Pink and Green Zig Zag

I finished the Spools Quilt (lap size) before I started a new project...I promise!  The way I see it is there are three things you can do when your stressed/angry/upset....a) eat b) housework c) sew or d) shop.  And because I ate last week (chocolate that is) and I cleaned the house on Monday, I decided to SEW!

Now I tried several times to take a good picture of this Pink n Green zig zag cot quilt but it was too dark inside and too sunny outside.  This is the only half decent shot I got, after I spray basted it.  This is intended for a friend who is expecting her first baby in the summer.  Please note I brought a solid and then I used it!! Mint green might never been on my shopping list previously, but right now I am loving it and craving spearmint leaf lollies! 

And it would be too weird to not go shopping right, retail therapy is a girls best friend after all!  So I grabbed a friend and went to the SA Quilters Guild market day.   There were lots of quilty bargains to be had, but we arrived in the latter part of the day, so I only took home two bargains - this sewing themed hanger - for my sewing room obviously. 

And to help organise me, a sewing caddy for next to my armchair in the lounge room.  I am hoping to be able to hid all sharp implements in the draw and keep a selection of thread on the spools, to save me walking the 5 metres to my sewing room!
Sew now I am off to the sewing room to commence quilting - either the new cot quilt OR the modern quilt that I also spray basted today...a girl has to fill in election/footy night somehow and this seemed like a cheap and non fattening option.  A wise woman once said, "the worst thing about voting is you always end up with a politician"!

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Zig Zag and Spray basting

 I finally got the Zig Zag quilt bound this week, still no label, but that will happen.  I am immensely pleased with this quilt!  THANK YOU LISA! Not only for the pattern but also the fabric.  I am definitely making another one, just debating colours.

Spring has finally sprung in Adelaide and glorious weather this weekend prompted me to run with the idea that came from Leanne.  Leanne said that she spray bastes all her quilts, and while I have done this in the past for little quilts, I hadn't done it on anything large.  Trying to heft the bigger quilts through my domestic machine, all with the added weight of pins, made me think "Why not spray baste!".

So I cut a few strips, added them tot the side of this Maisy panel and then spray basted it!  Too easy! 

So then I dug out the Spool quilt and spray basted that as well!

 So then with two basted quilts I started quilting AND FINISHED BOTH!  Spray basting ROCKS!

This is the groovy binding I made for the Maisy cot quilt, I am definitely going back to buy more of this gorgeous fabric, perfect from all and any kids quilts in my future.

So now I have two more quilts to bind, but I am sitting in the sun, eating ice cream in a cone and reading a book...it is the first day of spring after all! 

Happy Fathers Day to all your Dads, young and old, past and present.

Happy quilting Sue SA.

Finishing the flimsys

The Chinese Coin cot quilt using the Apple Jack charm pack is finished!

 The Scrappy Trips Around the World, made from scrap 2.5" strip bin is finished.

 The Zig Zag quilt (made using fabrics gifted to me by Lisa) is quilted and I just need to hand stitch the binding down and add the label!

And after a protracted discussion (and some tears) we convinced DS2 that he should sleep in his real bed, not the one constructed today out of quilts, IKEA table and my dining chairs!

So after facing up to a fight with blogger (remains to be seen if this post actually works) I am off to bed, because I have stitched a mile of binding this week and quilted so many zigs, that I need some Z's!

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Q is for Quilting

 I found the perfect bright/multi coloured backing for the Spool quilt at that big shed they sell fabric in, after I was unable  find anything that "spoke to me" at my LQS. 

And more importantly I found this backing for the Zig Zag quilt...how appropriate!

 It was my intention to quilt the Scrappy Trips on Saturday at All Day quilting, as I had pinned it at home the weekend prior.  But I finished quilting it on Friday, after I unintentionally had my own FNSI! I also quilted the Chinese Coin cot quilt, but due to bad weather photos of those have been postponed. 

 There was sufficient time between taking photos, eating, talking and fluffing around to pin the Zig Zag quilt on Saturday AND I got a fair bit of quilting done. 

On Sunday I thought I needed a rest from quilting. I sewed the missing corners onto the Blue Reproduction 9 patch quilt.  But the hunt for extra yardage (multiple phone calls Friday) was unsuccessful, so I ditched ideas of adding a border.  And played with the left overs. 

Which resulted in this little wall hanging! As you can see I am still stitching the binding down.

