Quiltsalott

A new quilt

2012-01-24T18:38:00.000+11:00

I did say I was going to do something colourful. I had a blast cutting out these snowballs and they all came from the stash so it's a real mix of lots of different fabrics.
This quilt was one that Lizzie over over at Broderie had been working on and then Jean over at Linen and Raspberry started one too and I was sold, I needed one of my own and Lizzie kindly allowed me to use her idea. The blue links will take you to their posts showing their quilts.

I bought a charcoal Kaffe spot for the squares and initially thought it would be too dark and swallow up the florals so I ordered the same funky Kaffe spot that Lizzie and Jean were using which is in the photo below.

Out of curiosity, I thought I'd put a selection of both spots on the wall just to note the different effects the two spots gave.

I decided on the darker charcoal spot after all, not because one is better than the other. I just liked the contrast. Excuse the photo taken in my dark sewing room, the editing shows the fabrics a bit brighter than they are but the charcoal looks about right. I have edited out about four of the snowballs that were bothering me and replaced them.

I'm going to mindlessly hand piece this one while I'm away in New Zealand for several weeks. I'm leaving on Thursday and I get to see my family and four grandchildren so I'm a bit excited. I have some other things to work on as well so I have variety. I'll try to keep you updated if possible.

Coxcomb and Currants

2012-01-21T11:57:00.001+11:00

All nine blocks are done, tra-la-tra-la. I think I hear birds singing.

Ignore the yellow pen on the alternate blocks, I have a bit of trapunto to do before these can be assembled. When that's done, I have the trapunto pattern for the border to draw up but that can wait.

As a rule, I don't count things like how many applique pieces etc that I do but I was curious as to the number of circles I stitched and 396 is the answer to that.

I'm off to the sewing cave to play with something more colourful, you'll have to wait and see.

I'm still here

2012-01-15T13:36:00.001+11:00

It's been ages since I popped in to visit blogs let alone feed my own. I've been feeling so unwell due to some new medication that had some unpleasant side effects but I'm all sorted now thank goodness.
On days I felt well enough, I got stuck into some sewing that's been on the list. This is dress number two out of the Gnomeville fabric. It's for Miss Sophie who is six. I'll never buy another Burda pattern after this one, it seemed to miss some steps and I'd rather not have to think too much and fill in the gaps. My Bernina played nice for the buttonholes which are my little phobia.

I seem to be stuck in all things red lately. These are the first lot of blocks for the Just Takes 2 quilt along. I'm doing mine in the red and white but there are others doing it and using lots of colour.

Progress has been steady on the Coxcomb and Currants project, I've done another two of these blocks and I'm currently working on the last one.

Is there anybody who is stitching the Trailing Vines quilt with me? I've uploaded the third panel for you. Just click on the Trailing Vines page underneath my header to go to the page with the links for downloading the patterns.

It's motivated me to draw up another panel to get stuck into this coming week but I'm also wondering if I'm putting lots of time into something that's not being used since I can't get any stats on the number of downloads. I'd love to hear of anyone making it.

Happy 2012

2012-01-01T12:34:00.001+11:00

Happy New Year to you all! Thank goodness 2011 is over, it wasn't a good year.
I set myself a goal to finish the hand quilting on the Double Wedding Ring quilt by the end of 2011 and I achieved that, woo hoo! I felt a bit sad after those last stitches but it's not finished yet, there's a long way to go with all the trapunto feathers to do, you can see some that I've done in the photo. It's quilted within a half inch of it's life, the most stitches I've done on any quilt to date yet it remains very drapeable with the cotton batting.

To my dismay I discovered a hole in the background on the second to last border and I know the obvious fix would have been a bit of applique to cover it up but........

in the end I went for an embroidered bumblebee inspired by Sandra Leichener.

Here it is and now you know why it's there. It'll do, even with it's little humpback, lol. I call it my humble-bee.

I'm getting excited about the Just Takes 2 and have my fabrics all ready. I'll be doing the sampler in red and white solids. This red is from P&B neutrals range and the white I'm using is from the same range as well.
When I wash yards and yards of fabric, I concertina it in folds straight off the bolt and use safety pins to hold the edges together. After washing, I remove the pins, unfold it all and put it in the dryer. I get a lot less wrinkles and there's no tangling around the agitator, it works great.

I'm not making any resolutions for the new year, I'm going with the flow and I'm open to possibilities. I do want to concentrate on my many big projects (oldies but goodies) so I guess there'll be more of the same.

Do any of you have big sewing plans for this year?

Stitching and stuffing

2011-12-29T18:00:00.002+11:00

I had a terrific Christmas and I hope you all did too. I must come back and show you the books that I got from Santa, he's the best!
I love the week between Christmas and New Year because I get to relax and enjoy my stitching again while the house is still reasonably clean and tidy. I get to dream about what I can tackle in the coming year and set some goals which usually last only a month.

You may remember this drawing I did. It's for the hand quilting and trapunto on the Coxcomb and Currants project.

This is my second try at tackling the stuffing of the shapes before the quilt gets put together and no, I haven't finished all the applique yet. I'm pleased to say that this time, I had a lot more success than the first go where I slit the muslin and stuffed the shapes and got distortion on the circles. It looked yuk.

I'm using a different method to the one in my tutorial. This time, I drew the design on the front of the background. I layered and basted some fine cotton muslin on the back of the block and thread basted the two layers together.

I then proceeded to baste all around the drawn design using a neutral coloured thread and stitches a little larger than my hand quilting stitches. I stitched inside the lines. I then stuffed the shapes from the back with yarn and a trapunto needle. Just in case curious minds want to know, it took me four evenings in front of the telly to get to this stage. The excess muslin has been cut away and the block pressed on several layers of a towel.

The photo below isn't showing the colours accurately but you can get an idea of what it looks like so far with the blocks.

Ignore all the yellow pen, that will all be gone at the end when the quilt is finished. You can read about the pens I'm using here that have been tested by moi.

In the antique quilt, the stems aren't corded but I decided to go ahead as it just looked more pleasing to me

Happy New Year to you all, lets hope the year brings us all good health and happiness. See you in 2012!

Hearts for Christmas

2011-12-23T18:01:00.002+11:00

We didn't drag the Christmas tree and the boxes of decorations out this year. We're going for the minimal look since we won't be here for the big day and will be with family.

I saw Kviltstinas tutorial for these paper hearts and when I next went out shopping, happened to come across a string of the red plastic teardrops for a couple of dollars.

Then I went on a mission to get some white twigs from the discount store in town to hang them off. Twig trees seem to be all the rage at the moment.

I also picked up the vase as well at the same store and voila, fast easy Christmas tree and now I don't feel as grinchy with just our nativity set out. I'm loving it.

Pop on over to the Celebrate Hand quilting blog for a look at some Christmas quilts. I've tried to load the blog on my sidebar and it just won't give me up to date posts for some reason. I'm loving belonging to this community of hand quilters over there.

I just have to tell you know in case you didn't know. Check out this link, Just Takes 2 if you love red and white quilts. I can't resist, I'm signing up for this new exciting project for next year.

That's it from me until after Christmas. I want to say thank you for visiting with me and I hope you all have a lot of love, peace and joy these holidays.

Janet

The week before Christmas

2011-12-21T10:10:00.003+11:00

For little Miss Ella who is a petite four year old but is a size three. I didn't think I had it in me to make clothing anymore. I have another dress to make after Christmas. It's pure coincidence that the colour scheme is the same as the quilt on my last post. Apart form some quilting, that's about it on the sewing front.

We took a trip into Sydney on the train yesterday, mainly to soak up the sights and sounds and to visit that fabulous book store, Kinokuniya.

Best thing I saw all day, was a man who took the time to buy a meal for a homeless girl and have a chat to her. It warmed the heart.

Worst thing I saw was the price of the turkeys and hams at David Jones food hall. Everyone knows it's where you go when you are a purveyor of fine food, lol.

Check the price out.

I loved the old fella that remarked to his wife that if that's what Christmas costs, they could only afford to have it every five years.

It was great fun to see the animated Christmas scenes in the store windows.

I found an even bigger reindeer in the store! It's yours for $5,500.

What was I thinking?

2011-12-18T17:32:00.002+11:00

You may remember this top I made last year that I wrote about here. I basted it up this weekend using Sharon Schamber's method that I've used before quite successfully.
The links to the how to videos are on this post. if you haven't seen them before.

Once I had it basted up, I attached the quilt to the planks of wood from my old basting frame because I had this bright idea that I might like to learn how to quilt in a frame. The frame quilters over on the blog Celebrate Hand Quilting have inspired me.

It might be a bit of a grand plan but I thought if others could do it, maybe I could teach myself. I'm using Quilters Dream wool so it'll be easy to needle.

I have now taken over the lounge which is OK because we're going away for Christmas day anyway so no visitors are expected.

So here's what I was thinking.
I'll be able to quilt through summer.
The top won't get dirty from being flung around.
The quilt will stay nice and straight.
I'll be humble about my stitches and not worry about how big they are. I'll aim for even and be happy if that's how they turn out.
It's supposed to be quicker as there's no constant readjusting of the hoop.
I've only tried frame quilting once years ago but I didn't get to do any thumb quilting. A minor hitch, surely.

Here's the reality.
I can only stitch as far as my arm reaches and I can't turn the quilt.
The thumb thimble I have is bulky, heavy and I don't like it. I may have to wait for my new thumb thimble I ordered.
I can't use my quilter's spoon underneath the quilt, I may have to poke my fingers with the needle.
I feel out of my depth and comfort zone but I'll give it about 20 hours and if there's no improvement, I'll go back to the trusty hoop for this one. Wish me luck and I'll report back later on.

Lovely things

2011-12-14T22:18:00.002+11:00

Aside from quilting, I do enjoy doing hardanger when I can find the time. I haven't spent much time on it this year but made these two decorations for a Santa swap for my sewing group. I'm promising myself to make more decorations for next year since these were so much fun to do. I say that every year but I've already ordered a couple of things so there will be no excuses.

I was blown away by this lovely lot of goodies that arrived in the mail last week from Tara over at Sew Unique Creations as a thank you for sharing something of mine. It was a big surprise and thrill I can tell you. Thanks a million Tara, I love it all to bits.
The book is a wonderful read and makes me think that maybe my quilts I make for family do have stories attached to them.

This book is a Christmas gift to myself that arrived in the mail today. It is truly inspiring to read about Martha Skelton and her quilts, I'm going to savour it slowly and make it last. What an amazing quilter, I'd love to be like her.

I'm not doing any Christmas sewing, the time has gotten away from me but I am plugging away at some hand quilting because summer has left Sydney so I'm making the most of quilting weather.

I'm going to put the next Trailing Vines quilt panel on hold until January just because of time restraints. I have no idea how many people are downloading the pattern or how many have made a start or going to make a start but I'm sure nobody has made the two panels yet. I'll be working on my next one after Christmas and hope to put more information up as well at the same time.

Put some fun into Christmas

2011-12-11T12:18:00.005+11:00

I've been reading a couple of blog posts about tacky Christmas decorations. I know it's all in the eye of the beholder and I really like quirky but really these are different, check out the price tag! I dare you to find something funnier.

If you love them, here's where you can find them.

You may need these

2011-12-09T16:27:00.003+11:00

Sometimes you just need a home made biscuit to have with your tea or coffee. The store bought ones are just not going to satisfy the need. If I have extra calories, I'm sure gonna make them worth having.

I know the Americans call them cookies but we call them biscuits and the American biscuit is more like our scone, how confusing! Even more confusing is the whole way butter measurements differ. I'm darn sure nobody squishes butter into a cup to measure and we don't have sticks of butter either, we're not woosies, we call it a block, lol. and it is a block of butter.

If you love the flavour of spices then you ~~should~~ have to make these white chocolate gingerbread cookies.

I got the recipe off Susan here. These are seriously good and the recipe makes a ton which you American friends need cause you have that whole mammoth baking marathon experience thing going on right about now that we don't. I do admit that I used two eggs not one and I got my butter weight sorted over at onlineconversion.com I have no idea what shortening is in the recipe but I used butter.

Next time, and there will be one since DH said these are a keeper, I'm going to try golden syrup instead of molasses and maybe mixed spice instead of the ones in the recipe. I just can't leave a recipe alone, I usually muck around and start tweaking them.

My next must have is my little early Santa gift to myself. It's a needle threader, needle holder and has a couple of other doodacky type bits attached to it. It just may cut down on the frustration when the quilting thread seems to be bigger than the eye of the needle but really it's probably my aging eyes.

I checked out this video before buying. Click on the arrow in the picture.if you want to see it.

