Little Things.
Posted on September 7, 2024 | 5 Comments
Our weather continues to cause a lot of problems. I think the only thing we have missed out on is snow, though we did have hail. But in the middle of it all, we had a gorgeous rainbow. And a gorgeous blue sky. We spotted this when out driving.
I have been finishing off a few little embroideries. I am never quite sure what to do them sometimes. I don’t necessarily want to make a quilt, so an easy solution is to turn them into hooped decorations. I have a spot above the sliding glass doors that is the right size for these to hang. I think I have a dozen at least up there and am running out of room.
The bear is a Bunny Hill design.
The stockings and tree are a Marg Low design.
This is a very old Santa design and I think it may be one from Christine Book, but I could be very wrong.
Keeping with the decoration theme, here are two Fig n Berry ornies.
These little felt pieces are part of an ornament a month club. They arrive in the mail each month for six months. There is another one due any day now!
It almost looks like I am getting ready for Christmas. Not quite ready for that.
Have a lovely weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Windy Weather.
Posted on August 30, 2024 | 7 Comments
Our days are warming but with that we seem to be having a lot of windy days. It has been quite destructive in some areas. The wind was very strong earlier in the week, eased off, and then returned last night. I spent a large part of the morning cleaning up my front yard which was full of rubbish from neighbour’s bins. When I headed out to an appointment I found a large part of the road blocked by a fallen tree. Spring starts tomorrow – let’s see what that brings.
In amongst all that I managed to take photos of a small quilt finish. The wind was still blowing, but a quick photo in the lull seemed to work.
On a recent visit to my sister in law, I was able to help her make a baby quilt for a friend. She then gave me all the left over giraffe fabric. So, obviously, I turned it into a donation quilt. Too cute to waste! And a good size, too.
To add some interest, I embroidered around a couple of the giraffes.
I found a suitable backing.
And a bright green binding.
It was lovely to complete this from my stash.
A week or so back I attended a workshop to make a collection of small bags using the waterproof Splash fabric.
All four bags were made in the one session using only two fat quarters of the fabric. I had not used this before, and found it very easy to work with. So much so that I have started making a few more.
That’s my catch up for now. Enjoy the weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Something Different.
Posted on August 23, 2024 | 9 Comments
These quilts are quite different to the ones I usually make. They came about due to a family request. We were recently visiting the US and my son came with me to a quilt store. He took a shine to one of the patterns and asked me to make it – twice. So we bought the fabric and home it came with me. Quilts are now made and ready to post.
Those of you who are eagle eyed will notice that the colours have been reversed. They are a mixture of grunge and solid fabrics. My son has a space on his office wall all measured up and ready for these. They measure 40 X 40 inches.
I had a lot of fabric left over so decided to piece it to make the backing. And then rotated one 90 degrees just to create a little interest.
The pattern is called Riding Mountain and is by The Blanket Statement. I kept to straight line quilting, the same as the pattern.
Winter is coming to an end so it is a good thing that I have also finished my scarf/shawl.
This one is a Patons pattern and is called a Crescent Shawl. It is made with Sierra 8ply.
A repetitive stitch that created an interesting effect.
It was finished with a simple picot edging.
And something sweet to end the post – some bouquets.
An orchid bouquet and a shortbread bouquet.
Enjoy your weekend. Cheers, Karen.
A Cast Of Hundreds.
Posted on July 26, 2024 | 7 Comments
Yes, hundreds, but not thousands. I have been collecting fabrics for this quilt for several years. Mostly my fabrics but also some from nearby friends and also bloggy friends. ( See if you can find yours, Susan.)
I started out thinking I would make a low volume quilt and started collecting and cutting my 3 1/2 squares and put them into a box.
But then I added more that were a novelty value.
There were more that fit into the I-Spy category.
And so in the end it grew into a collection of squares.
So it goes to show that I can’t stick to low volume, even if I tried.
I backed the quilt with text fabric, then used a stripe for the binding.
I quilted in straight lines making a chevron pattern starting at each side and returning from the centre. I quite like the result where no quilting lines cross.
The end result is using hundreds of different fabrics in one quilt. A lot of cutting but worth the effort.
It ended up at 60 X 60 inches.
Cheers, Karen
Using What’s There.
Posted on July 22, 2024 | 8 Comments
I have been looking through all my supplies and trying to use up fabrics. I made a quilt many years back with charm squares in a blue Christmas theme. I kept the ones not used at the time and recently found them again. I had plenty of blue themed fabric that could be added and so a donation quilt was created.
The photo makes it look like a lot of basic blue squares, but they really are Christmas themed.
I had a fun piece for the backing. Not Christmas themed but it suited the piece.
I added a couple of small borders and then a navy binding.
I am pleased it turned out okay. And an early Christmas finish.
We spent a few days away over the weekend. Bendigo to start with and a trip to the Woollen Mills for yarn.
Then off to the showgrounds the next day for the Wool and Sheep Show. So much to see! My hubby bought several fleeces for spinning. We found a few new ( to us ) sheep breeds for fleece, so they were worth a try. Some were from Sweden and the other from Finland. But we also stuck with the merino blends.
As always, we enjoyed watching the sheep dog trials.
Next we headed to Ballarat for some time with family. Ballarat turned on its typical cold Winter weather for us. Luckily we were prepared and their home had wonderful wood fired heating. Bliss!
