A Blue And Orange Finish.
Posted on October 27, 2019 | 14 Comments
The catch up is continuing with tops waiting to be finished. I think this top was ready in November last year, so it has had to wait nearly a year to be completed. Lots of blue and orange in this one.
This quilt started when I saw the bird fabric. It was an end of bolt piece so I knew I was limited to what I had – no more available. So I pulled out lots of fabrics from my stash in orange and blue then set to work making squares and pinwheels to use in the top. I had to get the maths skills well into gear and used a grid to draw up a plan.
I cut the larger pieces so there was little wastage of the bird fabric, then framed each one in either blue or orange. Lots of counting came next to work out blocks to fill spaces and link the larger pieces
.
Once the main part of the top was together I added the blue border, the used what was left of the orange fabrics to make a pieced border. I can guarantee there was very little fabric left at the end. It was a tight finish.
I quilted the main body of the quilt with a wide meander, but then had a play with some (sort of) echo quilting on each panel. I kept with straight line quilting around each panel.
The back ended up being quite bright – orange.
The same blue went into the binding as was used to frame some of the blocks. The quilting showed up nicely on the back, too.
One thing that is not obvious in the smaller pictures is the detail on the bird fabric. I love the designs, mostly on their wings.
It is great to have another finish. I have one more quilt sandwiched and ready to go but of course there are other tops still waiting for a turn. The best part is I feel good about starting a few new projects.
Hope you do too.
Cheers, Karen
Donation Quilts – A Joint Effort.
Posted on October 20, 2019 | 14 Comments
One of my weekly groups is an embroidery session and through it I have met a lot of people and made many friends. Recently one of the ladies brought in a set of 16 embroideries that she had completed several years back but no longer wanted to use – no grandchildren of the right age any more. She wanted to give them away but nobody was able to use them for their own families either. So I suggested to her that I take them and turn them into a donation quilt.
I have been participating in a couple of sessions for Snuggle quilts. It is a group that makes and donates quilts to children who have long term stays at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. They also accept quilts that have been completed. With that in mind I took the blocks home and turned them into two quilts that met the size requirements that they needed.
I used eight of the embroidered blocks in each quilt, then built them out with sashing and borders to reach 40 X 48 inches in size.
Her embroideries are beautifully stitched.
I made the second one in a similar way, just with a different colouring.
You may recognise the embroidery design as All Creatures Great and Small from Natalie Bird. I had used these designs in my own quilt earlier this year.
I was able to show these to my friend when they were completed and she was delighted to see the blocks being used.
The quilts will be passed on to Snuggle Quilts this week.
I was delighted to be able to work in tandem to make these quilts. Who could resist those delightful embroideries?
Cheers, Karen
Gum Leaf Quilt.
Posted on October 12, 2019 | 10 Comments
It was time to dig out a few UFOs and make a finish. This gum leaf quilt had been started in 2011 so it really deserved to be quilted and finished.
Each leaf was made individually with many strips of fabrics which had been stitched together then cut into the leaf shape.
The leaves were then stitched down and secured with a bias made from one of the fabrics.
In the Australian bush the bark often peels off the trees and looks like strings hanging from the branches. I thought I would use that idea to make lines with variegated thread in the quilting.
I used more of the leaf fabric for the back – two colours.
And then found a deep green for the binding.
All the fabrics in the quilt came from the early ranges of Leesa Chandler’s Under The Australian Sun. And of course the pattern is her design as well.
I suppose it goes without saying that the sewing studio is getting a good workout. The finished quilts make that obvious.
Bits and pieces are gradually being added and there is colour to be seen.
We are having a lovely Spring weekend here. Hope your weekend is treating you kindly as well.
Cheers, Karen
A Prickly Handful.
Posted on October 8, 2019 | 8 Comments
As usual, I have found a distraction in between finishing quilts.
Here it is in a small bowl.
I went to a class at Bear Essence in Tooradin with a group of friends to take a class for this little baby hedgehog.
I think the prickly fur is quite delightful. The hedgehog is made to roll up into a ball and has a hook and eye to hold it in that position.
It even has a belly button but I am not sure that shows up in the photos.
The pattern is by D’Lyell Bears and is called Snuffles.
