TFW - Blocks 24 & 25

It is so hard to believe that Christmas is over for another year. The preparations are always so enjoyable, and occupy so much time - and then when the big day comes, it's all a blur and very quickly finished! We had such a lovely day spent with family - we ate, drank and made merry - and we were all thoroughly spoiled!

This morning I tidied and put the house mostly to rights - and then this afternoon because I miss them so much, I treated myself to a little Farmers Wife action - and here are the results:

Block 24 - Country Path
Since taking the picture I've noticed that I have the cream triangles and tablet shape in the centre a quarter turn the wrong way - but it doesn't really affect the block in a terrible way, so it's staying as is. Apart from that, it's a very cute block.

Block 25 - Cups and Saucers
I have no plans for tomorrow, so I see plenty of sewing time ahead of me ... happy days!

Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays

The cookies have been baked ...

And the gingerbread house made ...

The table is set ...

Some of the presents are under the tree ...

Jam has been made ...

So, all that remains is to wish you all a Merry Christmas ... Happy Holidays ... and if I don't get back to you in time, an entirely wonderful New Year! xox

Oops!

On Thursday I promised my sweet friend Monica that I would work on a post for my blog that very evening. She'd told me she was stopping by every day to see what was new, and of course there have been crickets chirping at my end.

There has been so much going on - you all know how busy this time of year can be - but the honest truth is that most of my 'quilty' doings have been of the 'secret squirrel' variety.

However, in a very time consuming sense, I have had major work going on in Camo's room:

I had to completely empty his bedroom, and on Tuesday the 6th, the painter came and made his room beautiful. Then on Friday the 9th the wardrobe installation guy came and installed the new robe/desk combo. I'm just so pleased with how it has come up. It took best part of a week to sort/purge/empty his room, and it took pretty much the whole weekend to put everything away again - and there are still more things to do. I'll share more pictures when it's all done. Camo's so happy with his new more grown-up digs.

Some little bits I can share ... I've pieced the backs for some placemats using my 3.5" strips. It feels so virtuous to use up fabrics that might have otherwise sat around for a while :-) The blue strip of fabric there is the binding for some other mats I made a while back and finished recently - they're super cute. And in icky work - the Xmas mat in the background is one I need to replace the binding on. My little man was very naughty and snipped it. Grrr ... but at least it's an easy fix.

No Farmers Wife blocks just at the moment, but I've printed foundations for the next two blocks. Hopefully I'll have a few hours just to myself sometime soon!

TFW - Block 23

I made one more block this week - and I've since had to move on to other things. Hopefully I'll be able to share pictures on the weekend.

Block 23 - Country Farm
I foundation pieced this block - it really makes the process super easy, and super accurate too. I hope to use the same technique for more of them.

There are only four more working days until I'm on holidays - once all the Xmas shopping etc is taken care of, I can really spend some serious time in the sewing room. Bring it on!!

TFW - Blocks 19 & 22

I put a couple more Farmers Wife blocks together this morning - it is so nice to be back stitching on them again :-)

Block 19 - Checkerboard

Block 22 - Corn & Beans
Both simply rotary cut and pieced. Corn and Beans was made much easier with Marti Michell's point trimmer - it really does make it easier to line up the triangles for stitching. Once again - no affiliations, just a very happy customer.

The rest of today must be dedicated to getting Camo's room ready for painting tomorrow, so it's unlikely there will be any more stitching for me. He's having a huge re-decorate this week, so hopefully I'll be able to share some pictures on the weekend.

Chatter soon! xox

TFW - Block 18

Last night I made up Block 18 - Century of Progress from my Farmers Wife project.

I need to take out the bottom right hand portion of the block and have another go at it - it just doesn't line up well enough. If it weren't 1am when I completed the block, I would have done it immediately ... there comes a time when a girl really has to sleep. I've decided I'll make a few more blocks and come back to it. Sometimes it's better to leave things be for a little :-)

Update: And I should add that I changed the placement of some of the colours in the block. The block in the book lacked a little symmetry I thought, and you all know how that can bug me ...

And I'm still completely on a high from my amazing news at guild on Thursday night. Just can't believe that my NI quilt won viewers choice. Thank you all for your amazing comments and congratulations, both here and on the Facebooks. This past month has truly been the most amazing ever! xox

Oh my goodness!

And it got better again, I'm at the guild meeting, and just learned that my NI quilt won the:

So, what have I been up to this past week?

I'm still working away at the Noah and Friends quilt - I have to finish one more block, and then I can put the top together and add the final borders. It will be a relief when it's done.

It's really quite cute isn't it?

And I've also pieced and quilted about a bazillion (okay - 8) Christmas themed placemats.

