Bird Houses And Teddies.
Posted on March 8, 2025 | 7 Comments
I have continued to make more of the Strippie quilts with fabric that has waited patiently in my stash. I will get a few more made for donations, in between some of my own quilts. This one stood out with its bright colours and bird houses.
The birdhouse fabric and the flowers on the blue background are the same fabric range.
I added the stripes from some stash fabric.
The backing is also from that range. I also used it for the binding.
It is lovely to have another ready for the donation pile.
I spent some time this week with friends making a few cards. Very handy to have spares.
I had some panels that were supposed to be used for cushions, but I couldn’t see us using them as such. I saw another post from https://blog.maryquilts.com/, where she uses leftover blocks or small amounts of fabric to make teddy and doll blankets to donate. So I thought I would try the idea, too.
There were two of them.
And then I had to buy some teddies to go with them.
I think I will have to watch this as it could easily become quite addictive.
We have a holiday weekend here and the weather is quite warm, which will be great for all those holidaying, especially at the beach.
Enjoy your weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Abandoned.
Posted on March 1, 2025 | 8 Comments
This quilt is made using the Tim Holtz fabric called Abandoned.
It is made using 10 fat quarters using a design named Geneva. Very simple and basic but making the most of the fabrics.
That made the quilt 48 by 60, but I felt it needed to be bigger, so I chased up some more fabric to add some borders. A thin green strip, then a wider creamish and rusty border.
It has ended up at about 60 by 72 inches.
I decided that this one needed to go to the LAQ and we decided to use a design that has been on one of my previous quilts – Zipper. It creates all these lovely flowing wavy lines.
I had a wideback that I wanted to use.
The quilt is finished off with a light cream/grey binding. All fabrics are from the same range.
The fabrics in this quilt are a far cry from my usual selections, but when I saw this bundle on a recent trip to the US, I knew it would appeal to our grandson. I was right. And he was very impressed. He has seen it before the borders went on, but I know he will love it in its larger format.
I am always happy to make a grandie happy!
As a side note, a fabric shop told me that Tim Holtz is not going to be designing any further fabric. He is moving on to other pursuits. So get his fabric while you can.
Cheers, Karen
Surfs Up!
Posted on February 21, 2025 | 6 Comments
The title of the post makes sense as soon as you see the fabric in the quilt. Surfboards aplenty!
This is the sort of quilt that is perfect for a child who loves the beach and goes surfing.
I have used the strippie idea again for the centre of the quilt. That lets me keep the larger prints in one piece.
Each large strip is bordered by the blue and white palm tree foliage.
There were pineapples in the green strips and also in the blue in the border fabric.
The backing is a gorgeous blue crackle design.
The quilt is finished off with a striped binding.
All the fabrics in the quilt top are from a range called Summer Dayz by RJR Fabrics.
I have a few more strippie quilts cut out, ready to sew. And I am waiting on another quilt from my LAQ. Plenty to keep me going in the meantime. Enjoy your weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Quilt Monopoly.
Posted on February 14, 2025 | 9 Comments
There are so many monopoly variations that I wonder if there is one dedicated to quilting. I wouldn’t be surprised!.
A friend recently gifted me some monopoly themed fabric to make a donation quilt. The width of the pieces led me to make a Strippie quilt as per Mary’s instructions. Click on her name for the link. Mary has a great blog with a huge list of basic quilts which are perfect for donations.
Our grandson enjoyed identifying all the symbols on the fabric.
These quilts can be made larger by adding a border, but I chose to keep it this size.
I had some fabric left to use in the backing, and then added some extra strips.
It is finished with a red spotty binding.
There were even a few scrappy bits left that I turned into a cushion to match the quilt.
Just on a side note, I went to a local store to buy a cushion insert. I had picked it up and was walking out when I saw complete cushion covers and inserts for half the price of just the insert. So the insert was returned to the shelf and I bought several cushions to use instead. They work perfectly. Crazy.
I had a day making a few cards with friends.
