Ch-ch-ch-changes

David Bowie said that. 

If there is one constant it is change.....not sure who said that.....but it is true, don't you agree?

The change here is that I no longer have school children....no more notices....meetings...books....excursions....lunches to make.  And best of all, exams are over, at least for now!

The air is somehow clearer and stress levels have decreased quite a bit (both mine and the lovely girl who made it through a rather stressful year. Well done I say).

She is one HAPPY GIRL..................and now  having fun and planning her 18th birthday party which is just around the corner.

The boy child is also having fun, but not here....he's in London or maybe in Italy by now taking an intensive music course.  So lucky!  But I miss him already and he won't be back until February.  

As I said - changes.

And me - well I've been in and out a little and about to head back out tomorrow, so I thought I would post a couple of pictures before I go.

First up, the last two Caswell Blocks.  All done now and waiting for a border.

 

Second, the centre panel for Ann Dagg. Poor legless birds!  These were a bit tricky.....not sure what I will do about that yet, until I figure it out, they will have to keep flying.

 And last but not least, the final block of Imperial Blooms.  It has been sitting on my desk for close to a year...I was dreading attempting the fluffy bit in the middle. In the end it wasn't too scary and came out OK.

Have to dash........see you when I get back.

Deb

A New Start

and it's zipping along.

I decided to start Ann's Legacy since - well obviously it's beautiful - but also because I had pretty much all the ingredients ready to go.

The centre panel is coming together really nicely........I am only using what I have in my stash which expanded considerably while I was sewing Phebe and Caswell.

My Caswell blocks are now finished...except for the embroidery which I will do as I sew it all together.  I still have to get my head around the border.....it has been too busy at work to get some head space for this creative process.....but hopefully soon.  Here are Blocks 27 and 28.

I have two quilts to bind before I can show them to you.  I hope to get them done before the end of the year, but I have quite a lot on before then, so who knows.

My lovely girl is well and truly in the VCE exam period so things are a little tense.  She kicked off well with a really great drama exam performance and took out the Drama Award at the Valedictory. She really deserved it - she puts her heart and soul into it!  Two weeks to go and the school kid phase of her life ends - for both of us!  I think it will take some getting used to.

Happy days,

Deb

Glamour Attack!!

 It doesn't seem that long ago that my daughter started school...and then high school seems like five minutes ago.  So it was a bit surreal last Friday when the school formal took place.  A few friends came over for pre-party partytime!

So many gorgeous girls!  And here she is, almost all grown up, with her very cute beau.

 They had a great time and are now busy studying for wretched exams.  Not long to go sweeties!

 On the sewing front, another two Caswell blocks have been completed. I like the first

 but the second might get some reverse sewing before it is set into the top.  It's a little plain...needs some pizazz!

 

 My mind has started to wander far and wide, thinking about what project will be next. And as my mind wanders, my feet wander in and out of fabric stores seeking inspiration.....which I always find in the form of a collection of fabrics that end up in my bag (lol).

Hmmmmmm...............I wonder what's cooking!   These would be perfect for Worthing Downs (Megan Carrol, available from Threadbear).......but I also have a pile that has been waiting to become Ann's Legacy (Di Hall, published in Primarily Quilts available from Threadbear) for some time.  So I think Ann wins.

 I have also been collecting Chintz's to start Love Entwined (see link on side bar) which is gorgeous too.

Too many beautiful choices......better get those fingers flying!

I hope you are lucky enough to have too many beautiful choices too!

Peace,

Deb

The end is near

on the Caswell quilt main blocks.  Tonight I start number 29 (out of 30) so I figure in a couple of weeks I'll be done.

I'm giving myself a High Five! for sticking to one project.....you know I'm easily distracted, but I have learnt the value of finishing a project so I was determined to keep the blinkers on.

Now don't get me wrong.....it does not mean that I haven't been musing, thinking and planning....far from it.  I have too many things to choose from, goodness knows which one will become the next project.

But, and the but is large, before that, I need to decide what to do with the Caswell border.

You see although I think that the original border is beautiful in it's simplicity and elegance, I can't help feeling I need to give it a little something extra.  More work, but I think it deserves it.

So watch this space....................who knows what will happen.

In the meantime, here are a couple of the blocks I have finished and not had a chance to post.

Until next time , happy sewing,

Deb

A quick post

 is a good post! Or at least, better than no post.

There is little news from my corner of Melbourne.  We are all head down and moving forward through normal work/school activities, hoping for some warmer weather and trying to eek out a little time to do the things we love.

