Chaletgirls Block Swap Complete!

Well it started back in early March here and now look, all my blocks have returned home! Don't they look great together? Such soft, pretty looking blocks. My Mother In Law was admiring them as I was unpacking them and spreading them out on the floor. Maybe a quilt for her? How many quilts can I have draped over the couch? I'm thinking at this early stage 6 blocks across and 7 down. The column on the far right is my unsure pile. They are beautiful blocks but my eye goes to them immediately rather than blending in with the rest. So am thinking maybe a row on the backing, that would work. Or maybe I'll learn to love them.

Thanks to the lovely ladies who made this swap so great. Especially the wonderful Sheridan who organized us all. :) The blocks are all starting to return to their homes. Some can be seen here.

Sneek peek of next months Homespun article can be seen here. I am nervous.....

DQS#7 From Louise.

I sort of forgot that I was going to receive a dolls quilt for Round 7 of the Flickr DQS. Well, receiving was on the back list of priorities as I still have 4 bebe's out of the 26 that were in my little group that have not received their quilts. It makes me sad and angry when people don't keep up their end of the swap by not sending on time. Or worse, not sending at all! I'm worrying about them missing out. Anyway, I don't want to start ranting about that, I want to gush about the lovely package I got in the mail from Louise! Louise is one half of the talented duo Audrey and Maude, she kindly put a few of her patterns in my parcel too, and a beautiful fat quarter of Kaffe which will go in the collection of Kaffe fabric. I was delightfully suprised to get this in the mail, lucky me!

There was lots of oh, oh, OH, OHHHHH's as I opened this up on Thursday. It is just so beautiful, it is so ME! Louise has done a fantastic job, great combination of my favorite colours, goes wonderfully with the crisp white, throw in some Kaffe and it is just perfect!

Here's the back. Hanger already sewn in, ready to hang! Thanks Louise, good thinking as once we get our new place, I am hanging up this one!

A close up of the front. I just love it!

And another close up! Love it, love it, love it! Thank you once again Louise. :)

My quilt arrived at it's home safely. Terrie has it up on her wall already, here. This swap is nearly wrapped up. Time to do it all again early next year!

WIP Wednesday - Week 38 - Highlight Quilting...

And continuing in the vein of finishing quilts.... I finished this quilt top back in June, but never blogged a photo of the top finished, maybe cause it was too big? Look at it pegged to the clothesline at the old house? Couldn't get the whole thing in the photo! I have done a pieced backing too but no photo, I think I got tired of the wind blowing it around. Last news of this quilt was back here. I hadn't even put the borders on. I think I was waiting on some more fabric from America? I do remember folding it up when finished and promising myself that I would not touch it till the old house was sorted. And it has been since here, over 2 months ago. That was my mental carrot I was dangling to myself. Won't start quilting this till the house is sorted, won't start quilting this till the house is sorted. Then the flickr Dolls Quilt Swap Round 7 started up and that got in the way.....

Anyway, enough dithering Helen, it was time to put this quilt on Mum's frame! I'll admit it took a few days to pin it on. I unpinned it twice as it wasn't quite right, it's going to take practise pinning and rolling tightly. In the shot above I forgot to put the clamp on the quilt to pull it over, see the wrinkles at the end? Should be a bit tighter. Still it didn't seem to matter in the end.

I have put my machine back on the frame. I'm rather impressed at this machine. It is "only" a Brother, about four years old? Not a super cheap machine but not a really expensive one, just an ordinary Brother Quilt Master BX300 or something like that. A workhorse though, it quilted this perfectly! I turned the tension up to nine, normally its a four, and it was perfect! Absolutely perfect, I was happy.

So two days to pin it on, school runs do get in the way of quilting don't they? And then the quilting began. I was using "bobbin fill" for the backing thread, went through nine bobbin changes. Who was counting? Just an all over meandering stipple again. I think I have mastered this one, time to move onto a stipple with hearts or stars thrown in.

Here it is cascading down the frame when we unpinned it. It is not finished though. Because my machine is just a normal machine with a little tiny throat, by the time I got two thirds the way through, I had so much quilt rolled up in the throat I only had like a few inches to actually do any quilting. I suppose we could have taken it off, turned the quilt around, repinned it all back on and started at the other end..... But all that pinning! That is the worst part. So I'm going to do the last bit as normal, normal being at the Horn table with a quilt bunched around you wrestling it under the machine normal! I am going with Mum tomorrow to look at this machine. Finger's crossed.

Wonky Houses, Part 1.

Last week was a fantastic week in my mailbox! The blocks for my round of Around The Block have started to trickle in.

This one is from Kate. She said that wonky is not her forte but it looks pretty good to me!

This one is from Annie. I love the green swirls for the grass and the gradation of the greens light to dark.

And this one is from Rachel. A four storey house, wouldn't that be nice? I love the trees in this block. Reminds me that Christmas is nearly here.

