The Happy Quilt

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

The Happy Quilt
The Happy Quilt

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

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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!).

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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…

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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

Quilting My Guts Out!

Eww…totally gross post title there!

I do humbly apologise, but that was the only way I could explain what’s really happening at the moment…

You see, I’ve set myself a deadline…

'The Happy Quilt'
‘The Happy Quilt’

This quilt must be finished by this Friday!

I’m so over seeing it lying hopelessly unfinished in my sewing room – it deserves to be finished!

And it needed to be finished yesterday!

Well no, not really – that’s just impossible!

'Just Keep Quilting, Just Keep Quilting'
‘Just Keep Quilting, Just Keep Quilting’

I have 25cm (10″) left of quilt surface to finish quilting (it seems like a little, but at the same time it’s a lot – if you know what I mean!) then it’s onto attaching the binding and label!

Then, and only then, can I finally say that this sweet-sweet quilt is finished and I can introduce it to you in its beautiful entirety!

Phew, if only finishing the quilt took as quick as it was to write about it!

The reason why I’m anxious to get it finished is so that I can dive (quite literally) head first into my Handmade Christmas plans.

I’m doing things a little different this year and will be buying a few things BUT these bought items will be packaged/wrapped in ‘handmade’ and they will all be accompanied with a handmade card or swing tag.

I can’t wait to get started!

But this quilt needs to be finished first!

That last 25cm isn’t going to quilt itself (unfortunately!).

Happy Sewing Friends! xx

Christmas Crafts & Itchy Fingers

Last Thursday eve I helped host a Christmas Craft Evening at my local Spotlight store. Together with staff and customers we had a very festive evening full of Christmas crafts, sweet treats and some lovely lady chats.

Here’s what we made!

Felt Bunting, Embroidered Homespun Ornaments, Fabric Scrap Quilted Christmas Tree Wallhanging
Felt Bunting, Embroidered Homespun Ornaments, Scrappy Quilted Christmas Tree Wallhanging
Hessian Birdy Ornament with hand stamped JOY
Hessian Birdy Ornament with hand stamped JOY message

The Christmas felt bunting along with the embroidered/sequinned homespun ornaments were the biggest hits as everyone was welcome to sit down, make and take what they had created.

Everyone did such a wonderful job – the amount of creativity that there is out there is just phenomenal!

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This week, like a moth to the flame, I found my way back to my Double Wrench Mini Block quilt and have finally started quilting it! Huzzah!

The quilt in it's current state!
The quilt in it’s current state!

As usual, I’m feeling very impatient to get it finished so I can share the sweet success of completion with you all!

My itching fingers have also found their way back to my Yellow Sampler Embroidery, which has been an ongoing project since earlier this year.

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I’m on the home stretch to finishing it that today I bought a second-hand frame for it, ready to be hung quietly somewhere in my house!

Over the next few weeks, as Christmas inches ever so closer, I’m planning on filming a few Christmassy | Quilty | Crafty videos that I hope to upload onto Youtube (it involves hexies!!)

I’ll too begin planning for my 2nd Annual Handmade Christmas – a pledge to make and give only handmade gifts and cards for Christmas.

(I made this pledge last year: you can read Part 1 and Part 2 here.)

So I shall say farewell! (As I quietly freak out to myself about how fast the Christmas Eve deadline is approaching! eek!)

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!

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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!!)

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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.

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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

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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…

Encouraging blog stats!
Encouraging blog stats!

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

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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.

Christmas Crafts Already??

Over the past week, I’ve been squirrelling away in my sewing room whilst humming to a few select christmas carols.

You may be asking, ‘Christmas carols already??’…

Why yes, it does seem that way – Christmas has definitely come to this quilter’s house very early this year! I usually start my christmas crafting in late November/early December, so it’s all feeling a little bit weird!

But there is a legit reason for this…

It’s all in preparation for a Christmas Craft Night I’ll be hosting presenting running co-ordinating having fun at (!) this coming Thursday night at my local Spotlight store!

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We’ve got lots of sweet crafty|sewy|quilty christmasy projects planned perfect for the kiddies to join in on as well as for those who are big kids at heart! (Me!!!)

Here’s a glimpse of my sewing room from this week – nothing has changed today, it’s still covered in bits of felt, ribbon, sequins, buttons, PVA glue and christmas fabrics…

I'm usually not this messy!
I’m usually not this messy!

Meh, whatcha gonna do – this is what the space is used for I suppose!

Annnddd, here’s a small sneaky of some of the things we’ll be making!!

