inside on my computer, trying to sort out some messy digital quilt designs. It was only summer for one day because the rest of the week was half that temperature here in Scotland, which is OK for quilting. 

Nella went off to Glasgow to stay with Freya and spend time with Fergus so I felt that I could spend as much time in my workshop as I liked since we have such long, light evenings. I had a ...

Oh gosh—I'm not even sure where to begin or how to say it. The NEW Studio B is a dream come true! If only I had known years ago what I know now! Would I still have tons of UFOs? I might, but I sure would have looked at my buying and making habits a whole lot differently. 

I guess it's like trying to tell a teenager to do something differently based on your experience. They don't want to do it and must learn their way. 

Please do NOT be jealous of me and where I ...

I will post the information on the textile recycler when I have the specifics. I have two potential contacts, and once I firm up, I'll share. That might be an incentive to go through the remaining three blue bags of scraps. 

Something profound is happening to me, and I'm so excited. But it's not really exciting, it doesn't involve anything exciting, and most people would say that I've become a very boring person. 

I have found the BEAUTY of downtime! I have a few classes to finish off the summer, but I booked myself off ...

The trouble with being a Maker is that I tend to think I can make something better or cheaper than buying something. For instance, I love linen bed sets but they are so expensive. I investigated buying wide linen to make Fergus a duvet set but it was at least £50.00 per metre just for plain colours which would not be as economical as purchasing a set. 

I went to a vintage shop this week and bought half a dozen old linen sheets for £30.00 altogether. I decided to washing machine dye them in different shades of green ...

We had a pleasantly low-key and damp summer week here in N E Scotland. It was cold and I had to use my electric blanket at night. Freya was here to get her front teeth fitted at last then she worked from home for a couple of days while Nella crafted. 

Fergus sent a great photo of him with some pals at the Scotland vs. Germany football match in a Glasgow pub. He is very homesick but knows that he has to be in Glasgow to give his music career a decent shot. Hopefully he will feel better when he ...

Yesterday was the complete opposite of the previous day. I accomplished lots, and I went to bed, exhausted but happy, after walking over 20,000 steps.

Quite a bit still needed to be put away, so I got out my audiobook and got to work. I also had to start packing for Quilt Canada in one week, so as I was sorting and putting away, I pulled out the samples I needed for that show. 

Stuff to put away

Of course, my faithful companion was right there with me, lying in the middle of the floor space. It doesn't ...

Yeah for BANNING multitasking! I'm all for slow and methodical work, which suits me perfectly. 

Having said that, I am doing one task in quilting but also trying to clean out the kitchen, and one thing is leading to another. 

I've been "nagging" about cleaning out drawers for the last while. Right? You're doing that, aren't you? I decided to clean out the spice drawer. 

DH went through them and decided what he wanted to keep and what to throw. I then washed the drawers and ordered something because I couldn't find it in the ...