Catching up

I have been very slack with blog updates of late however I do have a great excuse. I have had my head in my sewing machine. Busy with 5 quilts on the go, one for my Dad, one for the School Fete, one for Lucy, a Liberty & Linen one and a Star Quilt 'just for technique'.

I am also branching out and have made a cute bag and a hobby bag.  A few weeks ago I had a weekend away with my best and we sewed our selves silly ! I am slightly addicted right now and would rather be sewing than working.

 

 

 for Dad

My unfinished Star - cut on the cross

Rainbow Houses - in progress for the school fete raffle

 Hobby Bag - must think of something

 to put in it - maybe hand sewing

 

 

Mermaid for Lily

 

My niece turned 3 yesterday and she loves dolls. I found this gorgeous pattern online for a mermaid on Etsy from a little shop called Tuesday Mourning and made her a mermaid. Her tail is quilted and hair is felt. I really enjoyed making her and will attempt another one for Lucy.

 

If you are looking for her on Etsy, her name is Milly the Mermaid

May Finished

It is finally finished. The gumdrops quilt was a labour of love, from selecting 400 scraps to sewing them all on, then quilting it myself. Lucy loves it and it is keeping her warm right now.
I am happy with result but do wish that I had made it a little bigger. I guess that is an excuse to make another one then.

May Goal Setting

I have set myself another challenge to finish Lucy's gumdrops quilt this month.

The nights are cooler so quilts are a must, I have a class starting in a few weeks with Claire Turpin to make her Lone Star Quilt so time to get on with finishing what I have started.

Quiet Quilt Finished

 

I started this quilt at a Weekend Sewing Retreat last year and this week I finally finished it. I made a pact with myself not to start anything new until I had finished my half done quilts. I really love this quilt and have nicknamed it 'Quiet Quilt'. Perfect for evenings on the couch in winter.

I have hand stitched inside the middle squares and the rest of the quilt I have used the 'stitch in the ditch method' for quilting. I am not overly confident at machine quilting yet so this one was a good practice. I am happy with the way it has turned out.

I signed this one up on a Lovely Year of Finishes in January and I have only now finished it. I have finished others in between but neglecting my blogging.

One day I will make a log cabin quilt totally in Liberty !

Liberty Quilt Finished

I have finally finished my Liberty Tana Lawn Quilt. It has taken a long time from when I bought the fabric 2 years ago. I had it professionally quilted and over the last few nights finished the binding. 8.8 metres of hand stitching, which I love but was glad to finish.

I love the texture, feel and warmth of this quilt. It is the biggest one I have made yet and it has only inspired me to make more Liberty Quilts.

The Pattern is from one of my favourite quilting books, Sunday Morning Quilts.

Gumdrops Quilt

about 400 scraps to make the gumdrops

pretty boarder

lots of stitching

backing and binding

400 gumdrops scraps, 800metres of cotton to stitch around each gumdrop and a whole lot of coffee went into creating the top for Lucy's new quilt. We had fun picking the scraps together and on my weekend retreat (a few weeks back) I put it all together. It is probably the most unsociable quilt I have ever made as I had to concentrate whilst appliqueing the gumdrops onto the background. Forget the wine for dinner too !

The pattern is from the gorgeous Sunday Morning Quilts book. I want to make nearly all the quilts in this book.

Now I just have to put it all together and work out a less time consuming way to quilt this one.

Quilting Retreat

Tonight I am packing for my second Quilting Retreat in Toodjay with Claire and Jemima. I have decided to make the Gumdrops Quilt from the Sunday Morning Quilts book. I have cut out 400 gumdrops from fabric scraps that Lucy picked. She is very excited about having this quilt on her bed for winter time. A lot of stitching to do between now and then.

The weekend : 3 days of sewing, no cooking and hanging out with my best buddie - tres magic !

A Quiet Moment

Having been full of a cold this week I have been looking for every opportunity to catch a 'quiet moment'. I decided rather than to machine quilt my 'Quiet Quilt' I would hand quilt it. It is much slower but very calming and I really think it adds that real handmade look to a quilt.

Lucy and I snuck in a quick quiet moment reading stories and sipping 'cinos' at our favourite coffee shop - Mrs S, this morning before school. A welcome quite moment after loads of tears due to Lucy slamming her finger in a door. Cino's fix everything said Lucy.

