Stitching frenzy in Bordertown

No serious quilting retreat is complete without some shopping. 

This store has been in operation for a long long time and the ups and downs of a retail sector are repeated in the wooden floors - which are best described as like walking on a sailing ship! 

The interesting array of fabric keep us busy however and we all got our wallets out. 

Mum was on a mission to make five cot quilt tops, she started with cute dinosaurs and dots.

 The next one quilt top featured fish.  The third (sorry no picture) had the cutest car print.  I think three tops is a good effort, especially as she also started a fourth top, using the big twister ruler. 

Mum is in the black in the next picture, she hid behind her quilts!  Apologies as you can see I take better quilt photos then I do of people!

 There is no hiding behind this quilt, it is so big!  Lisa (right) wanted to get her Scrappy Trips around the World top together and she did!  She had to do some reverse sewing to make the colour coordinated lines in the right place, but it was so worth it in the end. 

 Lisa tackled this large star top next, spending time making sure she didn't double up on fabric placement and it all paid off in the end.  Lisa also found time to start a new project using her triangle ruler, all acceptable when you have ticked off TWO large UFOs!

Vicki started off with nine meters of reproduction fabric, pre cut into tumblers - which she cut in 1 HOUR, using the Go Cutter, which she hired HERE.  I was oh and ahhing over her fabrics when she brought them in.  Vicki is a professional long arm quilter so having a weekend away to PIECE rather then quilt was a real treat. 

She didn't stop at one new project though, she also got out her new curved ruler (also from Periwinkle Patchwork) and started making these Double Wedding ring blocks - which started life as a jelly roll. 

 I spent a lot of time fiddling with the placement of these "modern" blocks, made in a class with Lyn Uphill in April. The pattern/instructions was for a different placement, however this is what I ended up with, hence I have quite a few left over blocks.  I think I will buy some additional background and make another "top" so I can include the left over blocks and make the quilt double sided.  That might be next years project, cos I am still distracted with this project....I got two long sides of my pieced border completed for the big twister quilt.  But I have to find some additional light squares of Indigo Crossing to finish the other two sides.  The third side is 3/4's done, but the fourth side hasn't been touched.  This all took way longer then I had anticipated. 

 I played with my new fabrics, gifted to me by my mother, thanks Mum!  These yummy yellows are begging to be included in the Seven Sisters Quilt. I also got some double pinks, so there is a real dilemma as to when I stop/how big this quilt will be. I did cut some of the teal fabric, ready for stitching at home this week.  Mum had also managed to buy me one shirting (all from HERE) and it was the perfect colour for the background of my teal stars...which solved a big problem!  Thanks Mum!

 

Finally I started a new project as well!  These are the fabrics that Lisa gave me in December and she was the one who introduced me to Zig Zag quilts.  The laying out of the blocks takes a bit of getting your head around, but they were super quick to make.  I made a bunch more, but resisted sewing them together, until I was at home and had more space to lay all the blocks out.

I had a fun weekend, sewing, eating and catching up with friends.  We machine sewed until late (something I don't do at home) and all achieved lots, but this week I will only be looking to fit in some quiet hand stitching in front of the telly.    This week I start teaching 20+ six year olds to make a quilt.  This is going to be an interesting experiment, which is how I am approaching it...suck it and see!

Happy quilting, Sue SA. 

I'm off to Funkytown....

My bags are packed (well nearly), the sewing room and kitchen sink are ready to be squeezed into the back of my car and then I am off to "funky town" aka Bordertown...HERE.  I am joining my mother and two friends from Victoria  for a quilters weekend, starting tonight and I cannot wait!

My red sister is finished and packed.

As is the Blue and White Nine Patch top...still without its corner triangles....sorry but I wont be shopping for fabric on the Internet to find more of the background print, because we had MORE dodgy activity on the credit card, so it got CUT UP and put in the bin. :(

So lets hope there is enough cash in my stash to buy a fat quarter on my travels! 

Have a great quilting weekend folks and hopefully I will have some progress photos to share next week, that's all folks!  Sue SA.

Sisters in Teal

After buying myself a new USA quilting magazine, a new cutting mat (Heather made me do it!), two teal fat quarters and this delicious hot pink for the centres and first border of my Dresden Plate quilt I figured that I had brought myself enough pressies before Mothers Day and needed to stop! 

Then during the week TWO sweet parcels arrived in the mail on the SAME day.  

