What is Joz making- September
Hi everyone! I’ve got quite a few quilts in the works at the moment so thought I would start a new series talking about what i’m currently working on. I’ve also included some of my recent favourite audiobooks and podcasts I’ve been consuming while sewing (I love a bit of multitasking).
In the last year or so I’ve gone through phases for months on end where I haven’t felt like doing any sewing at all- and so haven’t. Right now, I’m in the thick of a creative burst of energy and there’s so much being made! I find I like having different projects at different phases- sometimes I feel like doing some hand sewing in front of the TV, sometimes I feel like mindless machine quilting and sometimes I want to create something new so like piecing! So here are all my current projects.
What quilts I’m thinking about/ planning
I want to make another Sawtooth Star for the upcoming beginner quilt along- I just need to pick my fabrics!
I’d also love to make a quilted ironing board cover and sew a quilt patch on a jumper (sweater)- unfortunately finding a plain jumper is proving quite difficult as we head into Spring in Australia :-)
What I’m piecing
I’m making a simple pink and white quilt with a retro backing for a friend. It’s very simple (and very low waste) but I’ll whip up a quick tutorial- watch this space :-)
I’ve just finished piecing my latest St Louis 16 Patch - this is one of my favourite quilts to make as it’s super simple and comes together in a jiffy. I made one big enough for our king size bed and I don’t think it took more than 3 or 4 hours to cut and piece the entire quilt top! If you scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up for the newsletter, I’ve got a free pattern available if you want to make one yourself and Scribbly Gum Quilt Co has kits available.!
What I’m quilting on my machine
A few years ago, I was pattern testing the Ramona Quilt by Penelope Handmade and decided to significantly upsize my blocks. At the time, I really didn’t like it so threw it into the naughty pile but the other day I felt like some machine sewing and came across the quilt top and realised I actually now do like it!
I’m about 3/4 of the way through machine quilting this and I’m using big wavy stitching on a diagonal grid- I hope to finish this one soon!
What I’m hand quilting
I usually try to keep this pile to one quilt but for some reason I just can’t get enough hand quilting so currently have THREE projects ongoing in my hand quilting pile.
First up is my Sawtooth star I’ve almost finished- I’ve come to a bit of a cross roads though in terms of how much more quilting it needs- I’ve gone around all of the borders but think the stars also need to be filled. But what colour do I use? (P.S. I’ll have a free Sawtooth Star pattern available very soon)
My (fourth?) Ramona quilt (pattern by Penelope Handmade). I’m a bit sick of this quilt at the moment but I really don’t have that much left to do so really need to press onwards!
My Irish Chain quilt (free pattern/tutorial here) I have a deadline for (next weekend… and I started it last night- whoops) so I’ll probably focus on that one for now. I calculated it takes me 14 minutes to sew each “middle bit” and there are ten middle bits plus 10 other shapes that will take about 10 minutes each- so altogether 240 minutes or about 4 hours of sewing- maybe I can even finish it this weekend! :-)
What’s on pause
My stripy quilt- I used the backing (pictured below) for another quilt so need to buy some more. But I also need to figure out how to quilt this one. I don’t want to hand quilt it but not sure how to machine quilt it!
What I’m listening to
Recent books I’ve listened to:
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel- 4.5/5 - this was wonderful. Another book set in World War 2 (this time in France), I highly recommend this book!
The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose- I’d give this one 3.5/5- it kept me interested the whole way through (particularly at the end) but definitely wasn’t a truly great book
Don’t Hang Up by Benjamin Stevenson- 3/5- another one that kept me interested well enough (and it was free on Audible). It was only about 3 hours (or closer to 2.5 hours on 1.5 speed- I usually listen to audiobooks and podcasts on 1.2 speed but this narrator was SLOW).
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn- 3.75/5. I LOVED the Rose Code and Alice Network (by the same author) and this one was good but not as good. I also didn’t love the narration- this probably sounds silly but the book is about a Russian female sniper in World War 2. I feel she should have an English accent rather than an American accent (there was a Russian accent in the dialogue which worked really well).
Recent Podcast episodes I’ve loved:
The Wubi Effect (RadioLab)- SO interesting- abotu how to turn they figured out how to use a keyboard to portray thousands and thousands of Chinese characters
James Clear on “Atomic Habits” (The Next Chapter)- I haven’t read the book but this was a fascinating summary of why good habits are so important and can change your life.
And that’s it! Let me know if you found this interesting :-)