Rainbow Scrappy challenge 2017

Digging around in the various tubs scattered around the house I came across all these completed 9 patch blocks.

The 2.5" squares and half square triangles were made to use for the Scrappy Sprout quilt in 2015 out of my scraps and unloved stash.   But with sufficient leaves made I started making them into 9 patches and star blocks. Then they fell by the wayside after RSC ended for that year.

Fast forward to 2017 I need a new leaders and enders project!

Plus I have been busting to return to the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge, win, win!

January is Purple and here is what I have made for the month.

I started making four patches, as the supply of scrap purple dwindled.  Ditto only got one star made as there was only sufficient half square triangles for one. 

And I couldnt resist some other new blocks - but out of my reproduction stash, instead of scrap!

One 4" basket block (handle to be made) and a 7" Dresden - but might swap that neutral for a different purple yet.

Happy quilting Sue.

Red and White Dresden quilt - finished!

This quilt kickstarted in June 2015 at a camp in Bordertown with my Adelaide stitching friends.  Ingredients were a store homemade red "jelly roll" and a Moda Primitive Gatherings jelly roll for the neutrals.

This pattern came from a class I did with quilt teacher and friend Heather Ford (Adelaide).  You make lots and lots of pieced blades and then make the Dresdens. 

Then you dither for months about buying a fabric to use as the center circles.

Then spend an hour in Quilters Harvest (Warracknabeal) pulling out every bolt to find the perfect background fabric - thank you Dell!

And then slowly hand stitch them down to the background fabric.
Allow to mature in the cupboard, until taking top to Periwinkle Patchwork (Warrnambool), to find the perfect red for the border/binding - thank you Ann!  Mind you it matured a bit more before I got the border sewn on.

Then bundle off to Vicki Jenkin, long arm quilter extraordinaire, and allow her to work some quilting magic.  I wanted some thing fancy but edge to edge, so Vicki recommended these feathers.  I have never had feathers before and love them :)

Yeah my first finish for 2017!  

Happy quilting Sue.

My UFO list 2017

One more UFO ready for busting! My Red and White Dresden is already in the queue at the LAQ.

 Not really a UFO, given I made the Barcelona single bed sized top in 2016.  Still it is basted and ready for quilting, so needs to happen soon...so it doesn't become a UFO!

My Circa 2016 is a bit more advanced then this photo, but still is a long way off being finished. So its on the to do list for this year.

Again this sweet quilt is not that old, but its just needs quilting.   I had been thinking about making it bigger (and into a lap quilt) but now I just want to finish it as is and enjoy it on my wall!

Some of my "use up the scrap strips" projects are close to being finished, this scrap string lone star just needs borders to make it child size.  

The log cabin in red and green I made last year, is  ready to quilt, once I find a backing.

 I am exhausted thinking about all this potential quilting.  

Oh, goody I have found the photos of the projects that still need piecing!

 

I had to go back to June 2015 to find a photo of the Midwinter Pinwheel Churn Dash quilt.  I made all the blocks and haven't touched it since!  So just need sashing fabric, and it get worked on NOW!

Finally the Woolly basket wall hanging, also needs sashing and potentially a border.

Perhaps I might do a recap in six months time....to keep myself focused.

Happy quilting Sue.

January purchases

SEW I do not make a habit of attending the Boxing Day sales.  

However I have had two BIG spending sprees this month!  

The first when Lisa and I went to Gails Patchwork Emporium, Ballarat.  Neither of us had plans for resisting temptation and both of us had a list of things we needed to buy!

I need sashing for these churn dash blocks I made out of a Midwinter Red layer cake (pattern by Missouri Quilt Co).  I loved the floral, but the spot worked better as sashing.  

So I brought the floral as well to use as corner stones.

I need to make a cot quilt.  These cute sheep were perfect and the mint will be sashing.

Lisa gifted me this bag pattern for my birthday.  She spotted the fruit print on linen, and I remembered to bring the bag pattern = perfect!  The stripe was purchased on sale at Spotlight later as lining.  But I still needed to find an accent fabric for pockets...perhaps a solid?

A week later and I went to Warrnambool to see the Southern Right Quilt Show and visited Periwinkle Patchwork, where I found a much nicer fabric for lining and front pocket  (Cotton and Steel aqua)  and a lovely polka dot for the handles and binding.  Ann has the best selection of dot fabrics!

 I also brought this bright yellow repro, brown strip and shirting on the left from Periwinkle.  The brown print on the right was a gift from Lisa out of her stash.  The green is from Joy's.

At the quilt show I picked up 50 cm each of these lovely repro's from Joy's stand (the Portland quilt shop).

Oh la, la!  Some lovely bright reproductions (fat quarters) from Elm Grove's  stand (Nullawarre 25 minutes from Warrnambool) selection at the show. This year I can see me making a big pieced reproduction quilt.....hmmm January is not even over and I am already making plans to break my resolution to finish up some UFO's first!

Happy quilting Sue.

Working on Circa 2016 in 2017!

So my excuse is that I was busy!  Honestly from September to December my work and personal life was flat chat.  So I stopped working on my Circa 2016 quilt.

I had made the hour glass blocks, but they were too big.  Easy peasy, took a larger seam allowance, problem fixed!  Yet the points still look good.  These might become my favorite block!

I tried to replicate the placement of the blocks as per the finished quilt on Temecula's blog.  

However colour and tone were sometimes an issue.  As much as possible I tried to let "it just happen" in a haphazard and scrappy way.

I got one side border completed and was feeling very pleased with myself. 

