BUSY, BUSY, BUSY...............

Hello there!

     I have been very quiet here and I can't say I've been sewing up a storm either.  Life has been busy and I just haven't been sewing like I usually do.

     My "Land Down Under" quilts are progressing... one by machine applique and the other by hand applique.  I'm considering purchasing a new sewing machine soon.....  I want a machine that has a presser bar knee lift option for my machine applique.  As I'm getting older my arthritis in my fingers (especially my left hand) is making it increasingly difficult to do my hand stitching so I see much more machine applique in my future.   My friend Joy (Joy of Quilting) recently posted about her machine applique using her machine with a knee lifter - click here to view the article.  Since viewing this I have decided that is what I need! 

     Here are a few of my "Land Down Under" blocks I've been working on...........

Peter Possum

My Spike the Kookaburra

Simpson the Dingo

A little girl Koala 

Rex the Echidna

Skippy the Kangaroo

Building the rows

I did an extra Dingo block and made a gift for the

staff at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary - their

resident dingo Simpson recently passed away and I just happened

 to be sewing my

Dingo block.

     My time has been taken up of late running a School Past Students Facebook Page.  We held our first Get-Together in March (at Lone Pine) which was lots of fun.  Sadly it poured rain the day before so our numbers were down but it was a good start.  

I've been doing a few tee shirts (some by machine, some by hand)......

Cheeky monkey

Wobbly jelly fish

Machine applique tee shirts

      I hadn't made a Chalkboard Roll for ages so when a good friend asked me what I could make for his little grandson I knew immediately what it would be..........

   







I'm in the middle of making two pillowcases.... one done and one to go!  I love the "Burrito" method for making these... so fast!

Sewing on my Featherweight 222K

Hubby took himself away on a holiday in April so I enjoyed some lounge room sewing !  I was in the middle of cleaning up my sewing room (a task still awaiting completion!!) when I found my bag of scraps from making the Op Shop shirts quilts so I immediately tipped it all out and started cutting and piecing - the pattern is a modified Arkansas Crossroads made wonky - no matching up of anything! really fast piecing which was fun as I watched all of my favourite television shows.

Close up of block

Adding borders

Pieced a backing out of leftover squares and blocks

      Something new to sew!  Jar grippers!  These are so quick to make and they are so useful!  I found the idea here at The Happiest Camper Homestead page.   I did not add a magnet but may do for future versions I make.

     I recently started using these needles and I really like them.   I'm using them at the moment in my Brother Quilters Edition doing machine applique and they just stitch so beautifully. 
They are chrome plated and I have found they are fantastic for my machine applique through fusible webbing.  No sticking, no skipped stitches! and they last a long time!  

Machine applique on my
Brother Quilters Edition
(Greg Peck looking on!)

A Winter sky in Brisbane

Yes.... that's me!  Grade 1 in 1961

I was asked what my home looked like......
so I went down on the tennis court and
took this photo

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KEEPING UP................THE BLOG !

PORT MACQUARIE
RAINFOREST CAFE

Hello there!

Yes, it's me ......  really!     Gee whizz! I last blogged in January.....where did February,March,April and May go???

Let's get up to date......

FMQ ing ON MY
SWEET SIXTEEN

STITCHING IN THE DITCH
ON MY PQ1500

My current project is the Teddy Bears Picnic quilt.... I'm up to the machine FMQing, having already stitched in the ditch on my Brother PQ1500...  The pattern "The Teddy Bears Picnic" is by Toni Alexander of The Red Boot Quilt Company. I've changed the sashing - I love using partial pieced sashing as you can cut it all the same length.  I cut the sashing for this quilt on my GO CUTTER using the 2-1/2" strip die... I had a layer cake of bright plain fabrics so my sashing is 2-1/2" wide and 10" long.  I cut the applique blocks back to 8" square.  The formula for partial piecing is block size (8") plus width of sashing (2-1/2") less 1/2".

 I'm playing with a new gadget too! I bought the VersaTool ruler  and I'm using it to go around the applique shapes.... so far so good!

