Heigh-Ho Silver!!

Another old friend recently had her third baby, a boy. I chose a Western theme for his quilt, because his parents have spent some time in the USA. Plus I fell seriously in love with Michael Miller's Westward Ho print - see the border print.


My sister took up the challenge to find other retro-styled cowboy prints when she visited the Quilting and Craft Show in Melbourne. A few days after her trip there, I received a package of samples of a couple of different Michael Miller prints, along with the business cards from the suppliers.

I set about searching for more, without a clear idea of what I was going to do. But another package from my sister, containing fat quarters of all kinds of western prints, put an end to my search.


I decided on a simple design, to let the fabrics do the talking. Once I'd done the centre panel, I laid it out next to my beloved Westward Ho, and found it lacking. A quick trip to my local fabric store for some plain blue broadcloth for an inch-wide border, and I was happily pulling it all together.

The binding is a simple yellow stars on a red background.



This cot-sized quilt was quilted in the ditch.

Beginning The Dinosaur Quilt

Master Eight wants a dinosaur quilt, as I have mentioned before. I have been searching for fabrics with dinosaurs with very little luck. None of the local stores stock any such thing, unless I was wanting cute dinosaurs. Which I am not. I was starting to get antsy about it, as I neared completion of the two projects I am working on, when I happened upon some dinosaur fabric on eBay. I took the plunge, and made my first ever fabric purchase online.



I have ordered some more through etsy, and am expecting it to arrive within the next day or so. I'm feeling quite bold.

And inspired. I plan to team the dinosaur prints with some jungle-type prints. But that's about as far as I have gotten in terms of an actual pattern or design. Still, actually having some real fabric to start with has given The Dinosaur Quilt new life.

In the meantime, I have used some flannelette I had in my stash to make this baby quilt. It is a very simple design, but has turned out quite well, I think.



It is backed with a plain red flannelette, and is soft and snuggly, and just right for playtime on the floor, or just cuddling up under.

A Whole World of Beautiful Things

I have recently become a devotee of etsy, a wonderful website, where talented artists and craftspeople can set up an online store and sell their creations. There are painters, knitters, makers of jewellery, and toys and pretty much anything else you can think of that people might be creating be it professionally, or as hobbyists. Some stores have 5 items in them, some have dozens.

I have just spent an evening trawling through some listings after I dropped by to leave feedback for a painting I purchased. I am awestruck by the creativity and talent of people! It will make Christmas shopping a joy and a breeze - especially for those hard-to-buy for friends and relatives!

Just out of interest I did a search on "Patchwork Quilts" and came up with 1482 items, ranging from completed quilts, to fat quarters, to patterns, to other items such as bags, coaster and toys.

Still, I don't really need another time-waster...

Arrgghhh!

Frustrations abound! I finished the last block of six for the lap quilt I am making, only to discover I have two blocks which are substantially larger than the other four. How did this come about, I hear you ask. Well, it all started with the 1/4 inch foot that isn't. I cut my fabric carefully, according to the pattern I am following, and sewed it meticulously using my 1/4 inch foot. After the first few blocks ended up not quite square, I tested the 1/4 inch to find that the 1/4 inch seam was, in fact, more like a 3/8 inch seam, and my blocks just didn't work properly.


So, on the last two blocks, I did away with the 1/4 inch foot, and taped a masking tape guide onto my machine so that my seams are an accurate 1/4 inch. The end result is two blocks that are at least an inch larger than the original four.

No matter. I decided that instead of a rectangular lap quilt, I would make a square lap quilt using the four smaller blocks, and 2 matching cushions, using the larger blocks.

Onward and upward. I found a fat quarter of some fabric to use as sashing between the blocks, and some more to use as a contrasting binding. Only I didn't have enough of either, and the store I purchased them from was in the middle of moving and had packed away all their quilting supplies!

Last week, I worked on a flannellette baby quilt instead. I don't know if I will give this one to one of my pregnant friends, or donate it to somewhere, but it's warm, bright and is giving me confidence again!

That and I was able to source some more of the sashing and binding fabrics, so I feel I can move along with the lap quilt and cushions now.

Back in the Saddle

Last Tuesday was one of those days when I really just wanted to stay indoors. It was colder than cold, windy and raining. But, alas, it was also a day I had appointments, preschool drop off, school pick-up and playgroup. I seemed to be in and out of the car all day.

But, it was also quilting night, and even though it was icy outside, I wasn't about to miss that after 2 weeks off! H's house, where I go every Tuesday night, with my trusty Janome and a bag of fabric, is not far from my house. In fact, the time it takes to get there is about the same amount of time it takes the heater in my car to kick in! So, I arrived at 7.30pm, sewing machine, sewing box and project bag in my icy cold hands, and was welcomed in from the cold. H said she half expected that I would ring and cancel due to the cold.

So, in the 2 hours we have, I managed to finish another block - number 4 of 6. Hopefully, this week I'll finish another one and get a good start on the 6th one. Then I'll have the sashing and borders to work out. Hopefully, I can get it done by the end of August.

My Cup Runneth Over...

I thought I had my next project all lined up. My eldest son, just turned 8, is dinosaur mad, and I am planning to make him a dinosaur quilt. Then, in the space of a fortnight, 2 friends have announced pregnancies and suddenly, the dinosaur quilt must make way for baby quilts.

Both friends are due in February or thereabouts, and neither are going to find out the sex of their baby until it is born. My plan at the moment is to make one baby quilt and hold off on doing one for the other baby until after they are born. Then I'll make a single-bed sized one for their first birthday. In the meantime, I might make something else quick and easy for when the baby is born.

In other news, today we are back into our routine of school, kindergarten and my regular Tuesday night quilting session. I haven't done anything on L's quilt since the holidays started, and have only had the machine out once to make this skirt for my daughter.


My mother knitted the cardigan, and we needed something to wear with it!


A bit of background on L's quilt. Last year, we had a family holiday to Sydney and Canberra, complete with bucketloads of photographs. The very kind, and very talented L kindly offered to make a scrapbook of our holiday for me, and the result is a beautiful thing indeed! In return for L's generosity and kindness, I am making a snuggle quilt for her. Hopefully it'll be finished soon - although it's Summer for her right now, so I guess I have some time before she really needs it!

Forced Hiatus

School holidays are once more upon us, and with them the disruption to our normal routine. This is both wonderful, and terrible.

I love not having to rush everyone in the mornings - it's almost 10am, and none of the kids are dressed, for example - and the break from doing both school and kindergardten drop-off and pick-up is more than welcome!

However, my kid-free time is restricted to after they're in bed of an evening, and I probably won't get much quilting done then. Also, my Tuesday night quilting session takes a break over the holidays, though I may still set up my machine and try to do some anyway.

In the meantime, my creative outlet has turned to knitting beanies, which I can do in front of the TV without disturbing anyone. I've been knitting for more years than I care to remember, yet somehow, had never knitted a beanie until last week. My daughter needed a beanie, so I picked up some cheap yarn in shades of pink, and off I went! My first effort looks great, but is, unfortunately, a little too small, so I currently have a larger version of the same on the needles.