It is a long time since I have made anything fur related (bears) so this was a good way to get back into it. However, I do not plan to take up bear making no matter how gorgeous they are. This one was all stitched by hand and I really do prefer to use my machine. Having said that, I still thorough enjoyed the experience.
Spring has arrived in our town. Lots of blossom on the trees and lots of wind blowing it off the trees and down the street. Pretty normal for us. And the bees are very happy and busy.
Hope your day isn’t too prickly.
Cheers, Karen
Getting Close!
Posted on September 29, 2019 | 14 Comments
My McKenna Ryan quilt top is getting close to a finish. The first 7 blocks are sewn together. Not all the applique can be completed until the borders are on but is is good to see it the blocks together.
There are two more blocks to add. This is the eighth one.
So I am up to the last block!!!! It is a big one with lots of beach huts and kangaroos in swimming costumes.
I will keep at it but not sure that it will be ready for Christmas. But I will have the blocks finished by then.
This has been a very time consuming project. So much tracing and cutting before even starting to sew. If I ever do another McKenna Ryan quilt I will purchase the kits with the pre-cut shapes that are available now. (They weren’t when I bought this kit.) Good lesson to learn.
I hope you have enjoyed a lovely weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Embroidery And Hexagons.
Posted on September 24, 2019 | 17 Comments
It feels wonderful being able to get back into a stitching routine. I don’t think I realised how much I missed it, but then I was very busy so it makes sense. I am catching up on many projects started earlier in the year. I have enjoyed getting back to them.
These are blocks from a Fig N Berry pattern named Round The Garden Path.
This is the ladybird block.
These are all worked in variegated threads from Cottage Garden.
The next is the bird block.
This is the first one I posted back in April – Apples.
I have also been able to get my felt out again and have been working on another Wendy Williams design from her book Wild Blooms and Colourful Creatures.
This one has involved a lot of preparation but is now zooming along as it is simply a matter of attaching all the pieces.
I hope your week is going well, especially if you have school holidays in your state.
Cheers, Karen
Aussie Animal Quilt Finish.
Posted on September 18, 2019 | 10 Comments
Finally a post with some sewing in it. I think I had to go back to May for the last entry with some stitching and a finish. I have been able to finish the Aussie animal quilt for our granddaughter to use on her bed when she visits our home.
Quilting and binding finally done. There is a bit of sun glare but the colours are close to true.
I had to work my way through each block to then stitch on all the eyes.
I thought I had been thorough until I went to photograph the kangaroo and joey.
The roo was fine but I had missed both joeys – check the first picture.
That had to be remedied immediately so I could truly call this a finish.
I am hoping to get a few more finishes into some posts soon. It is good to be stitching again.
I am going to enjoy the sunshine today and I hope your day is shining, too.
Cheers, Karen
Finally – A Sewing Room To Use – And A Word Of Warning.
Posted on September 7, 2019 | 12 Comments
If my blog posts are anything to go by, it looks like I have dropped off the face of the earth. And as far as sewing goes it is quite true. About the only stitching that has been done was at sewing groups and classes. All my time at home has been setting up the new room and unpacking all the boxes after the carpet was in. That was in four bedrooms as well as this room. I had forgotten how much work that involved. It has been worth it as we have had a huge clean out and a lot of charity groups have benefited from the numerous donations.
I am quite excited because this week I actuality sat in my room and sewed at the machine. Hooray! I was worried I may have forgotten how.
So here is the reveal.
This is looking into the room from the office There are double sliding glass doors to the right that open onto the patio/pergola area. Just behind where I am standing there is a bathroom. The wall to the left is the storeroom. It still looks rather bare with no pictures or quilts on the walls, but that will happen over the next few weeks.
Instead of buying one large table for the centre of the room I decided to get three smaller ones.Placed together they make a great work surface. As you can see in the pic, two are still a good size and they are light enough that each one can be easily moved to where it can be used when needed.
The big box poking out on the right of the photo is the last item that needs to be put together. It is a cutting table that can fold for storage. That should be done this weekend.
