Category: Patchwork & Quilting

Hello Neglecterino!

Aww, my poor neglected blog! It’s almost been a whole month since I last posted! Whoopsie-daisy!

I believe there has been quite a considerable and understanding reason why I’ve been so neglectful. I’m four weeks into my uni studies and I’m finally beginning to feel like I’m back on my feet, knowing where I’m going and settling into a comfortable routine.

However, it’s hardly given me any time to devote my self to my sewing machine.

Last week I purposely took off a few afternoons to complete my September Craftsy BOM. I admit, even now, I’m procrastinating from finishing an essay that’s due this coming Monday, but I’m aiming to get that finished by tomorrow night – which will be quite a simple thing to do! (Knock on wood!)

This months Crafty BOM were focusing on curved piecing, something that I’ve never-ever attempted before – mainly because I had no idea how to as well as feeling a bit hesitant in my sewing skills.

Although being quite a fiddly and time-consuming technique, I generally like the concept and end result of curved piecing. I’m not sure whether I’d like to do a whole quilt using this technique!

Last week I received in the mail a very happy surprise: a copy of the magazine I used to work for with one of my projects on the front cover along with a charity article I wrote while I was there.

My project is the cushion on the front – Stacked Coins

While the article I wrote was about Pillowcases for Oncology Kids, a charity run by a wonderful teenager (a cancer patient herself) giving the gift of handmade pillowcases to children suffering from cancer and related illnesses in hospital.

The magazine is on sale until mid October (I think?) so go buy a copy and be inspired by such a wonderful young lady!

In news unrelated to sewing, it was my 25th birthday this Monday just past and I wanted to share with you the birthday cupcakes I made, in which I’m very proud of. Apologies: there’s none left!

There’s more big news to come, but I won’t spill the beans yet as even I don’t know the finished outcome of said news! All will be revealed early next week!

Stay tuned!

Happy Sewing! xx

A Slow Lazy Week

It’s been quite a quiet and slow moving week on the sewing front. I’ve lazily taken the week to sew on the first border of my Jacob’s Ladder quilt while experimenting with a HST border, in an attempt to use up some of the leftover 2.5inch squares of DS Quilts fabric.

I also did a lazy mans attempt at bunting. Springing from an idea I saw on Pinterest, I dug out some coloured twine, matching fabric (British themed) and drew up a diamond shape on some plastic template.

I traced around the diamond template onto the fabrics I had chosen, then cut along the lines with pinking shears to avoid any fraying and then (here’s the lazy bit!) I stapled the little folded fabric flags over the twine– and TAHTAH – Lazy Mans Bunting: British Style.(In no way am I implying the British are lazy. I love the British!)

I’m not sure what I’ll do with the bunting, but I’ll find it a home somewhere in the house.

It seems this week I’ve been doing everything else but sewing. I’ve spent time in the kitchen cooking delicious food stuffs – orange shortbread (a household favourite and greedily finished by the end of the day!)

and a disaster of a carrot cake that definitely tasted better than it looked. It actually came out as more of a carroty-crumbly-moosh than a cake which had deflated and pancaked 2 minuets after it had come out of the oven. (No photos of this one – I’m too ashamed!) What made the experience of making this cake worse was that it had about ten billion steps in its method making that were time consuming and complicated. I mean how hard can it be to make a simple carrot cake?! Never, and I mean NEVER, will I be making that recipe again! I felt as deflated as the cake was after making it; it didn’t even deserve the mouth watering cream-cheese frosting that was meant to be slathered generously on top!!!

So, there is another reason why I’ve been distracted from my sewing table this week and which I’ve been devoting my waking hours to and that is Harry Potter. I’ve dedicated myself to re-reading the entire series again, which isn’t something too difficult to do. Within one week I’ve become a serious bookworm and have read the first three books while only this morning I brought down from the bookshelf HP & the Goblet of Fire, ready to cozy up on the lounge and begin reading.

The books are so hard to put down, even though I’ve read them many times before. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a Pott-Head. I even have a Pinboard on Pinterest dedicated to my love for Harry Potter and the brilliance of JK Rowling. So there, I’ve just outed myself as a massive geek (and possible loser?) but who isn’t when it come to these things?!

So from looking after my three beautiful nephews pretending to be Princes for an evening…

To enjoying a glorious teaser of Spring (albeit windy) weather in Sydney with a much deserved unhealthy lunch treat on Monday…

I’ve had a great week before ready myself into beginning my online university studies next week!

Happy Sewing!! xx

Unexpected Starts

It’s gone. Posted. Ready to be hung and judged by strangers….

It’s actually quite a nice feeling to finally sit back and not have to worry about getting it finished before the cut off date.  Ah, relief!

