Two new cushions and a mini that became a cushion

I just launched into a week of starting new projects with no rhyme or reason!

The bottom block is a Kim Diehl pattern from her book Simple Graces, and featured on the front cover as a quilt.  The book includes a pattern to make the block into a cushion cover and I justified the new start by telling myself it was better then making a test block which would never be used for anything. Plus I would have more cushions for the couch....because six cushions is not enough, right?!

I was able to use up some of the cushion inserts sitting in the cupboard and the zips I have purchased randomly...not sure why but I do that!  I also pieced the wadding scraps to quilt the top and did some new to me quilting patterns using my new walking foot - on the brown border I did a square spiral.  

This pattern is called Prairie Points from the book by Temecula Quilt Co, called Quirky Little Quilts.  The quilt in the book features lots of neutrals and solids but I wanted to showcase some of my shirtings.  I ended up using a lot of older shirting scraps already pre cut in my 1.5" strip container.  It was lovely to play with some old favorites!

I quilted the top using my new walking foot....as my other foot decided to die!  I honestly had no idea that I could wear out a foot, but my good friend Vicki (long time Bernina owner) talked me through all the issues my walking foot suddenly presented one afternoon (after being perfectly fine in the morning), and deduced the foot was no longer walking!  I borrowed Mums foot and presto the machine performed perfectly, so diagnosis was confirmed and I had to fork out serious $ to buy a new one.

It came with a stitch in the ditch plate, but after using it on the mini I am not super impressed. However prepared to give it another go on a larger quilt without so many seams. 

I started making this wool applique block about a month ago, so that I had some hand work.  Decided to add some pieced borders to make it bigger, then decided to turn it into a cushion.  Quilted the heck out of it, to a) use my new walking foot b) because I pieced the wadding from lots little scraps c) because I didn't cut the border pieces on the straight and they were wavy d) it filled in my day while the painter was in the house!  Very happy with the results., but did have to buy a zip to match, well close as I could get to this vibrant green.

So it was the Temecula Quilt mini that became a cushion, because I wasn't in love with the quilting, although I love the top.  

I will make another as a mini....someday!

Happy quilting Sue.

  

Horsham Patchwork Quilters show part 2

The Horsham quilt shop was in late May, so I am kicking myself that I didn't take notes on who made which quilt!  Certainly the quilter deserves some accolades when it comes to this beauty!

Another lovely example of a simple applique pattern, made stunning with lovely colour choices, good hand work and beautiful quilting.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for applauding people who tackle complicated patterns, but sometimes simple wins hands down!

This is my mothers quilt (Sandra Speirs) made from her extensive Kaffe Fassett collection of fabric. 

I would like to say with confidence (but happy to be corrected) that Fay Cameron made this lovely wool applique quilt.  The detail was fabulous, another one of those creations you need to view several times to take in everything.

Sorry folks that's all!  I tried and tried, but the rest of the quilt pictures stalled in email.  Normally our internet is good, but must be having a little hiccup.

Happy quilting Sue.

Hand work for tripping around

We had a holiday in Qld a few months ago, that I especially prepped some wool applique for.   The pattern is called Fall Harvest by Stacey West of Buttermilk Basin.  However having plenty of reading matter meant that I didn't sew, until it was time to watch the footy grand final, resulting in only achieving a moderate amount of stitching.  

 Since finishing the photo quilt commission last weekend I have slowly been adding more blanket stitch and just have one full pumpkin and a few little pieces to finish attaching.  The pattern then has a pieced border of patchwork fabric.  I think this is going to be a cushion rather then a wall hanging.

This poor project has been neglected for far longer and I had to dig around to find it.  But now I have I am keen to finish it ASAP!  The reason being it is a lovely appliqued panel on a zip closed bag, with  clear vinyl on the other side, which is perfect for carting around hand stitching projects! LOL!

Just need to stitch the last six leaves and one flower, then onto the clam shells, which are prepped and ready to go :) 

Happy quilting Sue.

Woolly Basket wall hanging finish

I cannot believe that I forgot to show you the finished Woolly Basket wall hanging (pattern by Dawn Heese).  After all the excitement of our local quilt exhibition and preparation (sewing hanging sleeves) I forgot to post photos on my blog.   

 Simple stipple in the linen backgrounds.

Machine quilted a stencil pattern that fitted onto the border, this is my favourite stencil our group owns, as I know I can do it on the machine....but I do get lost trying to see the pen markings (must get my eyes checked) sometimes when the fabric is dark.  I used a Frixon pen, which is great, as the line is thin but clear.  However when I ironed it out there was a faint loss of colour.  Not a lot, but I did notice it.  So I will be a bit more paranoid about where I use this pen in future.  

