Our new house part 2

  Our new kitchen is very spacious, needless to say I have filled most of the cupboards. Except that this morning DH found one more box of kitchen stuff in his shed!!  The removalists accidentally let if in the wrong spot and he had only started unpacking his shed since Christmas.

 The day before Christmas I was busy in the kitchen.  I made gingerbread men and a gingerbread house, which the kids helped me decorate, which was lots of fun, I was just happy I got the darn thing to stand up!  ; )  Shay this photo is especially for YOU!

I have a lovely corner pantry, with loads of space.  The oven goes well and cooked the roast turkey and vegetables to perfection on Christmas day.  After lunch my Dad and brothers played cricket against my boys and DH, the kids were thrilled to win, so you can be sure they will ask for a repeat game next year!  

 This is the dining area off the kitchen and family room.  The view is lovely out this window and the kitchen window, those are camellia bushes outside and beyond those are some native shrubs that the birds love to dart around.

 These are the first batch of minced pies I made. which sadly will be fed to next doors chooks...I forgot to put sugar in the pastry...the sweet mix did not make up for it, they were awful!  Luckily I had time to make a second batch successfully

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with your families and everyone got home safely.  We are enjoying the post Christmas quiet period, while the kids play happily (mostly) with their new toys and I continue to potter around organising things (eg pack up tree, unpack recently discovered box and usual domestic stuff) and contemplate my sewing area.  Honestly I had plans for sewing from 26th Dec, but they haven't eventuated into action.  I am quite happy reading, making Lego, receiving visitors who are dropping in to see the new house and just relaxing.  When I find my sewing mojo I will let you know!  Happy quilting, Sue.  

Our new house

This was the sized truck we needed to move!  Lucky that we have a big front yard, they were impressed they could park off the street!  

I thought I did a good job of decluttering and re homing things we no longer needed. 

But given I am still unpacking and trying to find a home for everything, I clearly did not throw enough stuff out!

 We have spent one week in our new house and have enjoyed every minute of it.  Well perhaps not about 3 hours yesterday where I was madly running around trying to help DH move a very large book case, so we could put all the books away and  get the spare room ready before his parents arrived to stay.  Anyway this is the view from our family room of the fernery, not a good shot of the lovely plants inside as the jasmine hangs down to shade them from the morning sun.

 This is the other side of the fernery, the little bit of lawn out back and the clothes line.  You have never seen such an excited woman as me hanging out three huge loads of washing on day 2 of life in our new house....and there was plenty of spare room on the line!  I wanted to do another load just to see how much it would hold...but I was in danger of running out of pegs before that happened!  Believe me I did have more washing to do!

My in laws like to sleep in (fair enough my FIL is still working full time) so I can only show you a few rooms, as they are still in bed!  Obviously this is our bedroom, walk in robe and en suite.  I have never had a walk in robe before and was impressed with how much crap  stuff I could store in there!  Please note as per the pile of pictures in the corner we are yet to finish all the things on my moving in list!  If I just could find a hammer I would be hanging those pictures myself (loving plaster walls v brick ones we had in Adelaide), but poor DH's shed is only 5% unpacked.  I have hung things everywhere there was an existing hook, but also trying to hang my Christmas wall hangings up.

This is the lounge room, recently abandoned by our boys to eat breakfast -hence recliners still reclined and quilts in action...they are now back in there with full tummies, watching cartoons under their quilts, waiting for Pop to get up and play football!  

Can you see my lovely "new" oak cabinet, full of quilts!  I am very pleased with this Gumtree purchase, it was a bargain and I will be on the hunt for something similar.  Because....

...this is my sewing "room", the back half of the lounge room!  And as you can see still half unpacked.  The reason it is half unpacked is that 

a) we only installed the bookcase yesterday (it is so big DH has to secure it to the wall first) and there were books and magazines in some boxes 

b) the kitchen dresser I was using to display and store sewing items on is now in the kitchen (duh!) and

 c) well I have no storage!  

