Fee's Quilt Blog

Progress over 2 months

2009-05-20T10:48:00.002+10:00

Progress so far for the past two months that I haven't blogged is dismal. I've found more fabric that I had planned for a quilt, so that's another kit, and the diamonds and hexagons quilt, instead of being paper pieced, is now being hand pieced. It helps that it's more portable, but it's my first hand pieced project so the quality may be poor. I'm enjoying it though and that's what matters.

Tilde's thread on Santa is pretty much non-existent. There was a period of time when my parents were away that I moved the frame, the threads, scissors and the pattern out to the living room and seeing it every day motivated me. Currently, Santa is on the frame in my room, and while I see it every day, I have to be pretty unhealthy to stitch in my room, so the motivation is not there.

I started a gorgeous purple cross stitch by Dracolair designs on Stitches and Spice sparkly fabric. His name is Ouroborus and I'm stitching him on 16 count aida in case I ever want to make him a show piece. I've incorporated metallic threads in with the other threads to give it even more sparkle, but I'm being careful not to overdo it. He's the pretty picture at the start of this post. He's coming along slowly, he's on a different frame that is much more portable, and I keep his pattern and his threads in a bag right near him so I can pick him up if I ever get the urge.

Apart from Ouroborus, the now hand pieced hexagon/diamond quilt has been enjoying a bit of progress. I've cut out strips and diamonds to make stars, and I'm marking a stitching line as I go along. I'm yet to cut out and sew one of the hexagons, but I'll get there eventually. I've got to work out how many diamonds I need, and how many hexagons I can get out of the meter of white fabric that I purchased. I'll have enough, I just haven't sat down to work out the metrics yet.

So yeah, that's my progress. It'll be funny when I get my own house next year and get to annoy my partner with all my crafty messes. At least I'll be motivated if I see them all the time.

WIP List

2009-02-08T12:48:00.003+11:00

Yesterday after blogging I went and hunted all my WIPs. As predicted, there were a few that were forgotten, but I have my total list now. I also went and found my kit pile, which amounted to over 50 kits (and I thought there was only 30). Most of my kits are cross stitches, that will be added to this list when they're started.

WIP List (active ones on top)

Lucie Heaton's Santa Sack cross stitch (Tilde thread)
The English paper pieced hexagon quilt
Shadow Play DJ
The bee stitchery
Red, black and white quilt (on the quilting frame)
The Blueberry Muffin DJ for mum
The koala cross stitch
The lion cross stitch
The Mocha/PaddlePop quilt
The jelly roll pineapple quilt
The pink cupcake pincushion
The cheetah mystery quilt
The Amy Butler fabric quilt
The minkee baby quilt
The starfish cross stitch mini
The beaded cross stitch pin pillow
The decoupage plaster puppy
The rose ribbon embroidery
The hexagon/diamond English paper pieced quilt
The stained glass frog (fine line between WIP and UFO)

As you can see, I have quite a while ahead of me (not even thinking about those yet-to-be-started kits...)

Currently, my most active projects are my Shadow Play DJ, the Santa cross stitch, and the English PP hexagon quilt. I'm doing a Tilde thread (one thread a day) on the Santa cross stitch. Hopefully I'll see progress soon!!

A new direction in life and quilting

2009-02-07T08:53:00.002+11:00

Today I make a bold move. Earlier this week I joined a club on Yahoo groups named WIProducers. While I still live at home and constantly fight for craft-room space with my mother, I'm grateful that she puts up with my mess. The group acts as a supportive environment for those who 'suffer' the urge to start everything and finish one or two things, and have many projects 'breeding' in their sewing rooms until they get to an unmanageable rate. I myself find that my room is a particulary good environment for English Paper Piecing projects to breed. In the weeks I had off during Christmas, the single hexagon quilt I had in progress somehow grew to 3 different PP variations, with fabric piles to match.

I have WIPs and UFOs all over the place. I can't even remember half of the kits I have, and what my current WIPs are. Mostly they are hidden out of sight, so they become forgotten. I plan on attending the craft show we have in Melbourne during February, and I know I'll buy more kits/supplies then, even though my boyfriend usually comes with me and before each purchase gives me the horrible "tell me why you really need this" talk. Most of the time I can convince him (which is probably a bad thing) but he has talked me out of several huge purchases which I really didn't need.

Last year when I was buying my new bed, he made me promise that I'd clean out my room as I was still living in boxes from when we moved house 5 years ago. It took me a week, but I got rid of so much stuff and had so much space and a brand new bed (it's the prettiest in the house- but I still got the 'how many pillows do you really need?" talk). The bed takes up most of the space in the room, but I'm trying to think of ways that I can move things around to maybe have a comfy chair that I can spend nights sewing in. I have one corner where the TV is, but I don't want to throw out the TV because then I won't have to buy a new one when I move out in a year or so after I've finished my teaching degree.

