SSCS 2010 What I Sent Away

This is what I sent to Floss in Canada. This little ornament was fun to make although I did find it a little challenging as I have not worked with hexagons before. I really like how it turned out.

Here is the gorgeous table runner I made for Floss, even if I do say so myself. But before you all reckon I am too clever, I did follow a pattern diligently. This pattern is from the book Skinny Quilts and Tablerunners. The pattern is By The Sea by Karen Eckmeier.

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Floss is an Australian married to a Canadian. In looking through her blog to choose a theme for her, I discovered she misses the beaches of Oz and takes every opportunity to get her feet wet when any kind of beach appears, even in winter (yikes!). So this quilt is for Floss to have a bit of the beach with her wherever she goes.

The quilt is long and narrow (i.e. skinny quilt - lol) so it was hard to photograph.

Here it is again in sections.

Note the starry fabric...

Remember those sneak peaks? Bet you never thought of a beach scene when you saw the lace and beads then the starry fabric. Lol.

Yes, really real seashells sewn in with a bit of tulle.

A little embellishment with wool to add texture and interest.

And not seen in the photo above, I added a few lace seagulls before posting it away.

Here is the quilt again in the bright sunshine.

All those shadows create an interesting effect.

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So another successful SSCS with Chookyblue.

Hope you all had a great Christmas! And here's Cheers to the New Year!

SSCS 2010 Quilt Received

This adorable little quilt was made by Laura of 3 Doodles and a Dog in Chookyblue's SSCS 2010.



What a perfect little quilt for me. I keep Christ firmly at the centre of my Christmas and always have at least one Nativity scene on display. This little beauty will fill me with joy all year round... Thank you so much Laura for such a thoughtful and meaningful gift!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends!

I hope you have a lovely, lovely time with family and friends!

Embrace what went right, laugh off what went wrong and

remember the God who loves you through it all!

Australian Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute,

Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot,

Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,

It's Summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs!
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Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day,

Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.
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Engine's getting hot; we dodge the kangaroos,

The swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too.

All the family's there, sitting by the pool,

Christmas Day the Aussie way, by the barbecue.
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Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day,

Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.
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Come the afternoon, Grandpa has a doze,

The kids and Uncle Bruce, are swimming in their clothes.

The time comes 'round to go, we take the family snap,

Pack the car and all shoot through, before the washing up.

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Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day,

Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

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More Aussie Christmas stuff here.

A Second Quilt

Do you remember by niece-in-law Louise? I blogged about her first quilt here, a small Double Wedding Ring. She's back with a baby quilt for a friend, and of course it's a Drunkard's Path. It's still rough around the edges as she's struggling with that quarter inch. But I so admire her willingness to just dive in. To her, one pattern is like another and you just follow the directions. There's a lesson here for all of us, I think. Especially me...

I've shown Louise some of my quilt tops and she wants to know why they aren't finished... good question. Did I have a coherent answer? Not really. No excuse. Too lazy to quilt? Scared of ruining the top by trying to quilt it? Hit a design wall regarding borders? We've all been there and done that.

2011 is a finishing year for me. I'm determined and mentally ready. There will be finished quilts flowing from my sewing room. I will work only on projects that are started already. This is my promise to myself. I am resolved.

Tiny Sneak Peek 2

Six sleeps to go...

Sneak Peek

The imp in me says I must show a tiny sneak peek of my

Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap.

Hopefully Santa won't put me on the naughty list.
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Sadly no sewing getting done.

Been shifting my elderly in-laws out of their home and in to a retirement village. Only those who have done this know what I've been through. I was in charge somehow. I'm a little traumatised, but we are still on speaking terms... and they are comfortable and happy in their new home. Just don't know what they are going to do with all the stuff they refused to let go of. Lots and lots of boxes in their garage. Lots of boxes in the spare room. Lots of stuff in the cupboards. Had a fight with Dad about throwing out aspirin that expired in 1991. You get the idea.

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I can hardly wait until I'm 82 and can drive my kids crazy.

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Edit: Sounds like I'm whinging a bit. You have to know that I was glad to be able to help these wonderful substitute parents (a.k.a. the in-laws) - even if it was overwhelming...

Christmas Card Boxes

Do you still have last year's Christmas cards tucked away? Now is the perfect time to make these little boxes which are great for small gifts or candy. I wrote a tutorial in 2008 when I first started blogging. You can find the tutorial here.

SSCS Received

I participated in Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap and Tuesday I received my gift. We are allowed to open the ornament right away and I received two hand made ornaments! These are received from Laura of 3 Doodles and a Dog.

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The heart is made of hand-painted paper and is just wonderfully charming.

Laura did a tutorial on how to make it here.

This little angel is just too perfect. Regular readers of my blog know I just love angels on my tree and I try to get an angel ornament every year. Nothing special enough has come my way this year but now I have this most wonderful angel to add. Thank you so much Laura. It is just right.
Same angel with flash.
My present is safely tucked under my tree until Christmas.
And no peeking!

Just to Clarify...

