There is no turning back now.

The electrician is booked in for Monday, the windows and doors will be going in soon, it's all taking shape.  I've been working out a floor plan so I can decide where to put light fittings, power points and switches.  Yay, yay, yay!!  

Mat and Ruler Bag

So I had a great retreat.  We missed the people who couldn't come for a variety of reasons, but we still managed to chat and sew the time away.  My Old Maid's Puzzle quilt is backed, layered and basted (many hands make basting a dream - as does a large stainless steel kitchen bench), and I finally made myself a mat and ruler bag.

I've wanted one for ages and I even had fabrics I wanted to use (MoMo by Moda, a pack of four half-metres  I bought once with no idea what I would do with them).  But I couldn't find a pattern I liked. I searched for tutorials or free patterns on the net, nope.  I searched for commercial patterns, nope.  So I just jolly well designed one myself! 

 And I love it!  If I made it again, I might round the top corners, but apart from that, it's pretty perfect for me. And it's done, which is half the beauty.  It's main body is quilted, it opens out flat, has carry handles, ties to hold it shut and pockets inside for my big mat and all my rulers, plus room for a notebook and a few other things.

This is inside it with all the rulers and mats slid away out of sight.  And then below I've slid everything out a little so you can see where they all hid.  I backed the pockets with pink flannelette and lightly 'quilted' them so they didn't sag too much.

And here's an action shot taken by my four year old!  I wanted to show how I fluked scientifically measured the handles big enough to sling over my shoulder, but - get this, I also managed to make them short enough that it doesn't drag on the ground if I carry it in my hand!  (Didn't get the shot of that one - the dogs kept walking in front of the camera).

So I'm very pleased with my little invention.  My mats and rulers are also extremely pleased that they finally have a home.  I'll be posting more shots of the retreat over on the Keriquilt blog soon- keep an eye out.

And I'm whispering this because I still don't believe it and don't want to jinx it - the building has started again after the builder and the husband had a pow wow over the weekend.  Progress shots when I've convinced myself it's really happening!

Retreating

It seems like a week or so of hard knocks.  Life has been handing them out to many people I know.  It makes my studio woes seem laughable (which they are really).  But I'm retreating from life for a little while.  It is the weekend of our guild's regular quilting retreat and I'm going to sew, baste, quilt, piece, (probably unpick), chat, eat and drink (just a little) the weekend away.

I've finished my Old Maid's Puzzle quilt and I hope to layer and baste it this weekend.  So this morning I've been working out a backing for it.  I have a very scientific method to work out if my backings will fit.

I lay the quilt on the floor (after first pushing furniture out the way and assessing whether the floor needs a clean!) and then lay my bits of backing on top to see if they will fit.  Not very scientific, but actually pretty fail-safe!  I also have a not very scientific way to measure whether my quilts will cover the bed enough.

Just take your quilt top and lay it over the bed you wish it to cover.  Does it fit?  And there you have your answer.  It's also a good way to do a little more admiring of all your had work...;)

I have a collection of paint chips and I rummaged through them the other day matching them to the colours of this quilt.  I think I might use it as the inspiration for the colour scheme of my studio.

Anyway, have a great weekend, I know I will.  And my thoughts and love go out to everyone around the world struggling with illness or tragedy, hardship or grief.

Commiserate with me...

For the studio building is no more :(

When Hubby came home last night he was in a temper, the builder had not followed his instructions.  Bad, naughty builder.

Consequently the builder was here this morning, unbuilding.

Yes, everything he built yesterday has been removed.

Kinda like seam ripping.

And now Hubby says it'll have to wait until he has more time and can stay home in the mornings and direct the builder each day.

Which won't be till after Easter.

Bugger.  I knew it was too good to be true.

So in an effort to look on the bright side, I'm planning paint colours, drawing a floor plan and buying skylights.

Building started today!

Woot, woot!