My entry in Amy's Blogger Quilt Festival

 

This is a first for me, but I decided the timing was right to enter a quilt into Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival.

This is my entry, the quilt you have been watching over the last five months, a pattern by Two Kwik Quilters called Kwik Scrappy Star.

 It was beautifully quilted by Elaine Kennedy of Pine Grove Quilting Studio, with butterfly's and swirls, machine pieced by me and it all started in a workshop with tutor Heather Ford in June.  I put the last stitch in the binding and label today! 

I made this quilt for the daughter of one of my friends from High School.  We live in separate states, visit rarely, but have maintained a friendship over many years.  I suggested the pattern, as I had seen one made in red/blue by a friend that I loved.  She nominated her favorite colours and I had to pick the fabrics...daunting when you don't have a daughter and are trying to buy fabrics that you hope will stand the test of time...from primary school aged now to hopefully to at least teenage years.

 Pieced purple stars on a pieced pink background and pink stars on a purple background made me think this was a legitimate quilt for the two colour category...but some of the fabrics have white in them, so I guess my entry in that race might get scraped at the barrier - as they say in the racing game.

 This quilt was a joy to make.  It was nice to make something for someone else, plus tick off a pattern you have long wanted to try, attend workshop with one of your fav teachers (and I made a new quilty friend) and extend yourself in a colour palette you rarely explore.

Kwik Scrappy Stars in Purple and Pink

Quilt Measurements: 81" x 62"
Special Techniques used: Two Kwik Quilters freezer paper pattern
Quilted by: Elaine Kennedy of Pine Grove Quilting Studio
Categories: Two Colour Quilt, Bed Quilt, Professionally Quilted Quilt. 

 

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Ted and B1 see some outside action

It is a lovely sunny spring morning in Adelaide.  Ted and B1 voted for a turn in the garden...but   

 because B1 was only wearing PJ's he needed a nice completed dolls quilt to keep him warm.  Ted

 complains of the cold, but at his age (40 is old for a bear) a knee rug is to be expected.  Ted is awaiting surgery, as a small girl chewed off his lovely black nose many years ago...poor Ted, such a pity that the waiting lists for plastic surgery at public hospitals are so long!

 Ted and B1 sighted some lovely art in their ride around the garden.  They fancied a seat in their old friend the rocking chair, but DH decided it needed a new home and after 20 minutes on the verge, it was granted one!  Lots of memories of breast feeding woes and sleepless nights, (and howls after knocks to poor wee bub's head on those #*@! arms), gone forever..yippee!

Ted and B1 admired the lovely finished basket table runner amongst the budding green of the hibiscus bush.  Its amazing what you see if you venture into the garden early in the morning!
Happy quilting Sue SA.

Little projects take time

DH has made us two raised veggie garden beds.  I am very pleased with the results, so fingers crossed that my efforts result in some fresh veggies for eating in ... ?? weeks....I am not good at waiting!  But in the interim I am taking a ridiculous amount of pleasure in watching the tiny seeds burst out of the soil and watching the seedlings getting bigger.

There is a  Dolls Quilt is on my To Do list.  This is NOT the actual pattern I was originally planning to make, but whats not to like about nine patch on point?!  This is a free pattern from Kathleen Tracy on her website Country Lane Quilts HERE.

I had a ridiculous amount of trouble trying to find a border print....the fabrics are all out of my stash, and I generally only buy fat quarters of reproductions, so trying to find a suitable piece big enough was the problem. 

I went back to the shop and did some shopping (but forgot to take the dolls quilt) and got home and  started a NEW project.  Which resulted in some pressies for others.  That got me further distracted, but these two car bin's are for girlfriends who had birthdays LAST month, so I figured they needed to get done straight away.  Mind you they still haven't been delivered.  The white bit in the middle is interfacing to make them sit out AND so you can fold the top of a plastic bag over it...a small bag like you get the veggies in at the supermarket. This pattern is by A Ditchin Time Quilts blog and her Car Trash bag tutorial can be found HERE.

So after that diversion I decided to quilt the Basket Table Runner..which of course needed backing.  I found the backing in the draw of backings (duh) and ironically it was also the perfect border for the doll quilt.  So that got pinned and I started quilting. I now think it deserves a proper quilted border....if one of my stencils fits. 

I have started sewing the binding down (this post got started over a week ago), but might try and do some proper quilting in that border today...all day quilting is on TODAY, I am one excited quilter!

SO, got to go and pack for my day of stitching, happy quilting Sue SA.

PS I "lost" my blog last weekend.  When I found it (truly) and logged in it turned out that someone had hacked (?!) into a blog that I follow, so I stopped following that blog (Farmyard Crafts) and that seem to fix MY problems.  Don't know if anyone else has had that problem, bit of a worry that you would invade someones blog, but I guess it is a reality of our modern life.  I am hoping you can all still see me AND that Farmyard Craft manages to fix her problem...or that someone else who is more tech savvy then me, can help her?  I am off to update my password!

Dinosaurs Galore - finished

Well here it is, Dinosaurs Galore, all finished and ready to give away!

 This is a decent single bed size quilt.  I had the dinosaur fabric in my stash, but only had a metre so the pattern and size were dictated by this.  I thought cutting them up too small would just loose the effect of the different dinosaurs.  As it was I had lots of tails and heads without bodies!

Here is a close up of the all over Dinosaur footprint pattern, quilted by my local Long Arm Quilter and friend, Elaine Kennedy.

 I used the pattern for easy attic windows out of my Ursula Reikes book, but made the blocks larger.

