Seeing Stars Again

A finish for this month, Baby Zak's quilt by Rosie Quinlan made using fabrics by American Jane. A Look'n'Learn FQ bundle bought on a really really good discount,discounts like this one aren't always easy to find but they are out there; and boy do you feel good when you find one!

I really thought I was going to have this quilt done in a couple of days but more than half way through the quilt kept getting thready knot monsters underneath.

I tried everything and even rang a few people in the know.

Not a single thing worked so I put the quilt aside and worked on another quilt for a while, with no problems what so ever.

Then back to what I now call Sophie's Stars, and I was back to those nasty thread monsters.

So I gritted my teeth, perservered with the monsters and after many painful hours the quilt was finished.

I machine stitched one side of the binding on, no monsters in sight then; and nothing had changed.

I really don't know where the little b****rs came from or where they went to, but boy do I hope they stay away!

On a more serious note I can only assume that they are something to do with either the tension discs or my machine having a drop in bobbin - these can bounce around once less than half full, causing knotty problems. I was still getting knots with a full bobbin, new correct size/type needle, checked the tension, same thread in the top and bottom, stitch size...etc etc. I checked, rechecked and rechecked AGAIN everything. Theoretically it should not have happened but it did.

The quilt is finished. YEAHHHH!

Don't mind it looking all bumpy and unironed, thats because it is unironed.

Do you see the colour pattern I did in the quilt????

I have heard that these stars have a nickname, have you??????

Over the past two years since I have been reading blogs I have excitedly entered into numerous draws, never to win anything. Gradually I stopped entering most giveaways and nowdays only enter an odd one.

Well Joy from Joypatch recently released a new pattern and had a giveaway that I entered AND WON! Boy was I EXCITED! I FINALLY won something!

Her giveaway arrived in yesterdays mail.

A copy of the new 'Dragonfly in Flight' pattern. You have to have a look at it on her blog or site, as the border is simply stunning, but a bit hard to see in my pic of the pattern here.

Some cool bag ladies teabags!

Coasters, dragonfly stickers, pencils, pin/brooch, cute little happy rock/pebble and a gorgeous little pink dragonfly.

Oops, better watch that cute little happy pebble, little fingers are trying to remove it!

Here it all is together, yes Joy wrapped it up in beautiful purple tissue paper with pretty pink organza ribbon - boy did I feel spoilt!

THANKYOU SO MUCH JOY!

While there is still a bit of light left outside, and before it cools off too much, I am going to repair this flannel quilt.

This was my first flannel quilt and I have learnt from it what NOT to do with flannel! As flannel is more openly woven than most cottons it frays more easily. I finished this quilt about twelve months ago and noticed not long after that it needed repairing.

It is a 50th birthday gift for my SIL, also kind of a thankyou for her too. She brought my mil up one week after I had my appendix out nearly two years ago, the day before dh went back to work. I really needed their help, even though I thought I would have managed I knew once they were here that I would not have coped so well. They stayed almost a fortnight and helped with everything. DH was pleased to have a visit from some of his family.

When my sil was here the kit arrived in themail and she admired the fabrics, so I decided to make a second one for us and give her the first one - she doesn't know yet. *grin*

It's a fabulous size quilt to snuggle with on the lounge..... and she lives in the Snowy Mountains, near Mt Selwyn in the highest town in Australia, so it gets VERY cold there. I am sure it will be well used.

How is your fabric buying going?

I've done alot of hard thinking yesterday and today about the new pattern that I won.

I have a jellyroll and a charm here that I could use to make it, however I would need to purchase yardage to go with it. This was not an existing project when I started my new fabric/new project ban, it is a new project. I can't keep to my ban AND buy the fabric to make the quilt. The quilt will have to wait until December, which won't take long to get here! When I did think about making the quilt in more REALISTIC terms, I know now that I wouldn't get it made with my other committments. By the time December comes I will have more time to put towards working on it. If I did it now, I would end up feeling terrible, not only for breaking my ban but for not being able to put in the time on the quilt that I would want to.

oh gosh. I have waffled! I hope it all makes sense.... *grin*

So to summarise, after much thinking on a NEW project that I had SOME of the fabric for, I have gone back to my original plan. No new fabric for new projects.

Good girl Bec!

Now if any of you in this ban with me face situations, I want to know. Let me know how you cope if you go into a shop. Send me an email to let me know if you blog about it so I don't miss it.