WIP Wednesday: the Placemat Finish

I have a finish this week! I started these place mats for my Mum's birthday earlier this year, but I was so busy that I only got to make 4 of them in time.  I finally finished the other 4 this week so that she has a full set of 8.

They have a little band of aqua or green contrast at the base of each place mat, which I think gives some variation to them.  There's 4 each of the green and the aqua, so Mum can either mix them up, or have a matching set of 4.

I also managed to talk her into some outdoor photography!  My love of all things photography definitely comes from Mum (and I love that it is something we still share) so it was really nice to do a little mini photo shoot together.

Next time I visit with her I will take some quilts and get some more shots!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...??

It's been an awfully long time since I blogged. A couple of people from the "real" world have even asked me what's going on over here. Time just got away from me a bit! 

I don't think I even told you all that I broke a bone in my foot! I tripped over and slammed my foot into the bedroom door - yes, I'm THAT girl.. the one who trips over her own feet! All healed now, but that was a week in a moon boot that I didn't need!

The best part is that while the blog has been quiet, I have been busy sewing away.  There has been a finished quilt, a finished top, a cute accessory, I received some swap fabric and have a couple of other quilt designs floating in my head that I have to get down on paper and into fabric :)

Up first a little run through of what I've been up to, but I will be back with more details on each of them later!

Sunset + is now a finished top.  I've basted it and now I just have to decide how to quilt it.  I really love the colours, and want to get it done soon so that it can be my "winter TV quilt".

Square Dance is a finished quilt, I love how the design came out, but I want to do some more quilting in the "negative space" to really make the coloured sections pop.

 

My key ring has been gradually falling apart for weeks, so on ANZAC Day I whipped up a new one.  A number of years ago on Valentine's Day Sir Pinkying took me for a shopping session at my LQS which is when I bought this fabric.  I like to think of it as my "Valentines Keyring"

 Finally, I got very happy mail in the post last week.  I did a swap with Kati over at From the Blue Chair which was a 5 yard rainbow charm swap!  We each sent in 5 yards of fabric in our colour group, and what we got back was 5 yards of charms!

I already have a plan for these - but the drawing out is quite complicated and I haven't quite worked out what size I want to make it yet - but I'll have it sorted out soon.

I'll be back with more later this week!

 

Nicey Girls Finish First

A little while back I showed you this stack of fabrics.  The fabric is Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey.  Even though I only just became the proud owner of some of this fabric, but it's actually been around for quite a while.  Just in case you missed them here they are again!

The reason why I wanted needed some Nicey Jane was because of a super cute quilt that I saw over at Simplify (Camille Roskelley's Blog) and after I saw the photo I just HAD to have some! 

Jenn and I went halves in some fat eighths and now we're all ready for our mini challenge.  So here are the rules for the Nicey Girls Finish First mini challenge:
1) All print fabrics for the top and the binding must come from our fat eighth set.
2) The only fabrics we can add are solids
3) No more than 2 solids can be added*
4) The big reveal will be at our quilting group in April (full quilt!)

*I'm pretty sure that it was right around this rule being added that we both ran off to get pull out our Kona colour cards to check our choices!!

I've been kind of planning an idea in my head for a while - so I sort of knew what I wanted to do, although I have amended that slightly since we agreed the rules!  I spent a little time yesterday with these guys

and drew up a block and an overall design.  Here's a sneak peek of the design

anyway - if I'm going to meet this deadline, I better get started!!

Published!!!

Do you guys read Fat Quarterly?? If you don't, you really should do yourself a favour and go and check it out.  It's a great e-zine featuring modern sewing projects.  This month in addition to a huge number of great projects, one of my projects is in it too!

It's a really quick canvas that you can make to decorate for the holidays... The one in Issue 8 of Fat Quarterly is for Easter

 But it works really well for Christmas too!

I'm super excited! This is the first time one of my projects has been published.  It's a great ezine, you should all go and check it out!

Sunset +

I have a new quilt to share with you all today! The squares I showed piled up last week are for this

It's a "Plus Quilt" from the tutorial by Jeni over at In Color Order and it's coming together really quickly!

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday over at freshly pieced so here are the stats:

New Projects - 1

Completed Projects - 0

Ongoing Projects - number actually unknown!

