Holly Jolly Swap Blocks

I don't have much of my own quilting to show you at the moment, since I'm slogging away at the last snowman stitchery, it's a whopper, I'm hoping to be done by the end of winter.
The holly jolly blocks arrived around the beginning of April, just as we were beginning to start the renovations, of which the downstairs area is supposed to be finished by the end of tomorrow, here's hoping!

The blocks were a definite mix, I've tried to group them together as best as possible.

This group includes my own submission.



The softer colours



One of my favourite blocks and definitely one of the ones that would have taken the longest since it's needleturn. Isn't he cute!



Cute snowmen, buttons to be added for detailing after quilting.

Another favourite, the plum pudding is very cheerful. Love the stripy dish!

Which ones are your favourites, colour or pattern?

Some news, I was going to post mid last week, that I had put my name on the waiting list mid March, (late March?) and had been told that it would be about 6-8 months until my surgery. On Thursday last week we received a phone call to let me know that my cochlear surgery had been scheduled for May 21st, and did I want to go ahead at this time? EEK!! As if we didn't have enough going on with the renovations! Not knowing when the next available date might be, I jumped in with both feet. Talk about being ahead of schedule!

If you don't see much of me in the next while it'll be because;

- I'm trying to get all the final details sorted for the upstairs bathrooms, since I won't be driving for at least 2 weeks after surgery, if not longer, I'm hoping not longer!!

- sorting out stuff for the kids during that time period, my in-laws who now live locally will be a big help in this regard

- maybe sorting some meals out? at the very least making sure that the pantry is figured out and flush!

- general stuff that I might need to have done in that two week period afterwards, I will be trying to get most of it done beforehand on the off chance that I'm too dizzy to even read, which I'm desperately hoping won't be the case since I live off reading!!

- stamping up catalogue launch party at a friends tomorrow night

- 3rd birthday party Saturday for a good friend's son

- Preschool picnic & church service Sunday, at which I've volunteered to direct some of the kids craft.

- there's probably more that I'm forgetting, my head has been spinning trying to figure it all out so that we can just slideit into our lives, rather than having it stop everything dead in it's tracks.

Normally we stay home on Wednesday's, yesterday was no exception, what was an exception was how the day went. Normally the day melts down into a horrible mess, with some stuff done around the house, but lots and lots of yelling and fighting and is generally unpleasant.

Yesterday was amazing, it embodies what I had in mind for our Wednesdays, by no means am I going to try to say that there wasn't a single voice raised or anything like that, we aren't perfect.

We baked cupcakes, the boys coloured, painted a tad, built Lego towers and stores, Chatty and I did some piano together (we're both learning, as our schedules and moods allow) we danced to music, James Blunt, oo how lovely is the sound! Chatty spun around with his hands in fifth position, inspiring me to try to show him all five foot and arm positions, he did all of the positions with help and even attempted a couple of demi plies in first and second positions. Boy was I rusty though, first and second positions came back fairly, but I just discovered while looking at the demi plies, that I mucked up the third arm position. He seems interested in trying out a class, so I'm hoping I can find an afterschool (or wed?) class next week for him to go for a play. I am hoping that the girls in his class won't be snarky...the last thing I need is for him to be turned off of the idea by a few girls!

One day

Was it ever hot today, after weeks of cool weather we hit 33C, the average seemed to hover around 30, a shock to the system when most days have been around 20C.

I'm currently working on the last two stitchery blocks in my Winter Wonderland Quilt from Crabapple Hill. The second one down on the left, the family one. The last one which I haven't even finished tracing yet, which is HUGE is that one at the top, to be honest I'm dreading it.

I'd almost forgotten how pleasant stitcheries can actually be, time consuming, but a nice smooth rhythm. A lot like knitting garter or stocking stitch, while you do need to look more than when you knit, it's pretty thoughtless and the needle slips through so easily.

The batik backing has been washed but isn't photographed, that's coming soon.

So I failed miserably with the Procrastinator's Party. In fact I didn't do a single thing, however I must get it done before Halloween since we have some kids coming around for a party. It might even be good to try to get the shelves into the sunroom before this wkd, as I think I can rope my FIL into anchoring them, as long as his wrist will hold up.

One day left until my giveaway.

Lucky Me!

I just won this awesome Christmas Jelly Roll over at the Mad Quilting Librarian!! I am so excited!





Funny thing is that I just started cutting some fabric last night to make a simple top for Margaret's HopeChest which is what Meg was promoting.

I'm off to the quilt shop today to get some plain white & some lime green.

On a side note, Mischief is starting to grow up, saying the odd word (or what sounds like certain words) apple - comes out exactly how it's written, DH says he sounds French when he says it. dirty, and a few others, he was having a blast last night at dinner playing with his tongue to make exaggerated "L" sounds. He now lets us know when he want's his diaper/nappy changed, and his understanding of what we say seems to be leaping forward.

