Two Down and a Quilt Show

The Olympics are on and combined with the football I had a very TV stitch weekend.

The binding was finished for x +.

I'm so happy with this little quilt, especially now that it is finished. All the pain has gone!

The next quilt caused very little pain but I don't care for it half as much.

I backed it with some Michael Miller fabric and just used plain navy for the binding.

It's been machine quilted but I think I may do some extra quilting by hand inside the squares.

Today was the last day of the Melbourne Quilt Show.

The best thing that happened was that before we even entered some lovely ladies came up to us and gave us 2 free tickets!

It was fun to stroll through the aisles. Lots of fabric, lots of beautiful wool. I was tempted but did not succumb. 

The quilts on display were quite traditional. It was a bit exciting to see an Olga Walters designed Alice In Wonderland quilt. Unfortunately I lost the name of the quilter.

This was the first quilt class I ever took.

Mine was nowhere near as detailed and neat as this but it was really fun to see that some of the stencils I used in mine and the whole layout of the quilt was the same.

I remember a girl in the class saying that once you get into quilting you will be totally addicted. 

I didn't believe her at the time.

Of all the quilts on show, I thought this one was really clever. I think it was designed by Margaret Drayton and stitched by Anne Sushames.

The compass blocks were all different and each one had a marine icon in the centre. The background fabric was a very faded, old world map. I loved the way she made some of the blocks elongated. I have been fascinated by these types of blocks for a while and am trying to work out a way to make them using freezer paper.

Here are some other mini quilts that caught my eye.

Off to the Vegie Bar in Brunswick Street for some dinner now.

Yum, a great way to finish a fun weekend.

Binding and Stitching x +

The thing about small quilts is that they are really easy to stitch and bind.

I used some lime pearl 8 which I found in my basket of colours.

I could do lots more stitching but the basics will have to do for now since I have 3 more quilts still waiting to be done.

The next thing to do was to chose some binding. I had green in mind initially but no matter how hard I tried to use fabric from my own stash, nothing seemed to be right.

A quick dash to Amitie and I had the best match in hand.

It was funny because I couldn't see anything and Judy picked up a couple of things and then grabbed these stripes that went ZING! 

We both went "Wow!" because the fabric practically sang to us.

The photos don't do it justice. The binding is only half on but I couldn't wait to photograph it.

Baby Capri received her blanket this weekend.

The backing was with Anna Marie Horner Velveteen - so yummy.

It's been a beautiful weekend of fine weather and I'm feeling a lot better after a hectic week back at school.

A Driving Weekend

Lots of driving happened this weekend but not by me.

Having driving children means my car is always in demand.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be a passenger and navigator for Judy from A Very Fine House. We drove down the coast to Treehouse Textiles in Merricks North.

We met up with Cathy from Cabbage Quilts and Deb from Dee-Zone to explore the goodies they sell at Treehouse, have a chat with Emma who runs this beautiful enterprise, and exclaim over the idyllic workspace they have there, overlooking the lake, whilst teaching crochet, stitching and patchwork.

Lucky for us it didn't rain because I believe the little lake can flood right over the road.

Another drive (following Deb) to the Bay side of the Peninsula found us in Somers where we had a yummy lunch and then a quick visit to Cathy's. It's always a wonder and inspiration seeing what Cathy is making and she was so patient when we practically opened every quilt she had and asked a million questions. Thanks Cathy.

We took the scenic beach road home and then, being all inspired, I was able to get a few hours of stitching in as I watched my recording of Pride and Prejudice from the other night.

It was  a lovely day out.

Today was another passenger day.

My friend from school picked me up and we went to the Collingwood Children's Farm and met another teacher and his family. Anyone with kids will love this inner city haven when they can get up close and friendly with farm animals right by the Yarra River.

Next door the market was on at the Abbotsford Convent.

Lunch 

Need I say more?

As for stitching, the last 2 weeks has been mostly about pinning and basting.

I can't believe I go back to work tomorrow.

Capri's Blanket

I have been working on this for a while but it is now time to put the back and binding on because the stitching is finished.

It is for my great niece Capri, cousin of Summer.

The blankets are like twins.

I'm not sure how practical the loose monkey arms and lion ears will be but time will tell.

I also received a delivery from the postman today.

The main reason I put in a order was for the Kaffe woven cotton on the bottom of the pile.

I tried to buy some in Melbourne but no one seemed to have it.

Unfortunately postage has gone up so much from the US, I decided I had to fill my allowable weight with more fabric so most of it was stuff that I needed. 

The coffee pots will make some oven gloves I hope.

The Parson Gray is to compliment the blocks I've already started for a new project.

I do like getting postal deliveries of fabric. It feels like my birthday. I could get addicted to it so maybe it is lucky US postage is increasing and local fabric prices are decreasing.

Placemats and New Fabric

My youngest son is overseas and every so often he goes to stay with some cousins. I thought I would like to send something over there as a sign of our appreciation for taking care of him. I asked what they might like and he suggested new placemats. Earthy colours to go on a timber table. I like these and I also don't like them. It is so hard to guess whether what you've made is okay when you have to give it to someone you have never met and never visited.

I'll think about it a while and then decide.

My other son, who met them last year, said they will like anything I make because I made it but I just want to get it right. Maybe I'll get him to take some photos of the kitchen and living rooms so I have a better idea.

In the meantime, with weather absolutely freezing outside, I started planning and stitching up some backing fabric.

Some lovely light voile to offset the heaviness of all the linen.

I think this is a Michael Miller fabric.  A very buzzy quilt.

Brown flowers for the x + quilt.

Another busy one.

And some snippets of fabric that I bought because it was on sale.

Most of it is by Parson Gray, Amy Butler's hubby.

Can you tell I'm on holidays?