Gardener's Journal

Thank you for all the lovely comments re my Rouenneries quilt in the last post. It seems like lots of you love it as much as I do.

 In the evenings I have been working on some stitcheries for Anni Downs A Gardener's Journal quilt.I plan to use

 Patisserie and other complementary fabrics from my Figtree stash.

I am choosing the stitchery colours as I go. I find this much quicker than constantly looking at a chart. It also makes the quilt slightly more unique.

I started with the biggest stitchery:

 No Place Like Home

 

which seemed to take forever!

The next few were smaller and much quicker:

Flower Basket

 Weather Vane

 

Dog House 

(my favourite, so far)

It is great to be on holidays ... I am slowly recovering from a very busy term. The Eisteddfod last week was very rewarding with my students achieving lots of first and second prizes in individual and choral sections ... more importantly they did their best and had lots of fun.

A Big Finish

Nearly two years after it was started my Rouenneries quilt is finally finished.

 Thankfully I love these fabrics as much now as I did then.

 In fact, only last night I was sifting through my box of leftover bits and planning another quilt in these fabrics.

The new quilt will also have bits of Rural Jardin and Pom Pom di Paris ... a truly scrappy French General quilt.

 Like me Oliver was very pleased with the warm sunny weather this morning ... he always like to 'cat scan' my quilts!

 Once again, it is Eisteddfod time so I will be very busy this week with lots of my primary school students performing vocal solos and duets and singing in our school choirs. They have all worked very hard to prepare their items ... I'm really looking forward to the next four days.

Pink Hanging Heart

This is a gift I made recently for one of the Material Girls ... a craft group I belong to.

The pattern is in Rosalie Quinlan's book A Stitch in Time.

This is the second one I've made and I'm sure it won't be the last. I stitched on some plain pink Pom Pom di Paris by French General.

I find it easier to piece my backings on stuffed projects like this ... the gap is easier to finish neatly and I don't have to wrestle with the ric-rac at the sides.

Today I pieced together block 1 of the Vignette Mystery Quilt. I'm keen to get going on the stitchery very soon ... will keep you posted.

A New Project

 I love starting new projects and recently started the Mystery quilt in Leanne Beasley's Vignette magazine. I have started with the Shoo Fly blocks which form the borders. There are 60 in the quilt and I've done about 45 so far.   

The fabrics are  Sweet Broderie by Rosalie Quinlan combined with some Lecien basics.

I fussy cut a lot of the pieces to make the most of the beautiful patterns in the fabrics. It was time consuming but I'm really happy with the results.

There is a lot of stitchery in this quilt so I am going to be busy for quite some time! What fun.

BOMs

I have 3 Block of the Month quilts on the go at the moment.  Mad I know, but I certainly don't get bored!

 First up is block 2 of the 2011 Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery Quilt. So happy I signed up for this one as the Strawberry Fields fabrics are just delightful.

This block is called Promise of Spring and was designed by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts.

 I've also started Tiny Town by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs using Martinque by 3 Sisters and Fresh Cottons by Figtree. I purchased the pattern at a local store last year and have been eager to start it ever since. This is 2/3 of block 1 ... there is still another panel to go on the right.

Finally here is block 4 of The Night Before Christmas, also by Bunny Hill Designs. I skipped block 3 as it had lots of little pieces to applique! I need a bit more practice before tackling those.

It's another cold, grey day in Penguin today ... perfect to sit by the heater and stitch.

Binding

This week I'm very pleased to be binding my Rouenneries quilt started at a 2009 workshop with Kerry Swain at Calico Crossroads.

 The lovely quilting was done on a long arm machine by Leanne. She has done a beautiful job.

I'm not the quickest of binders but I do quite enjoy it, particularly while watching a good murder mystery on TV.

The new series of Midsomer Murders is on tonight so should get a bit done. It will be nice and cosy with the quilt (and most likely a cat too!) on my lap.

Tis the Season

Seems to be the season for me to finish a few projects. Usually I am quite happy to plod along working on numerous (actually lots!) of different things but it is nice to occasionally finish one of those UFOs.

So here it my finished Tis the Season quilt.

Really pleased with this one .. it was a great way to use up a treasured Glace honey bun

I changed the block and quilt borders to use up more of the honey bun strips and give a scrappier look.

The straight line quilting worked a treat with the stitchery blocks nice and flat ... no 'ballooning' as has sometimes happened to me in the past.

 
Yesterday two quilts came back from being quilted by the lovely Leanne. Can't wait to get the bindings on and show the world what a great job she did.

State Fair ... all done.

During the school holidays (5 weeks ago!) I finished my State Fair Schnibble. The weather has been sunny and warm the last couple of days so I was able to take some pictures. I used a couple of Oasis charm packs and some Kona white for contrast.

I REALLY love this backing fabric.

I quilted it myself with straight lines in the borders ...

 and some outline quilting in the blocks.

This morning I made my second block of the Fat Quarter Shop 2011 Designer Mystery BOM quilt. Very pleased with how it turned out ... will pop back with some pictures soon.

Christmas Stocking Swap

Yesterday was opening day for Friends in Stitching's latest swap. This time we made Christmas stockings incorporating stitchery and/or applique. I received this lovely stocking from De.

 Love the little angel stitchery ...

 

 and the tassels are a nice touch.

 

Just found out from De that it is an Anni Downs design. Thank you De.

I made the stocking below for Vicki.

 It is a Marg Low pattern.

 

 I used Nancy Halvorsen's Jingle all the Way fabric for the backing ...

and lining.

and popped a couple of brighter fat quarters in the same print in the stocking.

Today I feel rather 'knackered' so having a pyjama day ... will do some hexies if I can stay awake!