Modern Blocks – Page 3 – 3and3quarters

The Happy Quilt

The day has finally arrived for me to show off my finished quilt!

Better known as the Double Wrench Mini Block Quilt (phew what a mouth full!), I re-named this little treasure The Happy Quilt.

I came about this name while I was quilting it.

The thought struck: everything about this quilt just simply makes me happy!

They include –

The bright modern fabrics.

The choice of block.

The uneven quilting lines (I could never get them perfectly straight, even if my sewing machine depended on it!).

The individual characters each little mini block seems to hum.

The brave choice of finishing with a white (eek!) binding (I’ll regret that, I just know it!).

The fact that I used a lot of my scrap and bulk fabrics up (yippee – that means I get to shop for more fabric!).

That a majority of the blocks don’t match or perfectly join up at the seams or points (adds a bit of character I say!).

The size of the quilt: perfect as a lap quilt | perfect as a wall hanging | perfect for the bed.

I’m happy with the gamble I took on how I quilted it (I was prepared for some major puckering!!), with my patience and risk-taking rewarded with a brilliantly textured quilt!

It quite possibly will be my entry into the 2014 Sydney Quilt Show (we’ll see what happens between then and now!).

I’m happy that I simply stuck with it and just got it done.

And…the overall me-ness of the quilt just makes me happy (and there’s nothing wrong with that!).

So to sum it all up, I’m just totally smitten with this quilt!

But to be honest, I’m now feeling a little lost at the realisation that it’s finished and that I don’t need to schedule my time around getting it completed…

A bit weird? Yes.

A bit sad? Yes.

But that’s what happens in a Quilter’s life…

5f3db12d7f057f34689363d3e25b2552 — Source | Pinterest

Unfortunately it’s time to move onto other projects and give life to another heap of fabrics, threads and batting! (I’ve got tonnes of that stuff lying everywhere!)

If you want to see more of the photos I shot visit this Flickr Set or alternatively, you can watch this video!

Happy Sewing Friends! xx

Two Years Later…

Two years ago, on this very day, I found the guts to start writing a blog.

I was nervous, unsure and a little bit scared at the thought of writing and publishing my own quilty work on the internet.

But I was looking for a challenge, an expressive medium and a chance to reach out to other creatives around the world!

And two years later, here we are! Still writing. Still making. Still challenged!

I thought for today’s post I would look down memory lane of the past year – reflecting on the good (and plain-right exciting!!) things that have happened over the past 12 months!

Main picture: Me with my Minimalist: 101 quilt at the Sydney Craft and Quilt Show – my first ever entry into this show!

From bottom left to top right –

1. Hexie Cushion, detail. (I looove hexies!!)

2. London Phone Booth Embroidery, detail. (I wanna go to London so bad!!)

3. Mini Cot Quilt – hospital donation.

4. Painted Flowers Embroidery. (Click here to watch it come to life!)

5. Double Wrench Mini Blocks, quilt top only (ATM!!)

From left to right –

1. Olfa Rotating Cutting Mat – featured in my 5 Quilting Tools I Couldn’t Live Without post & video.

2. Small Plates Lap Quilt – This quilt featured in my Fast Forward Quilting video!

3. Scrumptious Double Wrench Mini Block units ready to be ironed. (Simply delightful!)

4. Coloured Hexie Stack. (I looove colour!)

5. A snapshot of my Fiskars Rotary Blade – featured in my #instagramjunkie post.

From left to right –

1. An array of fabrics used for Quilt Expo 2013 at Spotlight

2. Xavier’s Baby Quilt – read the post here.

3. Hexie Pincushion (Click here for the video tutorial!)

4. Lovely fabrics used in the Double Wrench Mini Blocks

From left to right –

1. I Heart Colour wallhanging – machine paper pieced wonky log cabin blocks designed by yours truly! Quilt made from 100% scraps – nothing new was bought to make this baby!!

2. Sewing Notions – from the post #instagramjunkie

3. Tape Measure – from the post #instagramjunkie

4. Scissors Embroidery – made specially for my new sewing room door.

5. Scrap-Happy String quilt, detail.

This also happened during the year…

And this is what happened in my life behind the blog…

Main picture: I became an Auntie again!! My fourth nephew, Xavier, was born in August! (Isn’t he just the cutest!!)

From left to right –

1. I decided to grow my hair out long – I’ve always had it really short (think, pixie/short-bob style for 6 years!) and decided a change was in need! (Change is a good thing, right?)

2. I took my ‘challenge’ mantra to the next level and started making YouTube videos featuring quilty stuff, life stuff and lots of other stuff. (I think of it as a cleansing [and confronting at times] way of finding my self-confidence…). Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there – it’ll help boost my self-confidence even more!! 😀

3. I drank a lot of tea!

So…wow!

It’s definitely been a busy year!

And I’m thankful it’s been a busy one, otherwise I would’ve just gone insane! Literally…

Thanks to everyone who has ever read my little blog and has left messages of encouragement and support! It really does mean a WHOLE LOT!

