Carolina chain finished

Carolina Chain quilt finished!  Pattern by Bonnie Hunter in her book Addicted to Scraps.  Made initially as leaders and enders blocks, then pieced specifically to try and get the top to a decent size.  

Quilted by me, using straight lines through the block centres and stitch in the ditch.  This is the second version of this pattern I have made and includes all the murky and country toned prints and cream to tan background prints - the first version had white clear based backgrounds and bright fabrics.  Another version is underway!  I find that working full time doesn't leave me with enough metal energy to sew anything difficult and this pattern just fills the need to mindlessly sew - not had to unpick once, its that easy!

Happy quilting Sue.

Frolic finished

 I participated in Bonnie Hunters mystery quilt along in 2019 and finished the top months ago.  I sent it to the long arm quilter and good friend but told her I was not in a hurry.  I didn't want to quilt it myself because it is a bit big and the seam intersections are plain lumpy!  I dont recall making a quilt with such lumps before.  But it is a very heavily pieced quilt. I enjoyed making this quilt and using these colours, even though they are not my usual palette.  I mixed in reproductions with moderns and everything in between.

I picked a really nice mottled ink blue for the backing and a lime/grass green thread for quilting. 

I wanted a all over pattern and this gives a lovely movement to the quilt.  I guess it is really a version of baptist fan, which is a bit of a favourite :)  I used the left over backing to bind the quilt and now its in the pile for gifting!

Happy quilting Sue.

Carolina chain on the dark side with a mini chevron.

I have used all the light and bright coloured blocks from the leaders enders Caroline chain box.  Sew now was the time to tackle the dark blocks - I say dark, but I mean those blocks made with neutral fabrics that ranged from cream to coffee toned to beige.  

I tried to add a bit of sparkle by using red blocks, but the bulk of the blocks were made with blue and green fabrics and a sprinkle of brown.    

I am very happy with this finish, but I did decide to make it bigger than the previous version, so it would be teenager size for my prefered charity.  That meant making extra blocks but it was worth it. For the side triangles I used a very old fern print fabric I picked up on special years ago, which has been a great backing fabric.  I love picking up blue fabrics on special for backing, as they are universally acceptable to everyone!

My friend Karen was the one who introduced me to blogging many years ago.  At the time I was living in a new city with small children.  It enabled me to feel connected and enjoy quilting at a time when sewing time was hard to come by.  Karen had a special birthday coming up, so I very quickly made this modern chevron mini quilt to pop in the post to her.  Honesty it is the quickest quilt I have ever made, out of necessity as I didnt know it was her birthday, but I really wanted to send her something handmade.  I popped a few other things in the parcel and by complete fluke and the good grace of Australia Post it arrived on her birthday, which was fantastic! I love orange and blue together so I was very happy with this scrappy chevron quilt, especially as the orange fabrics were all donated scraps from another quilty friend.

Happy quilting Sue.

Unity Quilt along rounds two to four and I am calling it a finish!

 This is the first two rounds of the Bonnie Hunter Unity quilt along.  I dont like medallion quilts because I am scared my piecing is not accurate enough.   However despite being consistantingly 1/4 of an inch too big I have managed to make this work, fudging rocks!

I was all gungho and thinking I was very clever then started round three!  OMG tiny (1x2") flying geese galore (all 144 of them) nearly did my head in, and I was super impressed at my new isolation ability to persist.  I just cut a bunch of pieces, then sewed them.  Had a break and cut the centres.  Went back and trimmed them.  Watched tv while this factory production line was in progress and jumped back and forth each stage until I had enough...so I thought!  I did end up having to go back and make one extra star at the end!

I was trying to use as much scrap fabric as possible, but I really lacked red, blue and neutrals....LOL I didn't think my colour scheme through at all!   I dug deep and found a fat quarter of red a friend had donated and then a couple of strips of blue with rainbows and butterflies that I didn't like but paired really well with the red.  I have lots more aqua then I ever imagined after buying some for Bonnies Frolic project last year.  Then luckily in my stash I found a big piece of white homespun. I wish now I had used this consistently through the top, but too late now.  

This last paragraph was written two weeks later, because I have fallen out of love with this quilt!  These 14 stars took me more that two weeks to make.  I put them together and then realised that I had planned to stop at this border because it would be the right size for a charity quilt.  Leaving the quilt with just two sides actually made it the correct prefered rectangular shape!  And I am over it!  So that was a win win all around.  So the pile of aqua scraps remain for another day.

Happy quilting Sue.

Carolina chain blocks and kangaroos

 I found these leaders and enders blocks (Carolina Chain by Bonnie Hunter from her book Addicted to Scraps) in a box while I was looking for more fabric.  I really need to do a big tidy up (and label) of my project boxes !  The blocks use 2" stripes and sensibly it seems I had stored all my 2" strips in this box, including pre cut pieces of the blocks...except no backgrounds!  I have been using a large piece of white homespun for Unity quilt along, so cut up some stripes and off I went. 

