Sewing in Dunkeld part 4

When I arrived at camp (not having been last year) there was a bit of chat about "I hope the lady with "down the rabbit hole quilt" is back!  And she was...with the stunning quilt and on a mission to attach the binding.  I think this is a Sarah Fielkes pattern.  I think I will be forever remembered as a quilter who sewed her instructions to her bag!

Which is what happens when your tired and sewing after a glass of wine!  However the bag did get finished ;)

Just magnificent!

This clamshell quilt was only a few rows when she arrived and was finished in the weekend.  Cut out using templates (my pet dislike) it was all machine pieced.  I was in awe at the speed and the thought of the dent this quilt could put in my scrap collection.  

Now I have been cured of my fear of sewing curves, I might aim to tackle this quilt ....on the proviso  I can get a Go clamshell die to make the cutting easy!

Happy quilting Sue.

Sewing in Dunkeld part 3

This quilt story and owners name, I have forgotten but I love string quilts so wanted to include it!

Julie brought this completed quilt for show and tell, she had made it as part of a medallion challenge.

This is Ann from Periwinkle Patchwork!  She made this bag over the weekend.  The top of the bag has a wire frame so that it opens nice and wide.  Just love the fabric Ann chose.

Ann made this table runner using the Quick Curve Ruler.  

A small quilting project for the weekend.

These tiny blue and aqua hexies were of course hand stitched, but destine to be a table topper, not a quilt.  A  project, not something to be rushed, but slowly savoured.

Happy quilting Sue

Sewing in Dunkeld part 2

Anne also made this quilt, which I am sure is called Periwinkle block.  But this is not Ann who owns Periwinkle Patchwork!

I think this is Yvonnes quilt but my memory is not reliable!  However I am 100% sure she made the top that weekend.

More lovely quilt tops - this one is all the old world romantic florals.

Baby quilt that was made over the weekend. 

Bedford Mystery quilt - some South Australians will recognize this quilt, as was a fundraising kit, but was extended by her own personal stash/scraps.

And a beautiful octopus crochet for premie babies to grasp instead of pulling out their tubes.

Happy quilting Sue.

Sewing in Dunkeld part 1

Dunkeld is a small town on the southern side of the Grampians National Park in Western Victoria.

 I stayed in a school camp in the National Park, a short drive north of the town for the weekend.  The camp was organised by my friend and patchwork shop owner Ann.  The company, food and views were magnificent.

I worked on a number of projects including this very old UFO - Temecula Mini Monday sampler that was supposed to have a border, but had been in the sin bin so long I forgot that and just went ahead and quilted it.

My roomie Annette machine appliqued the start of this beautiful quilt.  I didn't know anyone at camp apart from Ann and her mother Barb.  It is so nice to make new friends!

Donna and I sat next to each other and she worked on this great hunting/4WD quilt for her son.  Correction she made the top in the weekend!  The four little stitcheries were all 4 wheel drive utes - which I thought were great, because I assumed it was impossible to find male themed stitcheries!

At this point I have to confess to forgetting  details, which annoys the heck out of me - especially when I had been given the back story on some of these tops!  This is Anne's quilt top  - and it was made with reproduction fabrics.  But I don't remember if this last quilts is Anne's or her friend Helens.  

It is always nice to see other peoples work....and then find out they have been quilting longer then you! LOL! These last two quilts intimidate the heck out of me and I endlessly admire those brave and skilled enough to master them.

Happy quilting Sue.

Three tops and a block

I had my annual long weekend away with friends in March to sew and catch up.  Life is busy was chaos and I didn't do any pre cutting before going away.  But I had the Mini Quick Curve ruler, Mini Wonderful Curves book and fabric I purchased from Periwinkle Patchwork packed together and I made this pattern called Sea Glass.  I love this book, but a lot of the quilts are wall hanging size, and this pattern size is a modest 28" x 35".  I brought extra fabric though and so far I have added a extra row on one side and bottom.  They are four inch blocks, so need to add more to make it a large lap sized quilt. 

Anyway that is on the to do list - as I girl cannot work on one quilt alone while on camp!  And there was only so much laying out room I could hog!

 

Sea Glass was only on my "to do list" since Christmas.  But this cutie has been waiting patiently for several years!  Vicki gifted me a Moda Frivols No. 5 tin - French General print Petite Prints Deux, and the pattern is called Atelier - finished size is 30 x 33".

