Lap Quilt and Journal Cover

Apologies for the quality of the photos.

This is a large lap quilt I made for a colleague at work who is turning 60 years old next week.  He doesn't know about if yet but the funny thing is that last week he saw me looking at a quilting magazine and casually said "one day you have to make me "...

So I think he'll like it or at a minimum will be surprised that he's getting one.

 

Here is a close-up of the quilting; having the quilting machine allows me to finish a quilt of this type in less than a couple of days.
The block is the Disappearing Nine Patch and all the fabrics came from my stash.

After cleaning up my studio I didn't want to start anything large, so I made this journal cover to give my aunty as a gift.
The applique is wool and were left overs from a previous project.

And now for some music:

It's no secret that I adore Chris Botti's music so when he joined Michael Buble in this beautiful song "A song for You" I had to add to the list of all time favourites.
The other version of this song that I also love is done by  Mike Hucknall from the group "Simply Red".

 

Birthday Quilt

I have made a few quilts for my brother over the years but he asked me to make him one for his 50th birthday coming up...

I didn't want to do anything traditional this time so the design is based on what he's special in his life.... his children, his vast book and art collection, his birthplace and his family..

 

 

 

All the fabrics are from my stash and I used a couple of techniques ; the letters from Tonya Ricucci's book "Word Play Quilts" and the blocks are sewn on paper foundation ending up as 4 1/2' squares.

 

As soon as I get an appropriate backing fabric it will be on the HQ18.

Has to be ready by late next month when we are going to be at his party ! Can't wait.

 

I also been doing some more charity quilts on the Handi Quilter to practice my skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this one I tried different free motion on different blocks..

 

 

My garden at the moment...

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long ago I used to do folk-art painting, this is my mailbox....
Wish I had time to do it still....

Small Quilt and my garden in Winter

Made this small quilt with some of my scraps today.

The pattern comes from a book of Kathleen Tracy and it was a quick project to get done.

It will be a gift.

I have been playing with my scraps again, this time using solids. I don't have a project in mind but it was fun just sewing away and listening to music.

This is a section of my garden outside my studio today.  It's quite cold now but but we had some sunshine throughout the day.

 

 

 Some dianthus...

 

Asian Lilies...

 

And now for some music....

 

Someone today sent me a link to this song recently. It's performed by Ivete Sangalo and Roberto Carlos, who are very popular in Brazil and many other parts of the world.

The song is roughly translated as "If I didn't love you this much"... 

Made a new bag....

I made one of Monica Poole's bags last week but just haven't had a chance to take a photo until now.

 

 

It's a nice size to use for various purposes, with two external pockets and a zipper closure at the top. It was quite easy to make it.

 

My scraps continue to increase so I decided to play with them by making this 7" block.

 

I got the pattern from the latest Quiltmaker magazine.  The block was presented by Bonnie Hunter and it's paper pieced/foundation.  It uses quite small pieces so unfortunately it has made no dent on the scrap bin.  But I enjoyed playing with the fabrics and making a big mess when cutting the pieces down to size.

 



I have participated in a pincushion swap, so this is one of the pincushions I received.  Very cool block and I love it in red.

I have been given a few tops to practice my quilting skills on and the quilt will then be given away to charity.  This is one of those I completed.

And this is what the entire quilt looks like....

I have started a new quilt using wool applique and pieced blocks in reproduction fabrics. I think it's going to be a while before I have something to show because work commitments and holiday preparations are taking a fair bit of my time.

Little Pouch

 

I was hoping to have spent a lot more time sewing this past week but it didn't happen.

I managed to finish this little pouch that will be a gift for my aunty when I see her in a few months time.

For the applique I used wool and felt from my stash. 

 

 

Still had some leftover fabric so I made a bag for the MELWAY (Street Directory book) I have in my car. 

 

 

I have a small quilt loaded on the HQ18 just waiting for me to start playing.  Hopefully tomorrow I will have some time to have fun.



 

Table Runner and African fabrics quilt and much more...

A lot has happened since I last blogged. 

My husband was involved in a car crash landing him in hospital with a sternal fracture and both cars involved in the collition at the scrap yard. I am grateful as we stand because it could have been a lot worse.  One of the positives is that I now have a brand new car and he's taken over the car I normally drive, which is about 3 years old with very low mileage.

So with having to sort out a few issues, the sewing has taken a back seat.

 

I am pleased to share in this posting what I had in progress is now completed.

