Final Finish for 2015!

I am so happy to be able to show you my finished Aviatrix Medallion Quilt top!

This is my December goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes (link up #47) and also one of my goals for Quarter 4 of the 2015 Finish-Along.

The Aviatrix Medallion is one of many wonderful quilt patterns by the very talented Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson.

I’m thrilled with how this quilt top has turned out and I’ve really enjoyed working with beautiful fabrics including Joel Dewberry Bungalow and Carolyn Friedlander Doe.

The final “butterfly” block border was perhaps my favourite border although I also enjoyed making the mini log cabins.

This quilt top is a big one and finishes at 80 inches square! I’m still not sure how I’m going to quilt it or if I’ll even be able to fit it through my old Janome’s tiny throat space! But I’ll work that one out next year…

With only four more sleeps until Santa arrives here in Australia, my sewing machine has been packed away until next year. I didn’t achieve all of my goals for this quarter but that’s ok 🙂

Thank you for visiting my blog and I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful year ahead in 2016!

Deb x

 

 

 

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Zipper Pillow Finish

I am happy to have a pair of finishes to share with you today.

These 18″ cushions were made using some gorgeous metallic Buzoku Cotton Duck fabric and are Finish #2 of my Quarter 4 goals for the 2015 Finish-Along, hosted by Adrianne@On the Windy Side.

This is the first time I’ve made cushions using a zipper closure and I can’t see myself making cushions any other way from now on.

I followed an easy tutorial by Pretty Prudent.

I have also been working hard this week on my Aviatrix Medallion Quilt.

Here are my forty 6½ inch log cabins ready to sew on as Border #5.

(but first I need to make Border #4…!)

Deb 😉

Another Mini Finish

This little mini has been hanging around for quite a while now but I was determined to make it Finish #4 for Quarter 3 of the 2015 Finish-Along!

I found this pattern by Elizabeth Dackson (Don’t Call Me Betsy) in Issue 21 of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine.

The cross blocks are paper pieced and each paper pieced quadrant a tiny 2 inches square! Definitely the smallest paper piecing I’ve ever done 😉

For my version I changed the position of the cross and plus blocks and used a selection of Cloud9 Sarah Watson Biology fabrics (along with a spot of Dottie fabric).

I straight line quilted each quadrant and used another Cloud9 fabric for the backing – this time Pretty Posies Wildwood by Elizabeth Olwen.

For the binding, I used Biology Plumes – need to get me some more of this beautiful fabric!

This little mini finished at 15½ inches square.

There is only 5 days to go before the 2015 Finish-Along Q3 finishes party closes. We are heading off camping this weekend so I seriously doubt whether I can squeeze another finish in…

But I’m pretty happy with 4 out of a possible 7 finishes.

Bring on Quarter 4! Deb 🙂

Spring is in the air

It is Spring down here in the Southern Hemisphere. The daffodils are blooming and my first tulips have opened to reveal their beautiful colours.

I have so many unfinished projects to keep me busy but in my usual procrastinating fashion, I decided that I needed a new and quick project.

I found this quilt/cushion pattern in Issue 23 of Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine and decided to use a few fat quarters of Moda’s Chic Neutrals with a few Art Gallery fabrics thrown in for good measure.

This is the first time I have made hrt’s (half rectangle triangles) and I look forward to using this technique in future projects. I quilted it simply by stitching a quarter inch on either side of the seams.

I fussy cut squares for the cushion front using some “Prospect Park” (Kitty Yoshida) fabric from my stash and used this same fabric for the back of the cushion.

I used a strip of Chic Neutrals in Egglant to bind the edge of the envelope back.

This is another much needed cushion for my couch 😉

I also have another finished goal from my Quarter 3 list for the 2015 Finish-Along to show you:

Three finished Noodlehead Open Wide pouches.

I think my favourite is the small quilted pouch, made from printed “Vintage Drill” fabric.

It’s the end of school term so I’m unsure as to whether much sewing will happen in the next two weeks while the kids are home with me.

Hopefully, if the weather is warm, we’ll be too busy outside enjoying the sunshine!