Quick Stitch for Baby

I am not getting far with finishing my quiet quilt this month as I keep getting distracted with other projects and last minute gifts. Our lovely friends had their first baby boy last week so as I promised myself I would give as much hand made for gifts this year, I threw together this little play quilt for baby. My second attempt and machine quilting... I need a lot more practice.

Monday is Funday

 

Monday is my favourite day of the week. I get to spend the morning having a nice breakfast with Lucy before she goes to school and then I get six blissful hours to myself doing what ever I please.

Today I met my bestie for Lunch and we did a spot of shopping and catching up on a bit of goss and generally having a good laugh about the situations we find ourselves in sometimes.

 

We met at Calico & Ivy (a favourite haunt) and sifted through piles of fabric thinking what we could make. Then onto lunch at Hubbles Yard in East Freo and a wander through the shops. I bought a stunning evening dress with the hope that one night I will get to wear it... must be a ball or wedding coming up soon... surely.



Sew Thinky Thursday - 2

The question for Sew Thinky Thursday is: What is the Most Meaningful thing I have made..

It was hard to just pick one but I think the first quilt I made would have to be the one that comes to mind. I had my first quilting class at Thread Bearz in East Fremantle which does not exist anymore but the lovely lady (Jan Mullen from Stargazey) that taught me is still around creating fantastic things.

I look back at the fabrics I chose and have a giggle as they are so old fashioned and completely different to what I like now but I have fond memories of going to this class. It was on Wednesday nights and I hauled my heavy singer sewing machine up the street and couldn't wait to start.

My Mum helped me pin the quilt ready for hand quilting and I accidentally pinned it to the floor ! We still laugh about that.

It was also in a funny time in my life, being new to Perth and I hardly had any friends so quilting was a great comfort for me and suited me as I loved sewing anyway.

I still have this quilt and it is a favourite during the winter and when I am tucked up in bed with a flu.

February Goal - Finish my Quiet Quilt

I started this quilt in October at a weekend sewing retreat I went on with my friend. It has been sitting, waiting patiently for me to finish it so I have decided that this quilt is my February Finish Project. I call it my quiet quilt.

Couch Quilt Finished

I am on a roll of finishes for 2013 and two nights ago I finally finished Lucy's couch quilt. It is a small quilt that I have quilted myself - a simple stitch in the ditch,which is a first for me. I am slowly getting the hang of machine quilting. The fabrcs are Kaffe off cuts from a friend. Lucy loves it and has already snuggled under it to watch a Barbie movie.

Something New out of Something Old

I started cutting up Lucy's clothes a few months back to create a quilt that would obtain many memories. There are bits from my parents, great friends, uncles and aunties and from us. While many may think it is not that great of me to not hand down the clothes to the next little person I actually found it harder to part with these gifts and even harder to have them stashed in a cupboard. At first Lucy was quite upset when she saw me cutting up her favourite dress we bought on our recent trip to France but when I told her that she could sleep under her favourite dresses this winter she picked up the scissors and started to help.

It will take a while to collect a few more things to have enough squares (225 in total) to make this quilt fit her bed but I think that it will be worth the wait.

Right Now

I can't keep up with myself sometimes. There are so many books I want to read, so many quilts I want to make, so much sewing I want to do and lots of bits and pieces around the home I really need to get finished.

Right now I am about to quilt Lucy's new couch quilt, get stuck into this months favorite magazines, try some recipes from Falling Cloudberries, a gorgeous book that I would like to own but have borrowed from the library until I can find a bargain copy. Bowerbird is next on the agenda, Sibella Court's new book which I have only just flicked through quickly... it is staring at me on the coffee table saying "slow down, read me, start decorating".

Quilting Retreat

Log Cabin Up Close

Liberty Log

Lucy's Kaffe Quilt

Up close, Kaffe strip quilt

Last weekend I snuck away with my bestie to Toodyay for a weekend of sewing. We were welcomed at the Avalon Homestead by Peter & Delveen and their fantastic home cooked  meals and a room set up ready to sew ourselves silly.

I started with a simple Kaffe strip quilt for Lucy,  the pattern was made up as I went. this will be Lucy's couch snuggle quilt for rainy days. On Saturday morning I started a log cabin quilt for our guest room. It is a mix of Liberty, Kaffe plain fabric and A Day in the Country stripes and spots. It is a very 'quiet quilt' compared to the one for Lucy.  Now all I need to do it find backings and quilt the tops, a bit of binding and we will be ready for winter.

I met some wonderfully creative people and Claire and Jemima from Sew-Along were fantastic.  I am definitively booking in for the next retreat in March.