However, this does not mean I haven’t been doing anything. On the contrary I’ve started, unexpectedly, another new quilt as well as completed my August Craftsy BOM.

I’m currently taking another class on Craftsy called Magical Jelly Roll Quilts. Although I’m not using jellyrolls, charm packs or layer cakes, I’ve been able to finally find the perfect project to break into my luscious Denyse Schmidt fabrics. The first project is making a Jacob’s Ladder Quilt. This is what the block looks like…

It’s made of five four-patch units and four half-triangle units. It’s quite an easy block to make up but is time consuming to put together (cutting, sewing and pressing). Here are the stats for this quilt:

  • 320 (2.5inch) squares
  • 64 half-square triangles
  • 80 four-patch units
  • 16 blocks
  • 1 quilt

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I am happy with how it’s coming together. It’s looking very scrappy, which I intended it to be, and have only four more blocks to make to complete the quilt top. I’m thinking of adding a flying-geese border with the left over 2.5inch squares to frame the main quilt design – I think that might look good. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it when it’s finished; I might stash it away and enter it into a quilt competition some time down the track.

[CLICK HERE] To see my Jacob’s Ladder Quilt Finished!

[CLICK HERE] To see my Jacob’s Ladder Block video tutorial!

It’s August! (Winter’s almost over! Huzzah!) Which means I had two new Craftsy BOM to make. Stars are this month’s theme and I learnt how to make the Ohio Star Block and a Double Star Block.

I like the Ohio Star Block best (the top one), it’s simple yet has character.

Any-who, I’ve got four more Jacob’s Ladder blocks to make up and then some much needed crashing-on-the-couch-and-watching-mind-numbing-tv to do….

Happy Sewing! xx

It Shall Be Called: A Summer Bloom

It t’was a glorious day yesterday – at around 7.30pmish last night I finished my How Does Your Garden Grow? Competition quilt!! It was a very happy, happy moment…. stepping back and admiring the long hard hours I put into making it. And yet, strangely, all I could make myself see were the faults and mistakes I’d skipped over and tried to ignore. Apart from that, I’m very pleased with the end result and hope it does well in the competition – fingers crossed!!

So, here’s how I made it…

To start the paper piecing process, I bought four large pieces of poster board and sticky taped them together in a very professional manner (sprawled across the floor, butt in the air, tape hanging out of my mouth while my measure tape, hanging around my neck, tried desperately to strangle me to death!).

I made a 1m ruler out of a wood stick I had floating around (I’m a poor artist and can’t afford to buy a real 1m ruler stick) and drew up a 1m-squared square, cross-sectioned it into fours etc. and then drew in my petal blades and stem. I made a few adjustments here and there until I was satisfied with the final design. I numbered each piece in a clock-wise direction so I wouldn’t get lost and befuddled with all the different pieces. It more or less became a big number puzzle for me to cut up and then stitch back up again.

So that I wouldn’t be too overcome by cardboard everywhere, I cut and sewed back together the pieces in quarters; the first quarter of the flower design, then the second, third then fourth which then completed the quilt top.

I chose randomly which petal blade got what purple print fabric because – well – because that’s just how I roll.  I like to be spontaneous and try (very hard, with little success) not to over think things.

Hand basting was a slight nightmare. You see those pins? Well, let’s just say many cuss words came out of my mouth thanks to those sharp little buggers. (Please understand my meaning of cuss words: crap, poo, sonova biscuit, far-out and [oh] flip it!) Once basted, I patiently whipstitched all the pieces together, in their correct order, while watching a fair few classic episodes of Friends.

Spray Starch became my best friend – my crime-fighting buddy (no, more like my seam-flattening buddy! Ha!) and my quiet achiever while I untact all the paper pieces away from their fabric companions. I steamed ironed the hell out it and then became stuck on what to do next for two weeks.

Do I put a Dresden Plate Wheel on it to create the illusion of it blooming? No…

Do I use a browny/earthy centrepiece? No…

Should I put both of these together to see if they cancel each other out to make something better? Ew. No…

Do I break my pact of not resorting to making a typical flower with a yellow spot in the centre? Yes. And it works. You know why? Because purple and yellow are matching opposites on the colour wheel and so naturally work and look well together. (Ha! See I told you I don’t over think things!!)

After making such a crucial important simple decisive essential boring time wasting decision, I got on with the job! I hand stitched the centrepiece onto the quilt top and then got onto setting up ready to quilt it.

To shake off the tag that Gen Y (which is me) are a throw away generation, I recycled the idea of the Dresden Plate Block and the browny/earthy coloured centrepiece and appliqued it onto the back of the quilt – just for the sake of it. (And for the fact that I really didn’t want to throw it away after all the effort I put into making it.) I’m changing the world one quilt at a time!!