Deb 😉

Swoon Finish

I finally finished my Swoon Quilt. This quilt has been lingering about for what seems forever so it feels really good to be finished!

This quilt was to be my July finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes but I missed the deadline by a few weeks. It is also one of my Q3 goals for the 2015 Finish Along so at least I can cross this one off that list!

I made this quilt using a variety of yellow and aqua/teal fabrics, many of them from Joel Dewberry’s Notting Hill Citrine collection. I really feel as though I have stepped out of my comfort zone with this quilt.  It’s definitely not my usual style or choice of colour but I am happy with the final result.

For the backing and binding I used a pretty aqua Bear Essentials fabric.

I really had no advance plan when I began quilting this quilt. I firstly outlined the centre star of the swoon “flower” and then stitched diagonally, horizontally and vertically between these stars without ever intersecting them (I had a lot of threads to bury!) I also eventually stitched in the ditch around each outer star.

The result I think is simple, yet effective.

I have quite a few classes and Quilt Alongs planned for the coming months so I am relieved to finally cross this quilt off my long list of WIP’s!

Until next time, Deb 🙂

Linking up to Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

A Pair of Pillows

I am happy to share with you my first finish for Quarter 3 of the 2015 Finish Along.

A pair of “Haphazard Chevron Pillows” from the awesome book Quilting Happiness.

Although I followed the basic technique for making these pillows, I did make some alterations to the original pattern.

The original pattern makes a cover for one 12 inch square pillow. I wanted to make two 16 inch pillow covers so I increased the width of the original pieced block and also added strips between the vertical rows.

I used some beautiful Kona solids fabric and although it looks yellow in these photos, the lighter colour is actually a beautiful yellow-green chartreuse.

I quilted it simply by stitching 1/4 inch on either side of the vertical seams.

For the back of the pillow, I used some lovely grey “Squiggly Stripe” fabric by Valori Wells for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately but feel as though I haven’t had much to show for my efforts. It feels really good to have a finish!

On another note, we have had a cold snap down here in Tasmania, Australia. The roads were closed today and so my three children were home from school and my husband unable to get to work.

Keep in mind that we moved to Tasmania from hot and humid central Queensland two and a half years ago. Snow is a very BIG novelty for us all!

Here are some photos for you, Deb 🙂

Linking up to Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Another Finish (and in Loving Memory)

I’m cutting it fine, but here it is, Finish #4 for Q2 of the 2015 Finish-Along.      

I really needed a new wallet and had been eyeing off this pattern by Emmaline Bags at my favourite fabric store Frangipani Fabrics. 

Quilting has definitely taken over as my first love and I really struggled to find incentive to start this project. So I headed in for a nice social “Sit and Sew” session at Frangipani Fabrics and discovered some wallet making mojo with some help from the lovely staff.

My fabric choices were all Cotton and Steel and I couldn’t resist using some of that awesome Viewfinder fabric!

This pattern, although a bit fiddly and time consuming, is well worth the effort.

So now I have a new Super Tote AND a new wallet!

Thanks Adrienne @ On the Windy Side for hosting the 2015 Finish-Along. It gives people like me much needed incentive to finish those projects!

Deb 😉

Linking up to Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    

  Today would have been my Grandmother’s 101st birthday.

She passed away peacefully last year, two months after turning 100 and receiving her much wanted birthday congratulations letter from Queen Elizabeth.

Grandma was a very talented crocheter and made many beautiful things, some that I am fortunate enough to own.

Grandma lived independently in her own home until two weeks after her 98th birthday.  In her lifetime, she was a champion lawn bowls player, a keen gardener, a wonderful baker, a passionate animal lover (especially her dogs) and a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. 

This post is dedicated to you Grandma – we all love and miss you xx

Tote-al Finish

Here is my finished Noodlehead Super Tote.

Up until four days ago, I really didn’t think I had any chance of finishing this project before the end of the month.  I almost didn’t even attempt to start it!

But in my usually fashion, I thought….what the heck, I’ll give it a shot!

