OMG September Plus/minus is finished!

My goal for September was to finish my plus and minus quilt, that should have been finished by the end of August as my response to the Dutch MQG theme challenge for July and August. However, at the end of August it looked like this with just the top right corner quilted:

I'm happy I finished it yesterday, and can post this at the eleventh hour.

 The pluses are improvised blocks joined with filler (background) fabric into four 12" squares and then joined; the minuses I made in the quilting, along with some ghost pluses. My idea was, and still is, plus is visible, grabs the attention while the negative is in the background, less visible, but present nevertheless. The ghost pluses represent a no-man's land, an area of doubt and indecision.

close up showing two ghost pluses and a minus

Now I'd like to ask for some advice. Does anyone know how to remove chalk lines? The photo below shows what's left of my quilting guide-lines in 'Sewline' pink chalk. I have rubbed them with fingers, the eraser on the end of the 'pencil' and a clothes' brush, and still they're there. I don't want to heat or wet them in case that fixes them completely. Any hints or experience with chalk would be most welcome.
 

pink chalk guide-lines still visible after A LOT of rubbing!

Quilting this 24"x24" quilt has been all the sewing I've done this month. The quilting lines are 0.25" apart, and that takes forever! This is the last time that I do straight line quilting with shapes I have to go round, as this was a stop-start exercise from start to finish. But the finish was not the real finish:

burying threads and trimming them took two hours!

Last month I won a $25 voucher for the Fat Quarter Shop and received this package 10 days after ordering.

Thank you, Patty, for pulling my name out of the hat last month and to the Fat Quarter Shop for giving a prize. I chose this bundle because winter is drawing in, and I'm planning on alleviating the pending greyness with some fabric sunshine.


Finally another early morning picture of the plus and minus quilt.

The sun was obliquely to my right and slightly in front and I just couldn't get the exposure right. Of course I was breaking the first rule of photography: "NEVER take a photo into the sun," but rules are made to be broken, aren't they?

 I'm linking up to 

 (A bit late; I missed TGIFF last week)

 To see many more goals achieved click on the buttons above.

Enjoy Autumn (not to forget Spring in the Southern Hemisphere) while you can.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Finish along 4th Quarter: Finish number 1

 

At the beginning of October I made my list of proposed finishes.


This is my first finish of the 4th quarter:

Drawn Together; a mini quilt designed by Sarah Fielke from her book "Little Quilts".

fabric: assorted from stash and Bella solid off-white
backing and binding: Bella solid off-white
quilting thread: Aurifil 12 weight in various colours with a crewel no 9 needle on the star and Yli thread on the background triangles.

The embroidery needle came from this packet:

Question for UK friends: "How long have I had this?" (Look what it cost!)

For those of you outside the UK the abbreviation "d" in the price stands for pence in the old British monetary system which went out of use in the early 1970s. Incredibly a pristine unused packet of needles more than forty years old! I found it when looking for embroidery thread - in a squishy old paper bag, between skeins of stranded cotton - voilà! Such a useful find, but I wonder why I never opened it before now!

I'm linking up to 

which this week is being held at Quilting among the Groves. 

To see which groves and some super finishes click on the badge. 

I shall be linking up to 

(click for link)

at the beginning of January.

Happy sewing

Marly.

2015 Finish Along: Q4 proposed finishes

 

My projected finishes for the last quarter of 2015 are:

1.     Modern Maple throw 

is pieced and assembled and waiting for quilting.

2.     Mini Quilt

pattern: "Drawn Together" by Sarah Fielke

The top is finished and waiting for quilting. This will be hand quilted with Yli thread, and Aurifil 12 thread to accentuate the stars.  

3.     Sew Together bag

pattern by So Dememted; photo: Craftsy;

This has been on my list before, and the only thing preventing me from starting is that I need to buy fusible interfacing that is firmer than the type I have now. I need to make a trip to the city (which isn't far - that's no excuse!) and REMEMBER to buy it. Having written this the battle is half over!

4.     Mola cat 

 

 

Started in a workshop in September, I need to finish the sewing and devise some use for it. It rather depends on the latter whether  or not this gets finished.

5.     Origami flower

I started this in a workshop in August, and the same goes for the origami flower as for the Mola cat. Really it's finished except for finding a use for it, or a way to display it.

6.     Poinsettia table topper - Drunkard's path 

Drunkard's path QAL at SpringLeaf Studios

I have two of these 16" blocks made and another two to make, assemble and quilt.
Deadline: Christmas!

This all looks achievable within three months doesn't it?

I'm linking up with Adrianne On the Windy Side so click on the link to see what other projects should be finished before 1 January 2016.

Happy Sewing

Marly