Batik Backing Fabric Update 1

Here is a few photos of the Batik Backing prior to washing, post unpicking from the red & aqua table runner, as promised.

A little bit of everything

Lots of things on today.

Started out by going to the Lifeline Big Book Fair. Picked up some great old books for a song and some beautifully illustrated childrens books as well.

After that I signed myself up for Aunt Pitty Pat's Christmas Block Exchange. I chose to do Christmas Trees, just waiting to hear if wild colours and embellished stuff will fit in, or if I need to tone it down a little. I have this vision of a portion of the tree, in lime green, with hot pink ornaments, two or three of the tips of the star and a rick rack garland, a bit more Australian I 'd say!! If it doesn't suit that's no problem, now that I have the vision I might do my own with that in mind.

We've discovered a number of these sweet little birds called Silvereyes in our yard too late recently, I'm pretty sure they've been hitting the wall of glass. I found another one today, but got lucky, once I'd gotten a shoe box & blanket he'd flown off. They flit around and are a delight to watch, so it's been quite disappointing to lose so many, and to feel so directly responsible for it.

I have my shoebox ready now in case there are more, and will be checking the yard a bit more frequently too.

Lastly, I had a very fun night out at A Girls Night In, making some really pretty cards and playing some fun games. Saw some old faces and met a couple of new ones. Got lucky, won four prizes, one because I read fairly quickly, two by auction and one from a coin toss, so now I have lots of paper, some extra embellishments a store of old stamps and only a few stamp pads, guess what I need to stock up on!

I will have some more photos tomorrow of the cards, prizes, books and the batik backing before washing.

Batik Backing Fabric

So, I went down to the LQS today to talk to them about the batik backing on the Summer Fish Quilt the owner had a few ideas.
1. the salts used in the batik dying process cause the fabric to be very stiff, so prewashing (with vinegar to prevent colour bleeds) might help soften it.
2. Use a lighter weight thread in the bobbin, so that the machine doesn't struggle so much to maintain tension.
3. the ripping should "close" over once the quilt has been washed.
4. Use the thinnest sharpest needle possible. I was already using a #11 Blue tip, however when we looked a bit closer at it next to a #11 Top Stitch Needle, the Top Stitch actually looks a touch thinner, so she is going to research into what the actual difference between the needles is, because while she knew what they were for etc, she didn't know how they work, if that makes sense.

So my plan of attack is this:
Use the backing currently on the table runner as my sample piece.
First up is to remove the stitching currently there.
Wash the backing only throughly - will the stiffness decrease & the holes close over?
Then try the lighter weight thread on the bobbin, which she sent me home with free of charge until I figure out if it helps. If that doesn't work, fiddle with the tension on the needle (not bobbin.)

Looking at the quilt, it's only the fish & bubbles that are really bad, if the ripping can be improved by washing that is. Granted the tension isn't going to change, but if the ripping & the horrible fish and bubbles aren't there I think I could live with it. So I will rip them out and get a new quilter to do them.

I also got the name of a new quilter who was well recommended by the girls at the shop who does custom work as opposed to just continuous line. I was told that many quilters simply aren't accepting any new work atm because of the push for Christmas, I'm at the point that I want it done right, not right now, so hopefully this works out!!

One of the ladies also gave me some quilting ideas for the red & aqua table runner that should create an interesting pattern, without scaring me off of machine quilting!

Nothing concrete yet but lots of good information! Wish me Luck!

Summer Fish

Summer Fish, from the Strip Staccato Pattern in Judy Hopkins Triangle-Free Quilts.

I had planned to enter this into the local fair, with hopes (yes hope, not faith) that it might actually move on to the state fair. I spent a lot of time on it, egtting everything squared up perfectly, ran out of fabric at one point, so had to incorporate a new print. Spent more time picking out just the right design for quilting and thread colour from the quilters abundance of neutrals and faint colours. The quilter who I've used before with great success, had it for 4 months.





Putting the binding on.



My first label.

This how it came back :( the circles / bubbles are all misshapen, the fish (which I drew from memory to be like the pepperidge farm goldfish crackers) are also mishaped, lopsided etc. A friend of mine (the boys godmother) who has been quilting for a couple of decades determined that the needle must have been dull. The tension is completely off, the needle as actually torn the backing fabric. The backstitching which my friend deemed completely unneccesary has been placed in the worst spots (on the bright white fabric instead of one of the darker ones.)

She and the other ladies at the quilting group I was at were all saying that I should really take it back to er point out the horrible things and basically see if she at the very least had the decency to refund my money.

How would you say this without being completely rude?

I discovered last night while trying to machine quilt the red & aqua table runner that the fabric really is horrible. The tension problems and ripping occured on my machine as well, even with a brand new needle. So now I'm really left with a quandry. The shaping & backstitching are definitely problems with the quilter, but the fabric is directly at fault for the tension & ripping.

Would you rip the whole thing apart & request a replacement backing & refund on quilting?