Back home now and looking at what to knit next.
Cheers, Karen
Keeping Warm And Busy.
Posted on July 12, 2024 | 7 Comments
I have been outside keeping busy in the garden. I have been covering some of the plants as there is a frost predicted for tonight. It may not keep the plants warm, but it should prevent frost damage. Even with gloves on, my fingers noticed the chill.
I had a little celebration this week as I finally have my machine back home after nearly 10 months. One of the computer boards failed and it was impossible to get the part. After 7 months one arrived – and guess what? It was faulty! The company acknowledged they had a faulty batch, but still sent them. So we waited again. Finally, a good part and a fix. Lovely to have it back.
This is a sweet little stitchery that only took a couple of nights to complete, worked in variegated threads.
The pattern is Wee Gatherers by My Willow Designs.
I have been working away on my knitted scarf. It is a triangular design that starts off small then widens as it grows.
Even though I am up to the last 6 rows, it will probably take me just as long as the rest of the scarf, due the the increase in stitches.
I have also been working away on my collection of donation quilts. For these two I found a collection of charm squares left over from long gone projects. I was able to pair them up with other fabrics and the result was two baby quilts or floor quilts.
A little cat applique (from Red Boot Quilt Co. ) finished it off.
And this was the backing.
The elephant applique for this one is from Jenny of Elefantz.
And the backing was in pink.
I have had some blog hiccups with photos, but hopefully that is sorted. This post will let me know one way or the other.
Enjoy your weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Blue Crossroads.
Posted on June 14, 2024 | 7 Comments
This is the last of the quilts made with the blue bundles purchased at the end of last year. I had to add in a little from my stash, but I managed to use up the last of the bundles. It is about 60 X 60 inches.
I must admit that I did not find this easy to make. I had a lot of hiccups trying to get each corner to match. Glad I didn’t want to make a larger one.
I stuck with it, and did a lot of unsewing.
I really like the fabrics and had a play with different combinations.
I kept the quilting basic. Straight lines alongside each seam and them a straight line through all the crosses.
The backing was a lovely blue line print on white.
The binding was a blue/green print.
So there it goes – the last of the special fabric bundles.
Since returning home I have been working on some different quilts. Three of them are easy square and rectangle combos. I needed that when we came back while my body was sorting out time zones. Nothing too taxing. Hopefully soon I will want to find something more challenging.
I hope you have a great weekend planned. I am catching up with quite a few family members. Can’t wait.
Cheers, Karen
Getting Back To Normal.
Posted on June 6, 2024 | 6 Comments
We are back at home and trying hard to adjust to our own time zone. The cold is also a huge shock!
We have spent the last month in South Carolina where the temps have been in the 80s and 90s (F). Back home and we are lucky to get to 55F (13C). Takes a bit of adjusting.
The reason we were in SC, apart from enjoying our family, was to attend our granddaughter’s high school graduation. For the last 3 years she has been in a residential school in Greenville, attending the South Carolina Governors School for the Arts and Humanities. SCGSAH. She has been playing the double bass.
After the Summer break our granddaughter will be heading to university to study Music Therapy.
Before leaving I had completed a quilt that just needed the binding finished.
I had a lot of trouble with the colours for this one. The close up pics are more true to the colours. It is a quilt that had been started many years ago. The blocks, log cabin style, were completed and then for some reason I put it away.And, to be honest, I forgot it was there. When I rediscovered it , I realised how little needed to be done to complete it. I already have a friend who wants it and can’t understand how I forgot it. Neither can I!
Much better representation of the colours. I even considered using it as a tablecloth.
The quilting is mostly straight lines and some meandering.
The backing is a lovely green and the binding is a green with a cream spot.
The fabrics come from an older range by April Cornell for Moda.
When we arrived home we had a lovely surprise. The citrus trees had been enjoying the weather and a lot of the fruit has ripened. A beautiful sight. Oranges, mandarins and lemons.
Plenty of Vitamin C for the next few months.
Okay, now it is time for me to start catching up on your posts and seeing what has been happening.
Cheers, Karen
A May Break.
Posted on May 5, 2024 | 4 Comments
Time for me to take a blog break. No posts or making comments for the month of May.
I will jump back in with lots of enthusiasm in June.
Maybe these will be ripe by then?
Blue Snowflakes And Grey Bunnies.
Posted on April 27, 2024 | 9 Comments
A smaller quilt finish for today. Over the years I have collected smaller pieces of flannel fabric, but have not often sewn with them. When I was doing a tidy up I realised that pile of flannel fabrics had grown and needed to be used. We need a couple of warm quilts to have as extras in the caravan, so it was time to use those fabrics.
I didn’t want to cut the snowflake fabric into small pieces, so I kept them as 6 inch squares.
Then I framed each block with a selection of the blues that I had.
I used another blue in the border and then found a blue stripe for the binding. Definitely a blue theme again.
I found a large piece of flannel tucked away – grey rabbits! Why not?
Unfortunately this picture gives the illusion of blue. The next one is far more accurate.
I used very simple straight line quilting along the seams, then more lines across the diagonal of each block and through the centres.
Another finish, done and dusted. A very quick and easy quilt. Warm and snuggly.
Enjoy your weekend. Cheers, Karen
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