Works in progress and a tip

I've been quilting like there's no tomorrow.  I really need to get the baby quilt I'm working on finished.  Not that I'm pushed for time or anything, its just that I am so close to finishing, and it feels like its taking forever.  So every spare moment I have I am quilting.  I started piecing this quilt two months ago, and the quilting just over a month ago.  Yes, I've taken my time only because I feel that if I rush it, I might make mistakes... but I want to get it done now, and soon.  Hopefully next week I'll be able to show a finished quilt.

Another 'new' project I have on the go, is this ripple (chevron) crochet blanket.  I looked up quite a few video tutorials on youtube, but most of them failed.  If you're interested in making this one, HERE is the link. 

I mentioned I have a tip for you, well yesterday afternoon I decided to clean my machingers quilting gloves, but even after soaking and rubbing them for a while the tips were still very dirty, so I used an old toothbrush to get the tips clean.  As you can see its not completely clean, but the results if much better using the toothbrush instead of just rubbing.

Happy quilting.

Anything Goes Quilt 'n Sew #28 - Busy weeks ahead!

I have been contemplating for weeks now whether I should start doing what I know I have to do, which is getting a head start on spring cleaning, or what I want to do...which without a doubt is spend time in my sewing room.

When we moved into our home in the beginning of 2012, I was in such a rush getting everything unpacked, that I was not bothered to do it properly.  I basically just unpacked boxes, putting stuff in cupboards, and closed the doors...  Now, I find myself frustrated with having to look for things, opening doors, and finding things not really where they should be.  So for the next few weeks I am planning to get a head start on Spring cleaning.  

We have two outside rooms, one we use as a laundry, and the other, is filled with stuff that should actually be in the garage.  To get things properly sorted out inside the house,  I need the one outside room to store away things, so before I can even start I need to sort out the garage first.  This will be on my agenda this coming week.

'Before' we drained and started cleaning the koi pond

At least we got a head start outdoors, during the past week we made time to clean our koi pond. The area we live in is surrounded by very large trees, so during autumn and winter there is a huge amount of leaves that fall into the pond.  Although we scoop it out almost on a daily basis a lot sink to the bottom and with time it can cause problems to the health of the fish.  

The only thing about this job I don't like much, is the smell.  Its not so much a fish smell that hangs in the air, but algae.. After a full day of scooping out goo from the bottom, brushing the sides and using the pressure washer to get it all clean, the smell can be a bit overwhelming... I wore boots, there was no way I was going to risk slipping and falling into that stinky water, but my husband was not so lucky. He slipped and as he lifted his foot out the water, his one toe nail was completely ripped out, he bumped his foot against a stone/brick that was at the bottom.  So after playing nurse, we decided to call it a day.

So yesterday, after giving it a day to dry in the sun, we rearranged everything and started filling it up.  More than 8000 liters of water!  It took about 9 hours to fill up...

I did not neglect my sewing room completely.. I made some time to carry on quilting the baby quilt I'm working on, but progress was slow.  I think before I start sorting out all the rooms and cuboards, I should make an effort to finnish the quilt.. The only thing I'm afraid of, is if I put it off for too long, I might not get to it at all...

Anything Goes Linky Party

But for now I'm sure you'd like to share some of your projects you've been working on, please link up any current projects, anything at all...  This link is open for a full week and will run every Monday.  Remember to come back next week, or follow my blog to get regular updates.

If you wish, feel free to add any other blog posts you write during the week, this linky stays open for a full week, I think its a great idea to share and keep sharing.

The rules are simple:

1.  Link up ANY post you'd like to share that features any quilting, sewing, knitting, crochet, if its hand made, why not...

2.  Somewhere in your blog post, you must link back here to my blog with a text link, or grab the 'Anything Goes' button for your sidebar.

3.  Be nice, comment on at least a few other blogs linked, the whole point of having a party is to connect, share and maybe get a few new followers...

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An InLinkz Link-up

Happy quilting.

Anything Goes Quilt 'n Sew #27 - Lord of the rings Sunday

I bet there are many of you, who enjoy having a lazy Sunday once in a while.  Usually, not always, I spend the Sundays preparing a large'ish Sunday lunch, but yesterday we decided to get freshly made meals with tons of snacks, and spend the whole day watching DVD's.  

We used to do this quite often in the past before Kayleigh was born, and visited old favorites, like Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing, Shawshank Redemption... movies we grew up with.  Yesterday we decided to watch the whole Lord of the rings series.  Over nine hours of lazying in front of the tv and eating.  

I did however crochet a bit while watching, and now have about 5 squares left to make before I can start sewing them together.  

I hope you had a great weekend... I think I am going to need a day or two just to recover, being that lazy, doing almost nothing is tiring... ;-)

Now it's time for this week's linky party

It's Monday and a new week, so lets all share some of our projects, please link up any current projects you've been working on, anything at all...  This link is open for a week and will run every Monday.  Remember to come back next week, or follow my blog to get regular updates.

If you wish feel free to add any other blog posts you write during the week, since this linky stays open for a full week, I think its a great idea to share and keep sharing.

