WIP - Swoon blocks

I decided to try and get a move on with the Swoon blocks so that I might be able to finish this quilt by winter.

So in a massive session of cutting, I have cut out all of the pieces needed for the remaining 6 blocks.

And sewn all of the geese............

All I need to do now is make and trim the HST's then I can just sew the Swoon blocks together, which should hopefully be a lot quicker now all the pieces are pre-cut:)

Linking to WIP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced.


Kirsten.

Ruby Sparkles - done!

Another finish ready for the cooler weather here! This is the "Ruby Sparkles" quilt using the Sparkle Plenty quilt pattern from Loft Creations.

I have quilted it in straight lines which radiate out from the middle of the central star block - this was fairly easy to quilt as I just followed the angles of the HST's . 

. These fabrics are so lovely together  - and this quilt finished at about 52" square after washing.

In keeping with the Ruby theme I used a red gingham as the backing.

And it even looks pretty from the back....

Also, I have just seen that there is a Festival of Half Square Triangles starting next week at Canoe Ridge Creations which includes lots of ways to use HST's in sewing projects.

Linking to Sew Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations and  Fabric Tuesday at Quiltstory.

(buttons in sidebar) and to the Festival of Half Square Triangles. 

Kirsten.

Brisbane Craft and Sewing Show

We went up to Brisbane for the day yesterday - Neil took the kids shopping in the city and I went to the Craft and Sewing Show at the Convention Centre.

When I was due to meet up with them at Southbank in the afternoon I walked around to the other side of the centre and found some amazing mosaic sculptures that looked so much like quilts:

And this one has a lovely image of Brisbane city in the middle:

I just bought a couple of things at the show, including a fat 1/8th bundle of Flea market Fancy and a book I have been wanting for a while! 

And am hoping that I win the lucky door prize at the show which was one of these retro Singer sewing machines:)

Hope you are having an enjoyable weekend wherever you are!
Kirsten.

FLOS received from Joanna (Shape Moth)

It is always a nervous time at the end of swaps whilst you wait for your partner to receive your parcel, and also in excited anticipation of what you may be sent. I was very fortunate to receive the most gorgeous pillow cover and wristlet yesterday, which were made by the very talented Joanna (Shapemoth).

I haven't attempted to sew curves (or invisible zips.....) as yet but Joanna does them so well! She also has another version of this design here which she entered in the Modern Mini challenge at Ellison Lane quilts and it was one of the Viewer's Choice finalists.The back of the pillow is just as stunning.

The linen pouch is very cute too....I forgot to take a photo of the inside but Joanna has a good picture of the inner fabric here.

And she has used all of my favourite colours with lovely shades of teal green and blues with the splashes of orange and yellow that just pop. I am going to keep this on our bed as the colours match our leafy doona(duvet) cover perfectly! I also like that I can orientate this pillow and it looks different each time:)

I am starting to get worried about my parcel though as I sent it over 3 weeks ago now, but there are still a few others waiting to receive theirs so I won't panic just yet! 

Thanks again to Joanna and also to the the swap mamas (Megan and Elizabeth) for organizing such a wonderful swap again. 

Kirsten.

WIP Wednesday - Ruby Sparkles

I had the Ruby Sparkles quilt top all pin basted then I noticed this...... :(

Stephanie had said in her pattern instructions to be careful about orientating the HST's correctly and I hadn't noticed until I have reached the last corner of pinning!!

Luckily, I had sewn my blocks together in rows and not in quadrants as per the pattern (I do need to read patterns more thoroughly!) so this makes it easier to correct my mistake.

Oh well, at least it is on the edge so just a little bit to unpick then onto the quilting.
Linking to WIP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Kirsten.

St Patricks Day sewing

In celebration of St Patricks day I thought I should make something green and remembered the great tutorial on mon petit lyons blog I saw recently for a cute fabric basket. 

I really needed somewhere to throw fabric scraps and threads while sewing (other than on the floor) and thought this would be perfect. Courtney's original basket has a little pocket on it but I left it off mine as I liked it as it was:) 

I chose a DSQ floral fabric to match my green thread snips and also this cute little needle book that I bought from Svetlana at S.o.t.a.k handmade. 

And I also finished my 3rd Swoon block which happens to be a very "Irish" looking one:)

Happy St Patricks Day!! 

Linking to  Sew Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations, and Fabric Tuesday at Quiltstory (buttons in sidebar).

Kirsten.

WIP Wednesday- Sparkle Plenty Quilt

After I had made a tote bag using some lovely "Ruby" fabric late last year, I still had quite a bit  leftover. One of my favourite colour combos is red and aqua and as I have always wanted to make a quilt using these colours decided to use the Ruby to make a Sparkle Plenty quilt using the pattern from Loft Creations. 

