WIP Wednesday Week 5.

Okay, so its not Wednesday, its Thursday were I am, but its still Wedensday over at Freshly Pieced so I'm letting it count! Yesterday was the last day of my summer holidays and I spent it sewing with the intention of blogging after dinner. But then we had a big storm come through and the whole town lost power for about four hours, most inconvient! Lucky it wasn't during the day as then I couldn't have got any sewing done. I finished the top to this runner earlier this week. Its not as big as I had hoped. Thats what you get for using mini charms I guess. The friend this is for has a massive dining room table and this would just look lost on it. So I'm pondering between making something else or just giving it to her, I mean she might not want to put it on her massie dining room table? I'll ponder that as I quilt it, I have the backing fabric selected, just need to unroll the wadding and cut some to size. But instead of reaching for that roll of wadding, what happens? I start another project!

I have seen so many lovely scrappy Trip Around The World quilts on flickr and on blogs, it has been very inspirational. So I decided to start making one, as you do. I'm using the tutorial over at Quiltville which is awesome. The tutorial is for a block with 6 squares, I didn't want it quite so big. so I made mine 5 squares. Which was fine until it came to the ironing part, I have to fold one in half in the tube. Those of you that have made the block like in the tutorial will understand the ironing tube bit hopefully.

So here are the first four blocks, colourful! I'm slipping some fabric in there which is orphaned and will most likely never see the light of day. I have a heap of strips cut ready to go, after I go unroll that wadding perhaps?!

First Finish for 2013!

I have finished this table runner. It is called Feista and it is from a book titled Skinny Quilts. The pattern was based on four groups of blocks which would have made it a whopping 70.5 inches long. I only did three groups of blocks and that made this runner just on 48 inches long which I thought was a better length.

I used up all my fabric recieved from Christmas, using the scraps for the backing! The binding was from my stash of solids though. I just had to add three small light purple scraps and it was perfect. Maybe even better than the front? The husband thinks so if his opinion counts.

Looks at home on my table but it's rolled up ready to post to it's new home. Would I make this pattern again? Unsure.... maybe.

WIP Wednesday Week 4.

I have decided to do WIP Wednesday posts again for 2013 and I am joining in over at Freshly Pieced in the fun. Even though it says week 4, this is my first WIp post for 2013, I'll keep along with the calendar years. This is what I am working on at the moment. I have broken open the little mini charm packs I got for Christmas and I am making whirly gig blocks out of them for a tablerunner! In hindsight most likely not the best block to choose to show off the fabric as once sewn together a 2.5 inch charm equals a block just over 3 inches. Hopefully this time next week it will be a WIP shot of sewing down binding.

2012 Quilt Review.

It is that time of the year again, time to reflect on quilting achievements of the previous year. I declared 2012 to be Year of the Table Runner, and I sewed nine runners and seven quilts. Started off in January with the first Christmas Table Runner. Getting in on the Christmas presents nice and early!

Then a girlfriend who loved orange recieved this runner in March. She is getting married next year... a matching orange quilt maybe?

Wandered back into the quilt making world with this cot sized quilt for a newborn boy in April.

And another runner for another friends birthday in May.This one was adapted from a pattern from Aunt Millie's Garden. I borrowed it back in July to enter it in the local Ag Show, it piced up first place in "Appliqued - Other Article". Cool!

And then another runner for another friends birthday in June! I am starting to be known as the Table Runner Gift Lady!

And another runner in early July! But guess what? I kept this one for myself! Its actually on our dining room table at the moment.

This bigger than cot sized quilt was gifted to a much anticipated newborn baby girl in July.

Back to my Christmas presents in July. Still one of my favourite patterns the whirlygig. This one ended up being gifted to Matilda's teacher.

In August I finished this special quilt for a special little girl at school who was very sick. She still is quite ill but well enough to come back to school next month.

This was the biggest quilt finished for 2012, double bed sized. Started in April and finished in September. It was for a teenage girl who liked green.

 

These red and white runners were a cot sized quilt but got sliced down to make two more table runners. One I gifted to a friend for her birthday in September and the other is still rolled up waiting to find a home.

In November I was in the only Dolls Quilt Swap for the year, the EB Quilters one. I used four orphaned blocks to make this little dolls quilt.

In November this aqua disappearing 9 patch was gifted to a newborn baby boy of a teacher who used to live in Kununurra.

I finished this table runner just in time to be gifted to friends on Christmas Day!This photo doesn't do this runner justice, its such a lovely rich red colour.

And I squeezed in the end of the year by finishing this Rainbow Whirlygig Quilt. Just mailed it to its new home today actually.

And so wraps up the 2012 Quilt Review. Goals for 2013? I really like sewing table runners so expect to see a few more of those. Otherwise the only goal is to sew more, some weeks I wouldn't touch the machine until the weekend, thats not on. I can surely squeeze 30 minutes a day in after school......

Bali 2013.

 

We are back from holiday. It only seems like yesterday we were getting on the plane, now I find myself back to reality! We had a very relaxing time in Bali. It was basically the same holiday exactly as last year here! No hair braiding or elephant rides this time though, lots of reading by the pool, swimming in the pool and eating yummy food. Divine! We have three weeks of holidays left, taking the dust cover off the machine tomorrow morning!

Hello Holidays!

Even though we have been on holidays for about two weeks now, it only feels we are really on holidays now as this time tomorrow we will hopefully somewhere between Katherine and Darwin. We are spending a few days in Delightful Darwin before flying out for ten days in Beautiful Bali. So I have put the cover on the sewing machine. The machine must have wanted an early holiday as yesterday afternoon my free motion quilting foot broke, lost its spring, kept catching on the fabric seams, not gliding along. So looks like a new foot from Darwin Spotlight! I used my sewing time to start cutting fabric for a new table runner from my new book. It felt real funny cutting from a pattern, usually I just cut.... Anyway, its ready to go for after the holidays!

Happy New Year dear blog readers. Do you make resolutions? I try to..... this year I am going to try and reply to comments. I read every one and think "cool!" and then move onto the next email. Time to hit reply before next. I have also signed up for Rachels Reading Challenge. To read 13 books for the year. Any book you like on any topic, no kids picture books though! I thought with two weeks on a real holiday stretched out in front of me, lazing by the pool, I'll be able to plough through a few! First one selected is Death Comes to Pemberley, a spin off from Pride and Prejudice. I have read it before, but I have just finished listen to a podcast of Pride and Prejudice, lets keep the story line going!