All I ask is that you either add the 'Anything Goes' blog button to your sidebar or add a text link to your blog post, and comment on a few of the other links too, share the love and make this weekly link party a fun way to connect.

<div align="center"><a href="http://marelize-ries.blogspot.com/" title="Stitch by Stitch"><img src="http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj592/MarelizeR/LinkyButton2_zps83805f35.jpg" alt="Stitch by Stitch" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy quilting.

Feathers

Kayleigh has been keeping me so busy these past few days that progress has been slow, but I am getting there, at a snails pace.. Or so it feels.  I guess its not all bad, if rushed I might just mess it up.  Don't you just love feathers?  I do, combined with smaller pebbles and swirls it looks even prettier. 

The next two images is from the front and back of the exact same spot quilted.  I think this time the tension is perfect, can you see how the feathers pop both on the front and back?  I was worried when adding the smaller scale quilting that puckers will form, but so far so good, its looking great!

      

Unlike when I quilted the circles inside the sashing, I am not making use of any markings when quilting the feathers.  I love the result quilting white on white, it really blends in well with the background and it really makes the design stand out.

 

A big thank you to everyone's response on my Monday post.  Most of you know I reply to every comment via e-mail, unless you're a no-reply blogger, I always keep a note pad writing down questions I've received, and I will soon share some of them here on my blog.  Its sometimes a bit hard keeping track bouncing from e-mail to blogger...

If you'd like to see more of this baby quilt I'm making, click HERE.

Happy quilting.

Anything Goes Quilt and Sew #26 - My First Video Tutorial

I have made a short video tutorial, showing you how I quilted the circles/loops inside the sashing of the baby quilt I'm making, and as I was uploading the video to youtube, I realized I did not even do a little into, or explained any machine settings I use, I just jumped right in and started quilting.  

Next time I will definitely plan ahead before making a video tutorial, this is a first for me.  I guess I was so excited to show you, that I did not think it through properly, and oh boy, the state of my gloves, shame on me, very dirty.. 

I use a Bernina Artista 180.  I bought it second hand little over a year go.  I don't know how old is, if anyone knows which year it came out I am curious to know, I use it for both piecing and free motion quilting, and it runs beautifully.  

Here is the way I set up my sewing machine for free motion quilting, and a few preferences I have that I've learnt along the way.  By no means set in stone, but thus far, I know it works for me...

- Stitch length set at ZERO.

- Feed dogs are UP / engaged. 

- Presser foot no 24 called a "Free Motion Embroidery Foot"

- I prefer to use Schmetz Quilting or -Embroidery needles.  If I know the quilt I'm working on calls for a lot of travel stitching, like I've done on my Goddess quilt, I use embroidery needles. 

- I am using Little Genie Bobbin Washers.  Instead of dropping the washer inside the bobbin casing, I place the washer inside the bobbin housing.  I have written a blog post explaining why I could not use it the conventional way, you can find it HERE.

- Lastly I use machingers quilting gloves.

One thing I've recently played around with, is tension.  I have always used the standard setting which is automatically set at 4, but I noticed that I got even better top and bottom stitches when it is set at 6.

So without further a due, here is the video tutorial.  My Son helped taking the video, I think he got a bit mesmerized by the swirling motion and as he held the camera he started moving it as I quilted, LOL.  I've added text to the video hoping it would make up for the lack of planning on my part.

If the video acts funny, click HERE.

Sew now it's time for this week's linky party

It's Monday and a new week, so lets all share some of our projects, please link up any current projects you've been working on, anything at all...  This link is open for a week and will run every Monday.  Remember to come back next week, or follow my blog to get regular updates.

If you wish feel free to add any other blog posts you write during the week, since this linky stays open for a full week, I think its a great idea to share and keep sharing.

All I ask is that you either add the 'Anything Goes' blog button to your sidebar or add a text link to your blog post, and comment on a few of the other links too, share the love and make this weekly link party a fun way to connect.

<div align="center"><a href="http://marelize-ries.blogspot.com/" title="Stitch by Stitch"><img src="http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj592/MarelizeR/LinkyButton2_zps83805f35.jpg" alt="Stitch by Stitch" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy quilting.

At last...

...I can move on to quilting the borders.  Whenever I step back and look at what I've quilted so far, I am amazed.  Sure it took a bit longer than expected, but its all down hill from now.  My quilting is not perfect, but it blends into the fabric so well, that it is not even noticeable if my swirls ended up a bit wonky or is not completely even spaced, it still looks good to me.  I love this quilt!

As I removed the quilt from my machine I noticed that I've missed one block's sashing, so after I am done with that I can start quilting the borders.  I am really excited to start, I have decided on feathers, but because there are appliqued hearts I am going to keep them small, moving from one heart to the next, and filling up the space with random swirls and pebbles.  Its still a thought process, so I am sure once I get there, I'll know exactly how it will all fit in.

I recieved a comment today on Instagram from Rene Sharp at  Stamping in Sunny SA and she said:  "I want to quilt like you one day" and for me its probably the best compliment ever!  Thanks so much to everyone supporting me, reading my blog, leaving comments and following along on my progress.  It means the world to me!

