August All Day Quilting - in the Pink

On Saturday we had All Day Quilting - with a pink theme, to raise money for breast and gynecological cancer research.  We raised $180 and had lots of fun!  There was pink food.

Pink show and tell.  This is Brenda's first quilt she ever made, looks pretty good to me!

 Bronwyn made this quilt, cute isn't it!

 Stacey made this braid quilt. 

 Monique (on left)  was inspired by the quilt that Sam (right) made.  Sam had to borrow this quilt back from her neighbour, whom she had gifted it to.  Wish I lived next door to you Sam!

There were pink and non pink projects in progress.

 Bronwyn got a yellow border added onto this machine pieced hexi quilt.  I have a new found love for yellow.

 We talked Bronwyn out of a another border for this quilt...got to love those giraffes!

Stacy challenged herself to a jelly roll race and won!

 Stacy was very productive and started a second project,  following the Missouri Star Quilt Company YouTube instructions for 

 a Disappearing Pinwheel Churn Dash Quilt.

And incidentally won the prize for best dressed - nobody could come close to 8 pink items of clothing!

 Monique was sewing up her Sashiko stitchery.

 Vicki was making a modern version of 9 patch.

Sam was using her curved ruler....I am going to watch this quilts progress with interest, as I have avoided curves for a long time!  But  Sam said they were "easy", so I could be tempted.

 Heather was making a a raggy quilt in red, black/white and grey.

 Cathy was repairing a raggy quilt - which belongs to her dog and he loves so much he has chewed a bit.  I think making a quilt just for your dog is a good idea if it stops him chewing the ones for you!

 Sue (not me!) was working on her beautiful needle turn applique.  

And I was mucking around, playing with disappearing nine patch blocks,  starting new cot quilts with various bits of novelty fabric.  Pretty happy with this, given it was all from the deep stash and made from scraps.

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

 

Red and white school house blocks

In January I made these red and white school house blocks and turned them into a cushion.

At a later date I made more blocks, but smaller and all the one tone. And got stuck.

Then I attempted to make them into a wall hanging.  Which I hated.

So more recently I have pulled them apart AND have been been considering....

a) another cushion for the four white on red blocks and

b) a wall hanging with the red on white blocks - with a blue star, or 

c) a wall hanging with the red on white blocks - and a red star.

The answer seems a bit more obvious to me now...I had been lacking contrast? Sometimes I need a bit of distance from a project o decide which way to go.  

Either way I think that once I stitched these blocks up...my love affair with the school house block will be over and I am ready for a new beau.

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Quilts from the Heart August 2014

I have just posted an update of the latest lot of quilts donated to charity by the Quilts from the Heart group on their blog.

You can find them HERE.

Happy quilting Sue SA.

Remember this UFO?

Do you remember this top?  Well its not really a UFO, more a WIP.  However I have managed to make a backing for it, so its one step further towards being finished.  

I also made a backing for this...gasp and FINALLY finished stitching the last few bugs...honest it took all of 30 minutes, but has been in the cupboard FOREVER!  This is definitely a UFO!

This wall hanging needs quilting now, but its definitely a custom job.  I am going to get a quote for quilting and one for basting....and then decide!  I am very tempted to practise my new found love for FMQ on it.  But we will see....its isn't very big (less then SB size), so might be quicker to outsource...not to mention will get finished finally!

 This baby however is definitely going to the long arm quilter.  I have put off finishing it forever, because I wanted to put on a pieced border.  I wanted to make it larger.  But as the cream fabric was from my stash (along with all the blue's) and I had run out, it all got too hard.  There has been suitable time lapse for me to think, what the heck, doesn't matter if it is only DB size, at least it will be usable!  So the backing was purchased and it is all ready, with its two friends for delivery to the long arm quilter...when she comes back from holidays, so slight delay there, but that's OK, I am just happy to make some progress!

 Last but not least I made this table runner out of some orphan 9 patches I have had for a long long time.  Luckily I had something to match in my stash as this dirty plum colour is a bit tricky to match.  So I am planning to practise some FMQ this weekend, plus continuing machine applique.

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

A new jelly roll = a new project

I had a big impulse moment last week that resulted in a new jelly roll - a farmyard themed one!  Not that I don't have a couple of lovely jelly rolls, waiting for inspiration in the cupboard already.  And more to the point, with all the cot quilts I have finished recently...I don't need more cot quilts!   So normally when I purchase on a whim it gets shoved in the cupboard.  But I actually found a pattern and started two blocks.

 I sat on them all week, as my paid job was extra busy (I am getting a new boss next week) and I worked extra hours.  I wasn't sure I liked the pattern.  But it is growing on me, even though it is super busy.  The blocks are 8", so I think with sashing in between, 12 blocks should be enough to make a decent sized quilt.

I like the way you get a snippet of a cow or tractor here and there.  The chicken wire print is the closest thing to a tone on tone, so it made for good pin wheel centres.  But my favorite is the cow hide print!  

Lastly but not least, I found some orphan blocks and decided I needed to do something with them.  I didn't intend on using this block as anything other then a practise piece.  It is a 13" square and just having the restrictions of different shapes, made it look like a good practise piece.  I am happy with the outcome.

I have had three classes in Free Motion Quilting (FMQ) over the decade and a half I have been a quilter.  However I rarely practised after taking a class, so quickly lost my confidence.  In reality I should call myself a Piecer, as that is my preferred technique.  But FMQ is definitely appealing to me more and more, so I am going to make a few more practise pieces.   I don't think big leaf vines on the border was the right combination to go such a small piece.  But I really like that pattern, and now I know its within my capabilities.  I am not so keen on the "pebbles" in the background of centre star, but they make it "pop" and that is what I was trying to achieve.  I might need glasses before I do any more fine work like that again!

 I am happy with the outcome and it will make a nice table centre, if I can find something to bind it with!  I am also keen to attempt a circular feather in the very centre, but need to do some homework on how to first.

Happy quilting, Sue SA.  

Aussie Hero Quilts

This is the quilt I sent this week to a Australian Defence force member serving overseas.

  It felt good to finish another Aussie Hero quilt and have it posted off.  However I did decide that I would have a go at making some blocks, for my next effort.  The Australiana themed fabric I have purchased this year, finally went to good use.  I made two of each of the eight fabrics, as, you can see the bottom left corner the pattern repeat makes it look like a different block, but is the same fabric.  I was trying to line up fabric so I didn't cut heads off kangaroos etc, but it didn't always work out, as some of the prints were a tad large.

 I also posted these blocks this week.  This applique didn't use much fabric up, so I have a plan for the remaining Australian fabric - to make my next Aussie Hero quilt a whole lot more patriotic.

Last but not least this is one of the last cot panels I brought in January at Hettie's Patch sale.  I have quilted it simply, just follow outlines, and didn't over quilt.  A lovely boys quilt, all ready to be gifted to an expectant friend.

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

All caught up for July

I plodded along on Sunday and managed to get the last two BOM blocks for the Sugar Block Club done.

Can you see the hopping kangaroos?

Sorry I tried to rotate this picture after I had uploaded it, and it didn't work.  My wheel is spinning the wrong way but I don't care!  I am loving the stripes in the corner with the dotty centre.  This colour combo is very "out there" for me, but I really really like it now its finished!

I have made a bit more progress on my Bittersweet Briar wall hanging.  More work is required and I am still not sure about the colours I have used for the large flowers.  This is a terrible photo colour wise because I took it inside at night, but I think I will applique on the many yellow berries and then make a final decision on the flowers.  

Happy quilting, Sue SA.