So it has been a long long time since I blogged and this time I have really good excuse for the absence… if you follow me on Instagram you know already… but in the last days of 2020 I managed to have a stroke. Needless to say this year has been about giving myself room to adjust and heal.

So this post will not have any pretty quilt pictures but will have the story of my stroke adventure and some helpful tips on strokes.

So here is the story…. on the 29th of December I was sitting at my sewing machine finishing up making some blocks, as you do. I started feeling strange…dizzy and light headed…. then I lost control of the leg that was controlling the sewing machine. I stood up and somehow managed to “walk/stumble” to the living room chair. The dizzy was not a normal dizzy – the world was not rocking but spinning and the right side of my body was not behaving itself at all.

Luckily my husband was working from home so I called out to him…I believe I said “honey I have a small problem”….understatement of the year! As soon as I explained what was happening I think we both knew what was going on… but neither of us verbalised it…. I think we were scared of freaking each other out. We jumped in the car and headed to the emergency room. The rest of that day was a blur. Lots of tests, lots of questions and lots of needles. I was luck enough to be able to tell the doctors exactually when the stroke started (10:18am) and was in the emergency room in plenty of time to get TPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator), a miracle clot busting drug.

When I arrived at the hospital I could walk into the ER but within about 20 minutes of arriving I could not move my right side at all. It took the drugs a bit to kick in and when they did I started getting some movement back. A couple of nights in hospital, lots of tests and monitoring and I was released New Years Eve.

I was exceptionally lucky. We realised what was happening and despite Covid fears went straight to the hospital. I knew exactly when the symptoms started and was able to get a wonderful drug that helped so much. In the USA you have a 3 hour window to the get the TPA drug…. in the UK and Australia it is 4 hours. This drug was the difference between me walking out of the hospital with a functioning right side and being permanently paralysed on the right side.

2020 was incredible stressful for many of us, and 2021 has not been a picnic either. Please do not skip you check ups and if you have high blood pressure please monitor it. If think you are having a stroke, you have any weakness on one of side of your body do not “wait for it to go away”. Go to hospital. Even a mini stroke or TIA (transient ischemic attack) are a pre-curser to a full blown stroke. Listen to your body. Trust your instincts if you think something is wrong the chances are high that you are right.

So 2021 started for me with a limp. I did lots and lots of PT and I am getting back on my feet. Somethings have changed forever…I am a stroke survivor…my right side is weak and I have reduced sensation on that side… my brain gets easily overloaded – bright lights, lots of noise, lots of people all throw me. But I am alive… and there is a few more benefits. The lack of sensation on my right side has meant that I can bind quilt after quilt without any pain in my fingers or hand and without a thimble. This year I have bound over 30 quilts, sometimes finishing two or three a week. I have also started using all the good fabric I have been hoarding for years…. which means I have lots of pretty quilts to share in the coming weeks/months. Also this year I said “yes” to a lot of things I would not normally do which included having my photo taken by a fabulous neighbor.

So this is me now…. older, greyer and wiser… but still me.

Next post I will start sharing some old finishes from the last 12 months or so. I have so much to share so stay tuned….

The Back to School Blog Hop is back and participating again this year along with 31 other sewists to bring you advice on everything from batting to ins and outs of starching.  This month of information downloading has been organized by Sam Hunter  and you will find links to all the blogs playing along at the end of this post.

This year I wanted to talk a little about working with lawn and share some of the things I have learned this last 12 months as I made my first lawn projects.   Lawn is a plain weave textile, which was originally made of linen but now is now chiefly cotton. Lawn is designed using fine, high count yarns, which results in a silky, untextured feel.  Its hand is much lighter and softer than quilting cotton and it is sheerer than most cottons.  I have worked predominantly with Liberty Lawn but stash also includes some Cotton & Steel lawn and some Heather Ross lawn.

My first exposure to lawn was a couple of fat eights of Liberty of London Tania lawn which was given to me a couple of years ago.  Those little pieces of precious fabric have grown into quite a stash… including an growing collection of my favorite print Betsy…

Last year I decided to stop hoarding my Liberty and started using it… making a bevy of butterflies…

and a couple of Liberty hexagon pillows…

While making these projects I learnt a bit including:

To wash or not?  There is a quite a bit online about pre-washing your lawn fabric to help with shrinkage.  As I was working with small pieces (some just 5 inch squares) I decided not to pre wash.  If I was going to pre-wash it would be a very gentle hand wash and NOT a washing machine job… unless of course I was working with yardage.

Paper piecing and lawn are a match made in heaven.  Because lawn is so fine I have found that paper piecing is wonderful technique to use – the paper pattern gives the light weight cotton a stability which makes piecing so much easier.  I have used English paper piecing and standard foundation piecing with Liberty and have loved both techniques.  I am able to get really precise piecing with this thin, sometimes slippery fabric.

