Cushions & Exhibitions

Well, I have completed and posted to FIL, the cushions for his study. I posted them the day of his birthday, so unfortunately his present will be a week late - uh oh! I simply quilted around the pictures on the panels and made them 2 sided - check out the pics......

Can you guess that he likes aircraft?

My list for things to finish is getting a lot shorter with only 2 items left on it. The Stained Glass Stack'n'Slash is taking a bit of time to do, but wow, after making a Salinda Rupp Quilt and some minatures, the pieces seem to be enormous with the blocks finishing at around 20" square!

On another note, I have spent quite a lot of time this week going through my completed quilts for an upcoming exhibition in the town where I live. There is to be a CD made by a professional photographer, therefore the quilts need to be at the shop in the next week, almost a whole month before the exhibition. A very exciting step as I have not been part of the scene here for very long, only a few months. One of the things I love about quilters is that they welcome everybody and language is not a barrier - most of the time!

This upcoming week will be a busy one, as I prepare quilts, entry forms and work on making a quilt as well as my story of Peter and Kate. Most importantly, my writing group meets this week, so my creativity should hopefully have no limits!! Isn't it great to be excited about what's coming up in the next few days? :)

Jane Austen - Elinor Dashwood

I am Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! (written by Jane Austen) The questionnaire results say that I am practical, circumspect, and discreet. Tremendously sensible and allow my head to rule. I have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Myself, Rosie, Lorraine and Sandra all purchased fabric from the Jane Austen range approx 2 or 3 years ago. We all agreed to make a quilt with diamonds and applique, as Jane Austen made a quilt with a broderie perse centre and diamonds. Mine is a Lone Star, which will have LeMoyne Stars in the setting squares and triangles as well as more stars set in a large dogtooth border to finish it off.

So far I can only show you a photo of the centre star. There's a lot more to do on this quilt, but I am inspired by Lorraine finishing hers. Mine will appear on my next list of 10 UFO projects after the end of Sept.












Now... Creative Writing. I have started to write a new short story, as it's my turn to make a submission for the next meeting of Writing Women. Here's the first paragraph...


The first time he heard it, he knew it was destiny. He felt an electric jolt through his body. Looking around the smoky crowded bar, he tried to get a glimpse of where it was coming from.

There! Again he missed it!


He was really wanted to find out who she was. The owner of the laugh.

His footy mates teased him. “It’s just a chick, don’t worry about her.”

But he did think about her. The laugh was one of pure joy. She laughed without restraint. No politeness, just the full belly-aching laugh of someone who can’t contain themselves. She was with a friend. The friend had told the story and was laughing too.


Now remember, that this is first draft, so it is not perfect and will be edited somewhat after being critiqued by the group. In my mind this short story has enough in it to become a novel, but we shall see how the story unfolds. There is a lot of work to do and I'm only on the second page!

Seasonal Changes

Another UFO bites the dust!

The quilt top was made from a large dark piece of fabric, a large light piece of fabric, a pack of 5" squares and then some 'extras'. I just love how a basic 4 patch block can have some interesting pattern effects with careful colour placement.

I have taken a photo of the backing of this quilt as well as the front because it uses up all the left over pieces and makes it more interesting.

The colours in this particular quilt remind me of late Winter and early Spring. The promise of nice weather and pretty days are close by but then a gust of wind or some grey clouds remind us that Winter is not far away, hence the name Seasonal Changes.

FAWCO Quilt Block

Each year FAWCO (Federation of American Womens' Clubs Overseas) has a global conference. Representatives from each AWC around the world are invited to attend. They also ask for a quilt block from each club. The blocks are put together, the quilt is made and then it is raffled off as a fund raiser. The money is then donated to a charitable organisation, benefitting women and/or children in underpriveldeged areas.

Here is the block which I have made for the Cologne, Germany club. The theme for this year is environmental, thus I have made the Ocean Waves block with a batik fabric. Ahhh.

Scraps & Threads in Life

I can't believe that it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. Where did the time go? Well it has mostly been spent creatively, which is a good reason to have a huge grin on my face! I have my machine back from the shop, without the broken needle in the workings, so I have completed some swap blocks and now I am quilting a large quilt on it. Every now and again I have to remember to come up for air!! I promise that there will be photos when it's all done :)

A few events have taken place recently, which have reinforced the fact that quilting, scrap-booking, knitting, or whichever hobby you choose, can be quite a good anchor and calming balance when things get too hectic. I have spent some time in the last 2 days with girlfriends, scrap-booking. Just like a quilting group, we drink coffee, talk and make something beautiful at the same time, which we hope will be loved and treasured for future generations. It is the cotton threads, scraps of paper and fabric, a connection to another person in a similar situation and the wonderful friendships that make our lives what they are.

Check out the little blocks in the photo below - how cute are they? They will be 3in (7.5cm) finished. The "positive" blocks are from an online swap and the "negative" blocks I made when making my swap blocks. I am not sure what layout or type of quilt to make with them yet, so if you have a suggestion, please leave a comment - I'd like to know what you think!


Thanks for stopping by! Andrea