English Paper Piecing

The Paper Piecing for the 4 larger blocks with this design are now finished. I changed the fabrics around quite a bit before I appliqued them to the background. Some fabrics work so much better than others when it comes to fussy cutting them.
The next 4 blocks have applique.

I've also started on my Antique Prairie Rose quilt. I finally found a green I liked.

It is Moda's Bella Solid - Fig Green and after a couple of days cutting  all the pieces out I have the 1st block ready to sew.  The yellow pieces in the three top flowers are reverse applique so they will finish with a lot less red showing. It measures 28" X 29". 

Progress

I've made a lot of progress on my Antique Sampler. The 9 large blocks have been reversed appliqued and I'm onto making the centres for them.

The 3rd one I'm working on.

These are the 64 small blocks waiting now for centres too. I made 2 of each fabric so the quilt will have every colour in it.

The fabric removed from the centres is used for the 'pennies' that are on the outer border. I got them cut and put the paper behind a few.  A good job to be doing when there's something I want to watch on the TV.

I had kept an old magazine with the page marked of this block made with this background fabric and knowing I had some thought I would make it one day. In the magazine it had been framed. I made the block up a while ago and using my fabric glue stick had stuck it up on the door of my cupboard in the sewing room to be able to see it while I thought what I was going to do with it.

Here is the result. I used every last scrap of the fabric I had and the handles have numerous seams to make them long enough.

ps. I won't tell you how many bags I have in every shape size and colour.

A Wonderful Day out

Today was the Castlemaine Applique Society's quarterly meeting and the show of quilts was magnificent. Here are a few of them.

A Sarah Morrel quilt

Megan's quilt was made with Dutch Chintz fabrics.

This was made with tiny bow tie blocks.

The English Basket quilt

Scrappy Clam Shells

Bev's Red & White quilt

We ate, we talked, we sewed, and I won one of the raffle prizes. Barb Adams and Alma Allen's book,  A Schoolgirl's Work. It has photographs and the history of Samplers from the Spencer Museum of Art and also contains projects to make that have been inspired by the samplers. The samplers were made in the 1700 - 1800's and I look forward to spending time reading all about them.

Something New

The buds on my Lily have opened to these spectacular flowers. They are 8" across and the stemens are the green of the stem.

I joined the BOM from Canton Village Quilt Works. The button on the left should take you there. Each month a different blog has the pattern but they have all used the same 5 fabrics. I had a  'layer cake' of the Rounneries fabric and decided to use them. These are the first 2 blocks.

I bought this pattern and have started making it. There is a lot of reverse applique which I have only ever done a little of but I have to say it is very quick and I'm enjoying the change.

The other quilt pattern I want to make is this one, I found it in an old Australian AP&Q. Look at the size of those stems! The quilt pattern was done by Kate Knight and she has told me the flower centres and the vases were yellow but have faded. I will be making mine with a yellow fabric. I have ordered Bella Solid Ivory for the background and I'm awaiting it's arrival.   

 

It's been a while

I've sewn a bit more of my Honeycomb. The length is where I want it but the sides need , I think, 2 more on each side. The hand piecing was supplemented by the sewing machine in the end. I can sit for hours and applique but stitching along a line - boring.

 

So with that said I've been back to the centre block of my Maltaville quilt and have sewn it all except for the berries and I've also stitched 2 of the smaller blocks so it's back under the heading of WIP and not a UFO.

I've been asked to look under the bottom of my plant pot and find the name of my friend. You see, she gave me this one, mine is flowering again and hers unfortunately is not.

Sorry,Bev I didn't find your name there.

 

Progress

The Honeycomb blocks are growing. It looks old in the browns and creams.
One more round of cream and then square off the corners with a few more
and I'll be finished.

In my Mary Mannakee quilt there is a fabric looking 'pink' but it is red flowers on a white background. I didn't even add the yellow fabric as I wanted a red, green and white quilt. I was going to change it for an upright photo of the quilt but it still looks 'pink' a colour rarely used by me.

New Header

I couldn't wait for the end of the month to change my header. Home Sweet Home is a lovely quilt but it looked rather lifeless in the header space.
I made the Mary Mannakee quilt in class over  3 1/2years doing 1 block per month.
I cut the blocks larger and stitched it together with French seams so it is a Summer Throw instead of a quilt. This was my first needleturn and when I got to the end, I went back and restitched the 1st block. It was really bad. I've loved needleturn stitching ever since.

Montsalvat

Today we went to Montsalvat to visit my daughter. She and Susan Buret are artists in residence for the month of October. This place was started in1937 and has wonderful old buildings, some of which are being restored. I have some photos I took today but see more of the place click here .

One of the houses.

The Stables where there is a guitar maker in residence.

Inside the stables.

The Great Hall there are 3 floors inside with the narrowest of stairs and wonderful woodwork. The doors on all the buildings are large and solid wood.

There are numerous peacocks around the grounds and they are tame enough that when you walk close to them they don't fly off. This was the largest tail of all.

This the family going up to inspect my daughters accommodation. My other son thought 'Rapunsal' was an apt name while she stayed there.

but the neighbours place looked better!

To see my daughters work here

It's finished

I trimmed all the blocks and they went together easily. When it's quilted and bound I get a proper photo of it taken with no sunshine coming through the trees and somewhere high enough to hang it straight.

The Four Corners

Here is a photo of the four corner blocks to finish the borders of my Homage to Mary Brown quilt. I went all out with my fabric choices for the birds and thoroughly enjoyed sewing them.

Now to trim, join all the blocks together and attach to the centre. 

Fabric Choices

I am still sewing the blocks that make up the border on my Mary Brown quilt.These have been wonderful to pick up and sew while my other projects have needed preparation and I always need something to do at my sewing groups.
I try to keep to reproduction fabrics but sometimes another fabric is so ideal I have to use it. For the petals of the sunflowers I have used a tone on tone silky Japanese fabric and I'm really pleased with the texture it has added.

The fabric for the pineapple is a reproduction fabric and looks just right.

The blue bells had to be blue.

I have continued to use the fabrics from the centre square. This block reminds me of the passionfruit, a vine with tendrils. 

The birds continue to be black with blue wings as they are in the rest of the blocks.

I am now working on the last 4 blocks that will fill the corners of the border.

Over the weekend.....

it was the AQA, Australian Quilter's Association, quilt show. My local guild and I forgot to take my camera. The array of quilts were wonderful and varied. Pieced, Appliqued and Hand & Machined quilted.

There was a challenge to make a small quilt A3 size,bound and quilted. We  were given a paper bag with the challenge inside. A page out of a garden magazine, a packet of flower seeds and a piece of fabric. Green with gold thread through it. [one of my pet hates is fabrics with gold or lurex thread] I pinned the magazine page to my wall so I could look at it every time I went in my sewing room. There were sweet pea flowers on one side and a few small pictures on the other of a garden arbor,flowers and a meadow. I decided I would try and recreate the Meadow. Here is the page showing what I was doing my challenge on. I slipped a sheet of white paper over what I was not doing.

Strips of green fabrics which included the one from the paper bag. White daisies cut from fabric with a dab of yellow paint and a rough meander of quilting to hold them on. I didn't even vote for it. There were some with soo much work and effort.

I was totally surprised to find that mine was the winner.

The packet of seeds will be sown in the garden when the weather warms up.

A Little Red and White

I discovered on Cheri  's blog a free pattern at the beginning of each month. This is September's pattern. The first red and white I have made. Such a change to piece and not applique. Before I started my sewing machine got an oil and clean and a needle change. It worked beautifully. I have had my Bernina 440 about 3 years and I still love how smooth it runs and how even the stitches are over seams.

Now to sandwich and quilt.

The Sun has been Shining

I took my camera out into the garden while the sun was shining. I am amazed that at the start of Spring I have so much flowering. The first photo shows the Spider Magnolia, a soft pink with a delicate flower. The deep pink flowers are a Salvia. It only flowers through the Winter and is 7' to 8' tall. I think the birds have been trying to get nectar from the flowers because a number of the stems are leaning well over.

The blue Echiums are out and will be buzzing with bees soon.

The Camellia bush was here when we moved in and all I've ever done to it, is a heavy prune every second year.

This is a flowering Almond, all for show, once a year. The netting below is an extension to the vegie garden and it's the only way we've  managed to keep the possums out. 

This is my Blueberry bush. It usually sits on the verandah but I moved it while the blossom is out so I don't knock it off and lose the fruit.

and my Cyclamen sitting outside my sewing room window.

New Header

September has arrived and  my header photograph was due for a change.This is called Lila's quilt. Made for my DIL. She loves red. I am going to add the photo of the backing.I couldn't resist it because she was nursing at the time.

Quilts in the Barn 2

Here are a few more photos of Jo Morton's quilts at the Barn. I was back on Sunday helping out and the weather was just glorious. Not quite as busy as Friday but a steady stream of visitors to see the quilts. A lot of familiar faces and some new ones too.  

Isn't the cheddar and blue wonderful together? and the little baskets.

So many to look at again and again.

This Quilt belonged to Megan. It is a Karen Cunningham design but made with Jo's fabrics. The photo doesn't do it justice. It was vibrant.

This tumbler quilt hung at the entrance to the Barn. It belongs to Linda and is made with Jo's fabrics. Just beautiful.

 Linda will let us know what was raised for Breast Cancer Research when she tallies it up.  Next year, I believe we are having our own Red and White quilt show.