If you are interested to read more about this baby quilt, click HERE.

Happy quilting.

Swirls, what's not to love?

I have been sitting pondering for days what free motion quilting designs to use.  I guess after I had hurt my writs a few weekends ago it gave me more than enough time to think about it (its much better by the way), but as I had the quilt set up inside the throat of my sewing machine, I still had no idea, so I just went with what felt right.  

I love swirls, the texture and flow is just beautiful, I think together with the stippling I used and the circles inside the sashing its a great combination.

There is not much to say about the quilting, so I thought of sharing a few pictures.  They are after all worth a 1000 words, so I will let them speak for themselves, :-)  

The following pictures were taken from a completely different angle, and I think the light falling from behind really shows off the texture...

Now all that is left to quilt is the white borders and the outside pieced borders.  I am thinking feathers... If you'd like to read up previous posts on this baby quilt click HERE.

Happy quilting.

Anything Goes Quilt 'n Sew #25 - Sunburst Granny Squares

Yep, I did it again, I found something I like to do, and of course like with quilting when I start something there's no stopping.  My sister in-law and her family came over for a long weekend visit, so this was an ideal project to keep busy while catting.  The men kept busy playing golf, either for real on the golf cource or on the x-box, so my sister in-law wanted to  join in, and bought her own startup stash of colourful yarns.  It was quite fun showing her how to make these little sunburst granny squares, and before long, we both were crocheting like there's no tomorrow.

I really like how they came together, all I tried to do was to not repeat the same colour layout.  

Sew now it's time for this week's linky party

It's Monday and a new week, so lets all share some of our projects, please link up any current projects you've been working on, anything at all...  This link is open for a week and will run every Monday.  Remember to come back next week, or follow my blog to get regular updates.

If you wish feel free to add any other blog posts you write during the week, since this linky stays open for a full week, I think its a great idea to share and keep sharing.

All I ask is that you either add the 'Anything Goes' blog button to your sidebar or add a text link to your blog post, and comment on a few of the other links too, share the love and make this weekly link party a fun way to connect.

<div align="center"><a href="http://marelize-ries.blogspot.com/" title="Stitch by Stitch"><img src="http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj592/MarelizeR/LinkyButton2_zps83805f35.jpg" alt="Stitch by Stitch" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy quilting.

Slowly does it...

Unfortunately, I did not make a lot of progress working on this baby quilt this week.  This past Sunday, I hurt my left wrist playing golf.  I think it was about 6 years ago that I was quite a regular on the golf course, admittedly I was not great, but I enjoyed it.  So ever since my husband started playing recently I wanted to take it up again.  I guess I was far to eager to get back into it, and did not warm up properly...

So I've been working at a snails pace, quilting really small sections at a time.  I am using Machingers quilting gloves, which helps a lot with gripping, but because I keep my hands parallel to the needle,  and the angle at which my hand sits on the quilt, I cant quilt for too long.

At least I had finished all the large blocks with stippling and the white sashing with circles.  This morning it feels a tad bit better, so I will see how it goes today, it is so frustrating when all I want to do is carry on, hopefully before the week is over all will be as it should be, and I can carry on.

Thanks for stopping by, for my regular readers and those who link up on my 'Anything Goes' linky party, thanks so much for taking part, its always a treat seeing what everyone is up to, and for all comments.  

Happy quilting.

Anything Goes Quilt 'n Sew #24 - Homely Blanket

How about this for colour!  Sure to brighten up anyone's day.  If you have been following me on instagram (@marelizeries) you would have seen an overload of crochet squares these past few days.

Heike from Made with loops is hosting a 'homely blanket crochet along' on her blog, where she comes up with a design for a square each week.  It looked like so much fun and I've always wanted to learn how to crochet.  

So with a quick look at some videos on youtube, learning how to make the different types of stitches, I quickly jumped in.

  

Some have proven to be quite tricky, especially since I am reading the instructions instead of having someone show me.  Its at times like these that I miss having my Mom close by, she is sooo good at crocheting that I if she was sitting next to me, helping me along, it would have gone a lot more faster.  But I have exceeded my expectations and have only two to make and I'll be up to date.

I think that once this crochet along has come to an end, I will choose my absolute favorite out of them all and make a large blanket with just the one square using different colour layouts.

Sew now it's time for this week's linky party

It's Monday and a new week, so lets all share some of our projects, please link up any current projects you've been working on, anything at all...  This link is open for a week and will run every Monday.  Remember to come back next week, or follow my blog to get regular updates.

If you wish feel free to add any other blog posts you write during the week, since this linky stays open for a full week, I think its a great idea to share and keep sharing.

All I ask is that you either add the 'Anything Goes' blog button to your sidebar or add a text link to your blog post, and comment on a few of the other links too, share the love and make this weekly link party a fun way to connect.

<div align="center"><a href="http://marelize-ries.blogspot.com/" title="Stitch by Stitch"><img src="http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj592/MarelizeR/LinkyButton2_zps83805f35.jpg" alt="Stitch by Stitch" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy quilting.. or if you are going to join in, happy crocheting.