I'm still here.

2011-12-07T16:06:00.004+11:00

I didn't forget to blog, I just had to stay off the computer, doctors orders. I've had problems with my shoulder and neck which is slowly improving with treatment thank goodness. It has seriously cut my sewing time down too. David's been falling apart like Humpty Dumpty as well but he's nearly been put back together.
I wanted to share this beautiful Jacaranda I saw on one of our excursions out, it's one of the largest I've come across, the width of two houses. I think my new phone takes quite a good photo.

Ive been on extra Nana duties and did get the Christmas cake made last month with some help as you can see. I'm going to miss little Beth, she's been here most days and now the family have moved to another state.

Little random pieces of stitching has been happening from time to time, some hexagons, not a lot but it all adds to the pile.

I have managed to spend some evenings hand quilting. Summer hasn't got going yet, it's very late for here and we've had some cold weather. If it continues, I may even get it done, only two thirds of a border to go.

It's time for a coffee and a read of my new book, it's a great one and a must have for a lover of red and green quilts like me.

Hopefully I'll be back soon.

Take your time tuesday

2011-11-15T22:09:00.001+11:00

Whoops, I nearly got caught out and forgot about Take Your Time Tuesday. I'm getting in by the skin of my teeth here but that's OK because Tuesday is just starting on the other side of the world.

Kristen over at So Happy set this idea up to celebrate all that is handmade with needle and thread and so that we can encourage and motivate each other.

This cute pincushion (or tree decoration) is made from a free tutorial over here. Once I got started, I went off on a tangent with my own changes. I haven't finished yet, I think I'll undo the bottom and put something inside to weigh it down a bit. It does stand up nicely but it topples easily being so light.

Instead of the felt circles on the top, I stitched french knots with different weights of Perle thread. It's a great size too, it's just a little smaller than my hand.

I spent some time today making some Pomegranate jelly, also inspired by Kristen. Actually, I'd made some yesterday but it was a big fat fail. Not to be beaten and knowing that homemade and handmade is the best, I had another go with a different recipe. Success people!

I'm not a big jam eater myself but I do like plum jam and this is a little like that, a bit tart. Besides, I couldn't resist the beautiful clear glow and colour of it plus the thought it would make a nice gift.

Pomegranates aren't in season and given that they would cost around four or more dollars each anyway, I found a recipe using Pom's 100% pure juice. If you make it, follow the recipe exactly. I did warm my sugar before adding it and I sterilised my jars so that I don't need to freeze it. I got the thumbs up from DH who is the jam lover in this house.

Today is the 15th of the month which means the next panel of the Trailing Vines quilt is available for download. Just click on the Trailing Vines page underneath my header. I'll try and get some more photos on Flickr in the next few days of this panel.

More applique and testing new marking pens

2011-11-14T14:09:00.002+11:00

I've made some progress on my Coxcombs and Currants quilt and the more blocks that get added, the more I love this quilt.
I have had a couple of enquiries about making the block available but I've lost the emails so if you'd like a copy, please email me and I'll be happy to send it to you. My address is available in my profile on the side bar, just click "Janet" and put "coxcomb block" in the subject line and let me know.

I'm so mad keen to keep going that I decided to draw up the design for the hand quilting and trapunto planned for the plain squares.

I do have the fabric marked but it's hard to see in the photo above so I pinned the master pattern up for you to see.

I decided to mark my quilting design as I go so it won't be such a tedious job later on. These are the new pens I'm using. They're quite safe to stay in the quilt long term and will wash out completely after the quilt is finished.

I wrote about the washable Berol pens here and was thrilled to see they've bought the coloured ones out. They're made in England and I purchased them on EBay for a great price and the postage was excellent too.

I test all my marking pens before using them and I thought you might like to see how.

The test piece on the right has been steam pressed with a really hot iron, and the one on the left has not.

I plunged the samples into cold water, left them for five minutes and you can see the colour coming out quite well except for the dark blue.

The photo below shows the samples after I plunged my fingertips in and swirled the water a few times. The ink has dissipated into the water. Except for that dark blue.

These are the samples after drying and pressing. It's hard to make out but every bit of ink has washed out except that dark blue which is very faint in both pieces. The blue is a fail. The fabric with the pin is the steam pressed one. As you can see, steam pressing made no difference to how the ink washed out.

I'm very confident about using these pens, I had more trouble with the red fabric bleeding on a couple of blocks so they're going to get another bath with some colour remover.

Good and bad, sweet and sour

2011-11-09T13:30:00.002+11:00

What a week! I disappeared of the blogosphere there for a bit to energise myself and spend time with family but at one stage I couldn't access my blog or anything associated with it due to a message from Google that I'd breached terms of service. What ... ..???
Don't panic if this happens to you, just follow the links from the message and reset your password.

I had a wonderful surprise which came in the mail last week, this sweet little doll quilt from Kathie over at Inspired By Antique Quilts. I'm so happy to have received a random act of kindness (RAK) after admiring it on her blog. Thanks so much Kathie, it's a special treat to have something from your heart and hands.

I love the all over clam shell quilting that her friend Lorre did and I'm still looking at all the fabrics so I can't hang it up just yet.

I've had a few lemons in my life this week too, it must be the law of opposites.

Thinking along those lines, I decided if life is giving me lemons, I'll make strawberries to balance things out. Even better, I made strawberry pincushions.

The pattern and kits are from Heather Bailey and are a lovely size to pop in the sewing bags I have all over the place. They're quick to make and great to look at and use. They're so addictive that I'm now thinking that they'd make great Christmas tree decorations.

If you're a hand quilter, have you linked up to Caron's celebrate hand quilting post yet? Lots of lovely quilts to visit there.

Another fabulous way to promote hand work and give each other motivation for those long slow burner's is to visit with Kristen over at So Happy to register your interest at having a place to show your progress and help each other along each week.

It's that time to share again

2011-11-01T12:25:00.000+11:00

I'm talking about Amy's blogger quilt festival. It's a good chance to see the quilts that may not necessarily be prize winners in a contest but are prizewinners in a personal sense.

I'm sharing the Licorice Allsorts quilt I made last year for one of my granddaughters. The pattern is from Kaffe Fassett's book Quilt Romance. I have to use some older photos because this one doesn't live at my place. I do have visiting rights so I was happy to give it to a very special person.

The grandkiddos play musical quilts and swap them around with each other because they're a sharing lot but this one doesn't get shared apparently.

I used Anchor variegated perle cotton to quilt it which didn't take long at all and Quilters Dream Orient batting. I used acrylic circle templates for all the quilting designs which was a breeze to mark.

The fabric on the back is one of my favourite Kaffes called big blooms.

Thanks to Amy for organising this inspiring event and also to the sponsors who offer prizes

Click on the logo below to go and be inspired.

Wordless wednesday

2011-10-26T15:16:00.000+11:00

Gone quilting and thoughts turn to batting

2011-10-19T15:04:00.000+11:00

Summer is around the corner along with the hot weather so I've spent quite a few evenings this past month hand quilting that old thing that's been hanging around.

Round and round I go, echo quilting in the borders. I have two completed and the last two are half quilted. Don't clap yet, I have trapunto to do.

I've used a Quilter's Dream Request cotton, Request is the thinnest weight and I used the bleached one.

I used to think this batting was the be all and end all batting but I've since changed my mind.

I like cotton for the crinkly, thin antique look and I like the Dream Orient for Perle quilting that's got a better loft.

Having a natural material is important to me for two reasons. It's better from a fire safety view and a Polyester causes the sweats in bed because it doesn't breathe, it traps moisture.

I'm thinking of also going back to a wool for extra warmth and for showing the stitches in a different way. It's much lighter in weight than cotton but the last time I used one was years ago and showed fibres on the surface of the quilt otherwise known as bearding.

Wool batting has come along way and I decided for hand quilting, I'd give this one a go. It will quilt like butter and I'm looking forward to it. It's not needle punched and it doesn't have a scrim. The fibres are thermally bonded.

My only concern is how it will wash up so I'll be using it on a quilt for everyday use to test it before I use it for a lifetime quilt. I have done a google search to find some reviews and so far, I've only heard good things. I'm hoping the bugs won't like it too much

If you've had experience with this batting, I'd love to know your thoughts.

Coxcomb and Currants

2011-10-17T13:17:00.003+11:00

I loved the coxcomb and Currents block I drew up and I love the solid fabrics which I've never done before in a quilt. I'm not one to churn out red and green quilts that will end up all looking similar using the same fabrics. A lifetime goal is to have a collection of red and green quilts that all look different but with the same colour story. I'm interested to know if any of you have a specialty when it comes to making quilts.

The stuffed berries will add that little extra something I felt was needed when all the blocks are clones of each other with such a plain background. The quilting plans are being formulated as I sit and stitch because I hate not having a quilting plan organised when it comes to that stage.

The block on the bottom has no place in my quilt and is going to be put aside as an orphan. That is the first one I did on very white fabric and I didn't like it so I switched to an antique white which I'm happier with.
Can you spy the mistake in the top left block? I'm leaving it as is, I kinda like knowing it's there and no, it wasn't deliberate.

Isn't this a happy photo? This is my step granddaughter. Beth is two and she lives not far from us so we get to see her quite often.

We had a visit on Saturday so I decided to keep her occupied with some painting. I put some food colouring with a bit of water in egg cups with a cotton bud in each and let her go on a large piece of paper. You can tell she had fun with that. I think she spent about half an hour rearranging pins in my pincushion and outside spraying plants with a sprayer. I better think of other activities for next time, I think she'll be expecting it.

Making long stems for Trailing Vines and panel one is now available.

2011-10-13T17:37:00.002+11:00

These instructions are for the Trailing Vines quilt along.

First prepare your cut background panel by first pressing it in half lengthwise and width wise.

Run basting stitches in the pressed lines by hand or by using a large stitch on the sewing machine.

I draw the lines for the edges 2 1/2" from the middle and the top and bottom so that you can be sure the leaves will be contained and not move into the seam allowance. I use a pen that washes out.

BIAS STEMS

There are many methods to make bias stems and you may have your own way that you're comfortable with so go ahead with whatever method you prefer.

This is how I make mine. The stems are 1/4" for the branches and 3/8" for the main stem. I like to use the Clover bias makers.

First I starch and press the fabric.

Line up the 45 degree line on your long ruler at the bottom selvage edge.

I've butted up another ruler at the top end to give me more cutting length. Make the cut from selvage to selvage and realign rulers as you progress across to the other selvage edge.

Once the initial cut is made, fold the cut edge in half.

Cut strips 3/4" wide from the cut edge for 3/8" stems and cut strips 1/2" wide for 1/4" stems. I actually cut a smidgen over the 1/2" which gives me better results.

For the main wider stem, you'll need to make joins so that your strip will measure around 100" long.

Place strips as they are in the photo below. Draw or eyeball the bias seam and sew.

Open up the strips and trim excess fabric.

Press seam open. I secure the seam allowances down with a little basting glue or fabric glue stick so that they will move through the bias maker smoothly.

I put the pattern on my light table and place the stems with the tiniest dots of basting glue, being careful not to distort the background fabric. I try to aim the dots of glue between the leaves.

The last panel I did differently by drawing the pattern on the background and then placing the stems.

I thread baste in the middle of the main stem and the branches on one edge. (click photo to see)

This is so that as the leaves are sewn on, you can slip them under the stem so I would do one side of the branch, undo the basting and fill the other side with leaves.

Sew the edges of the stems as you complete adding the leaves to each branch.

It's your choice if you draw the pattern on panel or not. If you don't like to do that, I would suggest putting a dot on the bottom and top of each leaf placement and use those to guide you.

Panel one is now available for download. Click on the page under my header to go to the Trailing Vines page. I'm going to upload photos of each branch from panel one onto flickr. Once I've done that, I'll add the link to the Trailing Vines page.

Experiences - priceless

2011-10-07T15:11:00.006+11:00

Warning, no quilt content.
Mr Q and I did a photography course in Sydney last weekend and it was a consolation treat for me since missing out on going to the last quilt show there. We had held out hotel booking so used it for the weekend away which was sorely needed. Batteries are now charged.

St Mary's Cathedral from Hyde Park., Sydney

The course was very good and aimed at beginners of DSLR photography. Learning about how to use the camera out of auto mode is a good thing. I think I forgot a lot of what I learnt on the day as it was very intensive. I was note keeper, Mr Q was memory keeper. Now it's all down to practice. Photos above and below are shots taken on the day using different modes and settings.

Panning, blurring backgrounds and water effects from the Archibald fountain, Hyde park.

