WOW: Bits & Pieces

UPDATE: my Link Up Tool appears to have disappeared?! The Link server appears to be down and this has also affected all my BOM archives.

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

 

I'm still working away on my shirts, it's all details and taking care at the right points to get a good finish, so I'm working at my own pace; I bet you're all sick of seeing my shirts by now!

 

I have a short attention span so I am always working on several projects at once: this always looks like I am working away at the same thing for a long time when really, I'm working away at bits of it, and then I end up with several things finished all at once.

 

I like to have The Quilt Show chatting away as I sew, and that's what I'm watching on my tablet just in front of my machine. During interesting bits I usually pause sewing just so I don't miss anything! What are your 'sewing zone' habits?

 

 

I finally unpacked my new Bernina from its box a few months ago. I'd been waiting years for a new machine, and when it arrived simply didn't have a chance to properly unpack and play with it. It sounds almost unbelievable even typing that, as someone who loves her machines, but its true. It's been sitting around for a whole year, waiting for me to get around to familiarising myself with it.

 

 

I'm making a start now as I intend to stitch all of LE on this new machine. But I'm not thinking about that just yet as I am currently searching for a good machine to take around to workshops. Something reliable and robust as it's for classes only. I thought it would be easy to pick up such a machine, but after spending all day yesterday hunting through eBay, I really haven't found anything suitable. They're all too basic or too advanced / expensive for what I need to use them for. I'm working my way out of all these bits and pieces today.
 

 What's Your WOW ?
 

Esther's Occasional Quote For The Day

Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment on my post below. I read and was touched by every thoughtful and sincere comment. There may only be a handful of us who are demonstratively keen to see the original quilt, but our devotion is intense and I hope it will be considered favourably by the current owners of the coverlet.

I can't explain why, but I just haven’t felt ready to start this quilt. During the pattern making process I felt so eager to make a start, but as the months have passed and thousands of you have made a start yourselves, I have found myself feeling 'not quite ready'. First it was a fabric issue and the real difficulty I was experiencing selecting a colour scheme. Now I think I am set to go with a scrappy theme. Many of you have opted for this and the blocks look wonderful. I can't wait to make a start myself now. I am making space in my sewing room and finishing up some pressing projects to make room for starting and catching up on my own heriloom.

I’m getting there, in my own time…

Do *You* want to see the coverlet? Please Comment!

Update: Sat, 7 Sept 2013.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment on this post. I have been touched by everything you've said. The original coverlet has really got under our skin. We yearn to see and know more about it. I know there are thousands of you who are interested in this quilt; so many of you have joined my BOM Group or emailed me about it. If you have any interest in this quilt, please leave a comment on this post.

The Power of Love:

the ‘Fine Marriage Coverlet’ has been FOUND

 

This quilt will not be forgotten to time, this quilt will not be lost to our legacy and heritage. We looked for it, we called out for it…and it answered us.

We Did It!

The ‘fine marriage coverlet’ wanted to be found, it wanted to be remembered and it wanted to be loved. There’s no other way I can explain my journey which started by looking at its image 12 years ago to now. There’s no other way I can explain the interest, enthusiasm and devotion shown by thousands of quilters all over the world for this coverlet and it’s, as yet unknown, maker. Every step of this journey has been infused with love. I have certainly grown to love this quilt and I know many of you are in love with it too.

I always knew it was a significant quilt, yet I couldn’t understand why no one had looked for it, to the best of my knowledge, before me. How could that be? No matter what I did, I couldn’t forget about it. And I know many of you were thinking about it too. Together we revived interest in finding this quilt and together we did it.

WOW! Talk about the power of Quilters!

What I can tell you: the quilt is privately owned through purchase and the current owner is in the UK. The current owner wishes to remain anonymous.

If you have been privately seeking this quilt, thank you for your efforts, please stop now. We have a contact in the UK who has the most up to date and accurate information regarding this quilt and is currently researching the quilt and if she finds any extra history on it, she will post updates of such progress here on this blog.

 

What now?

I will be printing and binding all my posts on this quilt and having them passed onto the current owner so that this chapter in the quilt’s story is documented.

So if there’s anything you want to say to the current owner, please say so in the comment section of this post.

It will be printed and passed on. I am appealing to the current owner to release images of the quilt for us all to enjoy and /or to exhibit the quilt publicly. Of course, we can only ask, the final decision belongs to the owner and we must graciously respect that decision, whatever it may be.

The quilt is privately owned and we cannot know if we will ever have another opportunity to ask to see it. If you have any interest in this quilt, please comment.

The time to make your heartfelt plea is now.

I’m so happy to share this significant progress with you all and I’m looking forward to reading your comments.

WOW: 7 Reasons to Book Before You Go

 

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

I've in the middle of one of those weeks. I haven't got anything useful done and am swamped with so many WOWs and To Do's that I decided I would share a little stopover my DH and I endured during a short trip we took out of state over the weekend.

