Come September

I have become quite lazy about writing blogs. Perhaps it is because the keyboard on my laptop has issues and writing on a tablet is not very easy. Last month I waited till the last day to pen out my monthly target and as luck would have it had no internet starting from the 7th till almost the end of the month. Not that I learnt a lesson. This month we are on 7 the and here I am writing my blog!!! But on the other hand I do keep up with my sewing which is all that matters ultimately.
I did finish the train quilt and it has reached the intended recipient!

This month I am working on another quilt for a child and again it has a lot of scope for creativity! The theme is the Old McDonald song and I expect it to be very colourful! Hopefully I will finish it and make a start on a gift for dh who will celebrate his sixtieth this year!
Linking with OMG

July - a train to catch

It is time to share and thankfully this month I have something unlike last month when I did not even attempt to have a go at my target. This month I was to do a train quilt for a two year old and though I would have liked to have finished it in total, I am content that the top is done to my satisfaction. I am waiting to get my hands on batting and so the quilting was delayed.

Linking with OMG

Plans for July

Last month I did not get to do my monthly goal. Forget not finishing I did not even start it. I think it some kind of mind block for I did do other stuff. Anyway this month I have already started a child's quilt and quite realistically if I finish it I would be happy. I have already changed the dimensions of the strips and also some of the design elements and since there is a lot of applique involved it is going to be a protracted project.

So that then is my OMG for July. Linking up with Red Letter Quilts.

OMG it is June!

Time to set myself another target again. I do have a runner to quilt and finish for a birthday coming up this month and my Splendid samplers to catch up with but those are not going to figure as my OMG. I find that the only way to do the ones on my to-do list is to put them on my OMG. That way it won't be years before I get to do them. So here is something I have been wanting to make - a passport holder. There are so many travellers in the family and I should be making them all one of these. But I will start with my mom who is also celebrating her 80 the birthday this month. And she is visiting my sister in UK right after that. So a passport holder would be great for her. ( And also a wallet to carry her meds but I don't want to get too ambitious)
So that is my OMG for June. Linking up with Red letter quilts OMG.
Oh and before I wrap this up here is a look at my ' Sunset in Africa ' all done!

OMG it is May already!

And a week gone too. I have been dithering over my goal for the month! Imsaid yes to a friend who wants some painted fabrics and that takes away the mornings. With thunderstorms disrupting everything in the afternoons most nights we end up with no power. So do I even set up a goal!for the month let alone something that I have been dodging for months now?
Well if I don't pin myself down I will never get it done. So here I go - this month I want to make a start on a wall quilt meant for a special person. She has turned 60/ and celebrated it with a holiday in Africa. I could not join her but wanted to make myself part of it by making a quilt that will echo Africa for her. I have bought shades of red paints and fabric to be painted and will push myself to have a go at it!
That is my goal for the month!

Just made it!

I was sure I was going to miss my deadline this month. Had my machine out for servicing and though I got it back two days back we had long and frequent power cuts. It really put me off my stride when I am interuppted. As it there is a lot of demand on my time and I hate it when I finish all my work and sit at my sewing machine only to find there is no power! Yes it happens all the time and yet never ceases to frustrate me.
In case you are wondering I left it so late, I was caught up teaching a workshop ( a first time venture) in the middle of the month and preparing the kits took a lot of time.
Well I did finish the tote I planned for this month. I have a few more planned and this was to set the mood. I liked the way it turned out and that it was a fairly simple sew.

This was made following a tute by The Inspired Wren and she has made it easy to follow.
Linking this with OMG at Red Letter Quilts.

Too hot to quilt

The thought of handling batting in this weather really makes me feel like giving up quilting. But I still have to keep some promises. Like that matching pillow covers and cushion covers for my sis! I am doing those currently and cheating a little by hand quilting in the comfort of the air-conditioned living room. I also have to prepare kits for a workshop I have promised to do. That's a first  and I am keeping my fingers crossed.
But no quilts this summer which of course could translate to a few more months in my part of the world. But for my OMG I am going to do a tote. I have quite a few fabrics stashed as suitable for totes and I recently stocked up hardware and faux leather. So tote it is this month!