On the way back to the hotel, we were going to stop for a coffee at the Lindt cafe but the queue was a bit long for us. Not to worry, Sydney has chocolate cafes popping up like mushrooms and down a bit is the newly opened Guylian chocolate cafe.

I can say that this was the best custard tart I have ever had in my life.

A couple of days ago we decided to head out to the Brasserie Bread cafe for brunch. I am mad about this place and it's a must to visit again. All their breads are made with GM free, organic ingredients and they set up a tasting table with baskets of bread to taste with olive oil and jams. There are glass doors where you can watch the cooking classes going on and since it's school holidays, they had 10 little rug rats making fruit pies and bread sticks. All the kids classes are provided FREE and they all get their own masterchef aprons embroidered with their names. You have to give them a big pat on the back for being an educational business as well as providing something to the community.

This is what I had, poached eggs with smoked trout and feta on sourdough. Low GI food I was told.

And I just had to have a plate of sourdough pancakes with berry couli and honeycomb cream. I have to make these at home sometime, what a taste sensation and quite different to normal pancakes.

Between dishes, I stood up, turned around and watched through the glass where the bakers were hard at work on the breads. That visit to the Artisan bakery fired up my enthusiasm for home made sourdough so out came the starter, a good recipe and a healthy dose of enthusiasm.

Dear bread, how I love thee, I nurtured you and handled you with gentle care and you have rewarded me with your thin crackly crust, your pretty little bubbles that I asked you for....

and your divine soft custard crumb. You rose to the challenge and gave me beautiful holes. I shall be making you again.

One’s own simple bread is much better than someone else’s pilaf. ~ Azerbaijani Proverb

Learning curves and The Vine Quilt.

2011-10-04T18:30:00.000+11:00

I've been away the last weekend and tied to the computer learning all sorts of new things I didn't know before now. I'm way behind on my emails and blog reading so I'm sorry and I promise I'll try to catch up this week.

The good news is that my DH and I did a photography class for a day to learn about our new Nikon DSLR D5100 and how to use it beyond the auto button. More on that at a later date.

My other big learning curve has been to work out how to make a blog button. Sorry if you came over yesterday thinking I had posted - false alarm.

The good news is that I now have a humble little blog button for you to grab (which is optional) if you are joining in on the Trailing Vines quilt along. You'll find it on my sidebar.

I also have a new page called Trailing Vines under my header where you will be able to access the downloads and links to any information. The downloads will only be available though the links provided. The materials list and cutting information is now available.

Thank you so much for the overwhelming interest in my pattern and for all the encouraging comments. Please be kind to me because I've never done this before and if I've made any mistakes, let me know so that I can rectify them.

Panel five

2011-09-29T15:34:00.000+10:00

When I start another panel for the vine quilt, I generally don't stop until it's done or bad things might happen, such as it ending up not getting any attention at all.

It's really hard to photograph one panel, it's so long and skinny so I've tipped it on it's side. It's taken a little longer than the others since this one has eleven branches.

I had to immediately add it to the others so I can enjoy the changing effect as it grows.

I took a few photos and made them large so that you could see the fabrics. You can click on the photos to get a closer look. I had trouble with correct lighting, it's been very grey and wet around here lately and my background is a bit more creamy than it looks below.

I'm so overwhelmed by the response to my proposal to make my pattern available to anyone who would like to stitch their own version, thank you so very much!

I'll be making a materials list available early next week and I'll let you know when the first panel will be available for download.

I found a close up photo of Susan's quilt which you can see fabrics and hand quilting very clearly. Go have a look here and click on the photo once then again.

I'm on a tight schedule and have to pack, we're having a weekend away but before I do that, here's two blocks I put together for the Gorgeous Amy and her daughter, sent off to Sarah last week.

Susan McCord's Vines pattern

2011-09-20T11:45:00.002+10:00

As you know, I've been drawing a pattern of my own to stitch a quilt inspired by Susan McCord's Vines quilt.
I've been focusing on stitching the fifth panel and have got about half way.

Sometimes when I sit and stitch, I go into a zone where the woes of the world don't exist and the mind thinks only of quilty things.

Here's what I've been thinking about. I'd love to share my pattern (for free) with anyone who would be interested in making this quilt and releasing a panel per month for download. There are thirteen panels.

It's not an exact replica, rather my interpretation and I think it gives a similar look to the antique quilt.

If there is enough interest, say more than one or two of you, I'll go ahead with it and would appreciate you leaving me a comment so I can see if it's worthwhile doing.

A winner and a loser

2011-09-15T19:50:00.001+10:00

The Currants and Coxcombs block wouldn't wait, I mean I couldn't wait and so I just had to sew a block up to see it in fabric and it's turned out just as I had hoped. I think this will have to have some more of the blocks to play with and grow up to be the next red and green quilt in my series. It's a winner in my book.

The green solid is Moda Bella, pistachio and the deep red is a P&B fabric. Istuffed the berries with a little polyester stuffing.
The inspiration for drawing up this block came from an antique quilt over at the Quilt Complex and you can see it over here, scroll down a bit to see the whole quilt. What do you think of the quilting and stuffed work on it?

I thought I'd put the Cherry Tree blocks up on the design wall and see how they would look together and I didn't like how they were playing. I thought it was the fact that I had too many different types of green, especially the emerald ones.

At this point I seriously though about rescuing a couple by changing a few leaves and starting again with the others blocks.

Then I removed that last block I'd made pictured at the bottom of the above photo which had light lime coloured leaves and now I like the arrangement a lot better. That block was a loser.

I'll have to keep these up on the wall and proceed with some toned down blocks. I'm still mulling over changing a few pieces but I'll wait until I've done a couple more and then make my mind up.

Never be afraid to move in a new direction if you don't like what's happening.

Janet

A bit of this and a bit of that.

2011-09-12T22:48:00.002+10:00

I finally got back to my applique that I was missing and finished this block for the "Beyond The Cherry Trees quilt. It took a lot longer than I though it would, lots of leaves in this one.

The one below was the last one I'd done and I just wasn't happy with the emerald green stems so unpicked those and replaced them. Now I can live with it.

Note to self, find time to make more of these blocks since I'm enjoying the more modern fabrics.

I also managed to get two more of my circle blocks done. I'm finding it hard to stick to these and I'm behind which is normal for me. I'm not very patient at prepping for hand piecing you see.

Note to self, stop procrastinating on these.

The Vine quilt has been whispering, no, shouting in my ear to get going and draw another panel. It took a few afternoons to do the drawing but as you can see, I'm now starting the stitching. This will be the fifth panel and has about 305 leaves to sew on. I'm loving being back playing with this one.

Note to self, get down to the sewing room and make more leaves.

More drawing, this time a Currants and Coxcomb block I wanted to draw up after some inspiration hit me whilst looking at antique red and green quilts.
Note to self, blinkers don't work when on the computer.

Whatever time you have for stitching, have fun with it.

Janet

The last one

2011-08-29T08:01:00.000+10:00

This will be the last bag for awhile. I made all the adjustments and I'm 90% happy with it, I'd change just one thing. This is the front of the sewing case.

The back.

I went a bit over the top but I like that sort of excess sometimes. The ribbon on the handle is a favourite part, it's very girlie.

I wanted to make the lid sit right back so that one could work out of the bag without having to open the lid each time something was needed out of it.

Another change was the pocket in the lid which is now a zippered one so that stuff doesn't fall out.

I'm back to quilty things now that I'm all bagged out for awhile, it was nice to have some finishes for a change.

I hope all our friends that copped Hurricane Irene are safe and well and not too many are doing without power. My thoughts are with you.

Janet

Sydney Modern Quilt Guild

2011-08-27T12:08:00.000+10:00

I've always believed that quilting is such a diverse art form that there was something for everyone that wanted to quilt. It's truer today than it was when I started quilting in the early nineties.

It's been exciting to be a quilter in these times and to have more fabric, more tools and techniques available.

The Modern Quilt Guild seems to be filling a gap for another group of quilters and that movement is spreading around the world.

Claire and Suzanne have decided to start a Sydney chapter which you can read all about on their blog and fill out a form to register your interest over here.

;

I'm not going to attempt to try and define what modern quilting is about, I think some others have defined it pretty well. I did read a good article in the August/September issue of the Quilters Newsletter and there is much to be read on the Modern Quilt Guild Blog.

I'm having a bagathon

2011-08-23T13:31:00.003+10:00

I'm stuck in some sort of twilight zone where only sewing bags exist. I've turned into some sort of bag maniac as I try variations on the same theme.

I'm still playing around with fine tuning to get the sewing case just the way I want it. This isn't it.

I thought I'd make it 10" x 8" to fit patchwork units but the downside is that I want to work with a 24" zip and it's just not working for me.

I had to bring the back gusset around the sides and that means that the lid won't open back nicely.

The pocket is not going to keep anything too secure being so wide and don't like the top lip above the zip.

I can fix all that by making a zippered pocket, doing away with that top lip on the lid and reducing the size of the bag to 10" x 7" not great for traditional patchwork blocks but I'll have to work around that.

After mulling it over for the last few days, my brain started to dry up and I was told working it that hard was like going for a five kilometer run, it gets tired.

I was browsing around for ideas on the Internet (as you do) and came across some pouches on etsy. I'm a bit scared I might get a slap over the hand for being a copycat. I found some "oh so cute you could puke" (inside joke with DD) appliques using felts that I could incorporate on the bags.

Adorable! I drew the one below for the back. The little girl is having a lovely time with her Panda outfit and her special friend in the spring sunshine.

If friend Chris O likes it, I'll be sending this one to her.

I've been such a bad blogger and very slack in visiting my friends. I've been involved with family so I know you'll relate to that and understand.

Until next time, Janet

Q.A.D.D.

2011-08-10T15:16:00.001+10:00

Every so often I have a recurrence of this condition called Quilters Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is what it looks like when I'm in the throes of the affliction.

Fusing a fabric collage and attempting to channel Laura Wasilowski.

English paper piecing

Hand piecing.

Embellishing with embroidery.

Needle turn applique, last block!

Hand quilting.

All fueled by an unhealthy dose of "death by chocolate", aka hubby's birthday cake.

In my defense, variety is the spice of life!
Happy stitching, in whatever form it is.
Janet

Winner and more bags

2011-08-07T12:49:00.001+10:00

I used my alternate random generator this time to pick a winner for the little bag below. I asked David to pick a number randomly out of his head and he came up with #28.

So confetti falling on your head Chookyblue, because that happens to be you. Congratulations, send me your snail mail address and it'll be in the mail tomorrow along with extra goodies in the bag.

Thank you sooo much everyone for all the wonderful comments and helping me to celebrate. The only downside of giveaways is that there can only be one winner.

The bag bug hit me bad after making that one so I decided to make some time to play around with some variations of a sewing case. I made this one for my daughter using the sewing box tutorial listed on this page.I have made it before but decided to add some interfacing to give it more stability which in turn made it much harder to sew. There was some unpicking and teeth grinding going on.

I used a hair tie for the loop and a vintage shank button for the inside pocket. I loved using these colours which were perfectly funky.

The other bag I made from a Japanese linen I picked up in New Zealand on my last trip but it was looking a little bland so I added the polka dot to the handles and ..................................

some stitchery to the sides in perle cotton.

I drew up my own pattern for this one but used the same lining technique as the giveaway bag. What I didn't like was hand sewing in the lining pieces and the depth inside could have been bigger.

I haven't finished yet, I think I'll make up another bag pattern using several different techniques to get a good shape and a lining and zip that's easier to put in.

Stay tuned, Janet

I'm celebrating

2011-08-01T17:06:00.005+10:00

When I started blogging, I had no idea how it would affect my life or my sewing ventures. I didn't know who would find me and if they did, whether they would be interested in what I got up to with my needle and thread.

Fast forward to now and I have lots of bloggy friends that feel like pen friends, I've even met some of you in person. Most of all I didn't realise how much inspiration, sharing and generosity of spirit there was to be had in blog land.

I remember Julia visiting my blog in the early days and asking me where my follower button was so she could come back to visit. I didn't know about followers but put the link up on my side bar anyway and I've been watching the number climb until it hit over 1,000.

Well, hooley dooley I have to celebrate that biggie so I whipped up a little something to giveaway to one of you.

This sewing case is from Annie Downs book "Some Kind Of Wonderful" I made it from linen and scraps of my favourite colour, here's the front view.

The back view. I had fun doing some random stitching as you can tell.

And the inside lining is in another favourite fabric. I had some trouble putting in the lining piece at the inside back of the bag. I used peltex as a firm stabiliser instead of template plastic as the support, it was much easier. I'll also add a couple of little surprises to put inside the bag for the winner.

