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
Spring Flowers in Autumn.
Posted on March 18, 2014 | 13 Comments
Not really. It’s just that the fabric in this quilt reminds me of Spring – lovely colours and fresh.
I really liked the floral fabric and wanted to make a simple quilt to show it off. I had trouble with a full quilt photo as the sun was bright and the wind was blowing, but here it is, shadows and all. It makes the borders look all wavy!
I used the main fabric in the large blocks and the border then used solids in the 9 patch blocks.
I felt it needed a little zing so the bright green was added as an accent. I placed it in 12 of the blocks, the border and the binding.
The placement of the blocks created diagonal lines corner to corner.
I decided to have this one quilted professionally with an all over pattern.
I wanted swirls and flowers and I think this one hit the mark.
This view along the border shows the quilting pattern more clearly.
I was more than happy to sit and sew the binding last night.
After looking at these photos I can see I need to do a little cleaning up with all the loose threads. I am sure the sticky roller will deal with that quickly. Should have done it before the pics!!
Have a lovely week and I hope you are enjoying some sunshine.
Knit, Purl etc.
Posted on March 9, 2014 | 12 Comments
Lots of little knitting has been happening here in the last week or two. Having to be in different places and doing a bit of waiting around lends itself to having an easy carry project like knitting.
I have made several of these monkeys before from a Twins Knitting pattern.
I have been playing with different sized needles to alter the size of the softie.
This next little pink rabbit is another Twins pattern.
And another – this time a little soft lamb, a free pattern from Barbara Prime.
Okay, that’s all the knitting done, but not the end of the softies.
I went to a class with Rosalie Quinlan and made a sweet little rabbit. The classes are at Patchwork with Gail B.
This is a Melly and Me pattern – Baby Bunnies.
And just to keep the Easter theme going, here is the felt penny rug I am working on for Easter.
This is from the same book as the Christmas one I made with Santa and trees.
The book is called Quick and Easy Penny Rugs.
I am still continuing to work on my crochet skills and made this little heart using a diagram rather than reading a pattern. So many new things to learn!
We have a long weekend holiday here for Labour Day and the weather has decided some warmth and sunshine are in order.
Lots of time to relax and enjoy.
I hope your weekend has been wonderful, too.
Lots Of Little Things.
Posted on February 27, 2014 | 11 Comments
It has been very busy here over the last couple of weeks but I have had a chance to do some sewing for some little ones.
First off there are these two little doll quilt wraps.
They are 24 by 24 inches and have a 13 by 13 inch pocket in the middle. That is so the doll or teddy can be placed in the pocket and will not slip out.
I followed a pattern for these wraps from The Cottage Mama. Follow this link.
As well as that I had a request for a mattress and pillow for an American Girl Doll bed. I made those out of wool blanketing.
And then I thought some sheets and pillow cases would be needed, so I made three sets.
I made the sheets just like a pillow case so they would stay on the mattress a little easier.
I have picked up two quilts from my LAQ so I have plenty of binding to do.
I hope you also have plenty of stitching in your plans.
Views And Windows.
Posted on February 17, 2014 | 14 Comments
Big smiles here. Our computer is back after convalescing for 10 days. Happily, it is now working better than ever.
I had just finished my Kitchen Windows quilt flimsy and was ready to post about it when the computer decided to stop.
So here it is.
Love these fabrics. The pattern is from Elizabeth Hartman’s book, The Practical Guide To Patchwork.
It is at the LAQ now, so I have to wait patiently.
This is the view that we have had in much of our state last week.
That is not fog – it is smoke. At one stage there were 150 fires burning in our state. Lots of damage and 40+ homes destroyed. Thankfully no lives lost.
Most fires are now out, but for a week or more the air was filled with smoke, even though the fires were not near. Winds and light rain finally cleared the skies over the weekend.
I am looking forward to catching up with my blog reading and being able to comment and reply.
Hope your week goes well.
Computer Hospital.
Posted on February 8, 2014 | 11 Comments
It seems to be the season for it – computers that do not want to work. Ours is having problems with its power supply and is off for repairs.
I am using an older laptop at the moment and am trying to be patient with its lack of speed.
I apologise if I have not replied to comments. I will have a big catch up when all is repaired.
Cheers, Karen
A Little Mystery.
Posted on February 1, 2014 | 13 Comments
Each year I manage to attend a workshop for a mystery quilt. This one was held on a day that was 41c but thankfully the workshop was held in air conditioned comfort.
This is the end result.
It is a small lap quilt – about 40 X 40 inches. I tend to make them small as I like to see how the pattern goes together, then I like to choose the fabrics I think will work best and make another quilt.
Have a look at the fabric and colours in the original, here.
My colours don’t show up well in the photo so here is a close up of the fabrics.
The fabrics are from Leesa Chandler’s Passage To India range.
I think a lot of straight line and zig zag quilting will work for this little one.
We have had a few milder days but are now back to heat wave conditions. I definitely prefer to be inside once the temps go over 40c on a regular basis. As a result, more sewing is happening.
I have made all the blocks for the Kitchen Window quilt and will hopefully complete the framing in the next few days.
I have also made all the blocks for a quilt using the disappearing pinwheel/churn dash blocks. I think I may keep it simple with white sashing between the blocks.
I will have a play with the layout for both of these quilts. Again, a perfect activity for indoors with the air conditioner.
Enjoy your weekend.
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