tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79327503811695361372024-03-10T20:31:06.924+11:00Gone Aussie QuiltingJeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.comBlogger504125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-28344515362136816472017-03-26T11:52:00.001+11:002017-03-26T11:52:51.756+11:00Midnight at the Oasis Quilt Finish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have to admit that lately I've been starting a lot more quilts than I've been finishing, but I have however finally finished my Midnight at the Oasis quilt a pattern by Jen Kingwell. I did enjoy this project for the main part. I foundation pieced the center of the quilt as well as the outer blocks instead of sewing in the traditional method. The applique was my first ever attempt at any sort of applique so it was a learning process for me. My bias stems were a bit ackward and I used freezer paper to make my shapes instead of doing a needle turn. This was also a first attempt at making a Medallion quilt as well. I was fairly pleased that it remained perfectly square and exact until I got to the final border, which required me to do some finessing to get square again. <br />
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I think what took me so long to finish this quilt was the fact that it is really not all that big in size. I seriously struggle making small quilts as I don't see them as being as usable. My practical nature doesn't want a small quilt for looking at, it wants a large quilt to snuggle underneath, which this size quilt does not offer. That played a large part in deciding how I would quilt it. I threw snuggly out the window and decided this would be a wall hanging, which gave me allowance to quilt it to "death", something I usually prefer not to do even though it is fun and looks cool.<br />
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I entered it in the local show last week, it won a first in the Applique section after the stewards changed the category from Machine Pieced/Machine Quilted to Applique. It was the only entry in the category. Hee hee...<br />
<br />Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-69045613577924044332016-09-26T16:34:00.002+10:002016-09-26T16:34:46.984+10:00Fancy Forest Finish and a Polka Dot Tea Sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After being obsessed with this quilt over the last month, this morning I finished hand sewing down the binding after quilting it on Sunday morning. I was so please to find that not only did I still have enough wood grain fabric (an old Joel Dewberry print I had hoarded in my stash) for the backing, but that I already had a wood grain quilting pattern in my library. For anyone that would like to find this pattern for use on their own long arm machine (or to let their long arm quilter know) you can find the pattern <a href="http://www.annebright.com/wood-grain-e2e.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It was quite an easy one to quilt out (at least on my machine it was quite reasonable). <br />
I do not claim the idea for this quilt. This quilt is exactly as the one created and made by <a href="http://www.ohfransson.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Hartman</a> of Oh Franson, who I have been following for many years now. As soon as I saw the pattern I knew it was something I would have to copy and make. My excuse is that I needed to make a "sample" for the <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/PolkaDotTeaFabrics?ref=hdr_shop_menu" target="_blank">shop</a>. Well, it's also another one for the boys, who are my greatest fans and love everything that I make for them. They are so sweet, I hope they feel the same way about my quilts in years to come.<br />
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So, already I am plotting and planning my next quilt. Tula Pink's Slow and Steady range arrived in the shop early this month and it has been an amazing explosion of colour starting at me in the face every day. Here are the fabrics mixed with Michael Miller Cotton Couture that I also keep in the shop due to the amazingly vibrant colors and soft hand of the fabric--hands down my favourite solid to work with!<br />
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If you would like to stop by <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/PolkaDotTeaFabrics?ref=hdr_shop_menu" target="_blank">Polka Dot Tea</a> use the coupon code FANCYFOREST until the end of September for 15% off of your entire order. I would love if you would stop by, I'm only advertising this sale through my blog and I will be excited to see my readers there!<br />
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So, here is a sneak peek of my next project using these yummy fabrics...<br />
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<br />Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-16548434756180992702016-09-15T11:19:00.000+10:002016-09-15T11:19:42.846+10:00Working on Fancy Forest and New Direction<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_-NngnyQZf7qQIACWQ3StnS9ggTt-e5-8ObwXQDO_-kj6hcoWL4A9UzGu1osQK95Rm9m-d_Ujk4VvZaX0xUAV8zXpOvvJz6_NGuJxhIwyrPfBpG6VNmKpn70ETFd2aTflmcR9TWhJTS5/s1600/IMG_4332.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_-NngnyQZf7qQIACWQ3StnS9ggTt-e5-8ObwXQDO_-kj6hcoWL4A9UzGu1osQK95Rm9m-d_Ujk4VvZaX0xUAV8zXpOvvJz6_NGuJxhIwyrPfBpG6VNmKpn70ETFd2aTflmcR9TWhJTS5/s640/IMG_4332.JPG" width="512" /></a><br />
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I'm starting to get organised again gradually and all I can think of doing is making quilts. That's good, right? That's why I started this blog in the first place, a desire to share and journal my projects and I have missed doing that these last few years. I also miss writing things down. Life has gotten all a bit fast these days with all the avenues that social media has to offer, but blogging is slightly slower paced with an almost old school paper and pen feel about it. I'm laughing to myself as I write that as maybe that is stretching it just a bit.<br />