Now, I should start these photos by mentioning that I am the kind of woman who wants everything booked before I go anywhere. My DH? Not so much. In fact, never. And this is precisely what can happen when you don't book before you go...

 

Four luxury beds...but how will madam choose?

Let's decide over tea

 

 

or maybe after a shower

we can share the 1x towel

 

 

be sure to put the sink plug back on it's purpose built mantle

we wouldnt want it to go missing...

 

Like all the tissues in the bolted down tissue holder above it have

 

 

VIP Sink Plug!

 

Then we can take in the artwork

whilst keeping an eye on the piggybacked electrical sockets

 

 

Before calling Good Taste Magazine...

Did you bring a phone line with you?

 

What's Your WOW ?

 



WOW: Cutting Out Shirts

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

What a week it's been! So many of us excited and eager to know more about the marriage coverlet since my announcement over in my Group earlier in the week. I know it's hard, really hard, but we just have to hold on a little longer. I hope to have something more to share with you all very soon.

 

My solution today is to keep busy, so instead of starting on Love Entwined as I was planning to, I'm back to working on my shirts. The pattern's done, the fabric's selected, today is a day for cutting out shirts.

I've made a start

 and I've fallen in love with each fabric print all over again
 

 

and now it's just a matter of time and a production line...

 

What's Your WOW ?

 

 

WOW: Fabric Time

 WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

Finally, it's fabric time. No, not Love Entwined Fabric time, shirt fabric time! These are all fabrics from my stash. It feels good to be putting them to use! All up I'm making 5 shirts. I am in love with this bold fabric of roses on a black background. Ordinarily I don't like wearing black, but with the bold colours shining through, I'll make an exception. This fabric was actually selected to be a table runner for my large table a few years ago. All I had to do add some ribbon along the edges and I would have been done. I'm so glad I didn't, I know I'll get more wear from it as a shirt.

 

This is my 'monkey print' shirt.

My DDs kindly pointed out that it looked like I was wearing monkey faces when up this way

 

So I'll be wearing it THIS way (below),

where it now looks like a pattern and not a distracting set of eyes!

Again, black is a little unusual for me, but I love the olive and yellow

 

 

Green is my favourite colour and although I haven't made it yet, this is my new favourite shirt!

I might even make 2x straight away (if I have enough for sleeves), otherwise the second one will have to have either brown or olive inset sleeves which I'm yet to find in my stash

 

Pink and Green: how pretty is this fabric?

It's so vibrant and fresh, I can't wait to wear it on those hot, long days

 

This is a spray of flowers on navy blue, I selected it because it's just so practical

It doesn't show up great on screen, but I has great reds, green variations and beige's mixed in which makes it so versatile in my wardrobe.

 

Well, I've got plenty to be getting on with today! Wednesdays are turning into my sewing days, hopefully I'll keep up this habit for the rest of the year.

What's Your WOW ?
 

 

Thinking about a Quilting Bee

Quilt Designer Seeks Like Minded Melbourne Quilters for Love Entwined Sewing Bee

Weekly? Fortnightly? Monthly?

 

There’s no doubt about it, groups are the best place to make a quilt. I know a lot of quilters are meeting in person to make Love Entwined each month and I think that’s a great idea.

A lot of you have asked me what I think about Quilting Shops holding Quilting Bees and Classes based on the pattern Love Entwined.

What do I think about it? I think it’s a great idea!

I didn’t realise how high the demand was for applique technique classes until I launched this pattern and now that I know, I think it’s important to sew alongside other people to learn as you do. It’s the best way to improve your skills. As for Quilt Shops that want to charge a fee for a sewing session, I don’t have an opinion about it – if you want to pay to join in on a session, then that’s something for you to decide.

As long as the shop doesn’t claim that it’s collecting money on ‘my behalf’ (which it isn’t) and as long as my patterns are not copied, shared or distributed, then I’m fine with it. Actually, it might be useful for some quilters to have lessons and expertise and materials all available in one place.

Personally, I have liked working away at home on my patterns as I have been so busy and generally disorganised. However with Love Entwined, it really is a “group” quilt and I would like to make it in a group setting. I am now thinking about the possibility of a local Quilting Bee to meet with other quilters as I make and progress on the blocks each month.

I’ve been looking at venues nearby and they are surprisingly expensive, on top of that, I have to factor in public liability insurance, so I am weighing up my options.

I’m not interested in a paying class; I’m interested in meeting with fellow quilters making Love Entwined weekly, fortnightly or monthly to sew together as a friendship group. Any ‘fees’ collected would be to cover the hiring fee on the hall or room only.

Do you have any ideas?

Are you in Melbourne?

Would you be interested? 

This is what I did today, instead of the housework

I sewed a fabric lining into my daily morning walk sweater

 

And this is my pattern design wall. You can't see it in the photograph, but that there is the pattern for Love Entwined. I pinned a picture of Love Entwined to this wall the very moment I started designing the pattern and I decide I wouldn't take it down until the 'fine marriage covelet' was found. It's a good luck charm.