Catching Up On UFOs.
Posted on November 6, 2013 | 11 Comments
I made a bit of an effort to collect together a handful of items that needed only a small amount of work to finish them off.
I have a habit of finishing the stitchery part of a project but not following up to complete it.
So here are two mini hangings completed.
The sad part is that I started these so many years ago I can’t identify either pattern.
And they only took a VERY short time to complete.
I do need to change my ways!
It Could Be Red October!
Posted on October 19, 2013 | 37 Comments
I am linking this post to the Blogger’s Quilt Festival at Amy’s creative Side. This quilt is going in the Two Colour Quilt section.
There will be hundreds of amazing quilts to view and inspire. Thanks Amy for this wonderful opportunity.
This particular quilt has been some time in the making. I started to play with the red and white fabrics back in 2010. It went into Amy’s Quilt Festival back in May 2011, when it only had the first border. It then had its own post on Sew We Quilt as a finished flimsy in August 2011.
And then it sat for quite a while. I wasn’t confident about quilting it myself as it was 70 X 70 ins and I knew I had to wait until I found the right quilter for the task. Earlier this year I started an Art Journaling class and met Melinda Gibson. I found that she had her own long arm business called Around The Block Quilting. When I saw her work I knew that she would be perfect for this quilt.
So here is the end result, 3 years after it was first started.
I have to show off the beautiful quilting.
Here are a few close ups of the detail.
The medallion.
Some detail of the feathers and swirls.
The Dresden fans in the corners.
And again.
Delicate detail in the tiniest of squares.
The star border.
And the drunkards path border.
I think I enjoy looking at the quilting on the back as much as the front.
Of course I played with the light coming through the window to show up the quilting.
I am thrilled with the final finish for this quilt and am so thankful to Melinda for her beautiful quilting.
The name Red October? Easy – I started it in October and finished it in October, and the other part you can guess.
Good Progress.
Posted on September 25, 2013 | 13 Comments
I am delighted to say that I am making good progress with my projects as well as good progress with myself. Thank you for the well wishes – they have definitely worked. This week I am feeling like my old self and and am ready to get back to doing all that I enjoy.
I have been working on some hand quilting.
A new stitchery is nearly complete.
The penny rug needs a little stitching on the pots for the trees and then the pennies can be added.
And I have managed to sandwich several quilt tops.
I have a few stitching days planned with friends which really makes me feel that all is back to some kind of normal.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
A Not So Nice Surprise.
Posted on September 11, 2013 | 19 Comments
After a wonderful month of family activities I had planned to return to my sewing and catch up on a lot of quilting. As you can see there are a lot of flimsies waiting in line to be sandwiched and quilted.
Unfortunately these plans went astray due to the unpleasant surprise I mentioned. I ended up in hospital for 5 days after emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder. My stay was extended longer than normal due to extensive inflammation. Thankfully, due to the wonderful care I received, I am now home feeling very sore but extremely relieved. There is a silver lining to all of this because I did have a thorough check up and I know that everything else is well and healthy.
It will be a little while before I return to quilting and sewing big items, but that’s fine because I do have a lot of little projects to work on.
I have a small Christmas penny rug to complete.
This is part of a pin cushion that is a WIP.
I am still practicing my crocheting – still a long way to go.
And the beads are being sewn onto the berries for the woollen blanket.
I know there are dozens more little projects waiting for me so I certainly won’t be wasting my time. And of course I had over 100 emails to catch up on and nearly 500 posts in my blog reader.
I can certainly say that life is not boring!
A Red And Grey Finish.
Posted on August 31, 2013 | 15 Comments
Our house is very empty and quiet as the holiday has ended and family have returned home. There is lots to do but some sewing has been squeezed in as well.
This quilt was away at the LAQ and I was able to pick it up a couple of weeks ago. I have spent a few days finishing the binding.
Holiday Frost Quilt
The fabric range is Holiday Frost and the pattern is from Leanne Beasley’s book, Romancing The Road Trip.
It is a lovely fabric range and the simplicity of these blocks suited the design.
I used a simple backing and red for the binding.
This pattern works well for show-casing fabrics and I can see myself using this one again.
I am going to enjoy the sunshine today and then tomorrow I will joining in with a stitching gathering at Candleberry Country in Yarragon.
I hope you have a lovely weekend planned.
Which Doctor?
Posted on August 19, 2013 | 14 Comments
In amongst the busyness of having family here, I have completed one quilt. There was a deadline so I had to push to make it but the last stitches went into the binding the night before it was due. This one was another birthday gift for a Dr Who fan.
The Dr Who fabrics are all from Spoonflower.