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I've slowed down a lot with my own projects over the last years, largely due the kids being just at that age where is a lot to do with them every day, but also because I was in the middle of taking on two businesses. I've been long arm quilting five years now and started up Polka Dot Tea three years ago with my friend Danielle. Now that has changed since Danielle went back to work full time. I had to decide what I wanted to do, continue quilting or take on the shop all on my own. I did have a long hard think about it and what I wanted to do as starting an online fabric shop was not necessarily something I had planned to do, but rather it evolved. In the end, I decided that I am just far too passionate about fabrics to not continue with it. So, onward <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/PolkaDotTeaFabrics?ref=hdr_shop_menu" target="_blank">Polka Dot Tea</a>! <br />
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So, slowing down the long arm quilting will enable me to focus a bit more and make some clear decisions on what I would like to do with the shop. Also, I'm hoping to fit in some more time sewing with all the fabrics I now have access to! It's why I'm here, I like to make quilts. I like color and design and playing with fabric. <br />
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This photo is what is currently on my design wall and I'm getting close now to putting it all together. If you are not already familiar with it, it is a quilt designed by Elizabeth Hartman called Fancy Forest and rather deceptively is not made using the foundation paper piecing method but is all traditional cutting and sewing. I can also add that it is rather fun to make! Actually, extremely fun to make. I decided I liked the original quilt so much that I would just make mine as she made hers. I had the kits in the shop, so why not? I have the pattern in the shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/252882955/in-stock-fancy-forest-quilt-pattern-by?ga_search_query=forest+fancy&ref=shop_items_search_3" target="_blank">here</a>, if you are inspired to make one as well. I hope to update soon with the finished quilt!Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-33249016302740161812016-06-03T13:17:00.000+10:002016-06-03T13:17:19.562+10:00Cotton and Steel Scrappy Trip Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow! It has been a very long time since I have posted anything on this blog! I guess with Instagram, Facebook and other forms of social media that Blogs are not as popular as they once were. Still, I have to admit I miss posting here, so here I am. Also, I hate to admit this but I am also posting here today to actually see if I can remember how to do it!<br />
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I thought I would show you one of my quilt finishes this year. It's the Scrappy Trip Quilt first promoted by <a href="http://quiltville.com/scrappytrips.shtml" target="_blank">Bonnie K. Hunter</a> which became a very popular Quilt Along a few years ago. The Scrappy Trip quilt is one that looks more labour intensive than it actually is and that is what is so addictive about this quilt! It is built by sewing strips together, not individual pieces. Bonnie has the free pattern (just click on her name as I have linked you directly to the pattern). <br />
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I made this particular Scrappy Trip quilt using all fabrics by Cotton and Steel, one of my favourite fabric manufacturers. I love the colours, the quality of the cottons as well as the wonderful whimsical prints that the designers create. <br />
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Ok, now that I think I have warmed myself with this blog post, I think I will be updating more often again! Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-64365619358908300822014-09-17T08:13:00.000+10:002014-09-17T08:13:10.743+10:00Steam Punk Finish<br />
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This week I finished the very last bit of sewing down the binding on my epic Steam Punk quilt that I started early in the year last year. It's been a long and enjoyable journey. Each block was an adventure in choosing fabric. For the sashing choice, I used a fabric from our shop, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PolkaDotTeaFabrics?ref=hdr_shop_menu" target="_blank">Polka Dot Tea</a>, called Melange Yarn Dye in black, which is very much like Essex Yarn Dye in black only that it is a much finer weave and has less imperfections. It's now my go to fabric for adding a bit of a textural look in my project (sorry, it's sold out in black in the shop - we are waiting for the next shipment). <br />
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I do admit that I struggled a bit with making them look random and scrappy. I really struggled to get the look that Jen Kingwell had with hers, but by the end it was happening almost as if by accident and I was pleased with the perfectly imperfect look of the quilt. <br />
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I quilted this on my Gammill Statler Stitcher using a pattern called "Water Drops" which I think suits this quilt very well. I had debated for a long while about whether to custom quilt this or not, but in the end I felt that custom quilting it would be too "fussy" and against what I was trying to achieve with this quilt. The quilting provides the movement that I was hoping to achieve. All in all, I'm now very pleased with this finish and am now inspired to finish work on my Midnight at the Oasis quilt.Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-82913254508262375162014-09-06T18:35:00.002+10:002014-09-06T19:09:40.617+10:00Red Letter Day Quilt Finish<br />