The combined quilting was sufficient to make the sashing pop, so I left it unquilted.  Really happy with this wall hanging and the wool applique was perfect for winter nights stitching, so I will be doing some more this winter.  

AND the bonus is that my father made me this lovely shelf/quilt hanger, which I made sure was the exact size to fit this quilt.  Now just got to get hubby to fix it  the wall!

Happy quilting Sue.

little finishes

 Finally I have finished the last block from the free BOM by Dawn Heese from Linen Closet quilts.

Now I just have to trim them and decide on sashing.  Hmmm fabric choices, could take awhile!

I made a few of these small dresden plates in rainbow, when I discovered a pattern in Quilts and More (Summer 2016) magazine - which was for a pincushion.  The block is about 8" but I decided that one pin cushion was enough.  And instead of using linen for the background I used shot cotton in grey for a more modern look.  That lead to the more modern look quilting.

So finally a little wall hanging, perfect for a gift - which is why I have kept it under wraps until now!

Happy quilting Sue.

Behind the scenes

I have had a few things going on behind the scenes that I have not told you about!

 Our youngest son is in Cubs and I have been helping organise a big Scouts celebration - which is on this weekend.  We needed something to drape over the plaque for the Mayor to "unveil".  As soon as I pointed this out, I realised I was going to get the job!  

So here it is....I just fuse web appliqued the Scout Logo onto homespun and then hemmed all the edges.  Not fancy, just quick and easy - because it will only have 10 minutes of glory!

Also I have participated in a swap, in which I ended up with Sally's wool stash....OMG I am in love!  Thank you Sally!  Such a lovely array of colours and so many pieces to choose from.  

My hand sewing has slowed lately due to other projects taking over (plus just too tired), but this burst of colour has really renewed my enthusiasm.  The Sunflowers are the last block that I have finished.  I have cut out another one and now I am hoping to get my Woolly baskets BOM finished soon so I can start something new!

Happy quilting Sue.

Woolly basket progress

I have been fitting in a bit more evening hand work and finished three more woolly basket blocks

 Block 2 

Block 5

I have given  up on trying to add strawberry seeds. I figured it was obvious they were strawberries!

Block 10

I have two more patterns traced off and ready to cut wool pieces for.  But I have the last 2 patterns downloaded on my computer and the printer will not recognize them to print them off.  Talk about stuck in cyber space. I wish I had more IT skills!  

Overnight temperatures have dropped again this week but my garden is starting to bloom after a few days of lovely sunshine.  I am trying to spend time in the garden and at my sewing machine, its what I call a happy juggle!

Happy quilting Sue.

Wool work for Winter

A little road trip occurred (Quilters Harvest in Warracknabeal) to secure a greater selection of wool for my 

Little Wooly Basket blocks from Linen Closet Designs

The green wool was off the bolt, but the rest came from the dwindling stash the shop purchased last year from Debbie Busby (USA) when she presented workshops here.  Buying wool is expensive, so being able to buy the big squares of different colours is a great idea. 

Block 3

I love this sweet basket with buds and flowers.

Block 5 Strawberries
This is my favorite basket!  I am still trying to find a way to make little knots small enough on the berries so they look like the seeds on the outside of the strawberry.
I need to get a wriggle on, so I  can get it all together while its still winter : )
Happy quilting, Sue.

A snippet of wool

I have been following various bloggers who have been appliqueing Little Wooly Basket Blocks, as part of a free BOM by Dawn Heese who blogs at Linen Closet Quilts.  I had gone so far as printing off the patterns but they had been collecting dust in my sewing nook for some time now.

Block 4 - Tulips

Fast forward to panic stations prior to going to Portland for a sewing weekend.  I searched the house from top to bottom for my wool stash.  I knew it wasn't very big, but it was disappointingly small when I found it!  For some reason I thought I had lots of colours and I don't :(

Block 8 - Chives

So while we were visiting  Periwinkle Patchwork in Warrnambool I brought some more wool so I could start my blocks.  And more importantly I brought some gorgeous linen to stitch them onto. And then I didn't touch anything for a few weeks!  However as the weather declines into chilly and wet, I have been busy tracing patterns, choosing colours and stitching in front of the TV.

Block 7 - Cone flowers

Block 2

So now I have three blocks made and another three traced out.  This block is being held up by my lack of satisfaction with the colour and size of the leaves - I will either make the leaves larger or a different colour, so they stand out more.