The pattern I have used is Perfect Ten.
I had this one professionally quilted.
Perfect for a 50th birthday.
And the Dr Who 50th anniversary, too.
I kept one fabric aside for the borders. I think I like this one with the Police Boxes the best.
I then found a great circle fabric in the right colours to use as the backing.
Very pleased with the end result. I now get a break from birthday sewing for quite a while.
I have plenty of UFOs to return to now.
An Incredible Surprise!
Posted on August 9, 2013 | 16 Comments
This is where I have been during the past week.
I have had the craziest week I think that I can ever remember! I didn’t know we were going to the snow until 2 days beforehand. I also had no idea who else was going.
A brief explanation is needed. It is my birthday next week and it happens to be a good one – one with a zero. No big plans – or so I thought.
We had planned to visit our son, DIL and grandson last week. They live a couple of hours away from us. We headed down there as normal to stay overnight.
Imagine my surprise/shock/delight when I walked in the door to also find our other son, DIL and 2 grandies who had flown in from the USA to surprise me!!!
They had been planning this for a long time and to their credit did not slip up once. I had absolutely no idea!!!
Just having all our family together in the one place has to make for the best birthday!!
Okay, what does all this have to do with the snow? That was the next part of the surprise. We were all booked to spend time at Mt Hotham. So off home we went, packed and headed off. We all stayed together in the one lodge having a wonderful time. We had plenty of snow falling each night making a great cover for use the next day. The big kids went skiing or snow boarding. The two older grandies had ski lessons and the youngest had fun on a toboggan.
Testing the toboggans and getting a ride on dad’s skis.
Watching Harry the Snow Dragon at the ski school.
Loved the icicles hanging off the roof.
These trees looked beautiful in the snow.
We also took a ride to Dinner Plains and enjoyed the scenery. In one area there was a playground and the two sculptures caught my eye – a stainless steel brumby and emu.
That is only the beginning! Many more plans are now in place. I am going to make the most of having all our family together in the one country for a month.
Cheers for now.
Out And About.
Posted on July 30, 2013 | 13 Comments
I have been lucky enough to have recently had eight days in a row that have involved crafty things. Several days were classes and another was joining friends for a sewing day. I had a day of art journalling and another working in a crafty capacity.
But two busiest days were visiting the Craft and Quilt Fair at the Exhibition Centre in Melbourne and then having a lovely day at Friends in Stitches in Glen Waverley.
I enjoy wandering through all the beautiful quilts at the Fair and of course spent time looking at all the vendor stands.
I did attend a workshop with Indigo Niche to learn Sashiko embroidery/quilting. This is the start of the sampler done in class.
I am looking forward to working on this project during the week.
Together with a group of friends I attended Friends In Stitches with Leanne Beasley, Gail Pan and Natalie Lymer.
I think there were about 100 ladies there each day. I was there on the Sunday.
We were given fully kitted projects from each designer.
These were Leanne and Gail’s.
And this was Natalie’s. I was able to complete this one. It makes up into a pin cushion.
We also received postcard patterns.
And then to top it off, we were given a lovely pendant as a gift.
A great day was had by all.
I will finish the post with pictures of the display of designs for each designer.
Natalie
Leanne
Gail.
Seeing Stars.
Posted on July 24, 2013 | 14 Comments
I am finally seeing some quilting finishes. This quilt is full of stars and is based on a pattern called Happy Birthday in the Memorable Scrap Quilts book. The name is appropriate because this is a gift for a birthday.
This quilt was made using lots of bits and pieces from my stash. Only the background fabric had to be puchased.
There were two basic blocks – the star and the square. I was surprised at how quickly it came together.
I had this one professionally quilted in a very simple pattern of swirls and stars – of course!
I like the way it looks in the border, too.
As you well know, one of my favourite views of any quilt is when the sun is shining in the window creating lovely shadows showing off the texture in the quilting.
I will finish off with something a little different. Guess who has been busy spinning and knitting again? This time it is with Alpaca wool/fleece.
Little Leftovers.
Posted on July 22, 2013 | 12 Comments
I had a few little bits of fabric left from the Holiday Frost quilt. Not enough for even a small quilt but too lovely to just toss in with the scraps.
After a bit of playing I made a small wall hanging. It is now waiting to be sandwiched and quilted.
The centre panel is simply a larger piece from one of the fabrics.
I found this next piece of fabric on a discount table. I was going to cut it up for a quilt but in the end decided it worked perfectly for a table cloth. All it needed was hemming on each edge. It is tucked in the cupboard ready for Christmas.
There are more doll clothes to be made.
And to finish off, these are the quilts I am binding.
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