I’m terribly excited to see what the next 12 months will bring!!

*whoop-whoop*

Happy Sewing Friends! xx

Oh! And one last thing…

This happened during the year too –

My own precious sewing space!!

My place.

My hub.

My den.

My heaven.

Fast Forward Quilting!

So here we go…

Over the last weeks I’ve been busily filming away so as I can present to you just what goes into making a quilt.

I think I’ve achieved what I initially set out to do and have gained a humble little quilt out of my efforts.

I simply wanted to make a video showing the time and effort that a quilter takes in making a small simple quilt as well as to introduce the face behind this blog (I finally got the courage to speak on this one!).

I also wanted to inject a fun, human side to my blog! (See the bloopers at the end!)

The quilt itself is a project I found in Elizabeth Hartman’s book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork, called Small Plates (p. 56)*.

As I mention in the video, I’ve ended up sewing only about 25 blocks, which has, in turn, made a lovely little lap quilt.

I must admit, this isn’t the best quilt I’ve ever made due to the fact that I rushed to get it finished so as I could finalise editing the video. But hey, I’m only human!

The quilting is as rough as guts, the binding is a bit bubbly in sections and a few of the blocks are slightly askew but that’s all thanks to my own shotty handiwork and not the pattern. But I still love it!

The quilt seems to simply possess a naïvely-handmade quality to it – which I just adore!

I must also admit that a few of my bad habits have snuck into the video…such as not ironing my fabric before I cut and sew it and rushing my quilting. Ooppsie!

So I hope you enjoy watching and that you are inspired to get quilting!

P.S. I filmed my speaking bits just as I was beginning to recover from the flu, so please excuse my nasally accent!

[CLICK HERE] to view on YouTube

[CLICK HERE] to buy The Practical Guide to Patchwork

Happy Sewing! xx

*I would like to take this moment to express that I hope, in any way possible, haven’t breached any copyright infringements or laws by using this book and project in my video. I would like to acknowledge that all of the information I have used concerning the book and project has come from the author of The Practical Guide to Patchwork published by C&T Publishing Inc., 2010.

This quilt is not for sale and is for personal use only.

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

My Manic Month of May

After such a busy and hectic month of May (new job, farewell parties, congratulation parties, birthday parties, and long awaited trips into the City) I finally got around to making my Craftsy’s May BOMs (with three days to spare until the end of the month!). I vowed to let my sewing machine sing again this past weekend and I did to my much satisfied delight!

Based on the Log-Cabin block design, these little babies have that modern scrappy twist which I’m all in to! One is more traditional in design, yet modern and the other is known as a crazy Log-Cabin block design – you sew in any and all degrees with stripy bits of fabric.

I really enjoyed sewing these blocks up as it involved a completely spontaneous method in how they were constructed – which in turn is always a nice change from having to measure and cut pieces out exactly while making sure you sew a ¼ inch seam allowance etc. I was so giddy with excitement and happiness when I had them complete, I was dancing around the lounge room with a smile ear-to-ear!

This weekend I’m hoping to visit the Regeneration Contemporary Quilt Textiles Exhibition at Manly Art Gallery and Museum (the last weekend it’s on!).Hopefully it’s a nice day as it’s a ferry ride from Circular Quay to Manly and they’re never fun trips when the weather’s rainy and yuck (maybe yes, when the harbour is choppy and the boat is bobbing up and down, back and forth like it’s nobody’s business!)

But visiting Manly is a highlight in anyone’s day whatever it is that you’ll be doing there – swimming, shopping, browsing, picnicking or (like me) for the ferry ride!! The shops along the Corso sell the best fish and chips, pizzas and award winning ice cream!

I also hope to check out the weekend Markets at The Rocks, something I’ve wanted to visit in a very long time! Plus, there’s this awesome button shop where the walls are packed with 1000’s of different buttons! A crafter’s heaven!! I always spend way too much money in that store – as one does! There are so many other crafty stores there like: Craft NSW Store, The Ken Done Shop, Parkers – Sydney Fine Arts Supplies and lots of little boutique art and textile stores as well as fashion, food and souvenir stores.

Gosh, I love visiting The Rocks!

Over the weekend I bought a new quilting book – Modern Blocks, compiled by Susanne Woods with well known quilter’s contributing their extrordinary talents in sharing new and modern quilt blocks. There are some really great designs in here that I can’t wait to get stuck into!

I particularly like this Union Jack one – Just Jack – as it satisfies my current obsession with all things British. I think it’s the whole Queen’s Diamond Jubilee fever that’s in the air, along with the Olympics as well as the fact I’m now saving to travel over there! Plus I have extended family in the UK who I’m dying to meet!!

This block is made with the paper-piecing technique – something that I’ll have to learn before I tackle this little jem. I can image a beautiful ‘Ode to Britain’ quilt being constructed with this block; maybe with a Pop Art colour palette or more subdued traditional colours. Hmm…the mind ticks over!!

Happy Sewing! xx

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