The Quilting Bug

I had a sewing machine similar to this one when I was 10.

Did I ever mention that I used to love making Barbie and Cindy clothes when I was a little girl? I had my own little girls sewing machine that was bought by my parents on a trip to Italy when I was 10.  Then I hit puberty, boys were way more interesting than dolls and sewing.... fast track almost 30 years later and I reaquainted myself with sewing again when I got married in 2009.  For the wedding I made the ring pillow and the bridesmaids' purse frame bags (will try to get a photo of the bags from one of the bridesmaids).  I had a brief obsession with making bags to sell but then sewing got put on hold again while life was happening and after the birth of Scarlett the desire to sew hit me again.  I bought a stash of fabrics (blogged here) and downloaded a few free patterns but I lost everything when my hard drive went caput before Xmas (really should back up).

Cloud 9 Quilt in a Day

I tried to make myself a wrap skirt but it's sitting unfinished next to the sewing machine, I must must finish it (all that's left is the waistband and hem)!!  My latest obsession is quilting.  I think this type of sewing is right up my alley.  I really don't think I'm a dressmaker, garments are too complex.  Plus I love the creative freedom quilting provides.  I mentioned my desire to learn quilting to my husband so he thoughtfully bought me a quilting book for Xmas.  I thought I'd start with Cloud 9's Quilt in a Day blogged here.  With that in mind, there are a couple of new babies arriving in the family in a couple of weeks.  We don't know the sex of either baby yet so I'd rather wait until they are born to choose gender appropriate fabric.  

I also love the idea of buying charm packs and jelly rolls to make quilting simpler and faster.  I really want to have a go at a log cabin quilt, a nine patch block quilt and a hexagon quilt.  I have been browsing the web and my brain is getting to information overload stage.  Thanks to RetroMummy for posting a few great video tutorials, these have really helped me understand the whole quilting process.  I'm totally in love with Denyse Schmidt's Single Girl quilt and I'm in two minds about Tula Pink's Kiss Kiss quilt, maybe it's the colour combination that I'm not sure about (too much green and gold).  I would love to see whether I prefer it in the Mist palette.

This week I received a $40 voucher from Spotlight which was great timing.  I went on my own early on Saturday morning and bought a cutting mat, an OLFA rotary cutter and a quilt ruler.  I also bought a few metres of white homespun.  When it came to batting I was confused and with no one in the store to give me advice I'm leaving that purchase until after I have done some more research.  I would hate to go to all the trouble of making an heirloom only to use a batting that would not wear very well.  I would appreciate hearing your comments on batting. 

So there's a brain dump on some quilting plans.  My biggest hurdle now is making time for craft!!

2011 Goals

I'm not into Resolutions but I do have a To Do List for 2011 which includes some basic things and others that are ongoing lifestyle changes or big projects.  As I started to write my list I realised that I could chunk them into categories.  I wrote this a couple of days ago but if I think about it for too long I will never publish this post so without any further ado here they are as they stand today:

Health

1. Get more active
2. Lose 10kgs
3. Eat more calcium rich foods
4. Make meals that include more salads and veg
5. Get more sun to boost Vitamin D
6. Keep sugary food for special occasions

Home

1. Organise filing so that it is easier to keep maintained
2. Move Scarlett into her own room
3. Get insulation for Scarlett's room
4. Sell stuff we no longer need on eBay
5. Renovate our house!!!!!

Hobbies

1. Keep going to choir
2. Do a sewing class
3. Join a sewing group (ie the Craftroom)
4. Finish my wrap skirt!!
5. Make a quilt
6. Make at least one item from my new Seams to Me book
7. Make a few items of clothing for the kids from free or borrowed patterns 
8. Finish Scarlett's crochet blanket and make a crochet blanket for each of the boys
9. Give handmade gifts (ie on the go art satchels or aprons)
10. Read a novel

 Family & Friends

1. Maintain Mothers Group friendships
2. Try to catch up with old friends on a regular basis
3. Continue going to Playgroup
4. Take the boys to swimming for at least 1-2 terms
5. Try the boys at dancing or soccer joeys or music classes (or whatever they seem to be interested in)

Now that I have shared this with you I hope it will keep me honest and in check.

You just don't know who will be reading your blog!

So I find it kinda funny that Patty YOUNG (fabric designer) has tweeted about my recent post about her Sanctuary collection (thanks for reciprocating the free PR!).  Yes, Patty I got your name confused with Patty Smith the very famous rock legend.... Smith/Young... very easy to mix up when your life is so busy with 3 kids under 4!   I've managed to completely by-pass the whole twitter world and just that little glimpse was enough for me (psst, it's kind of like public SMS).  I just don't have the time for it all, email, blogging, facebook and surfing the net take up enough time.

Thanks for the tip on Pinterest though, it looks way fun but I should really be spending any spare time on my 2011 sewing to do list - watch this blog for some 2011 goals including sewing projects and getting people's names right in case they happen to be reading your blog.