Welcome Winter.
Posted on June 7, 2014 | 16 Comments
Here we are at the start of Winter, but my trees seem to have skipped a season. As you can see in the photo there are hardly any leaves turning colour or falling to the ground. Yet only a few streets away, these same trees have dropped their leaves and the branches are bare. Very strange.
It has turned very cold and it is perfect weather for being inside and sewing. I have a lot of projects on the go, but very few finishes.
I have been quilting away on this one and am ready to start the binding.
There were a few left over HSTs so I used them to make some doll quilts.
I was also asked by our grand daughter to make another mattress and pillow for her second American Girl Doll.
And I included a small crochet doll blanket.
I have been busy sandwiching and pinning some tops ready for quilting.
And I have made the backing for this one so I can send it to my quilter next week.
Just for fun, I have been going to Secret Santa classes with Rosalie Quinlan.
Here is our most recent project.
We have a long weekend here to celebrate the Queen’s birthday, but I didn’t get invited to the party. Maybe next time!
Have a lovely weekend.
Cheers, Karen
A Sunshine Day.
Posted on May 11, 2014 | 16 Comments
What a beautiful start to Mother’s Day! The sun has been shining all morning and looks like staying for the whole day. Couldn’t be better.
I managed to finally finish a little wall hanging that had been waiting patiently for so long. It only needed the binding done,, but that was delayed because I could not find the fabric I had set aside for it. I finally bit the bullet and bought another piece. Should have done that ages ago.
Love that blue sky!
I machine quilted in the ditch to stabilise the quilt, then did some hand quilting in the borders and sashing with Presencia perle thread.
And also a little more hand stitching inside each block.
I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed the hand quilting. Although I am not sure that I am ready for a whole full sized quilt.
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day.
Cheers, Karen
A Bag Or More.
Posted on May 7, 2014 | 15 Comments
Bags seem to be the theme this week.
One of our grandies loves construction equipment so of course I could not walk past this fabric when I saw it.
I only needed 30 cm to make these two little tote bags for him to carry around his toy trucks and tractors.
The other bag I have been working on is a Tammy bag. They were popping up everywhere last year on blogs.
Last Christmas I was given a Tammy bag, but also received a pattern and purse frame so I could make my own. Well, here it is.
I used the lime green in the trim and the lining.
They are amazing bags for storing sewing notions or projects.
Here is the lovely one I received as a gift. It is gorgeous.
Have a look at these two blogs to see some lovely Tammy bags.
Winter has decided to arrive here early and we are having some cold and wet days. I started digging out scarves, hats and gloves. And I definitely needed them when we went to the Lake Goldsmith Steam Rally on the weekend. It was very cold and the rain made it muddy as well. But it was worth it to see these amazing machines.
Have a great week.
Cheers, Karen
Sent And received.
Posted on May 2, 2014 | 15 Comments
I have received a delightful message from Barb to say she has been able to pick up the parcel waiting for her at the post office. ( I made it a little tricky for her as I wanted it tracked so it didn’t go astray.)
Barb was my partner for this first round of the FHFS, and the requirement was to make an item with a Dresden plate. This was my first swap and I must admit that I read over her profile many times to make sure I was on the right track.
Barb said she liked red and white, so that part was easy. I made a 12 inch mini with a Dresden plate embroidery. The thread is Cottage Garden – the red one made for Hugs “n Kisses – #1007.
Barb also has a liking for all things Bonnie and Camille. I had a little stockpile of those fabrics and was able to make a cushion.
She also mentioned liking things that were girly in colour. That had me thinking for a little while until I hit on the idea of a tiny pin cushion in pink and green.
That’s how my parcel came together. Barb, I do hope you enjoy your goodies.
And just because I can, here are a couple more photos. You know I can’t resist playing with those shadows.
Cheers, Karen
Some Easter Extras.
Posted on April 24, 2014 | 10 Comments
I had a couple of Easter items that were given as gifts.
This is a cute little Peter Rabbit knitted from a design by Little Cotton Rabbits.
And this is one of the smaller felt mats I made.
I also have a few more photos from the quilt show. These were all part of the Living Colour challenge.
AQC Wattle Dancing – Sue Dennis
AQC Wattle Dancing – Sue Dennis
AQC Wattle Dancing – Sue Dennis
AQC Ordinary Folk Are Amazing – Sue Duffy
AQC Ordinary Folk Are Amazing – Sue Duffy
AQC Ordinary Folk Are Amazing – Sue Duffy
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
I am still blown away by this amazing stitching!