I seperated all the coffee and tan coloured background blocks from the white to cream coloured background blocks.  There was a good amount of bright blocks so I lay them out on my design floor and set about making more.  Bonnies patterns are always for a very large quilt but I was aiming for a child sized charity quilt instead which is more realistic as these blocks finish at 4.5" so you need lots and lots of blocks!

During the making of this top I managed to make this big thread mess when winding a bobbin and break a needle.  OMG I bent the needle (hit a pin) so bad my heart was in my mouth trying to get it out...I had to resort to using pliers....thankfully I had not done any damage to my machine!  I gave it a good oil and clean afterwards, I was so grateful!

Tada, another flimsy finish! These are fun blocks to make and I have kitted up more  so I can continue leading and ending while I am making my next project...which should be Bonnie Hunters Unity.

Early one morning on my walk I came across a mob of kangaroos that had been feeding in the paddock.  One snuck across behind me and the others waited in the paddock for me to go past before they headed back to the safety of the bush. 

Happy quilting Sue.

Quilted ladybird cot quilt and Frolic takes shape

The second ladybird lone star cot quilt has been ready for quilting for months.  Mum took pity on me and did the main stitch in the ditch then gave it back to me.  For some reason I went with heavy quilting, which looks great, but too way too long for a little quilt!  Oh well its all done now, just needs a trim and binding.

It took a few  before I got the rhythm of making the Frolic blocks.  Its great to have all the little fiddly units made, so I quickly got 12 blocks finished in a day and half - in between getting kids back to school and normal domestic duties.

Then I made the sashing and decided that I really needed to see it laid out on point.  

A friend called in and that gave me the motivation to crawl around on the floor to decide if I wanted the hassle of making the quilt on point.  We both quickly agreed, that on point rocked!  And I had already made one half block so the decision to progress was easy!

I kept motoring away until Frolic was completed!  Well I still have to add the borders.  I have the HST made, but not sure if I have enough (because this is only a half sized version of Bonnie's pattern), as I being lazy and not doing the maths.  

That's next weeks job!

Happy quilting Sue.

Frolic first block finished

The reveal of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt Frolic has occurred  and I was able to lay out the pieces I had finished.  However I had to quickly make a set of flying geese with pink and blue wings.  The last set of instructions includes cutting white squares and piecing the corners, but the blocks are set on point.

Then progress stalled as I wrote three job applications and packed to go on holidays.  I did pack my hand sewing but did not get it out of the bag once!

So I was keen to sew when we got home, hence one block got made up.  And now I have to suck it up and piece and trim parts before I cam make pretty blocks!  The heatwave weather is perfect for piecing, but we will see how far I get.

We had a lovely family holiday in Robe, a small beachside town in South Australia.  It was a lovely social relaxing time, but the weather was not what you would call hot...barely warm on the good days.

Hubby and I might look wind swept, here but let me assure you it was a heck of a lot windier at times!  Some of the tenting campers packed up and went home early - we have a pop up (the beds slide out under canvas) caravan and it did ratting a few nights, but it stayed up and kept us dry when it rained!

My two boys, two years apart and now about 2 cm height difference....fingers crossed Mr 13 has a growth spurt this year or Mr 11 is going to overtake him and squash his big brothers ego!

In order to make sure the boys could actually get in the water for more than 15 minutes, we purchased wetsuits so they could boogie board in comfort!  The two days it did rain were spent playing card games, reading, playing on the flying fox and jumping pillow and in the indoor pool in the caravan park - the kids had a ball!  I had a surfing lesson on one of the "bad" weather days and in a full wet suit it was surprisingly comfortable.  Trying to get up on the surfing board was not comfortable but it was good fun!  So now I can tick that experience off my bucket list, LOL!  

Back home and back to a heatwave, but rest assured in a very small caravan that qualifies as a glorified tent I was secretly pleased we had more bad weather than heat!

Happy quilting, Sue.

Log cabins and a bit of post Christmas sewing

I was gifted a skinny quarter pack by a good friend last year, and I don't know if its bad manners to gift it back to her, but I figured if I made her a table runner out of it first, she would like it more!

 I had to enlist help from another friend to decide on the layout of this table runner. I used a Jo Morton pattern, and did not think ahead about how much those centre squares would dominate.  I liked both settings, but Lisa said go the diagonal, which I did.

Then it was just the matter of quilting.....my least favourite job, but perfect occupation for a heatwave!

I also made two mug rugs for the same friends out of my scraps, one tradition and one modern. 

Once my Christmas visitors left I had some time to start sewing - and given that we had four days of 40c plus in a row, sewing was the only sensible thing to do!


