Sunday, October 28, 2007

Charm Square Hell!

I thought using charm squares would be so easy! Just sew them together! Hmmmm, anything but! I am finding it difficult to come across a pleasing layout, this was supposed to be a quick whip it up quilt, 4 days later I am still messing around with layouts.....

This was my first one, based on the pattern mentioned in the last post. Although its Daz's pick, something about it wasn't quite right...

So I rearrarnged some more, but still thought nope! And so tried some pinwheels...

But I have done pinwheels already this year, doesn't quite work either. So rearranged some more...

Interesting this one! Purple is too strong though. So I left it for a few days and have just stuck this layout below up on the design wall.

I have enough to make another 4 blocks. So could be a posibility. Then when I showed Daz the photo's this was the one he liked the least! Arrgggg!!! I don't actually mind it, bit of rearranging and could be a winner. The only other idea I have is after posting all these photos, the first one, the original idea is growing on me again. Maybe try it with the triangles being the same print, I matched them with prints the same colour value, but seeing as though I have 2 of each triangle, that might work.... back to the design wall!

And then just cause Grace wanted to get in the shot.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

WIP Thursday - Week 42 - the start of Mrs K's quilt!

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, WIP Thursday does it? Oh well, I am more scared by the week it is, this year has zoomed by, only 2 months to Christmas! I treated myself to an early Christmas present this week and brought the above book "Q is for Quilt" (just picked up half a metre of the yummy dotty fabric too! I am such a sucker for the same print on different colourways!!). This has some stunning patterns in it, I have photographed my two favourites below. Have seen the wonky house done before but this one is just so cool! The pattern that really grabbed my eye was "Red Mountains", its incredible! So I have decided that this is the pattern I'm going to use for Mrs K's quilt.



It was hard to start cutting up those charming Charm's! Something so nice about them all veing together is a pile. I drew a line from corner to corner and then sewed 1/4th an inch each side and then cut on the line to make the squares. I have 80 in total so maybe 8 rows across by 10??

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

My new bag!

Well it was worth the wait! This fantastic bag from Bec arrived in the mail earlier this week as part of the recent Bag Swap organized by the EB sewing girls. Its really two bags for the prcie of one! Bec has amazingly made it reversable, so on one side I have a print in autumn tones, as modelled by Daz below and then on the other side, a patchwork pattern! Its absolutely perfect for me to fit a lunch box, water bottle and my book in to take to work on Saturdays with, thanks Bec! And especially thank you for the magazines and fabric inside, that was an extra suprise!

Friday, October 19, 2007

AJ's Birthday Star Hanging

Now this hanging has arrived at its home, I can blog it! But have just realized I didn't take any photos of it finished! So I have pasted some that AJ has taken. Back in February I signed up for the Quilt Studio 12 inch block challenge, my theme I choose was star. My first block was the Van Gogh inspired number here. So was scrathing my head over the second one, then I thought Andy Warhol, something along the lines of his Movie Star images. Then I thought, what am I going to do with this 12 inch block? And decided to make a hanging for AJ to put in her birthday parcel.

So this week it was AJ's birthday! Happy birthday my quilting buddy! We have never meet in real life, but through the powers of quilting have formed a friendship across this huge country of ours. I think she's a star as her TTC road has been a bumpy one and I do admire her grace, courage and positive outlook that one day she will hold her own baby in her arms. I can't wait for that day for her and her husband, it will come AJ! She is a wonderful person to bounce ideas and colour combos off, our taste is very similar, one day I hope that we will be able to go on a big fabric shopping crawl together! A true friend! :)


So these two shots AJ took. It was bit of an experiment to make as the image of her. I took the photo of her off her blog and hoped she wouldn't mind! Photoshopped it till the colours where how I wanted, then printed the image onto some fine calico that had been ironed with freezer paper. The colours where stunning, I was impressed with how well it printed. Then I sewed stripes around, in a wonky log cabin style. Then the plan was to sew little Star of David blocks in each corner, but I had run out of room at this stage if it was going to be 12 inches! So I popped the binding on and then quilted it. Had such fun quilting it, random stippling everywhere! I used a little paper star as a template, as in the first photo. It was really a nice little project to do. Now to think of what to do for the last one..... idea's?


