Having eschewed any machine-piecing for my hands and stitching the hexagons over papers, I do a lot of listening while I sew these days and the florets are accumulating slowly...
Mostly done sitting at the table in my sewing room...
But, having now organised myself a lap board, I decided these were skills that could now be transferred safely to the sofa, maybe I could watch + listen + stitch + look-up-quickly + listen + stitch and somehow not miss to much whilst catching up on some viewing at the same time.
I have to digress for a moment and explain the lap board...
A thin, lightweight piece of wood covered in wadding and then a fleece cover with some extra padding in the corner for pins and needles etc. I happened to have the plum-coloured fleece and stitched it into a snug pillow case affair which has proved to be the most ideal colour for a working background, and of course in the time-honoured tradition of all things Fuzzy Felt everything sticks to it beautifully.
My biggest nightmare has always been that of The Lost Needle on the sofa and the lap board sorts this one a treat. It's so easy to absent-mindedly stick a needle anywhere, it was always happening to my mum and up we'd all get up and on would go the big lights to do the search. A sense of trepidation until it had been found because someone always knows someone, who knows someone, who has sat/knelt/trod on a needle, and Bookhound happens to know all three someones, so caution is the byword. I can recline on the sofa with this propped across my knees and frankly I am in sewing heaven.
I'll own up that I've made a half-sized one for the car because it transpires I can stitch over papers as we bowl along, and let's be honest, the only way this wholly hand-stitched quilt might ever reach completion is if I make the most of every available sewing moment.
The little sewing organiser bag by the way is my Next Brilliant Discovery of the Year.
Ordered direct from Yazzii.com in Australia, even with postage it was a fraction of the price they are being sold for here (if you can even find one) and finally, after years and years of tins, baskets and boxes that descend into tangled chaos before falling on the floor I am now sorted, compartmentalised and best of all, portable.
At approx 5" x 7" x 3" this zips up and fits snugly into a bag and holds everything I need for mobile hexagon-ing.
Sorted.
Any more good lap-sewing ideas...
How's the stitching over your way...
Or the knitting...
And if anyone would like to do a little fabric swap please do email me...it would be wonderful to include some pieces from some of you in this (Erika, yours are in there) Unless fussy cutting (terribly wasteful) I only need approximately a fat eighth of cotton fabric for each floret and a small contrast piece for the centre and will happily send the same in return. Hopefully you can get the gist of the colour palette from the picture.
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