Canyon Patchwork Swoon

As soon as I saw the gorgeous colours in Kate Spains new Canyon fabric, I knew that it would be just perfect to use in a quilt for my daughter.

I bought a jelly roll from my LQS and decided to make a "Patchwork Swoon" quilt as the original Swoon pattern is one of my all time favourite designs.

As usual, Camilles patterns go together quite easily - a combination of strip piecing and clever pressing means that most of the seams nest together neatly.

The hardest part for me was trying to get a good "random" mix of colours and patterns in each of the 16 patch blocks.

(source)

I had a slight disaster towards the end - I like to use steam for my final press and when I refilled the water it came out all brown and messy on one of the white sections in the middle of the quilt (of course!!!).

But through my tears of frustration, I was able to quickly unpick and resew another piece of white to remake the HST and stitch it all back together again.

And the next day I went out and bought a new iron...

I sent the quilt to be quilted by Karen at my LQS Rainbow Patchwork and she used a pattern called "Gingersnap"  which was a fun mix of circles and swirly loops. 

The final borders are slightly wider on my quilt so it finished at 75" rather than the 72" in the original pattern so it will be just a little bigger for a Queen sized bed.

The backing is a Carolyn Friedlander widescreen in grey which matched the Canyon Serape Aloe binding nicely.

Happy 21st to my gorgeous girl!!

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory.

This project was on my FAL Q3 list for this year so linking up with the 2016 FAL team.

Kirsten.

"Skipping Stones" Ocean and Earth quilts

A few years ago I saw the fabulous Water and Woods "Plus" quilts made by Carla @ Coraquilts for her teenage sons using Curious Nature fabric by Parson Gray (aka David Butler). 

She inspired me to use the two colourways of the same fabrics to make my twin sons a quilt each for their 18th birthdays.

These fabrics were released quite a while ago now, and Parson Gray has even had a few more amazing fabric ranges out since.

The first quilt was actually started almost a year ago (50 weeks according to IG) at a quilt class using the "Skipping Stones" pattern by Cindi McCracken.

I used the blue toned fabrics from Curious Nature by Parson Gray to make the "Ocean" quilt.

The pattern calls for a few solids so I also used a denim blue, light grey and slate coloured solid for the border.

Karen from Rainbow Patchwork here on the Northern Rivers, NSW did the long-arm quilting on both of the quilts using a similar pantograph to the one she used for my Chicopee Feathers quilt a few years ago.

After seeing how well the first quilt came together, I started another version with the earthier green tones from Curious Nature.

This version uses a solid in "Iron" along with the same light grey from the "Ocean" quilt.

This quilt has a lighter grey backing which again shows off the quilting perfectly.

I added an extra set of blocks so used 48 rather than 36 jelly roll strips and the quilts ended up at about 65 x 85" which is a good size to lay across a

Wishing both of my boys a very happy 18th birthday!!

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

Kirsten.

"Butter Cake" Walk quilt

As soon as I saw the "Cakewalk" quilt pattern by Camille @ Thimbleblossoms, I knew that it would be the perfect quilt for my stash of Bonnie and Camille fabrics.

Although this pattern is written for a Layer Cake, you can also go scrappy and it is a great way to use up a variety of prints.

These blocks are fairly easy to sew and the whole quilt came together quite quickly once all of the cutting was done.

I even added in some of the pretty new "Little Ruby" fabrics.

Although the Moda black Crossweave fabric is quite hard to source here in Australia, I have found a good alternative in a charcoal shot cotton.

I have used this shot cotton a few times before (True Love pillow, Foxy Loxy Mini quilt, and Flower patch mini quilt) and the dark colour really makes the prints stand out.

One of the nice things about B&C fabrics is that all of the ranges go really well together as they all feature the main colours of aqua and red.

I quilted this with the Serpentine stitch, and used some of the Red Dot print from Marmalade for the backing, along with the red crosshatch print from Daysail for the binding.

The area around where we live is known for its dairy industry with the local company Norco producing milk, butter, cheese and ice cream.

The huge butter churn where I took these photos is from the Norco buttery factory across the river which still produces dairy products.

My husband even grew up on a dairy farm supplying milk to the factory in the late 1960's - early 1970's.

I named this quilt "Butter Cake" as it is my daughters favourite cake, and although she has recently been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease, we have found a good Gluten Free Butter cake mix which I am going to make next month for her birthday...

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory.

This was on my FAL Q3 list for this year so linking up with the 2016 FAL team.
Kirsten.

WiP: Tula Pink City Sampler

A few weeks ago I saw on IG that there was going to be an epic quilt-along to sew 100 blocks in 100 days using the blocks from the City Sampler book by Tula Pink.

I initially thought that sewing a block a day for such a long period of time would not be easy to do, but after looking through the book, realised that the blocks are fairly straightforward to piece, and also a great way to use up the rest of my Tula stash left over from making the Pixel Perfect quilt!

Here are my first 9 blocks - I am trying to stay close to the original colours used in the book, and even some of the prints if I have them available. It has been so much fun choosing fabrics for the blocks and I have really enjoyed looking through IG each day (#100days100blocks) to see all of the amazing blocks that are being sewn up.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 
Kirsten.

Coral Cotton Crochet throw

After making a few Ripple blankets in acrylic yarn, I really wanted to try one in cotton - so when I found some on clearance, I quickly grabbed all of the remaining balls of the variegated and plain coral 8 ply yarn.

As I had twice as much of the variegated yarn, I started by doing 2 rows of the coral solid, then 4 rows of the variegated yarn and repeated this sequence which was similar to what I had done when I made the Ocean Waves blanket.

My Makers Tote came in handy to hold my crochet supplies for this throw.

There were a few wintry nights spent crocheting whilst watching TV and having some kitty cuddles.

I have kept the ripple edge along the top and bottom of the throw (because I ran out of yarn!) and I really like how it looks.

This throw finished at about 125 x 140 cm and being cotton, it is very soft and snuggly.

This project was on my FAL Q3 list for this year so linking up with the 2016 FAL team.

Kirsten.

"Lion King" Caravan Tote

My first finish for the 3rd quarter of the Finish-A-Long is a present for my mother who celebrates a special birthday this year. 

The pattern I chose is the Caravan Tote by Noodlehead which Anna has also made in this gorgeous fabric.

As mum's star sign is Leo, I wanted to use some of the Cotton and Steel "August" fabric by Sarah Watts.

The Monarch Lion print is a lovely cotton/linen blended canvas fabric so it was perfect for the outside of the bag. 

I used a few of the other "August" prints for the lining along with some coordinating solids.

Although the zippered pocket is designed to keep crochet hooks/knitting needles, it is also handy for reading glasses, a mobile phone, and stationery items.

I have already made mum a Supertote using these "August" fabrics, but I don't think she will mind having another bag - you can never really have too many bags:)

And although Mum will be away for her actual birthday as she is currently on an Around the World cruise with my father, on her return I have a handmade gift all ready for her.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

This was on my FAL Q3 list for this year so linking up with the 2016 FAL team.

Kirsten.