Pets on Quilts Show

Just a quick post tonight.  I came across this little linky party that I thought would be fun.  It's the annual Pets on Quilts Show hosted by Lily Pad Quilting.

Here is Lizzie doing what she does best......

Bless her.

If you want to see some other animals doing cute things with quilts then head on over to Lily Pad.

Salt Air Summer in the Park Quilt

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I posted anything!  Must still be in holiday mode, although despite only being home for a week, our time in Port Elliot seems forever ago.  Why is that always the way with holidays?  They seem to exist in a bubble.  You return home and it feels like you never left.

Even though there have been crickets chirping on my blog I have been going full throttle in the craft room.  This weekend I am teaching three quilts at a workshop and have been busily writing patterns and making the last quilt. It's not quilted yet so I have some rather glamourous shots of it hanging from my clothesline, and without further ado, here it is.

I made this quilt from the Summer in the Park video by Missouri Star Quilt Company and have written a wee pattern to accompany the video, which I will share with you in a couple of weeks.  

The fabric is Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket for Moda and it is just gorgeous.  So fresh and summery.  It's not a fabric I would usually go for but let me tell you a story (not a very interesting one, but stick with me - there's a giveaway at the end :-)).

I originally bought an Amy Butler Gypsy Caravan design roll because I REALLY liked a couple of the fabrics in the range, but when I unravelled the design roll and started to organise the fabrics in readiness to make this quilt  I decided that, although they are gorgeous, the range just wasn't cohesive enough for the Summer in the Park quilt.

And, as it turned out I needed 33 jelly roll strips to make this quilt and the Amy Butler design roll only has 30.  I was determined to make this quilt while we were on holiday so I made a special trip to The Quilt Basket in Victor Harbor in search of a new jelly roll.  When I got there, there were only about five to choose from so in desperation I grabbed the Salt Air jelly roll and I'm so glad I did because it is perfect for this quilt. 

 

As it turns out, I didn't even take the cover off my sewing machine while I was away,  I was too busy drinking tea on the verandah.  So the mercy dash to Victor was completely unnecessary - but, if I hadn't gone, I would never have bought this fabulous fabric, and that would have been a shame!

So, now for the giveaway.  I have one, slightly used, Amy Butler Gypsy Caravan design roll to giveaway to a good home.  There are only (27) 2 1/2" strips because I did use a few before I changed my mind.  If you would like to enter the giveaway just leave a comment telling me your favourite place for a holiday.  I will close the giveaway on Tuesday, 7th of August 2012, at 5pm Central Australian Time and draw a winner at random. 

I am linking up with Quilt Story and Freshly Pieced as usual, so head on over and spread the love!

Jewel Box Finished!

Although I am in uber holiday mode and have stitched the sum total of nothing over the past few days - despite dragging my Pfaff along for the trip - I managed to get my Jewel Box finished before we left.

As usual, Mum quilted it for me but I can't remember the name of the panto she used.  It's pretty though.  (Holiday brain!)

As usual I'm linking up to Freshly Pieced and Quilt Story.  I hope you all have a lovely week.

Port Elliot

At the moment my family and I are on holiday in Port Elliot on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia.  This morning we went for a walk along the coastline and I thought I'd share a few pictures, after all it's not every day you spot a whale going about her business while you stroll along!

Although it's Winter here the days have been lovely and sunny and the temperature today is 19 degrees (according to the temp guage in our car anyway).  We started our walk along the Harbour Master's Walk which extends from Horseshoe Bay through a lovely garden and around to Port Elliot Beach.  

Not a shabby view really.

We sat and watched the waves crash on the rocks for a while and then we noticed something in the distance.

Oh hello!  It's a Southern Right Whale!  We watched her splashing about for about an hour.

And then we waved goodbye.

All in all a pretty amazing morning!

Double Hourglass Quilt Tutorial

Hi Everyone,

Today I finally have a finish to share with you.  After months of adding borders to WIPs and binding, binding, binding, I can now share an actual quilted and bound quilt!

This is a double hourglass quilt that I designed and made using  two Moda Jelly Rolls, one is Hello Luscious and the other is a jelly roll from the Moda Basics range in Porcelain.  This quilt is super quick and easy to piece and you don't need any templates - just a 6 1/2" square ruler with the 45 degree line marked out it.  I have written a pattern/tutorial for it and you can download it here.

I love to go to this local church to photograph my quilts.  I love the colour of the stone work and the rustic old gate is perfect for hanging quilts.  Incidently it is the church my mum got married in.

My mum quilted it for me using a pantograph pattern called 'Cherry Blossom'.  Here is a closeup of the quilting and of my favourite fabric in this line.  Basic Grey, who designed Hello Luscious, have the most gorgeous solids in their collections called 'grunge' and this pink grunge takes the cake, it is GORGEOUS!

 

I hope you enjoy the tutorial, and if you happen to make one of these quilts I would love to see it, so don't be shy - email me a picture!

I am linking up to Quilt Story and Freshly Pieced so head on over and spread the fabric love.

 

Sleigh Bells Ring...Are You Listening?

This week I received a special parcel in the post from the fabulous Australian Homespun.  It contained their latest "Christmas In July" edition of the magazine.  And the thrill for me was that my quilt was on the cover.  Get out of town!!

 

Of all the quilts I have made, this one is among my most favourites.  It's simple and classic and I love every fabric in it.  This is the quilt that turned me on to red fabric. 

I originally blogged about this quilt here and you can read about it and see it hanging in it's unfinished state from my washing line - a far cry from the lovely styling in Homepun!

The magazine is on sale at newsagents now or you can download a copy through Zinio.  As well as my quilt, there is a lovely embroidery pattern by Aneela Hoey, a gorgeous bag by Monica Poole, a cute softie by Melly and Me and patterns from Natalie Bird and Anni Downs.

Thanks again to Catherine and the team at Homespun for their support. 

Where I Sew, or The Room That Ikea Built

Late last year we moved from our small  house (or snuggy as Scarlett called it) to a larger, less snuggy home.  One of the reasons behind our move, other than the fact that we could no longer move, was for the kids and I to have our own space.  Although it is not quite finished I thought I'd join in with "Where I Sew" month at Pink Chalk Studios and show you where the magic happens.

This post is going to be heavy on the photos and Ikea, if you're reading this, I will accept sponsorship.

This is my sewing area, with me on one side of the table and the kids on the other.  The table is a Vika Curry in birch and the filing cabinet which houses all of the kids' craft stuff is a Hemler.  My chair is an Ingolf and the kids have matching Ingolf junior chairs.

 

The shelves above the table are also from Ikea but I can't remember which ones they are.  The wee canvas of the Jessie Wheeler Wilcox painting was a present from my friend Robbie and the love-heart wreath from another friend, Kellie.

                            

 I love this alphabet poster - it was Cavallini and Co wrapping paper that I glued to a piece of cardboard and whacked in a frame from - you guessed it - Ikea!

 

This large Billy Bookshelf with glass doors houses my stash and all of my notions etc.  I recently changed over from large storage tubs to these smaller 5L containers from Kmart.  I find that the larger the tub, the more inclined I am to just shove everything in haphazardly.  My new system is much more organised (this week anyway!)

 

My Kmart containers seem to hold all I need, and I gussied them up by taping some scrapbooking paper to the inside to create a background for me to label them using a whiteboard marker.

                          

Ikea have also got us sorted when it comes to storing the kids' stuff too.  This Trofast unit stores everything from Barbies to blocks to play dough.  And because everything has its place it's really easy to tidy up.  

 

Another view of the Trofast with the pin board I blogged about here hanging above it.

 

This is the view from my sewing table.  I love me a TV show and I am so lucky to have a generous Mum who gave me the old TV from her longarm studio.  It has an inbuilt DVD player so I can crank out the shows I love while I am pushing endless HSTs through the sewing machine.   Underneath the telly is an Expedit unit housing mainly baby toys so that Ethan can get reach what he wants to play with . 

So there you have it.  I am just waiting on a new blind and to replace the light fitting and to paint the walls (at the moment they are a colour I fondly call 1988 grey -it's depressing)  And in the interest of full disclosure, lest anyone think I live a saintly, organised and tidy life.  This is what our play room looks like a good deal of the time....

 

 Mainly due to these two mess makers.

Although the be fair, on closer inspection I do see a quite a lot of fabric strewn around.

Don't forget to visit Pink Chalk Studios and have a nosy around lots of other creative spaces.