This block came from Rita. Reminds me of a Swiss Chalet with the big window.

And this fantastic one looking like it is straight out of a Dr Sessus book is from Amy. The veranda looks great! This one is Daz's favourite.

Here they all are added with my block. They look great together, thanks so much girls. Can't wait to add the rest when they come in this month.

Squid Eye Quilt Finished!

I finished this week the quilt that is known as "The Squid Eye". So named by my beloved husband because he commented at the start "that looks like a giant squid eye". I am not too sure what a giant squids eye looks like exactly.... bloodshot and big?

Despite the edges of this photo, it does lie flat! It measures 48 inches square. The larger squares in the center are 11 inches. And the ones around the outside are 5.5 inches.

One of my favourite blocks. The black and white print is from Prints Charmings range as most of you will know. It is so soft! I brought that fabric on our Sydney trip back here, nearly 2 years ago. Must be time for another trip soon. I wish!

I like this one too. Lots of spots.

The back I pieced together. The spot in the bottom left is the label.

I decided to give the quilt to Daz, well make the label out to him. I finished it on the night of his birthday. He was sitting next to me on the couch as I sewed the binding down. One of the best things about sewing at night is that you can snuggle under the quilt. I finished the binding and pushed all the quilt over onto his knee and said "Happy Birthday!" and pretended that the plan of starting here and taking 18 months to finish this quilt was all on purpose so I would finish exactly on his 38th birthday. He didn't believe me though! I did the label on the computer and printed it out onto fabric and then blanket stitched it into place as usual.

Here we all are about to cut his birthday cake! Happy birthday Daz! We love you lots and look foward to the next 38 birthdays together!

My Creative Space.

There is a meme doing the rounds at the moment, sharing your creative space. We have moved house in the last few months and 80% of our possessions are in storage, packed ready for our adventure next year, where that will be we still don't know. Placements go out towards the end of term 4. Fingers crossed for here or here! In the meantime we are living at my In Laws house and I have taken over the "Formal Lounge" as my Creative Space or as I like to call it, "The Sewing Nook".

It is messy at the moment. I am sewing pink and purple wonky log cabins for the outside border of Milly's quilt. I'm hoping, rather dreaming to have it finished by the 1st of November for her 5th birthday. I'm trying to use up scraps. AJ, recognize any that you sent over?

So far I have 16. Unsure how many exactly I will need....

I have sewn a 4 inch border between these blocks I finished back here in June. I'm planning to sew another 4 inch border all the way around the outer edges and then work out how many smaller log cabins I need......

Other people sharing their Creative Space can be found here.

WIP Wednesday - Week 36 - The Return of the Squid Eye Quilt!

According to my label thingy function, I haven't blogged the Squid Eye Quilt since January this year! Back in WIP Wednesday, week 1. That can't be right? And now it's week 36 of the year.... With my flickr dolls quilt all finished - thank you all for the lovely comments. I got the answer I needed..... - I thought I would take a mini break from the machine and do a bit of work on this quilt. I knew I should rest the hand and arm but I just can't sit on the couch in the evenings and watch telly without doing something, it just doesn't feel right!

So I pulled out the Squid Eye quilt. I don't think I have touched it for a few months, I sometimes take it somewhere like Mother's Group and work on it for an hour. I thought I had ages to go on it but was very pleasantly suprised to find that apart from one square on the border, I have finished all the hand quilting! OMG! Only started back here in November.... So I sewed the binding on.....

And now have it already to hand sew down. I think I may do one little silver row on the black and white near the binding, just one more row around. That may stretch out to November then it will be a year exactly from start to finish.

Flickr Dolls Quilt Swap #7 Finished!

Well I have finished my quilts for the flickr dolls quilt swap. I usually love sewing on the binding but I'll admit this was a struggle. My right hand and arm, my sewing hand, my mouse clicking button hand have been aching when I have sat at length to do any hand sewing. Like a dull burning ache up the veins. Ewwwww. Not all the time, just enough to be annoying. All those years of ceramic painting catching up with me? So usually what would take an evening in front of the telly, took about a week.

This one is smaller, measuring 18.5 inches square. The quilting was done with my walking foot by eye, hence some lines are closer to others.

This one is 21 inches square. The quilting is better on this one. I think this one should go to my swapee. But, I am hoping that either here on my blog or here in flickr my partner will say which they prefer and then I'll sew the label on and pop it in the post.

So swapee, which one??

Kates Blocks.

I have finished Kate's blocks for this months Around The Block Swap. These were lovely to sew, my favourite was the bottom one with the car in the middle, love that bit.

Edited to add - Kate supplied the material. It was the first time I had sewed with linen!

The Cheque Is In The Mail.

I recieved the best mail today. A cheque. A cheque for the quilt in the Homespun magazine. A cheque for the quilt in the Homespun magazine coming out next month. Ekkkkkk!!