Next up is a little floor mat for a baby, about 30 inches square. This is another donation.
In keeping with the donation theme, I have started making gift bags. At the end of the year they are filled with special gifts before being distributed. I hope to make a few of these.
I will finish off with some very good news. I mentioned my 96yo mother having a fall, breaking her hip and having surgery. Believe it or not, after four weeks in hospital and rehab, she has gone home. I find that quite remarkable. Thank you for all your kind comments about mum.
Cheers, Karen
Wonky Photos.
Posted on January 24, 2025 | 12 Comments
I have been trying to get a couple of photos of this quilt, but the weather has either been too bright or too windy. So I resorted to taken a photo inside. To do that I have to hang it across the open doors of a cupboard. Sounds simple, but, no. It makes all the edges look wavy as the door edges and handles send it in every direction. I was going to find another way to do it, but then just figured that you know what’s going on with it and can tell what it looks like anyway!
As I said, a very wonky photo.
It started with two and a half inch strips for the four patches and four and a half inch squares.
With a four inch border it ended around fifty-six inches square.
I used straight line quilting on the diagonal. Keep it simple.
The backing was a lovely piece covered in koalas.
And the binding was a repeat of one of the four patch fabrics.
This one will go on the couch in Winter as a lap quilt to snuggle under.
I thought it would be good to start the year with a few easy quilts and this one fit the bill.
I am off to visit my mum in hospital rehab tomorrow. She is 96 and had a fall last week and broke her hip. It was operated on the next day. A few days later she was up and walking with a frame. She has now moved to rehab and is doing well. She is remarkable.
Cheers, Karen
A Fresh New Year 2025.
Posted on January 9, 2025 | 9 Comments
It has been lovely to have a quiet break since Christmas and over the New Year period. A chance to slow down and recharge is always appreciated. I have especially enjoyed some sewing time without any deadlines. And some knitting while watching TV. Happily, this has lead to some finishes.
I had a fat quarter bundle of Mint Crush which I used to make Fat Quarter Four Patches. I ended up using them to make two quilts. The first one is a single bed size.
A very simple design but it let me leave some of the fabric in larger pieces. The fabrics were quite sweet.
I am working my way through my stash and sound this floral piece that was large enough for the backing.
To finish off I used a soft green stripe for the binding.
The four left over blocks were turned into a lap quilt. I was able to build the size up with left over strips used in two border rounds. That little bit extra made the quilt a comfortable size.
I had tried these blocks in the larger quilt, but oddly, the stronger pinks and greens didn’t work together. In the small one they did.
Another pink floral was found on the shelves and became the backing.
The binding for this one was a pale green, also.
It sounds crazy to be knitting in Summer, but I had started this one months ago, but of course became busy with Christmas. It was great to be able to work on it again at a slower pace and eventually have a finish.
Our granddaughter chose her own colours and design for this one. Now it is ready for her to wear when the weather cools. The colours matched in very nicely with the quilt blocks, too.
Not a lot of sewing planned for next week as we have our grandchildren staying for the week. I am ready for lots of fun!
Cheers, Karen
Nearly There.
Posted on December 28, 2024 | 8 Comments
We are nearly ready for the New Year. But there is still a little Christmas to catch up on first. In fact, we haven’t celebrated Christmas with our family yet. Our granddaughter was unwell on Christmas eve, so we had to put off our visit. We will instead catch up in a couple of days. The grandchildren are fine with that because they say it sounds like having two Christmases. That is a good attitude to have.
I made lots of cards at the start of December.
And I made lots of these tags for gifts.
I also admired the way gifts can be wrapped and presented. I can’t bring myself to undo this one.
During December I have also been watching the growth of this plant. It is called a pineapple plant, only because of its looks, not because it is grown from a pineapple. I don’t know its botanical name.
It started as a few shoots.
It quickly developed three spikes.
Those spikes rapidly grew in size and struggled to stay upright. ( I had to bring the pot inside on a very hot day.)
And now all the little flowers are opening on each spike.