My last job had taught me to keep a long list of daily tasks (because on average I was performing around 30 tasks per day), and the WIProducers also suggest that a list of 'Finishes' is maintained to encourage motivation. The list primarily focuses on quilters, but my other love is cross stitch so I will also include that. I do have a few stitcheries lying around but they can be turned into quilts so they still count! Blogging, in my eyes, is the new-age version of journalling, so I will continue to maintain the blog as much as I can. Now that I'm back at uni I'm hoping to get more craft time and less stress time.

The current challenge at the WIProducers group is something referred to as 'Cinderella-ing' which I'm going to have to do today. The basic premise of this challenge is to have a clean creative environment in which to work. I'm also going to sort through and find as many WIPs and kits as I can so I can start making a list. My boyfriend remembers more projects that I'm working on that I do! I currently only have one UFO to my knowledge, a stained glass frog wall hanging that I've completely fallen out of love with. I acknowledge that as a quilter, some techniques will appeal to me more than others, and unfortunately, stained glass quilting is just one of those techniques that doesn't appeal.

I'm off now to create that WIP list!

Re-opening Old Wounds

2008-12-06T09:11:00.002+11:00

I know this blog has been long gone, dead and buried... but I've revived it. My last post was Dec 06, so it's been less than a full year away.

Reading back through my archives I haven't actually finished much of what was outstanding in 06, but instead I've actually started a few new things. My wonderful boyfriend Dan and I have been slowly but surely completing a paper-pieced hexagon quilt with 1" sided hexagons. We're still basting them now, and have been for a year, but they're coming along quite well. We need something like 3,000 hexagons to complete the quilt, and we've gotten over half-way. When we start sewing them all together I'll post a photo. =)

Mum and I have made a few baby quilts together, she's gotten over her fear of the rotary cutter (but Dan loves it!) and I've bought a long-arm machine. I've been quilting mum's baby quilts for her, and all her friends are saying they want me to finish off their quilts too, which is good. There's a post in this blog about how afraid I was when I first started stippling, now I can do it easily and probably with my eyes closed!

Hope everyone is well. =)

The Unfinished Frog

2006-12-24T17:39:00.001+11:00

The Stained Glass Frog

This was started a long time ago and has been put on hold. In fact, I'm not even sure if this ever will be finished. It's not that I don't like the frog anymore, I still love it, but it's just too much work. I can't be bothered with it and my interest has moved on. I think I'll just stick to 'quilts' and not specialise in anything else until I master the basics. I'm surprised the frog actually got so far. I think it's just too advanced for me and I got bored with the challenge. One day, he might get finished. One day, maybe.

Cheetah Quilt

2006-12-24T17:28:00.001+11:00

The Cheetah Fabric

Wow, I nearly haven't posted at all this month. I've been very slack. But I've still been busy quilting! I started a new mystery quilt out of Australian Patchwork & Quilting, and it uses the cheetah print above as it's feature fabric. As soon as I get the first few blocks done (I've only just cut it out) I'm going to post more pictures. I'm 30cms (1 foot) short of the feature fabric, so I've been needing to go back to the fabric store to buy more, as well as background fabric. I'd hate to run out. It's the stupid silly season though, where things are a bit messed up until after New Year's. Seeing as it's so close to Christmas, I'm going to have to put off my next quilt shopping trip. =/

The Charity Quilt

2006-11-20T18:18:00.000+11:00

The Charity Quilt

This was made in a day at an Inspirational Quilts Quilting Bee that I went to last Saturday. The day was spent doing a quilt top, and the coordinater, Nancy Gheno, supplied everyone with a quilt kit that made a top to donate. Mum went to the quilting bee with me, and she didn't get her quilt top finished. We have another quilting bee on the 9th, so she has to have it finished by then!

The quilt top I made was a stack 'n whack. I'd never done one of these before, so it was good to learn something new. Also, mum took my machine and we left her one at home, but Nancy had organised for me to use an overlocker (yes, I made this quilt with an overlocker). I was working with Nancy's daugher Jasmine, who was making the same quilt as me, only in blue. The quilt blocks were quite large (17" square) so it all came together quickly. There wasn't much wastage either as the scraps were large offcuts, big enough to use in another quilt. I did get a lot of scraps from Nancy to make another quilt top to donate, which I might do one day this week with my friend Kate, depending on scheduling.

Hopefully on the 9th I can get another quilt top donated, as I'm on school holidays and I don't have a job, doing charity work makes my time kinda meaningful.

Inspirational Quilts' website: http://www.inspirationalquilts.com.au/

Simon & Cathy's Baby Quilt

2006-10-29T14:06:00.000+11:00

Simon & Cathy's Baby Quilt

This quilt was made for a baby shower mum went to two weeks ago (I know, slack with the updating). I was meant to go but uni assignments were dragging me down. So I never got to see the reactions of everyone to this quilt. I didn't have that much part in it anyway, mum did most of it. I just cut everything out (she's afraid of the rotary cutter, for some reason) and I did the label. I chose the quilting design, but mum quilted it. The pattern is the 'Amish diamond'. We had to use neutral colours (as in, not 'girl' pinks or 'boy' blues) as we didn't know the sex of the baby. I hope they get good use out of this quilt though!