Wednesday, October 17, 2007

WIP Wednesday Week 41 - Quilting for Caitlin



I feel a bit bad at how long this quilt has taken. Poor Caitlin is now 4 months old! I apologised to her Mum this morning and she laughed saying it was okay, as she has only just moved into her cot!

I decided to do some simple diagonal quilting on this one, used the trusty old quilters masking tape to guide me, although there still are some wonky lines! I did a quarter of an inch inside the letter blocks and then all around the name, so the diagonal stitching doesn't go all the way to the edge of the block, stops a quarter of an inch in. I think another two weeks and it will be ready to go to its new home. Hopefully.....

Monday, October 15, 2007

Hole in the Quilt! *panic* Phew! Fixed!

Now I have finished my dolls quilt, I have turned my attention back to Caitlin's quilt. Up to the sandwich stage. So I lay the backing fabric out on the dining table, taped it down, got my wadding out, spray glued it, smoothed it out. Went to get the quilt top, started to iron it when I discovered this! A hole in the quilt!!! OMG! How did that happen?? It is a little snip, I'm wondering did one of the girls get naughty with my scissors or did I accidentally do it (like I did the other day packing up some fabric for the shop. Opps!)

So I unpicked the offending little 2 inch square, rather nervously, but I had to work quick as I couldn't leave the backing and wadding on the table overnight. Luckily it was on the edge. I sewed the square to the strip alongside the border, then sewed it to the edge away from the border and then to the border, does that make sense??!

Then, phew, I could breath again, all fixed and nicely ironed down in place. Looks like it was always there doesn't it?!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Ari and her Van Gogh Block!

Well after me finishing this 12 inch block for the Quilt Studio challenge back in April, today I finally gave it to the friend I made it for! I've known Arianne for the last 12 years, we meet when we were both doing craft markets and fairs around Perth in the mid 90's. We shared a house for a year in 1999 or was it '98? Too far back to remember! She is an artist herself, in nearly every room of our house we have a peice of her work. A small mirror in the study here, a canvas each in the girls rooms, a huge A2 sized print of fish in our bedroom, a stunning painting in the lounge room of a girl that represents me, holding 12 red roses that Daz gave to me once, she painted that one for our engagement pressie. So although throughout the years she recieved a lot of ceramics from me, this is the first item I have sewn for her. She liked it! Now to shortly reveal where the next 12 inch block will turn up! Stay tuned....

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Charming Charm Squares.....

I had lovely mail awaiting me when I got home from yesterday's Mothers Group, a package of Charm Squares from the Fat Quarters Quilters. First of all I was impressed with the postage, my card got exercised on the 3rd, and they arrived from Atlanta to down town Perth in a week exactly! Takes longer for a parcel to get from Perth to Queensland, hey AJ??!

Now I must admit, I am not normally into Charm Squares but I have to whip up two lap sized quilts for Grace's kindy teachers so thought this would be a great way to go. Trouble is, I am in love with the pack above, a range called Fall Back In Time that I was going to make for Ms K, that I now am keeping it for myself! Its so unlike my usual palette of colours, but sooo yummy! I also got Christmas Past, to make a runner for. Sweet Baby Jane I got 2 packs of, as a stand by for a quick baby quilt. And lastly for Mrs KF, A Little Romance, 2 packs again. *sigh* I am in charm heaven!

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Mum's 60th Birthday Limo Ride!

Mum was 60 on the 1st of this month. And she was away for the week with Dad on one of their 4WD jaunts, and so organizing something special got pushed back to today which tied in nicely with Nan's 82nd birthday which was on Saturday. So what does one organize to make the occassion special? A ride in a 10 seater stretch limo or as Grace called it, "the BIG car!" All we told her was 10.30am by her mailbox. So we all piled in, Mum, Dad, Ad, 5 kids and I!


