15 minutes and a missed week

I didn't get round to doing a post last week.  Was just really lazy, by the time I remembered it was sit in front of the TV with my hubby for Xfiles reruns and I decided to just do a 2 weeks post this week.

Last week was a 7 out of 7 week
This week was a 6 out of 7 week

Work is progressing on top and bottom borders.  I transferred the pattern to the fabric and have prepared most of the leaves on both borders and started on the book on the bottom border.  I am just hoping hoping that it will look like a book when it is finished.  Last week I stitched the side borders in place.  And I have finished writing block 8 which is now in my etsy shop.

My iMac has been slowing up over the last 12 months, it only worried me when I used excel, most other programs weren't too bad though open software usually required a lot of waiting around.  DH was more impatient with it when searching the internet and start carrying on when he got the pretty spinny ball and nothing would load.  So he gave me the go ahead to get a new one and I spent half the weekend migrating my data.  I have to say the automated migration app is amazing it took a long time to migrate over our network but everything was where it was supposed to be with little effort from on my part.

This week I head off down the coast for a sewing retreat with friends.  I've restricted myself to 3 projects.  Springtime Romance Borders, Green Tea and Sweet Beans and Sugar Plum.   We will see how much gets done on the 4 days and a bit days.  Lots got done last time so I'm hoping it will be the same again this weekend.

So how did stitching go for you this week.  Head to Kate's for the linky party.  

15 Minute Challenge Side Border Nearly There

I managed 7 out of 7 this week.  The 2nd side border is nearly finished there are just flower centres to go.  I needed a bit of motivation this week as it has been a bit of hard slog stitching over the past couple of weeks so I pinned the borders and quilt up on my cupboards in my sewing room just to see how it was coming together.

I'm thinking I will trim them down to 10" finished instead of 12".  I'm undecided about the top and bottom borders, the illustration for the borders is based on 10" width so that I could fit them on an A4 sheet when printed.

It got me motivated enough and I have transferred most of the top border onto the fabric and all of the bottom border ready to start stitching.   I want the cluster of flowers to be centred and the books to be on the corner, so I will get the centre spray stitched then work out the position of the books once I am ready to put it together.

I'm also thinking of next years quilt and I've seen some appliqué quilts I like the look of on instagram this one has a white background.  I've done grey's and now black I think I'm going for a nice fresh white this time will give me something new to focus on.  Where do you get your inspiration, I usually see a quilt that I like the overall look and feel.  How the background and colours work together then try and do something that has a similar combination with my spin.

I have another sewing retreat planned at the beginning of November can't wait, I have to leave a day early as I have a Specialist appointment on the Tuesday afternoon but I think the 4 night will allow me to have a bit of a recharge with the girls and get lots of stitching done.

Have you managed some stitching every day this week.  Head to Kate's to see how everyone is getting on with the challenge.

15 Minute Challenge and Mo's Back

It was a 6 out of 7 week again this week.  My shoulder is a lot better, only one more physio treatment to see it back to new, so stitching should pick up in the next week.

Mo arrived home yesterday with extra weight in her luggage and a few stories to tell.  I don't think she has caught the travel bug though.  She liked the smaller cities with lots of parks and gardens that they visited  but Tokyo not so much to industrial.

She said the home stay was fun and the family she stayed with had lived in Australia for nearly a year so their english was really good.  She found the same with the students at the school and she had to do classes with a couple of "buddies" .   She got more than one buddy as the first one she was assigned was a bit unreliable.   Mo said the unreliable one fell asleep during class, and she poked her in the side to wake her up and the whole class laughed at them.    She said that the school days was pretty long starting at 7.30 and finishing at 3.30 but then they all went to clubs after school which didn't finish till 6 and then I guess the travel on top of that.

She slept nearly to midday today, and she did a bit of sleep walking in the night.  She was trying to get out of her room but was struggling with the door my husband had a bit of a conversation with her and she went back to bed.  She didn't remember it this morning though.  Its been a few years since she has done that.

Block 6 of Springtime Romance is up in my Etsy shop now and I am about to work on Block 7.

How has your stitching been this week.  Head to Kate's to see how everyone faired this week. 