(photo google images)

Ron was my husband's younger cousin. They were quite close. He was only 45 when he died. His kids are the same ages as ours. I wanted to make a quilt for his wife Jo-Marie.

At first I was just terrified of touching the shirts in case I somehow ruined them. Around that time Bonnie Hunter published her book 'Scraps and Shirttails' so I got a copy and read through that. My husband wanted to select the pattern though and he chose the 'Turning Twenty Again' that he had seen me use before.

I got a good start at a retreat in April '09 and more progress at the next retreat in Aug '09. I kept at it with a little prompting from my husband. I seemed to have a mental block about it. I worked through all the problems with the fabrics and finally got the top together. My husband said I could pay to have it quilted (not usually in our budget) and a friend who has a quilting business did it for me. It took a little while for me to bind it but I finally put in the last stitch. The label will go on in the next few days - we are pondering what to put on the label - the basics plus a little more info about Ron.

In finishing this quilt I feel a little weight off my shoulders. I had to really push through some creativity barriers as well as a few psychological. I recently read on Jacquie's blog (Tallgrass Prairie Studio) about a book called 'The War of Art'. It's a book about breaking through the barriers to our creativity. You can read Jacquie's blog post here. My local book store couldn't get the book for me (imagine that) but I easily sourced it online. It's been ordered and hopefully I should get it in the next week or so. I’m thinking that this book will help me to gain control of my quilting life – to help me finish those UFO’s (let’s not kid ourselves by calling them anything else) and gain control of my stash - to break the life-long habit of procrastination…

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Do you have barriers to your creativity?

Do you procrastinate?

What do you do to break through?

Ron's Quilt Finished

I first blogged about these shirts here.

The journey continued here.

And of course there was this.

And it culminates in this quilt.
I found $15 in this pocket. I returned it once the quilt was finished.

I still have the label to attach.

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In memory of Ronald William John Jamieson (1963 - 2008)

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Pattern is "Turning Twenty Again" by Tricia Cribbs.

Machine quilted by Barb John.

Christmas Tree

A lovely evening, a successful venture.

A family tradition continues.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my North American friends.

May your day be filled with love and laughter with family and friends.

Try not to overeat... ha ha

Ornaments

Bird

Bird and Bells

Bird and Bells and Penguin

One week to Christmas Tree Day...

Something New to Look At

Something new to look at while I'm on my blog break.

(I should be making binding right now.)

These are the floor tiles of an historic church in Albany.

From our holiday there last January.

Quilter's Night Before Christmas

A.K.A. The Dream of the Mad Quilter's Ball...

Forget cupcakes.

You have got to read Mary's latest post at The Curious Quilter.

It is just too perfect and you will so enjoy it.

Come back and tell me what's on your 'to finish before Christmas' list.

Something Amazing

So I had a visitor tonight. My niece-in-law Louise. Mother of the great, great-nephews mentioned here. She came by to pick up the little quilts for her boys. And she brought something to show me. And I just had to show you. Look what she has tackled for her first-ever quilting project, using a pattern and instructions from a very old craft book (circa 1970's). The instructions are incredibly limited. She used a bit of plastic from a binder divider to make her templates. It's sewn by machine. It's a little rough around the edges, and she's planning on adding something to it but not more arcs. She bought the fabric at either Spotlight or Textile Traders (can't remember which). I am just so proud of her. She was so inspired by the work we did together throwing the little Wiggle quilts together that she felt like she just had to do some quilty thing. I told her that double wedding ring was a pattern that many quilters put in the too-hard basket or plan on getting to it 'one day'. She said it was a good thing she didn't know it was hard... lol - here is a close-up of one of the arcs. I had to use flash as it's evening and she was off again and that was the photo op.

We had a great couple of hours together talking all things quilty. She is a beginner and trying to wing it. I gave her a beginner's quilting magazine which highlights different methods and easy patterns. And it came with a dvd so gave her that as well. And I gave her a few other little bits of supplies and wadding etc. And some fabric. I told her she needed to shop at "Auntie Shari's" before spending any more money. How's that for stash busting?

Well, the enthusiasm was a little tiring and it is time for bed. Hope you all had a very nice day!

Giveaway Winners

So I should be working on this...

Which is the companion to this...

Or even on this... which is a prize for this giveaway... for small quilts with simple quilting I use my long straight pins to baste... works great...

Second prize for this giveaway...

October is the month for my second blog anniversary. I hinted and mentioned several times this month that a giveaway was iminent/happening. So here's how it worked. I only wanted people who regularly visit to be entered - hence no big fanfare. Anyone who commented on any post in October was entered. Only one entry per person (not per comment). In total, 19 different people commented on my blog in October. I went old school and printed out the names...
Cut them apart and put them in this epic teapot...

See...
The winners were drawn by my epic #3 daughter... thanks H!

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Winner of the small quilt is Laura of 3 Doodles and a Dog.

Winner of the Moda Charm Pack is Em of Em's Scrapbag...

I appreciate everyone who visits my blog and leaves a comment. Sharing our ideas and our lives is so rewarding and helps to make the world a better place, in my humble opinion. I really mean it when I wish you all a very nice day!

