Rainbow Ripple Afghan

Today is the last day of winter here and this is what I have been working on over the past few months -  my Rainbow Ripple Afghan.

This Ripple Afghan is made using quite a chunky yarn and a size 10 crochet hook so I found it a bit harder to work with than the 8ply yarn I have been using until now.

My Poolside tote doubled up as a great yarn storage bag over winter whilst I was doing this crochet:)

I just loved how quickly it crocheted up and how nice and warm it was once to sit under when I had done a few rows.

I actually had to stop doing it for a while as my wrists were quite sore:(

My kitty Simba helped me take a break by pinning me down so I couldn't get to do the next rows!

But I kept persevering and I ended up doing 5 sets of the rainbow of colours. 

This blanket actually got quite heavy towards the end but it fits comfortably on a double bed.  

This was on my FAL Q3 list for this year so linking up with Adrianne @ On The Windy Side.

Kirsten.

WiP Wednesday - Hashtag quilt

After a few days of sewing, I have been able to get the Hashtag quilt blocks made and the top sewn together over the weekend.

This is one of the projects from Camille Roskelleys fabulous "Pre-Cut Piecing Made Simple" class on Craftsy.

Like with the Terra Australis Swoon mini quilt I made earlier this year, I decided to combine some Terra Australis fabrics from both the first and second ranges for this quilt as they went together so well.

These blocks are chain pieced so came together really quickly and easily.

I decided to go with a bit of a colour order arrangement for the quilt, and also left off the outer border.

I was sent some of the Kangaroos in Kingfisher fabric to bind one of the #Sewing for Sydney quilts earlier this year and loved how it looked, so have the Kangaroos in Ocean set aside to use for the binding and I managed to pick up some meterage of one of the other prints for the backing when I picked up my quilt from Rainbow Patchwork recently.

Lastly, a pretty stained glass (sideways) photo:)

Linking with WIP Wednesday with Lee @ Freshly Pieced.

Kirsten.

Bonnie Bucket Bag

I was talking to a friend recently about bag patterns and she suggested to try one of the "Swoon" patterns.... 

So I decided to make the Bonnie Bucket bag.

For this bag I used some printed denim in an Aztec design, along with my favourite black 7.5 oz lightweight denim. 

I really like the Hobo style of it and it is a great size for carrying everything I need, including some of these oranges from our tree for fresh squeezed OJ.

This bag has an interior slip pocket along with the exterior zippered pocket, and I lined it in a fun dotty orange print .

There is also a list of sew-alongs/tutorials on the Swoon patterns website which was quite helpful in making this bag.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

And this bag was on my FAL Q3 list for this year so linking up with Adrianne @ On The Windy Side.

Also linking up with the Super Online Sewing Match Community Match @ Sew Mama Sew.

Kirsten.

Panda-monium pillow

It was my nieces 21st birthday recently and as she loves pandas, I decide to make her a pillow using the Pandamonium pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop.

There are 26 different pieces to cut out for the Panda pattern and it was quite easy to sew it all together.

I quilted the pillow in a grid style and even found a cute tumbling pandas print to use for the back of the pillow. 

This pillow ended up about 20" square and I bound it in a B&W stripe which is one of my favourite fabrics to use for binding:)

There is some bamboo growing down by the river near where I live which was the perfect place for some quick photos.

Hoping the birthday girl enjoys this pillow as much as I enjoyed making it for her!

This was on my FAL Q3 list for this year so linking up with Adrianne @ On The Windy Side.

And also linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

Kirsten.

Norway

I picked up my Norway quilt from the quilters last week and was able to finish sewing down the binding yesterday afternoon. 

So I quickly went down to the local park to take some photos before it got too dark.

The quilt backing is a pretty floral print from Picadilly by Denyse Schmidt which I just love and I used a shot cotton in an Orchid colour for the binding.

It also seems that the previous few Pantone "colour of the year" challenges may have had a positive effect on me as I wasn't a huge fan of pinks (Radiant Orchid) or browns (Marsala) before but now I love the warmth of them together! 

This photo I took whilst sewing down the binding is probably the best one to show the lovely quilting done by Karen at Rainbow Patchwork.

This is quite a large quilt, finishing at about 78" square so just for comparison, here is the quilt along with the mini Norway version I made a few weeks ago.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

This was on my FAL Q3 list for this year so linking up with Adrianne @ On The Windy Side.

Kirsten.

Strawberry Pot holder

This began as a quick little project last Sunday afternoon...

Cutting into a few pretty coral and lime scraps and making some HST's.

Then sewing them all back together to make a sweet strawberry using a pattern from "Farm Girl Vintage" by Lori Holt.

I used a layer of Insul-brite along with some quilt batting to make a cute little pot holder.

Then rounded the corners before sewing on the binding.

 And it matches my new kitchen mixer so well. This was a great little project to use up some scraps and would make a great gift too!

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

And also with Scraptastic Tuesday with Leanne @ She Can Quilt and Nicky @ Mrs Sew and Sew.

Kirsten.

Norway quilt top

I was home alone last weekend whilst my 3 teenagers were at the "Splendour in the Grass" music festival at Byron Bay, and my hubby was also away all week camping near Tenterfield so I managed to get quite a bit of sewing done and I have now finished the Norway quilt top.

As I had already pre-cut the fabrics for these blocks, I was able to sew each one in under 2 hours as they are all chain pieced and there are very few seams to match.

Before I sewed them altogether I did up a mosaic of the 9 blocks so I could get them into an arrangement I liked - which was much quicker and easier than dragging these 26" blocks around my lounge room floor!

I went with a colour gradient as I loved the look of the one done by Mary @classicquilter on IG - the middle block is the same colour as the binding so I wanted it to be in the centre.

I have now sent this off to be quilted at my LQS and I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Linking with WIP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced.

Kirsten.