Starch is lawn’s best friend.  Whether you pre-wash or not starch is an invaluable tool when working with lawn.  Starch stiffens the fine cotton lawn and makes for easier cutting and piecing.    For my butterfly project I starched my blocks after I had removed the paper pattern… and with my hexagons I starch and iron the hexagons with the cardboard template still in place to help keep the hexagon shape when the paper is removed.  If you are using traditional piecing to make a lawn quilt you will find starch is a vital tool to give some weight and body to cotton…and remember to use a dry iron when pressing lawn.

Make sure your tools are sharp.  When I am sewing my lawn I make sure I have a new sharp needle in my machine and when pinning I use fine sharp pins.  The lawn is more delicate than quilting cotton and a little bit of sharpness helps avoid snags or tears.

Cotton thread is preferable.  When working with lawn in particular a fine 100% cotton thread is the best option… my choice is a Aurifil 50wt.

Do not be afraid to mix your fabrics.  Although lawn is lightweight do not be afraid to mix it with quilting cottons or other fabrics.  Liberty in particular plays really nicely, both visually and physically, with Essex linen.

And last but not least I have learnt that you can never have too much Liberty fabric.  If you are interested in starting a collection or adding to your stash a Liberty bundle subscription is a fabulous way to go.  I had a subscription last year to Ava & Neve’s Liberty Society and every month for a year I got a wonderfully curated bundle of Liberty.  It really was a fabulous way to round out my stash, as I got fabrics I would not necessarily have chosen myself but which I loved.

I hope you follow the rest of the hop as there’s some fantastic content coming your way! BTW, the contributors are from all over the world, so please be patient is everything is not posted bright and early in your exact timezone! 

Day 1 – August 15 – Sam Hunter: How to spray baste a BIG quilt – www.huntersdesignstudio.com

Day 2 – August 16 – Mandy Leins: Thread Dread: removing stray bits after quilting – www.mandalei.com

Day 3 – August 17 – Nancy Stovall: The Sweet Creamy Filling – www.justquiltingpdx.com

Day 4 – August 18 – Ebony Love: 7 Indispensible feet for your sewing machine – www.LoveBugStudios.com

Day 5 – August 19 – Michelle Freedman: Machine throat plates – www.designcamppdx.blogspot.com

Day 6 – August 20 – Teresa Coates: Edge/Under/Top stitching – www.crinkledreams.com

Day 7 – August 21 – Kelly Cole: Ten ways to regain your sew-jo – www.vintagefabricstudio.com

Day 8 – August 22 – Megan Dougherty: Choose to Fuse: tips for working with fusibles for applique – www.thebitchystitcher.com

Day 9 – August 23 – Kim Lapacek: Tricks to being productive while hauling your kids around – www.persimondreams.blogspot.com

Day 10 – August 24 – Yvonne Fuchs: Circuitboard quilting on Domestic and Longarm Machines – www.quiltingjetgirl.com

Day 11 – August 25 – Sandi Hazlewood: Chain Piecing Quilt Blocks Tips – www.craftyplanner.com

Day 12 – August 26 – Juliet van der Heijden: Paper-piecing with children – www.thetartankiwi.com

Day 13 – August 27 – Maddie Kertay: Fabric folding for any storage solution – www.badassquilterssociety.com

Day 14 – August 28 – Cath Hall: Working with Lawn fabric – www.wombatquilts.com

Day 15 – August 29 – Tracy Mooney: Tips for the perfect seam – www.sewmuchcosplay.com

Day 16 – August 30 – Teri Lucas: How to bury thread – www.terificreations.com

Day 17 – August 31 – Debby Brown: Securing machine quilting knots – www. higheredhands.blogspot.com

Day 18 – September 1 – Flaun Cline: How to put some sparkle in your fabric pull (part 1) – www.ipleadquilty.com

Day 19 – September 2 – Jessica Darling: How to put some sparkle in your fabric pull (part 2) – www.jessicakdarling.com

Day 20 – September 3 – Trish Frankland: A bigger blade really IS better?! – www.persimondreams.blogspot.com

Day 21 – September 4 – Lynn Krawczyk: Build a simple design with hand stitching – www.smudgeddesignstudio.com

Day 22 – September 5 – Jane Davidson: How to make scrappy HSTs – www.quiltjane.com

Day 23 – September 6 – Linda Pearl: Low cost tips for organizing your sewing room – www.onequiltingcircle.com

Day 24 – September 7 – Christa Watson – Top 10 tips for quilting on a domestic machine – www.christaquilts.com