Cheers.
Happy, Happy Easter.
Posted on April 19, 2014 | 14 Comments
The Easter break is a lovely time. A four day holiday. Here we get Good Friday and Easter Monday as public holidays. And for those who work it gets even better because the following Friday is the Anzac Day holiday, so that means it is only a 3 day working week. I think a lot of people have taken those three days as annual leave and are having a wonderful break. Perfect.
I have been playing with all my Easter decorations and have had a display up for a few days. Just a bit of fun!
This is the penny rug I finished earlier this year.
Love the colour in the mat.
And I couldn’t resist these very cute little white bunnies.
The chocolate eggs in the background are Bilbies. They are an endangered Australian marsupial. We have them here as an alternative to chocolate rabbits.
These little bunnies were made a couple of years back and still bring a smile to my face.
And of course there has to be Easter Eggs!!!!
I realised a special bunny was missing so had to rectify that.
That’s better.
I do hope you are having a lovely Easter.
Cheers.
AQC 2014.
Posted on April 14, 2014 | 10 Comments
I spent three days working at the Australian Quilt Convention this year in this wonderful World Heritage listed building.
Royal Exhibition Buildings, Carlton
It is a great venue for these exhibits.
There were many stunning quilts on display and if you want to see the finalists and the winner you can go the the official AQC site.
The winning quilt was amazing.
I took photos of a handful that I particularly liked. This Melbourne tram was a favourite.
Tram Route No 10, Sue de Vanny
Road To Lancefield, Beth and Trevor Reid
These next ones were part of the Living Colour challenge.
Leaf Life by Robyn Eves and Amaryllis by Sarah Ann Smith.
Leaf Life
Amaryllis
Big Red, Susan Matthews
Just a handful for now. Love the gorgeous colours and the amazing stitching.
Cheers, Karen
FHFS – It Sure Is!
Posted on April 6, 2014 | 14 Comments
For the first time ever I have participated in an on-line swap. The group is FHFS – Friends Having Fun Swap.
Our first challenge is an item with a Dresden plate.
My swap partner , Keryn of Christmas Creations, is very organised and my parcel has arrived!! When I opened it I was speechless – which is very odd for me.
Have a look at what I first saw when I opened it!
Can you see that gorgeous Easter Bunny in the middle?
Here’s a close up. Isn’t she wonderful!
But, hang on you say! That’s not a Dresden plate.
Next I opened the square parcel tied with a ribbon. Now I don’t know how the smile on my face could get any bigger, but it did when I saw this.
Look at those tiny little pieces in the Dresden!
Have a peek from the side, too.
Beautiful fabrics and beautifully made.
Keryn, this is the most delightful pin cushion I have seen.
How can I stick pins in it? And Keryn even supplied some pins for me.
Yes, there are many other goodies in the parcel.
Lots of lovely Easter treats and some sewing goodies as well. All greatly appreciated.
I can’t believe how lucky I have been to have Keryn as my partner in this first swap.
Thank you for your beautiful gifts and your kindness and generosity.
While I just sit here and look at all these treasures, I’ll give you another peek at my Easter Bunny.
A White Rabbit Day.
Posted on April 1, 2014 | 11 Comments
White rabbits for the first day of April. And Easter is sneaking up quickly, too.
I have completed my felt candle mat in time for the Easter Bunny.
Here’s the link again to the book.
I also saw a variation of this on Pinterest just using one bunny. So of course I had to try that,too.
Not quite finished, but you get the idea.
I also had a lovely time this morning attending a class with Rosalie Quinlan. At the end of the session I had completed 5 of these cute little peg/clothes pin angels.
They were fun to make. I love this idea where a butterfly decoration has been used for the angel wings.
You can never have too much fun in one day.
Have a wonderful week.
Cheers, Karen
A Kitchen Window Finish.
Posted on March 26, 2014 | 16 Comments
The binding is done and the quilt is ready. So good to have another finish!
Here it is blowing in the wind.
And while the sun was shining, here is the back, too.
I am very pleased with the decision to use the strong contrast of black and white with these bright colours.
It has been quilted with a strong straight line geometric pattern. (Somehow I couldn’t see swirls on this one.)
I selected a soft grey for the quilting cotton so it wasn’t too severe against either the black or white fabrics. And it worked well with the colours. Here’s a close up.
A simple black and white combo has been used for the backing and then the binding was black also.
Just to re-cap, this pattern is from Elizabeth Hartman’s book, The Practical Guide To Patchwork.
I am already making another pattern from this book and have a third planned.
I hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
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