One finished and one started

When the mum of our new grandson asked me to make a quilt for him, I held my breath wondering what she would ask for. Lucky for me she had a photo and it was going to be a quick no fuss one that would fit into the nursery.

I quilted in the ditch by machine and then by hand with Perle cotton #8 which made for a very light and soft quilt. For the next quilt that has Perle thread for quilting, I'm going to aim for bigger stitches which is hard for me to do.

My friend and I went to Quiltsmith last Friday for our monthly Aunty Green class and admired all the Kaffe quilts displayed around the shop. It was pretty inspiring and since I didn't sign up for a class with the boys, I decided to have a workshop of my own, all by myself.

I wanted something quick and easy so what's better than going back to basics with squares?

Here's what's on my design wall so far. Hopefully I can play with it some more this coming weekend.

until next time, Janet

 

Less blogging equals more sewing

It seems like ages since I fed the blog, I do have excuses but I'll spare you and give you a little update of the quilty kind instead.
I decided to pay a little more attention to just a couple of projects instead of my usual rotation that doesn't get me any closer to a finish. Don't ask me how long it will last because I don't set rules for myself.
I was pretty conflicted about whether to do the one inch squares for the sashings as in the pattern or use just one fabric.

I  happened to find a large enough piece of this vintage Kaffe Fassett in the cupboard which no doubt I had other plans for but it seemed like a good fit for this quilt and I was more than happy to use it.

I'm currently working on the bottom border and started with this tree which took a long time to applique with all it's innies and outies.

This one was a walk in the park, the hardest part was deciding which fabric to use.

 I love this one, it reminds me of a big palm tree.

The bird bath was quick and easy. I'll finish putting all the large elements on this border and then add in the colours that I think it needs with the birds and the gazillion circles.

I may not blog as often as I have in the past but I'll try to be better about catching up with my blog reading. I seem to love making quilts ( plural) that take a really long time to make and have a lot of hand work to do. This means that I have less to write about or show, age might be catching up with me, sigh.

There's a little write up about my quilting over on one of my favourite blogs, Quilting The Town Red. Annemart does some wonderful posts called in the limelight where she features different quilters and it makes for great reading which I love.

Fantasy flowers

It's not hard to guess what I've been up to in the last week, or at least for a part of it.

I've reacquainted myself with my magic blinkers which had temporarily lost their magic powers.

There's been a fair bit of project rotation going on in my mind and it was time to settle back into some sort of order. I only had five Flower Garden blocks left to do and blow me down if I didn't manage to get four of them done, the last one is in progress.

Oops, I didn't mean for this one to grow a face, honestly it was an accident but it's staying as is for a laugh. Sometimes quilts should bring a smile.

I'm pretty sure I'll be renaming this quilt "Fantasy Garden"  If you'd like to stich or are stitching one of Kim McLean's patterns, we now have a system set up over at Glorious Applique to allow more contributors. Just send a request via email to me from here or over there.

See you again when I have something more to share, Janet

Swap reveal

Look at what I got in the mail, a Nosegay wallhanging. I love this block but have never made one. Jessica over at Scrappy n' Happy offered to make me one in return for something to hang out at her place.

I happily obliged and I love what she made me. I have a crush on red and aqua and I have a crush on these fabrics too, thank you Jessica, it's beautifully made.

And a cute little ring pincushion was a bonus gift in the package, love it.

Here's what I sent, some more Kaffe love and a block from Kim's pattern The Garden Quilt.

I free motion quilted this one and had a lot of fun. I did all sorts of quilting designs on it. I'm calling this my smorgasboard quilting.

I knew Jessica had a spot all picked out to hang it so I took the liberty of adding some hanging gizmos on the back using these picture hanging strips and some twill tape.

This method is fabulous because it means you don't have to have any holes in the wall and it can easily be removed. Now I need to find some time to do all my doll quilts the same way.

The information for doing the strips is over on Quilt Otaku with a video link and in the video, you can see how to remove the quilt off the wall without straining any stitches on the quilt.

I just have one more swap to get my skates on and finish, no sneak peeks or you'll be able to guess what it is.

