Keeping warm

I wish for steady cold weather so our heating system will kick in properly instead of going luke warm/cold/warm/cold/warm/too warm/luke warm/cold depending on how the temps outside shift every day! I have said it before and will say it again, do not buy into the air to air heating if they so GIVE you the bloody system! At the moment it is around -2 outside and the temps inside are +16 downstairs with maybe 19 upstairs. I can't be bothered to light a fire so am having a sea of candles lit and wrapped in a blanket instead, which is comfy until you need to move....

I have just finished my second wedding quilt for the year, can't show you any pictures yet or it won't be a surprise for certain people. It will have a disclaimer packed with it saying it is returnable and exchangeable for something else, no hard feelings. :)

So now I am entitled to some me sewing time. I am doing Bonnie Hunters mystery quilt again this year as I loved how last years one looked and how easy it was getting it done in steps.

First snow

We had a little little snow on Thursday night but it melted away. It is again sunny and clear but the difference now it is cold, just above 0 during the day and cold at night. All leaves have dropped from our apple trees so I was outside raking them up yesterday, lapping up some of that lovely sunshine. We've had a very dry autumn so far, am not complaining, just a bit weird not to have the rain and wind for days on row. But maybe we will get that with a vengeance in November.

In quilty news I have finished sewing the wedding top for Jamie's sister together and it is now laying on the lounge floor being pinned for quilting. It was JUST (by 4 inches...) to big to go on my frame so will have to quilt it differently then I had planned since I don't really trust my Janome to do a good job out of it when FMQ without the frame. I see more of quilting in the ditch and straight lines rather then the swirls I had thought as an all over design.

I just re read my UFO post... Well I can say I have kept to it. But not many UFOs have been done in the time I have been not doing anything new.... Maybe after the wedding quilt is done I will get to it and sort them out after how little there is left to do before they are done. Got to finish them off!

Autumn bliss and lose threads

We are heading quickly towards my favourite time of year, they had a frost warning on the radio and it is fairly nippy outside at the moment. I love when first frost comes around and everything slows down in the garden and then as a final farewell explodes in vivid colours before the snow comes. I love being outside in the crisp air and take long walks on blustery days like today. I thought about this earlier this  morning when driving to work through the autumn fog and hearing people on the radio moaning about the turn to cooler temps. They just don't know what they are missing!

My quilting course has started up again after the summer break, we are now exploring the fun and games of paper piecing.... It is not my favourite technique due to the weirdness of 'lay it all out nice and even and then flip everything over and sew???' But since my sister mentioned that she might want me to sew her a quilt with a mariners cross in it I had to figure out how you do it and paper piecing seems to be the answer. I am actually quite excited about the design I made on Tuesday(but don't tell teacher that!), Marina showed me how you draw and design a mariners cross for paper piecing so now I can just have fun and make variations on it since I know the basics.

Isn't it lovely to have a three day weekend?  I get them every second week since I work the other weekends. Three long days. I am going to help mum at her allotment tomorrow putting up some posts for her anti deer net, She recently got the plot next to her old one so twice the space to grow veg and flowers next spring. She is already planning what she is going to sow and moving everything about! Hopefully the weather stays nice and dry for us. If it doesn't I can stay in and sew!

Wedding quilt

Now I can finally post what I have been working on for most of this spring summer. My good friend Ann-Louise got married to her Tony this weekend and I made them a quilt. And here it is!

UFO warning!

Not the flying saucer kind mind you but the Unfinished object in quilting terms. I've just counted my ufo's upstairs in my sewing room and they are getting out of hand. I am not allowed to start anything new until I've finished at least 3 of the projects! Finished meaning quilted AND bound! I will just have to suck it up and get on with it. Some I might actually class as test blocks and incorporate in a big sampler quilt but I got to decide and put it all together in one pile and not in separate projects that will never get finished. I am allowed to do new test blocks at the course if we are shown something new but not to start anything bigger.

Let's see how long I can keep that promise...