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Not very long ago I attended the Camille Roskelley workshop that was being held at Kim Bradley's in Sydney. Our task was to make the <a href="http://thimbleblossoms.bigcartel.com/product/red-letter-day-pattern-173-pdf-pattern" target="_blank">Red Letter Day quilt</a> that she designed based on a traditional block. Mine is (as per usual) not exactly like the original, I made mine a bit larger in a 4 x 4 layout instead of a 3 x 3 layout. I also did not do the reverse block, but went for a rainbow layout instead.<br />
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I have to admit, I'm quite pleased with this quilt, I used all fabrics from our shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PolkaDotTeaFabrics?ref=pr_shop_more" target="_blank">Polka Dot Tea</a>, in particular the Japanese Kei florals and the Cotton Couture in Bright White. This quilt is the perfect way to welcome in Spring. I have to admit, I am probably one of the very few that is sad when winter comes to an end. Our winters here are short and sweet and I enjoy the cosy warm fires and the short days where my husband can't work the late hours in the dark. To be honest though, I love every season and whatever season I am in I usually think is the best. Sort of like the best quilt is the one just finished!<br />
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In case any one was wondering, the class with Camille Roskelley was great, she taught us a few tricks to sewing more efficiently and quicker and basically was just a lot of fun to be around. We had a good group and I would recommend a class with her. Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-74748396157388327632014-07-11T10:49:00.000+10:002014-07-11T10:49:29.076+10:00Courthouse Blues Quilt<br />
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A few months ago Down Under Quilts asked if I would make a blue and white quilt for their Blue and White issue #164. I thought it was a perfect chance for me to get back to a simpler colour scheme than the usual multi colour scrappy look that I tend to go for. I decided to make something completely bold and geometrical using solids and a simple classic block, "Courthouse" to make this quilt. By the way, I've just realized that it is very very tricky to photograph, but you get the idea. It's now back home and is now the personal quilt of my second son who declared that this is mommy's bestest quilt because it is blue which is his favourite colour. Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-33775566704124634662014-07-05T16:02:00.002+10:002014-07-05T16:02:24.813+10:00DS Wonky Quilt Finish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a quilt that I have had nearly finished for a long time. Like many of my quilts, I finish attaching the binding and then it sits in the corner waiting for me to get to the hand sewing part. I like the hand sewing, but usually when I have time at night to do it I am way too tired! This particularly quilt was hard to motivate myself to do the last bit as I had completely lost interest in the quilt. I'm not sure why, but once I finished the binding, I started to like it again. It has a certain freshness about it that I am liking again. I have plans to give this one away, but it is now going to be harder than I thought! Do you also go through a process of liking, not liking and then liking your projects again? Heh heh, sometimes my projects stay not liked too. <br />
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Happy Fourth of July everyone in the States! It's also the day we were married, but here in Australia it's tomorrow, so we celebrated yesterday. Did you follow that? I'm having a bit of a laugh as I write this because I'm always getting my celebration wishes, birthday, Christmas, anniversary, etc a day late since Australia's time zone is ahead of North America. :)Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-5523008402584530512014-07-04T11:18:00.000+10:002014-07-04T11:18:32.698+10:00New York Beauty Circle of Flying Geese Finish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I finished this <a href="http://betteroffthread.com/tutorials/" target="_blank">New York Beauty Circle of Flying Geese</a> last night. I'm so pleased with the result. I was determined to practice a bit of my free motion skills on the machine with this piece, which I find fun but yet still intimidating. I think I just need to practice, which is hard to do when I'm loading quilts for clients everyday. I've decided to reserve the machine one day a week just for working on my own quilts so that I can get a bit of time to practice. I think the key to getting a handle on the free motion quilting is to learn a few quilting designs that are easy and that you are comfortable with and then gradually add from there. </div>
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<br />Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-47722134585789940732014-07-03T12:57:00.000+10:002014-07-03T12:57:27.996+10:00New York Beauty Circle of Flying Geese<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I haven't stopped sewing around here, in fact I have had quite a number of finishes lately that I'm just waiting for an opportunity to take some photographs. <br />