Projects for 2012

I've been doing a stocktake of the projects I want to make this year, or in some cases finish this year and I think if I record them here that perhaps I will feel more drive to finish them rather than get distracted with pretty new things!

Up first is finishing off these placemats for my mum.  I managed to finish off 4 before Christmas which were given to her for her early January birthday, but I need to finish the other 4 so that she can have a full set of 8!  The fabric is Bryant Park from Anthology Fabrics, paired with Kona solids.

 For once I've actually saved my selvedges, and I would like to make a pouch of some kind featuring them.  Hopefully that will come together quickly!

This is a bundle of Nicey Jane that recently joined my collection.  My friend Jenn and I went halves in some fat quarters, so now we both have a set of fat eighths.  I think we will do some kind of "challenge" with these, I already have the design in my head, but I won't start until Jenn can start too.

Late last year I showed you this stack of fabrics, which have become this neat little pile of squares.  This is going to become a quilt that I'm calling Sunset Plus.  As soon as I have time to layout all the squares I'll show you a sneak peek!

Also on the list for finishing this year is my Candied Hexagons.  I think I have less than 10 blocks to go now, and then the little edge pieces.  I doubt that I will get the top finished, the quilting and binding done, but I would be happy if I can finish the top this year.

Finally, and using my newly learnt Machine Quilting skils, I would like to quilt these two tops which have been waiting around for some time now to be finished off.  I've always wanted to quilt them myself, so I think this will be the year.

That's the list to start with!  What about you?  What are you making this year?

Reflections and Predictions

Wow, things have been quiet around here!  December kind of just got away from me there.  There was the usual craziness with present shopping, work, social events and also some frantic sewing too.  While I have been quiet on the blog, I have been busy with some secret projects, including my very first tutorial!

I thought that to get the ball rolling again that I would start by answering the questions over at Sew Mama Sew on Reflections and Predictions.

SMS:  Looking back at the 2011 sewing scene, what trends stand out in your mind?

I think that we're definitely seeing the "coming soon" fabric sneak peaks much earlier in the production process with a long wait for those of us who want to buy it retail.  This can be a good thing and a bad thing, sometimes it feels like an eternity until we can get our hands on it!  I'm loving the involvement of more men in the craft, as fabric designers, quilt makers and bloggers, they bring a different design aesthetic and create great products.

SMS: What were some of your favourite things related to sewing this past year? 

I loved a LOT of the fabric that came out this year, it was great to see so many different ranges with different styles, really something for everyone.
On a more personal level, one of the biggest changes for me this was meeting a group of quilters my age who have become firm friends.  It's a real pleasure to be able to get together for cutting, sewing, chatting, laughing and brownies!

SMS: What did you make that you're most proud of?

I'm going to pick two here because I can't separate them, but I think that's ok because one of them was for me and the other was for a dear friend.
The first is my Cosmo bag from Amy Butler's Style Stitches - In Far Far Away by Heather Ross, this was for me, and I absolutely love it.  It was worth every second of angst making it!

The second is a baby quilt for a good friend of mine.  She was responsible for setting me up with Sir Pinkying, and she just had her first baby this year.  The only thing that was more joyful for me than their reaction when I gave it to them, is seeing lots of photos of their little guy hanging out on it!

 

SMS: Are there any trends you're over and done with?
Not really.  I think that the thing that the quilting industry has gotten better at is appreciating that we are all different, so different things appeal to different quilters.  I was a bit over the modern/traditional argument that happened in 2011, there is space for all of us in the quilting industry regardless of how and what we identify with.

SMS: Did you have a favourite fabric collection or print in 2011?

I really loved the Prince Charming range from Tula Pink, I missed out on Neptune so Prince Charming was great for me to get.  For me 2011 was also the year of Sweetwater - Sunkissed, Hometown, and in 2012 Reunion!

SMS: What do you predict for 2012 in the sewing industry?

In 2012 I think we will see more involvement of international designers in the US fabric design scene, there's already Australian, English and Japanese designers and I think we will see more of that as the internet and blogs make us all "closer".  I would also like to see more companies doing pre-cuts, I just love them for convenience!

SMS: Can you tell us what to expect from you in 2012?  Any big projects or life-changing goals?