Yes, I let DH (formally primary breadwinner, now sole breadwinner) use the previous owners custom built sewing room....as his office!  Did I ever mention that DH works from home full time?  Yep, well the downside of that is that he needs his own room full time.  The upside is that  his boss doesn't care where he lives and hence we have moved back to my home town, the town where we met : ) and where all my family still live AND which is only 3 hours from his family v an 8 hour drive from Adelaide. 

 I have been sewing, but its all packed away now that my in laws are visiting.  But in order to do any more sewing (and find anything) I need to buy/acquire some storage system/furniture.  

So there you have it, a quarter view of my new house and all the reason I haven't been blogging!  

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Pack it, move it and quilt it!

This is what my sewing/guest room has looked like for the last month or so since we sold the house.

 Packing boxes became a daily habit.  And we moved into our new house on Friday, so now I have to unpack them ;( .  Once I have unpacked a bit more then the basics (beds, fridge and crockery) I will show you some shots of the new house....don't expect it to be decorated!  

Somewhere in those boxes will be this cute fat quarter I got as at our Christmas break up from my quilting group.  And the lovely batiks at the same break up from my Kris Kringle.  I can feel another red and white quilt coming on.  The batiks are ear marked for a different project...batiks are new to me, but I have a plan!

The lovely Elaine Kennedy finished long arm quilting my scrappy blue 9 patch quilt and I sewed on the binding before we left Adelaide.  She used a baptist fan pattern at my request, it is a favorite of mine and I felt it was fitting as I had used so many reproduction fabrics.

I caught my DH in our old garden long enough to get a shot, but we really needed a second pair of hands to hold this double bed size quilt.  

Happy quilting Sue.

  

Boys I Spy Quilt

Ta dah another finish using stash and scrap!  Sorry folks there has been a bit of deception going on here.  I quilted this big lap quilt in October, but only just put the binding on.  So please don't think I am superwoman, I am just craving some sewing and binding is as close as I am getting to my machine at present.

 I used all my previously cut up novelty scraps.  But as I had previously found them a bit busy if I randomly pieced them together, this time I sewed them into four patches, matching them by their background colours.

Then I used a great idea I found on Pinterest - this jigsaw quilting pattern.  It was easy to do - basically straight lines down the quilt with a bump outwards.  Then you quilt back up the other way and do a bump inwards!  And I didn't have to mark lines I just eyeballed in the middle of my blocks, too easy and super cute on a kids quilt!

So there you have it.  It has just struck me that I lack fabrics with purple and pink backgrounds, but given I have just made some cot quilts in those colours I guess I must have used up those scraps...well a girl can only hope!

Happy quilting, Sue.

Pink Minky Cot Quilt

 Another finished cot quilt.  I actually forgot to show you the finished photos of this quilt...I found it while packing boxes and that prompted my memory.

 Again I chose very basic machine quilting, trying to keep it simple and soft.  I used scraps of the body of the quilt, brought the minky for borders and the cute pink/purple dots for binding.  

I then pieced very scrap of flannel fabric I could find for the back.  Its a bit wonky, but they are fun prints and I think its more important that they are cuddly soft then perfect! 

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Purple Minky Cot Quilt

Finally some quilt photos!  

This cot sized quilt was another stash busting exercise.  I used up left over minky for the backing, my kids are now begging me for lovely, soft on the back of their next quilts : )  

On the front were all the purples I could muster from my stash.  But I have to confess to buying the purple minky for the borders and the binding - a cute purple and pink dot print.  

I machine stitched this very simply and suspect at a later date it might get the better of me and I will add some extra quilting in the center....but definitely after we move house!

 Happy quilting Sue SA.

I found it!

No. 1 excuse for not blogging - I moved my PC and misplaced the cord that connected my camera to my computer.  Please accept my sincere apologies, it will not happen again, I will guard it like my first (and last) born child....promise!