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In the meantime I have finished this little mini, a New York Beauty Circle of Flying Geese. You can find the pattern by Better off Thread <a href="http://betteroffthread.com/tutorials/" target="_blank">here</a>. I had a lot of fun with this pattern, I used up the tiniest bits of scraps of Liberty that I had leftover from cutting hexies for another project and combined it with the Melange Yarn Dye fabric that I got from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/178690421/melangechambray-cotton-yarn-dye-by?ref=shop_home_active_12" target="_blank">here</a>. The Melange is beautiful to work with as it has the look of linen but is 100% cotton and sews beautifully without the fraying that occurs with linen. I adapted this pattern by appliqueing the centers instead of the four separate pieces. <br />
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Originally I had wanted to make this into a cushion cover as I've been told I make all of my projects too big and that it is ok if I do a few smaller ones once in a while. So, what happens? I try to make a small cushion cover and even that ends up too big! I have to laugh. Oh well. I hope to quilt this this afternoon once I decide how I will do it. This could be a bit of a challenge for me. Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-18528028097666499422014-04-16T15:19:00.001+10:002014-04-16T15:19:32.683+10:00Star Quilt Finish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Not long ago I started this Star quilt as I really wanted to make something using only fabrics from our shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PolkaDotTeaFabrics?ref=pr_shop_more" target="_blank">Polka Dot Tea</a>. I wanted to make something simple that would showcase the lovely Yuwa and Kei fabrics. I couldn't help myself, I had to add in the Michael Miller Cotton Couture as well. Have you worked with Cotton Couture yet? It is sublime! It isn't your ordinary solid, the base fabric has a fine weave and it silky to the touch, the colors are rich and vibrant. Trust me, Danielle and I only sell what we think quilters like to use, in other words, we buy what we like to use! <br />
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I'm also moving towards using a lot more modern quilting designs for my long arm quilting business, I like all over texture with lots of geometry. I had used this Modern Waves pattern several times and decided I needed to have one of my own quilts done in this pattern as well. <br />
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If you like the look of these fabrics, come check our shop out. We are also having a 15% off with the coupon code HAPPYDAYS with $20 minimum purchase until Friday the 18th. Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-79647860948162416652014-04-05T16:11:00.000+11:002014-04-05T16:11:02.109+11:00Bordered Diamond Quilt Finish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm still here! I'm nearly caught up with my long list of things that needed to get done! I did manage to sneak in some time to finish this quilt started at the workshop. I didn't want to leave it too long to finish so that I would keep the momentum I had from attending the class with Kaffe Fassett. <br />
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I have to say, that though this quilt looks so deceivingly simple in design, there is actually quite a bit involved. I had it on the design wall for two weeks, cutting and adding to it, rearranging the layout nearly everyday before I was satisfied enough with the layout to sew it up. Perhaps I did get to the stage where I started to over think the process, but I feel like I learned a lot from making this quilt. I may try it again in a different colour combination to see if the process is easier the second time around. I also feel inspired to finish off some old Kaffe Fassett projects started years and years ago and possible start another one!<br />
<br />Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-29243063690653474392014-02-23T22:38:00.000+11:002014-02-24T09:11:39.289+11:00Bordered Diamonds Workshop with Kaffe Fassett<br />
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It's been a while since I have posted here mainly due to the fact that I've just barely been able to keep up with life in general due to sicknesses going on here with myself and the kids. Nothing serious, just constant! I'm still sewing though, but possibly not getting done everything that I would like to! Nothing new, right?<br />
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I have had the opportunity to attend two workshops the last two weekends. Considering that I have only attended four workshops in my quilting career up until now, it felt like a very busy week! Last weekend's workshop was with Chris Jurd, which I will blog about next. This weekend's workshop was with none other than the wonderful Kaffe Fassett! Nearly as long as I have been quilting, I have wanted to attend a Kaffe Fassett workshop. I have spent many many hours over the years pouring over his books and dreaming of quilts to make inspired by him. <br />
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When I heard that Addicted to Fabric in Canberra was going to host Kaffe Fassett and run a workshop for the Bordered Diamonds quilt from his book, "Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts", I jumped at the chance. And I have no regrets!<br />
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If anyone is unfamiliar with how Kaffe runs his workshops with his partner Brandon Mably, they are all about the design process and colour placement. There is no sewing involved, but rather a lot of cutting and placing of fabrics on a design board and then moving and arranging the fabrics around. For me, this is the most exciting part of quilting, so a workshop dedicated to this process was extremely interesting to me.<br />