It was not sensible to start the Bonnie Hunter mystery Frolic when they are already up to part 5, but what the hec, I did anyway!  I don't seem to get any sewing done in the mornings (between tackling Mount Washmore and watering the garden) but an afternoon of sewing enabled me to finish half of the required four patches...half LOL!  I didn't pre read the instructions and the four patches are tiny....but I did check my seam allowance as Bonnie instructed and perfected it before I started.
I am committed to this quilt now, but only a half sized version - my stash/scraps wont hold up to the full size in the set colours (and I love these colours) and I want to avoid having to buy any fabric...which is wistful thinking as I used all my aqua in last years Rainbow Scrap challenge!
Happy quilting Sue.

Carolina chain RSC blocks

October's colour is green, I think darker greens, but I am going with what I have cut in my 2" strip box.

When I lay out the blocks, the contrast in the colours really helps show the block pattern to its advantage, compared to the one below.  .   

Blue was Septembers colour but because this is a new block for me, and I am just using what was already cut, I am spending more time making blue blocks this month.  

Having said that I have had to cut more background fabrics and I am really close to running out!

These last two photos looks like a giant mess! Definitely need to photograph just four units made as one Carolina Chain block.

Anyway you get the point, I have gone made making these new blocks and having a ball using up my scraps.  

Happy quilting Sue.

Bonnie Hunter projects

I saw a Carolina Chain quilt on someones blog, using a Bonnie Hunter pattern of the same name, but not set on point and I fell in love!   I own  Addicted to Scraps  by Bonnie Hunter, AND I love four and nine patches, so this little five inch block was just calling my name.  AND I was over the two blocks I have been making for a couple of years as part of the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge.  So my solution...start a new block!  Sew having a lovely time making blue and green Carolina chain blocks and enjoying using 2" instead of depleted 2.5" scraps.  

I love making blocks to use up my scraps, but I had no idea what to do with the massive collection of four patch blocks now I have finished them.  I mean obviously I need to make a top, but I cannot get my head around a design I liked for the four patches.  Then I saw this pattern from Gayle at Mangofeet blog - LOL Its a Bonnie Hunter pattern called Jewel Box Stars! Cute four patches (of which I have oodles) and half square triangles.....which I hate making and don't have any pre cut scraps for.  So I just shelved it for time being...but its day to shine will come, just not today!  Which you can remind me in 2019 - that I need to start RSC year making some HST!  Perhaps if I put a reminder in my phone that might happen!

This photo below is also a Bonnie Hunter pattern from her book Adventures with Leaders and Enders, and is a braid.  I am not making a quilt, but thought I needed a utility table runner for under the pot plants and wanted to try this pattern.  Well that is my excuse for starting a new project and I am sticking to it!  Honestly I am easily distracted of late when it comes to sewing and I blame being busy!  Everytime I turn around there is a new problem that needs solving at work and at home, and I dont have the brain power and energy to cope with working on an existing project....because that requires brain power and I just want to mindlessly sew...so I start something new!  

Oh, Oh!  I am already regretting it, but thankfully that is what orphan blocks and charity groups are for if it all goes pear shaped at some stage!

Happy quilting Sue.

Scrappy Bargello in red and purple

 I  spent time sewing strips last week...then cutting strips...and resewing strips!

Scrappy Bargello in Red and Purple - free pattern by Bonnie Hunter.

Last Friday at my new Sit and Sew group I got two more panels finished.  Then was able to finish the last panel and sew them all together that night.  

I have found the right fabric for the first border in my stash, but the second border will require a trip to the shops.  I am not sure going to the shops is a good idea...I think I had better stick to working on some more UFO's!

Happy quilting Sue.

Little Red Baskets on show

I have brought a couple of Kim Diehls books and this pattern, Esther's Baskets (from her book Simple Appeal) called to me from the beginning...I love baskets and who doesn't love red and white quilts.  Plus there is still plenty of room on my wall for another mini.

I started piecing the baskets (I also love that they are not on point) at home and took the handles to patchwork group for hand sewing.  Then they sat in my sewing bag neglected (until I brought more red fabric), until last week when I thought I could work on them, because I had finished everything that I wanted to...for our exhibition.  

The baskets were spotted, and someone kindly asked..."are you going to finish those for the exhibition?"

....well it wasn't my intention, but its only 13" square so I did!  I did finesse the borders for something a bit more interesting than the pattern instructed.

Then last weekend I started something new....ignoring my self proclaimed drive to finish some UFO's!

This is  a Bonnie Hunter pattern called Scrappy Bargello.

Made out of  2.5" strips it currently measures 65 x 48". It is made using the same method as Scrappy trips, so I found it quick and easy to make, just a lot of pinning to ensure matching points.  I am on a mission to reduce myself of the extraordinary volume of stash fabric that I don't love anymore...because its not reproduction fabric!  So just need a border and then to quilt it.   That's a job for after the exhibition....but one I am looking forward to!
I will have photos of the Horsham quilt show tomorrow, but Judy has some up now HERE...including the sign I made!

Happy quilting, Sue.