Goals for 2011 and Fabric Rope Basket

Last day of the year and I am all organised to tackle my quilting/sewing goals for 2011.
I believe that I have set myself realistic goals by not adding too many new projects to the ones I have in progress.

I have two main areas I want to concentrate on;

- One, is to finish  all the projects in this basket which are at various stages of completion

and  the other goal is to used up as many scraps as I can and end up with only one scrap bin.

This goal can lead to many possibilities for new projects and creativity  so I must be vigilant as not to create additional UFO's.  I don't want to start any new projects unless I have completed an UFO and the goals set are on track... Sounds simple, right ? Let's see how it all turns out.

To finish off,  I am sharing a  project I completed a while ago. Its a fabric rope/cord basket.

The technique involves wrapping strips of fabric around rope/cord and then sew the covered rope to shape it in a form of a basket. The possibilities are endless from placemats to much more elaborate baskets. I decorated it with this funky bead trimming I  purchased in Canada.
For further inspiration I rolled up several  5" squares of different fabrics  and placed them inside... love it !

               Happy 2011 to everyone and may you be inspired in your creativity !!!

Most meaningful quilt for 2010..

I have done my fair share of creativity this year; from full size quilts, to minitures, from bags and totes to cushions and table toppers. A lot of my ideias have been inspired from many beautiful fabrics, books and patterns.  But the most significant quilt I made for myself this year has been the "Self Awareness" quilt. This concept has given me a different vision of what type of person I am, my atitudes, my opinions and what path I want to follow.

Nothing is permanent; everything changes.... and that's also the feeling I get when I look and use this quilt. The words can have simple meanings or a life story to tell.

For this quilt I used only fabrics from my stash. Long time ago I learnt this technique called 'Stack N Slash'. After the top was completed, I added some personal meaning by embroidering some significant words.
Check out this tutorial on the web which gives you a description of this technique  http://www.bighornquilts.com/inspiration/strip/sns.html

Pinwheel quilt and Civil War Bride quilt

This will be my last completed quilt top for 2010 !

The inspiration for this quilt came when I saw a tutorial on Youtube. The blocks are very easy and quick to make.  The fabrics were on sale and I still have enough for another project... no wonder the stash keeps on growing ! It will remain as a top for the time being.





I f you enjoy needleturn applique, you may be interested in viewing the blocks or even participating in the Civil War Bride quilt. I have posted these two blocks on a blog created for those who are making this quilt. Check out http://thecivilwarbridequilt.blogspot.com/ or click on the banner on the right side of this blog.

UFO completed - Table runner

I had a day to myself yesterday without any interruptions so I decided to tackle a UFO started in 1994 ! The technique I used is  folded fabric with little sewing once I managed to fold the pieces in the right order it gets completed fairly quickly.

The bag that contained the bits and pieces ... a bit of a mess...

After a few hours it looked more hopeful...

And by the afternoon it was completed !!!

It will go on top of the piano....

Boxing Day... bag day

I'm trying to post every Wednesday and every Sunday even when I haven't completed anything. Today is such day, I'm trying to complete a top I've worked on this week but its not quite done yet...
Today being Boxing Day, I've decided that I'll 'rename' it Bag Day and share with you some of the bags I have made in the past.

One of my favourite bags is this large bag I began in a class using various techniques; machine pieced, foundation piecing, applique and embroidery with added embelishments. All four sides of the bag have different designs.

The entire bag was made from my stash and button collection.

Its large enough to take stuff to classes and even fits my sewing machine.

It took quite a while to complete it.

I particularly enjoyed learning a new stitch used in the gate. I was told its called 'pistil' stitch.

Another bag which was great fun to make was the "Pansy bag". I ended up making a couple more to give away as gifts. I used some of my hand dyed fabrics and added some beads to make the pansies three dimensional. 

And finally a tote a use to carry around some of my sewing. The stichery design comes from one of the many books I have from Bronwyn Hayes.

Next blog post I'll be sharing my 2011 sewing goals...

Reproduction quilt, tote and Xmas shopping

My Christmas treat arrived yesterday in the form of quilting and craft supplies. From hundreds of threads to rulers, buttons, bias makers, machine sewing needles, cord, craft glue, fusible adhesive (for applique), etc I had a great time at the wharehouse. There was so much more I saw but it has to wait for the next visit. I also managed to place a book order with Amazon and expected arrival date will be mid January. If time permits there will be a quick visit to the quilt store on my way to another appointment today.
And that should end all the quilty related purchases for the year.... maybe.

Here is my loot !

And in case there is a thread shortage in the future (hee hee) I got these as well ! 600 in total.

I have had a request to show the entire quilt top from which the banner of my blog comes from. The photo doesn't do its justice to the colours and design and I may one day take close ups of some of the blocks. The applique technique used was needleturn (my favourite method) and some of the blocks were machine pieced.  It was part of a " block of the month" program  started a couple of years ago which I completed this year. I haven't decided how to quilt it .

The tote I'm featuring today was made for a friend in New Zealand. I embroidered the center panel and added some beads to give it a three dimensional look.

Feature music ....

Today I'm featuring Gregg Karukas. He is a smooth Jazz Keyboardist and pianist originally from Washington, D.C.

Scrap wall quilt and pink tote

This week I managed to use most of my small scraps of solid fabrics. I finished this top.

As well as 3 more miniture log cabin blocks for the WIP quilt...

I could not help myself when I received the lastest copy of "Patchwork & Stitching" magazine; I had to make this little tote.  Pink is not a colour I use a great deal (although I have a fair bit of pink toned fabrics). I machine applique and  added tiny buttons.

And finally, I enrolled in the 2011 Rainbow Scrap Challenge to incorporate as many scraps in projects as possible. If you are interested, check out   http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/ for more details.