So after much cutting, sewing and trimming of HST's I have the rows laid out on the dining room table ready for pressing so they don't get out of place. 

(Note to self: it would have much quicker & easier to use charm squares - especially as I happen to have 2 packs of Kate Spains "Good Fortune" here thanks to Lucy!)

I have used a light grey Prima solid (similar to Kona Ash) as the background - can't wait to finish sewing the rows together to see how this one turns out! 

Linking to WIP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced (button in sidebar).

Kirsten.

One thing-one week (11): Quilt Process mini

I have had the screen printed panel for this Quilt Process mini for about 6 months now - I think I may have even bought the last one available from Amy at During Quiet Time in August last year. So this was a good project to finish off as my "One thing, One week" challenge item. 

I used some of my favourite pale/dark pink, grey, and yellow fabrics to make the 3 blocks for this mini quilt late last year but I am glad that I waited so long to finish the quilting on this though as I don't think I would have been brave enough to attempt the handstitching a few months ago. 

I had a matching pale pink thread which was just the right shade! Don't look too closely at the french knot I did in red for the apple though - definitely need more practice at those:)

  Just need to find a place to hang this now.....

Linking to the One thing, One week challenge at Amy's Creative Side, Sew Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations, Little Quilt Monday with Elizabeth at Pieceful Life, and Fabric Tuesday at Quiltstory (buttons in sidebar).
Kirsten.

DSQ Doll Quilt swap - round 2

In preparation for the next round of the DSQ doll quilt swap, I thought I should do a little fabric shopping. I wanted to get some more of these Daisy Mae fabrics while they were still available as I really love the fresh citrus colours.

The sign ups for the swap will open on March 15th and the mini quilts need to be posted out by May 1st for international shipping and May 9th for domestic shipping. 

1. DS New line bundle, 2. DS Quilts fabrics - Australia prints 3. Aunt Edna, 4. DS Daisy Mae, 

5. All 13 fat quarters of the Aussie only DS prints 6. DS Daisy Mae, 7. DS Quilts - Sugar Creek (greenblue) 

8. DS Quilts - Sugar Creek (burgundy)9. DS - Winding Roads

There are so many more DSQ fabrics to choose from now so one of the questions in the survey form will be about possibly choosing one predominant color theme for your quilt choice and a background color - solids can also be used. It was a really fun swap last time and you can see all of the beautiful mini quilts from the first round in the DS Quilts doll quilt flickr group pool, so Leona and I would love you to come along and join the group for round 2.

Kirsten.

WIP Wednesday - Quilt process mini

While I was at Spotlight the other day, I remembered to look for a Hera marker which is a fabric marking tool for quilters that Debbie has been using recently with great results.

I had almost forgotten about this WIP which I found buried under a pile of fabric and thought it would be a good project to try it out on as I want to quilt in straight lines between the words like this . I am just going to use the edge of my quilting ruler as the guide to mark the lines.

This is my project to try and finish for Amy's One Thing, One week challenge (11) and also linking to WIP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced.
Kirsten.

Modern Mini quilt

After being totally inspired by the amazing cover art on CD , I decided make a fabric version to enter into the Modern Mini quilt challenge at Ellison lane Quilts - you can read more about the process here and here.  

 Well it is all done now and I am so happy with the results. I haven’t really tried wonky/liberated piecing before so this was something new for me as I wanted to keep it looking a bit “abstract” and not too perfect. The slightly organic not-so-straight line quilting adds to the overall effect:

I quilted it in a squarish spiral using a different coloured thread for each block.....

These quilting lines are only 1/4 inch apart !

 And the black backing was perfect to show off the coloured variegated threads on the back.

.

 This mini quilt is 26 inches along each side and I didn’t have to buy any fabric, batting or thread at all to make this quilt so it has been a really great stash buster too:) I really love this mini and have thoroughly enjoyed the process of making it.

Linking to the Modern Mini Challenge at Ellison Lane Quilts, Sew Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge creations, to Fabric Tuesday at Quiltstory and to LIttle quilt Monday with Elizabeth at Pieceful Life(buttons in sidebar).

Kirsten.

Fresh Sewing Day - February

We had an extra day in February this year so that gave me some more time to do some sewing which was a bonus as I needed to finish off the second item for the Love of Solids swap so that it could be posted to my partner this week.

Not sure if she reads my blog but I will wait until she receives it until I share more photos........

Linking to Fresh Sewing Day at Lily's Quilts:

Kirsten.