  Sue from Quilted Hugs  (thank you, thank you, thank you!) sent me this pressie- a lovely purse the right size for holding all those extra cards that don't fit in your wallet eg in my case three library cards (our library issues the kids their own), discount cards at the coffee shop/s I frequent and discount cards for the hardware store, chemist and fabric shops!  Turns out we live quite close to each other in Adelaide, we are both called Sue and are quilters...hmmm the other connection, she sent me a teal purse, after I had just brought teal fabric AND then.....

My mother sent me the cutest card and pressie of a "muffin pack" (I swear that is what it is called, please no cruel references to muffin top pants!) in TEAL! 

So it turns out that we all have ESP or it was a teal kinda week!

On the sewing front I finished the purple sister about ten days ago and just in the process of sewing the fire engine red sister together this week.  So I had told my mother that I was contemplating another sister in teal.  This is what the six completed sisters look like together so far.... 

There is a chocolate brown sister also partially completed, which for the life of me I cannot see fitting in...but perhaps if I made a light brown sister that would remedy the issue? 

HELP I think I have an addiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANY suggestions on layout, extra colours or links to images of other sister designs would be gratefully accepted. :)

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Urrbrae House and a New Sister

I am running a week behind in my blogging, this is some of what we did last weekend and I meant to share Sunday.  I love visiting historical homes and now the kids are a bit older (ie less likely to break anything) I thought it was time to take advantage of the Open House program running, where heritage properties were open to the public. 

This is Urrbrae House, (Cross Road, in the suburb of Urrbrae) and the house was built by Peter Waite and then later donated to the University of Adelaide.  This is the front foyer looking up the stairs to the Minstrels Gallery.

The timber work was beautiful but the ceilings were extra special as well.
 
 I guess the reason I like anything "old" is that there is so much intricate detail.  This is Peter Waites monogram carved into the sideboard.  Looks like a Dresden Plate or EPP Clam shells to me! 

 Off all the rooms the Library was my favorite for its wood panelling, book lined shelves and these original chairs...which look like the perfect hand sewing chair to me!

 The house was decorated by Aldam Heaton who was a contemporary of William Morris...so the interior must have been very beautiful in its day.

 The current staff could be very proud of the gardens, they were lovely, I am especially fond of arbours.  I am not a rose person, but I was tempted by some on display, purely because of the gorgeous shade of magenta purple.  I am hoping this is the right label, as we are off to the nursery today!

 I would love to have a pond in my garden (with fish), or some sort of water feature I especially loved this one surrounded by the flagstone edges and the soft woolly leafed plant called Lambs Ears.

This is one side of our recent mini garden make over.  Nothing on the grand scale of Urrbrae House, and the sand pit isn't exactly where I would like it, but it is still in use, so remaining for now. 

 My husband built this fence, which was previously erected elsewhere and "fenced in" nothing.  It now stops the kids getting to the front garden.  Work has started on the front garden, but alas no planting yet, just lots of digging and safely moving plants so a wall can be repaired.  My intentions were good when I loving moved these bulbs and the Camellia.  I thought they were the bulbs for the gorgeous dainty Maltese Cross plant and was very excited.  But no a gardening wise friend popped over and announced (cos they lack leaves) that they were Agapanthus!  Insert eye rolling, tongue poking and hair pulling.  I spent a lot of time potting up the bulbs I couldn't fit in the garden thinking I was in for some pretty flowers in spring, but no boring, common old Aggie's.  Blah!  I now have some of the Mums from School coming around to take the excess of my hands.  I want dainty girly flowers in my new garden!  Looks like I will have to wait until next autumn to plant some real bulbs.

 You have been very patient and thus will be rewarded with two quilty pics.  I have finished making the Madder Red Sister and pieced all the red stars, now just have to make their shirting diamonds and join them up.  This is the progress on the blue and white reproduction nine patch quilt (now to be called the BAWRNP!), which was going great guns, until I realised that I had just enough fabric left to cut the setting triangles along the sides, but NOT for the four corners.  So I just need a fat quarter of this Primitive Gatherings cream print (with the cute leaf wreath on it), cos I had previously brought the rest of the bolt of at Hettie's Patch...but if anyone has a scrap to spare?  I already checked out two quilt shops here in Adelaide and off to another two this morning to see if they have any in stock, fingers crossed! ;)

Happy quilting, Sue SA.