Aussie Hero .....wall hanging!

Normally I make quilts for Aussie Hero Quilts.  And this is the same size as the quilts, but it is technically a wall hanging, made to be displayed in a common area for everyone to read the messages of support and enjoy.

People were asked to write a message of support and sign a block at Quilt Convention in April.  I volunteered to make the top up, after another volunteer Lyn (who has made an astounding 250 quilts for this group) made the signed squares up into blocks. 

 Of course there needed to be some extra blocks added to make it big enough so I dug deep into my sewing cupboard and found my orphan box.  The paper pieced kangaroo and birds are Margaret Rolfe patterns from her various books.  I was crazy about paper piecings many years ago but these ones had never made it into a quilt. 

 The animals and birds were all different sizes so I sashed them (but made them offset) with the same fabric (kangaroo paw print) to make them the same size as the signature blocks.

 Then to fill the gaps I found some more Aussie themed fabric in my AHQ box and just had plain squares, some flags but mainly this Holden fabric - thought the guys might like some blokey stuff!  Then I found this great platypus fabric on sale at Spotlight, perfect for the border!  It was so well priced I went back and brought more for the backing of my next AHQ quilt.

Its hard to know what other people who are not quilters might like.  But I think I well and truly covered the Aussie theme and hopefully that with the messages is a moral booster to those hard working men and women serving overseas.

Happy quilting Sue.

Stash enhancing trip

I had a lovely day at the Melbourne Quilt show on Friday.  I had my Log Cabin quilt hanging (no prize!) and so I had to do my share of white glove duty.  That required a 5am start to get the early bus/train to Melbourne, but met some lovely ladies on the way to chat with!  

I enhanced my reproduction stash with some more greens (for a specific project) and reds (just because) and a bargain priced brown, which will be used for a table runner backing/binding that I have planned.  The other colours were also at bargain prices, so "just because"!

I have long looked for zipper ornaments and finally found some.  As is the way, I got the Matoska dolls first, which were not cheap, but I brought them in red and blue....somewhere during the day (of endlessly diving in and out of my bag) the tiny container the blue ones were in fell out of my bag and disappeared :(  However I had brought a packet of the cute silver ones in scissors, sewing machines and trees, so I am well stocked now!  

The last tub of ground walnut shells has long been used up, so I was pleased to spot another one, for when I want to make another pincushion.  These good needles are another necessary tool I treated myself to.

Finally I brought some new scissors, as mine have not been the same since the fell (opened out) on the tiled floor in Adelaide.  Plus I splurged on a tumbler die for my Go Cutter.  I wanted a die with  more then one tumbler on it, but in the end went for the single as it was larger.  I am planning on tumbling my remaining stash of novelty prints and making them into charity quilts for kids.  

I had a great day out and then took the train to Geelong that night to meet DH and the kids at my in laws.  We had a lovely weekend there and I was able to gift the red scrappy bargello quilt to my husbands aunt, who was thrilled to receive it and loved the colours (phew)!  

Back to "work" today, hopefully I will have some sewing to show you next time!

Happy quilting, Sue.

PS I didn't take photos of the quilts in Melbourne, as lovely as they are, but rules are you can only take photos for personal use not publishing.

Red scrappy bargello, finished!

It is truly difficult to get a good quilt photo inside, but the size of this quilt and the wind were against me when I tried to take an outdoors shot.

The kids had to help hold the quilt up, while standing on a chair, it was all a bit precarious!

 Close up for the quilting pattern best seen on the red border, quilted by Vicki Jenkins.

Quirky but cute bird fabric found in the Spotlight bargain bin, perfect for backing, alas I had to piece a red strip in to make it big enough, but still looks good!

I am at the Melbourne quilt show today to see the quilts and spend a bit of money!

Happy quilting, Sue.

July is Red

The RSC colour for July is Red.  I finally got the solid red border on this quilt last weekend.   

 With some help from my friend Lisa I found a suitable back.  The back got made and the quilt got sent to my long arm quilter, Vicki.

Then I finally worked on some RSC blocks, these are my red Scrappy Sprouts (leaves).  I haven't made any of the other blocks yet, but I have unpicked the left over strips from the bargello.

Thereby ensuring I have even more scraps to work with!

Happy quilting Sue.

