29 December 2010

A beautiful Day

We were lucky with gorgeous weather on Christmas Day. We had brunch on the beach with friends as the rest of our family are on the other side of Australia.

B got a camera so all photos were taken by her. We all had a great day relaxing and playing with our new toys. I got an Ipad which is great and perfect for reading blogs and emails. We decided on Pavlova for dessert.

And Rhani had a great day with lots of presents in her new stocking.




23 December 2010

A Stocking For Rhani


The new addition to the family needed her own Christmas Stocking. Too Cute. The pattern is the Christmas Stocking Tutorial from FabricWorm. It is very easy.
I have been telling everyone for months that I want an iPad for Christmas so Debbie made me a cover in anticipation of me getting my wish. Now Dave has to deliver.

I made Gran and Grumpy mug rugs to match their quilts although Grumpy's is a little large-he can have large snacks.



I finished my Christmas Star. It is going to be a wall hanging but it doesn't have a sleeve so it will have to be a table runner for now.I quickly quilted around the borders to make this a couple of years ago. Yes, a dog Christmas wall hanging.


















03 December 2010

My First Mug Rug

First an update of Rhani. Isn't she gorgeous!I made a mini Christmas tree skirt for B. She loves dogs and has a mini Christmas tree with dog ornaments that this will be perfect for. It was a great and easy tutorial on a blog I follow but I cant remember whose.
I also made my first mug rug with left over blocks from a table runner I am making, using left over charm squares from the Charming Stars Quilt I am making. I haven't finished either of these but I have finished the mug rug and found a mug to go with it.



22 November 2010

Not a lot of sewing


Not much time for sewing at the moment. I made this mini to practice free motion quilting but ended up using a walking foot. I got the idea for the quilting from Leah Day's blog-I just cheated and used a walking foot.


I love this and cant wait to finish. It is from Moda Bakeshop. The pattern is Charming Stars. I love the pattern and want to make a full size quilt. This one is made with 12 days of Christmas by Kate Spain. It is a gorgeous range and I am making a table runner with the left over charms.

05 November 2010

Giveaway

There is another giveaway for a go!!!!
Wouldn't you love to win one.

Go visit Linda at Lavender Ridge and you too can have a chance to win.

31 October 2010

Manly Table runner

I decided to make a table runner for one of my brothers. This will go well with his kitchen.He goes to Bali a lot so batiks were perfect. I used red, black,white and grey with no flowers on the hope it would turn out Manly.
The pattern is in this book which I love. Like all Atkinson designs the projects are quick and easy to follow with great results.

I also finished this one from the book last year.


And here is another waiting to be quilted. How unusual for me!!!






21 October 2010

L and I loved this show when we lived in the US. It has not been on TV here so I was amazed when it was for sale in a shop here. We had to buy and we had a Psych weekend last weekend and will be continuing tonight!!! I am not sure why it has an M rating as it is a great show for 10+.
While watching Psych I sewed the binding on this quilt. I love how it worked out.
Here is the back.


08 October 2010

Love it

I love this pattern. I would love to make the quilt but I know I do not have the patience. The pattern is by Cara from CaraQuilts and can be found here at Burgundy buttons. I made a table runner and I love it.

The black sashing is a half inch finished so I might quilt up the middle of each sash or should I try to quilt close to the edge on each side of the sashing like stained glass quilts?

03 October 2010

Just Lucky

I must be very lucky because I have managed to get chicken pox for a second time. This doesn't happen to just anyone. I got chicken pox 13 years ago and thought I was so lucky to only get a mild dose. Turns out this is not such a good thing as you don't build a good immunity and get it again! Once again it is a mild dose. I hope this doesn't mean I can get it again!!!!! I don't feel too bad. Mainly tired and grumpy and I am taking it easy.

I have been trying to free motion quilting with limited success. I find it easier to follow shapes so have been doing applique to practice my free motion skills. I quite like this little Frangipani.
I have way too many quilts waiting to be quilted so decided to try something different with this one. My friend is doing a mini version with Amy Butler fabrics and hand quilting squares so I thought I will do squares with a walking foot because I can do that. My husband suggested putting the squares on a 45 degree angle which I think looks good.
The back shows the quilting better. I am showing it now as I have to order fabric for the binding. I thought I would use black but it is too stark. The pattern is Charm Squares Baby Quilt from Oh Fransson.




