Coming Back....

Today I sat down at the PC for the first time in many months to actually read yahoo group e-mails and not just check for my spot on the UFO Queens List.  It was like running into an old friend.  I have had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours catching up with everyone.

I also watched some fantastic you-tube quilting videos.  I had forgotten that there is so much talent out there in quilty land and how simple techniques provide for 'light-bulb' moments in my head!  "Why didn't I think of that?"  :) 

Yes, I have had some finishes in the past few months, which I have not posted to yet.  I hope to rectify that tomorrow when I catch up on finish photos.

Before I sat down today to contemplate quilt and craft happenings (avoidance of dealing with tax papers), I felt like I was drowning in my stuff and lack of time due to the hours my new job demands.  But, then reality hit, as long as I go back to what I was doing at the start of the year, which was a little bit every day, then pieces get sewn together.  15 minutes a day - (I had forgotten that tip) - I know I can do that. 

I like to work on two things at once, a new start (for an exhibition, needs applique border and quilting) and I am deciding what to do next from the UFO list, having recently lost my momentum after finishing a King Size quilt.  Although I am very tempted by a video I watched today from Fat Quarter Shop where they used up fat quarters to make a quilt top quickly - and - oh dear running off on a tangent now - I have a pack of 30FQs in my cupboard which I bought in 2007 that I think will work really well for this.  I will test a bit of fabric for colour run in a glass of hot water first, lots of red and navy.

Off I go, to my sewing room, to tidy up the sewing table, ponder my many project boxes for the next project and  decide if I want to cut into my precious FQ pack!

Thank you all for just being there and for 'listening'.

Hugs,

Andrea

Hourglass Knitting

Way back in 2009, when we were living overseas, I made the simple hourglass quilt blocks from a charm square pack (by one of my favourite designers - Kaffe Fasset) and a piece of variegated batik fabric.  Then they languished as an UFO for four years simply because I couldn't think of what to do with them. 

Then, just a few weeks ago, in January 2014, inspiration struck!  It really was a lightning bolt moment for me.  What, I wondered would happen if I were to sew the blocks into three panels, could I make a bag from it?  Of course I could!

After the panels were assembled, I fused my three year old piece of lamifix to the sewn panels and made up the outer part of the bag.

I love how the light makes the jewel tones sparkle against the plainer batik.

Obviously, using all 40 hourglass blocks would have made a bag that was too large, so I lined the spares to make the internal pockets.  One small pocket for the tape measure and wool needles.  

A couple of pieces of elastic out of the drawer for keeping the extra needles which are sometimes required....

A second larger pocket for the pattern and my notebook

The lining, wadding, thread, elastic, bag feet and handles all came out of my stash.  This was truly a "stashbuster" project.  I also love that I was able to cross one project of my extensive list of UnFinished Objects.

Very happy :)

Happy New Year!

Off to a flying start this year.  It has been a great summer holiday time, with lots of outings and sewing, and some other fun things thrown in for good measure.  Now it's back to routine, but not until I provide some "show'n'tell" of what I have accomplished the past four weeks or so, especially since my mojo has come back to play again.

First, a cross-stitch bookmark of a blue wren in Correa flowers - gorgeous Australian native bird and flowers

Second, a Christmas table runner using the 'Hope of Hartford' quilt block.  I really like how the star points are offset to each other and the flowing movement around the block.  This will be a make again block, maybe a smaller size.  I would like to see this repeated many times on a larger quilt.  Hmmm, more playing? 

Ooops, sideways photo, but you get the idea! :)

And, from the back, here's the quilting - don't look too closely - it's a bit wobbly!

And.... you'll just have to wait until next week to see the third finish....  oh dear....  Trust me, I think it's worth the wait - can't have too much to look at in one post can we?

Seasons Greetings

No photos today unfortunately.  I made 4 Australian flower table runners for the ladies I work with and forgot to take the photos before gifting them.  Ho hum, never-mind.  I'll just have to be less absent-minded next time! :)  More to show'n'tell after Christmas.

Merry Christmas and all the best of wonderful wishes to my readers and your families this festive season.  Take the time to enjoy your family and friends - they are truly the shining stars in our lives.