 Life has been busy, in the last month since I posted, we have brought a new house, had a big clean up and sold our existing house.  AND I have resigned from my job.  So I am now in count down mode... how many days of work are left and how many days to pack before we have to move house....did I mention the new house was interstate?

BORING!

Bring on the NEW shiny toy.....much more interesting!

 See what I bought at the Quilt show?  Well the truth is my friend rang me and said she was buying one, so while she was there would I like one too?!  I have only spent the last five years talking about one, so what the heck its only money!  And then I duly drove up to the showgrounds and picked her up out the front, cos this baby is heavy and she had TWO to carry!

 At 6 am this morning I could be found in my sewing room (now filled with packing boxes) doing the ironing.  Yes I made myself iron all the clothes first...then I played!  So your suppose to practise on scrap fabric.  Hmm guess who has already PACKED her scrap fabric!  Yep, my sewing machine hasn't been out for a month, so I figured I wouldn't been needing my scraps!

The other exciting thing to  happen this week is my long arm quilter finished two of my quilts.  So I am going to have to get my poor neglected machine out of the cupboard and sew binding on this weekend.  Ahhh, shucks guess that means I am going to HAVE to also sew up these lovely new shapes!

Happy quilting, Sue

Bittersweet Briar is hung!

I have been slowly finishing the binding on the Bittersweet Briar wall hanging from Kim Diehl's book Simple Graces.

This photo on the lawn washes out the colour, but made for a better background shot.

I tried to take photos that showed the free motion quilting I did.

Which is way easier then actually quilting black on black!

This quilt is now hanging up in our house and I get a kick out if every day.  I do however think that it needs more quilting in the centre flower.  That is on my to do list, but a bit distracted with other priorities on the home front right now.  So I am just going to enjoy looking at it in the meantime.

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Pretty in pink

I thought that I didn't have much pink or purple in my stash, but I managed to find enough scraps and fat quarters in the cupboard to make this pretty cot quilt. I intended it for one of the girls at work who was expecting her first child and as luck would have it, she had a daughter.

I love four patch, but this is the first time I have used them in this combo. I really like it and think I will use it again, it was quick, easy and worked well with scraps.  Not to mention that I think the overall effect is great!  I am very happy with my own FMQ rabbits on the border, so left the centre quilting very plain.    

Although it is now Spring and the days have warmed up considerably, I wanted to use flannel for the backing.  This was the only fabric I had to buy, so I had some fun and picked sweet monkeys! : )

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Quilting rabbits

I happened to eat lunch alone at work during the week, so I sat and doodled some ideas.  

  The ideas turned into rabbits. 

 Rabbits were quilted.  

I didn't  manage to link them up in a continuous line, but I was still VERY chuffed with myself and the end result!

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Ready to be pinned

Last weekend I snuck in half a morning of sewing and got the border on my Kim Diehl wall hanging Bittersweet Briar.  While machine applique is quick, but I don't know that I would call it fun.   Having said that I needed quick, so I am very please to have a finished top.

Now I just need to squeeze in some quilting time and it will nearly be ready to hang on the wall.  I am going to try my hand at FMQ this very heavily, fingers crossed it works!

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

A few finishes from the pile

This quilt was made by someone else for Heart Kids SA and I just had to quilt and bind it.

 Ditto with this one.  But I wish I had made it, The scrappy log cabins were gorgeous.  The photo doesn't do it justice.  I still have a log cabin on my to do list.  Please note the kids took these photos, but it was my dumb idea to stand with my back to the sun!

Finally finishing the binding on these two in front of the TV at night prompted me to finish some other tops so I had more binding to do!

This orphan block became a FMQ practise piece and is now going to find its way onto my wall of miniatures....when I get enough mini's and a bigger wall!  

I hand stitched the binding down  yesterday while having a relaxing stitch and chat session with Shay but it still needs a hanging sleeve. 

I love making kids cot quilts, they are quick, easy, no think, mojo boosters.  I have a huge pile of novelty fabric and every bit of this quilt came out of stash.  The border fabric is left over from my pieced Dresden and the backing is also left overs from another child's quilt.  