I failed to notice the side border was short by two blocks!  Some quick unpicking and that was fixed.

I realise the fat borders are too big, but the setting triangles were too big, so pattern requires you to to trim - fine for fat borders, nightmare stuff for loooong borders!

Happy quilting Sue.

A Flimsy from Jo Morton's Little Favorites

Jo Morton's newest book was on my Christmas wish list and Santa delivered!  

This lovely little quilt, titled Sadie's quilt is 22.5 x 26" in the book.

I made a  smaller version (still 3" blocks) is 13.5 x 13.5" so it will fit on my wall of mini quilts.

I was surprised at the number of black fabrics I had in my stash to choose from.  Not to mention orange or cheddar fabrics.  Still it was hard to decide on which ones to use.  I ended up tea dying one of the black prints as it had a very stark white print that stood out.

Now I just have to pin and quilt it....the heat of summer is not conducive to quilting, but its only small, so wondering if this will be my first finish of year?

Happy quilting Sue.

Quilty gifts galore

I love little quilts, yet I do not own one of Jo Morton's patterns.  So when I saw that she had published a new book of mini quilts in 2016 I put it on my Christmas list and Santa delivered!  

One thing not on my list was a delightful Frivols tin, which good friend Vicki delivered.  These colours and pattern are right up my alley, so knows my taste too well!  Lisa was also lucky enough to receive one, in a totally different pattern, so we are hoping to sew them up together. 

Lisa gifted me this lovely pattern, which we will definitely make together.  Bags are always more fun made with company.  And this bag is full of great pockets, which means it takes longer, so always best to plan to do with good company, so hoping Vicki is also going to join in! 

 The antique sewing kit was from Vicki and I am looking forward to using them.  Not much sewing happened leading up to Christmas, but sneaking a bit in now we are home from visiting family!

DH always gives me a quilt calendar for Christmas, and this year I was excited to get the  That Patchwork Place version.  I love the front cover quilt, it needs to go on my 2017 wish list of quilts to make! 

Happy quilting Sue.

Summer flowers in summer weather

It was 39 degrees C here on Christmas Day.  The Lemon Scented gum tree let go of another branch - as they are prone to do on hot dry days.  This is the third branch for the summer, but the other two fell after high winds.  DH cleaned it up - luckily it fell seconds before he was standing under it.  

 The chook shed is next door, so you walk under this tree to attend to the chooks.  Luckily the limb dropped on the apricot tree, which did not suffer any obvious damage.  

My hydrangeas are just starting to colour up and bloom.  The bush is so large and looks amazing outside in the shade house.  They were rather wilted by the end of Christmas day, but a good water revives them. 

 My potted lily was out just in time for Christmas Day, such beautiful timing.

I didn't take any chances and spent a few mornings potting up some instant colour in hanging baskets and pots.  Just so the garden looked nice for Christmas Day - and so I could claim to have done some gardening of late!

Really what happens is, I plant things then forget about them.  So when they bloom I am taken by surprise, because I either forgot I planted it in that spot, or that it was suppose to bloom at that time.  I definitely remember buying Allium bulbs...but that was last year!  They either didnt bloom last summer, or I just missed them because we were away visiting family.  

 This gorgeous Day Lily, is not one I planted, but one of the many bulbs the previous owners planted and I enjoy as regular surprises, as they pop up year to year, and I forget which beds they live in.

 I did plant this hollyhock.  It is enormous and I was so disappointed to get pale lemon flowers, as I was hoping for hot pink!  Still it keeps on growing and flowering, despite complete neglect and that is a strong criteria for being picked to come and live in my garden!

Which is why I purchased this flower at the Makers Market held in December.  It is my second rusty flower from the same artist and I was very disappointed to break off one of the petals - totally my own fault as I jammed it in the boot and getting it out was a struggle.  Still it is filling a gap in my garden nicely, after I pulled the dead sweet peas out.  

 The spring annuals I had planted have fallen over in the wind or not survived the heat. I am plotting and planning for a big garden make over in 2017, which will include a bit more shelter from the wind for my more delicate favour flowers.  It wont be an instant result backyard blitz, but after two years of talking about it, it will be nice to just get started!

Happy quilting, 

Sue.

The year that was - 2016.

In 2016 I made one wall hanging, 

and 2 cot quilts.

I have no idea why I have started a blue and orange theme - this was not intentional!

Then there were three table runners completed; 

a citrus coloured one, a Pineapple themed one, 

and there is not photo of the 3rd, oops!

I finished one single bed quilt - for Aussie Hero quilts.

I finished 3 large quilts of which 2 were old UFOs - Farmhouse Basket quilt and

- Scrappy Sprouts.  Which was also my leaders/enders and Rainbow Scrap challenge project.

 I ignored the rest of my UFOs to start and finish Autumn Star quilt in the same year!  My excuse is that it was a stash buster and cleaned out a large portion of my autumn toned quilts.

 Finally towards the end of the year I made two mini quilts (what only two?!),

sadly there is no photo of the second one :( 

Two dolls quilts (plus a mattress/pillow)

and two teddy bear sleeping bags were made and posted off, 

but again, I am missing a photo of the second sleeping bag. I am going to try and obtain pictures of the missing items - but 2 of the 3 items have been gifted, so no guarantees.

In 2016 I started a new job, had  IT problems (they seemed endless but been fixed now) and DH continued to travel regularly for work (despite advise his travel was to be reduced) and I started travelling for work!

So while I initially thought my overall output was down compared to 2015,  I am now just happy I got to finish anything!

Happy quilting, Sue.