Leave me a comment and I'll draw the winner next Sunday morning Australian time. Make sure you have your email address in your profile or leave it for me otherwise you can't be included as I won't be able to contact you. I won't reply to comments this time or I could end up living on the computer.

Thanks for visiting, Janet

Fantasy flowers

2011-07-25T14:28:00.002+10:00

It's not hard to guess what I've been up to in the last week, or at least for a part of it.

I've reacquainted myself with my magic blinkers which had temporarily lost their magic powers.

There's been a fair bit of project rotation going on in my mind and it was time to settle back into some sort of order. I only had five Flower Garden blocks left to do and blow me down if I didn't manage to get four of them done, the last one is in progress.

Oops, I didn't mean for this one to grow a face, honestly it was an accident but it's staying as is for a laugh. Sometimes quilts should bring a smile.

I'm pretty sure I'll be renaming this quilt "Fantasy Garden" If you'd like to stich or are stitching one of Kim McLean's patterns, we now have a system set up over at Glorious Applique to allow more contributors. Just send a request via email to me from here or over there.

See you again when I have something more to share, Janet

A makeover for the goldfinch

2011-07-18T18:50:00.001+10:00

Forgive my giant photos, I wanted to show you some before and after shots of the applique with embroidery and the difference it's made to the applique.

Here's my wee Goldfinch prior to any embellishing.

Here he is after a small amount of coloured pencil shading around the yellow parts. Sandra Leichner explains how to do this on her blog here if curious minds want to know.

Doing the embroidery on the eye makes a whole world of difference. I used simple straight stitches with floss for the highlight and three rows of sewing weight thread in stem stitch to outline the eye.

I put the thimble there in case you were wondering how tiny that appliqued circle was. I actually measured it just for you and it was 3/8" before embroidery. You can see I did the beak as well.

Isn't he just the most handsome little fella? All the embroidery is completed and he looks like he's about to fly off at any moment. The feathers and outlines are again done with sewing weight thread in some sections and embroidery floss in others. I used a hoop to control the tension

I've also highlighted most of the flower petals and am now starting on the background embroidery.

I pinched this photo of the male Goldfinch to show you the real thing in case like me, you don't live in America and have never seen a real one

The little people

2011-07-16T14:49:00.001+10:00

You might know that I have two grown up children (one unattached son) and David has four (one recently passed on). This means that we are likely to have a growing tribe of grandchildren as the years pass.

You haven't met the little people in my family and I'm allowed to introduce you to some of them. Good excuse for a brag I think.

As you may know I spent a week in New Zealand recently and got to catch up with my children and grandchildren.

I couldn't believe how much Noah had grown and changed. He's normally very easy going, eats three breakfasts ( like a Hobbit) and has a hissy fit when he has to leave the cool toy cars in the quilt shop which he thought they put there just for him. He'll be two next month.

Miss Ella is going to be turning four next month, she's a teeny tiny tot but has a personality that makes up for it. She's all about negotiation. She's very like me and her middle name is Janet after me.

The family lives across the road from their school and are responsible for looking after the chickens in the weekend in exchange for eggs. The school is very environmentally conscious and also has vegetable plots, a Macadamia nut tree and worm farms where a lot of the lunch scraps go.

I played around with my camera which does sketch shots and took this one of five year old Sophie.

Sophie is the kindest most caring young lady and has a fabulous sense of humour. She wants everyone to be happy and friends and is trying to grow her hair as long as the character in the Disney cartoon, Tangled.

Here are girls last year.

The eldest is Julia who is eleven, she's a very gentle soul and is thoughtful, kind and has the best manners in the world. She's very intelligent and is an avid reader, crafter and cheerleader.

That's the four on my side, David has another five grandchildren so we have nine together. We had his daughter's two year old Beth for the afternoon yesterday. Oh boy, she is hard to get a photo of but I managed. I'm trying to teach her to play on her own, it's not working.

Thanks for indulging me, today I get to sew so I'll be back very soon for some show and tell on the current project.

Applique with attitude

2011-07-11T17:56:00.002+10:00

Its been a long time since I have done any applique, well it seems like it anyway. I have a new and exciting little project on the go. This pattern is from Sandra Leichner. I'm loving the challenge of getting back to layered small pieces. This is applique with embroidery for a more realistic rendition that gives it that extra visual punch. This pattern is called the Goldfinch block and is part of a series called the naturalist notebook block series.
This is the first flower that I've done and is an Osteospermum also known as the African Daisy.

I haven't been able to put it down and this is how far I've got. I'm not happy with some values of a few petals in the second flower so I'll replace those.

The hardest part was the tiny piece for the birds eye. There is the option of embroidering it with satin stitch but I decided not to wimp out and applique it. Can you make out the tiny circle in the middle of the head? It will stand out much better when the embroidery is added.

I have to say that Sandra's patterns are incredibly detailed and beautifully presented. I opted for the kit and freezer paper templates and I'm so thrilled with them that I can't speak highly enough about them.

I haven't been slack about visiting, I have a good excuse, really. I've had to change computers, mine finally slowed down so much it was just about dead. Now I'm back with more speed and promise to do more blog visiting soon. We've had a lovely dinner invitation for tonight so must dash.
Janet

little pleasures

2011-07-05T17:48:00.001+10:00

Hellooooo my friends!! I'm back from my whirlwind week in New Zealand. It's so good to be back home and I'm so looking forward to getting my old routine back.

If there's one thing I've learnt over the last month and a half, it's to stay positive and to enjoy the smaller pleasures life has to offer. It has been a really challenging year so far and that's an understatement.

Enough of the deep and meaningfuls and onto some nice cheerful chatter.

It was such a good idea to start playing with hexagons. I packed a pile of fabrics, the supplies I'd need and had some nice times with needle and thread during found moments. Thanks to my DD who is a star fussy cutter extraordinaire, I now have these sweeter than sweet flower delights.

The pile grew quite nicely and I've decided how I'm going to set them together.

I love the cheerful scrappiness of the Vignette hexagon quilt from Leanne Beasley. I didn't think I'd last the distance if I embroidered the hexagons that fit in between blocks so opted for my cheats version. The cherry fabric from the Sew Cherry fabric line is the perfect fit for a one inch hexagon, how amazingly wonderful is that??

Row one has begun but now that I'm home, who knows how far I'll get. Does it matter? Nah! This is about having fun people and a needle and thread in my hand is my idea of pleasure.

I can't remember the last time I actually wanted to get in the kitchen and cook. I'm not talking about having to cook to sustain us but the "I feel like cooking something" feeling. Mmmm, maybe it's the Masterchef effect. I'm addicted to watching that cooking show and something must have rubbed off.

Lamb shanks cooked with red wine with gremolata and served on a bed of polenta. Does that sound a bit cheffy? I used some random recipe off the Internet and did my usual tweaking just because I can and I think it makes me look like I have a talent in the kitchen.

Strawberries for afters but just for me because the only other person living in this house is allergic.

The last lovely pleasure of the day is this heavenly smelling bunch of flowers just delivered to our door. Some friends were thinking of us, how thoughtful!

I hope to catch up with you soon, thanks for dropping by for a visit.

I'm away

2011-06-28T11:40:00.000+10:00

Just popping in to say that I didn't make it to the quilt show this year. I made a last minute dash to New Zealand last Saturday to help out my daughter who has injured her back. Thank goodness I managed to get a flight with the Chilean ash cloud causing so many flight cancellations.
There are four lovely grandchildren to spend some time with and my son to try and catch up with.
I apologise for not being able to reply to my emails and comments, back next week.
Janet

Doll quilts

2011-06-22T12:35:00.001+10:00

Exciting mail arrived with Christine's doll quilt she made just for me and I couldn't be more thrilled, I love it!

The itty bitty half square triangles are squeal worthy and check out the gorgeous hand quilting. Thanks Christine.

I love the wooden needle case and needles too that she included in the package.

I can finally reveal the quilt I made for Christine.

The house blocks are foundation pieced and are 4" It was hard to find a pattern so I just reduced one down until it was the right size. From memory, the quilt measures close to 20" x 15"

I still haven't gotten back to much sewing, I've been sick again with a stomach bug. Hopefully I'm all better for the Sydney Quilt show this weekend. We're spoiling ourselves and staying in the city for two nights. There are plans for a blog meet up but I'm not sure how that's going, domestic flights have been cancelled this week due to volcanic ash cloud.

P.S. winning quilts from the show can be viewed here.

Back to sewing and blogging

2011-06-16T17:54:00.001+10:00

I had a lovely afternoon in the sewing cave the other day. I shut out the world and enjoyed a bit of me time.

I've been battling bronchitis the last two weeks but I'm feeling more like my normal self now thank goodness.

Poor David has had it too but not as bad and on top of all that, had a day in hospital (nothing serious) and a bit of minor eye laser surgery. It sounds like we're falling to bits!! We're good now and life is slowly returning to routine as much as it can.

I felt like a little sewing project that was easy, inexpensive and fast to do from whoa to go. You can see I couldn't stop at one and I even tried a couple of different sizes. These are great as thread catchers, containers or to put gifts in.

They're even reversible, how good is that? I found the tutorial over here if you need to whip some up.

Have you seen Mary's hexagons? I needed something happy to play with and made a few of these big ones. I was going to surround them with a row of white but now I've changed my mind and might come back to these a little later on. It's a bit of frivolity and may not grow up to be a quilt.

I decided to simplify and go for the single petaled blooms for now.

As you can see, they've been a great distraction and I'm enjoying the simplicity of English paper piecing.

Look what came in the mail! A fat quarter pack of Sew Cherry by Lori Holt, I had to have some after seeing them on Nannette's blog. I even got some yardage that I have plans for. Yummy!

I've also been doing a little painting. These two boards will have different colours on the backs. They're to help me with photos for the blog. I have such a dark house and very little natural light so it's hard to find anywhere to take photographs. I read about this great solution from Amy and swung into action.

That's all for now, except to say thanks a bunch for all the wonderful messages you've left me. I couldn't bring myself to reply to you all individually, I know you'll understand. I'll be doing my best to catch up.

Janet xoxo

Overwhelmed

2011-06-10T14:33:00.000+10:00

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the wonderful, kind messages left on my last post. David and I have read every single message left for us and are overwhelmed by the caring words and the comfort they have brought us. In his words, bloggers and quilters are the kindest people! Words really do help.

We have been inundated by family the last two weeks and as you can imagine, there has been so much to take care of.

Because David's children are of Maori descent, a Tangihunga was arranged and it was a very positive and healing experience for all of those involved. It made the funeral and the grief a lot easier to bear.

It hasn't been gloomy around here all of the time. Bradley was very passionate about motocross riding and competing. Many of his friends, family and even his wee boy gathered together and enjoyed a lovely day out celebrating his life.

I'm not quite ready to get back into routine just yet but it'll happen soon and I look forward to the time when I'll be sewing and blogging again.

Janet

Hug your loved ones.

2011-05-26T19:46:00.004+10:00

Bradley Lawrence Colin Harnett

26.7.80 - 26.5.11

My dear friends, your thoughts, prayers and good wishes would be much appreciated. Today we lost my beloved DH David's second son. He was only 30 years old and took his own life. He is survived by his partner and his dear 2 year old son.

Oldies and goodies

2011-05-23T12:48:00.002+10:00

I've been looking for something quick, colourful and fun to do, really I'm hankering for a new project. I have a few possibilities in mind but I was going through some photos the other day and was reminded of this oldie from a couple of years ago. For some reason, I stopped just short of one block so I got it done last night. It's not fused, I did needle turn applique and buttonhole stitched around the blooms after.

I've yet to finish putting the blocks together and it's going to a good lap size for some young person. Better still, I got to use only what was in the stash, not that it made any sort of dent in it. I think it'll be good with just a scrappy brown binding.

Here's a tiny sneak peek at the doll quilt I'm doing for Christine's swap. I won't show any more than this so it can be a surprise. I still have more quilting to do yet.

We had the most glorious warm weather for the weekend and spent most of it out and about. There's an orchid place near us and I've been meaning to go and have a look. Mr Q bought me the gold and pink one in the middle and another white moth orchid. I picked up some great tips for caring for them and ~~hopefully~~ will be able to keep them alive.

We also went out to pick up some more paper for my quilt drawings and came home with a new camera. It wasn't planned but we have been intending to buy a new one.That's what I call a bonus! It's a big step up from a compact camera, not hard to learn to use it but it doesn't take good macro, might have to rely on the compact or think about a macro lens. I'll need a suitcase to cart the accessories around soon.