By Air By Rail By Sea
Pattern by Heathers Designs
Patchwork at the Bay Window

At long last I finished my By Air By Rail By Sea quilt!  I've been doing the machine blanket stitch on this project since 2014!!!!!

Fun backing

My Brother Rob and I gifted the quilt to Amos when the family were visiting recently.   Smiles all round!  I quilted this one on my Sweet Sixteen with Aurifil 80wt thread.  This required altering the top tension to almost zero! but once I worked that out the quilting went well,  I even had a go at doing artistic shapes!   I put two planes in the sky on the by rail row and seagulls in the by sea row.  Lots of clouds all over and some trees on the rail row.  Lots of fun and a good way to learn more about my Sweet Sixteen. 

Hubby was overseas on holidays during April so I went to visit my sister in Port Macquarie..  I had made her this quilt but did not get it finished in time to take it with me but just today I've posted the parcel!  I loved making this one..... I collected shirts from Op Shops - small print cottons and I backed it with a vintage sheet. Pattern is Fat Quarter Slide   Vintage sheets and shirts make such lovely and soft quilts.  I learnt a lot making this one... for instance I've never been successful in adding the pieced border, in this case the tumbler border.  I've finally worked it out!  you construct the pieced border first, then measure it and then that is the figure you need to work out the size of the filler border between the quilt top and the pieced border!

Fat Quarter Slide

Once the Air, Rail, Sea quilt came off the sewing machine, I decided to try another machine applique pattern - this one is Citrus Sizzler.  I'm using zig zag stitch with Konfetti thread in needle and bottom line in bobbin.

        

Another current project
Citrus Sizzler

Zoe Zebra is finished!  I took the finished quilt to show my friends in "Frame Quilters" group and ask about how to quilt the four cornerstones and also if the quilt needed any further quilting.   They suggested a flower like the one in the quilt top for the cornerstones so I copied the flower and reduced it by 50% and then made a freezer paper template to use for the FMQing.   They suggested the purple flowers needed something so I did more quilting in those too.  I need to get a better photo of the finished quilt.

 

I bought a new gadget for my vintage sewing machine...... a Pinker! it attaches to the sewing machine where the foot screws on.  You either remove or unthread the needle.  To have a play I pinked the edges of the join on the backing of the Air Rail Sea quilt. Click here to see the gadget in action on the Featherweight Schoolhouse site.  What fun!!!  Takes me back to when mum made little fabric covers for jam jars !  we always pinked the edges!

Quite a few years ago I bought the Curve Master foot, so lately I've been having a play.  I attached it to my Featherweight. 

The Car Quilt I'm making for my ODIBAG stash is waiting for backing and quilting. 

We visited Esk for another Antiques Fair and on the way we stopped at Wivenhoe Dam for coffee, just lovely!

I've been playing with curved piecing too!

My car quilt almost finished
this one for my ODIBAG stash

During hubby's holiday I was in charge of feeding the Kookaburras!
This is what I woke up to one morning!!

Another Siggy for my collection

Wivenhoe Dam

Enjoyed a few days of r & r at our
Unit on the Gold Coast

New Easter shirts

The view from our balcony on the Gold Coast

MERRY CHRISTMAS

               

Wishing you all

a

Very Merry Christmas

&

a Happy, Healthy 2015

HOT CROSS BUNS

HOT CROSS BUNS!  -  a pattern by Bonnie Hunter

No, not THOSE Hot Cross Buns (although they HAVE been available at the Supermarket since Boxing Day!!!!) .....  

As I have just little bits of leftover fabric after making each Civil War block, I was looking for a suitable pattern that would use up these scraps - and I found just what I wanted.  Thanks to Bonnie Hunter's "Addicted to Scraps" article in Quiltmaker magazine - Issue November/December '10.

This 5" finished block (5  1/2" pieced) uses  1  1/2" strips and squares.  It's a cute little block and might be useful in the border of the CW Quilt.

The Spike family are now regular visitors - I must do another video of baby - his call is hillarious!!

 A beautiful siggy arrived this week.... thank you Dorine!

SIGGY FROM DORINE

I have been working on my Keep Movin' quilt blocks - can only do the black blanket stitching during the day!!  

Happy Sewing!!