Birthdays And Bertie.
Posted on April 26, 2016 | 15 Comments
The second Bertie block has been completed and I have prepared the third, ready for stitching.
I am enjoying working with the wool and it has also made me realise where the gaps are in my stash. That’s a good thing because now I can focus on the colours and patterns I need rather that random buying.
Our run of birthdays for grandchildren continues. Our youngest turns one this week but we all caught up over the weekend to celebrate. I enjoy having the opportunity to make these fun items for our grandies.
There was a fox theme going on with the cushion that I made and a knitted softie.
There was a lot of knitting happening with a knitted hat next.
And then some knitted fruit!
Adding to the food theme, some felt fruit and veg.
There are a few quiet months and then we have another birthday rush in August and September.
That may give me a chance to get back to some quilting.
I hope your week has started well.
Cheers, Karen
Tigers And AQC.
Posted on April 19, 2016 | 12 Comments
Football season started here several weeks ago and it turns out that our 4yo grandson needed a hat and scarf to support his team. The lovely part is he has chosen his team purely because of the animal emblem representing it – a tiger. So now it appears he will be a Richmond supporter.
When I was part way through the knitting I was showing him what I was making. He grinned from ear to ear and then made an additional request for a softie he could cuddle in bed. He even showed me what it should look like.
So this is the end result.
I do hope he enjoys supporting his team.
Last week we had the amazing Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne. I spent a lovely day viewing quilts and visiting stall holders – and making a few little purchases.
One of the highlights for me was seeing Rachael’s wonderful Blooming Doilies quilt on display. I have seen the photos on her blog and read about the process, so it was great to be able to view it up close to see the detail and workmanship involved. What a pleasure it was. Thanks, Rachael.
Visit Rachael’s blog, Blue Mountain Daisy, to see more of her stunning work.
I have also been playing with paper and have completed another book. I have been chatting with a friend about the beautiful handmade cards we are given over the years. We collect them in a box, but that’s all we do. So we decided we needed a way to display them. Chris designed a book to store and display our card collections. The book could easily be used for photos, too, but I need mine for cards. It has lots of pockets and fold out pages for plenty of storage.
My task now is to sort out all the cards and add them to this journal.
Just to finish off this post I will add another picture from the quilt show. This amazing quilt by Susan Carlson is over 6 metres long and looks stunning. I have included a close up of the work involved.
We have had some exciting news in the last few days. Our US family is coming over in July for three weeks. There is something special about having your whole family together in one place. Can you see the big smile on my face?
Cheers, Karen
Rabbits And Birds.
Posted on April 5, 2016 | 16 Comments
When I first saw this fabric range I really liked it and bought several fat quarters. Of course this creates a problem because I had no particular pattern in mind so then had to work out how to use the fabric. I had seen this layout a while back and thought it would suit. It took a little bit of maths to make to make it work and thankfully there was enough for the quilt with very little left over.
I was quite taken by the birds and rabbits in the design.
I kept the quilting very simple and used my walking foot with a wavy line. This went on some of the vertical and horizontal seams. Certainly much better than trying to stitch in the ditch. I also went around the smaller squares inside squares.
I didn’t have enough of any one fabric for the binding so I combined two colours and alternated them.
The backing is from a completely different range but the colouring and design worked well with the quilt top fabrics.
I think we have managed to settle back into standard time with the end of daylight saving. It always seems so much easier when it ends.
I do hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
Chicks And Dinosaurs.
Posted on March 29, 2016 | 13 Comments
It has taken a while, but I have managed to collect a good range of wool to be able to use in applique projects. It is becoming easier to purchase here in Australia.
So my first play with this technique is Bertie’s Spring which is a Bonnie Sullivan pattern.
There are four panels, so obviously there are three more to go. These are very easy to stitch, but as with many projects, there is a lot of preparation.
We have also had a 4th birthday for a grandie, so of course there has been some sewing.
Dinosaurs are a popular interest at this age, so some dino cushions were in order.
Here are the covers before the inserts were added.
The dinosaur outlines are from a quilt pattern and then I used some free motion stitching to create a background.
I think I now have a footy hat a scarf to knit because the season has started!
I hope you are having a good week.
Cheers, Karen
Hippity, Hoppity.
Posted on March 23, 2016 | 14 Comments
I think Autumn has finally decided to arrive here, just in time for Easter. We are still having warm days but the nights are much cooler and that is delightful. No sign of leaves changing colour however.
A small candle mat has been completed for Easter. I am running out of places for display so it had to be small.
It is from a kit and pattern by Bareroots.
I have limited the Easter display to the sideboard for this year.
A few wooden ducks have joined the bunnies, and of course there are chocolate bunnies, bilbies and eggs.
