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Thursday 12 April 2018

Postcards and Signatures

It's been a while, I suppose you expect me to have an amazing amount of stitching to show you?   Wrong!  Well, I have done some stitching recently but I just needed a break, you know?  I seem to go on overload now and again, usually when I've had a lot going on, but I'm getting back to normal now.  Want to know what I have been doing?

Postcards, from Sweden to be exact.


Sorry for the dreadful pic, I'm in the process of doing something about those.  I finished cutting all the triangles and started stitching them together.  The first row is all done and stitched, the second has half the blocks trimmed and pressed and the other half waiting to be trimmed, in the third row most are stitched none are trimmed.  I'm hoping to get back to it in a few days but I have had other priorities.

My goal for April, if I had linked up to One Monthly Goal which I didn't and no I didn't link at the end of March either as I was in my shut down mode, was to make the signature blocks for Chris and Sarah's wedding quit which will be a panel on the back.  Sarah is very excited about this, she has a degree in fine art and I encouraged her to design her quit herself giving her guidelines, here is what she came up with for the back.


The quilt will be 80 inches wide by 64 inches deep to lie across their kingsize bed with a centre panel of 48 signature blocks.


First I cut the 48 blocks, 8 1/2 inches square in Kona silver and 96 5 1/4 inch squares in sixteen different Kona colours which Sarah had chosen previously, there are another three greys but we decided to use only the brights for the signature panel.


I added stitch and flip triangles to opposite corners of each block and then stitched an extra line half an inch away to harvest the bonus half square triangles.  Next I pressed them all to set the seams.


Before flipping them open and pressing them.


Next I have to open them all up and cut off the bonus HST's.


This is what I will end up with, 48 blocks and 96 bonus HST's which measure at 4 1/4 inches before they are trimmed.  Only thing is so far I have only sat this one so guess what I will be doing next?  What to do with the bonus HST's?  Haven't decided yet.  Can't wait to start on the front.

Sewing wise that's all I have been up to.  I have read five books though, I also got a dress and jacket for the wedding (I'm going to use the fascinator shoes and bag I bought for Tina's wedding in February) but I haven't got a pic as yet.  Oh and a couple of days ago I bought,


the new camera I wanted.  I was fed up of luging a big camera and lenses around, too heavy, plus it's quite old now and I have had a couple of issues too.  I have been using my tablet and my phone but they have serious limitations.   I decided to invest in a small camera that will slip into my bag, it had to have a large sensor and a decent lens and be able to take nice pics in low light.  After taking advice from my nephew who is knowledgable about cameras I decided on this Sony DSC-RX100.  This is the original camera in the range, there is also a mark two, three, four, and now five each having more and more extra features, but most of them I don't want or need, apart from a viewfinder which I would have loved but the shop only had the mark 3 and four both of which have viewfinders but the three would have almost doubled the price so I did without.  I haven't had a play with it yet but when I do I'll tell you what I think.

The only other thing I have been up to was the Hen Party!  Oh yes, and a good time was had by all.  I won't bore you with all the details but I will show you a pic


of the bride, Sarah, my future daughter in law and myself.  No we were not in jail, and I had all my clothes on under the orange coverall which is why I look huge.


My daughter and granddaughter were there too, my granddaughter is an adult by the way, she just looks quite young on the pic.

That's all my news, except I am going to Higham Hall for an embroidery weekend tomorrow, oh I'm so excited to be going, especially after the disappointment of the last time when it was cancelled for snow.

I'll tell you all about it next time, and hopefully I will have made my bee blocks too, but until then,
With smiles from
Kate x

Linking up with
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?


16 comments:

  1. Fun to see the pictures of the hen party. You have made good progress on the wedding quilt, and Postcard from Sweden will still be there when all of the wedding festivities are done. How fun, too, to have a new camera to play with!

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  2. Looks like you had a lot of fun at the party! The jail theme with orange jumpsuits is quite funny :)

    Your Postcards are coming along at your own pace, and that's good. It will be finished when it's good and ready. The wedding quilt is higher priority and looks very bright and cheerful. Meanwhile, we all expect expert level photos from that fancy camera! (Just kidding! No pressure from me, my photos are terrible...)

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  3. well even if you didn't get a lot of sewing done it sounds like you have been busy - cute orange jumpsuits - yes looks like jail ware :)

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  4. I'm very curious about the venue for the hens night, Kate! It looks like a lot of fun! I hope that your down time didn't involve nursing a hangover :-). That camera looks like just the right size. I had a look at it and it looks just right for taking lots of party photos and indoor design wall shots with that low light sensitivity - very impressive! I hate using a flash and washing all the colours out.

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  5. Oh that signature quilt looks like it will be a fun and colorful one! How nice that she helped design it! I love it when someone tells me EXACTLY what they want. Can't wait to see your postcard finish too. :)

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  6. The signature quilt is going to be bright and bold, very fun. The Hen party (never heard them called that, but love that name for what we call a bridal shower) looks like great fun was had by all. I use a little Sony point and shoot for most of my sewing room photos, they work really well. Hope you enjoy yours.

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  7. Loving all those bright colors, Kate! Both quilts will be beautiful. They must cheer up your sewing space. The wedding is coming up quickly. Can’t wait to see pics of you in your new dress!

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  8. I hope that the shut down time helped you feel recharged. These quilts look like they are going to be fun to work on. :)

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  9. I love that you thought ahead to sew the extra line for the the bonus HSTs. I would have thought of that later after doing all the cutting!

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  10. I am so happy to see you back. That you have fun pictures and colorful blocks is like a cherry on top the sundae plus a little mint leaf :-D
    So a hen party is like a bridal shower or a bachelorette party? In any case, it looks like all of you were having an absolutely sinful time, jail attire or not:-p

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  11. I'm so glad you'll get to do an embroidery weekend since the last attempt was thwarted. I love the signature blocks and can't wait to see them all together. Your family looks like you all have a lot of fun together!

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  12. I can't wait to see the signature quilt. Your HST's are looking great. Enjoy your embroidery weekend -- have fun!

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  13. I hope your weekend was really special. Just what you needed with all the busyness you've had. Hope you have some photos of the Hall and the fun. Lovely pics of your girls.

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  14. I was happy to see a new post from you! I love the pictures of you and your girls celebrating. What fun to see those. I want to see the wedding outfit next! I was just browsing the Internet last night looking at dresses. My son is being married in September so I have a while yet. Just getting ideas. Have a great day Kate!!

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  15. I've been a bit behind with things , what's new I think to myself . Love your colours in your postcards ! And glad to see the wedding quilt is taking shape . Can't wait to hear how the embroidery weekend went

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  16. I like how the signature quilt has grey instead of white for the signature blocks. Very striking. Nice camera. It's good to have one to carry in your purse since you can't have the big one with you all the time. I do that, too.

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With smiles from,
Kate