PS the bargello is back from Vicki, who has worked her quilty magic in an amazingly quick turn around.  Just stitching the binding on, will show you very soon.

Clean it up, throw it out, get organised!

 Its typical cold winters weather here, except we are not getting much rain.  I decided that the sewing nook needed a big tidy up and some stuff had to go!

I started by rearranging my wall hangings and mini quilts. 

Then I got stuck into the scraps I had accumulated but never sorted.  I threw things out...including a UFO....well, I just threw out all the tiny applique pieces I was never going to stitch down because I no longer like the pattern.  I rehoused the magazine pattern in the book case and I cut the background fabric up into 2.5" squares! I cut up all the scraps I could make into 2.5" squares or half square triangles for my Scrappy Sprouts project.

I discovered these pieced Dresden wedges left over from a quilt I made HERE back in 2013.  I still have a metre of purple fabric that matches these, but was never used....I am thinking I could make a nice pillow with these fabrics, so a new WIP is added to the list!

These lovely fussy cut tractors were also discovered.  I can feel another kids quilt coming up next!

I opened the mail to find this lovely thank you card from the new owner of the first Scrappy Bargello I made (HERE), a lady affected by the Dungog floods.  It is nice to know that the quilt it is loved and appreciated, but sad to hear that she is still waiting for major repairs to her unit, but I guess insurance claims and rebuilding takes time.

Happy quilting, Sue.

Reds, neutrals and WIP's

Not sure why photographing fabric is so tricky, but this is the true colour of the three cream neutrals I brought in a gorgeous shop in Nhill at a bargain price. I will be going back HERE to shop again!

 And this is the true colour of the red I brought in Bordertown. 

The neutrals are for my stash and the red is for the scrappy red and purple bargello quilt, which at least I have added a neutral border to, since taking this photo.  I had to exhaust all possibilities hunting for the perfect border fabric that didn't exist to work out that a solid was the best idea...well that and the wisdom of my quilting buddies who convinced me to go with a solid!

Finally a bit more action taking place on the dresdens.  More single units made, stitched into pairs, then fours....

Nearly got the plates all made up...then to decide on a background fabric....hmmm, more fabric shopping required?!
Red is the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge colour for July.  I haven't made a single red block for RSC and we are nearly halfway through the month.....but school holidays finish Monday ; )
Happy quilting Sue.

Let it snow!

We are just back from a fun family holiday in the Victorian snowfields.

The kids loved feeding the King Parrots each morning. 

The wildlife on the way up was interesting!

The artistic things you can do with old ski's were fun!

This was the first time the kids have seen snow and only the second time for DH!  

 There was penty of time for playing in the snow.

Plenty of fun on toboggans, for young and

 ....the not so young!  Lots of fun falling off, surprisingly no injuries or bruises.

Luckily the only fall I had on our half day of skiing was a showy stack getting off the chair lift! The rest of the family didn't care for skiing, but having a beginner lesson doesn't make for champions, including me!  

We were blessed with good weather, but happy to be home now, and patiently awaiting the five days of rain they have promised us...fingers crossed, otherwise I am going to have to water the garden...crazy thought given it's the middle of winter!

Happy quilting Sue.

Fishy cot quilt

I cheated a few weeks ago and started this new cot quilt.  I am intent on using up some of the wadding ends in my cupboard as well as the cot panels lurking in the stash - well thats my excuse for not working on UFO's!  I figured (another excuse) was this would be a good way to improve practise my FMQ as well as free up some storage space.

I tried to do yellow, green, yellow border, but it looked naff, so I removed one yellow and made the four patch cornerstones.  I then stitched in the ditch including those that didn't exist - cos its a panel!  Then I quilted some fish in the blue border.

 I don't think they turned out too bad, I stippled squiggly lines in between fish to look like water.  Not sure what the rest of the quilt will be quilted with, but leaning towards a water theme of some sort.

Happy quilting, Sue.

Cot quilt completed, finally!

Remember this pile of scraps, left over from the pretty Twister quilt?

Doesn't matter if you don't, as I have transformed them into this!

One baby cot quilt, finished!  I was happy with the quilting in the centre and white border, but I couldn't decide what to do on the pink border.  In the end I went with my favorite spirals, one day soon I will widen my horizons when it comes FMQ!

Finished with a cute aqua spot binding and label on, it is already to gift, 

happy quilting, Sue.