I love scraps, but using scraps makes me even happier  ; )

Happy quilting Sue SA.

Cot quilts catch up

I haven't been slack in my blogging so much as my camera went on a holiday...with DH to India!

Well he did go for work, but had one day off to visit the sights and  pretty impressive sights they were too!  DH brought me home a very beautiful red pashmina which more then made up for "stealing" my camera.  Besides he gave his digital camera to his Mum, when hers broke a few months ago, he is such a good son, hubby and father.  : )

Meanwhile back at the ranch I overcame my aversion to pinning long enough to pin a cot quilt.  I have since finished quilting it and just need to sew the binding down.   

I brought a new ironing board cover and some cute knobs for ....?  Well I guess they will come in handy one day!

 Remember the pair of Dresden sunflowers I made?  Well Mum made one into a cushion (sorry no picture) and I snaffled the other back to make it into a table centre.  Both have been donated to a silent auction to raise money for palliative care services.

I have been busy sewing up more scraps out of my stash.  I made this cot quilt and finally got the purchased minky borders on yesterday.  If you think opening a jelly roll creates a lot of fabric "dust", then don't go near minky!  I have purple fluff everywhere and only had to make three cuts!  Minky is a bit more of a pain to sew onto cotton then I had anticipated, but it was the best colour fit (lighter then in the photo) for the scrap purples.  And surprisingly there wasn't much in the way of purple fabric suitable for a cot quilt at Tricia's....and she has more fabric then you can poke a stick at!

Got to go cook DH a hot breakfast for Fathers Day!

Happy quilting, Sue SA.

Next Aussie Hero quilt

Last week I started a new quilt for Aussie Heroes.   I finally got the "right" split nine patch layout...using a two colour palette combo really helped to see the pattern, but more importantly was having the expertise of Pennie and Mary who have made this pattern before - and brought over a sample!

I took this quick shot so I would have a picture of the layout to use.  As you can see I don't have enough variety of Australiana fabrics.  Then there is the problem of getting the animals facing the right way up.  I have run out of fabric, so I  need to buy some more Australiana prints that are non directional...could be interesting!

My friend Lisa and I have decided on a new leaders and enders project - Scrappy Sprouts.  I hadn't kitted up the pieces until recently and with all the little kids quilts I have been making I had enough progress to show you what they look like.  I have a large collection of green  and blue scraps.  But trying to increase (cut) a range of other colours for a more interesting result.  

In the meantime I am having a big sort out in my sewing room. I need to declutter and that means sacrificing some scraps, patterns and other items that I don't want/don't use/don't need.  

Don't worry I will share/give away if I think it is still useful to someone else!

Happy quilting Sue SA.

Kids Quilts

Not quite sure what has driven this recent obsession with starting more kids and cot quilts, but I can assure you I am not pregnant/nesting! I have precut a large amount of squares out of my novelty stash.  When I want some "mindless" piecing I open the box and go for it.  

I love four patches, and even though the animals heads sometimes get cut off, 2.5" squares in the smaller prints looks effective.  I didn't have enough of the little squares to make a whole quilt, so I teamed them up with the 4.5" cut squares.  While I like this layout and it uses up some more stash, it is a very busy pattern.

So I thought I would make one in a split nine patch format with some colour to break up the pictures.  But I couldn't work out how to make "the pattern" AND keep the animals up the right way.  I am not sure that this layout is anymore soothing to the eye!

SO I found one novelty print (which I swear I did not buy - must be from Mum?) and teamed it with some left over pinks out of my stash.  There is not a lot of pink in my stash so I was pleased to have a "girl" quilt.

AND THEN I found my 2.5" strip and square box.  There were some orphan pink and white four patches in there.  That started a whole new sewing session of four patches.  Which then lead to this quilt top!  So while I now have four new WIP, I think will consider it a glass half full - because there is a whole lot less fabric sitting in my stash!  

Next step is to find them all borders and backings....from the stash!

Happy quilting, Sue SA.