Day 25 – September 8 – Sarah Nunes: To Starch or Not to Starch – www.berrybarndesigns.com

Day 26 – September 9 – Suzy Webster: Testing fabric for bleeding – www.websterquilt.blogspot.com

Day 27 – September 10 – Sarah Goer: Machine bind your quilts like a pro – www.sarahgoerquilts.com

Day 28 – September 11 – Vanda Chittenden: Beginner paper-piecing tips – www.chittenden.co.za

Day 29 – September 12 – Cheryl Sleboda: Needle threading tips – www.muppin.com

Day 30 – September 13 – Kim Niedzwiecki – Different thread weights and when to use them – www.gogokim.com

Day 31 – September 14 – Sandra Healy: Conquer Your Fear of Machine Appliqué – www.sandrahealydesigns.com

Day 32 – September 15 – Sandra Starley: The Basics of Antique Quilt Collecting – www.utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

This year I have been teaching a year long class at my local quilt store, Modern Domestic from Amy Gibson’s “Quilt Block Cookbook“.  It has been a fun year of teaching new techniques and getting my students excited in thinking outside the box.

The book has patterns for a 50 different blocks and uses a grid system which encourages you to experiment and get creative with different elements…and make your own blocks.

For my class I have also been providing colouring sheets so my students can play with how the blocks in the book look with different colour placements.  The block below is called Cheerio Darling and block in the book looks very different from the block I have created…

.The book uses traditional piecing, paper piecing, curved piecing and applique and it has been fun to teach my students lots of different techniques…

By the time I am finished this class I will have enough blocks to make at least 2 quilts… which is exciting for me as one of the things I love most about this book is the layouts it has for Sampler quilts.  They even have gorgeous layouts that use as few as 6 blocks.

If you are using this book there is one caveat… there are quite a few mistakes in the book.  You can find an addendum here listing all the mistakes plus all the blocks that use the 5 x 5 grid you need to double check the quilt maths as they are off every so slightly.

All that said I have loved working from this book and I am excited to get some quilts finished.  And Amy has a great Quilt Along with tips and tricks on her blog… Stitchery Dickory Dock.

It has been a while since I shared some of the wonderful quilts that our Portland Modern Quilt Guild has made for our charity program… so lets start with this stunner….

One of our wonderful members, Andrea, made this quilt for our local Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.  We constantly struggle to get quilts that are appropriate for boys and particularly older boys but Andrea hit this one out of the park.

I love this pattern so much but I look at it a realise that it is a little beyond my skills… all that curved piecing would drive me crazy I think.

.And lets be honest…I would be tempted to sneak some pink in there somewhere…. Another of our Guild quilts was this interesting one…

It is another quilt that is more gender neutral and it was made using orphan blocks donated to the Guild by another of our fabulous members Elsa.

Elsa does give us the best orpan blocks.  I have another bundle of her blocks that are just waiting to be made into a quilt.

The guild has also recently made a number of simpler quilts from fabric kits.  Quick and easy patterns and matching fabric has meant we could get a number of quilts made in no time…

For this quilt we pulled fat quarters and scraps that matched…

And for this quilt we used some fabric headers that we had been donated to the Guild…

This is just a selection of the quilts donated recently by the Guild….and as always thanks to everyone who helped make these beauties – fabric donators, piecers, quilters and binders all.

Last week I woke to the news that Wombat Quilts had made it onto the “100 Best Quilting Blogs on the Planet”.  Feedspot, a blog reader, had put together this list by looking at site traffic, followers etc.  I came in at number 39.  To say I was pleasantly shocked is an understatement.

While I was looking through the list I noticed they had marked my blog as posting about once a month…. had I really slipped off schedule that much!  The answer is yes, kind of.  So in the spirit of sharing more I thought I would show you what I am working on this week…

A couple of months ago I borrowed a friends Baby Go cutter and went to work cutting some of my scraps into small circles (check out this quilt wip….) and small half square triangles (HST).

Last week while I was attempting to clear some space in my spare bedroom I stumbled across the shoe box with my Lizzy House HST in it.  Inspired by a block I saw on Instagram I started making these crazy but fun 10 1/2 inch blocks.

Now I was working with 3 inch unfinished squares but if you wanted to do a bigger block you could use 3 1/2 inch squares for a 12 inch finished block…

Last night I finished making the last of the blocks (20 in total).  Today I just have to put the top together.

This will be my first quilt for 100 Quilts for Kids 2016, a drive that is held annual to encourage quilters to make and give quilts to children in need.  This is my 4th year of playing along and I love the emphasis on giving leading up the holiday season.  Between now and December 1st you can make and donate a quilt to a children’s charity in your local area to play along… and maybe win a prize.