I think I'll go have another look to see what other oldies I have buried in the sewing cave, or maybe I'll play with something new. Can you tell the blinkers are slipping off?

It's all about the fabric

2011-05-18T12:24:00.002+10:00

If you've followed my blog for awhile, you'd know that I don't have a particular type or style of quilt that I couldn't say is uniquely me. That means that I have a stash that has bits of all sorts of fabrics.
It's time I sorted myself out here, I have bins of black and whites, little stacks of designer fabrics, brights, 30's, repros, batiks, Kaffes etc, etc. I've run out of room, eek, that means I might have to stop buying fabric.

I have to show you some of my latest acquisitions though. I thought these would be great for bags or pouches.

Japanese fabrics which have a very unique look to them.

I gravitate towards red and whites and got a pack of small cuts along with the Japanese Giraffes that I had to have 'cause they're too cute.

Random happy ones.

I was excited and thrilled to bits when I won these beauties in a giveaway from Rachael over at Blue Mountain Daisy. They're all Suzuko Koseki fabrics plus one of her books. I've been hankering after some of these fabrics you know. I love the things that Rachael has on her blog, she makes her mark on everything she does and is very clever with her ideas and puts a lot of thought into her creations.

Another blogger that I love is Kathie from Inspired By Antique Quilts. Kathie was the one that inspired me to start my own blog when I had just barely found out what a blog was. I think it's her fault that I made a little detour into reproduction style quilts and I learnt a lot from her. She and I have kept up the contact and sent each other things from time to time. This is a big stack of 6" squares I received from her last week and are for my little basket blocks. Thanks again Kathie!

I see her as a master of the scrappy quilt, I love them all and they'd be great stash busters. Her latest one would be great in so many different types of fabrics. Go have a look.

On the sewing front, I don't have anything to show, I've been spending a lot of time hand quilting, starting a secret dolly quilt and I finally finished my drawings for the Baltimore borders. I wanted to have the top two corners turning differently and came up with this.

I think it's time I got something organised so I can do a bit more sewing.

Bloggers quilt festival

2011-05-14T13:15:00.001+10:00

This is the first time I've added a quilt to Amy's quilt blogger festival. I love applique and I love red and green quilts so this is a favourite. I made this one for my eldest grandaughter and finished it in 2006. It's hand appliqued, machine pieced and hand quilted. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a decent photo inside.

It's the first time I tried echo quilting...

or stipple quilting...

or feathers. It's also the first time I'd tried the dogtooth borders and will probably be the last.

The quilt was made in a year long class with Val Moore and we were all encouraged to set our blocks and design borders with our own plan rather than following a set design.

Thanks to Amy for hosting the Festival and also to the sponsers who have offered up prizes. Click on the button above to enjoy the rest of the quilts.

Day tripping and the blogger blues

2011-05-09T15:49:00.011+10:00

I'm just about to tear my hair out. My time on the computer has been severely curtailed. We have some ongoing issues with our server slowing our broadband right down. We tested it the other night and it was running eight times slower than it should. I think I need a new computer too, this one's getting to be a dinosaur and I don't like using the lap top for blogging.

I've been trying to blog for the last couple of days and I get this spinning icon on my blog posting space. I found out it's a glitch and it will be fixed. In the meantime, I did find out that I can post using the old blogger editor. I just had to remember to load my photos on back to front, sigh.
DH and I had such a great outing to Balmain on the other side of Sydney on Saturday especially to visit Calico and Ivy. Sarah ( I hope I spelt that right) was working there and was so friendly and welcoming that it was a joy to hang out in the shop. They have a blog too.

My eyes couldn't miss this beauty that Sarah purchased in Houston last year and she kindly said I could take photos and share them with you. It's thought to be made around 1940
I couldn't tell what the pattern was until it was held up and photographed and then the stars became visible. The two colour quilts, especially the red and white can have so many patterns that catch your eye depending what you focus on. If you know the name of the pattern, could you let me know? It was hand pieced and hand quilted.
There were other delights in the shop too, I loved the red chair with crochet cushion.

Lots of gorgeous wool, Debbie Bliss, Rowan and Noro, my favourites.

DH gets brownie points for spotting Adriano Zumbo's patisserie but I wasn't going to queue down the street for a sweet. Masterchef on television has made Adriano a household name.

Sarah told us how to get to the kitchen where all the baking gets done and there's less queuing. Unfortunately, we got there in the afternoon when stock was low and I didn't get to buy the ultimate chocolate brownie.
This lot was good compensation. I wasn't keen on trying the satay macaron but we did get the sesame seed, licorice, lime (purple) the vanilla and strawberry as well as a couple of citrus tarts

I'll have to show you my loot next time, I'm all out of blogger patience.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

2011-05-03T15:41:00.001+10:00

I'm playing catch up, that seems to be the norm when I'm in a block of the month programme. The blocks for The Circle Game are all being hand pieced and I was getting a bit behind. I'm definitely not skilled at hand piecing so these circular blocks are a challenge for me. I had to phone Amitie to see what size these were supposed to finish. Mine didn't measure quite right, no surprises there and that discrepancy could prove to be my downfall when I set the blocks into the surrounding pieces. This one was a bit distorted.

I thought it would be a good idea to block them so I took a piece of pre-shrunk fabric and drew a 10 1/2" circle on it. I then pinned all the edges of all my blocks to the outside drawn line. The whole thing is on my hard pressing surface. I've done this block before so this is just to show you again.

I spritzed the block with water, let it soak in a little and pressed with a hot dry iron. I then leave the block to cool. Now my blocks all measure 10 1/2" unfinished, cause I made them, ha, ha.

I totally chickened out of hand piecing this Joseph's Coat block, I knew it was beyond me and admitted defeat at the beginning. I ended up appliqueing it.

This one was a walk in the park compared to some of the others.

I can manage klosjes though and got another 15 to add to the pile.

Talking about a walk in the park, that's just what I did today. After some very wet weather, it was good to get out. There were a huge number of toadstools around but check this out, I think it had the top knocked off it but it was such a great orange colour.

I came across these too, they all looked like some sort of fungi but I don't know what they are. They look like something out of the little shop of horrors and were a vibrant pink. This must be a fresh one.

And this is what the older ones look like. There's strange oozing stuff that comes from the middle that looks like mud. Does anyone know what they are?

Edit: Thanks to Kirie and Polyquats for providing the answers in the comments, mystery solved.

Border decisions

2011-04-27T22:52:00.000+10:00

I haven't posted in over a week, unusual for me really but I am suffering from a case of blogger fright. Think stage fright and relate it to blogging and that will just about sum it up without going into detail.

It's my own fault, I've been reading other blogs that have bought up some provocative issues surrounding blogging and quilting. I'm not going to join the discussions and I gave myself a good talking to and I think I'm cured.

I have been busting to get back to some red and green applique so picked this very simple Cherry Tree block as a quick fix.

I did get a dark red border put on the Baltimore style quilt so that I could measure and get to drawing up the border design. The red will be repeated before the binding again.

It's a long process for me to draw up a border, it doesn't come easily to me because I'm impatient and it takes time. I know a lot of you were interested to know what ideas I have so here are some initial drawings.

I wanted an urn in the middle of the top and bottom border with a running vine and put together this one but I'm still debating that and could go to the other extreme and keep it super simple. I only draw half the border since that can be flipped for the other side.

I knew I wanted to feature roses from some of the blocks and for it not be too heavy with applique. I also knew I wanted some space to feature some feather quilting and I've allowed space for that. You might be able to make out the light pencil line above the valley of the vine that will accommodate the feather on top, there will be more in the bottom edge of the border too..

Trying to make the elements go around the corner took a bit of thinking but this will most likely do. I have a plan to have the top two corners finish differently to the bottom two so I have yet to draw those out to make sure it works.

I want to say a big thank you for all the positive comments and amazing compliments I got on my last post.

I feel very humbled and fortunate to have had such amazing encouragement from other blogger friends. If it wasn't for the encouragement, I'm sure the current project would have stayed in a drawer.

Happy stitching, Janet

Tra-la-tra-la.

2011-04-20T15:30:00.001+10:00

Doing the happy dance here after getting all my blocks together. The fabrics I've used are not reproduction, there could be all sorts in it but I love the colours, especially the punches of blue.

Most of the block patterns are from books by Elly Sienkiewicz except for a few I drew myself using block elements from the books.

I was very deliberate in setting the blocks as they often did with the antique Baltimore's. There is the pattern of a Greek cross formed by the urn in the middle with the baskets and then because I'm so funny about settings, I put the round wreaths in the corners. From that point on, I tried to balance the blocks out somewhat.

I had to attend to a few finishing touches on some blocks like the book getting the album label.

Family names were also inked on various blocks.

This one below is inked with my name and a sentiment that I hope will be true when I'm long gone.

I've been thinking about the borders now and I would love to make a start on the drawing before too much longer.
I wish all of you who celebrate Easter to have a happy one.

The last block.

2011-04-18T11:46:00.000+10:00

Last week went by in a blur getting block #25 stitched.. I even burnt the midnight oil one night. It needs a little fix up after washing the block revealed that the reverse applique on the four buds near the top were not up to scratch. There was so little seam allowance that threads are whispering in the breeze. I'm going to replace those for a lighter green and do one larger reverse applique in the middle. There's a little inking to go on as well.

The block is actually a redo. The one below is the reject and was done way back about the mid 90's when I was just a baby appliquer. I had a colour run and soaked the block in a solution which worked but it bleached out the background.

The applique method I first learnt to do was to thread baste the pieces onto paper and cut the background out to remove the paper. Messy and time consuming.

This is what the back looks like now that I do needleturn, much better.

Hopefully this week I can find the time to finish all the little details on the blocks and get them sewn together, ooh, excitement!

Inking

2011-04-11T16:36:00.002+10:00

It's drummed into quilters to add labels to quilts they make, I don't always succeed in doing that but years ago I got interested in making labels with the micron permanent pens. I was full of good intentions and I have used a few. I have some left which I found recently. Now I'm more likely to just write on the quilt backing or spit something out of the computer because I've got lazy.

Some of the drawings got a bit over the top.

Some were simpler, it was fun to do but it's not what I'm into anymore.

Doing the drawing all those years ago has given me the confidence I need to do some inking on my Baltimore blocks before they all get joined together. The inking on this block is from a Susan Mckelvey stamp using a Fabrico ink pad . I'll add a word or something to the banner later.

This one is traced from one of the Baltimore books.

The calligraphy bird is traced from a free clip art site but simplified a little.

There are two blocks featuring cherubs, a favourite of my daughter so they got added. This one is from free clip art and re sized. She'll get the quilt eventually.

These cherubs I got off some old wrapping paper. I traced the outline and did some shading with dots.

I know it would have been smart to do inking before the applique but I didn't know what I wanted to put on and I did pay for it. I had to replace one block because I put the wrong birth date on.

I'll just be adding some names or something and then that part is all done.

I suppose I'd better not put off making that last block any longer. I'll be back when that's done.

The blinkers are back.

2011-04-09T13:32:00.000+10:00

I think I found my blinkers! I'm nearly at the end of the Baltimore blocks, this one is the latest. It's one of my favourites, possibly because of the colours and the fact that it's asymmetrical. I did change it a bit from the pattern which had all the green done in one piece of fabric. I separated the leaves for a more precise look that was simpler to stitch. One more block to go and that will be twenty five done.

The only other thing I've been working on is the border quilting for the double wedding ring. It takes a long time to go around each piece of applique and then echo quilt it. I'm just tackling the inside part of the borders for now.

I dug out my pattern because I'd forgotten how wide the border needs to be. I love my extra large square ruler for squaring up the corners. I've marked a line 8" from the edge of the rings so that I don't have to do more quilting than necessary. I'm sure it'll distort and I'll have to mark again down the track to square and block it.

There's not much else going on since these two are taking all my time at the moment. I feel bad that I haven't been around blog land much in the last couple of weeks to do much visiting. My apologies, the reason is that I've had headaches every day for that length of time and I can't seem to shake them.

Project rotation

2011-04-03T20:24:00.001+10:00

I couldn't be happier with the cornucopia. I took out the orange and turned it into a nashi pear and toned down the colours of one of the other fruits. It could be a peach now. As long as they kinda look like fruit, I'm happy and the colours go with my other blocks. I have butterflies added to quite a few blocks so added one to this as well. Onto the next one soon.

When I don't have any applique prepped, I'll sometimes break out and do something really different for a change.A stitchery block is a nice change.

My sewing room is so trashed, I left this block off the last lot I blogged about. It was buried under a pile of stuff.

I just had to say that so you don't think I do without sleep and stitch all night to get so much done.

