A Little Bit of Mary

Yesterday I started this quilt using Mary Engelbreit's Friends and Flowers fabric. I got the inspiration for the design out of a magazine, but after I got my fat quarter bundle I realized the pattern was not at all fat quarter friendly. So, yesterday morning I spent a bit of time redrafting the pattern and adjusting the size to allow me to use my fat quarters and making the quilt larger too. The only problem is that I have to be Very careful cutting since every quarter inch of fabric counts! Hopefully I'll post again soon and keep you updated. I am happy to be working with this fabric--so bright and cheerful after working with darker fabrics as of late...

Putting on Borders

Yesterday I finished putting the final border on my Scrappy Dots quilt and then I got my energy up to have another go at putting the final border on my Peas and Carrots quilt as well! I started this quilt last year and then came to a stand still when I got to putting on the border. It was tricky as the panel blocks were not all the same size and I had to do my best to get them all the same length. Then I had to try to sew it on straight and trim off all the excess. I think it came out reasonably straight and I am happy to have it in the ready to be quilted pile...

Nearly There!

Here is a shot of the progress on my Kaffe Fassett Scrappy Dots quilt. I intend to put the final border on today if all goes well... Unfortunately the colors in this photograph are not very true to life, but at least you can see the gist of it.

40th Birthday!

I haven't been able to post much lately due to computer issues, but I still continue to quilt! I thought I would post a picture of my sweet husband on his 40th cutting the cake! Can I tell you too that he ate most of this cake in only two days! We didn't do much, but I cooked him his favorite beef bourginon and after we cut the cake we played Canasta with his mum and he won, so he was happy to gloat about that for a while. Actually, we were planning to go away for a camping trip over our birthdays, but farm commitments have delayed that so I hope we will still get to go soon. It's a never ending battle with the drought around here!

Also, I have finished my Climbing Jacob's Ladder quilt minus the borders. I so wish I had about a half yard of that turquoise fabric to use in the border, but I can't find it anywhere. I might be able to make a stash batik work--it will really need a pop of color once I put the wider border on. Still searching for the right fabric...

I am currently working on my scrappy dots again and hope to post another picture soon...

Climbing Jacob's Ladder Twice

I'm still waiting for the rest of my scrappy dots fabric to appear in the mail, so in the meantime I've been playing with this collection called Climbing Jacob's Ladder by Moda. And what else should I do with it other than to make a Jacob's Ladder quilt? Hmmm... I'm pretty sure this is a quilt only the creator (me) will love. The Australian quilt police (my Tuesday quilt group ladies) will tell me that there isn't enough contrast. Blah, blah, blah. Really, does everything have to be light and dark? Who makes these rules anyway? Can't we just explore and do what we like?

Lady of the Lake Finished

Aaahh, I managed to do what I set out to do! I've finally finished the border on this Lady of the Lake quilt and have cut out all the circles for the center of my spot quilt. It's been very dreary weather here today, some rain and hopefully more on the way soon. Easy quilting weather--winter will be coming soon!

Gone Dotty

I still need to finish the final border on my Lady of the Lake quilt, but I needed something to take to quilt group to cut as I hate taking my sewing machine and thus I got motivated to start this quilt. This is a design from one of Kaffe Fassett's quilt books--he used spotty 30's prints to make his, but I am using fabrics from an older Judie Rothermel line called Scrappy Dots. For some strange reason I thought that 20 fat quarters and a panel would be enough fabric to make this quilt( 72"x84"), but it isn't! I ordered some more fat quarters so I will be able to finish it though. I was so excited to start this project as it includes applique, which I have never done before. Now that I have my new machine I can blanket stitch which is the look that I like and it was a breeze! I think I will finish cutting out all my dots for the center panel and then finish the border on that Lady of the Lake today...

Lady of the Lake Progress

I thought I would update you on my progress with the Lady of the Lake quilt I have been working on. Here it is without the borders put on yet. I like the scrappy look of this quilt so far and am more pleased with the colors after laying out the blocks than I was while actually sewing the blocks. To be honest, the fabrics were looking boring to me before I got to this stage, but I knew they would be soothing to a lot of people. Don't get me wrong, I do like them, but they are not as wild and crazy as some of the fabrics I have been working with lately. Also, I get irritated with thin fabrics and while I wouldn't exactly say these are thin, they aren't as sturdy and lovely as Moda or Marcus Fabrics, for example. But, I love the pattern/block and am surprised that it was trickier than I thought it would be in that it's hard to get all the little triangles and points to match. Good practice though...

Lady of the Lake

I thought I would show you a picture of what I have been working on the last week and a half. I am not really sure if this is called Lady of the Lake since the triangles don't go all the way around the block, but this is quite close anyway. I decided to work on this project after convincing a woman in my local quilting group to do the same quilt with her blue and white fabrics. She was at a loss at to what design to do with her lovely fabrics and somehow I stuck my nose into it and convinced her on this design. So, I thought that since I had my own fabrics to do this project since August that this was a good chance to get started! I've been zipping along with my new machine and absolutely loving the speed with which I can now sew. And it is so much more accurate having a machine that can sew a quarter inch! How did I ever manage before?

My original inspiration for this project came from looking at a quilt sample in my hometown of Saline, Michigan! Probably the nicest lady ever and the mother of the quilt shop owner made a similar quilt to the one I am planning using these fabrics from Anna Griffin's Sigourney line. She used a plain muslin for the background color, but I am using fabrics from Apple Pie. I can't really bear muslin. If I am going to do all the work I want to know that the fabrics are going to stand up to wear and tear... I hope to post a picture of more progress soon as I want to finish this quilt before quilt group on Tuesday.

A New Sewing Machine!

Well, I have been thinking that it was about time I considered getting a new sewing machine. Here is a photo of my old machine (the top photo) that I have been sewing with the past few years. It is an old Husqvarna 6030 that has been a wonderful workhorse. But, it doesn't sew a 1/4inch seam! It was frustrating that I always had to fiddle to make my 1/4" or not have my points match up! And when I made button holes I had to do it in a very old fashion way. But now my life is changed forever! I really loved my Husqvarna so that was a big reason to decide to go with Husqvarna again. It's something I know and not having anyone to influence me otherwise, this is the machine I decided to get--the Sapphire 870. The main feature that made me salivate over this machine is the automatic thread cutters. I am also so so happy with all the other features that go with this machine. I thought that switching to a computerized machine would be frustrating and take a lot of learning, but within an hour of sewing I understood all the buttons on the machine and had tried out over half of all the stitches. I know this might be yawn to a lot of people, but to me it's revolutionary!!! Does anyone else own this machine? How do you like it?

Of course this machine buying thing took place while we were in Canberra doing the MRI, which by the way, went well. No MS and no tumor! Which confirmed my intuition anyway. But, the neurologist was quick to tell me that trigeminal neuralgia comes and goes until it eventually becomes chronic. Thanks. And Monday night it came back with full force just to prove it could. Nasty thing, the attacks were about every 2 minutes from 8pm to 5:30am. But last night was ok, and now I am learning that it will do what it will and I have to learn to live like a warrior ready for battle at any moment. So, the neurologist told us he had a solution to the problem. Botox! Very simple just inject me with Botox--does the trick... Hmmm... He was a very sure of himself type-had all the answers and none of the pain. But, I do not care. I can live with the diagnosis, it was the best possible diagnosis really. And who knows, if I am desperate I might succumb to the botox idea.