This photo is taken from the doorway of the store room. The window faces out to the garden where the citrus trees grow. Many of them are just about to blossom. I have continued to use the Ikea shelves with glass doors for storage. I like to be able to see the fabrics easily. I have set up a work station with my sewing table and desk facing each other. That gives me a large surface to spread out a quilt when sewing and I can easily add one of the white table to enlarge the space. The natural light coming in behind me is great during the day. I don’t like having my machine facing a wall when I sew, so it works for me.
This photo is looking back toward the office and store room. You can see the Ikea theme continuing. The shelf on the right has fabric and projects in it, but the other two that are together are purely for display – another job to be finished. The TV is resting on a stand but is going to be wall mounted some time. (Not a big priority.)
I just love this space. This store room holds so much! I am thrilled with how it has worked out. The best part is that the door slides across and it is all hidden away.
I feel like I have run a marathon with all that needed doing, but as you can see, it was well worth it.
Now, here is my word of warning. This new room of mine nearly went up in smoke. The frightening part is it could have been the whole house.
A week ago I was doing a tidy up in this room and put a few things up on the tables so I could vacuum the carpet. Once that was done I left everything where it was for a few days and worked on other rooms. I finally came back to do a few things in my sewing room on a lovely sunny afternoon. Everything was fine and I saw some items that needed to go to the bedroom. I took them out, did a bit more tidying then came back to the room about ten minutes later.When I walked in the door I saw wisps of smoke rising from one of the boxes. I quickly grabbed it and took the box outside to the patio. It didn’t take long to work out what had happened. Remember I said it was sunny. The sun was coming in the window at the perfect angle and was hitting the magnifier of my Ott-lite which I had lifted on to the table when I vacuumed. It was then hitting the cardboard box which had started to char and was glowing red when I picked it up. It was only a short time away from igniting.
Even though the light had been there for several days the weather had been overcast. This had been the first day of sunshine for a while. I am extremely thankful we were home and I went into the room at exactly the right time. We could have easily been out when this happened.
But the great part is all is well, and lesson has been learned and it will not be left like that again.
I am trying to tell this story to as many sewing friends as possible so it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Please check where you leave your lights if they do have a magnifier on them.
At least it is a story with a happy ending. I hope you have a great weekend planned. I am going to sew!!!!
Cheers, Karen
A Very New Room.
Posted on July 27, 2019 | 19 Comments
A new room to be used as a sewing studio has been a dream for a long time. Recently we decided to bite the bullet and build an extension to the house. We were aware that not everyone wants a sewing room so we made sure it could serve another purpose for a prospective buyer in the distant future, so we included an en suite and walk in robe to make it into a master bedroom/parent’s retreat. But for now it is purely craft!!
Photos to follow show it clean and empty.
The main part of the room measures 10 metres by 5 metres.
Just to get an idea of size here are photos with only a few things moved in.
This looks incredibly tidy but I can guarantee it no longer looks like this. We decided to carpet all the bedrooms as well the next week, so everything has to be moved out of all those rooms ready to be carpeted on Tuesday. Chaos reigns at the moment but hopefully all will be good in a few more weeks. Can’s wait to be able to play in this new space.
Cheers, Karen
Back From A Big Break.
Posted on July 23, 2019 | 14 Comments
After seven weeks it is time to get back to looking after the blog and writing some posts. We have had a lovely break spending four weeks with our family in Charleston, South Carolina. We had HOT weather and high humidity but that did not stop us getting out and about. We celebrated a couple of birthdays, visited historic sites, parks, gardens. There were school visits for presentations and concerts, the fun activities when the Summer break started. Some shopping was done and lots of ice cream was eaten.
Here are some photos of a few of the activities that kept us busy. Warning – no stitching pics, only holiday snaps.
This is only a little sample of our time away and as always it flew by far too quickly, but we had a wonderful time with our family and made the most of every day.
Our flight home was uneventful until we found out our luggage had not made the connection in Dallas. Not a disaster as we were heading home. It did eventually arrive three days later.
We had plenty of plans for activities to jump into on our return, but those were all dropped when only a few days later hubby was diagnosed with flu. The next couple of weeks were spent making sure that he recovered and I didn’t catch it. Thankfully we managed to achieve both goals.
There was one more exciting event for our return home. A new sewing room! I will explain more in the next post.
Cheers, Karen
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