I've been having a bit of ufo guilt lately, I seem to bounce from one thing to another. It's good for blogging but it's starting to bother me a bit. I used to love the project rotation, I think it adds variety and stops me burning out. At times like this I wish I was one of those quilters that just had three projects going at any one time. One to piece, one to applique and one to quilt. I'll be thinking about it, at this rate I'll not get a finish any time soon.

This one is a headache.

2011-03-31T11:48:00.002+11:00

I decided that I really must knuckle down and get the last three Baltimore blocks done. I think I must be right out of the groove after leaving them for so long. This Cornucopia is giving me attitude. I blame the fruit and the fruit is to blame for the fabric tornado in the sewing room.

I decided to draw on the background to place my pieces but because of the layering, I've reverted back to using a vinyl overlay as well. The more small pieces that get sewn on the block, the more distortion there is so using both has been a good idea for placement.

It's still a work in progress, I've done a bit of switching around with a few leaf colours and the fruit is going to get a makeover too. The orange could turn into another apple.

I had to refer back to the fruit in this block to look at my colours and fabrics, I'm so out of practice!

The latest blocks

2011-03-28T13:42:00.002+11:00

I'm slowing down but I did get another five blocks done for the flower garden quilt.

I'll call this one my monkey flower.

I love how the black and orange one turned out. I figured there would be some darker fabrics in the borders so wanted to get some in the middle section of the quilt.

Lets not forget the pretty pastel blooms. The backgrounds are all the same fabric, it's just photography in different lights that make them look different.

Since my design wall is being occupied at the moment. I had this idea to put them all together in a photo collage to see how mixed and balanced the colours are. Do you think I need a bit more red or maybe something else?

Trapunto by hand

2011-03-26T14:59:00.003+11:00

I'm aware of two main methods of adding trapunto to hand quilting. Since most of my quilt is already quilted, I've been left with just one option which I'll try to explaining here step by step. This is my first try at it and I'm no expert but I found it relatively easy to do. All the photos can be clicked on for enlargement.

I'm using an acrylic bulky yarn that is very soft and doesn't have a tightly twisted ply. You can use wool but it must be washable and preshrunk. Matilda's Own had one for trapunto that they discontinued several months ago.
A six inch trapunto needle. I do know that Clover, Bohin, John James and Birch all make them.
A shorter tapestry needle can be helpful for small shapes.
Small sharp pair of scissors.
Rubber finger to help pull the needle through.
A toothpick.

This yarn is very soft and doesn't feel like nylon at all. I like that the plies can be separated if needed.

Double over the yarn and thread the needle through the eye. I'm using doubled yarn so I make the tail ends even.

Because the tip of the needle is blunt, it won't damage the threads, it will separate them. A sharp pointed needle would damage the fabric threads and that's not what we want. I'm glad I used a plain muslin fabric on the back, it would be harder to see the quilted shapes otherwise.

You can work the stuffing with or without a hoop. I like to do without since I can hide the thread ends easier later.

Wiggle the tip of the needle into the shape to be stuffed on the back side of the quilt. In this case, it's a feather shape. I'm holding the quilt sandwich in my left hand like a sock puppet. The needle goes between the fabric and batting, not underneth the batting or in it.

The needle exits at the bottom of the teardrop shape. It doesn't seem to matter if I start at the top or bottom of the shape.

Pull the needle and yarn through, you'll need to tug a little.

I leave about 1/8" tail at the entry hole, sometimes a bit less.

I like to put my finger behind the thread at the exit end so that I'll be more in control of cutting the yarn. About an 1/8" is good. I make this cut very deliberate and slow so as not to have an accidental cut into the quilt. I've found that I can cut quite close after a bit of practice. Caution is paramount though.

If I stretch the quilt sandwich like so, the thread ends often disappear inside the shape.

Another option is to take a sharp needle and insert and twist around the yarn inside to get it to go inside the shape.

Or you can use the toothpick to poke the ends in the holes.

If you lightly scratch the warp and weft threads around the holes in the direction of the straight of grain, the holes will almost close up. I use the toothpick or a sharp needle. After washing, the threads around the entry and exit holes will close and tighten up further and there will be no evidence of how the stuffing got in there.

After doing what I described above, you can hardly see the gaps. Cotinue adding the yarn until the shape is stuffed sufficiently.
I'd hate to tell you in what order to stuff the shapes as I've found what suits me depending on the size. You could start in the middle and alternate side to side or you could start at one side and go from one side to the other.

You may need to stagger some yarn so that you stuff more plies at the fat end of the shapes. Do that by adding yarn from the fat end to about the middle or two thirds of the way down.
You know you've overstuffed if the quilting stitches on the right side look wrinkled. Stuff enough to give a full look but not too tightly that there's no give in the fabric. Check on the right side of the quilt.

Here's how it's looking so far. I still have more to do on the bottom left ring.

See, it's not hard but it does take time and it can be hard on the hand pulling the yarn through.

For cording or stuffing narrow lines, I would assess how many plies it would take and the process is exactly the same. If the channel is narrow, try a smaller tapestry needle.

You can click on this link here to a very helpful video which shows the steps as I've tried to explain them.It shows French boutis but it's the same method only without the batting in the middle.

I have a new love and it's name is...

2011-03-21T12:26:00.004+11:00

But wait, I have to start at the beginning. It was National quilting day on the 19th and it should be called international quilting day by the way. Anyway, it's become a yearly ritual to pull this double wedding ring quilt out for some hand quilting. The weather is cooling enough to hand quilt. Even I roll my eyes at how long (years) I'm making this one last.

I read a great post over at Fabric Therapy that Teresa has written on her observations on how batting choice affects how quilting stitches look and I agree with everything she says and it made me think of this quilt.

My favourite batting for hand quilting to date has been the Quilters Dream 100% cotton, request weight.

It gives a great drape with the antique crinkled look I love. Maybe I should have gone for wool.

The one thing that's been nagging me is how the feathered quilting disappears with no definition. All that work and it doesn't show.

Last year at the Sydney quilt show, there was a special exhibition featuring selected quilts by Gai Haines. Gai does amazing hand quilting and trapunto to die for.

Look at these folded over trapuntoed feathers on her Baltimore quilt, sigh. I did talk to Gai about her methods and filed it away in my brain for one day.

Photos shown with permission.

One day has arrived and you guessed it, my new love is called trapunto. I just knew at the back of my mind that this is what I could do to accentuate my feathers. First a little try out in the melon shape.

Well I loved it so much that I just decided to dive in and go for it. What a transformation! Maybe I just love this quilt so much that I'm doing everything I can to make the quilting last.

Did you manage to get some stitching done for quilting day? Next time I'll tell you how I tackled the trapunto.

New information for sending quilts

2011-03-20T15:10:00.002+11:00

If you are sending quilts to Japan, here's some updated information that Taniwa has posted on her blog on this post. It is from Dana Jones, editor, Quilters Newsletter magazine.

"I emailed with Naomi Ichikawa today. She has asked that if you are sending quilts directly to Japan, that you do not send them until May 1 at the earliest. Please watch this blog for regular updates on this time frame as things are changing daily in Japan.

If you are sending quilts to Quilters Newsletter [in Colorado] and do not want to write “Quilts for Japan” on the box, please enclose a note that says this. We receive many quilts in our offices and will only send quilts to Japan that we know are intended for Japan.

Please send only new quilts.

I am amazed but not surprised at the compassionate response to this call for quilts. In just 24 hours, we at QN have heard from quilters in the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Italy. We are truly an international community!

Thanks,

Dana Jones, QN managing editor

Send quilts of any size from baby to adult to:

Dana Jones
Quilters Newsletter
741 Corporate Circle, Suite A
Golden, CO 80401

• Mark your box: “Quilts for Japan.”
• Enclose your name, address, phone number, and email address with the quilts."

To keep updated, you can visit the Quilters Newsletter editors blog
http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/blogs/insideqn/

or Taniwa's blog.
http://tttl1998.blogspot.com/

Calling all quilters.

2011-03-19T22:41:00.004+11:00

I feel a strong need to help someone in some way in Japan and bloggers are the best at lending a hand.

I heard a story today about a nine year old boy found by rescuers searching amongst the chaos looking for his mother and father. In his hand he had a drawing he'd made of them. I'm sorry if you're shedding the tears as I did but this makes it very real for me and I want to help in some small way to help bring a little comfort and I hope you might be able to help too.

I've decided to donate this quilt and send it to someone who needs it more than I do. Do you have a spare quilt or are you prepared to make one? They are asking for baby size up to single bed and lets not forget the boys and not send just girly quilts.

This is a copy of an email from the editor of Quilt Tsushin Magazine, Naomi Ichikawa, Naomi lives in Tokyo and her mother and brother survived the tsunami in Sendai.

Here is Naomi’s request translated into english.

It is still bad situation now in Japan. We are still nervous about shaking and radiation,but no way to escape. I start to announce to the quilters to send us comfort quilts for the people who are suffered.I would like to do it to the world quilters. We will deliver the comfort quilts to the people who are very difficult situation. Could you please help to announce it to the quilters? We accept any size of quilts(baby to adult).new or unused.

The deadline would be the end of May or later.

Send the quilts to: until the middle of April;

Naomi Ichikawa
Editor of Patchwork Quilt tsushin Patchwork Tsushin Co.,Ltd
5-28-3,Hongo,Bunkyo-ku,Tokyo,Japan zip:113-0033

after the middle of April

Naomi Ichikawa
Patchwork Tsushin Co.,Ltd
2-21-2,Yushima,Bunkyo-ku,Tokyo,Japan zip:113-0034

I will appreciate if you help me.
Naomi

Other bloggers are pitching in, check out Stephanies post where Nissan is matching Red Cross donations and she is raffling a quilt.
Christine is donating quilts and doing some quilting and would appreciate donations of batting. I guess she would probably love some fabric for backings too. She's also organising a binding bee at her place if you live near her.

Thank you dear friends and if you do send a quilt, write on the box, quilts for Japan. Include your name, address and email address. I believe Quilters Newsletter magazine will collect quilts for sending.

My first doll quilt swap

2011-03-17T16:43:00.000+11:00

Christine has been hosting a doll quilt swap with two rounds. I jumped right in and thought about it later and boy oh boy, who knew that I'd like doing it so much. Now I get to show off what I got in the mail from my swap partner Barb.

The quilt was inside this project envelope, I thought that was cool, I love the retro cherry fabric and the ric rac.

Am I lucky or what!? I adore what she made especially for me. The applique is beautifully executed and so is the hand quilting. I love the fabrics and colours and this one is perfect to go with my few dolly quilts on the wall.

Barb is an expert at doll quilts, she's made many of them and always puts a fun fabric on the back.

If you haven't seen what I sent in exchange on Barb's blog, here it is and you can see much better photos on her blog here. I really am quite envious of the antique doll bed she has. This basket quilt has two inch blocks in case you were wondering.

Here's a real doll in a bigger quilt. That's my nearly two year old step granddaughter Beth playing at my house. I can never catch her not pulling a funny face when I bring the camera out. She really is so sweet and a bit shy.

Bits on the side

2011-03-16T14:14:00.001+11:00

If you read my blog you probably remember that little adventure with cathedral windows back here. I couldn't really leave it languishing without turning it into something useful and now it's a 16" cushion. when I saw the cushions on Little Miss Shabby, I fell for them, I'd like all of them actually. Oh boy, that makes me such a copy cat.

You never know what I get up to over here, I'm not biased. Sometimes I do stuff bit more modern and sometimes it's a bit more traditional. Actually it's all traditional, what changes is the fabrics and colours. I know I hang around blog land and get enthused and inspired by what others are doing. I've had my beady little eyes on Sue Garman's Baltimore pattern for awhile and I just had to have it, you understand right?

The patterns are available at Quakertown Quilts.

I made a promise to myself not to make a start until I have all my blocks done for my other Baltimore. That doesn't stop me thinking about fabrics. I picked up a few fruit fabrics from J and O Fabrics by looking under the fruit and vegetable section. They had an awesome strawberry and a perfect pineapple print.
The strawberry fabric is a lovely orange red rather than a tomato red. I may use the watermelon skin if I dye it to tone the brightness down. The aubergines are great for grapes.
Perhaps I could prep some freezer paper templates, that's not officially starting.

I did run out of prepped applique blocks for the flower garden quilt so picked these baskets up and got four done in front of the television. They are my bit on the side and now all my other oldies but goodies are calling to me. They'll just have to wait their turn.

More blooms

2011-03-10T12:24:00.000+11:00

More blocks for the Flower Garden quilt and that means I have a total of thirteen done out of twenty four.