Hopefully they'll be bound and finished by this time next week, and then I can work on some more Farmers Wife blocks - I'm dying to get back into them.

And speaking of the Farmers Wife:

I received a comment last week from Danish Lisbet, she asked what fabrics I'm using in my Farmers Wife quilt. I couldn't reply directly as her email address wasn't enabled. So here is my answer:

The red is by Judie Rothermel - Cocheco Mills Collection
The mustard is by Kaye England - Remember When
The pink is by Judie Rothermel - Charleston IV
The cream print is by Judie Rothermel - Sturbridge Village Greens

I hope this helps Lisbet - some of the fabrics are a few years old now, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get similar prints to achieve the same look.

Well, that's it from me - I hope to check back in soon. xox

Noah and Friends project

Just thought I'd quickly share a project that I've been working on, off and on for a little while now. It belongs to a sweet lady that I used to do some quilting for - she brought it to me because she was having all sorts of problems putting the blocks together. She'd accidentally cut the background fabric squares too small, and just couldn't get the top to lay flat. I've taken it all apart and I'm putting it back together for her - it seemed such a shame to abandon the project, and she'd done such a lovely job with the applique.

Isn't it sweet? It's a Kookaburra Cottage block of the month project, called Noah and Friends. I'm really looking forward to giving her top back complete - it's going to look just lovely!

TFW - And two more ...

I just can't stop myself - and I may not be able to return to a normal life! :-)

Block 15 - Buzzard's Roost

Block 17 - Cats & Mice

Isn't block 15 a funny looking one. I must say though, that the piecing was much easier with the help of Marti Michell's templates. No affiliations - just a happy customer. And block 17 is super cute - but made a little tricker with the cutting of 1 and 15/16ths of an inch squares. Gah - none of my rulers have those markings ...

Today I MUST work on a whole different project ... I'll see if I can tear myself away ... Wish me luck!!

TFW - Blocks 14, 16, 20 & 21

After the mind bending I received while stitching Block 13, yesterday afternoon I thought I'd put a few simple blocks together:

Block 14 - Butterfly at the Crossroads

Block 16 - Calico Puzzle

Block 20 - Churn Dash

Block 21 - Contrary Wife
I think this makes 17 blocks completed now - such a fun project :-)

Block 13 = Success!

Finally! I spent some of this morning unpicking and resewing this block, before I realised that it was just too far gone and I'd need to start again.

Here is my finished block:

Block 13 - Buckwheat

I've been working on another project in-between these blocks, so this weekend when I have a chance, I'll share some pictures with you.

Block 13 = Fail

So, last night I spent about an hour putting this block together ... all the time thinking something just wasn't right with it ...

See the ruler on the left, that's the size it should be ... I'm about an inch short. Not right to say the least! It's back to the drawing board with this one :-)

Just checking ...

... to see if I can use PSP on my iPhone ... looks like it works :-)

Farmers Wife - Blocks 8 & 12

Tonight I made up two more blocks - they're so much faster than the NI blocks, and not having to make fabric choices speeds up the process so much too!

Block 8 - Bouquet

Block 12 - Broken Sugar Bowl

I wonder if I'll get any more blocks made this week? Chatter soon xox

Is it clear that I'm hooked?

Oh yes, utterly hooked. These blocks are highly addictive - I've made three more, and I've cut out the freezer paper templates of the next one.

Here are my latest finishes:

Block 3 - Basket

Block 9 - Box

Block 10 - Bowtie

I predict you'll be seeing more of these dear things in the not too distant future! Chatter soon xox

Farmers Wife - A few more

Here are three more Farmers Wife blocks I completed on the weekend:

Block 5 - Bat Wing

Block 7 - Birds in the Air

Block 11 - Broken Dishes

For Block 5, I used freezer paper templates - it's my current favourite technique for odd shapes. And Blocks 7 and 11 were super easy, using oversized squares to make HST's. Super fun! I'm loving this project! xox

Pageant Day

Yesterday was the day of the Adelaide Christmas Pageant, and as tradition dictates in our house, it's also the day we put up the Christmas tree. Mainly because I love how the house looks when it's decorated for the season, so I want to make it last as long as possible! :-)

I must say, it all looks so much more glittery in real life - I'll have to get Marty to take a picture with his fancy camera and even fancier filter.

The Farmers Wife - A beginning ...

Originally I was going to make my 'Civil War Love Letters' quilt using the colourway I've used in these blocks, but I changed my mind. I think it will look better with a larger variety of colours, so I'll make it in scraps and reproductions some day - lets face it, I still have a LOT of scraps and repro bits and pieces!

Having made that decision, I decided to start making 'The Farmers Wife' quilt instead, and I've been dying to get busy ever since.

