The Stitches and Craft Show

Last week I visited the Stitches and Craft Show. I didn't take too many photos. There were lots of beautiful quilts to see, mostly done in the traditional style.

There was a beautiful quilt that followed the Mystery Quilt Blocks from 2012 Quilt Mania magazines designed by Yoko Saito.

This has all been done by needle turn, however, I saw a similar one created by one of the stall holders. Hers was done using vliesofix and just having a raw edge, more my style!
After seeing all the gorgeous fabrics used in the quilts, I couldn't resist buying some fabric from the same stall. They were half price. How could I resist?

They also had a really old quilt on show from Janet O'Dell's Antique Quilt Collection. In the same area they had a whole lot of quilts that were inspired by the antique one. I loved the way they all looked in their rows. Their geometric patterns really popped out when you looked through the lens of a camera at them.

The Crazy Tea Cosy Lady - Loani Prior was at the show again.
I do have a soft spot for her craziness.

It was a fun day out.

Taggies, Kaffe Quilt and Pot Mitts

In a burst of energy, I created a stack of taggies. I have so much Minki to use up. There have been a few babies born to staff at work, grandchildren and acquaintances etc and these are the best little gift to share.

Another job that had been hanging around was the finishing of the binding for one of Rivka's quilts.

I had been staring at the quilt for a couple of months. Half the binding was on, but the last few stitches just never seemed to come.

Here it is, not fully stretched as my husband's arms just couldn't reach all the way to the ends.

Last of all, a pair of pot mitts. My son is moving out with some friends and they just had to have some pot mitts to use in their new kitchen. Every thing in their kitchen is cream and plain so I made these mitts with the plainest linen I could find in my stash. I couldn't resist using the mustard backing though. The glasses are so perfect for my son. He must have lost or broken a dozen pairs of them and although he is far less forgetful these days, they just remind me of him before he grew up and left home.

Quilt Show 2014 and A Dresden and Liberty Quilt

Every year I think that I won't go to the Quilt Show because there is never too much that is different from the previous year but I just can't keep away! As it turned out, I was happy I went because I picked up some gorgeous Yuwa and Keiko Goke fat quarters at a very good price. They were just what I needed to breathe life into a quilt I am making.

My output in all things crafty has been on hold.

Firstly because I have been studying at uni at night and this has caused me to spend way too many hours on my laptop.

Secondly because all the extra time spent studying and typing ( I have a 5000 word essay to hand in during mid May) has given me really, really, bad RSI.

Anyway, the essay is nearly done and I was newly inspired by all the quilts I saw at the show.  My new fabric coupled with the vision I had for the quilt meant I just had to get back on my machine.

I'm really enjoying the way this quilt is developing.

As for the show, I met Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession, bought her new book, had a chat with her, and admired her new range of fabrics.

 Here are some of the quilts I saw

By Pam Holland

Sorry about the 2 ladies in the pic. It was a bit hard to get a shot without someone trying to get a better look at this masterpiece!

 By Alison Withers

 By Pricilla Bianchi

By Jenny Bowker

 By Rosalie Dace

 By Michelle Law

By Wendy Williams

 By Wendy Wiliams

 Detail of above

 Detail from quilt below

by Sue Benner

By Sonia Higgs

Hand pieced and appliqued - truly amazing work!

There were heaps more on show.

So much talent and so much time devoted to these works.

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.

Too Hot

It's another sweltering day in Melbourne.

I went for an early walk while the air was still crisp, practised my new yoga moves, cooked, cleaned, did some school work and finally sat down to do some stitching but now I am just plain hot!

This weather doesn't mix with my internal temperature control. Hot from inside and out. I keep reading about snow and freezing on the other side of the world and it is hard to imagine. 

I machine stitched this quilt a few weeks ago around the main blocks.

Every block is the same but they look so different.

I love that!

 So, before I got too heated up, I hand stitched my first star.

This is the back of the quilt

And here is the front.

I decided to hand stitch the insides of each star rather than keep machine quilting.

There is nothing like using old cotton fabrics. They feel so cuddly and soft from all the wearing.

Holidays are Almost Over

With the holidays drawing to an end, I am looking around me and seeing so many plans still unfulfilled. I'm not complaining though because I have had the most quiet, relaxing, easy holiday in a long time. Being a teacher, I get lots of holidays, unlike when I was in the retail world. I appreciate them totally. These holidays saw knitting projects finished,  and quilts started, finished and in the middle of, and a few other bits and pieces. I had my first yoga class (and found it really hard - BUT I AM NOT GIVING UP!), walked on the beach and around the local parks, met friends, drank coffee, spent time with my family, did the crossword every day, worked a little, cleaned a lot, got accepted into university to study my Masters part time (am I crazy?), bought some great bargains, cleaned out the back veranda (and found a red back spider), read books, tried new recipes and generally did whatever I wanted whenever I felt like it and it was so relaxing and regenerating. 

I guess I am now ready to enter the world of reality and go back to work. 19 new students to get to know, 19 new sets of parents to meet and remember their names. Organised chaos, here we come!

One of my last two projects stitched on the machine has been these oven gloves.

My son wants to take them back to Sydney as a present for his girl friend's family.

I like them now that they are finished but they were a pain to make!

The other one has been quilting the Keiko Goke improv quilt I started with Gwen Marston.

I have just made up the stitching as I have gone along and it has been lots of fun.

I think I know what the binding will be, but I am not 100% so I will leave it for a while and have another look with fresh eyes in my next term break.

Play time for me is over.