 

This table runner started up as a wall hanging but once I had done the applique flowers, I didn't like the design on the pattern after all.

And given that I actually wanted a runner for this cabinet, I made it to fit.
The applique is wool but the centres are cotton.

In the past whenever I completed a quit top, it was considered done; not so now.

Since acquiring the Handi Quilter that definition has changed;  it's completed when the quilting and binding are done and I tend not to blog about it until it's at that stage.

All the fabrics for this quilt came from my African fabrics stash which I purchased in South Africa many years ago. I don't know what this block is called but I have seen it in many quilts but not the way I have arranged the blocks to form 'steps' hence I named it "Stairway to Heaven".

I made it for a relative who lives in Africa.

Recently I participated in a pincushion swap and received this cute pincushion.

My friend Lynne who often inspires me with her beautiful work gave me a book by Tula Pink and these lovely fabrics.   She knows that I have eclectic tastes in quilting so a twist of modern is something I am enjoying.

Just an aside, the little painted bird house on the right, I painted years ago when I was very involved in tole painting.  If time permited I would have love to still persue this hobby.

I follow Katheleen Tracy's blog and she has created a group with the aim of each participant completing each month, a small quilt from her books. Her work is so adorable that I decided to order her books and have a go.  Probably will start with the recent month's project and will try to catch up on the backdated projects.

And finally another couple books I received in the mail this week as part of educating myself and became a better quilter.
And of course a bit more fabric again...

Autumn is with us and my favourite season.... my garden is still showing off and I am loving it.

Sewing with my daughter and other fun things...

At every opportunity I get I try to entice my daughter to sew.  She wanted a bag for school so no better time than that, to get her onto the sewing machine.
She loves cats, so I had a cat fabric just 'purrfect' for the task at hand.

And this is what the bag looks like with it's on model to show it off.



My mate Stan come over to meet HQ18.  He was most impressed and totally got it ! He had a play with it and I was most impressed with his ability in handling the machine.
He is such a natural, but then again I am not at all surprised because several years ago I taught him and another girl make a small quilt and his quilt turned out a lot better than hers !

 

I had my blog printed by a company that turns the blogposts into a book.

 

I'll give you a peak preview of my next project.... I am very excited the way it's turning out so far.  I'll just say that I am using fabrics I have been collecting for a long time. 

Probably one particular print that you can see below gives the clue where I got the fabrics from.

You'll have to wait till next post to see what the quilt looks like...

 

And now for some music....

 

Boney James is another of the Smooth Jazz artists that I enjoy listening to. He has a new album coming out soon but this song is from a previously released album. 

Bowtie Block Quilt

The Bowtie block lends itself to so many desings and styles and it's so quick to make.
I have used it in so many quilts, I am beginning to think it's one of my favourite blocks.

I made this quilt for a male friend who loves browns and blues.  I think it will look fabulous in the decor of his study.

All the fabrics came from my stash and I have been keeping the brown background fabric for a long time; it's the perfect choice for this quilt.



The photo below was taken indoors, so the fabrics look different with artificial lights.
It's been so great using the HQ18 ; having the option to quilt my own larger quilts has removed completly the hesitation in just starting a new project, knowing that it won't just sit as a UFO.

Because my friend lives outside Australia, I decided to do the back of the quilt with an Australian flavour. He'll certainly appreciate it as he has visited here before a couple of times and was very inpressed with this art.

So, what should I work on next ? Still have a few tops to be quited, Farmer's Wife Blocks to make into a top, Barbara Brackman's blocks from last year's blog to make into a top, want to make more bags, pincushions, other cushions, mini quilts, etc, etc.... Love it all !!!!

Bag and Cushions this week.

I haven't made a bag for a while, so picked up these fabrics recently and there you have it !

 

The pattern is a modified version of the pattern "Frenchy Bags" by Ami Butler I had purchased years ago.  The button is ceramic hand-made from my collection.

 

I also made a couple pincushions using a fabric folding technique I learnt many years ago; I want to try a few other blocks which resemble origami techniques.



When I completed my Swoon Quilt  recently I had lots of leftover blocks which I used to make up this cushion.  I have a lot more left to use on further projects.

Noddy wants to show you my newly purchased fabrics.

My friend Lynne who works at the fabric store enjoys tempting me when she gets new fabrics .  I got a lot of their perfect quality discounted fabric for backings and a selection of different styles from Riley Blake, to fresh modern, Reproduction and even non-traditional Christmas fabrics.   What can I say; I just love them all !