I now have lots of bindings to sew down!  So I decided to do a bit more quilting, use up these left over 1.5" squares (from spool blocks) and make some coasters.  I wanted wonky free lines, that was harder then I anticipated, however ditching binding in lieu of zig zag satin stitch was a very easy decision.

The weather here been stormy and predicted to not improve for the rest of the week, I will be inside stitching down bindings, where possible!

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

All Day Quilting - August

There was lots of fun had yesterday, as quilters worked on their projects....

Heather was making a Twister quilt, in the new medium size

 Erolyn brought her show and tell goodies in this cute bag - unfortunately a store purchased one, so no pattern, but definitely checking out that shop soon!

 I helped Erolyn pin this quilt top - this is her idea of a project to practise machine applique and quilting!  She doesn't do things by halves does she! (camera has dulled colours, sorry)

 Monique has been spending her evenings productively stitching and was ready to sew the

 zillion 1.5" squares around her stitchery blocks.  Love blue and white together!

 Vicki and Sam have both been making a quilt from the same pattern...sorry not sure if this is Sam's or Vicki's! The blocks were foundation pieced and yesterday they were patiently hand appliqueing them down.  Love the fabrics!

 Erolyn was trying out the new tools she brought at a craft fair, she just whipped up this block!

 Monique got sick of tiny squares and started making these cute fruit and vegetable table mats!

 Stacy finished quilting this fun girls quilt...

it wasn't til I looked closely that I realised this was the same Schnibbles pattern we did as a group last year!  Picasso isn't playing nicely, so I will load photos of my efforts later,

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Holy Moly...six flimsys to be quilted!

Part of me wanted to celebrate getting the final border on the Dresden Plate quilt for DH's niece.  I felt smug knowing that it was off to the long arm quilter and all I would have to do is bind it!

 (Please note my clever five year old took this picture, so DH could hold one side of the quilt!)

However a quick count of tops waiting for ME to quilt them came to FOUR!  So whilst I can be smug about the two waiting for the professional, I thought I had better get my skates on and live up to that title..."Quilter"!  So the Chinese Coin cot quilt is the newest top ready of quilting (I finished the border yesterday) and I pinned it today and started stippling.  I also got my Scrappy Trips top pinned, so there will be NO new piecing projects started, until these two are finished! (Note to self, make this my new mantra! Failing that hide rotary cutter from self...hopefully that works!)

Can you see that I have grown an extra pair of legs? DS2 decided I needed help holding this quilt up!

Oh and I made a few, OK quite a few fabric book marks for the present box.  My friend Karen gifted me a lovely one here, however she must use a secret ingredient, cos mine are puffy!  So if you want flat book marks I don't recommend using iron on Pellon, however it sure did get rid of some left overs out of my wadding stash. 

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

PS thank you for all your suggestions re borders on the Dresden plate, I am really pleased with it now and glad A didn't like the fabric I had originally chosen!  Now got to work out what to do with a metre of purple???

OMG finally a Flimsy finish!

There has been a lot of sewing going on in the last two weeks, but initially I was all over the shop....
randomly sewing chook potholders on mass...(sorry the picture wont load) I still need to make combs and tail feathers before sewing them together....

Then I dragged out this,  added a few beetles and did some hand embroidery (eyes and face details) in front of the TV, but put this long term UFO aside (but not back in the cupboard) when my fingers were too sore to continue.

Finally added the final row (or so I thought) on the hexi table runner, pinning it, only to realise, how the heck do you bind the long edge?  Or do you bag it?  Or do you just cut a straight edge, so some get chopped in half...if so, does that mean the runner is too narrow...oh heck, straight to the UFO pile with it!

So then I started a NEW project (baby quilt - Chinese coins pattern) and worked on that until I ran out of fabric!  SO then FINALLY I had to work on a project that should have been finish months ago, AFTER I made a trip to the shop (across town) to get the extra fabric required! 

This quilt is for my BIL and his wife.  I sure hope they like it, cos it is HUGE, so big it didn't fit on the clothes line, but you get the picture! Ha no pun intended!  The little pieced twister borders, were a pain, took ages, but so pleased I added them, as I think it works...thanks to Heather's suggestion, because I was so going to be lazy and make a piano keys border!  Right off to the shop now, to buy the backing fabric and then it is going to the long arm quilters.  Finally a finished flimsy....TICK!
Happy quilting, Sue SA.