Seuss loot

2011-03-08T09:34:00.000+11:00

I see fabric lines coming out and I usually pass it by and then months later I decide I really need it. That's when it starts getting thin on the ground and I have to search for what I want. Oh the thrill of the chase.

I have in my hot little hands a fat quarter bundle of the Dr Seuss Cat In The Hat fabric plus some other pieces of Seuss yardage.

It's not easy coming up with stuff to make for boys so this is just the ticket. I found some very good ideas like This pillow from Nova

This quilt from Gone Aussie Quilting

How about these place mats made by Rita?

I made this quilt about eight years ago when my son was a teenager, he wanted bright and that's what he got although it looks pretty faded to me now.

I was hand quilting it and snipping off the plastic tags that I'd used to baste it, when I cut through the top. Luckily it was in a bottom corner. The first thing quilters think of is what can be appliqued over that cut. I had a piece of the Cat In The Hat fabric and it added that little surprise in the quilt that looked like it belonged.

Now if I had more of this fabric, I could even whip up some pillowcases, somehow I don't think I have enough for it all.

Swap reveal

2011-03-02T12:56:00.001+11:00

Look at what I got in the mail, a Nosegay wallhanging. I love this block but have never made one. Jessica over at Scrappy n' Happy offered to make me one in return for something to hang out at her place.

I happily obliged and I love what she made me. I have a crush on red and aqua and I have a crush on these fabrics too, thank you Jessica, it's beautifully made.

And a cute little ring pincushion was a bonus gift in the package, love it.

Here's what I sent, some more Kaffe love and a block from Kim's pattern The Garden Quilt.

I free motion quilted this one and had a lot of fun. I did all sorts of quilting designs on it. I'm calling this my smorgasboard quilting.

I knew Jessica had a spot all picked out to hang it so I took the liberty of adding some hanging gizmos on the back using these picture hanging strips and some twill tape.

This method is fabulous because it means you don't have to have any holes in the wall and it can easily be removed. Now I need to find some time to do all my doll quilts the same way.

The information for doing the strips is over on Quilt Otaku with a video link and in the video, you can see how to remove the quilt off the wall without straining any stitches on the quilt.

I just have one more swap to get my skates on and finish, no sneak peeks or you'll be able to guess what it is.

Over at Manaiba's blog, Sewjournal, there is a special quilt auction happening for a 1930's reproduction quilt, It's for a very worth cause, go have a look over here.

Cathedral windows

2011-02-27T21:08:00.004+11:00

Never say never. I vowed and declared that after two attempts at making a cathedral Window block or two that it wasn't for me and that I'd never do it again. It's labour intensive and if you're not accurate all the way though, there's no way it's going to look good at the end.

Call me crazy but after seeing it pop up on a few blogs lately, I was bitten by some bug that made me throw caution to the wind and I had another go. This time I was not going to let it beat me.

So here I am, prototyping again and I've ended up with this cute mini which was going to be a cushion cover. Not any more because I got so carried away that I sewed parts at the edges that I should have left open. I'll call it a doll quilt.
I've been doing a lot of Internet searching for different methods. Okay, read that as the lazy quilters cathedral window method that will save fabric time and sanity. More on those methods in another post.

Just in case you're itching to have a go or you're just curious, I used this one by So Happy. The link to part 2 is at the bottom of the post. I'm going to make a couple of very minor adjustments to make the corners a little tidier for my next effort. You heard it here, never say never, I will have my pillow and I think I'm up to the challenge this time.

A little of this and that

2011-02-24T08:38:00.000+11:00

I can't show you what I'm up to this week because it's all secret stuff. A few weeks ago I did manage to make a couple of blocks. The poor old Mary Mannakee project has been a bit abandoned so I added another block to the pile. Any guilty feelings for not working on it have now abated.

Still on the red and green theme but in modern fabrics, another one for the Cherry Trees quilt.

With all the turmoil going on in New Zealand, I decided I needed a break from the news so I spent the afternoon on the machine which was very calming and therapuetic. Sometimes one just needs to take some time out and t was great to get back into a little machine quilting.

Shock and horror in Christchurch, NZ

2011-02-22T13:04:00.002+11:00

I'm glued to the television, thinking of everyone from my home country affected by another disastrous earthquake in New Zealand. News of fatalities seem certain. There is widespread damage in the central business area.

The historic and iconic cathedral has been all but destroyed as you can see in the photo below. In case you're wondering, I don't have family in the area.

Blooms

2011-02-20T18:38:00.002+11:00

These are all the blocks that I've completed so far for the Flower Garden quilt that I started in Kim McLean's class last weekend. Since I'd done the fabric selection for twelve blocks in one go, it really has sped up production. These have all been stitched in the evenings.

I'm convinced that this method of prep really does save time. You can click on these photos for a bigger view.

I thought putting all the blocks in collage form was a good way to see them together and get a sense of how I'm going with colours.

I have to take a break from these over the next week, I have a couple of swap items that need finishing off but I'll be back into them after that.

Workshop news

2011-02-14T16:04:00.002+11:00

The workshop with Kim McLean on Saturday was really wonderful, even worth getting lost coming off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, three times. I did get there in the end and not too late either. I have the worse sense of direction of anybody I know but it was the first time I'd driven that far on my own in Sydney, I call it my virgin voyage.

Here's Kim with the Flower Garden quilt that was the class project.

photo credit Belinda Betts

The day was pretty grey and drizzly but that didn't bother us one bit, I think this view is pretty good any time of the year and the large windows gave terrific light.

We all had to get our backgrounds cut out and our templates done for at least six blocks before the class.

All the fabric we were prepared to cart to class was laid out and the selection process started. We were given lots of pointers on choosing fabric and which ones would work well for applique. The shops set up some tables with goodies and I did buy a few pieces of fabric.

Kim was really great at spending lots of time making suggestions for everybody's blocks.

As it turned out, I didn't need my bias strips for class. I pinned them to this swimming pool noodle which I cut down to size with a bread knife, works better than cardboard rolls.

I also had all my freezer paper templates bagged and numbered then I store them on this metal ring I picked up at a craft shop. I needed a system or otherwise I would end up getting everything in a pickle.

Check out that neat and tidy looking block on the left. After that, I abandoned that system and did as Kim suggested which was just to cut out the blobs around the templates which is a faster way of getting more blocks prepped up. I'm pretty cruisy when I'm playing with blocks but I still got a dozen all ready for stitching at home.

I did sneak next door to the Kaffe and Brandon workshop near the start of their class but I didn't have time to go back later.

It looked like they were on a roll and working pretty fast getting their diamonds on the design walls.

At the end of the day we all got together for a cuppa and a small show and tell. I can't show you the students quilts as I didn't get permission but here's one from the Simple Shapes Spectacular quilts book. We also got to see the quilt that will be on the cover of the next book, I better not show it and spoil it for you.

Here are my first three blocks all stitched up. A lot of them only have three or four pieces so can be stitched up quite quickly.

Oh what a night!

2011-02-10T11:23:00.006+11:00

I had an exciting night on Tuesday in the company of all these fabulous people you can see in the photo.

We were all invited to Kim McLean's house for dinner but it turned out to be so much more. Lovely food, super friendly fun people, lots of laughs and a bit of show and tell thrown in.

Left to right.

Sue who made the Flower Pots quilt you see on the Glorious Color site.

Brandon, myself, Cathy from Cabbage quilts, Kim, Kathy from Material Obsession, Sharron from Dragonfly Gypsy in the front who had us in stitches all night and Kaffe.

There was a bit of a book signing going on and no these aren't all Cathy's books.

What a treat to see Kim's fantabulous quilts up close.

That's Sue doing the ta dah for the Princess Feathers quilt which we were all sighing over. These quilts are so much more vibrant in the flesh, they take my breath away.

The Turkish Tiles quilt was one of my favourites. What am I saying, they're all my favourites.
It was a real blast to be there and I can't tell you how happy I was to meet Cathy from Cabbage quilts at last. We both thought the other was just as we had imagined from our blogs. Both of us are going to be doing classes, Cathy with Kaffe and I'm doing Kim's class on Saturday so more excitement coming up.

Thank you Kim, it was a fantastic evening. Mr Q and I even got breath tested on the way home, lucky we were so good.

It's all about the fabric

2011-02-05T12:35:00.001+11:00

I have a fabric crush on Moomin. I only just found out about it recently because I never grew up with these troll characters. I needed some of course so got it from here.

I bought just a few pieces but I'm pretty certain it's not enough.

This is my first ~~reject~~ prototype bag that turned out to be a bit too wide on the top and needed top stitching to stop the zip getting caught up in the lining. I should have known that.

Prototype #2 I wanted it to be tall enough to accommodate my donut of threads I use for applique. That's much better, I think I'll be making maybe two sizes, one small cosmetic bag size and a larger one for stuff. These aren't loved up hippos, they're trolls, can you imagine it? I still think of hippos.

The weather conditions are so crazy in Australia at the moment but at least the cyclone didn't cause as much destruction as first thought. The last I heard, there was one life lost, two missing and three babies born. There is a lot of damage in some smaller towns. We are in the middle of a energy draining heat wave so it's hard to do much of anything. Lets hope for respite from all this and the snow blizzards on the other side of the globe.
Until next time, Janet

More disaster

2011-02-02T14:54:00.000+11:00

In a matter of hours, this category five cyclone is due to hit far north Queensland, home of the recent devasating floods. This is not in my state but all Australians will be praying or wishing for the best for all those bound to be affected. I'm sure all our friends in other parts of the world are with us on that.

My heart isn't in blogging at the moment but I'm sure this is temporary. I hope to catch up soon. Meanwhile, I've turned the comments off until my next post.

What I'm up to.

2011-01-25T18:22:00.000+11:00

We've had another day trip into Sydney last Sunday, the atmosphere is always great on the weekends. There are usually street buskers and performers trying to make some dollars around the harbour. I thought you might enjoy this aboriginal musician playing the didgeridoo. There's a Kangaroo skin on the stool next to him you can sit on for a photo.

The real purpose for our visit was to get a bit of culture at the Art Museum. We went to see the terracotta warriors that are on display until March. There were about six figures, two horses and many artifacts along with two amazing bronze chariots complete with horses and figures. Probably the only time I'd get to see them unless I went to China and that's not gonna happen.

Onto quilty news, I finally got enough courage to get started with the machine quilting on the Stars and Sprigs quilt. The hardest part was deciding what to quilt. I narrowed it down by an elimination process and have ended up doing a swirly worm like pattern.

In case curious minds want to know, I'm using Hobbs heirloom wool batting and Superior's Kimono silk thread in white which is so nice to use and the quilting isn't making it stiff like cardboard either. I'm saving my hand quilting muscles for other projects and I don't think this one has suffered from being machined. I'm clipping and removing the perle thread that I basted with as I go and so far there are no puckers.

Remember that possum from a few posts ago? Imagine my surprise when I went outside and found it just outside the back door on top of the broom cupboard again and during daylight.

Well, take a closer look, it's got it's baby on it's back that hopped out of the pouch and climbed up n Mum's back. Cute but not wanted there. DH has gone outside and put a new roof on the possum box, apparently it had been leaking and was wet. That would be the reason it found a new spot.

Panel #4

2011-01-22T13:19:00.001+11:00

My heart is beating a little faster now that this has grown by one more panel.

I'm giving a couple of closer up photos here in case you want to see the fabrics a little better, the photos can be clicked on for a bigger picture. A lot of the leaves are stripped pieced which was Susan McCords signature.

It's really hard to take a decent photo on my design wall, it always looks crooked and the lighting is not great but it gives an idea of how it's looking.

I really think the stems are a bit fat, a minor thing I think but I'll be using that 3/8" bias maker for the next panel when I can get the nerve to do another one. In reality, I imagine Susan McCord's quilt had really skinny stems. I wish I had realised that at the start of the project. I know, I'm being fussy.

All sorts of quilty pursuits

2011-01-18T17:31:00.000+11:00

I have a big task ahead, the basting of the Stars and Sprigs quilt. I now do it the Sharon Schamber way (over here) by rolling the backing and the top onto boards and then stitching with tailors tacks that get removed as one quilts. It worked so well the first time I used this method that I'm sticking to it.

My boards were just long enough and It did require two people to do the rolling part. I tape the fabric to the boards with masking tape to begin otherwise I do it the same way as in the video. I've set it up in the lounge room so I can listen to the telly at the same time.

This last week saw me stitching a few blocks up. This one is block three of the Cherry Tree quilt I talked about in previous posts. I'm glad it's over is all I can say. The finger shapes are supposed to be wonky in case you're wondering.

