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

A Teaser

 As you will see I have changed my header photo.....can't show you the whole quilt until I get the binding on!  It is made but not attached.  I am on a bit of a go slow for the moment.....just don't seem to have much energy, I'm sure you know the feeling!  Hopefully though, it won't be too far away, since my lovely girl is chomping at the bit to get the quilt on her bed.

Lucky I have a couple of Caswell blocks up my sleeve to show you.

  

The one above is my favourite so far.  I'm really happy with the way the vase turned out.

 

 

We have glorious weather in Melbourne right now, so I'm hoping to spend some time outside today, it won't last too much longer.

Have a great day,

Deb

Still chugging along

Sorry for being so ...............well, boring is the word that springs to mind!  But in a good way. Everyone here is still getting on with what they have to do, can't ask for more than that.

Two more Caswell blocks down....I'm going to take a little break from this shortly just to catch up on some other projects.  For example, I have a quilt waiting to picked up from Katrina......yes there will soon be a Ta-Dah post, I'm really looking forward to it.  Especially since I have another ready to give Katrina, how exciting.

Thanks Merri for donating the glorious red flower fabric.

 

I have also been doing a little knitting now that the cooler weather has kicked in.  I have to say I'm really enjoying knitting again after I lost the knitting mojo some years ago.  Now that my kids are happy to wear handknits again (and their friends covet them too) I'm finding it great fun.

Here is one of my best creations, wearing my latest creation.

Ain't she sweet? I love you gorgeous girl.

I hope your life is pleasantly normal too,

Deb

No news is good news

I really have nothing  to tell you, but the blocks are mounting up so I thought I would get some photos up.

We have all been very excited about Di's new book, she flies out today to go to Nantes for the Quiltmania launch.  I'm sure she will have a great time in France (well how could you not). We had a wonderful day at CAG last week  for the Australian launch.  Have a look at the Threadbear blog for more info about that.

Otherwise life continues to move forwards in a normal way, work is busy and my two wonderful children are studying hard(ish).

The boy child will be playing at the Melbourne Jazz Festival which is rather exciting, and the girl child is working towards her first performance for the year.

In my spare time, I have been working mainly on Caswell still.

I tampered with the pattern a little on the one above, so it if it is different to yours, don't be concerned!

George III is also coming along, but I must admit to neglecting it a little.  I have two more blocks that I might try and finish before the next mail out. That would be me, up to date, ARE YOU SERIOUS? That's a precedent I may not want to set.

 

 OK, a Tarte Tatin needs my attention.  Have a delicious week.

Deb

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have this beautiful book in my hands! My lovely friend Di dropped a copy in to me this morning, and I have spent some time today feasting on the glorious pictures within.  To me, of course, they are more than pictures, but rather memories from the past 20 years, starting back when I took my first class with Di at Primarily Patchwork.  At that time I was a newish mum, with not many female friends around, and without a clear idea of where my life was headed.

Di's shop was an oasis for me, somewhere I could be just myself and indulge in the process of creating gorgeous quilts.  Of course I was awed by the Primarily Patchwork quilts. Di seemed to be able to conjure something beautiful out of nothing - putting together fabrics in a way that was magical.

The book also holds the promise of things to come. As I was reading through today I was planning which quilt I would make next, and the next one, and the one after that.  My first choice is "Miss Porter", I remember fondling it when Di was making it (I even tried to sneak it out in my bag but I got sprung, lol!). I have a bag of blue and brown goodies all ready to go.

I still count my blessings that the Secret Sewing Sisterhood formed at the shop before Di retired, and this group of women, with Di at the heart, have become so important to me.

It's a beautiful book, reflecting the beautiful person that Di is. Congratulations Di, may you be reprinted many times!

Happy Easter,

Deb

Bird Dance Takes Flight

Well it took a little while to wing its way to me, but the first installment of the new Sue Spargo BOM, Bird Dance, eventually flew the coop and has landed here.

When Sue said that the backgrounds would be neutral, I was so hoping for grey rather than beige, and I'm happy to say that grey they are!  Or some would say taupe.  Whatever they are, they are glorious.

Each block is six inches square and each is embellished in a different way. Beautiful pieces of linen, ribbon and ric rac, make each background special and unique.  Indeed, they could make a rather gorgeous wallhanging without further addition.

My other project pictured here, is George III, another two blocks completed.

The one above started in Bali, the one below went to Bali in pieces and came back in the same pieces! I'm always overly ambitious with what I can do on holiday, are you?

 I had a wonderful day yesterday with my sisters.  We all went off to Sue's an hour and a half drive from Melbourne.  Sue has a lovely house, one of the most welcoming that I know.  Thanks Sue.  We were surprised by a sneak preview of something rather marvelous.  Keep your eye open over at SSS to find out what that might be.

 I hope you're enjoying your weekend too!

Happiness always,

Deb