Months of Stitches - Piggies, Liberty and Minky

My Piggies Quilt Top was finished just on a year ago.

Well now the back is done too.

I hand stitched the whole thing in white perle cotton.

It is still a mass of too many colours but I love this quilt and think I might have to save it for a special baby of the future. The patches are all my favourite fabrics. The backing is from Ikea. I think it was a child's sheet. They had a few great designs when I bought it but this one isn't available any more.

The binding is on too but I forgot to take a photo of it.

Whilst I was working on the piggies, I started a new quilt.

I bought these fabrics, and a few others, in a sale pack. They are Liberty prints. When they arrived, I was a little disappointed in them and packed them away. They have been quietly waiting for some inspiration for years!

Well finally it came. The idea was to match them with various background pale blue colours. I want the blues to vary but not by much.

I am happy with the way they have worked but I have run out of the Liberties and the blues and I need more. I have hardly bought any new fabrics for ages and am trying to work through what I have but I think I will have to lash out to finish this off.

Maybe I need to reconfigure it.

Anyway I had to put it on the back burner because my friend Rivka brought two more of her quilts to finish after having them quilted professionally.

This first one is huge!

Big enough to wrap around a couple of people at once. It is a mighty 3mt x 2mt.

 Backed with hot pink minky and quilted all over with hearts.

It is so warm and cuddly.

The colours are totally wild.

Rivka made the bulk of the blocks and I just put in the sashings, a few extra blocks and the binding.

I real team effort.

Sometimes it is sad to see a quilt go home but I am glad Rivka is finally keeping this quilt for herself. I think I have made her around 8 quilts now and she has always generously given them to her friends as gifts.

Here is a peek of the second quilt. I am loving the black and white binding.

A Blues Weekend

After much procrastination I got stuck into the back of my husband's recycled shirt quilt.

This is the front, completed months ago.

 And here is the back so far.

The problem is that I like the back as it is, so I am contemplating making it into a new quilt.

The second problem with it is that if I keep it as a back for the original quilt, I will have to make it into a rectangle and I am not sure how I will add to it.

I guess that means another few months of thinking ahead of me!

Another job done this weekend has the been the final stitching of the binding onto the Parson Gray Quilt I made ages ago.

I loved the Denyse Schmidt backing, I used it for the binding as well. It is so sharp!

Craft and Quilt Fair

I went to the fair today with a few ideas of what I wanted to do. I had seen a You Tube Video on paper piecing that mentioned an "add a quarter ruler" that is supposed to be very useful for foundation piecing so I bought one of those as well as some other bits and pieces that I haven't taken photos of; linen to knit, a fat 1/8th and some handbag handle clips. We will see whether they ever turn into something.

I always look forward to seeing the quilts but I didn't feel the love this year. There were the usual hand pieced masterpieces that I admire but will never attempt.

Made between 1820- 1830 in the UK

Irish Circle by Helen Collins of Wodonga

Chrysoberyl by Bronwyn van't Hoff

Cheltenham by Sonia Higgs

Birdsong in the Black Forest by Lisa Anderson

Sanity Saver By Sonia Higgs

And this was pretty cool - a quilt called Broken Dishes that was made by Michelle Bardwell and linked back to Nifty Quilt's blog for the tutorial.

There were also some crazy knitted tea cosies by Loani Prior

 Princess Beatrice

 Princess Eugenie

If you are into tea cosies, Laoni has written a couple of gorgeous books called 'Really Wild Tea Cosies'

And after all of that I went home to test out my new quilter's ruler.

I used a template designed by Ayumi from Pink Penguin.

It worked but it is a messy business!

I also watched the You Tube video again on paper piecing. How good it it?

You want to learn something new and sure enough it is on the web.

I have been stitching and knitting lots but the blogging has practically stopped.

I'm just a lazy girl these days - sorry.

Here are some pictures:

Stitch Day

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend a day stitching, eating, and sharing ideas with some very talented patchworkers at Cathy's house. Cathy is the author of Cabbage Quilts and not only an especially clever quilter but also the most generous of hosts.

Here are some of the Show and Tell items I was privileged to see:

 by Patch Andi

Louise

 Meredithe

I so loved the colours and layout of this happy quilt.

This medallion quilt is a pattern designed by Judy (and made here by Deb) so you can order it online through Judy's blog.

Deb

Cathy

This fun quilt has been published in a recent quilt magazine so you can probably find out where to get the pattern via Cathy's blog

 There were 4 of the cutest pin cushions on show. I think Louise has some patterns available.

Judy

This beauty might just come out as a pattern so keep your eyes on Judy's blog.

Some were works in progress and a few, unfortunately, I haven't attributed to anyone because I just met Glenda and  Janine and I forget who made what! I am the worst with names.

Thank you Cathy for a wonderful day.

I really do enjoy the chance to catch up with people who share my passion in textiles.

Shopping Therapy and Sewing

I've been running at top speed this week, getting to know my new students and trying to catch up with the massive amount of paperwork that has been thrown my way. This weekend has been my chance to catch up so after typing up a few things for school I noticed that all the emails I had written in the last 2 weeks were still sitting in my Outbox! We changed internet providers during my absence and I hadn't set it up properly so I am sorry to anyone I haven't replied to. I really did say hi and the email has now been sent.

I am a girl that thrives on retail therapy but not the usual girlie therapy. I do like new things to wear but the best new things for me are in the way of textiles.

Although I probably have about 10 projects incomplete and awaiting my attention, I decided another wouldn't go astray. I just had to do it.

It's not a patchwork project that I needed but a woollen one, despite the high temperatures we are  enjoying in Melbourne at the moment. 

The wool is a gorgeous Rowan Felted Tweed and it knits up beautifully.

The thing about knitting is that it is extremely transportable.

I'm not doing the thing on the cover, just a little cardigan - I hope.

I don't want it to be another case of a half done project.

In India, my sister bought a beautiful patch worked bag, which was missing a strap.

I was lucky enough to find a woven strap from Zigu Zagu in Malvern and attached it to the bag.

If you live in Melbourne this is a 'must go to' place.

It has the most fabulous range of Japanese fabrics and lots of other interesting textile things.

The strap came from a box of oddments (treasures).

I have bought cotton kimonos from here in the past and pulled them apart and then used the fabric for some quilt backing. Cheap and easy to do.

The other thing I wanted to show you was I did manage to finish my little Malka Dubrawsky Quilt before I went overseas.

 I just machine quilted it with wavy lines and backed it with the same check fabric that I used for the border.

I was so much more organised at the end of the year than I am now.

I think I am always in a state of panic at the beginning of the school year.

Can't wait till I calm down and get back into rhythm.