Once basted and ironed (for about the tenth thousandth time), I spent three days quilting. Three whole days of sewing line after line after line after line after line after line after line… It was fun – for the few minutes. I had to force myself to go to a happy place for the sake of my sanity. But, you know, this is what you do for your art, your passion and for your living.

Next came the binding and stitching on the rod pocket while watching more classic Friends episodes.

And then – tah dah!!! Finish! Fin! Finito!

So, that’s my very first self-designed, hand pieced, machine quilted competition quilt! Hoorah!

It shall be called: A Summer Bloom (as the photo I took of the inspired flower was blooming mid summer this past January).

And so I say: Bring on the next one!

Happy Sewing! xx

Quiet Quilting Days

Over the past few days I’ve been quietly quilting my How Does Your Garden Grow? Competition Quilt – stressfully patiently stitching row after row after row after row…

I’m three quarters of the way through and I’m really happy with how it’s working out.

With a big satisfying grin on my face, I find my self stopping mid sew now and again just to run my hand over the texture that the stitched lines have created.

I hope to get started quilting on the last quarter either tonight or tomorrow morning, with the goal of finishing all the quilting by days end tomorrow. Then it’s onto making the rod pocket and attaching the bias binding.

Yay, the finish line is in sight! (I’ve watching too much of the Olympics!)

Happy Sewing!! xx

The Beginning of Juicy-Lime Squares

It’s been a fantastical productive sewing day today with the construction of half a new quilt top. I’ve completed the five blocks that make up the top and now need to sew on the sashing etc to completely finish the quilt top. I think I’m going to call this one…..Juicy-Lime Squares.Image

These are my two favourite blocks – I’m in love with the bright vivid lime green fabric, it’s just devine!

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As promised, here are the photo’s of the finished Gumnut Babies Quilt….

Front & Back….

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Quilting close-ups…..

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Happy Sewing!! xx

Sunshine Failure & Magazines!

So I was going to post up some photo’s today of the finished Gumnut Babies Quilt… However, I was having problems with the afternoon sunshine playing havoc on my shots. Everywhere I stood weird and unwanted shadows were being cast over the quilt and most pics were coming out over-exposed.

So I’ll have to re-do it first thing tomorrow morning, when the sun is being less inconvenient!

Today I want to share some of the magazines I’ve recently picked up at the newsagent. Magazines are a great source of inspiration and house a wonderful wealth of information on fabric stores, products, blogs, designers and projects.

Finally I’ve been able to get my hands on a much coveted Mollie Makes magazine publish in the UK and at a great price too! Everywhere on the net where it’s sold in Australia charges anywhere between $16 to $18 for a copy of this magazine PLUS postage and handling!

Today I bought it for $12.95 – a win for me! WHOO! Although, it is a few issues behind – but I don’t care!

I was also lucky enough to buy a copy of Modern Quilting magazine (also published in the UK) that features an interview and pattern from Quilting Queen Tula Pink! I adore her quilts and fabric ranges as well as her quirky and laid-back attitude.

After reading the article/interview, I sensed a form of connection with the way that she approaches her work.  We seem to have a lot in common in the way that we think and feel towards our crafty obsession and share the same views and values of working hard at something we love to do. It’s always a comfort to know that there truly are people out there in the world who share the exact same emotions as I do towards fabric and quilting – it makes me feel just that wee little bit less insane in my head!!!

Harnessing my love for modern quilts, I bought an Australian published magazine produced by Australian Quilters Companion magazine called Old Quilts Made New. I love the notion of taking traditional quilt block patterns and making them into a modern block through the use and choice of modern fabrics and modern quilting techniques. There’s some wonderful ideas in this one that I may get to explore one day!

And now, with a freshly poured green tea, I’m off to do some research waste away the afternoon reading my magazines!

Happy Sewing! xx

A Quilters Mind Never Stops Thinking!

Just only a few moments ago this afternoon, I finished hand sewing the binding onto the Gumnut Babies Quilt – escaping with only a few needle pricks and my sanity still in tact! Tomorrow I will label and photograph it, share here with you on my blog and then pass it on to the lucky lady who gets to snuggle underneath it’s warmth and comfort. Here is the quilt being quilted during the week. I had fun playing around with the composition of the quilting lines to tie in with the modern approach I took to making this quilt.

Obviously you’ll be able to see the final result when I photograph it tomorrow. I’m genuinely happy with how this quilt has come out, especially when I wasn’t following a pattern; it turned out exactly how I pictured it in my head and that, in itself, is refreshingly satisfying!

The quilt top I’ve made for the How Does Your Grow? Competition has been finalized and yesterday I embellished the quilt backing, cut the batting down to size and basted all three layers together.

The next step now is to decide how I’m going to quilt it so I can fully emphasize the overall design and message of the quilt, as well as to highlight the hand pieced flower blades.