Cake, Bags and Twins Turning 50

Ok, it's official - I really am the grey haired fat cake lady!  Two more bags and another cake in the past week or so.  What's a girl to do when her very good friend with a twin sister has a significant birthday?  Why make more bags and cakes of course! :) 

Twin one received Bag One, which is called "Cat's Cradle", designed by Pauline and Gael at Patchworks Unlimited.  A stunning combination of red and black, made with the technique of wrapping 2.5in fabric strips around some cord.  A really sturdy bag with a small pocket and lots of room on the inside.  A definite must make again.

Twin two received Bag Two, which is called "Studio Bag", designed by Leesa Chandler at Chandler's Cottage.  I loved learning how to do the sashiko stitching which appears on the front and back.

Also, there were a few techniques involved in making this bag which are not normal to bag making, therefore it was a lot more interesting to do.  And... I got the chance to show off gorgeous buttons made from Japanese fabric and acrylic.

 The little side ties just finish it off perfectly.

 Then, the cake.  One large chocolate cake, cut in half, covered in white chocolate ganache.  Topped off with white roses, daisies and edible silver glitter.

Happy Birthday you two!

Mmmmm - more cake......

Two more cakes.  Better be careful, or I'll be known as the 'grey haired fat cake lady'!

Two recent birthdays within the family, just a day apart.

This is how our dessert looked at the family birthday dinner.....

Flowers.......

And....

Dragons......

The dragon cake had candles which re-light after they're blown out.  We missed one re-lighting and then the dragon caught fire, so the poor thing has a slightly singed wing.  Oh dear - fire flying instead of fire breathing.

Cake.....mmmmmmm.....cake........

Cake is the order of the day.  In fact I have made a lot of cake in the past few months, here is a small sample.

Carrot cake for a MG car enthusiast on the occasion of  his 50th birthday, complete with a horse for his wife...........

Bart Simpson cake for my son, complete with 'wavy' candles which wouldn't stay upright.........

Oh and it did have to be a rainbow cake on the inside to meet his exacting requirements.  Wonder where he gets his determination from?

And a 21st birthday cake.  It was a 'Tira Mi Su' cake with a delicious chocolate and silver glitter coating.

If I can brag a little, this Tira Mi Su was one of the best cakes I feel that I have ever made.  Simply gorgeous to look at, if a little rough around the edges and absolutely divine to eat.

I have never had any formal cake/baking/decorating training, so what I show you is totally self taught.


PS:  There is some show and tell here of my design  "Floral Trellis" from a class which I taught a couple of weeks ago.  The completed quilt tops look amazing.

Sunshine Coast Bag....

Love, love, love this bag.

Take one Bali Pop, lots of thread, a strong sewing machine needle and 50m of cotton cord, throw in a couple of days, mix it all up and then you get an amazing bag.

Not a quick bag to make, but really quite simple in construction.  I found the pattern, designed by Aunties Two, in Australian Homespun, No 93 (Vol 12.2).  Using a method called 'clothesline technique', the strips from a Bali Pop (batik jelly roll) are wrapped around a cord and then butted together to make a whole new piece of very sturdy fabric.

I've had the pattern and the Bali Pop for about a year now, but took approx 6 months to find someone who stocked the cord.  And then lo and behold - a deadline came along!  All of a sudden the date of my friends 40th birthday was here and the bag had to be finished for gifting.

It's a big bag.  In fact large enough to be a very useful bag for work because it will hold all essentials including lunch - most important - and laptop with some pockets inside for the little things.

I am really pleased how this bag has turned out.  I will certainly be making it again, especially as I now know where to purchase the cord!

Floral Trellis... part 2

Take one “Layer Cake”, the ideas from ‘string quilts’ and put them together.  A gorgeous floral range of fabrics, a nice bright white fabric and the question, “What if I did this?”  Here’s the result of my playing; a bright happy quilt with the allure of warm Summer days.  Shame it was so cold today when I took the photo in between rain showers.

Back about a year ago I said that this quilt would be quilted over the holiday season.... hmmm... just this week I completed the binding, hanging sleeve and label.  The end result has been well worth the wait.

Border Detail

I feel that my crafting mojo has returned after a very long hiatus.  Too many things became quite over-whelming until I made a list of a few things that I think I can work through to completion without them being too daunting (at what I have started) and clear some space in my sewing room and my mind.   Focus is my new key word! :)

Busy, busy, busy.....

is what I've been.  I'm sorry that I haven't posted for 3 months.  The time has simply flown by.

Please be patient, some magic with photos and time to write up what I've been doing will happen very soon.  I hope in the next few days to be back posting again with regularity.