So What’s New?

Sssshhh.  Did you hear that? 

It’s peace and quiet.  Everyone is back at kindy, school and work and I have the whole house to myself, at least for a little while.

Lots of little jobs are being done now, baskets of toys are thinned out, rubbish thrown away, clothing put away and hung in cupboards.  And most importantly of all, some quilting is being done.

Before I went away, I pulled a random UFO from the UFO pile, and stuck what I had done on the design wall.

I’d made these a few years ago, they are little baskets made with a bias strip for the handle.  I coped with everything except the bias strip. 

I tried them on point.

I think I prefer them that way.  Isn’t it funny how the direction of the blocks changes the whole look of the quilt?

I had a good afternoon yesterday (no kids, husbands or interuptions) and sewed lots more baskets, and also some sashings. 

Those blocks that look like they have no handles actually DO have handles, they are just not basted in place yet.  I’ve made a strip of three rows for the sashing, and then I think I will put little nine patches where they join.  I’ve made nearly all of the sashings, and only one of the nine patches.  Teensy tiny little pieces make up those nine patches.  Do I really need to make all of them?

I like it, but I don’t LOOOOOVVVVEEEE it.  I know it’ll all shrink up a bit and look a bit more ‘together’ when the rest of the seams are sewn but I can’t do that until I stitch all the handles down.  So I’m kind of in the middle of ‘do I keep going, and hope it looks lovely in the end’ or do I take all the sashings away and try something new?

This is why I end up with so many quilts.  If I don’t end up using all of those sashings, I’ll have to make another quilt to use those up.  So I will end up with two quilts for the price of one.

I’ll have to think it over.  I’m taking my grandmother to coffee at the local rose garden today.  If I remember to pack the camera, I’ll take some photos.

Till tomorrow,

Suzie

Some show and tell

Still haven’t found the digital camera in the unpacking, so I have dug around in the archives for a couple of quilts I photographed recently.  It’s amazing when you have a clean out of your digital files, you find all sorts of treasures hidden among them that you’d forgotten about.

This is ongoing.  Truly crap-tastic photo but I need your opinion.  This was a quilt sampler we taught for a few ladies who visit my house once a week, and we did star blocks.  Each one of those blocks is 12 inches, so that finished design is 36”.  Far too small for anything of any note yet.  I’m over small wallhangings, they are pretty useless to me now I think.

Yes, I could continue on and make more star blocks, but I don’t have enough red fabric to make more hourglass blocks.  So what I’m thinking is to run a small border around it in red, and then do something??? after that.  But what something? 

Any ideas?  Small stars is an option but that’s a lot of piecing.  Bear in mind I haven’t much of any thing in great lengths, so whacking on a big red border won’t work.  And I’m trying to destash the fabric, so buying more isn’t really an option either.

Elmo cake.  For my daughter’s fourth birthday.  Just to show you I am a woman of many talents.

I’m joking.  That took me HOURS and it still looks like a novice did it.  I’m in awe of professional cake decorators.  It’s funny how we all have different skill sets, isn’t it?  I am NOT a cake decorator.

Birthday girl loved it, so that’s all that matters.  She told me I am the best mother EVER. 

Totally.

My nanna is 91 and has been a clever clogs her whole life when it comes to needlework.  She stitched all these blocks only a few years ago and I finished it recently, whipping it up into a small wall hanging.  She’s just moved into my aunt’s house to live out her life as she doesn’t feel safe on her feet alone any more.  It’s been an emotional week for us all.

An old shop sample from a kit we sold.  We sold so many of these small designs.  People really liked the impulse buy of a small design, and this one had a little bit of everything in it, so if you were a beginner, it wasn’t too daunting.  However, can you see how off centre the dolls are?  Why did I not see that when I was making it?

Too much of a hurry.  That’s my problem.