After seeing this quilt come together so quickly (we estimate that it took about less than 30 hours) mum's starting to think she wants a long-arm machine so she can quilt faster and we can get better and sell them. She's always wanted a long-arm, I'm sure when I move out my room will be used for that. She's loved quilting since we started, and it shows. Pretty good for only her third quilt! =)

Trapunto Butterflies

2006-09-17T11:48:00.000+10:00

Trapunto Butterflies

Just as I've been slack with my posting, I've been slack with my quilting homework. =P The trapunto butterflies were the monthly assignment two months ago for my monthly class.

For the butterflies, first I stitched the fabric to one layer of batting, then I cut out the 'flat' parts, and then sewed it again with another layer- doubling the fat parts and giving a single layer of batting to the thin parts. Then, I stippled over the thin parts so that the fat parts 'popped'. So far I think this is the prettiest block, and I'm contemplating making a whole cloth (maybe crib sized) quilt with just the butterflies in different sizes all over it.

This is only one completed block, when I'm meant to complete two of everything. Soon I'll have the other block finished. Then I'll have to do last month's block, trapunto cording, and then this month's block, trapunto stuffed feathers. At least for those two blocks the 'quilting' is only cross hatching, which isn't so hard to do. It's the stippling that takes a while and hurts my foot. My course is nearly finished though, only one more set of twin blocks, and then the middle parts, borders, etc. and then I'll have a quilt, made with a whole lot of time and learned experience!

Dresden Flower Bag

2006-09-17T11:47:00.000+10:00

Dresden Flower Bag

I know I've been very slack with my posts lately, as this bag was completed on the 14th of August, so I'm only updating it a month later. My apologies. =P

This bag, of which the flower was shown previously as it was after my class at the show, is now complete. It's not the best photo, as it wasn't laying flat due to the gussets, but it's so cute and little. It was started by me in a class on my 20th birthday, purchased as a kit with a class that cost $22, from Picklemouse Corner. The bag part was completed by mum.

My only regret with this project is that we didn't measure the precut bag components, the ruffles, the lining, the outside, etc. So that we could make a few more in different colours. I could always measure it and then add in the seam allowances. =) There's a way around everything, to get to the bright side of everything.

The Valentine's Heart Quilt

2006-08-13T13:02:00.000+10:00

The Valentine's Heart Quilt

Mum had this finished for me on the night of my party, so the day after my birthday I got to sleep under it. She hand quilted it twice, once on each side, because we used wool batting and she had trouble quilting through both sides. It still looks beautiful though. I pieced most of the sashing and part of the hearts, she finished off what I didn't do and quilted the whole thing. It was a better present than anything else I got, and I'm now wondering if I should let her help with the DJ quilt or leave it as a surprise. It's more fun for me to have it as a surprise! =)

The Needle Companions

2006-08-13T12:31:00.000+10:00

The Needle Companions

This picture shows my needle companion open, and mum's closed. She has calico where I have green.

This was a quick little project that was fun and allowed us to work together. We used the last of the pellon from the pillowcase. It has two cute little pockets that button close and another little pouch. The felt part is for pins and needles. It was a learning experience, as everything is at this point, but it was lots of fun.

The Second Day (Other Crafts)

2006-08-07T10:43:00.000+10:00

Just a little update this time, no pictures. =)

On the second day of the show, I went with mum and her friend Di. Because my friends didn't get to meet me there, I spent a lot of time wandering around by myself. It was so much fun! I took three classes (none of which were quilting, but still fun.)

The first class was a twisted wire pearl bracelet. I won't go into too much detail because this is meant to be a quilting blog, but I can say that mum loved it so much she kept stealing it from me. So, we had to buy another kit later on that day.

The second class was a lace beading technique, making a Christmas star. I love this technique though I can't find good quality size 9 beads around. There's a craft show in September that I'll go to where the same shop that held the class should be there.

The third class was a Swarovski crystal slider bracelet. It was very cute and very easy. I'm glad I took those classes. Sometimes I need a distraction from quilting (but not for long!)

Lately I've been doing a lot of the lace beading, but my technique sucks and I find myself breaking beads or threads or undoing the knots and having to start again. I can use polyester cotton with those size 9 Olaf beads so I'm very fond of those, as that thread is stronger than beading thread. September isn't too far away though, I'll just put it aside until then.

I did manage to shop between classes- I found my Drunkard's Path template (and the lady remembered me from Thursday) and I bought a wire knitting kit with beads, though I have no idea how that will turn out and I'll probably just give it to mum to do. I also bought a 'easy decoupage' kit of a puppy that I'm really enjoying right now. I usually do that while mum's doing her mosaics. Chuck said it was nice that we still spend time together, even while doing other crafts.

And in the meantime, I haven't finished my butterfly trapunto blocks for my class, and this month's block is especially hard! Silly trapunto cording... And I'm told we have to do it again for 'feathers' next month. Argh! I'm getting mum to help me on this one... =/

My Paper Pieced Bag

2006-07-28T12:24:00.001+10:00

My Paper Piecing

Here, in it's very early stages, is the result of my class yesterday on paper piecing. I've never really done any kind of hand piecing before, but I didn't think about it and I think because I wasn't thinking negatively, I learnt how to do it. And damn it's easy! I'm in love with this technique. The paper-pieced flower is appliqued on to a very simply made bag, and then the whole piece is done. We only had three in the class so I managed to get a lot done- I finished three of the 'petals' in class, then the rest of the round at home last night on a chair with mum sewing binding next to me and Middy asleep in my lap. I loved it! It's so easy. For once I can do something that doesn't require a machine. Now I understand why Grandmother's Flower Garden is a good 'take along' project.

Matilda's Own Templates

2006-07-28T12:15:00.000+10:00

Matilda's Own Templates

I love seeing Scissorman at shows. They have heaps of cutters, scissors and Matilda's Own Templates. In January I bought a set of templates that I've used to death and I'm in love with them so I bought more. As mum's favourite quilting pattern is the Dresden Plate, I bought a dresden wedge for us to use. The little shapes are all 1 inch templates. I like how all of them can be interchanged as they all finish to 1" sides. The hexagon is my favourite. There was also a Drunkard's Path template that I'll probably get on Sunday when I go back to the show with my friends (yes, one day just wasn't enough!) I'm not too sure if I'm ready for the double wedding ring template, as I can't see myself making one of those anytime soon. Maybe when my brother gets married, but that will be a while off and there'll be plenty more quilt shows. =)

It's like Christmas came early...

2006-07-28T11:51:00.000+10:00

Like Christmas came early

Here you will see the majority of what mum and I bought yesterday at the show (of course, minus the game of Life). We both had a blast! I bought some kits, a Christmas felt applique one and a needle companion, and a little bag. The bag kit was part of a paper piecing class I took yesterday by myself, as mum was taking a mosaic class. It's something she wanted to try and I'm glad that she did. There's more 'Matilda's Own' templates, some quilting magazine back issues that we got cheap, and a nice 'showbag' from Better Homes and Gardens that was full of stuff. It was so much fun, and the best thing was that I got to do something I enjoy on my birthday. Thank you mum!

Show, oh glorious show...

2006-07-28T11:37:00.000+10:00

The Retro Needle Companion

Yesterday was my birthday and I spent the day doing what I love most- quilt supplies shopping. This is only one of the many things that mum and I bought- I bought a retro one to match my retro bag I'm going to make 'any day now' and mum bought a cute 'Quilting Bee' one. It has little bumble bees on it and honeycombs. We're going to make them together. At the moment mum's using an ice cream container to hold her hand quilting stuff and she keeps dropping it on the floor due to the quilt knocking it off the armrest. So we figured that this will help her, and it's something we can do together. We bought it from a store called 'Blue Willow Cottage' and I've mentioned them before because that's where I got my matching retro (in purples and greens) bag. Looks like a cute little project and kit though. Should be fun.

The Trellis Block

2006-07-28T11:29:00.000+10:00

Last Month's Block

I know I'm very late posting this photo, because it's last month's block. In actual fact, I have my quilting class next week and I haven't even finished one of my blocks for this month (hence why there'll be no pics of them yet)- I'm not even a quarter done! I have some work to do- I've just been so damn busy. More updates to come. =)

Patchwork Shop Hopping

2006-07-14T21:09:00.000+10:00

Today mum and I went to a patchwork store not too far away, Patchwork on Central Park. It's a sweet little store, which was where I bough my DJ book. I managed to pick up 4 meters of Amy Butler clearance fabric for $20. And 2 FQ's for $4. I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet, but it's a large print that can be used for large blocks. Maybe I'll make a throw to keep in my car. Also, we found 2 block books. Both had 200 rotary cut blocks, so I'm itching to go through those. I might find a nice block for my Amy Butler fabrics. And mum bought Alex Anderson's Baby Quilt book, as we know a few expectant mummies. It was a good shop, usually empty, but today was pretty busy. Worth the drive for the wonderful designer fabrics in bright retro colours and heaps of 30's prints that I can't find at my local quilt shop (they have mostly florals and palettes). Worth the drive just for my type of fabric, I will definitely be going back again.

Update on Chuck's project: It's all fused and basted, just needs to be stitched and bound and labelled and it's done. =)

The Hello Kitty Quilt Top

2006-07-07T14:18:00.000+10:00

Hello Kitty in Shoo Fly, made by me and my friend Janelle.

It only took us one day (from 11-9) to piece the entire top. I think it was a good effort and looks pretty effective. The shoo fly block was 15" square, finished. There are 12 blocks total in the whole quilt. All Janelle has to do now is quilt it, then bind it. She's good with a machine so I think she can handle it. And she thought a quilt takes a year! Not on a machine. ='>

I'll post my butterfly class blocks, and last month's class blocks, very soon. The butterfly block has heaps of stippling that I'm still afraid of!

Updation LOL =)

2006-06-28T12:04:00.001+10:00

I haven't posted anything in a while because I haven't done anything for a while. I've been slack. My last two posts about mum's work are only to distract from the fact I haven't done much myself. =P

Mum's been hand quilting the hearts on the Valentine's Quilt. It's coming along, very slowly. In the mean time, I've been working on my 'homework' for my quilting class which is in a weeks time (and I haven't even finished one block!) but pictures of those blocks should be posted soon.

A few days ago I also bought the 'Dear Jane' book, with the intention of making mum a DJ quilt for her 50th birthday. If you know mum and you read this please keep it quiet! It's going to be a surprise! My Dear Jane quilt (Mum's Jane) has it's own blog, http://djbyfee.blogspot.com and a link is located in the side bar. I'm buying background fabric in cream to match mum's room for it today or tomorrow so I can get started. =)

As soon as I finish my 'homework' blocks, you'll hear from me again. =D

Mum's Finished Hand Quilting

2006-06-25T19:19:00.000+10:00

Mum's Finished Hand Quilting

It's not the best photo, I know, but the feather design is visible. I'm proud of her. Hopefully one day she'll accomplish a whole cloth quilt! =)

Mum's Hand Quilting

2006-06-11T14:04:00.000+10:00

Mum's Hand Quilting

I just had to post this picture because I'm so proud of mum's first attempt at hand quilting. (Actually when I took this picture this was her second or third attempt, she'd unpicked it so many times that I had to record one of the earlier attempts!) She took a class yesterday to learn the ThimbleLady's way of quilting, which is pain-free supposedly, so she won't wreck her hands anymore. I think she's doing well, she's getting the stitches at the back, and she's sewing 7 stitches per inch after only one day of learning. I think that at the quilt show she might actually buy a silver thimble custom fit for her. =)

The Second Class Block

2006-06-05T16:29:00.000+10:00

Second Class Block

This is a really small picture of the second block for my monthly class. I still need to finish one more (everything is made in pairs) but all I have to do on that one is the stippling. The circles were made with twin needles and a walking foot, then cross-hatched an inch apart. There's stippling everywhere else.

I've found that I'm nearly afraid of stippling, I tense up and my shoulders get tight and everything aches after a while because I'm so tense. I know I need to relax more but it's hard! I've only stippled a few times and I know that I can't be perfect at it from the start but for a beginner that's pretty darn good! Once I'd finished though, I went and showed mum and she was impressed. She even told me I'm a better machine-quilter than her! But I'm the one taking the class, so I should be!

I've reasoned with myself that stippling is artistic scribble with thread, it's not meant to be perfect. I was looking through an Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine and I noticed the mistakes I made with stippling were the same mistakes on one of the project quilts. When I showed mum, I tried to point out the mistakes I made (overlapping stitches, pointy bits, etc) but when I tried to find them I really couldn't. Not because there was so few or many mistakes, but because the stippling blended with the fabric and wasn't obvious enough to stand out. She was impressed and I do like impressing her. Anyone else who sees it is usually impressed too (or being nice) so I can't complain.

I can't wait to show the girls when we have our next class this Wednesday. Last month they were ready to kill me for my blocks, this time I hope they'll be just as envious! =)

Completed Valentine's Top

2006-06-05T16:28:00.001+10:00

Valentine's Top

This is a (very dodgy) photo of my completed Valentine's Day top (which mum mostly finished). A friend said it'd be more special that way because we both worked on the top together (it sounds nice in theory but I think mum did most of it!) Mum wants to hand quilt it, after realising how hard it is to machine quilt my grandmother's quilt. We thought about sending it out to a professional machine quilter but not only are they too expensive, mum made the very good argument that if we sent it out, we wouldn't have done it all ourselves. Mum agreed with this, I think she's looking forward to hand-quilting it.

Lately she's been interested in the Thimblelady's way of pain-free hand quilting (because mum has carpel tunnel syndrome and can't work with her hands much) and I'm not going to stand in her way. I think it's really good that she wants to learn new things. =) She's hanging out for the quilt show in July, we're going to be like children in a candy store. =D

The Second Quilting Show

2006-05-31T18:08:00.000+10:00

Last weekend mum and I tackled our second quilting show. It was small and showcased all the local craft businesses, which are few, but still quality. Mum dragged along my grandmother, because we figure that she's bored so we'd try to get her to do something. Unfortunately, she didn't see anything that inspired her and she thought that quilt making was too hard. =/ She used to do so much but now she does so little, she's gotten lazy.

Because the craft show was little we managed to tackle it all in a few hours. But, it was still big enough for us to buy stuff. I finally got my little Clover iron for $20 cheaper than the recommended price. And I got a cute little bag kit for $45 from Blue Willow Cottage. They had so many kits priced so reasonably! And so many cute little Christmas kits! They're having a birthday sale on the 8th of July so mum and I are going to drive there and see what we can get. I'm going to start working on the bag during my school break. Then I'll be able to take it to class with me at uni. =)

I also saw my quilt teacher at the show because she owns a local quilt shop. She was happy to see me and said I was one of her best students (when she was talking to mum). That made me very happy. And even though it was a small show, mum was quite happy with what we found there. There was a stall for a little company called Inspirational Quilts, and they make charity quilts for children affected by Cystic Fibrosis. Mum has forever wanted to do something charitable and while she believes that she's not good enough to make charity quilts I convinced her to put her name down for a 'Quilting Bee' so she can spend a whole day making quilts, which is what she wanted to do. =)

My Grandmother's Quilt

2006-05-16T13:04:00.001+10:00

My Grandmother's Mother's Day Quilt

This is the quilt that mum and I decided to make for my grandmother. We tried a 'lightening bolt' pattern, which kinda made itself unique. We used dark greens and browns because we figure that my grandmother's in a nursing home and she's going to get it dirty. It was the first lap quilt we've ever made (and when I say 'we' I mean mum, I only cut the triangles and borders out, mum sewed pretty much everything) and mum did the binding. I was only there to tell her what to do because she didn't know. =)

The only downside that Mother's Day was Sunday, and it's Tuesday now. Mum's visiting her today to give her the quilt.

I've started working on the Frog. Today I used the living room window as a lightbox to trace the pattern on to fabric. Next I have to trace the fusible webbing and cut out the pieces. I'm just getting confused as to which way to use the pattern, if it's mirrored or normal. But I'll figure it out. =)

Just Checking In...

2006-04-29T11:20:00.002+10:00

I usually have a quilting magazine or two with me at uni, not if I get bored in class but if I have a spare half hour between so I can flip through pages, I don't have any tolerance for those trashy gossip magazines, but while I was flipping through an old magazine at uni I saw the most beautiful quilt that I knew I had to make, and I decided that I would. We'll call it... 'the Frog'.

So, I'm going to go do that, on top of the heart bed quilt, the quilt class, and everything else. I think I'm an over-achiever.

Completed Calla Lily Block

2006-04-27T20:13:00.000+10:00

The Echo-Quilted Calla Lily

It's just under a week until my next quilting class, and I've only finished one of my lilies. I'm meant to make two of each block. I'm astounded with the results, it looks so pretty. I love the fabric and the design, I just wasn't sure what to do with the scrappy string ends of the thread. Each block (currently at 14" square) gets cut back to 12.5" square, so even if I tied in all the ends some of them would be cut off. I figured I'd just leave it and ask the teacher about it next week. I have to finish off the echo-quilting of my second lily sometime this week while working on my uni assignments. I love the look of echo-quilting but I'm pretty sure it won't be a common technique for me, unless the quilt absolutely calls for it. It's far too time consuming!

A third complete!

2006-04-18T15:03:00.001+10:00

A third complete!

This is the Valentine's Day quilt with a third of the piecing complete. We've done 4 out of the 12 rows. It's not a very good photo because it's draped over a chair but at least it's starting to take shape. Even at this point we're still unsure how we're going to 'quilt' it, but I'm sure we'll figure it out when it's nearly done. I'm having a bit of trouble with the pressing though, but I'm sure that I'll finish it off properly when we press the final quilt top before basting it for quilting.

Ben's Present

2006-04-12T19:18:00.001+10:00

Ben's Birthday Pillow

This was made from a few sessions with my friend Kate. While we made a great personal gift for Ben and had lots of girlie time together, I think I was the luckiest one by doing this in that I was successful in teaching Kate enough about quilting so much that she wants to go ahead and make her own pillows for her family.

The pillow was made from fabric that Kate and I bought from a store together, and I threw in the blue and white fabric from my ever growing stash. (The blue in the inner squares is from my first pillow case.)

We used the block called 'Geometry', purely because of the fact that Ben loves maths so much. Kate and I were both very happy with the result. (And I noticed the secondary pattern that looks like a pinwheel emerging from the colours chosen.) The Dolphin in the middle, the 'center piece' was a little tapestry that Kate did. It was her first one, and I thought she did a really good job on it. The colours around the dolphin really suit the whole pillow.

Before we gave it to Ben we wrote a little message, a label if you will, on the inside of the pillow slip. I'm getting into the habit of labelling my work, but for the items I'm keeping at home I think filling out a quilting journal that I keep in my sewing desk is good enough.

I like creating pillow cases, they're like little minature quilts that can be completed in a short amount of time, while still being practical. (Mum doesn't tend to like the idea of hanging quilts on the walls- I'll have to change her mind with a memory quilt for her 50th in 5 years time.)

My Sewing Room

2006-04-06T18:34:00.002+10:00

My sewing room.

I've taken over the lounge room. We were talking about the best place in the house to have a sewing room. I'm lucky that dad likes me quilting so he was willing to give me the lounge room.

My Valentine's Block

2006-04-06T18:34:00.001+10:00

The Heart block without sashing or corner stones.

This is one of my heart blocks, without the border. I've put a 1" white and pink corner stone and hashing around each block so that they show seperately instead of blending. I came up with the design by myself. I love how a block pattern can be used so many different ways to get different effects.

One day I'm going to use my "501 Quilt Blocks" book to make nearly all of them (the compatible ones) into a big double bed quilt. That's the best thing about quilting, there's so much creativity and personal expression and I really enjoy it even though I've just dabbled my feet in it. I have many years of this ahead of me, I just know it.

The First Row

2006-04-06T18:33:00.001+10:00

A row of the blocks for my Valentine's Quilt.