Frivol tins hold pre cut 7" squares of fabric and the pattern warned that you needed to be very careful to not make a cutting mistake with the red....but I used every skerrick of the indigo & white and had red left over...go figure!  I love this little quilt and looking forward to having it finished so I can display it on my sea trunk coffee table.  

For my third project I had sewn an extra seam on all the flippy triangle corners for my Kim Diehl Warm Regards border and collected all the half square triangles in a little bag.  I trimmed them and sewed them into Broken Dishes for a new mini.  I didn't take any extra fabric to make a border and I am still debating if it needs one or not. 

During the weekend I made one block from the Sew Kind of Wonderful pattern Posh Petals.  I had all the fabric I had purchased in January at Elm Grove Quilts, but had not brought sufficient stash to supplement the scrappy look I wanted.  These are large blocks  at 16" square, but my sample was quarter of an inch too small.  So I need to either make it into a mini or unpick and reset my seam allowance...we will see which one wins!

Happy quilting Sue.

Patchwork camp Part 2

 M made a feather table runner with gorgeous quilted feathers in the border.

 H worked on lots of projects, but showed us her beautiful blocks from Sue Daley book Raspberry Parlour.

S finished her Disappearing pinwheel - we made this pattern together about two years ago, I have just finished mine too!  She likes clear colours and I think it looks great.

 S was discussing border fabric, and when I pointed out the fabric in the bottom LH corner, she grinned and produced what she had already purchased - its basically a match!  I love this fresh white and red/pink combination

 S also made Zombie star blocks and sashed her Star Wars quilt.  

Which was a project she worked on last year, but we decided would benefit from sashing, which it has!
Happy quilting Sue.

Patchwork Camp Part 1

I have been on a weekend retreat with friends in Robe, we call it patchwork camp, but staying in a motel is hardly camping!  I tried to capture some of the projects in progress, but some were finished so quickly...or was I just too focused on what I was doing?  

I am annoyed at myself for not taking not of the book these blocks came out of.  But I love the colour combinations and some of the neutral prints were just fabulous.  J said she wanted a challenge for the weekend and these blocks were certainly not straight forward or traditional in anyway.

 

She was very diligent and got a lot done, as they are quite fiddly, and of course no chain piecing, because each was very different from the other.

This quilt top, was made from scratch by S over the weekend, but still needs a press.  She worked hard before camp and kitted up this and her other projects, which helped inspire me to do the same.  Certainly allows you to be more productive in the piecing time when your away.

E did some string piecing using her diamond template.  The red star is whole pieces of plaid wool - love it!  Think the background wool was black or navy, so it will really stand out.

E had visions of two separate quilts.  We tried to convince her to make two more and put all four in the same quilt.  She kept saying it will be enormous!  And we kept encouraging her, all that lovely negative space for her to showcase some quilting!
More coming in another post.
Happy quilting Sue.

Where does time go?

Honestly I wonder where the days and weeks disappear to sometimes.  

It only seems like yesterday that I sat and sewed these Dresden plates with my Adelaide stitching friends at camp.  

 Then there was a great delay before I made the effort to shop for the background fabric and got them hand stitched down.

Another shopping trip was required to find the perfect red for the centres!  Finally they are all stitched on and I just have to stitch the blocks together....just in time to go sewing with my Adelaide friends again!

Do you think six projects will be enough to work on?!  I always over pack in my pre trip preparation and then on the morning of departure I cull down to a sensible size.  Well I try. This time I am not bothering to try, because four of these projects just need minimal work but maximum thinking/decision making to get the tops finished.   So I am hoping six heads are better then one, and therefore I might get several tops done! 

I like to be considered optimistic, but in reality I might be just unrealistic!

Happy quilting Sue.

Patchwork Camp

 A lovely weekend was spent sewing with friends. 

Some projects just needed a border to finish them.

Others needed a few rows stitched together.

This raggy quilt needed space to be laid out, before stitching it together.

Others grew like Topsy and became a top!

Some projects were kits that had sat in cupboards for a long time

But they really shone once they had the chance! 

Others just quietly grew and 

with some new fabric purchases multiplied some more!  

Lots of individual blocks were stitched by machine, some by hand,  there was dressmaking and even mending...sorry no photos of outfits, couldn't find a willing model ; )

Layer cakes became completed tops.

Lots of laughs, chatting, catching up on old and new news and ever present the hum of sewing machines busy at work.

None of these quilts are mine....I will show you my work in the next post, 

until then happy quilting, Sue.