My daughter went to a birthday party for a friend, whose mother told me she had everything she could possibly want, and she didn’t really need me to bring a present.  But that didn’t cut it, because you can’t just turn up at a little person’s party without a present.  I normally give books, because there’s only so many plastic toys one little girl can have.  But I figured I’d make a library bag for her as she starts kinder soon, I did it real quickly and it turned out really well. 

I’m so keen on it I thought I might make a tutorial on it.  What do you think?

Anyways….that’s all I have for you today.  There are children and husbands and housework all here waiting for me at the moment (the joys of school holidays) so I’m grabbing what time I have to find a minute to write to you.

Till tomorrow (maybe?)

Suzie

Home again, home again

Hi lovely readers.

I’ve been away for a few days, taking the girls to the wonderful city of Melbourne.

I’ve not yet unpacked or done the washing, or sorted out the digital camera, but when I do, I’ll pop back on here and share some of the things I saw.

I was thrilled to get so many comments on my last post.  I think those of us who have been on the internet a long time have seen the mighty dollar ruin a lot of good internet concepts – and there’s a lot of us who don’t want blogging to go the same way.  I don’t mind reading a blog with the occasional plug for something, and I love a good quilting review, but sometimes enough is enough. 

I love reading blogs about how people spend their crafting time, how they spent their holidays travelling.  I love reading blogs about how they are renovating their house or starting a new project.  So many of you posted that ‘Oh, I just write a silly little blog with nothing much to share’, well, can I tell you that I think they are the BEST blogs to read.  I’ve learned so much about people’s lives by blogging and reading. 

I love quilt alongs, free mystery quilts, quilt show pictures.  I love quilting product reviews.  I love hearing about your latest class you took with your group.  All of those things make life interesting.

So thanks again for posting your comments and your links.  Rest assured, as soon as the washing is done and the car unpacked, I’ll definitely settle in with a good cup of tea and go looking through the links you sent me. 

Till later,

Suzie

Sunday

No time for sewing today. The day whooshed by.  Now it’s bedtime (for the kids, not me) and I have a little time to show you what’s been hiding on the digital camera.

I made the latest of Barbara’s blocks, this one called Union Square.  It was easy.  I felt very clever.

This is my block.  Feeling pretty okay with it.  Am V. Good. Quilter.  Right?

Then I saw today’s block. 

Not feeling clever.  Feeling pretty downright intimidated, truth be told.

image from here

Holy batfish.

Now, just to be clear, this is NOT my block.  I’m slightly terrified to even begin this block.  I’ll definitely hand piece it with freezer paper, I think.  I’ve traced the picture out, and that’s all I’ve done.  I might need to dwell on it a little.

Lots of clever ducks have already posted theirs onto the flickr website.  Very clever ducks.  Very QUICK clever ducks.

I don’t think I can do it.   Wish me luck.

Till tomorrow,

Suzie

Help!

Ladies, I need your help.

I am so OVER reading advertising spiels cleverly (or not even so cleverly) hidden in blog posts.  It seems everyone is trying to sell something, and there seems to be less and less decent quilting going on in quilting blogs.  Is it just the way of the internet?  Sooner or later it all boils down to the dollar?

I know there are great blogs out there written by clever and engaging bloggers, I just know there are.  Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places?

Please, please send me some blog links!  I need some new ones, to find inspiration, to see some quilt candy instead of DVD giveaways.  If you are a lurker, a reader who hasn’t posted and you’ve started up your blog recently, please send your link my way!  I’d love to see what you have been up to.  And if you’re a long time blogger and I just haven’t found you yet, please send me that link too. 

You guys know what I like.  Can you help me out?

More samples

 

Back in the olden days, when we used to own a shop, I had the very great honour of being asked to submit a project to a magazine.  I was over the moon.  It remains a terrific thrill to see yourself in print.

This was one of the things I made for it.  It’s a very steep learning curve to design something, and write down the instructions so that (please forgive me for being so blunt) the slowest person in the room can understand them.  You have to assume the person you are directing your instructions to is a total novice. 

