Treats in the mail, Country Quilters, and I'm Appliquéing!

So much has been going on this past week - time is just flying by, I can't believe it's going to be April tomorrow!

First up, last week I received the most lovely parcel in the mail. My sweet friend from the USA, Donna, sent me some lovely floral fabrics for my stash, and for maybe some future broderie perse projects. I just love them all.

And on the left there, is the block she made me for the Quilt Batt's Christmas block swap. It's just adorable. I wish I had remembered to take a picture of the block I made - Donna and I were lucky enough to draw each other's name in the exchange - how fun! Thank you for my treats Donna! xox

On Friday, my sweet friend Vicki and I made our way into the country - we were heading to Burra on Quilters Guild business. The Burra Quilters were hosting the 'Regional Round-up' - a forum for country group members to attend. There were guest speakers, five shops in attendance, and a great time was had by all.

This is the Burra Town Hall where 200+ quilters converged. Check out the car cover made by the Festival of Quilts Exhibition Committee, it's just great and being used at so many quilty gatherings.

When Vicki and I arrived, we were met by our friends, who tried to convince us that this 'rustic' cottage was where we were staying. Thank goodness they were being tricky. We stayed at the Tivers Row Burra Heritage Cottages and it was much like this one, but it had been restored and was quite delightful. In the picture from left to right is Roz, Kay, Vicki, me, and Shirl. Gay is on the other side of the camera.

Corliss from Threadbear was the keynote speaker at the round-up, and she had her shop there too. She is a girl after my vintage heart, and I purchased the most delightful pattern from her. Kay bought the same one, and we're super excited to work on it. Lots of needle-turn appliqué with delicious fabrics. I'll share the pattern next time as I didn't remember to take a picture.

And last of all, I've been working on Part Two of the Di Ford Mystery BOM. Isn't this a natty way to deal with lots of appliqué circles for little blocks:

This is how the magazine suggests we do it, and I have to confess I never thought of tackling them this way before. Saves dealing with lots of little tiny pieces, that's for sure. I've finished working on these 16 circles now, I need a total of 48 so I'm one third done - I'll get some more appliquéd tomorrow.

Well, that's it for now - I'll check back in with you all soon and show you the lovely pattern, I can't wait to work on it! Chatter soon xox

BOM - Part one Finished

I've finally finished working on part one of the Di Ford BOM. I can't believe that the last eight leaves took me eight days to complete - how did I only managed an average of one leaf per day??

Now that I'm done, I'm really looking forward to starting on part two. While I was cropping this picture down in Photoshop, I realised that the bottom of the basket is not sitting parallel to the edge of the block, so at some point I'm going to straighten it up. It's only 1-2mm higher on the left side, but it's enough to bug me, so I'll get it sorted. Darn, being fussy can be a curse!!

Alrighty, I'm off to do some chores, and then I can get busy working on some appliqué circles ... happy day!

Border on ...

Just a quickie post to share where I'm at with the BOM ... I'm excited about this latest development:

The outside border is in place now - it'll look so nice once it's had a good press. I have to confess something - since taking the picture, I unpicked the bottom left mitre and did it again - see that tiny pucker there? I just wasn't happy with it and knew I could do better. And it does look better now, so everything is good in my world.

All that is left to do now is appliqué the little hexie units and leaves in place in the corners and I can start working on the second instalment. I'll tackle it tomorrow if I feel up to it - I have gone and caught a hideous cold ... it's so early in the year to be catching bugs like this! Honestly, I'm dripping like a faucet and sneezing like crazy - my family are keeping their distance, and I can't blame them. I even had to miss the NTFW quilting group on the weekend, and I was seriously displeased! However I could not live with myself if I shared these bugs around so I'll have to wait for the next gathering ...Anyways, that's enough of my grizzling. I'll check back in when the block is finished. Chatter soon :-)

Quilt Sighting #6 and Appliqué Update

It has been a while since I've reported a quilt sighting - though I have had a few that I've forgotten to report. Has anyone seen the quilt on the episode of Auction Hunters? It had motorcycle parts wrapped in it. Ohhh the horror! I was in such shock that I forgot to take a picture ... but anyways ...

