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.

Fabric shopping

I needed to buy setting fabric for my Circa 2016 quilt, some binding and a skein of embroidery thread.  There are quilt shops in town, but we love the shop in Warracknabeal and they had a sale!  One day only, on my day off and a friend offered me a ride.

So pleased to get the setting fabric for my Circa 2016. The Temecula Quilt Co used a grey. But I am not a big fan of grey and this beige print looked great in the shop!  Del always let me pull bolts out and take over the shop, but we didn't need to with this print, she picked it in one!  

These might not all be strictly reproductions but they are leaf style prints, which I love.  I am not a fan of traditional floral prints.

The top print is the binding for a wall hanging.  The gold/mustard was just because.

I am positive the top pink is not a reproduction but I need some brighter colours in my Circa 2016.  I love the striped pink, but as you can see it is not particularly bright.  In fact I am not a big fan of pink, but all these fabrics "spoke" to me and I was in the mood to spend money!

Happy quilting Sue.

Scrappy Sprout and Rainbow Scrap challenge finish

Ta da!  Finally a finish to celebrate!

I started Scrappy Sprouts in  August 2014 when Lisa and I were looking to replicate our leaders and enders project/challenge. Lisa found this pattern for the spouts (leaves) online HERE at Traceyjay quilts blog.    I love leaf prints, using scraps and rainbow colours - which is how I ended up with this pattern.

I started making leaves, slowly but the output doubled when I started following the Rainbow Scrap Challenge at So Scrappy blog online HERE .

The original pattern for the leaf, was just that.  But Canadian designer Krista Hennebury published a pattern in the June 2015 issue of Homespun magazine.  And that helped me enormously.  Because I had a great stack of leaves and no idea how to get them to look good together.  I followed the colour graduation in the Homespun pattern and added the flowers. 

 I deviated from the pattern by adding an extra row on the end - to get the width for it to hang a good distance over the side of my bed.  

My friend Elaine Kennedy from Pine Grove Quilting (Adelaide) quilted the top in vertical sections, so the pattern over the sprouts is different to the pattern in the sashing between the sprouts.  

I love this bright, fun nature of this quilt.  It is out of the box for me in terms of colour - but I enjoyed every minute!  I made a lot of the leaves as leaders and enders and got to use up a big stash of 2.5" squares.  I used loads of left over binding scraps.  But do admit to having to beg lovely scraps of orange from my good friend Lisa - who gave me a generous collection of beautiful fussy cut prints, thank you Lisa!

Perhaps my most favourite bit, is the genetically modified leaves, where I unpicked blocks and added in fabric squares with bug prints on them...no garden blooms without them ;)

Happy quilting Sue. 

Circa 2016 blocks

Temecula Circa 2016 - three Rail Fence blocks, 3.5" unfinished. Just realised the light strip is suppose to be in the centre, so a little unpicking required on one block!

Catching up slowly.  These are the four Pinwheel blocks that go in the center of this quilt.  

I love these bright colours. Quite a few of these fabrics were a gift for my birthday last year from my friend Vicki.  I normally use a muddy palette, but it has been nice to steer towards brights.  

More action to show after I get my computer fixed - so blogging is quicker and easier ;)

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.

My wall hanging (Hookers Hat Patch from Carol Hopkins book Civil War Legacies) has been sitting neglected for months.  I originally quilted it with Stitch in the Ditch around the blocks and simple straight lines on the border.  But I was really disappointed that the borders went wavy.  I am not sure if I blame the mitered borders or the quilting.  I am thinking blocking will potentially fix it...but I have never blocked a quilt before, so not confident of my skills.

With this minor dilemma I was tempted to just wack on the binding and claim it as a finish!
Of course after it sat neglected for months I changed my mind!  That is a quilters prerogative isn't it?  

 So I am not sure if you call this echo quilting, because it reflects the zig zag of the sashing or just chevron?  I had to make a choice at the end of the row, how to finish the pattern,  which I just made up as I went (and involved a little unpicking) but I am pleased with the end result.

Mind you the borders still ripple!

Now just need to bind it and then I can investigate blocking, to see if it solves the rippled edges.  It would be nice to call this project finished this month!

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.