Well, today was a little disappointing as far as stitching goes.
It's the time of year when DH and I bottle tomatoes.  Yes, every year we make tomatoe puree to use in pasta sauces, minestrone, anything that requires tinned tomatoes.  I far prefer our home made ones to the ones in tins.
 A lingering taste of summer.  We usually do 3-4 20kg boxes in a day.  Mind you, our neighbours do about 20 boxes (it's a family event!), but we feel good about our effort. LOL.
I have a Fowlers Vacola outfit and a hand-cranked machine that pushes the tomatoes through a sieve, but it just takes time.

 

Here's a small part of our effort.  Aren't they gorgeous and red and tomatoey looking?

Hopefully I'll find some time to do a little stitching now.

Yahoo, I'm done....

Yes, I've finished the centre of my latest quilt.  After more than 450 hexagons, I'm done.  Gosh it feels good. 
I've never been so fixated on a project, but I'm glad I persevered.  I think sewing hexies is very meditative and I found that I kept thinking "just one more to sew, then I'll stop for the night".  Well several hours later, I've had some very late nights! 

 

I now have to  stitch around the outside, onto my background fabric.  Tonight I'm going to listen to a speaker  - Kellie Wulfsohn at  Don't Look Now   , at Essendon Quilters with my GF Ms A.  So this will be my take along project.  Love Kellie's work and her blog.

I've been back at machine sewing some blocks for Quiltville's mystery quilt from late last year- Carolina Christmas.  I'm 3/4 of the way through that project.  Will post a pic when I've finished the top. 

I love the mystery quilts of Bonnie K. Hunter over at Quiltville.  The patterns are well thought out and her signature style is stash busting scrappy.  She has a great number of free patterns on her site, and has written 2 books of fantastic quilts.  I really recommend a look.

I've also started on the Postage Stamp quilt that has a button on the right hand side of my blog.  No photo of my progress yet, perhaps tomorrow.  

I feel wonderful, last year I hardly put a stitch in anywhere due to long working hours.  When I was home I just couldn't be bothered- bite my tongue- but now I've changed jobs and decreased my hours at work.  I have time to sew again, and sew I have been.  I have a callus on my finger from hand sewing and I couldn't be happier!!  LOL.

Had a great night sewing last night for the Friday Night Sew In.  Sewed hexagons to my hearts content.  Have nearly finished putting them all together.
Can't wait until next month.

  

Next time I really need to remember the essential supplies for a fabulous nights sewing- Chocolate.

Friday Night Sew-In.

Tonight I'll be joining in on Friday Night Sewing with Heidi from Handmade by Heidi .   My project will, of course, be my hexagons.  I'm on the home stretch now and am looking forward to finishing the centre.  I think I've become a little obsessed with them actually.  LOL.
I've stitched most of the sections together and am working on the last bit on the side.  Perhaps tonight.  I have Frasier on DVD to watch tonight whilst stitching.

 

I'm getting the centre together slowly, but surely.
Last night I set myself up with movies on the laptop and my sewing.  I watched the first 2 X-Men movies.  I know I'm a little behind the times, but better late than never.  So, several hours later, I had pieced the top part of the centre.  I'm sewing hexagons in my sleep!

 

 

I have The Da Vinci Code on the menu for tonights sewing pleasure.  See how far behind the times I really am.

Anyone have any tips for good movies to watch whilst sewing?

Last week I worked my way through 14 1/2 hour episodes of a BBC Dickens period drama- Little Dorrit.  Great viewing.  Does anyone else watch a series whilst sewing , but as each episode finishes think- Hmmm, one more episode and a little more stitching,  Only to find yourself sewing until 1 AM?

Onwards with the hexagons.

Going well with the 12 diamond shapes needed for the centre of my quilt.  True to form, I finished the final  2 diamonds at swimming lessons yesterday.

 So here they are in all their glory.

Last night, I was quite industrious and got the blue sashing around 1 of them.

 

I'm loving sewing these little hexagons together, but it's so addictive.  Nothing is getting done around the house.  I find I'm rushing to get through a few house jobs so that I can sit down and sew.  Oh dear.

Problem is, I have another pattern for a sweet quilt that is also hexagons.  Double Oh dear.

I finished something!!!

For those that know me, I'm not a big finisher.  When I make a quilt, I  really have a hard time getting past making the top.  I have a quilt ladder that reaches to my ceiling that is 3/4 inhabited with quilt tops.
So, it's with great surprise that I started and finished a small project today.  YAY for me!
DD2 takes a novel to school to read in their quiet reading time.  The edges of the book get crushed.  So yesterday she asked for some sort of cover.  Inspiration leapt into my head this morning and a cover was made.  COMPLETELY finished.  Quilted and bound and everything.  Can you tell I'm excited?

 

It's actually quilted with varigated thread in a flower pattern.

All ready to go in the school bag.

And two more.

Onwards with the hexagon construction.  Since the weekend I've finished 2 more complete diamond shapes, so that's 9 out of 12 needed to complete the centre.  It feels so good to be getting these finished.  This quilt is on my list of 10 finishes in 2010 that's on my sidebar, being run by Linda at Flourishing Palms . 

 

Whilst away at Summer School in Wodonga  at Patchwork on Stonleigh I inadvertantly cut my fabric wrongly for the second (applique) quilt.  Christine at the shop went out of her way to check if they could get another bolt of the fabric in for me, and today I received my  fabric in the mail.  I was so happy to see that piece of fabric, once the hexagon quilt is  finished I can move straight on to the applique quilt.  Nothing to show for that except some bias strips I made that are on a previous post.

Back to the hexagons, how many can I baste before I go to work this afternoon?  LOL.