April Goals


Well it is that time again… goals. I sometimes wonder why I continue to set goals each month. It’s not like I actually put much weight on sticking to them, my crafting is not something I try to bring pressure to. With so little time to just relax it seems silly to and yet more pressure and yet I do like to write my goals down each month.Maybe it is more like a priority list to remind myself what I wanted to try and get done.

The reasons are secret even to myself.

So what are my goals for April…

Easter break from school is one that is always busier than I expect and this year will be no different. There are plans for gaming and two sets of visitors, add in work that needs to be done before the start of the new term and hopefully some adventures to my favourite crafty places to spend money and there really isn’t a great deal of time left over. All the same hopefully just a reduction in working days from 12+ hours to a more manageable 6-8 will see me more refreshed and focused.

  1. 600+ Stitches in to Shaz
  2. The last seven blocks for my Quilt top ready for sashing and background to go on in the last few lessons.
  3. pick up a knitting wip and make some headway (not sure which one yet)
  4. Make a new dice bag for Mr B

That should be enough to keep me busy for a while.



Progress report – March


Here we are again endings and beginnings…
March saw the deadline for the blanket come around a lot faster than expected with the mother to be heading off on maternity leave before the en of term. I dropped everything else in a last ditch bid to get the blanket finished, washed and blocked not to mention dried in time to hand it over. Surprisingly I actually managed it,but the photos I have are not the best, taken in a rush in fading light. I only did 45 repeats of the shale pattern compared to the 57 recommended but blocked it was larger than the specified size anyway. Final size was ~41×51″ plenty big enough for a baby blanket. The lace work opened up nicely and the wool relaxed to be super soft and squishy. The mum to be loved it and has promised pictures with the baby eventually.
Baby Shale
The quilting course still marches on, however, we have been told that the store is closing down in June. It is sad to see another local craft store closing it’s doors but in many ways I find it hard to justify the increased price in many of these stores not to mention that my tastes are rarely catered for. The place up the road where the lovely Miss Sharon and myself have been doing our course is one of these stores. Most fabrics are around $25 a metre and the selection is of very traditional fabrics in browns and florals. There are a lot of American Civil War reproduction fabrics and 1930s reproductions. While pretty in their own right they certainly aren’t the fabrics I would be buying.. and believe me I have looked. I do have a great fabric store I like to go to over in Brunswick but still while it has a fantastic range they rarely stock the fabrics that I am drawn to that I can find online.

Anyway discussions of the benefits and drawbacks of online shopping in the craft world the class has continued over march with two new techniques and a number of new blocks. Not quite the 12 I was hoping for but I am now up to nine blocks completed with two more cut and ready to piece… maybe even today.

The blocks done this month were:

Block 6 - Flying Geese Symmetry in motion (Block 7)                                    Flying Geese                                                                                  Symmetry in Motion

Block 5 - Dresden PlateCard Trick
Dresden Plate                                                                                             Card Trick
Drunkards Path - Falling Timber

Falling Timber

The curved piecing on Falling Timber was a challenge it is a block that would be easier to complete hand sewing I think. So much easier to control the fabric than using the machine. As much as I like the speed of the machine I’m likely to try hand piecing at some stage… there is always Moonglow to try though that still seems way out of my league skills and time wise.

All up there are 9 blocks now:

The first 9

The light this morning was very bad for picture taking but you get an idea of how they are looking all together. The next lesson is foundation piecing… hmmm wonder how that one will go, another challenging class I suspect.

Strangely enough I even managed to get about 500-600 stitches in Rose of Sharon. It still feels like I will never get her done but I am determined to keep pressing on. So that I can finally get her framed and out of my house.
Rose of Sharon End of March 2013
So all in all my Feb goals came close:

  1. I would love to get to 18 completed blocks but really I would be happy if I could make it to 12 that in itself will be a feat. Only 9 completed but still not too bad.
  2. 43 repeats of the blanket (Eeeep) 38 completed as well as the edge, cast off and blocking .. Woohoo!
  3. 100 stitches a week on ShazMaybe not each week (it was more of a last minute binge) but ~500+ completed.

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