Monday 30 November 2009

Tumbler Quilt

Yesterday I finished sewing the binding on this tumbler quilt.
 

I used Amanda Jean's Sweet Baby Quilt tutorial on the Moda Bake Shop to make it.

Most of the fabrics are from Peace on Earth by 3 Sisters, with just a few bits of Roman Holiday tossed in.
 
 


I quilted straight lines the width of my walking foot along all the seams ...


 


and finished it off with a stripey binding. 

After some dismal efforts in some months this year, I managed to finish 6 items in November. Hopefully December will be as productive.


Molly was very interested in the 'goings on' in the backyard and posed for a few quilty shots.


 
 


Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a 2 day workshop at Calico Crossroads in Exeter. The guest tutor was the delightful Kerry Swain from Cottage on the Hill. Here is just a peek at the quilt I worked on using Rouenneries by French General. 


I will share some more pictures from the workshop and tell you about my quilt in my next post.
Finally, here are my SSCS gifts which I posted to ????? on Friday. Only 2 days late!! Sorry, Chookyblue.


Sunday 15 November 2009

A Week of Finishes

I've been quite productive this week and have a couple of finishes to share.
This is the stitchery designed by Rosalie Quinlan that I started at Campania a fortnight ago.
 
I found the frame stashed in a cupboard and decided it would do nicely for this project.




All the fabrics are from Heather Mulder Peterson's range called Cottage Charm.


 


It was very warm yesterday and Oliver decided the cutting mat was a good place to sprawl out for a siesta!
 

 
 


During the week I attached the binding to this little quilt made from Simplicity scraps. Much as I love Simplicity, I find the pastel colours difficult to photograph well!
 
 
 


The back is pieced from random sized strips as I couldn't bear to cut into any of my bigger pieces.




A close-up of the back.





I also finished my gift and ornament for Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap. (We are not supposed to show any sneak peeks so I will share after Christmas) and have the binding ready to stitch down on another Christmas quilt. Hope your week was productive too.


Friday 6 November 2009

Shopping and Stitching

This is what happened last Sunday when I tried to take some pictures of my shopping from A Christmas Gathering.






A certain cat decided it looked like a good place for him to sit. Thanks Oliver!




On Monday (when Oliver was inside snoozing in his basket in my sewing room!) I snuck outside and was much more successful. Along with lots of ladies, I purchased a copy of Rosie's gorgeous new book.




Many of the projects are made from her own line of fabric, Grandmother's Flower Garden.
I took home a few fat 1/8'ths and a couple of larger pieces.





Also found these beauties to add to my wool stash.





Everyone recieved one of these lovely Christmas hearts as a gift. At the end of the day I was able to purchase some more and took home an extra one for me and two for my sister. Everyone also had a beautifully crafted name tag to wear made by the very talented Jo.




On Sunday I experimented with some quilting using a decorative stitch on my machine.




I think it looks quite cute and it was really easy to do.





his is the back of the little quilt which is pieced from scraps leftover from An Angel Story.





The top of An Angel Story is all finished. I haven't been able to get a decent picture of it yet ... hopefully soon.





Finally here is another block of Little Patchwork Village. Only 1 and a bit stitcheries left to do on this one.





I was too tired after work this week to do much on any of my many current projects. The eyes just wouldn't focus! Hopefully the weekend will be more productive.



Monday 2 November 2009

More from A Christmas Gathering

As promised, I'm back again with a bit more about Saturday's Christmas Gathering at Campania. As it was October 31st part of the hall was adorned with lots of Halloween quilts and decorations. I think I am right when I say most of them belonged to Deidre from The Quilted Crow.




Although not really into Halloween myself, I did like this smiley cat block.

 





The next picture is to prove I did actually do some stitching ... I think my effort on the actual day consisted of the bird and the word 'never'! Parts of the design are supposed to be done in chain stitch but mine looked so disgusting I unpicked it and did it again in good old backstitch!




The remaining photos were taken on the stage where The Quilted Crow set up their shop with lots of tempting goodies. Rosalie's new fabric range Grandmother's Flower Garden is very pretty and was very popular.


 
This is a sample of a quilt designed by Monica Poole.



And finally some items made from the wool felt for which The Quilted Crow is famous. The girls are very clever and dye it all themselves.




 
Forgot to say yesterday that I met Lisa for the first time on Saturday. She has a really nice blog called Cubby House Crafts. Hope you are feeling better, Lisa.
Next time I'll show what I purchased on the day and a few other things I've been working on this weekend. Back to school tomorrow after two weeks sick leave. Bye for now.