Dylan tells me that his favorite colour is blue. Sew I hope there is enough blue and dinosaurs here to keep him happy and warm! Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Basket Table runner

I had high hopes of a needle turn applique project this year.  I have wanted to make a basket pattern for a long time.  In fact I was steering clear of pieced basket patterns, they looked too hard!  So once I got hooked on what is now going to be a big pieced basket quilt, I thought I really must tackle the appliqued basket block that I found HERE by the lovely Christine from Once Upon a Quilt who kindly sent me her pattern (you might need to check that she is still prepared to send her original design). 

I use to needle turn applique, not sure what happened over the intervening years, but my skills were lost, try as I might I could not get it to work.  I gave up, this was only going to be a table runner and made from my stash, so I let visions of needle turn go, got out the visafix and switched the machine on.

 I haven't used the buttonhole stitch on my machine as much as I had anticipated.  However it is very handy to have.  This is the "double" or thick version, which I used.  Not sure I love it, but I am hoping it means less fraying after a few washes.  However as you can see I missed one inside edge, it pays to be patient...I was in a hurry, not sure why!

 

The layout is my design.  I wanted a rectangle table runner that wasn't too long or too wide.  I have a long standing hatred of table runners with pointy ends...mainly because of the binding.  But I didn't think WHY the designers go with pointy ends...now I know!  OK so it looks a little weird, but we are going to call that "part of the learning process"and 13 years along my patchwork journey I am still learning!

So while all the applique and piecing happened last weekend, this morning I have completed the quilting.  Just simple straight quilting, using the edge of my foot, going either side of the seams.  I didn't want to over quilt it, another one of my pet hates - over quilted table runners.  So now some binding and I am done.  Hmmm I know I should label, but that's what the blog is for...keeping a record of the little things I make!
Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Summer Basket Quilt - block progress

These are the basket blocks that I worked on last weekend.  I am as yet undecided on the basket handles.  They are a bit thinner then the pattern ones (which I like) but I machine stitched them on...with a straight stitch down both sides...not your standard applique method!  I ended up doing it that way as I was completely frustrated with my prior attempts.  I made just the two handles (cut on bias) and then went back to completing the basket bases, so I didn't get really wild and give up.  Some straight forward piecing soothed me, but I think I am going to ponder these a  bit longer before I tackle the next step. 



Before I could get back to the baskets I got a little distracted. Firstly it started with a small purchase, because although I don't NEED this fabric (with the writing on it), at $10 p/m it was a bargain and I WANTED it......then I WON three cute blue fat quarters - which were donated from the shop Heart and Soul Patchwork.    Let it be said that since I have been attending my local Guilds meetings I have become very lucky!  Isn't it ironic that my purchase matches my freebies?

After all that free/cheap fabric I wasn't looking for more...promise!  Then I ventured out to brave the big chain store that carry patchwork fabric (whom I normally avoid), because I wanted to buy some newspaper print fabric and some foam board to make a design board...but no I got very distracted and brought this loot instead!

I think I might just have to give in and admit that I am a country/reproduction kind of girl.  I love looking and other peoples modern fresh white and crisp colours but when I go to buy that colour palette...well I am not sure what happens but my husband and the credit card breath a sigh of relief!

Happy quilting Sue SA.

A Wood Post

I love wood, but I am happy to admire and appreciate...I would mostly likely cause some bodily harm to myself if I worked with it.  I admire people who can build things in wood - surely it is much hard to "fudge" then fabric, which has some give?!!  I deliver the appropriate sounds of appreciation, when I see something beautiful - because as a creative person, I admire others who create in different mediums. 

My darling Dad is a modest man and quietly goes about making me beautiful things, all in wood.  This is a fairly new hobby to him, but his father took up wood turning in his retirement, so even as children we would troop off to the workshop to see what Grandpa had made.  Now we take our children into Papa's shed to see what he is making...its a bit like Santa's cave though because he
also makes toys!

My most recent gift from my father as this quilt hanger/towel rail for the sewing room/guest bedroom, which I absolutely love.  It was a requested piece, but I was expecting it for Christmas, so it is early!  Hmmm, yep not turned.  Dad didn't have a pattern to work off, so he worked out how high it needed to be (so the guest's towels don't drag on then floor) and that measurement was too long for his equipment.  He used Black wood, but from two different trees, so you can see the lighter wood in the horizontal rails compared to the sides.  I know nothing about wood, so found that interesting - same variety, but different tree = variation in colour, bit like different dye lots with fabric I guess!

We don't have many painted walls in our house, so apologies for the wood backdrop.  Here is my quilt hanger - with a quilt on board!

In September my Uncle (Dad's brother) came for a visit and he brought me this handmade rolling pin, which you can see we put into good use during the school holidays making gingerbread men. 

I love the fancy pattern...it is inlaid in the wood - not painted on, clever huh!  So you can see that I been a very luck girl of late, with two beautiful presents...months before Christmas!
Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Ohio Star Papillon lap quilt

This was the completed Ohio Star quilt, binding all ready for stitching down.  I really wanted a pink for the binding but the dusky shade of pink was too hard to match, so we settled for the brown/grey print purchased at Hettie's Patch. 

I started sewing and hated it...I had purpose purchased this fabric for this quilt... these are not my colours, its a gift for someone else...I still couldn't do it.  I reverse sewed.

Later in the same day, in between loads of washing, cooking and avoiding cleaning ...I found the left overs of the border fabric in my stash....amazingly stupidly I had forgotten that I had purchased enough fabric for the binding too...and put it away .....does anyone else do this?! 

So now its machine stitched on, hand stitched down, label attached and ready to be gifted.    

Happy Quilting, Sue SA.

PS just realised now that DH has his own camera I can turn the date stamp off...cos this camera is MINE!