Covid-19 madness Knitting with teabag strings

I was given a pre rolled ball of strings and I got out my 4.5 mm needles. Cast on 40 sts and stated knitting.

I received a package of strings in the mail... 

Taking the tags off I am left with different lengths of strings. The more stained the better.

I have a little ball. As you can see it's not very big. This will take some time. I only drink 1 cup of tea a day so I collect them from anyone who is willing to save them for me.

I need between 4 - 6,000 strings... OMG... what was I thinking.

This is where I am at now.

I need more strings

Playing around with blogger, posts and a little bit of sewing...

Working out blogger. I'm not sure how to do this really. This attempt is just doing a new post and inserting the photos. I don't know what will happen when I delete the photos from my photo album. Once they are on my blog I take the photos off my iPad to free up space. Doing it this way used to delete them from my blog as well. Let's see what happens now.

I usually email my photos one at a time to my blog and then edit them. That's how I got the photo to stay visible and I easily did my posts.

Now, if I email them and they are a draft I cannot work out how to edit, type a message, see the photo or even preview it. On my iPad the only thing that shows when I preview is half my header photo. Chooky has offered to help via a call so if I get frustrated I'll be taking her up on the offer. Until then I'll try a few things.

So if you don't see me for a while know I am reading your blogs but not successful with mine.

Please keep safe everyone. 

I bought this beautiful pack of Japanese fabric squares when I was on my sewing cruise many years ago. As we all do, I didn't want to cut into them as they are sew pretty. But the time has come and I am going to be brave.

Working out what to do to showcase this fabric.

Cutting and sewing back together again

I am trying these little blocks out for a bit of fun. I'm not sure what will I will end up doing with them. I just wanted to try a pattern out.

QUEENS birthday weekend 2020, Chooky' 8th birthday & overcoming COVID-19 social distancing... QUILTERS RULE....

WOW. What a weekend I have had.
CHOOKY invited anyone and everyone to join in celebrating her virtual 8th birthday party via ZOOM. It was amazing. There was about 30 ladies that dropped in and out over the day. Ranging from 8am to 11pm. Well done CHOOKY.
Thankyou from all of us who joined in. It was a real winner.
https://chookyblue.blogspot.com



It was amazing to be part of this ZOOM meeting. To see all the people on the screen and be able to chat with each other. There were ladies from all over the world, Belgium, Germany, France, England, Canada, USA, New Zealand, and of course us here in Australia. Due to the time differences, people were coming in and out of "the room". Most were sewing while they were chatting, by hand or machine, and some were knitting or cross stitching. I started the chat at 8 am in bed. Moved into my lounge room and then into the sewing room. About lunch time I ducked off for a sower, some lunch and a stretch. It was so good seeing and talking to people I have been blogging with for a few years. Some I have been I swaps with, others I have been chatting via email. It was great to hear a voice and put faces to blog names. There were even new contacts which I will enjoy hopping on to their blogs and doing a catch up read....





CHOOKY has put up a list HERE of everyone who joined in.
I will have a great time linking in and seeing what they are all up to.

While sitting and chatting all day to ladies around the world I was working on my BONNIE HUNTER FROLIC MYSTERY...
My blocks are now all sewn... What a job...


Now to do the  I must have been too busy talking...
Oh my... I read that I had to cut for my sashings 1.5" * 12.5" neutral strips for the sashings of my blocks. So I cut all 64.. Guess what.... I was wrong. The total unit was to be 1.5" * 12.5"..
So I had to trim all the strips I had cut.... These new strips had to be cut back to 4.5". What a silly mistake.... but I am back on track...

I am busy sewing these strips together... They shouldn't take too long.....

Here are my sashings Resewn and ready to attach to my FROLIC QUILT.
Well those leftover 1.5" * 8" strips are just going to have to be used up into a quilt Deana is working on. TRAIL MIX....


Have a look at what Deana got up to....
http://dreamworthyquilts.blogspot.com
This is what Deana has already made.


You can get the FREE pattern HERE for TRAIL MIX

http://jannimary.blogspot.com. Janice might be starting it too.
I wonder who else might give it a go.....

I have also finished my AUSSIE HERO QUILT... It's quilted, binding on & label on..


Look at this backing. It has all the landmarks of Melbourne. I was raised in Melbourne and know these landmarks. So this represents my input. We do not know where our recipient lives but we can surely share our part of the world..


Here my recipient is racing his bike around the PHILLIP ISLAND TRACK. This quilt is personalised just for him.

Check out AUSSIE HERO QUILTS HERE to see what it's all about and how you can help....

I have been saving tea bag strings for my friend who has been knitting scarves. They are lovely Lacey designs. Just knitted in plain knit stitch.

But now she has said she has done enough. So the strings I had sitting here I have tied them together and now I am going to knit. Call me crazy but now I need more strings.
If you want to help out I need strings. No tags.
Please send me some...
I am going to start knitting tonight ..
I need between 4,000 - 6,000 strings to complete my scarf.
No. 4.5mm needles and 40sts... Here I go....

Happy sewing everyone.

Keep safe and be happy.....

CHOOKY's 8th BIRTHDAY PARTY via ZOOM

Who is going to join in for some on the weekend to celebrate CHOOKY'S birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHOOKY

Click on the above link to find the details..

See you all there..

AHQ in progress ready for a HERO

I have decided to do an urgent AHQ.
Request was for--- RED,WHITE & BLUE, Honda Racing, photos of recipient racing his own bike and some other emblems I don't know what they are so are not being included.
I started out with red, white & blue 2.5" strips and sewed them together like the well known Jelly Roll race. It was wide enough but not long enough for the specifics of an AHQ.