This quilt was in a recent rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond. If I recall correctly, I think it was the episode where they decide to be healthy at Thanksgiving. It's such a sweet quilt, take a look:

I've always wanted to make a Lone Star quilt, I've made a block or two, and of course the tree skirts, but never a whole quilt. Some day it will happen, you just can't rush these things ...

And here's where I'm up to with the BOM appliqué. It's fair to say that I've relaxed a little about the broderie perse - I'm not being as fussy with it, and it's actually coming along quite well.

Does anyone know if the size of the flower motifs is exactly the same between the Dutch Chintz and the Petra Prinz fabrics? With some of my motifs there is just no way that the pieces would fit in the spaces between the stems, or between the stems and the scallops. I wondered if the chintz flowers and leaves were maybe a little larger ... but I'm fairly certain the answer is that my placement is not quite good enough. I've used different motifs where things just won't fit, and I'm happy with how it's coming along.

I've now seen part two of this project, and I'm really looking forward to getting started on it - must finish the first instalment though! Chatter soon xox

Broderie Perse

So here's where I'm at two days later - not much progress really ... but I have been plugging away at the BOM ... slowly ...

One of the hold ups was that I decided to wash my chintz fabric. I know, I should have done it at the beginning, but I didn't ... you see, after the first broderie perse flower, I NEEDED that darn chintz fabric to be a little softer - it is INCREDIBLY hard to needle turn and frays easily. I'm no beginner when it comes to needle turn appliqué, and I was finding it a tough job! I'm not sure that washing was a huge help, but hopefully it'll be easier going forward. The flowers that have points to clip into are the tricky ones ... a question for anyone working on the block - is the Petra Prinz fabric easier to work with than the glazed chintz?

Anyway, here's where I'm at:

I used a little section of the chintz fabric for the centre of my hexies as well, given that I don't have the red circle fabric. It's a very different choice, but something a little unexpected is always fun. I'm looking forward to being done with the appliqué and getting the border stitched in place, let's see how quickly I can get there :-)

Di Ford BOM Progress

I've made a little more progress on my BOM applique block, it has been a super busy week, but I've managed to put a few fiddly bits in place.

The stems are now in place - I didn't use the technique in the pattern, I used my trusty quarter inch bias tape maker, and I'm happy with the results. Once the stems were done, I could finish off the basket. I'm still thinking that I'll slightly move the handle on the right, but I'll wait until I'm done with the broderie perse. I may be prepared to live with it by then.

Something that is super exciting - my sweet friend Linda is going to be making this project too - Linda and I always seem to love the same quilts, and it will be such fun to be able to keep each other motivated.

I'm hearing whispers (and seeing evidence) that Issue 100 of Quilt Mania is out now, and that means that the next instalment of this project is going to be in my hot little hands soon. I better get motoring along, as I don't want to fall behind! Chatter soon! xox

A little appliqué progress ...

Just a quickie post for now - if I procrastinate, I won't have any stitching time at all - there is so much going on at home today.

Here's where I'm up to with the Di Ford BOM right now. All the diamonds are appliquéd in place, the little flower circles are all stitched down, and I've made a good start on the basket. I'm not happy with the handle on the right side, so I may take it off and try again. I'll wait until I've done some more stitching and see if it still bugs me.

I will have to stitch the bias stems in place before I can add the top of the basket, but I just didn't have it in me last night to be fiddling with those. Hubby and I settled in to watch Downton Abbey, and time just got away from me.

This morning I've been doing chores and baking - I've made more muffins and Anzac biscuits. The hubster and kids have been eating me out of house and home lately. Cameron has grown a lot and is really developing quite an appetite - I can't even imagine what he'll be like as a teenager?!? Amy has kindly gone to the grocery store for me, it's so helpful to have a small person with her own wheels, and she loves to do the shopping - I just know it'll wear off *lol* After school it's directly to Camo's tennis training, rush home to organise dinner, and then Amy and I have to go to a clothes party that my Mum has organised at 7.30. I can't imagine where I'll find a few quiet moments, but I'll try hard ... chatter soon!