So, now that these two projects are nearing their ends, it’s time to start thinking about the next few quilts that need to be made! I love planning and starting new projects; there’s such joy and excitement in choosing the right quilt designs, fabrics and quilting patterns! Within the past few months I’ve seemed to become addicted to solid block colours and have a few quilt designs in mind that, I think, will show off the harmonies between certain colours.

I was recently inspired to use a particular colour palette after watching the highlights of the 2011 Dew Tour on Fuel TV. I love the bright and vivid lime green that’s smattered around the Skate/BMX course and how the greys and black sit comfortably next to each other. These aren’t the best pictures, but you can see what I mean about that intense lime green!

So naturally I thought that those colours would look awesome in a quilt! I think the fabrics I bought match very well with the course’s colours and I plan to re-visit the notion of the ‘modern approach’ that I used with the Gumnut Babies Quilt, but with a different design of course!

Here’s a rough design sketch of the quilt that I hope to construct…

It’s amazing how inspiration can be found anywhere along with how it hits you like a ton of bricks when it does!

Another project that has sprung to mind is taking the opportunity to explore the use of negative space in a quilt. This thought came about after receiving an email from the organizers of QuiltCon (Texas, 2013) about the different categories that can be explored for the Quilt Show that they’ll be presenting. Entry is open for international quilters, so I’m thinking why not try my luck and make something that could be chosen for display! You never know these things unless you try!

These are the two fabrics I’ve chosen to use; purposely paired for the minimalistic design I’m working on. I’ll update more as things progress!

I’m also dying to find the perfect quilt project so I that I have an excuse to use these Denyse Schmidt fabrics that I oh-so love!

They’re just sooo pretty and fun!! I think I’ll have to spend some time this researching quilt patterns, waiting for the right one to jump out at me and inspire my mind!

Happy Sewing! xx

A Modern Approach

This week I’ve been getting stuck into the Gumnut Babies Quilt – playing and experimenting with a modern Log Cabin block design. The quilt top is now finished – yay! – ready to be basted and quilted.

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I purposely made the quilt top look patchy especially with the grey block fabric as I wanted to really embrace a modern approach and thinking towards constructing this quilt. Personally, I think it adds character and whimsy to the overall design. I’m really happy with where it’s at and can’t wait to get stuck in quilting it.

For the back of the quilt, I’m going to make my first pieced backing with some of the left over fabric strips I used for the Log Cabin blocks and again just play and experiment my way through to the finished product!

Let’s get into it!

Happy Sewing! xx

 

All In A Day’s Work

In my opinion, the best way to pass a cold and miserable rainy winters day would be to rack up a few good km’s on the sewing machine, pump out some extraordinary quilt blocks and projects and then sit and admire your accomplishments for the rest of the afternoon! That’s how my day was spent yesterday (minus the rain and misery) and how the rest of today will go – hopefully!

I’ve dived right back into a project I had previously started but realized I didn’t really like what I had started. I refer to this Gumnut Babies quilt top that I shared a few posts ago. I felt it was a bit bland and boring – to brown, messy and flat. I didn’t feel that ‘thing’ towards it….so it’s been rejected!!

And this is now the direction I’m going in! I’ve added a few more coordinating prints with bolder colours and patterns and decided to do a very modern Log Cabin sort-of design.

It’s only in the early stages of design and the layout of the blocks isn’t firmly decided yet as I still have a few more to make.

With this project, I’m totally going in blind while making it. I’m not following any pattern or specific instructions. Just like all my other quilts I make, the design is all up in my head and I just hope that I am able to translate what’s in mind into an aesthetically pleasing quilt. Fingers crossed xxx!!

I’m the first to admit that I spend way too much time on Pinterest – possibly border lining on addict. However, I was so inspired by a particular pin that I used it as inspiration and made some sweet little wreaths!

These were made by using left over knitting wool/yarn, wrapped hundreds of times around a foam wreath, hot-glue gunning store-bought felted flowers in a pretty bunch together and then attaching some contrasting ribbon as the hanger bit! Ta-dah! A pretty wreath for your front door! It took next-to-no-time to make and the materials where very cheap to buy. So get your craftiness on; make it and be surprised at the results!

I’ve finally finished hand-piecing my How Does Garden Grow? Competition quilt and am now playing around with different techniques to add more interest etc. to the centre of the flower design. I’ve made a few Dresden Wheels but am currently stuck on making them the right size to be able to stack them on top of each other, as if the flower was still blooming.  It’s a head scratcher, but I’ll work it out in the end. Here’s peek…

Right, well I’m off to sew! But only after I make myself a green tea and turn the heater on! Brrr, it’s cold!

Happy Sewing! xx