29 September 2010

Exciting Stuff

YAY. I won this fabulous fat quarter from the giveaway at the Robert Kaufman blog, the Swatch and Stitch. I love it. If I was going to buy a fat quarter bundle it would be this one. Now I have to get a copy of city quilts because I know I want to make one of Cherri's quilts with this bundle of joy.
Another exciting development is that after unpicking two lots of quilting I have worked out a way I can quilt this. Hope to show it soon.

25 September 2010

What do you think?

I do not make anything bigger than a lap quilt. So I bought this quilt cover for our bed as I thought it would look good with the wall quilt. It is creased etc as I may have to repack it depending on what I decide. I found a nice quilt today that is just plain blue similar to the outer two strips which I like but is maybe a bit boring.
I think it looks good with the quilt above the bed.

However it looks awful with the cushions I made! My hubby tells me it doesn't matter cos I can make new ones. What do you think? Sounds like a good excuse to makes some more to me.

Who knows one day I may make a big quilt for the bed!
Not much sewing today as shopping instead.

I thought I was finished.

I thought I had finished. I was wrong.There is one block which needs to be changed. See it there in the third row. Lucky I have some extras so I can swap it.Once I change that block I can add it to the "to be quilted pile". I have been practicing my free motion quilting but I am still really bad. I better improve soon as this pile is already big enough.


12 September 2010

A Beautiful Day

Well Spring has sprung! We have had the most amazing weather. I am lucky enough to belong to an outrigger canoe club and managed to go out twice this week. It has been warm and the water flat and crystal clear. And to make it even better we saw dolphins both days. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me so no photos of the dolphins.This is the marina where we leave the canoes and paddle from.



This is where we paddle.




My machine is having a service so hand sewing for me. I have jumped on the hexie bandwagon. I used scraps from these quilts I made for my mum.
I really need to get a better photo of this one! I got the idea for the hexie layout from this blog called Sunshine Creations I discovered by searching hexie images in Flickr.




10 September 2010

What a Week

Before I tell you more you should know there is a happy ending.

Lucky for her she is so gorgeous as she has been a little trouble this week. When I got home from work on Tuesday she was inside the house! This is not where she should be. A door was left open and she had a wonderful time inside all day.
It would have been very funny except there was a pin cushion, stuffing and pins scattered over two rooms. OH NO. So of course we called the vet and took her in for a xray. Who knows maybe she didn't swallow one. We wait in the waiting room.Yeh she did.

You couldn't tell from the xray exactly where it was. The best option seemed to be to make her vomit and hope it was still in the stomach. We wait. NO it is in the small intestine. What should we do. Do we say operate or do we wait and see. I decided I did not want to operate unless absolutely necessary. So we left her at the vet so they could monitor her and operate if needed. 24 hours later-GREAT NEWS- it had gone through her digestive system without damaging anything. She did not experience any pain and thinks she had a sleepover.

Not a lot of sewing done! These are some blocks for my table runner from the make scattered prayers by Cara at CaraQuilts.
I have made all the blocks for this quilt. I just have to put them together.






04 September 2010

A Good Day

Yesterday was a good day. I got my order from the fat quarter shop. Some charm packs!
Some batiks to make scattered prayers by Cara at CaraQuilts. I am going to make a table runner.
Some of the latest by Deb Strain to see if I can find a border for this quilt. There are a few that will work- I just have to pick one!

Some Pure and Fandango- just because I want them.


I also got my prize from Jenny at Elefantz. How cool are these labels. I will have to think of something really good to make with these.






21 August 2010

Go

Win a go over at Jackies blog, Canton Village Quilt Works. It is a great blog and a great prize.

20 August 2010

Quilt along

Yep I am doing another quilt along. I joined the flickr group in anticipation. This one is over at Traceyjay quilts. She is doing a king size. I am not that crazy/ambitious.
I made a small version of crazy moms quilts zig zag without piecing triangles. The tutorial can be found here. It is a great quilt to make and I really want to make a bigger version now. I will just add it to the list! This one is about 20 inches square and will make a nice little table topper.

I decided to make a quick market bag. I used this tutorial over at Nancy's Blog. It is very quick and easy-no lining and my first ever french seams. B is going to use it as a sleepover bag.


Here is a close up of the fabric. It is a little heavier than the usual cotton. I got in from the bargain bin at Joannes last year.

I am going to make a quilt with my friend Debbie when we both have the same day off-so far not much success. We are using completely different fabrics for the same pattern. I cant wait to see how they turn out.