I nominated this Super Tote as my June finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes, hoping this would push me along (and thankfully it did).

It is also finish #3 for Q2 of the 2015 Finish Along.

Joining goal oriented ‘linky parties’ like ALYoF and the Finish Along are a great way to get those hard to finish (and hard to start!) projects out of the way.

I’m a bit late joining the Super Tote party (this pattern was published in 2013) but I’m a big fan.  It’s a great size bag, with plenty of nice details that give it a professional and polished look.

I really love the pleated gussett, recessed zipper, exterior pocket (with magnetic clip) and gathered internal pockets. I chose to omit the piping detail and instead added an extra half inch of contasting Netorious fabric to the pocket lining. This was then folded over and topstitched to the exterior pocket fabric (a tip I found by reading reviews!)

I also added the recommended two layers of interfacing to the exterior fabrics for extra strength. I prefer a sturdy bag that stands up by itself!

I chose a selection of canvas fabrics – much of it Cloud9 Koi – from my local Spotlight store. I did change my mind from my original fabric selection, opting instead to use a geometric DTD canvas for the main bag fabric and some lovely Koi dragonfly fabric for the exterior pocket.

I used Art Gallery Splendor Birds fabric for the internal pockets.

Overall I’m pretty happy with this Super Tote and intend to start using it as my everyday bag!

There’s only one week left in June. Hmmm…

I wonder if I can fit in another finish?

Deb 😉

Linking up to Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

A Finished Quilt (and a Mountain)

This weekend my family and I visited beautiful and world renowned Freycinet National Park on Tasmania’s East Coast (Australia).

This is a spectacular part of the world and we completed a challenging four hour return climb to the top of Mount Amos. From here, we were able to see amazing views of famous Wineglass Bay.

It was an incredibly windy day and apart from one brief meltdown moment in a particularly difficult section, my children (and I for that matter!) did remarkably well coping with the rock scrambling and steep ascent. So proud of you guys!

When we first planned this weekend away, I had visions of showing you photos of my latest completed quilt from the summit. Due to the gusty winds and the arduous climb, I am thankful that I decided not to take my quilt up the mountain. I am also incredibly thankful that we all made it down safely!

We instead took my quilt out for a few nice shots on Sunday.

You can read more about my Amy Butler Quilt in a previous post here.

I pieced together the back using my leftover fabrics…

and I quilted it using straight lines, outlining the navy blue sashing and using one of my favourite prints (Lark Persimmon) for the binding.

This quilt was made following the Garden Fence tutorial at Hyacinth Quilt Designs.

It is my second finish for the 2015 Finish Along, hosted by Adrianne @ On the Windy Side.

Also linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts @ Let’s Bee Social!

Deb 🙂

Note : I have joined up to participate in the 2015 New Blogger’s Blog Hop, hosted by Quilting Jetgirl, Meadow Mist Designs, Late Night Quilter and Childlike Fascination. I am super excited about this next part of my blogging journey so please stay tuned…

Amy Butler Quilt Update

Hi all, I thought I’d give you an update on one of my 2015 Finish Along projects.

I am ready to start quilting my Amy Butler Quilt, FINALLY!

When I first began quilting last year, Amy Butler was the first designer whose fabrics I craved.  With my small but varied collection of her beautiful fabrics, mostly purchased on ebay, I decided to make my first quilt. (Obviously, this didn’t end up as my first finished quilt, LOL!)

I decided to make a Garden Fence Quilt using a free tutorial by Hyacinth Quilt Designs.  I chose a navy blue solid as sashing to really make those bright colours pop!

For the backing, I pieced together all of my larger pieces of leftover fabrics. This is definitely the most time consuming backing I have ever made.

This quilt is very important to me as it holds so many memories of my early days as a new quilter/fabric lover.

I can’t wait to show you the finished result soon!  Deb 🙂

P.S. – Happy Mother’s Day to all of you lovely mums out there. I do hope you had a relaxing day like I did. I even managed to finish off a project but I’ll tell you about that next time! Deb x

Linking up with Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts