2019 finishes - the quilty year that was in images!

Lone star on the line.

I finished quilting and binding the Lone Star cot quilt (51") and was super happy with the straight lines on the diagonal.  This was super easy to quilt, but it had been pinned within an inch of its life!

I love the fabrics I picked, but this photo does wash them out a bit.  The background is a grunge, which I don't love but the quilt shop owner assured me it was "all the range" for a modern quilt.  Now its all together I am happy!

Lisa gifted me two mini charm packs, as a thank you and they were too cute to resist.  I sewed them up quickly into this handy sized table runner and quilted it simply.  I had some striped fabric in my scrap bin, which was leftover backing fabric and it was just enough to back and bind the runner - perfect for Christmas!

The urge hit me to make more Teddy bear sleeping bags ....this time with pillows!

I try and make them in different sizes to use up batting scraps and to suit different sized soft toys.  But I had to add a little scrap fabric to top and bottom of the one on the left, so I could use the cutest fabric featuring a farm house and farm scene on it!  Having lots of fun playing with outrageous colour combinations like pink and yellow!

Happy quilting Sue.

A second Ladybird lone star quilt, neonatal quilt and fun shopping

A shopping trip recently with friends resulted in lots of purchases.  The orange, navy and raspberry fabric on top LH side of picture was purchased in Maldon, where bargain prices have to be taken advantage of!  The rest was purchased at Maree St Clair's shop in Bendigo, my first visit, but as it is dedicated to reproductions it most certainly will not be my last!  The two mini charm packs were gifted to me by Lisa as a thank you for being the driver for the day.  I have already started to make them into a red and white checkerboard table runner - perfect for Christmas!

Another Lone Star baby quilt, with cute ladybug fabric.  I have actually ended up making two the same.  There was a complete lack of interesting in doing any form of calculating when I was at the shop and the background fabric was low, so I just brought the rest of the bolt!  Then I made a mistake when sewing the half square triangles (forgot to make two with both feature fabrics, and made too many star points), so I just made two quilts....there is still plenty of fabric left over for binding and backing!

A Neonatal quilt made for charity (Very Snuggly Quilts), using left over yardage from my plus quilt.  I made the nine patches and then they got parked.  But after making the ladybug quilt, I realised the leftover background fabric (white with a tiny grey spot) was perfect for sashing these blocks, so that reignited this quilt.. 

It was great to off load a large collection of quilts (mine and others)  to a lady in Stawell who goes to Vic Quilters meetings in Melbourne.  But then I just felt guilty when she said they wouldn't go to Melbourne until February, unless she drove them to Bacchus Marsh to another lady!  So going to make a better effort to better time the drop off so they get to Melbourne (for distribution) in a more timely manner and to make contact with a local that does go to Bacchus Marsh, who might deliver them for me.  But first got to start making more kids charity quilts!

Happy quilting Sue.

Three Quilts for children and some wildlife

I have seen a few Falling Charm quilts in recent years and a friend posted one on Instagram recently it prompted me to into action!  This is a free pattern from Missouri Quilt Company.

The pack of charms has been in my stash for 5-6 years!  It was quick to make the blocks, but I had trouble putting it together because of the weave in the solid pink - my needle unthreaded everytime I had to sew over a seam of pink fabric.  So it got shoved in the pile, until I could consult my Sewing Brains Trust and they successfully advised a heavier needle was required.

This found quilt top finally got quilted with some stitch in the ditch and straight lines. It is going in the donation pile for a kids charity.  

As well I finally put a small plain border on this star quilt.   I have just purchased a backing for it.   Had a complete brain fade and purchased extra for binding, only to find I had already made the binding from the leftover grey!   Its way bigger then I normally make a cot quilt (50" approx), but I am pleased with how the pattern turned out, so next time I will just make smaller HST.  

I want to make another version with pink and grey, just need to find the right fabrics.  I also need to do better calculations so I purchase the right amount of fabric, as I ran out of background when I made this.

Dad and I had a morning of driving around the district, picking up donated fleeces for our local fleece and flower show.  Driving past our farm (we called in to see my brother and progress with his renovations) we saw three kangaroos in the front paddock and they ran parallel to the road along our boundary.  I don't think I have ever seen kangaroos in the front paddock so close to the houses before, normally they are way down the back paddocks of our farm - because that is where the scrub is.  You tend to see them later in the summer looking for feed and water, but there is plenty of feed this time of year.  Unfortunately that is not the only wildlife sighting we have had, as my husband chased a 5 foot brown snake out of our yard, into the neighbours and then back into ours...and lost it!  So I am now very careful where I put my feet in the garden!

Happy quilting Sue.

Pulling up pavers

Pulling the paved path up was a whole days work.  Hard to call it work when you make a big mess!  The original path did not run in the right spot now the gazebo is up.  The area of dirt on the left is the east end of our shade house, which hubby has pulled down. The floor of the shade house was lined with more pavers, which I had previously pulled up.  That big root ball is a hydrangea, don't worry I took cuttings!

I scraped all the dirt off the pavers and Dad brushed them clean and stacked them.  Now we are waiting for the landscaper to re lay them....fingers crossed that he comes.  I got the message loud and clear that he is busy and doesnt want my little paving job.  But pulling up the pavers was hard enough on my back, so I am leaving the laying part to the expert....if I can convince him to come!

While I am waiting for the landscaper I cannot do anymore gardening, so I started making a baby quilt.  I had this picture in my head that a Lone Star would be a nice idea.  I brought the fabric in  Ballarat, while I was waiting for Dad to have minor surgery.  I didn't have a pattern, just talked it through with the shop owner.  And I am two squares (24") short :( with only myself to blame!  I am not upset, in fact I am pleased so far!  Mainly because it looks better then I had imagined and because I got all the directional animal print facing the right way!  Because I have to order more background fabric (Grunge) then I might get extra to add a small border, so the star floats a bit.  Its already 48" square, so perhaps just a inch or two wide.  

Happy quilting Sue.