Then we zoomed down to Nan's place to pick her up. I think Nan is getting used to the limo lifestyle as she was in one back in January for a do arranged by my cousin, she settled back on the seats quite comfertably! It was certainly a ride I could get used too, very plush and comfy in the back. The kids where waving at everyone, despite Aunty Ad telling them "they can't see you, the windows are tinted!" Milly was absolutely fasinated by the mirror panal inside where she could see herself and did action nursery rhymes the whole trip home!

After we picked up Nan we went to Kings Park to a kid friendly cafe they have there. That way Nan could sit quietly and the kids could burn off some energy. We had lunch there and stayed for a few hours and then hopped back in the limo to do home! As you do!! We stopped on the way to have a group photo taken, the first shot in this post, and beside the working men of the family missing, its a great shot! Everyone looking at the camera, how often does that happen??


Then it was time to go back home. Everyone was tired and cranky. Grace kept poking Cate. Oliver pulled his loose tooth out. Stu was in the front seat chatting non stop to the driver. Milly, well I caught her watching herself pick her nose in the mirror! Happy Birthday Jules! We hope you had a lovely day as much as we did!

Friday, October 05, 2007

Whats in your name?? Tagged Time!

Ingrid has tagged me, haven't been tagged for ages, what fun!

Here’s how it works:1. Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name.2. When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.3. At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.4. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they have been tagged, and to read your blog.5. If I’ve tagged YOU (see below), please join in on the fun!

H.... Happy. I like to think I have a happy outlike on life. People often say that my quilts are happy.
E.... Eggs, I am currently teaching Grace the correct way to crack an egg when we make a cake. A messy affair indeed! Lets just say we have shell in our cakes!
L... Licorice! mmmm! Just plain licorice, not the allsorts, just plain normal licorice!
E.... ET, a movie of my childhood that sticks to me cause I really wanted a bike that could fly (didn't realize till later it was ET in the basket that made it fly!) and I wished I was Drew Barrymore.
N.... Neat some of the time. I do have a thing that the lounge room has to be tidy before I sit down and relax for the night in in. Daz is happy to sit amungst the mess, but me, nope, I have to put away those megablocks and books and tidy all the cushions.

What a hard name to do, 2 E's! I was stretching it there to think of something! Okay, now I am going to tag Novy , Lily , Emma , Natalie and Kylie.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

WIP Wednesday Week 39 - More wonky log cabins

Have been in bit of a blogger slump lately. Friday night we listed some more material in the shop here, which went off, so I was busy sending emails, tallying, trying not to mix up people's orders! It was a long weekend here in Perth, so three days of family stuff, had a nice picnic on the Monday at a local park by the river we have just discovered. I have seen articles about it in the local paper, but only just got around to checking it out! Sunday we hung in the garden, pulling endless weeds and Daz has finally removed the last of the ugly cocos palms from the front of our lawn. And I have finally signed up to here. Have held off for as long as I could, but after 4 invites from friends in the last month..... I thought why not. So what time I have had on the net lately I have been hanging in there. A dangerously time wasting site! And amungst all that I decided to join up with the girls from Essential Baby in a Body Blitz 90 day challenge! I'd like to loose those few extra pesky kilos from having the girls. So, I have been exercising! Shock horror! I am so not an exercise person. But have brushed the spider webs from the stepper out the back and been doing 30 minutes a day, in time that I would otherwise be on the net or sewing.

So Facebook, long weekends, selling fabric, gardening and exercising means just a little bit of sewing. Just a little.....


I'm doing another quilt for the dolls swap. Why? Why not??! Well cause I like the first one, but I think I can now make this one a different shape. Above is just a sneek peak. Another wonky log cabin. They look easy but this one has been a challenge as I have wanted it to be a certain size, so I'd sew on a round, then measure, ponder and sew on another. I have actually missed sewing the last week. I am all set for tonight, have got my 30 minutes of excerise out the road, most of my household chores are done, the new series of House starts, time to sew baby, sew!