My FNSI ...

Well it did not go to plan .. I was going to do great things on my first FNSI 

but .. that was not to be ...

Firstly .. I pulled this out  but just could not get interested in it ...

So I  pulled this out .. and decided it needs to be unpicked too .. cos i stitched it all wrong .. and will have to wait for daylight cos these old eyes don't do black in the dark anymore ...

So I went looking again ... and I found this poor (misshapen, neglected, half made, part unpicked) but very pretty project ... it was the first quilt I cut from a pattern ... done in a workshop environment  .. which did not go to plan either .. lol

I was a brand new 'quilter' .. new to the district and .... apparently a pain in the butt to some of the local ladies in the quilt club ... small country area ... a cliquish group ... and not much tolerance for lots of questions .. as one tends to have when one is learning … actually they sucked at being helpful .. that is why I ended up on the internet … looking for like minded folk who were really going to help .. … opps!!! off topic a bit ...

Back to my FNSI … I pulled out this poor misshapen pile of blocks .. I will tell you the story behind them as it does tell why they have sat for close on 5 years in a dark and dreary place ..

My local quilt club was having a weekend workshop .. doing a Bethany Reynolds ‘Stack n Whack’…. Did I want to join in?? … Sure, why not! I purchased my fabric, got all my stuff organised for what I believed was going to be a wonderful weekend .. learning new stuff … and this was brand new stuff to me ... to date I had made 2 quilts .. one little one for a friend’s baby shower which was really just panels sewn together .. and a quilt for my man,which again was panels and charm squares .. which I must admit I purchased online already cut, so no work there but sewing bits together … easy as … So what was happening at this workshop was all brand new stuff to me .. of course these ladies had done heaps of quilts … they had been raised making quilts with their mums and had taught their daughters all to quilt …. Me .. I had done dressmaking so I knew my way around a machine and a needle, but not a rotary cutter .. mat … ruler … squares … ¼ inch seam ….. all these things were very very new to me … even the quilts I had made really did not require a ¼ inch seam .. the seams just needed to be all the same size …

The instructor .. we shall call her Tina .. (not to protect the innocent but because that was her name .. haha) ...later said the workshop was geared for the experienced quilter …. So what I kept hearing was .. aren’t you done yet ??? … you need to hurry .. best you catch up quick … no I don’t really have the time to stand here and show you everything …. But .. you can come to my shop and I will help you later …

So I finished at the workshop and what I had learnt was how to put the blocks together .. I finished them at home … but there was not two the same size .. yep … all 15 of them were different … what a nightmare … I rang Tina .. sure come on into the shop … we do ‘bring your own project days’ on Tuesday .. only $20, I can show you how to do quilt as you go … and .. help with the sizing of the blocks …

Great ... I only have to drive 300 kilometres for you to do that !!!!   I was to say the least feeling very disheartened ..

I went there on the following Tuesday and she proceeded to help me cut the wadding and the backing … mind you she did nothing about the sizes of the blocks …and said with a bit of sashing no one would notice the difference in them …. So I merrily set about quilting all these blocks just to find later when I put the sashing on ….Yep … you already know where this is going don’t you … nothing fitted .. I did unpick some of the blocks .. but got totally ticked off that I packed it all away .. and until last night it has been in the bottom of a tub … in a zippy bag .. where I can’t see it … until last night …..

I have now decided this poor misshapen mass of blocks is going to be my FNSI project ( I will do at least one of these a week ) … I am going to unpick every block and resew them and make a quilt from them … I can unpick while I am watching tele or sitting at the doctors waiting to get in ….. if I take my lint roll (the sticky paper one ) .. I can use it to catch all the threads and not make a mess in the doctors waiting room … or maybe I should make a mess …. Might get me into see the doc quicker … lol …

So this is what I started with … last night …

oh yes ... and my cuppa and little snack .. sweet biscuits .. (norti girl)

And this is what I finished with … a new block that measures …
12 ½ inch … yay!!!!

Stay tuned for more on the life and times of my Stack n Whack ...