I've already done one exciting thing for 2012, but there will be a wait before I can tell you about it (and no, there are no little feet on the horizon!)  I'm planning to re-design the blog a bit soon, it's time for a refresh.  I hope there will be some other life-changing things happening too, but I can't tell you about that just yet either!

WIP Wednesday

I haven't done one of these for a while, so I'm just going to cover the changes since the last one! So here we go

Finishes:
Cosmo Bag

 Peanut's Playtime Quilt

Progress:
Candied Hexagons - more blocks made - 11 to go!

No Progress:
pretty much everything else!

New Projects:
A secret project for someone for Christmas
Planning for the Christmas Tree!
Renovating our Christmas wreath

Linking up with WIP Wednesday

Candied Hexgons... the ongoing project

Last night I took a couple of minutes to lay out all the blocks for my Candied Hexagons.  By my count I only have 11 full blocks to go, and then the side ones to square it up.  I did rearrange a couple of the blocks, but for the most part I'm pretty with how it's looking. 

It's going to be a riot of colour, but I really like that!

Back to School!

Things have been a bit quiet around here, Sir Pinkying and I managed to sneak off for a quick break before the madness of the last 6 weeks of the year.  The first stop on our tour was Canberra.  I've been wanting to take a machine quilting class for a long time, and I knew that I wanted to take a class with Deb Louie, and Canberra was the best chance for me to take it.

For anyone who doesn't know who Deb is, she is a very well known quilter who used to professionally machine quilt for others on her domestic machine.  Yep, that's right, you heard me.  No long arm.  Machine quilted for others, on her DOMESTIC machine.

The first day was focused on pin basting technique, design consideration, marking and machine quilting with a walking foot.   We did quilting in the ditch, a cross hatch, stops and starts, and a cable, all with the walking foot.

Day two was all about free motion quilting.  This is what I was really really excited to learn about.  I haven't done much of it, and I'm getting sick of sending my quilts out to be quilted.  I want to be able to do it them myself!  Here is a shot of my test piece from the second day. 

Deb breaks the designs down for you and demonstrates them, and then gets you to try them.  Here is my first very sad attempt at a swirl

but a couple of rows later I did these two, so a definite improvement!

We also learnt flowers

and interlocking squares

 flowers with stems

stars and lots more!

Deb is a fabulous teacher, and I can't recommend this class highly enough!  I learnt so much, and still have more to learn.  Most importantly I have to practice practice practice!  I'm really looking forward to sitting down at the machine again to apply all the things that I learnt.

Shopping Spree!

 Anyone who quilts and lives in Sydney is probably familiar with Craft Depot at Pennant Hills.  They are having a huge sale in November, and on the way home from quilting on the weekend, Kyishia and I stopped in to check out the sale.  I have to admit that I might have gone a little bit over the top....

This is what I came home with

some gorgeous Ginger Blossom and a couple of prints that match quite well

Some hard to find Heather Ross - mermaids and octupuses (octupi?)

and this pile of wonderful fabrics!

it really all started with this bird print - it was just so cute and colorful that I couldn't resist..

then I saw this adorable bicycle print so I added it to the pile

Then I decided that I should pick a couple of other fabrics to 'match'

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I'm feeling something fresh with a cream and a very clean bright design.  It was a great day of shopping!

Scrappy Swap

I've been trying out online swaps through Flickr for the first time recently, so I'm in 1 fabric swap, 1 bee and 1 sewn goodie swap.  Of these only one of them is finished which is the sewn goodie swap.  We were all assigned a secret partner, and you had to send 1 hand sewn goodie, the equivalent of a fat quarter of scraps, and something from your area.

This is what I sent out to my partner:
Some pink scraps

Some cute animal scraps from Peanut's Playtime as well as some matching Kona solids

Some Christmas scraps (this is the Christmas line by Kate Spain from last year)

 and some modern scraps

Finally I put in a super special piece which is a very rare Heather Ross fabric

My hand made gift was a small fabric container, made in Far Far Away II by Heather Ross, I think it will be good for collecting scraps and threads while she sews!

Finally, this is what I received back, a truly brilliant fabric container - which I've already used and I love! - a gorgeous matching pin cushion and a beautiful array of scraps tailored just for me! It really was a great swap!  Something that I would recommend you all try!