So I added a blue strip....
This was already in my cupboard. So when the request came in I knew I could do it easily. Without too much fuss.


Now to unpick the blue strip.
Print some photos, add an emblem appliqué, join them to fit and sew them back into the quilt.....

I am happy with what I have done with this AHQ. 

The photos are of the recipient at Phillip Island racing around the track.

By the sounds of it he loves his bike and racing as these photos were part of his request.

I've been working on FROLIC....

I have decided to drag out BONNIE HUNTERS MYSTERY FROLIC to see where I am up to.

I have them on my design wall. Sewn a few flying geese. Trimmed a few and well on my way to some completed blocks. I am not a fan of sewing flying geese. Especially the amount required in this quilt but now is the time to get on with it.

So, I have managed to sort out what blocks I have, what I have to do. Now I can get started and leave them on show.
Hopefully during this isolation time with COVID-19 I can keep myself busy and happy on my weekends.

I am having fun and making progress. So far this was a full days work...

I have been busy working on BH.. but I think the corner block has the wrong colour neutrals...

I have now got all the full blocks made. Errors pulled out and resewn. 

If you notice the outside borders have a darker neutral because I ran out of the lighter fabric. I'm not sure if I have counted correctly but I think I need that darker one in the centre. 

Hopefully I can work on the half square blocks next weekend.

There still needs sashings but I am happy with my progress. Once the set in blocks are done I will need to move a few around to seperate colours.

I am so over this quilt but it is coming out so pretty.
I have someone in mind this will be gifted to so it will get finished.
I am going to leave it on my wall so I keep working on it.
There is still a lot to do.
I do have all the half square triangles made for the borders and parts of the sashings cut out.
Now I need to cut all the neutrals for the sashings.

COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted. I still am not sure but I want this fininshed as a reminder of this time.

KEEP SAFE EVERYONE.

AUSSIE HERO QUILTS.....

You all know I support AHQ.  Well, this week, along with everyone else I was shocked to hear of Jan-Maree's illness. She is not looking for sympathy but understanding and support.

We as quilters have know so many over our sewing years that have needed support. So many have gone through stressful times. We will continue to sew and support in the ways we know...

Thinking of you Jan-Maree.

http://aussieheroquilts.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-personal-message-from-jan-maree.html

I would like to share with everyone the fantastic work everyone does that sends off their quilts to the troops.

Have a look here to see some beautiful work sent to cheer some people up.

http://aussieheroquilts.blogspot.com/2020/04/weekly-dispatches-17th-april-2020.html

This is another one that has been posted....

And my Lorraine Cocker quilt has been quilted.

This was a UFO CHALLENGE for me... NO... 2 is completed.

Here they both are together.

A happy finish of 2 quilts..

I am happy to be making these quilts for our troops on deployment but Australia Post has made it more difficult to post them. The boxes they sold that fitted the requirements for free postage to the troops are no longer being sold at the post office. This size fitted a magazine, a quilt and sometimes a pack of biscuits or chocolate. All this came in under 2 kgs so was free. Now the boxes are way too small to fit a quilt or too large that you need to pay postage. Thanks for your support Aust Post.

I was told you could get them from Officeworks but no, not in Mildura. Getting around in these COVID times is hard enough let alone searching for boxes. I then tried BUNNINGS. Yes, Fantastic. They had a smaller box than the original we used but a quilt still fits perfectly. Not sure what else you could squeeze in as it only weighed 1.5 kgs...  They were also sold  seperately too.

These are what they look like as a flattened box.. $2.69 @ BUNNINGS.....

I was so happy to find these at Bunnings that I sent a message to thank them. I got a lovely message back from Steve the manager. He is an ex serviceman who was in the forces for 12 years and thanked me for what I am doing. In return he offered to supply me with more boxes.

Thankyou STEVE @ Mildura BUNNINGS for your offer to supply me with more boxes as required. I appreciate your support and I will accept the boxes.

QATW Bookcase quilt is nearly done.

Well it's not a finish but the top is nearly there. I have the borders to do which include the outside edges of the bookcase and to include 2 more blocks in a different way. I'm happy with all the book titles. I did seperate a few book blocks to space them out. I trimmed the camera block and made it into a book called I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE, placed it front on for the display. I even added a book in the top left called QATW... I trimmed the jug, fish bowl & jar blocks so they weren't so big. All is going along nicely.

AHQ Braids

I have spent a week or 2 thinking of ideas to surround this map of the world for an amazing AHQ.

I did not just want to add plain borders. It would look like a bought quilt then. Wow. I thought of this idea. BRAIDS. By adding a 6" braid border all around it came out the perfect size. 

I carefully trimmed the borders and have them attached.

READY TO QUILT THIS WEEKEND....

ANZAC DAY...... AUSSIE HERO QUILT & LAUNDRY BAG IN THE POST

So here are my piles of blue scrap fabrics.

I am doing strip, QAYG piecing.

This will be made into an Aussie Hero quilt.

Unfortunately it didn't use up many scraps.

I still cant close the blue tub but I am happy with the end result.

Here is the finished quilt. I love the look of it but not sure if I like doing QAYG this way.

It has the binding on the front but not the back. The seams were very bulky.

The recipients name has been covered up for privacy.

There were a few mistakes as I had cut the blocks out to sew a certain way then I decided to follow a different tutorial which didn't match the cutting/sewing measurements. The seam lines don't match but are still ok. It was a learning curve for me. I am still trying to find a QAYG method I enjoy and that works or me. This is now in the mail...

Look at this fantastic backing fabric I have used.

It shows all the icons landmarks in Sydney & Melbourne

I have sent off this Laundry bag too. Obviously the recipient is named Bob..