I've caught up with the Circle Game blocks, the next two came out perfect so practice is helping with the hand piecing.

Lucky I checked the accuracy of the next block because it just wasn't right so I drafted it up from scratch.

It'll be an interesting quilt, the blocks have a very blended look so you'd have to examine them to see that.

Crap, calories and critters

2011-01-11T17:49:00.002+11:00

I'm a sucker for a block of the month and the circle game from Amitie is one that had such an eclectic mix of fabrics that I had to join in even though the blocks are hand pieced. I'm a bit crap at hand piecing but that doesn't stop me from trying to improve. Hand piecing with Crispy is my lifesaver.

Lets just say that after piecing this far, it was going to look like a bra in the middle and drastic action needed to be taken to save the block. I did check the templates afterwards and they were off maybe because of photocopying distortion.

I drew a circle on freezer paper, ironed that to my hard pressing board, pinned the block and wet it down with a spray bottle. I pressed it damp and it saved the block although I'll need to resew some tucks.

In future, I'll check the hand drawn templates first.

There was no way I was going to be able to hand piece the circle in the middle so I resorted to applique. I have a few blocks to catch up yet.

I went shopping recently and I just love those big kitchen stores that are full of gadgets. Despite some protest from my significant other, I bought an aebleskiver pan. When are you going to use that he says. I'll make you some this weekend says I. I blame Lori and Anna for showing off their aebleskivers every Christmas. They taste like pancakes in case you haven't tried them.

I had fun trying to make nice round balls but I got it by the last batch. With Maple syrup and icing sugar, they were delicious and the hole in the middle was the best part. Kids would love these. As for DH, he loved them a lot.

This critter has come back after an absence of months. I think it's a female Opossum, there seems to be a full pouch so there could be a baby. It comes up the back steps and sits in the porch or on top of the broom cupboard out there. Last night I went outside and it gave me a fright up on the cupboard making meowing noises. The darn things are protected so we can't relocate it as they can end up as roadkill trying to get back. The only reason we made a possum box for it was to keep it out of the roof cavity, now it acts like a pet.

Queen of the blocks

2011-01-08T16:54:00.002+11:00

This year I've decided I could be crowned Queen of the blocks as I get into tackling some of those oldie but goodie projects that I have lying around. I like that, oldies but goodies sounds so much better than UFO's.
I did think about what I wanted to work on and I'd like to keep my options open but I got to thinking about the list, my quilting bucket list actually. I'd like to finish the Nearly Insane one day so I'll try to make blocks more regularly.

I'll continue to make panels for the vine quilt. I'm half way through the latest panel. This is one of my bucket list quilts. The one at the top actually.

I'm having so much fun with the Cherry Tree blocks that I'll try to keep these going regularly. I'm really into the fabrics I'm using. This is block 3. Have you got a quilt that you absolutely have to make one day? I'd love to know what it is. Oh and I promised myself to work on the Baltimore.That's a have to finish quilt.

We've had a few trips out and about, not sure it was a good idea to go into Sydney while the sales were on but I enjoyed wandering around without a purpose. The next two photos are from The Queen Victoria building, I love watching the clock which has all these figures coming out and rotating around when it hits the hour.

I just love stained glass windows. If you ever get to the building, be sure to go to the top level to view the carved jade carriage.

I wasn't very good at supporting the retailers, I only came home with a book and this small jewellery pouch. I liked the shape and thought that one day, I may have a go at making a sewing sized one.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year

2011-01-01T00:25:00.004+11:00

From Sydney with love.

The fireworks this year were incredible, well worth watching the whole video.

The next big thing

2010-12-29T12:30:00.001+11:00

I've been champing at the bit to get back to the vine quilt. I looked back on my blog and I can't believe it was last February that I worked on it. I spent two afternoons drawing up the pattern for the fourth of thirteen panels. Maybe I'll get a few more done this year.

I have an old cardboard box of scraps that I put away for the quilt along with my patterns. I think I better get a better container for a couple of my ongoing projects to make life easier.

The best part is when I've done the prep and I can get onto the stitching. As I sat down to enjoy myself, a conversation arose with Mr Quiltsalott that I'll share with you. At this stage, the vines had been basted down ready to tuck the leaves under.

Mr Q: That central vine looks a bit big in relation to everything else.
Me: Yes, I know, I think you're right but I only have a 1/2" bias tape maker and I think it came out a bit bigger than it should. Let me lay it out and have a look.
Mr Q: It definitely doesn't look right, it's too thick.
Me: Gee, thanks for pointing that out, now I'm going to have to take it off and make it smaller somehow. Here look at the book. The first panel has a thicker vine than the rest. It won't matter if they are different, they weren't perfectionists in those days you know. I really need it to be 3/8" wide but they don't make a bias tape maker that wide and I've got too lazy to use my bias bars and do it on the machine.

At this stage, I pull off that offending thick vine and press one side open, refold one edge in closer, baste it back on and call it done.

Mr Q: That looks better.
Me: You know too much I'm thinking but actually say, thanks, you were right, I really appreciate you pointing that out, it really needs a 3/8" vine. Now I'm happier with it.
MrQ: I've just been on the Internet and did you know that Clover now make a 3/8" bias tape maker, I think you should order one.

I got another block done for the Cherry Trees quilt over Christmas. Still loving the fabrics.

More red and green

2010-12-22T22:59:00.000+11:00

After finishing the Stars and Sprigs top it feels strange not to have a focus on anything else just yet. What to do, what to do? I have to have applique on the go so decided to try a block from the Beyond The Cherry Trees quilt that's been a free download. I even joined the blog dedicated to the making of it.

When I saw Kelly's contemporary version, I just knew that's the look I was after and so with her blessing, I went right ahead. It's always been my dream to have a healthy collection of the red and green quilts and I really don't want them all to look the same. I love how the fist block looks but I have realised even though there are basically two colours with sprinkles of others, one still has to pay attention to value so it won't look flat and dull.

I've been taking some time to make a heap of half square triangles to get this other thing together. Most of the strips are just pinned at this stage on the design wall.

I don't like it. You're probably rolling your eyes at me about now. It's too blocky and strong, there's not enough white negative space, I wanted the blocks to float on the background etc, etc. Time to stop and re-assess. Stay tuned because by hook or by crook, I'll get this one to bend to my will.

Wishing you all a happy, joyous and safe holidays.

Stars and Sprigs, the top.

2010-12-19T16:02:00.002+11:00

What a biggie, it's 96" square! Now to quilt it. For a moment there I did think about hand quilting it. I like the softness and drapeable cosiness of a hand quilted quilt. I will be basting this up for machine quilting, it's just too big a job otherwise but I've decided to try and keep it soft by not doing anything too dense and using silk thread, (I think) after all I may change my mind. I have so many other quilts on the go that I need to make.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments that helped me keep my blinkers on. Thanks also to Kim Mclean for producing amazing quilt patterns for us to enjoy stitching. I posted this and a couple of other shots over on Glorious Applique.

Something else to share

2010-12-17T23:40:00.001+11:00

Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of my moving to Australia and I think my DH is glad that I did since he sent me these flowers. I'd like to share them with all my readers and friends to say thank you for all the wonderful visits and kind, thoughtful and encouraging comments you leave me. I'm very appreciative and am so glad of the friendships and connections I've made from the community of bloggers that share my love of stitching. You guys often make my day!

I have been trying to be productive in a snail pace kind of way. I'm still making a loaf of sourdough every second day. It's such a soothing and satisfying thing to be making and eating hand made bread. I didn't think Mr Quiltsalott would get so fond of it that he'd let a bought loaf of bread go mouldy. I'm committed to it now, there's no going back any time soon.

It's been ages since I made any klosje blocks but here's another 19 to add to my pile. I think the total now stands at 168. At this rate, it'll be a slow growing project, not that that matters in the least.

Below is a very piddly little photo but it's really hard to get the whole border in one shot so this will have to do. I just have to join this to the rest of the quilt and then the top is complete. I'll be back to show the whole top soon.

Something to share

2010-12-10T08:06:00.002+11:00

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does 'love' mean?'?

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.
Chrissie- age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mummy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mummy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen..'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mummy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mummy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mummy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross..
Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.
Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Petite and precise

2010-12-06T12:23:00.001+11:00

I decided to keep nibbling away at the fifteen year project I showed back in September and this was the last block to be trimmed to size. I haven't been a happy camper about the red buds and almost decided to take them off and replace them with a couple of embroidered bullion knots. My motto is to give anything a try and not be so defeatist but really it's the perfectionist, tenacious part of my personality that takes over and I don't say that with pride. It can be a curse.

I would say that my applique has improved since stitching these so I thought I would have another go and leave the bullion stitches for plan B. This is the smallest bud with about an 1/8" seam allowance and I used Floriani Stitch N Wash which was fused to the back of the fabric as a template to be left in.

From that point, I needle turned the seam and the Floriani gave me an edge to do that. If there was a little peak, I would scoot back over to it and do an extra stitch to roll it under.

I'm so glad I did that, this is much more to my liking.

The block and I are happier for that extra effort.

I'm still making half square triangles for the sashing and I had a pressing plan so that the background would be free of the seams. See how the red fabric peeks out of the seam on the bottom? Not good.

I trimmed the red seam smaller so there will be no shadowing on the quilt.

This is much better and that bit of extra work will be worth it. I was always encouraged to do my best and for this quilt I think it's deserving of that. I think one of my quilting goals for the next year is to remember to take care of the details when it's warranted. We all have our own personal standards don't you think? Some quilts just need that extra bit of love.

I'm getting back into it.

2010-12-03T18:19:00.004+11:00

From the mailbox, I recieved this gorgeous Phillip Jacobs fabric which is going on the back of the Stars and Sprigs quilt. I also got some Kimono silk thread ( #100 weight) to try and thought I might as well get the colour cards while I was at it. I order things online and spend way too long looking around at what else could go in the parcel to make the postage worthwhile. I bet I'm not the only one who does that.

I've been meaning to make myself a firm pressing board for ages and went shopping at the hardware store to get myself a staple gun to do the job. I not only came out with the gun, I got some laser levels that will help me square up my quilts. I've been watching Sharon Schamber's videos online and now I want/need all this stuff you know. The video for making the board is free here on this page. Maybe now my patchwork won't distort on the ironing board. I live in hope. If I keep going, I may just need a tool belt.

There's no frantic sewing going on but I've been playing around with the machine quilting and had to have a go at this bug by Irena Bluhm. Who knows when I may need a bug on a quilt.

I've been doodling and drawing out some ideas for machine stitching with this eight pointed star and liked it enough to roughly stitch it out to see how it would translate to fabric.

I like some of it but not the feathers in the center, I think it looks too thready for me, I'll put the thinking cap back on. Thinking up ideas for hand quilting is easy for me, not this though. Practice and experience needed here. I did try out a cream and a pink thread as well as a couple of different stipples.

I think I should leave the points of the star unquilted and not flatten them down.

I was concentrating so much on the stitches that I didn't pay attention to where the fingers were. The needle broke in my finger and left the thread inside. It didn't hurt much but the thread was also still attached to the machine and the scissors fell on the floor. What to do, what to do, I tried to pull the needle out but it was stuck. I eventually extricated myself and decide I was too chicken to pull the needle out. I went to the doctor and let her do the honours. The worst part was that I ended up with a tetanus and whooping cough vaccination at the same time.

Only a blogger would get the camera out at a time like this. I'm going to do some hand stitching now.

Not a lot happening here.

2010-11-26T22:42:00.002+11:00

I did finish the not so secret Santa gift for swapping with my sewing group, actually on the morning of the swap (phew). Not so secret because we can all guess who made what but it was a lot of fun and we had a nice dinner out to boot.

The Hardanger heart is a pattern by Emie Bishop.

The gift I received is this gorgeous felt wool heart, all hand beaded which must have taken for-EVER. What a hoot to give a heart and get one back.

I got another wee gift in the mail, I love the look of the Zentangle on the card but I have no plans to start another addiction. If you don't know what the Zentangle craze is, where have you been? The ladybird bookmark is a cutie too, thank you friend, you know who you are.

I feel like I've been possessed by ~~a need,~~ an obsession to sort out how I would quilt the Stars and Sprigs before I've even finished the top. I'm killing two birds with one stone here and keeping up my practice on the machine. While I like what's happening here, I think not for the quilt. You'd think I could do something simple but no, not me, I have to try the fancy pants stuff, just because.
The truth is I may be in one of those sewing slumps, I haven't done any sewing in the evenings for the last three days. I must be sick or needing some battery recharging. Hopefully, I can get back into gear this weekend and get that applique going again.

Have a wonderful weekend.