What an amazing plant. It is the first year I have had it. A friend separated hers and gave me a pot. I wonder what it will do next year?
I have a special task left to do before the New Year. I have been given this wonderful sign for my quilt studio. It looks stunning and I need to have it on display as soon as possible. (Thanks, J.)
That should be all from me for this year.
Looking forward to doing it all again next year!
Happy New Year.
Cheers, Karen
Two More.
Posted on December 13, 2024 | 4 Comments
These were easy ones. Family members were after two more Christmas quilts to hang on walls. I had a couple of panels with small blocks, so was able to have a bit of a play with layouts.
The first one needed to be long and narrow.
I always find it tricky working with panels as the blocks are rarely square. I simply put a border around these before stitching them together.
The next one required a different approach. The blocks were roughly 8 inches but needed more to make the quilt size needed.
I chose two different fabrics to be the alternate blocks, one for the inner row and another for the outer.
I found a lovely red for the binding. And I forgot to get a picture of the backing. That was red and white.
Good to have these done and ready to deliver this weekend.
No flower pics this post.
Cheers, Karen
Playing With Rainbows.
Posted on November 29, 2024 | 8 Comments
Sewing has taken a back seat for a month or more with other activities taking over.
However, I had completed this quilt top which went off to my LAQ. It came back last week and I could not resist getting the binding stitched down.
It is a simple brick design. This one is called Zip It by Emma Jean Jansen. It uses blocks to follow the rainbow colour pattern.
If you follow the rows going down then up, it is making its way through the colour wheel (twice).
As always, there was a breeze blowing as I was taking photos, but I managed to almost catch it hanging still.
There are 209 different fabrics used in the quilt, so a friend and I hit on the idea of sharing our resources. We have similar tastes but do collect a lot of different fabric lines. We each cut 5inch squares of as many fabrics that we thought would suit this quilt, then swapped with each other. Each square is cut in half to be used twice in the quilt. The colour pattern repeats a second time.
It was sometimes tricky working with the colour variations, but worth the time.
I had a bit of luck with the backing. At a recent sale I had purchased an end of bolt piece, and it measured one inch longer than what I needed for the backing. Whew!
I had another piece from the same range that I could use in the binding.
The quilting pattern chosen resembled echo waves. There were so many straight lines in the quilt that I felt it needed curves in the quilting.
It feels good to have a quilt finish in the middle of all the hustle and bustle leading to Christmas.
I am still enjoying all the plants growing so well in their pots this year. This time it is the hydrangeas that seem to be starring. I like growing them in pots so that I can enjoy the different colours.
It is hard to think that it is December on Sunday. But time always seems to speed up at this time of the year. I am looking forward to a few Christmas get togethers with friends before the big day. Hope you have some good plans, too.
Cheers, Karen
Using Up Bits And Pieces.
Posted on November 7, 2024 | 6 Comments
I have had some family requests for Christmas quilts using particular fabrics. But I only had bits and pieces of each one left. So I had to play around a bit with a simple design so I could use what I had. The end result was two similar, but not the same, throw quilts.
There are three different fabrics in the range that I have used – framed snowmen, tossed snowmen and stripes of snowmen.
Once I had put them them together I had to find a suitable backing for each one.
I found fabric with ornaments.
And Christmas themed rows.
It was a bit of a juggle, but I managed to get there.
I have also been working on a selection of little pumpkin pin cushions . I have used wool from a range of pieces picked up in many places. They are for a group swap.
There are still a few more gifts to work on, so fingers crossed.
The garden continues to thrive and I was enjoying the vibrant colour in this miniature hydrangea this week.
And this photo is for Marina. I have been discussing growing iris after she had posted a picture of her beautiful flowers. I was lamenting that mine don’t want to grow here. I have had these bulbs in a pot for several years with no luck, but this week I was totally surprised to see a bud ready to open. And here is the result.
It is only the one bulb flowering, but that is better than none. Yay!
We are loving our warm Spring days. Hope all is going well at your place, too.
Cheers, Karen
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