Here fishy fishy. Or ....how to make perfectionists twitch!

I have so much to share this time, lots of photos and will have plenty more in a few days. And it is spring here now - time to get rid of the wintery blog background.

I achieved a big goal this week, and Short Critic#1 achieved one of his goals.

Steamy Dreams arrived home from America this week after appearing in the AQS Chattanooga quilt week as part of the Bad Ass Quilters Society exhibit, And she came home with a little friend:

The middle of the ribbon is a pin that comes off! I can rock that.

On Thursday night the Wellington Quilters Guild exhibition opened with a prize giving evening. It was a lovely night and it marked me having one of my quilts on display in shows on opposite sides of the globe in the same month.

I have two quilts in the show (a challenge quilt and Fente Hunts), and SC#1 has a quilt in the show too. He had a goal that he wanted to enter and have both of us win an award in the same show. He achieved his goal. He got a Junior member merit award, and I earned a merit in machine applique. The show runs for 10 days, so if you are in Wellington between now and the 5th of October, head done to the Portrait Gallery. I was pleased to have won an award considering the quality of quilts on show - they are gorgeous and in a fabulous venue!

SC#1 is pleased his quilt is just beside my challenge quilt

Must teach him not to take the photo with my eyes closed!

I have been very industrious waiting in the car for school pick ups lately. I got to enjoy one of my favourite jobs:

Confetti!

Is it just me that loves pulling the paper out of finished foundation pieced blocks? Getting covered with confetti makes me feel like I've really accomplished something, especially when you press it and turn it over and it looks as awesome as this:

Free pattern from Craftsy Here

 Yes, I am totally going back to my roots and getting my geek on. Makes up for accidentally doing this in the car the other day:

No more hand-sewing for today Kelly!

Yep yep yep, I actually managed to snap a needle in two places at once - gold star to whoever can correctly guess how I managed that one. I was very impressed with myself. There is no way on God's green earth that I am ever going to be able to replicate that one.

There is something deeply satisfying as a parent to inflict your geekdom on the next generation isn't there? We are planning on attending Aethercon later this year as a family. This is a little SteamPunk convention (followed by a ball) in Wellington. So what else are we to do but dress up in full cosplay as a family! My costume is still very much a WIP, as is SC#2's mini-me version, but SC#1's costume is nearly complete. He is going to be our little steampunk Rocketeer. I have finished his rocket pack

And his favourite bit:

It lights up

And now for the fishies.

Blocks of the month/bee swaps/guild swaps...  I know a few ladies that choose not to participate in them because everybody (rightly) has differing standards of accuracy. These are usually ladies that can piece like divas. No matter how complicated the block. They can knock out a full feathered star with to-the-thread accuracy. I can only sit at their feet and cut their scraps into strips in homage.

I was lucky enough to win our Guild's block of the month in August for June's lovely iceberg inspired blocks

So peaceful

I love them and am so stoked. There are just enough to do a nice sized baby quilt and I know a baby-to-be that this will be perfect for. But I was stuck with a dilemma. For a block that was supposed to finish at 6 inches square, I have a range of sized from 5 3/4 through to 6 3/8 of an inch with some not square.

Bugger.

Ha! I know! Embrace the wonky! Play time. Slice up some uneven wedges (who needs a ruler), whack them around the edges, lop off points with gay abandon if they get in the way, who needs an accurate 1/4 inch seam anyway?

Ooooh look at that, I can trim them all to a perfectly uniform size now, even if every one is now set at a slightly different angle! Some of them are even *almost* set straight.

Now when put together they look like a lovely school of tropical fish, all swimming in the same general direction. Or not. I'm considering throwing them in the air and sewing them together in whichever orientation they fall. I can see some of my friends twitching all ready...

hehehehehehe

Cheerio!