Scrappy Bag and a favourite tote

Some of my sewing time has been used to tidy up my studio.  When I can't quickly find what I need, its time do put things away.  In  the process I get inspired.
I managed to come up this week with another project made from scraps.

The inspiration for this one, came  when I found the black border print in the scrap bin from an old project and a set of  plastic handles.

From time to time I'll post a picture of a quilt, a bag or another project that was completed some time ago. Since I'm concentrating on the topic of using my current stash and smaller pieces of fabric (those I consider scraps), this is a tote I made several years ago which I use regularly to carry my current hand project. Just needed small pieces of fabric, a little embroidery and a few old buttons from my grandmother's sewing box.

I have several large and small projects in progress but at this stage I won't share them in my blog until I'm actively working on them. But it won't be long until I get to them...

I subscribe to a number of quilting magazines and this week the latest copy of one of the quick projects got my attention. I have started it !! I'll post the picture when its completed, so come back soon to see it !

And now for the music highlight.....

Michael Lington is is a contemporary jazz saxophonist born in  Denmark but lives in the USA. Check "Harlem Nocturne" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ivns7NVjMs&feature=related.

Xmas quilt, Envelope Bag and more Scraps...

Last year I made a Xmas quilt to hang up on the wall above the piano.
It was made entirely from my stash and the pattern came from an Australian quilting magazine I subscribe.

Its hanging up again for this years' festive season. I had taken a photo of the completed top.

After completing last week's bag,  I was left with a smaller piece ofthe same fabric,  so I made a quick envelope bag.  May end up as a gift when I need one in a hurry.

Back to the scraps...........

The 'Crumb block' continues to occupy my imagination.  How to use these blocks in a quilt and incorporate other scraps to form new blocks and design settings.
Went over my  scraps and put aside the solid fabrics. I did not realise how many and varied they were, so I have already started another project to incorporate these. More of that in future blog posts..
I had some  "Dear Jane" blocks I started making years ago.  These blocks were made from my stash but  after a while I lost interest in that project. So, this is a good way of putting them to good use.

I came up with a unit made up of 9 blocks incorporating the Crumb block, a Dear Jane block and fabrics from a variety of charm packs. To tie it all together, I used my solid fabrics to make up the sashings...

In this unit the centre is the Dear Jane block but I may end up  using  another Crumb block.  I am still deciding  how to join all the units together; it will come once I have completed more of the units.
I have 4 so far...

Putting these blocks together has been an exercise in colour combinations and a great use of my scraps.  I have still so many of these smaller scraps left to keep my imagination going and came up with new blocks and projects...

Totes for travellers and music...

I love novelty prints, so when I saw these two complementary fabrics they spoke to me.  I made a tote for a friend and her sister that will be travelling on a cruise holiday shortly. What better way to store their bits and pieces ? I hope they like it.

Talking of bags, we never have enough bags... I have made so many and the fun bit is adding my own style.  About 3 or so months ago, I made my version of Amy Butler "Frenchy Bag" from one of my novelty fabrics. Very different from Amy's choice of fabrics.

And now MUSIC ...........

From time to time I'll mention an artist, a cd or just a song from one of the many Smooth Jazz artists I admire.  My first choice had to be Chris Botti who is one of the biggest-selling jazz (trumpet) instrumental artist in the United States.
His version of "When I fall in love" is amazing; check him out on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWEIPMYfZiI

Quilt and a tote from scraps

Lots of inspiration has came my way this week, mainly related to what to do with my small scraps. This tends to happen when I 'play' with my fabrics or need to search for a particular fabric in my stash then all sorts of designs come into my head.

As mentioned on my previous post, I have been inspired with the Crumb block design. I had some blocks leftover from the first quilt, so I made some more and completed another quilt top.  But for this one the sashing and borders  fabrics did not came from my stash, mainly because I just loved the teal and brown combination in the prints....

It was rather windy so the picture didn't turn out too well. Here's a close up of the blocks.

This week I made a visit to the fabric store. Their existing stock was reduced to 50%...so my addiction got the better of me.  I love novelty prints and this one by Kaye England called "Hoe Down" immediately got my attention.  I think it would make a cute bag.

I got a couple of bigger pieces to use a quilt backings... I particularly like the green tones.

My other achievement this week was a quick tote.  Years ago I was given a piece of  linen curtain fabric and what I liked about it was the fact that it looks hand embroidered.  So I  added some beads, used a Jinny Beyer border fabric I have had for years and voila !!!

I have just enough fabric left to make a smaller one or this could
an opportunity to make something different...

Next week I want to continue designing another quilt with the  Crumb block, using my small scraps, solid prints (including hand dyes) and charm packs.

And if time permits another tote/bag from my stash....

I'm starting...

I have been thinking for a while about starting a blog, to document my quilting interests and projects.  So after my daughter insistence here it goes...

I'll start by sharing what I am currently working on. Like all quilters I have many projects on the go which I'll share along the way. At the moment I am on a quest to reduce my small sized scrap fabrics.  I have a long way to go judging by the size of these boxes still !

I sorted my scraps by shape and size. I began by making 5" log cabin blocks  but still ended up with smaller odd size scraps. I used foundation piecing and have now completed 57 blocks. I'll continue to use my scraps to make more of these blocks and there will be no shortage of projects I can use them. 

I learnt this technique years ago in a class with Virginia Enright  (she published  a book called "Tiny Treasures") but I recently found a great  tutorial on on this technique;    http://www.wikihow.com/Foundation-Piece-a-Quilt-Block .

I have not thrown out any fabric greater than 1" so I still have lots of tiny scraps.  There are so many possibilities which will allow these smaller scraps to be used , like the needlecase I made sometime ago (5' x 3 1/2').