As the month marches by

Last month I failed to keep my target. It was a combination of circumstances like running out of fabric for the backing and the shop not having the colour in stock, receiving the border later than I had expected and so spending ten days doing other stuff - yet it is a fact that I could not finish on time.
And already a week has gone by in March and I am still doing free motion quilting on that quilt for my sister.Did I tell you I chose a really close pattern to quilt and it has consumed 2000 metres of thread already! I must be adding to the warp and weft of the fabric I think. And I still have to do a pair of pillow covers and cushion covers to match the quilt.
 I am not going to make these my goal to finish this month though! I will certainly finish them but there is something that I want to sew and have been wanting for a couple of years. An organiser for my sewing stuff! I had drawn the specs last year,kept aside some see through vinyl and yet have-not got around to sewing it. Every time I drop pins and my scissors and other stuff off my sewing table I tell myself I need to get my organiser done. So this month I am doing some selfish sewing. Hoping to share a picture then!
Linking with OMG and Red letter quilts

My sister's quilter

This month' s OMG target will be my sister' s quilt. I have dragged my foot a lot on this one just because she was not in a big hurry. She also has asked for matching pillow covers and cushion covers.  Even if I don't get those done I would like to get the quilt done. I am waiting for the borders, which are going to be block printed. Can't wait to get them. I also had a request from dh for a wallet in faux leather as he had to throw the one he was using.  He does not think I can really do it but give me a pattern and i can do a decent job. I will be googling the net for a pattern as i dont have any saved. I would like to do that this month but as I have to give only one target I would make it the quilt! Here is that picture again.

Linking with OMG Red better Quilts for February.

Sleep sewing

Yes sleep sewing! After sewing about 50 circles to the background fabric, I am almost sleep sewing them. It does get boring to sew circle after circle down! I knew it would be so and that is why it took me two years to agree to do this for my sister. We discussed so many designs but she would keep coming back to it and so I gave in. Well at least the tough work is over. Just need to put the blocks together and then think about how to quilt it. I did want to use a nice pink thickish crochet cotton and sew around the circles. But 300 of them makes me wonder if I would be spending the next two months hand quilting. Not sure if I can devote so much time even though there is no deadline to finishing the quilt! What do you think. Should I machine quilt bubbles in the spaces between circles or hand quilt?

Linking this with the OMG finish party for Jan hosted by Red Letter Quilts.

Oh my goodness

I have to admit that a promise made publicly seems to prod me more into action than most other things. I suppose that it is true for most people as there are quite a few link ups for finishes every year. Last year ALYOF helped me stay the course for so many of my projects. I was feeling a bit lost to know that they no longer were sponsoring it but relief is always there. OMG or One Monthly Goal is filling the void. So here is my goal for the month and I especially need it as I have not sewn a thing since the start of the year.
DH decided to get the sewing room painted as it was growing literally because of water seeping into the walls from the water tank which was directly above and so he came home with a brush and couple of cans of paint on the last day of the year. Did I tell you he is a die-hard  DIY. And like Tom Sawyer he had me roped in from the word 'go'. The first room to be played around with was my sewing room and once that was done it seemed the natural thing to do the other rooms too. So I am yet to sew a single stitch! Oh and to add to my woes I chopped off the tip of my forefinger on my right hand. A kitchen accident!
I really need then to set a goal and achieve it this month for fear that I may get into the habit of not sewing! God forbid! I am working on a quilt for my sis. It has been on the cards for two years and she has been reminding me of it in so many different ways. It needed some 300 plus circles to be readied for applique and I managed to do it in the last week of December. So this month I will hopefully get the appliques sewn to the background squares. I would like the quilt top ready but that might be too ambitious considering there is still half the house to be painted. Here is a picture of the appliques!