This is how each block looks with the borders. We're sewing each row and block as we go, so that we don't mess up the order of the quilt top.

Valentine's Layout

2006-04-06T18:33:00.000+10:00

The layout of my Valentine Quilt.

This was so much fun. Mum and I used the front entrance of the house to spread out the blocks to make sure no similar colours were together. Then we stacked them up into rows and started sewing the sashing and corner stones, then the strips. I think it looks really good. Each heart is 5" square, to give you an idea of how big the quilt is.

My Calla Lily

2006-04-06T18:32:00.000+10:00

The Calla Lily machine quilting block.

Can you tell that this is my first attempt at quilting off a tracing-paper pattern? It was hard to follow the lines with my free-motion foot, but for a first attempt I thought it was pretty well done. Lilies are my favourite flower. The block isn't finished, I have to echo quilt right to the edge. It should look really good when it's all finished and as the class continues.

Bits n Pieces

2006-04-06T18:31:00.000+10:00

Pieces of my Valentine's Day Quilt.

These are the pieces cut and ready for sewing for the Valentine's Quilt. Mum and I did it quite unconventionally, we didn't have all straight seams, we had to deal with a corner. Blame it on poor design, but I designed the whole quilt myself. While mum didn't like the corners, she is happy with how the quilt is turning out.

Lots of updates!

2006-04-06T17:57:00.001+10:00

Gosh it's been over a month since my last post...
I guess starting back at uni hasn't left me much time for quilting (there are times when I know I could have much better things to do...) but I'll try and update as best as I can.

If you couldn't have figured out, my Valentine's Day quilt is not yet finished. (We're up to adding the sashing and cornerstones to the completed blocks) We're working row by row on the quilt top, then I'll get some pretty dark pink thread and quilt the whole thing. It's a single bed quilt with a pillow tuck and lots of hang.

I started my first of 11 quilting classes last night. I picked a pretty pink tie dye with waves as the fabric and I'm quite fond of it. I've also discovered a love for variegated thread. Our first block (it's a machine quilting class) was a calla lily, and I'm sure if that wasn't my favourite flower then I would have been disappointed. At least it looks like a calla lily! Pretty good for a first try. Some ladies there were grovelling at themselves because they couldn't get it on the lines, but I heard a quilter say once "Accept all the compliments you get, because no one but the maker will know where the mistakes are." And, sure enough, when I got home to mum she was quite impressed, she couldn't tell where the mistakes were! They're a good group of girls in my quilting class, all considerably older but we share the same hobby. I think I act more mature because I hang out with my mum a lot.

Oh, and I got published in an e-Zine. I get an online newsletter sent to my email every few weeks, I wrote a letter to the editor and she liked it so much that she published it.

I'm getting a lot of compliments on the pillow I made, and that I should start making them to sell. We have a lot of craft markets around here, so I'd have to go check them out to see if that's worth venturing into for a bit of pocket money.

The next few posts are images on what I've described in this post. Hopefully I'll keep up with my posts and record my progression on my quilting class. I have too many ideas and not enough time to do them all!

My First Quilting Show

2006-02-01T15:47:00.001+11:00

The first quilting show I'd ever visited was purely by coincidence. Mum was in the city doing her voluntary work training which was by the Melbourne Convention Center. Being the wonderful mum she is, she called me to tell me the quilt show was on and that I should go with dad to pick her up so we can look at it together.

Australasian Quilting Convention

In the photo above are some things I managed to buy from the show, including a Diamond Star and a Periwinkle Star template, and a huge set of strip rulers. Mum bought the carry bag, and the book in the photo is the best block book I have. One day I'll try all the blocks in that book, I swear.

In addition to these items, I also got two pairs of scissors (why are they called pairs when there's only one of them?) and machine quilting gloves. We found a queen-sized pre-cut wadding for $35, and suprisingly I didn't buy any fabric. We did get a few magazines too because mum thought the designs were pretty. Mum also got two kits, a stained-glass christmas wall-hanging and a bag. Most likely I'll be completing these for her.

In the back of the show, behind all the vendors, was a small quilt display. Mum's a hairdresser and a very hands-on person, so she had a hard time trying not to touch the quilts. The quilts were remarkable, one day I hope to build masterpieces like those in the show.

There's a large quilt show in Victoria in July that I'm trying to save up for. The more money I save, the more I can go silly buying stuff at the show. Dad is very happy with my new hobby, and even though I've made it quite expensive, but he justifies my expenditures as "Well, at least you'll use it someday..." and he is encouraging me nicely. Dad likes that I stay at home sewing instead of being out where he can't constantly keep watch on me, and he likes the pretty and practical things I'll eventually make in the future.

I'm off to press fabric and start cutting (gosh, that sounds suicidal!)

Machine Quilting Class

2006-02-01T15:44:00.001+11:00

I haven't posted in a while because I've been lazy with my camera. I've also been lazy with my Valentine's Quilt.