Binding

The binding in this photo if for a quilt made out of men's shirts and the binding is made from the shirts as well. I first blogged about this quilt here. This has been a difficult quilt to work on (only partially for technical reasons). I am now at the stage of hand-sewing the binding to the back of the quilt. Then the label and I can pass it on.

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There's an old hymn that runs through my mind from time to time. It was written by John Fawcett (1740 - 1817). Blest Be the Tie That Binds.
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This song speaks of ties that bind us together in fellowship of kindred minds. It speaks of sharing our burdens with sympathising tears. Though we are apart we are joined in heart and hope to meet again.
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While this song is about Christian fellowship through Christ our Lord, I draw the comparison to our shared interest in all things quilty and crafty. When I began this blog two years ago, it was a way to pass a bit of time while recovering from major surgery. It has become so much more to me since then.
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I have met some really nice people (and sometimes not so nice, thankfully very rare), gained amazing knowledge of quilty things, won some amazing prizes, given prizes away, learned more about the world and more about myself. It's been a wonderful ride, one I hope to continue.
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So to celebrate I will be having a quiet little giveaway for my regular visitors. No jumping through hoops to enter. A comment on any post between 1st October to 31st October is sufficient for entry. Names will go in to a hat. One entry per person (but feel free to comment more often if you have something to say). Up for grabs is a mini quilt (which I have yet to quilt), a Moda pre-cut and maybe some other little things. I will have two winners (for two years blogging of course).Winners will be announced Tuesday, Nov 2 (Melbourne Cup Day - may your favourite horse win/US election day - get out and vote! and may your candidate win).

Crazy Curves Workshop

This is the workshop I attended on Saturday. It was held at the Parkerville Baptist Church and the money raised goes to their nominated charities. This time, money went to Pakistan for flood relief and a women's charity in Cambodia. The ladies I sat with were very nice and we had a lovely time sewing and chatting.

Here is a look at the curves I was trying to sew. I tried out my CurveMaster sewing foot. I had to have help to fit it to my machine, but it seemed to go on all right once a part of the machine was unscrewed and removed (gasp). I had a lot of trouble with some of these curves - the ones that changed direction half way along. We are meant to sew these without pinning but bringing the two edges together to gently touch the edge guide on the sewing foot was like trying to tame two unruly children sitting in the back seat while you're driving. No one was happy.

This is my curve master foot. You can see I had to remove the boot that holds the presser feet in order to fit the adaptor shank. The verdict is still out on whether this is a good gadget or just a good idea at the time. I've only seen it demonstrated with drunkard's path blocks which is a nice smooth curve - not one that changes direction. I suspect it is user error on my part and that I just need more practice, although a little more guidance would be good but there's nothing on the net. (Feel free to share with me if you can find something besides a drunkard's path demonstrated.)

The pattern was a curved 'stack and whack'. The instructor had pre-selected colour schemes and had the kits ready for us, although we did the actually cutting of the curves. I learned how to do that at least - it was a little nerve wracking. The curves were not cut free-hand but you kind of slide a small square ruler along the cutting line keeping pace with the rotary cutter - which needs a new blade as you must go through all the layers in your stack (6 layers plus the freezer paper). They need to be exact as you shuffle the pieces around to re-sew them together.

So here is what I've gotten done so far. This is two stacks i.e. 12 fabric squares equals twelve blocks. I've had a go at pressing them but they just won't sit nicely and there are puckers and I'm going to take my time and clips some seams and see what I can do with them. After I get all 24 blocks done I will trim them back to the largest square I can (probably 8.5" or 9").

This will come along to the retreat with me on the 30th of September for a good play and the ladies there will not be as shocked as my family if I start swearing under my breath...

Please share with me if you have a curve master foot and how you've found it...

It's the day job this week with a guild meeting on Tuesday. We have our first committee meeting for the 2011 exhibition and our theme is "magical medallions".

Potholder Progress

I decided to sew the binding to the back of the potholder and then turn it to the front and machine stitch. I've heard of this but have not tried it. I had to keep telling myself that finished is better than perfect.

Here it is all sewn on ready for turning. I pinned it well and did opposite sides.

I sewed close to the edge.
This is how the corner looks from the back.
And the corner from the front.
Here is the finished potholder. One side has a little flaw and it won't sit flat.

While putting on the binding this way makes it a little rough around the edges, it was super quick and this is not an heirloom but meant to be used and thrown in the washing machine with the kitchen towels. I think with a little practice I can neaten up some of the stitching and pin a bit better. I have three other potholders ready for the binding so when time permits I will use this method and see how I go. I used one layer of insulbrite which is meant to be ok, but if you make an oven mitt the package says to also use a layer of cotton batting in addition to the insulbrite. Have any of you used insulbrite before? It's a batting with a layer of mylar in the middle.

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Edit: Of course I've just checked their website and they recommend a layer of cotton batting for potholders as well. Oh well, a few of mine will only have the insulbrite. Guess I'll be keeping those ones for me... lol.