Postcards from Paris - Vase of Roses

A Vase of Roses - another block for my Postcards from Paris Quilt

Some friends have asked how I get the time to sew with my life so busy lately but it's because it's so busy that I've needed to take time out and do some sewing and knitting to relax.

I really enjoyed making this block and love how it has turned out. As I was cutting the materials I wasn't sure about the fabrics given in the pack as they seemed to be all to much the same but looking at it finished I really like the way it looks.

I'm working on another block which just needs some leaves and the edging sewn on and then have two more blocks to go. I might even get the quilt finished by Christmas if I keep sewing at this pace!

Quilting lessons - Two more blocks finished

I've now finished blocks 5 and 6 from my quilting lessons.

Block 5. Honey Bee

This block is machine pieced and needle turn-appliqued by hand, using the freezer paper method.

Block 6. Dresden Plate

This traditional block is paper-pieced and appliqued

I loved making this block as it was what I know and is the method I use to make most of my quilts.

I have never tried sewing curves using paper piecing before so that was fun to try and not as scary as I'd thought.

One Roman Blind finished and hanging on the door

I've finished my first ever Roman Blind and think it's turned out rather well... a bit proud of it I am! We hung it on the door on the weekend and it's amazing the difference it makes to the room. I'm now working on the biggest blind for the lounge room.

My dinning room looks like a sewing room with the table covered with 3 big dressmaking cutting boards. I've had to use ironing boards and whatever else I have around the house to help prop the boards up. On Saturday I borrowed my neighbours ironing board and Andrew brought his down for me to use as well. A bit of improvisation to make a cutting surface big enough for a 3 and a bit meter wide blind but it works.

I thought finding patterns for Roman Blinds would be easy but it wasn't. There are a lot of patterns on the Internet and some videos but I couldn't find anything that told me exactly what material I needed and how to cut and sew the material. I brought a simplicity pattern but that just made me more confused! After a bit of sewing and unpicking making the first blind I have been able to work out ways that have made the cutting and sewing much easier.

One really simple change was with the pockets for the rods. Rather than sewing the material right side facing and then turning the sleeve inside out, I now cut the material into strips adding a bit extra to fold the raw edges on both ends over then iron the whole strip in half. Once in half I then iron a small fold on each side of the strip and press it towards the centre. With the sides folded into the centre fold and pin the whole strip in half and then stitch as close to the edge as possible. Voila!! You now have a pocket for your rods without having to turn them inside out. The pockets are then sewn onto the back of the blind in the same way.

I used pulleys instead of eyelets on the mounting board for the cords to pass through. The cords seem to move more smoothly when putting the blinds up and down.

The other thing I'm doing on my blinds which none of the patterns I found suggested is to sew around the edges of the blinds on the right side. To me it gives the blind a more 'finished' look.
Well.... enough of this and back to sewing ....