I recently found this lovely set of tins and thought it could be part of the fun.
I am continuing my push to work on my crochet skills and these blocks are the start of a small throw rug. This is about a third of what I need. I am keeping it simple and mastering a step at a time before moving on to new stitches.
Easter is a 4 day weekend for most people here in Australia, so I do hope everyone has a lovely break. And I hope the Easter bunny treats you well.
Cheers, Karen
Monkey Business.
Posted on March 8, 2016 | 15 Comments
There is not lot of quilting happening here – probably due to the hot and humid weather we are having late into the season.
But I have been working with some smaller items.
The first finish is a table runner from Bird Brain Designs made in wool felt.
It is quite long and will easily suit a dining table or sideboard.
Yes, I did spot the pin well after the photo was taken.
And the monkey reference in the title refers to these little guys. I have quite a few friends who are about to become grandmothers, so these are ready for when the babies arrive.
They are a Twins knitting pattern.
We have a long weekend coming up and it has been forecast that we will get a change and finally start to experience some Autumn weather. Hope so.
Regardless of the weather, I hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
A Pocketful Of Pink And Purple.
Posted on February 22, 2016 | 16 Comments
Pink, purple and gold were the requested colours to go into this quilt. Just right for a little girl.
Each of those little bags on each block is actually a pocket.
They concertina out from the quilt.
This quilt will hang on the end of a bunk bed. It can be made any particular size with as many pockets as you wish.
It has been finished with simple meandering for the quilting.
I thought this was a great way to provide some storage. And it is a very different way to use a quilt.
I know you can see the pink and purple, but not the gold. That is on the back, but I forgot to get a photo of that. The backing is a bright pink with a gold fleck.
The pattern is called Party Bags and is designed by Brookshier Design Studio.
Have a wonderful week.
Cheers, Karen
A Terrain Finish.
Posted on February 9, 2016 | 18 Comments
It is a big finish for me. I am not normally a maker of big quilts, but this one had a mind of its own and grew.
It ended up at 80 inches wide and 95 inches long. It sits very nicely on an old fashioned brass double bed.
It has been made using a layer cake of Kate Spain’s fabric, Terrain, then Moda Bella white, and extra Terrain yardage for the border. Not sure what fabric is in the small orange border but it has a linen look to it.
The blocks are made using the disappearing pinwheel tutorial from the MSQC. These are then set en pointe for the layout.
I chose an edge to edge swirly pattern for the quilting. Lovely work by my wonderful LAQ.
I stuck to a simple white on white backing for this quilt.
Good to have another finish. There are a couple of smaller ones still waiting for their turn. It will come.
I do hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
l
Happy Australia Day
Posted on January 26, 2016 | 11 Comments
Beautiful weather here for Australia Day. It makes it very easy to get out and enjoy the day.
In fact, the whole weekend has been pleasant. We have spent much of it in Geelong as that city hosted the Festival of Sails. I am not the sailor in the family so I did lots of watching and driving to and from.
And this was a nice surprise for Australia Day – petrol under a dollar. I wonder how long it will last?
To keep the Aussie theme going, I attended a high tea with a group of friends at Coombe Farm.
There is a restaurant built in the grounds of the home of Dame Nellie Melba.
It looks beautiful inside. The afternoon tea was delicious, of course. There is a tour of the gardens available and I am hoping to make a return visit especially for that.
No stitching to show, but there is binding going on another quilt.
I am off to be the taxi one more time as the sailing festival ends today.
Happy Australia Day.
Cheers, Karen
UFO Progress.
Posted on January 18, 2016 | 17 Comments
It always seems to be a regular start of the year event – attacking the UFOs. For me it is probably because quilts get put aside in the lead up to Christmas as there are other priorities for the festive season. January is very relaxed and there are no sewing commitments so the UFOs get first priority.
First finish is a small quilt as you go. I had planned to add a border but found there was not enough of the fabrics left to do that, so a change of plans left it as a smaller quilt.
I tried to take a photo is the sun but no luck with the colours.
I had better results on the fence in the shade.
Much better idea of the colours.
Here are some of the fabrics.
And still playing with colours – here it is inside.
I think this last one is the closest to the true colours. I am not a big fan of QAYG so that is why this one was easy to put aside and also why I was happy to go without a border. Let’s hope I remember that for the future.
I finished a panel quilt as a gift for the Christmas before last and still had another to go. I made sure that was another finish for this month.
The quilting for this one was a gentle meander.
It continues to be hot here but the good part about that is the Flowering Gums are starting to bloom and are looking gorgeous. And the Australian Open is on so there is plenty of tennis to watch.
That’s a pretty note to finish on.
Cheers, Karen
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