Over at Manaiba's blog, Sewjournal, there is a special quilt auction happening for a 1930's reproduction quilt, It's for a very worth cause, go have a look over here.

Workshop news

The workshop with Kim McLean on Saturday was really wonderful, even worth getting lost coming off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, three times. I did get there in the end and not too late either. I have the worse sense of direction of anybody I know but it was the first time I'd driven that far on my own in Sydney, I call it my virgin voyage.

Here's Kim with the Flower Garden quilt that was the class project.

photo credit Belinda Betts

The day was pretty grey and drizzly but that didn't bother us one bit, I think this view is pretty good any time of the year and the large windows gave terrific light.

We all had to get our backgrounds cut out and our templates done for at least six blocks before the class.

All the fabric we were prepared to cart to class was laid out and the selection process started. We were given lots of pointers on choosing fabric and which ones would work well for applique. The shops set up some tables with goodies and I did buy a few pieces of fabric.

Kim was really great at spending lots of time making suggestions for everybody's blocks.

As it turned out, I didn't need my bias strips for class. I pinned them to this swimming pool noodle which I cut down to size with a bread knife, works better than cardboard rolls.

I also had all my freezer paper templates bagged and numbered then I store them on this metal ring I picked up at a craft shop. I needed a system or otherwise I would end up getting everything in a pickle.

Check out that neat and tidy looking block on the left. After that, I abandoned that system and did as Kim suggested which was just to cut out the blobs around the templates which is a faster way of getting more blocks prepped up. I'm pretty cruisy when I'm playing with blocks but I still got a dozen all ready for stitching at home.

I did sneak next door to the Kaffe and Brandon workshop near the start of their class but I didn't have time to go back later.

It looked like they were on a roll and working pretty fast getting their diamonds on the design walls.

At the end of the day we all got together for a cuppa and a small show and tell. I can't show you the students quilts as I didn't get permission but here's one from the Simple Shapes Spectacular quilts book. We also got to see the quilt that will be on the cover of the next book, I better not show it and spoil it for you.

Here are my first three blocks all stitched up. A lot of them only have three or four pieces so can be stitched up quite quickly.

 

Oh what a night!

I had an exciting night on Tuesday in the company of all these fabulous people you can see in the photo.

We were all invited to Kim McLean's house for dinner but it turned out to be so much more. Lovely food, super friendly fun people, lots of laughs and a bit of show and tell thrown in.

Left to right.

Sue who made the Flower Pots quilt you see on the Glorious Color site.

Brandon, myself, Cathy from Cabbage quilts, Kim, Kathy from Material Obsession, Sharron from Dragonfly Gypsy in the front who had us in stitches all night and Kaffe.

There was a bit of a book signing going on and no these aren't all Cathy's books.

What a treat to see Kim's fantabulous quilts up close.

That's Sue doing the ta dah for the Princess Feathers quilt which we were all sighing over. These quilts are so much more vibrant in the flesh, they take my breath away.

The Turkish Tiles quilt was one of my favourites. What am I saying, they're all my favourites.
It was a real blast to be there and I can't tell you how happy I was to meet Cathy from Cabbage quilts at last. We both thought the other was just as we had imagined from our blogs. Both of us are going to be doing classes, Cathy with Kaffe and I'm doing Kim's class on Saturday so more excitement coming up.

Thank you Kim, it was a fantastic evening. Mr Q and I even got breath tested on the way home, lucky we were so good.

Stars and Sprigs, the top.

What a biggie, it's 96" square! Now to quilt it. For a moment there I did think about hand quilting it. I like the softness and drapeable cosiness of a  hand quilted quilt. I will be basting this up for machine quilting, it's just too big a job otherwise but I've decided to try and keep it soft by not doing anything too dense and using silk thread, (I think) after all I may change my mind. I have so many other quilts on the go that I need to make.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments that helped me keep my blinkers on. Thanks also to Kim Mclean for producing amazing quilt patterns for us to enjoy stitching. I posted this and a couple of other shots over on Glorious Applique.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

It seems like I don't have much going on at the moment. I did my best impression of a kitchen goddess and tried out these cheesy feet. I didn't really like them , they were virtually a cheesy pastry but appealed to my sense of humour. I think I'll send the fun cutter to my grandkids and they can make sweet feet instead. That or look for another cracker recipe.