I have only a few months left of being a parent of a school child!  Come November, my lovely girl will be a graduate and looking forward to pursuing her interests in drama.  At the same time my music boy will be heading off to Italy for a jazz course and travelling in Europe. So lots of exciting things to look forward to.

Having finished a new quilt - it was time to spruce up an old one.  I made this quilt quite a few years ago.  It was foundation pieced and hand quilted.  Yes...I do occasionally hand quilt, but I am not very good at and I don't enjoy it that much.

I have the George III quilt on a bit of a go slow, but managed to get another circle completed during the week.  I am a bit behind!

And my next two Caswell blocks.  Not too many to go!  In fact I'm so close to being done with the blocks I'm starting to think about the border.  Might do something different from the original pattern.

I'm not getting around to responding to many comments at the moment I'm afraid.......sorry!  Please know that I value your interest and read all your comments.

Take care,

Deb

Show and Tell

Last week I went to a quilt show in Melbourne and have selected a few of my favourite quilts to show you. As usual it is an eclectic mix!

I do like a thirties quilt, and this one is a stunner.....check the machine quilting!

Yes....you've seen one or two Dear Janes, but these beautiful citrus colours give the quilt a real ZING in mho.

And if you think Sonia isn't working quite hard enough, KAPOW!

A beautiful version of our Di's Burnt quilt.

Carolyn Konig's amazing version of the Sundial Quilt.

A  Red and Green Classic. 

This is a glorious version of the Mary Brown quilt.

 

And this rather pretty quilt with the sweet Ric Rac border.

Plenty of eye candy don't you think?

I'm never quite sure what the Quilt Show etiquette is in terms of displaying great work.  I will always try to acknowledge the maker by attaching their details, and if the maker wants me to remove a picture I will. But this is my way of saying....fabulous work ladies!  What do you think?

Cheers

Deb

Ruby, Scarlet, Rouge...........

whatever word you choose to use to describe the colour red is OK with me....I love it!  And red is an absolute favourite with the sisters too.

When my daughter decided she would paint one of the walls of her room red and chose a beautiful red carpet to go with it, I knew I needed to make a quilt to match.  Of course it has taken way too long to finish the quilt, but better late then never I say!

 The quilt I chose to make is called Indiana Starburst.  The pattern is by an Australian designer, Michelle Yeo.  It is all machine pieced.  I used fabrics from the Sturbridge Scarlet collection which was such a gorgeous and varied group it didn't need much else.

Here are a couple of close ups so you can see Katrina's wonderful quilting.

 

And one from the back so you can see some more detail.

Thanks Katrina, for making my quilt come to life!

Oh yes, thank you Clover for making beautiful red binding clips that match my quilt (lol).

They are the best binding clips I have ever used - truly - and so pretty.

I think she likes it.

Peace and Happiness,

Deb

Where did June go?

I really did plan to come back and post in June, truly, but somehow it disappeared right before my eyes!

With many work commitments taking up my time I have had little time to sew so not much to show you.  I have had quite a few nights out of the house and a short trip to New Zealand ....which is lovely....wish I could have stayed for a bit of touristing.

I haven't yet bound the red and white quilt, though I did square it up this afternoon, so hopefully I will sew the binding on tomorrow.

I have finished the next pair of Caswell blocks

 

love the red bird!

 

I finished sewing "the bag".  I really didn't need a bag but I saw the Amy Butler Weekend Bag and got the bug.

To be honest I'm not much of a sewer, and this bag was hard and fiddly. It took a lot more time than I thought it would. But it's finished and it's CUTE but far from perfect.

The pattern doesn't have much internal division. I added a pocket to the bag and bought these

to help me keep things in order. Overall I'm happy..........and glad it's finished.

The last thing for today is another sneak peek.........thank you Katrina for the beautiful quilting you have sewn on this quilt. You are an artist!  The more I look the more I see.

If you would like to see more before I get a chance to post about Sallie Ann, do visit Katrina's blog.

That's it for today....my fingers need to do something!

Deb

This is all

that's left from my latest project!  I would show you a photo of the finished garment, but when the boy child got up last Sunday, I said - "I finished your jumper" and with a big "Thanks Ma" he put it on and hasn't had it off since!  Well that sure is appreciation.  

Apart from that it has been a few slow weeks. Lots of work and things keeping me out at night.

 

 A couple more Caswell blocks have been finished.  The one above has leaves from hell!

And another George III circle made its appearance.

 Oh yes, I decided to make a bag....here's one of the panels......so much work....more later.

So as you can see, I've been flitting around from one thing to another which has been great fun.

I hope you are also having some fun flitting,

Cheers

Deb