Machine Quilting Class

This piece of blue fabric was what I made in my first machine quilting class. We learned how to clean our machines, which feet to use on which technique, and how to do a horizontal and vertical stitch with a darning foot. We also wrote out our names, and stippled/meandered. My teacher said I was very good for a beginner! All the other students were impressed by my practice piece. Mum's was the funniest response: "Did you pin that yourself?" LOL! Because I always make excuses that I can't pin my own work so I get mum to do it for me. She was impressed with my stitching too. Sorry about the poor quality photo, it really does look better in real life!

Final Valentine's Fabric

2006-01-21T09:46:00.001+11:00

This is the final stash I'm going to use for my Valentine's Quilt. My brother thought this was my whole stash, but this is just a selection of my pink fabrics. I really do like the stain glass roses and I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy more. Oh well.

Fabric Stash for Valentine's Quilt

Now I'm on to cutting and piecing a sample block from each fabric, because I'm not sure how some fabrics will hold up in the pattern.

Valentine's Quilt Block

2006-01-11T19:08:00.001+11:00

This is the Heart Block I'm going to use for the Valentine's Quilt. I love it because it's all straight lines! (I'm not really ready to use curves yet).

Heart Block

My Australian Patchwork & Quilting Magazine arrived today (lately I've been bidding like mad on eBay, and I have compulsive problems with collecting things- I've restricted myself to only Volumes 10- recent) and I found a similar quilt using this block. It's from the 2003 Annual. I'm going to switch out fabrics to make it look 'scrappy' using the fabrics I've already bought, and soon I'm going to a few close quilt shops with mum tomorrow to look for more matching fabrics to have a bigger variety. I'm yet to decide on the size of the blocks, but I'm going to try and make it a bed-sized quilt. I'm not sure yet. The best thing about this is that it's never certain. I hope it turns out perfectly!

My Valentine's Day Fabric

2006-01-08T16:35:00.002+11:00

I had a lot of fun picking this fabric out because I was with my friends Kate and Ben. I'm not sure, but I don't think this is a big enough mix of fabric to produce an intruiging quilt. I'm a fan of scrappy quilts and I love patterned fabric. I'm thinking of making several hearts on a background or squares to make up the overall shape of a heart. Hopefully I can pull off a relatively good-looking quilt with this fabric and still end up with some cute pink scraps for my collection.

Fabric for Valentine's Quilt

I'm aware that I have white in the mix, but I don't think it will look that out-of-place. I was looking for a nice yellow-cream to off-set the pinks, and I'm still looking out for that, I might even add a tone-on-tone pale pink in there. I'm still looking for pink or cream patterned fabrics for this quilt, and I doubt this will be the final colour palette.

My Sewing Machine

2006-01-08T16:35:00.001+11:00

This is what my parents bought me for Christmas. A Janome 525s for $300AU. It's a very good machine for a beginner and the main quilting feet can be bought as they're needed. I've already bought an even feed foot, a darning foot and a 1/4" foot with a fabric guide.

My Sewing Machine

This photo was taken after I'd finished my pillow case, so as you can see the thread is nearly gone. This is my pride and joy, and a place where boredom doesn't exist. Hopefully it should be with me for many years to come!

The Advent Calendar

2006-01-08T16:33:00.000+11:00

The fabric for this was bought from a store as a kit so it was incredibly easy to complete. It's a bit wonky because it's a wall-hanging and I haven't put a rod through it yet, but it only took a few hours all up to complete (cutting, pinning, sewing, quilting).

My Christmas Advent Calendar

The pockets were satin stitched down in place. Mum and I were going to embellish it with random beads and things but we can't be bothered. I know what my little cousins are getting next year for X-mas.

First Quilted Pillow Case

2006-01-07T21:17:00.001+11:00

I've learnt how to post pictures into my blog! Anyway, this is my very first quilted pillow case. Mum helped me finish it off but I did most of the piecing and sewing by myself.

My First Quilted Pillow Case!

For working with triangles there could have been much more puckering but it actually turned out well and I'm quite proud. Hopefully there'll be better projects in the near future!

Welcome to my blog!

2006-01-07T20:54:00.001+11:00

Hello All! Welcome to my magical journey into the world of quilting!

This newborn passion has been born out of the support my boyfriend gives me. I'm not what you'd call a 'modern' teenager. I stay home a lot, I'm as obsessed with crafts as an old lady and I have traditional, non-feminist views of how women should be. Did you know that most of my friends don't know how to sew? Some don't even know how to knit (though that has experienced a come back). And a few have never even heard of crochet. (Those who did said "Oh, like doilies? Don't only grandmothers make those?") I get weird looks at the craft and quilting stores I frequent and usually it's assumed that I've been sent on a collecting trip for supplies by my grandmother or mum. Can't they get it through their head that younger people do crafts too? I'm nearly 20 though so I'm not that young.

I've been taught absolutely everything by my mum. If I hear about some form of craft that I want to dabble in, chances are she's already done it and helps me out. These phases rarely last though. I'm still in the knitting, cross stitch and quilting phase. I like time consuming crafts. And quilting's practical and modern.

I'm still figuring out 'Blogger'. I'm sure I'll get it eventually, I am doing a computer degree at university!

Until then, bear with me and I hope you come back and visit often!