A Drunk in Central Park

It`s been a chilly, windy and rainy day here today.  Zaki finished pre-school yesterday as next week it is Eid here (the biggest religious holiday of the year) and so we will be off to the in-laws for a few days.  Everything shuts down for 3 days and it`s difficult to get bread and vegetables for it seems like forever as everyone enjoys the holiday and takes a well earned break.

So today I got on with piecing my Drunkard`s Path (DP) blocks for the QAL.  Apart from a couple of initial blocks, I soon got the hang of the curved piecing and there was scope for trimming them down built into the dimensions.  I do like a block where you can trim it to size as however hard I try, my blocks are never exactly square.  Why is that? So I`m all caught up and while there`s still a little tinkering to do with the colour layout, I`m pretty much ready to sew them together.

I used a Central Park charm pack and even though this is going to be a baby quilt, it`s still pretty small and will need a border round it to pad it out a bit.  So 2 QALs caught up with.

When I was writing yesterday`s post I was surrounded by hungry people asking when supper was going to be ready so I was under pressure to get it done and completely forgot to show you what I received in The Scrappy Swap 2011.  My partner turned out to be Hannah who lives in Columbia, Missouri.  She sent me some gorgeous scraps, a lovely needle-case and some chocolate.  Win.  Win.  Win.

So thank you Hannah for a great package and to the lovely Kat who organized a fabulous and energetic swap.  It`s not quite over as my partner still hasn`t received her swap goodies.  I hope she doesn`t have to wait much longer!

I`m now off to work more on my second design for the Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap and I`ll show you that tomorrow. Have a great Friday.  Anyone in England doing fireworks this weekend?

Tuesday Penny Chews

It`s been a bit mizzy here weatherwise the last few days but today the sun came back, the sky was blue, there was a light breeze and temps in the mid 20 Cs.  My perfect weather.  If it stayed like this all year, I would be very happy.

Sewingwise, I have a couple of things to show and tell.

First off, I have finished the central part of the Red City quilt top, which I`m making in the Duo QAL.

I was hurrying this afternoon and it was only when I looked at this photo that I noticed the layout was far from perfect.  I`m not happy with that block of red in the 2nd from left vertical row.  I think I may have attached the wrong end of the third row.  Is it so bad that I should undo it?  The lazy girl in me is inclined to leave it. I`m thinking of attaching a white border and then a scrappy border and then perhaps another white border.  With careful placement of the scrappy border, can I detract the eye from that big block of red?

In other news, I have posted my scraps and goodie off to my partner in The Scrappy Swap 2011.  She seems lovely and is enthusiastic but she`s a long way away.  I hope she `s not waiting until Christmas to receive her scrappy fabric basket in Terrain and her scraps.  I`ve also attached a couple of goodies but couldn`t take photos as I bought them on the way to the post office.

These fabric baskets are great to make - quick and easy and useful for collecting those small scraps.  I have to make one for myself I think.  I used this tutorial by the lovely Ayumi.

I`m on a *ie*...I wouldn`t use that four letter word on my blog but I`m certainly trying to be more food aware.  This sewing lark involves quite a lot of sitting and when your clothes options become limited to those that are `comfortable`, you know it`s time to do something.  So I`m not denying myself anything but will eat less of it and more healthily...oh, and back to the gym after 6 months.  Ouch.  Don`t worry - no chance of me becoming a gym bunny and I promise not to bore you with my progress...unless it`s very very good.  I have my sister in law`s engagement party at the end of next month and would like to look a bit more presentable for that.

Wish me luck!

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday here. Head over there and see what `s occurring in other people`s sewing spaces.

A Sewing Malaise in Marrakech

So it`s been a little quiet here at Marrakech Towers the last couple of days - the thermostat on that sun is still turned up way too high and has zapped me of my creative mojo and good humour.  What with that and a sick little dinosaur to care for and visitors to entertain and provide for, not much sewing has been done in these parts.

Yesterday, I tried to come up with my `goodie` for my partner in The Scrappy Swap 2011 and made this little puffy pouch from scraps. I used this tutorial by the super talented Ayumi.

It`s lined with the fabric which you can see in the middle pleat.  I would like to say I whipped this up in a jiffy but what with the heat, evaporating mojo, fevers, lunches to prepare, plate spinning and magic tricks (okay I made the last two up), I struggled with the top part and so it didn`t meet the exacting standards of quality control and will remain on my dressing table looking little, puffy and pouchy.

I had some fun this morning trying to come up with a cohesive design for my partner in The Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap being hosted by super good bloggy pal Susan.  I am not such a newbie at swaps now. I have learned that it is all about what your partner wants and it`s not for me to inflict my taste and wants on them.  So my partner likes traditional colours, trees, wonky stars and very fancy things, which I`m not yet up to doing.  So I came up with this design, minus the very fancy things obvs.

If I was making this for me, the colour palette would be more muted and Scandinavian but as I`m learning to be less me, me, me this is what I`ve come up with.

I`m sorry if I haven`t been to visit you recently or am late in answering your email but I am super behind and will catch up once the dinosaur is less hot and back at pre-school.

Friday Round Up

Yesterday`s giveaway sponsored by The Intrepid Thread was such great fun and there were times when I couldn`t keep up with the comments pouring into my email account.  A big welcome to all my new followers and good luck to everyone who has entered the giveaway! There is still time by enter by clicking here.

Today I finished piecing the back to my Across the Sea QAL quilt.  It has been breezy and raining today so I had to rush out between showers and grab this very average shot.

The floating crosses are on a lilac solid for the back, which complements the colours in the blocks but I do kind of wish I had been braver and gone darker. Anyway, that`s it until my wadding and purple thread arrive and at the moment there is no sign of them.

Today`s fantabulous news is that my new sewing machine was delivered today.  Poor thing had hardly time to unpack her bags and she was put to work on the quilt backing.  It`s early days but we are getting on well.  Currently, she is nameless apart from her surname Janome, so if anyone (Hadley?) has any bright suggestions, let me know. In her haste to get here, she forgot to bring the promised quilting quilt, which is hugely frustrating as I was hoping to have the extension table and requisite feet available for when my wadding arrives.  My mum will now bring it out with her in a couple of weeks.

The Goodie Swap 2011 is almost over and after having said I wouldn`t do another swap for a while, I have signed up to two in the last few days. It seems a little obscene to be mentioning the C word in September but the first swap is The Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap being hosted by super lovely bloggy friend Susan.  With Susan in charge and the gaggle of girls who are already signed up, it is sure to be fun.  Sign ups close on October 2 so head on over and take a peek.  I have also signed up to The Scrappy Swap 2011 being hosted by Kat. Sign ups close on September 30.

Right, I`m off to read the instruction book...what? No, of course I didn`t read it before using it!