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Ohhh….I wonder what they could be!?

Happy Sewing Friends! xx

Stop-Motion Embroidery!

Fresh off the press and ripe for viewing is a new YouTube video made 100% by me! Yaaay!!

Watch as I bring this beautifully sweet and simple embroidery pattern to life!

This video seems to simply fit into what life is all about at the moment in Australia – spring, flowers, colour, fragrance, good music and an abundance of wicked creativeness!

As previously mentioned in my last post, I purchased the pattern from Urban Threads (for a buck may I just add!) as a PDF download.

If you’re in need for some awesomely modern inspiration and/or embroidery patterns, check these guys out!

Happy Sewing Friends! xx

 

 

Spring Embroidering

It’s been a slow week on the sewing front, but I did manage to finally finish my Double Wrench Mini Block Quilt top! Yay!

Completed | Double Wrench Mini Block Quilt top
Completed | Double Wrench Mini Block Quilt – top only

The final measurements are approx.: 118cm x 133cm (46½” x 52½”).

I’m currently productively procrastinating (a big juxtaposition if I’ve ever heard one!) from completing a pieced back for the quilt and am instead concentrating on an embroidery project/idea I’ve been meaning to do for ages!

I spent this morning stitching in the glorious Spring sunshine, amongst the buzzing bees and twittering birds, anxious to get this mission finished!

Embroidering in the Spring sun upon my Small Plates Lap Quilt
Embroidering in the Spring sun upon my Small Plates Lap Quilt

This project involves stop-motion photography and a looming YouTube video and I’m pretty excited to get it finished, as all the stills so far are looking really great!

This is where I’m up to so far as I wait for my camera battery to re-charge!

Embroidery Pattern from urbanthreads.com
Embroidery Pattern from urbanthreads.com

So that’s it for today; short and sweet!

There’s nothing better!

Happy Sewing Friends! xx

Did You Know: I Sell Online?!

Yep, that’s right!

I make and sell handmade goodies online – along with fabrics, craft supplies and other accessories!

I’ve been managing two little online stores over the past few years and they’re humming along at a lovely little pace!

The first store is managed through an Australian based crafty website called madeit.

On my madeit page, I sell things that I’ve personally handmade – mainly little fabric wallets, at times some quilts and other little accessories.

Sweet little fabric wallets!
Sweet little fabric wallets!

The other store is managed through madeit’s sister website called craftumi.

On my craftumi page, I sell a lot of my excess fabrics, buttons and crafty items/supplies.

Fabric Covered Buttons!
Fabric covered buttons!

So if you have some extra time on your time on your hands, check these pages out!

PS. Postage on all my items is free! Yay! (Sorry, that’s for Australian Residents only)

Happy Sewing Friends! xx

Here We Go Again…

…And off I go again, making some more mini Double Wrench blocks on this glorious Spring morning!

This setup looks familiar...
This setup looks familiar…

If I didn’t think making 42 mini blocks was enough, I finally made my mind up to add another 14 blocks to the mix; totalling the block count to a grand total of 56! (That’s a whole lotta little 1.5″ squares!)

Lots of little squares...
Lots of little squares…

I  really didn’t plan on making this quilt bigger than what it is now slowly becoming…

…Oh well.

It has been a while since I’ve actually pieced and finished a big quilt – the last one being my Jacob’s Ladder Quilt, which I completed in December last year! (Ohhh, I just love that quilt!)

So the iron’s ready to go, my blocks are lined up ready to be pieced and a great playlist of songs are ready to be (badly) sung along with…

…And off I go!

Happy Sewing Friends! xx

Today’s Objective: To Inspire!

Source: Pinterest
Source: Pinterest

One of the many reasons why I began writing a quilt blog was to simply INSPIRE others in the art of modern quilt making.

After publishing my first few posts back in November 2011, I’ve received so many lovely comments, both online and face-to-face, at how much I have inspired others to get creative!

(And I take this moment to simply say: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!)

So now allow me to get out my metaphorical ‘Things To Accomplish On My Blog’ list and place a big TICK!! next to: Inspire Others!  TICK!!

But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop!

Pfft, no way!!

I live and thrive off inspiration, whether it be from others (friends, craft/quilt blogs) or things in my environment, in books and magazines, on TV or Pinterest!

{ And speaking of Pinterest, I dare you to click here to see what’s inspiring me in my quilty journey! }

So I hope that I can continue inspiring whoever chooses to read this little blog and find the courage to make something beautiful! (Preferably a quilt!) 😀

Happy Sewing Friends! xx