It’s a very good exercise, I believe.  Teaches you to look at things in a different angle, to explain things in a different way.  Thinking laterally isn’t a bad thing. 

I’ve photographed a million things in the last few days, so I’ll keep posting while you’re happy to keep looking!

Till tomorrow,

Suzie

Friday Show And Tell

Hi there!  I’ve photographed a couple more quilts so I thought I’d share.

This one isn’t mine, but my mum’s.  I seem to have acquired a lot of her stuff over the years.

A hundred years ago, our quilting group held a challenge for our annual Rose Week.  Each year, our small town holds a Rose Week celebration, as our town holds the southern hemisphere’s largest private rose garden (apparently, I just know there are lots of roses here in October).  I’ve long forgotten what the challenge was titled, or the rules except to say that I think it must have been floral based.  I do remember the winner – just stunning and if I can find a photo I’ll scan it. 

I’m just a beginner at needleturn.  I really want to be good at it, though I guess like all things it’s practice makes perfect. 

Today is the final day of school which means for the next two weeks I get the added thrill of my children’s company each day.  It’s amazing how used to being alone one gets.  I fully expect routines, such as they are, to be thrown out the window very quickly.

Till tomorrow,

Suzie

Oh, Hi There….Remember Me?

Yeah, I know.  I disappeared again. 

No apologies to give you – just to say that as soon as they invent a day with 48 hours in it, I’ll be so much more organised.

Want to see what I’ve been doing?

A few weeks ago, I decided I had Too. Much. Fabric and thought I would make a one colour quilt.  I decided red would be that colour.

I fiddled around and come up with this.  It’s kinda based on one of Bonnie Hunter’s, but a little different.

I did mess about beforehand with Electric Quilt (such a clever programme). 

I added a few more blocks.

I added a sashing row in between them, this photo only shows it pinned but once it was all put together, it turned out like this:

The light is a little better in that photo also.  So, the whole finished quilt now looks like this!

It’s cropped but it still shows the whole quilt.  It’s been hanging on my quilt wall for a week or so now and various visitors have all looked at it and commented.  The general consensus now is that I’ll put a wide cream border on the outside, and then send it off to the quilters recommending she heavily quilt the outside with feathers or something.  Then when it comes back, I’ll bind it in red.

I find this stage the most frustrating.  Do I just finish it like this, because truth be told by this stage of a quilt’s life, I’m over it.  Or do I go that extra step and put a border on it, knowing that a fancy border can really make the quilt? Many times I’ve put a quilt away at this stage, only to get it back out later and whack a border on it when I have a little more patience.

That’s all I’ve got to show you today.  I’ve been clicking away on my little camera, so hopefully there won’t be such a long break between posts.

Till tomorrow,

Suzie

p.s. – the box of reds I was trying to get rid of?  Doesn’t even look like I’ve made a dent in it.  I have too much fabric. 

Christmas Placemat

This is all rather boring really.  A simple placemat.  I made a few of these from leftover fabrics and will donate them to our local Meals On Wheels for Christmas gifts. 

Nothing special, but hopefully one of the oldies will like it.

Till tomorrow,

Suzie

Starting something new….

I don’t have any work on the go (cough cough) so when Barbara Brackman announced her new block of the week, I just had to do it.

Never mind that I’ve barely got a start on the last one she did. 

It’s been going two weeks and I’ve got both blocks made already!

Block one – Grandmother’s Choice.  I had to unpick the seams a little bit to get the points lining up properly but I think it came together quite well.  One block down.

Naughty Barbara.  Throwing in a Y seam on our second only block.  Normally I would run like the wind from anything too fandangled like Y seams, but I’ve only just started this quilt, so I can’t give up yet.  I only had to unpick one or two seams, and the points go together pretty darn good, and what’s more – IT MEASURES CORRECTLY!

Yay me.  I’m two for two.

I’ve decided to do my colour scheme in red and green, just for something different.

It promises to be good fun.  I’ll definitely keep up with this one.  Fingers crossed.

Till tomorrow,

Suzie