Free BOM Springtime Romance Block 4

Here we are at Block 4.  Now this one has a lot of stitching and I left it until last to finish.  Each flower has more than one layer.  If you fussy cut you may not need all those layers as always it is up to you to make it your own.

You can now puchase this block from my Etsy shop.

Quilt Requirements

15 Minute Challenge and only photo's from Japan

It was a 6 out of 7 again this week.  Friday I was pretty beat, busy day at work and just didn't feel like lifting up a needle.  Might be a bit more of the same tonight will have to see how my shoulder is after treatment this afternoon.

Border 2 is coming together slowly, I've done a bit of most of the flowers but none of them are finished.  I really need to finish writing the rest of the block patterns, but my husband has got a project he is working on and every time I  turn around he is on my computer.

There hasn't been much news from Mo she is more than halfway through her trip now.  I still keep refreshing instagram in the hope of seeing pictures at least.  She heads to Tokyo today so I think there will be a little less moving around this week though she will be going for her homestay.

Maestro asked us to come out to his work and watch the end of the Grand Final (Australian Rules) on  Saturday, so we didn't have lunch and had a late lunch early dinner at the restaurant were he works.  The meal was good, the restaurant was pretty empty being Grand Final day most people are at home watching the final or in a pub watching the final.  

Maestro is different from the rest of the family, we are all mostly introverts, Maestro is an extrovert and is really confident, he will talk to anyone and obviously has a lot of fun in his workplace.  My husband is really picky when it comes to food, Maestro just talked to the head chief to get him a special meal, then ordered himself a special meal.  I was quite happy to get something from the menu.  

How did your week go.  Head to Kate's to see how everyone is getting on this week.  

15 Minute Challenge & Missing Mo

It was a 6 out of 7 week this week.  Head cold then sinus headache took me out of it this week the other days were minimum 15min stitching.  Last minute Mo running around she flew out on Saturday evening.  Today I am feeling a little bit bereft.

The teachers with them emailed Sunday afternoon to say that they had arrived in Japan and were off to their first excursion ... Samurai Sword Fighting (hopefully with sticks and not actual swords) and she did post a few photo's on Instagram so I know she is ok.

You don't realise how much you interact on a daily basis until they're not there 😔.

She won't be happy because I am all mopey and I keep checking instagram for posts.  I took some sneaky photo's off her while she was waiting.  The photo's the teacher sent her must have been after exposure to more humidity because her hair was way more curlier than here.

I've managed to hurt my shoulder, hoping that it settles down soon as I can't take advil at the moment as I am having treatment on my heal spur but if I can't take anti-inflamatory meds, I'm using ice packs and panadol.  

At least next post we will be halfway through and I won't feel so down.  

How's your stitching going this week? Head to Kate's to see how everyone else is doing.  

15 Minute Challenge and back to Green Tea and Sweet Beans

I've been hit with a head cold, I've been taking everything I can to get over it quick Sambucol and some other supplements to knock it on its head.  I don't want Mo to catch it as she fly's out this Saturday.

This weekend we did more last minute shopping for the trip, this time a spray jacket and more Yen.  We found out during the week that Japan works more on cash than credit cards and not all credit cards may not work, though Mo has a travel card with Yen on it so hopefully that will be ok.












Its been a 7 out of 7 week, even with the head cold and japan trip running around.  Border No1 got finished and then I had a little break from Springtime Romance and did a block for Green Tea and Sweet Beans BOM so that I was only 3 months behind on that project.  Here is my hexie block which were hand pieced and was exceedingly easy to do ... I had been putting this off mainly because of the cutting out of the hexies.  Stitching them together was easy peasy,  could even get into stitching these together this way far easier than paper piecing.

The stitching girls and I are planning another sewing weekend in a couple of months, and will be staying in the same house we rented in July, can't wait hopefully I'll have Springtime Romance all finished by then, might be at the quilting stage with any luck.   But maybe it will be a hand piecing few days instead of lugging my machine.... I have plenty of those to go on with.


Want to check in on everyone else.  Head to Kate's to see how they went this week in the challenge.