I'm also still making  bread regularly and not only is it cheaper, it's not full of preservatives and other unknown numbers of ingredients. Who remembers all those numbers anyway and whether they're bad for us or not.This one happens to be a sourdough.

We've been making the most of some nice weather in the weekends and doing the odd day drive. It's so nice to be out in the countryside.

One shop I visited had some nice linen and a few fat quarters which I thought would be perfect for making pouches.

I was also looking for this book which I've been eyeing up for a while. When Nat posted her tea cosy, that was it, I decided I did need the book and I found it, now I just need to search out some wool.

The other sort of place I have a good time hanging out at is stationery and office supply shops. That sounds a bit nerdy but there was a reason for going.

This is what I was after, a trestle table to do my hand basting and any big fusible ironing job. The good thing is that it folds up for storage.

My little distraction this week on the sewing front has been this block, It was just a quick fix but I loved it.

Just dropping by for a chat

I'm just popping my head in to have a natter about all sorts of things that have been going on. I just got these two books in the last couple of days. The Encyclopedia of applique by Barbara Brackman is one I've been meaning to get for awhile. It's a great rescource book full of sketches of applique blocks and will be usefull when deciding on blocks for a design.

The cookbook is self explanatory really, I need to have a go at the macarons now that I have a new oven. I'll let you know how that goes. Macarons are the new cupcake it seems. This one has the easy method, not that Italian, thermometer, meringue, bound to go wrong method.

I picked up this piece of fabric at the LQS which I thought could be very useful for broderie perse,. It's Broderie Perse by RJR, an older line. You don't need to see the few Kaffes I got, it's more of the same luscious stuff I've shown before.

OK, it's confession time, I've taken the process pledge as you can see from my side bar and I've been holding back, I'm ususally a die hard needle turner who uses a toothpick on the side when it comes to applique but I've been harbouring secrets from you my friends. Yes it's true, I've been feeling guilty and it's time I fessed up.

That's not freezer paper templates you see in the photo below, it's Floriani Stitch 'n Wash fusible tearaway. The glue used for the fusible coating is water soluble.

I've been speeding up my sewing on the Stars and Sprigs blocks by using this product

I iron the reverse template to the back of the fabric and use a glue pen to fold and stick the seam to the back. It's important to use lower heat with the iron. I'm going through those refills fast!

I can then just pin my pieces as I need them on the background and sew away to my hearts content. It really has sped up the process, works brilliantly for simple shapes and it's not messy. I feel like a traitor to needleturn but I think I'll get over that, I'm just open to using more than one method.

After I've finished the piece, I wash all the glue out and slit the backs of the shapes to remove the tearaway with my tweezers.

This border I'm doing should be finished in a couple of days, it's been great doing lots of leaves, I love them. I also love choosing those way out colours. I think this is my favourite leaf.

Cut from this fabric, it was placed so that the colour change occured inbetween two sections. It's Aurora by Brandon Mably.

I thought I'd show off my absolute favourites, these ones have so much pattern that you get more bang for your buck when cutting out pieces. This one is Coleous from Phillip Jacobs.

Shell Montage, again a Phillip Jacobs.

Varied leaves, Phllip Jacobs. I love that all these come in six different colourways.

I hang my head in shame because I've been remiss in showing you this giveaway I won from Elaine at Soggy Bottom Flats. So sorry Elaine. I love it because it's a wool pincushion kit and you know I love pincushions. The wool might stop the rusty pins in our sometimes humid weather. Elaine has some kits in her Etsy store if you'd like one.

I was really lucky and won this fob from Kaaren. Now my scissors look flash! I love the bird charm. Thanks Kaaren.

That's not all, I must be having a lucky streak, this RAK (random act of kindness) came from  Anna at Thimbleanna. I left a comment on her blog ages ago about how much I'd love to get my hands on one of these colour cards and she remembered. What a kind gesture, thanks so much Anna.

Haven't I been chatty today? Finally, Happy 125th Birthday to the fabulous Scandinavian designer Josef Frank.

This one looks so much like Kim McLean's leaves, how could I not be impressed.