Here are my first blocks:

Block 1 - Attic Windows

Block 2 - Autumn Tints

Block 4 - Basket Weave

Block 6 - Big Dipper

These blocks have been fun to make, and I can't wait to get more made. I've almost completed Block 3 - Basket, it's pieced, I just have to needle turn the handle down. And Block 5 - Bat Wing, I must print the templates before I can begin piecing.

I hope I can share a few more blocks with you soon! xox

Thank you!

One of my sweet quilting friends gave me the loveliest bunch of flowers yesterday as a big congratulations on my quilty award.

Don't they look wonderful? I can't wait for the blooms to open. Thank you Monica!

Orphan Block

I have been completely unable to settle to a new project since I finished my NI quilt, so for fun I started digging around in my box of orphan blocks.

I found one I needle turned about 15 years ago when I was just learning, and thought it'd be fun to quilt it and make it into a little table topper. Here is the end result:

Gratuitous NI picture :-)

Just because I can't get enough of these pics, I thought I'd share where my NI quilt is right now. I'll have to take it down in a few weeks for valuation ... and then next year it'll have a little holiday in Melbourne. In the meantime, it's hanging in the dining room ...

And it just keeps getting better!

My Mum and I visited the guild show again today - I wanted to visit with my quilt again, and Mum was dying to see it hanging. I'll never tire of seeing it there with it's lovely ribbon. Lizzy called me to let me know that two of the guild ladies were looking for me - and I have to tell you they had the most exciting news ...

My quilt was one of those selected to represent South Australia at the Australasian Quilters Convention in April next year! Can you believe it?? I'm just gobsmacked, and completely honoured! Just when I thought things could not be more wonderful, they just get even better!

Chatter soon friends - I'm still on cloud nine! xox

It is so very exciting!

Now that I've had a little time to settle after such excitement, I can begin returning messages and emails - and share news and pictures a little more adequately. Thank you to everyone who has left comments here, and messages on my facebook page, it has been just overwhelming and entirely wonderful.

Here is another picture for you - one that shows a little more of the quilt - but still not a good photo. I'm going to visit again on the weekend and hopefully will be able to take some better pictures.

While at the show, I visited one of my favourite interstate booths - the one where I purchased the NI book originally - Somerset Patchwork & Quilting, and they have a block of the month going - I signed up immediately. Scroll down on their front page - it's Mrs Billings' Coverlet. I'm in love! I have the first block, and I can't wait to begin. I don't mind admitting that even though I have things I need to work on, I've really felt a little lost since I finished working on my NI quilt. I had a feeling that may happen ...

Update: my laptop died in a heap last night, (beastly thing) so I don't have access to the emails I've already downloaded - hopefully all will be well soon so I can get busy responding to all your kind messages xox

Winner!

My Nearly Insane quilt won first place in its category at the SA Quilters Guild show, and I'm beyond thrilled. I'm at the presentation now - more later!

Testing ...

I've been working on some table mats using some of my favourite Kaffe fabrics. I'll make a couple more and get busy binding.

Most of all though, this post is just a quick test to see if I can blog from my iPhone. I guess I'll know very soon! :-)

Another runner ...

I hope you don't get tired of these runners any time soon, because today I made another, and I know there will be more in my future!

Lyn chose this gorgeous fabric for the shop, and it looks wonderful - very glitzy! Kind of Christmasy, but with a hint of spice :-)

And here's how I've quilted it - I should be more adventurous, perhaps on the next one :-)

If I try hard, I should be able to apply the binding tonight, and I'll do the hand stitching later.

This weekend I'm going to make up some more blocks, and also get busy on some other small projects - I'll check in soon! xox

Lo and behold - I reacquainted myself with my sewing machine!

But first - a photo I had taken with my phone-camera and forgot all about it ... when I took the picture of my Nearly Insane quilt hanging in my dining room the other day - I had unceremoniously dumped my Dear Jane quilt in the lounge.

Miss Gracie clearly saw this as an opportunity to rub up against a quilt that up till now had been impossible to get to! Little monkey!!

And in entirely marvellous news - I have been able to make a little headway toward catching up on the Civil War Quilt blocks. Here are the blocks I made on Sunday:

This is Block 39 - Hovering Hawks. Such an easy block, but so effective.

Block 42 - H is for Hospital. How fun would a quilt be made entirely with this block in a Rail-Fence kind of design. Very striking.

And lastly, Block 43 - Right Hand of Friendship. I had to do a little unpicking with this one to get it just right, but I think it was worth it. I love the red print with the dots - I only had the smallest piece and wish I had more, it's adorable.

Well, that's my sewing for the weekend - it was so much fun, and I can't wait to get a few more blocks made. Chatter soon! xox