AND

I might go shopping for more wool!  A girl needs a decent sized wool stash...well this wet windy winter I do at least!

Hope your surviving the start of the snow season in front of a heating source of some sort and with some form of stitching, 

Happy quilting Sue.

Woolie workshop with Debbie Busby

Yipee I fixed my IT issues...don't ask me to explain how, but I managed to retrieve all my lost photos and software, phew!

OK so back to the important stuff!  While I was offline I attended a wool workshop with USA artist Debbie Busby, at Quilters Harvest in Warracknabeal.

Debbie had lots of lovely patterns, I was especially smitten with the tiny flower baskets.

And then there was a lovely floral table runner pattern.

I have always wanted to make a month themed wall hanging, this one was the perfect size and Quilters Harvest are ordering in the cute wire hangers to hold them.

 We made this delightful table runner (pattern is called Holly Basket) and I got most of it finished on the day.  

It was so nice to come home and be able to finish it in front of the TV that night!  And it is the perfect size for my "newest" coffee tables... one that belonged to my grandmother.  

 Debbie was very generous and made everyone a cute little tomato - I am using it as a decoration, but I guess its really a pin cushion.

 The girls at Quilters Harvest were very generous and our kit came with all the wool (many pieces were already cut out, a great time saver), three skeins of embroidery thread, scissors and a needle, so I didn't need to take a thing!

I really enjoyed working with wool and Debbie was so sweet, the catering us A1 (food is always good at the Quilters Harvest workshops) and all round we (Lisa and I) had a great day out. 

Happy Quilting Sue.

Sweet stitching finishes

Finally I have some finishes to show you from my stitching day out at Warracknabeal. 

 This is the needle roll (called Little Bird Roll) designed by Shelly Kelley.  I found a sweet little "S" button in my sewing room that I got in a packet of buttons from the op shop...forgot that I had ever brought it, but amazing what goodies you find when you clean up the spare bedroom robe (and the linen press and laundry cupboards!).  So I just have to add the "loop" to catch the button and its done!

It has a great little pocket for thread and is a lovely addition to my sewing room, perfect for stitching on the run.  After borrowing more thread from my stitching neighbour Rose, I got the "Cornflower Blue - Doorstop stop by Leonie Bateman finished.  

Well that enabled me to get the applique finished then I had to sew it all together and fill it with kitty litter, which is very tricky!  We don't own a cat (we have budgies) so I am going to be making a lot more doorstops before I run out of kitty litter!

I enjoyed the wool applique so much that Lisa (and hopefully Rose) and I are back off to Quilters Harvest, Warracknabeal on Sunday for another wool applique class - this time with USA teacher Debbie Busby.

Happy sewing, Sue.

Spring Workshop in Warracknabeal

On Saturday I spent the day stitching in Warracknabeal at the Harvest Quilters Vintage Retreat.

The tutors were (from left) Marg Low, Shelley Kelly, Leonie Bateman and we were hosted by the Quilters Harvest owners, Dell and Shirley.

I started this wool applique door stop, by Leonie Bateman.

 I don't own a light box, so I made use of the numerous light boxes available to participants to trace off this stitchery by Marg Low.

I stitched tiny hexies and started the applique for a sweet needle roll, by Shelley Kelly, which is in the bottom middle of the below photo, which shows all the finished patterns we got in our goodie bag.  

I fell in love with applique all over again.  Shelley showed me how to needle turn, so I thought it only fair I brought one of her patterns...how beautiful is this pillow!

Shelley does wonderful work, this is her naive tulip quilt.

 But her miniatures in reproduction fabrics were just stunning.  I would love to do a class with her, but Shelley lives over near Albury/Wodonga, it's at least a five hour drive!

 Log Cabin miniature by Shelley Kelly. Hand sewn and quilted.

 Lone Star by Shelley Kelly.  Machine pieced, hand quilted.

 Gather your Baskets by Shelley Kelly, I had to have a picture of it, as I love basket quilts so much!

Brookfield by Leonie Bateman..  The baskets and top border are all wool and appliqued on.  Leonie loves hand applique and helped me improve my blanket stitch.  As well as demonstrated her technique for preparing wool work, which was very helpful as she uses woven wool which is too thick for fuse web.

Last but not least a stunning red and white quilt by Marg Low, Sarah's Sampler (1855).  This was available as a pattern and I was very tempted, but thought I am going to be busy enough making all the lovely patterns I had in my goody bag. 

It was lovely day out, with lovely friends.....and I came home to a roast dinner and three happy chappies cos their footy team won, yeah!

Happy quilting Sue.