Noughts & Crosses

I picked up the pattern at the Gerringong Show last Christmas. I think it's a great way to showcase a jellyroll you love the fabric of, the white balances out the busy prints so nicely.



The pieced backing, label is designed but not made yet, partially because I need to find a new quilter, and I like to include the quilter's details.

You might be able to make out the Company name? The flash bounced off right where all the info was!! Noughts & Crosses

So my surprise for you... How would you like my (gently used) copy of this fabulous pattern?

To win, easy peasy - 2 steps

Step 1 - Become a follower.

step 2 - You will find that I have asked a couple of questions here and there, my blog is new, so there aren't that many posts to read to find them. Your challenge is to answer one (or more if you get on a roll!) of the questions with constructive criticism or thoughtfully. Post your answer on this post.

Feel free to link to me on your blog, BUT please don't link to me as a giveaway or blog candy.

Deadline - October 22nd 12:00 am. UTC GMT +11 hours

thanks!

Good Luck!

More WIP's

This tulip runner has been a challenge. I believe the pieces are put together the same way as cathedral windows? A very steep learning curve for me, especially gettiung the points to line up perfectly (almost) with all that extra fabric! But I've enjoyed learning something new.

Some close up's of the turned edges - yes I am going blind from the fold back handstitching.

I dug around in my stash of threads that I picked up from my grandmother's house before it was sold, since I wanted to use silk for the topstitching. I found these lovely old wooden spools with this handspun silk. I've tried to find comparable thread in case I run out, to no avail. YLI is nice but just doesn't have the same smooth sheen.

I love this sweet stitchery, I'm trying out my machine quiting skill on it, the ugly blue lines are my guidelines for the quilting.

Some current WIP's

Here's a quick post of some of my many WIP's (Work's in progress)

This red & aqua table runner is made up of leftovers, from my Disappearing 9 Patch Squares (which I foolishly never took a photo of, thanks Jane!)

for Jane's Swap. It was a quick stitch, since most of it was already put together. I haven't yet decided on a quilting pattern or how I want to finish the edges. Any Suggestions? I'm considering the echo style of quilting.




Started this Wall Hanging long long ago, I think maybe 6 years ago? It just keeps getting put aside for more interesting, less fiddly projects since it's supposed to have all sorts of little sweet add ons, like a frayed scarf on the dad, etc.



This is a filler quilt for Chatty while I design a shark one for him. I realised the irony of giving this mature, simple quilt to a 4 year old while my favourite quilt for me was the Fairyland one as I was taking the photo! Still Trying to figure out the border on this one but I've been inspired by Jodi's (Pleasant Home) Prairie Points & Pinwheels quilt, so I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate that in now!



This little wall hanging is waiting for some binding and a sleeve or a frame and then it's finished. It was inspired from the 2008 Stampin' Up Catalogue.

Here's the label on the back, it's my second one and I love it!

Halloween Decorating & Table Runner

Some close up photos, since my camera battery died last time!

The table runner is just the top atm, because I'm not very happy with how it came together (also why I'm not showing the whole thing) I think I'll be taking the stars & surrounding blocks apart and redoing them for next year. I also think this display table would probably be better off with Just the runner & a couple of tidbits, or a black cloth with all the bits. It looks very busy to me! I kinda like the old tarnished silver in there, would like to play with it some more.

Spiders & Cobwebs everywhere!

Quilt Festival

I found lots of quilting blogs through my friend Andrea last year when she entered her quilt into Amy's Quilt Festival .




This year I finally, after some prodding, and lots of guilt have thrown myself into this blogging thing (I just figured out the clean way to link - yay me!) Posting photos has always been my biggest hang-up, but I'm very happy with the ease I seem to be experiencing here. Now If I could just figure out how to add side buttons, where direct code hasn't been typed out for me, everything would be wonderful.

Anyways, on to the quilt!!
It's Fairyland from Birdhouse Designs . I spotted the elephant on the cover with these fairies that weren't the country style ones or overtly frilly fairies, out of the corner of my eye while on a road trip along the Great Ocean Road January 2006 from the Fragrant Cottage in Warrnambool, Victoria. I must add that the ladies at the store were exceedingly helpful, volunteering to ship items home for my mother (Canada) including items that were not currently available in the shop, and they did so, very quickly.

I walked out the door, and across the street, then turned to my mother, who was visiting for Christmas, and told her that if I didn't go back and get the book I was going to regret it. So back in I went to get this distinctly girly pattern just for me. So many have questioned who I'm making it for since I have boys, my answer, me until there is a girl and I'm willing to let it go!








It's still not 100% complete, since there is still much more handquilting to do on the border - see those butterflies? I've only gotten one long side finished so far. I didn't do the machine quilting, I took it to a lady who did a lovely job, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the last quilt I took to her.

The elephant block is still my favourite and always will be!

I hope you enjoyed your look around and that perhaps I've inspired you to try out an applique quilt.