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The morning started out with a brief introduction and discussion on how it is important that we work quickly and not hesitate or over think what we put up on the design wall. Their mantra is the same as the Nike commercial, "Just Do It". Most important was that we get something up on the design board and then stand back from quite a distance to look at our work. They suggested using a reduction glass to look through so that we could see what was working and what wasn't working easily. <br />
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For the Bordered Diamonds quilt they suggested that large prints would be most effective and that smaller scale fabrics would be effective to use as the frames for each diamond. We were to cut the large diamonds out first and get them on the board first and then go back and work on filling in the frames for each large diamond later.<br />
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Neither Kaffe or Brandon teach the workshop in a manner that they spend time babysitting what you are doing, but rather there is the feeling (particularly of Kaffe) of someone standing in the background parenting with a bit of gentle guidance here and there. This method I feel allowed me to be able to work and gain confidence as the day progressed. After I had placed about 15 diamonds up on my board, Kaffe did wander over and was quickly able to see what the color palette was that I was mainly using. He picked out about three or four of the darkest diamonds and said that they created too much contrast--too dark against the lightest of the fabrics that I had already had on the board. It surprised me how simply taking out those diamonds, suddenly made the start of my quilt seem clear and gave me direction as to where I wanted to go with it.<br />
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I had brought with me a range of blue/purple, red and yellow/gold fabrics with a desire to try to use yellow in my version of his quilt. I told Kaffe that I find it tricky to use yellow in general and wanted to concentrate on this as an exploration on how to use it! Brandon mentioned that next to black and white, yellow is the most difficult color to work with. Kaffe's suggestion was to add in green, which I didn't bring with me, so I did get the opportunity of having him go "shopping" with me to pick out possible fabrics. That too, was an educational experience to see how his mind works. I suggest that if anyone ever gets an opportunity to do a workshop with them to take them up on their suggestions! It's the easiest way to begin to see what they already know.<br />
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Close to lunch time I had already starting working on my borders for each of the diamonds. The suggestion was not to try and match the border fabric to the large diamond, but rather use instinct and choose the fabric based on what we feel works. Using a single or two color fabric seemed to work better than using detailed fabrics with many colours. Here is where I was up to when we broke for lunch:<br />
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After lunch we kept working and trying to fill in as much as we could. Kaffe would walk around the room, sit down on a chair looking very relaxed and just look. Then he would walk up and point to an area and say, try this here, or this here. What I got from it was that where there is high contrast next to each other creates a starkness and doesn't let the colours dance together. Neither should the fabrics blend into each other. It was effective to choose a different colour for the border than the centre diamond. There is a subtle play and harmony when it works which allows the integrity of the shape of the diamond to remain clear. Below is a photo of where I was at at the end of the day. </div>
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He then goes around the room and talks about the process each student
went through to create their own palettes. This was an extremely
interesting part of the workshop and fun to see how each person came up with really beautiful palettes of colour. This is a quilt I would like to try again to see how I could make it work in a different palette. Maybe next time I will try a darker palette. </div>
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Here are some photos of what some other ladies in my workshop made during their day at the workshop:</div>
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All in all, I was very pleased with the entire experience of the workshop. It's an educational experience. Be warned though, Kaffe and Brandon are very disciplined in their approach to teaching and expect you to be on your best behavior! We had a very nice group, so everything went very smoothly. At the end we got a chance to have our own books signed by Kaffe and then we rolled up our flannels with our quilt layout to be sewn up at home. I hope to get mine on my design board in the next week or two so that I can still remember what I learned in the workshop as I finish it! I want to add another row to each side so that it is the same size as the one in the book, which I believe is approximately 55" x 80".<br />
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If you ever get an opportunity to attend a workshop with Kaffe and Brandon, don't hesitate, just do it! Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-54425234139405843702013-12-29T15:45:00.001+11:002013-12-29T21:01:05.042+11:00Fireworks Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've likely been more sick than well in 2013, including most recently dealing with pneumonia that I've decided celebrate the end of 2013 with a Fireworks finish. I've been working on this quilt, a pattern called "Fireworks" by Camille Roskelley on and off for a while now. I finished the last block this morning and decided to play around with the blocks making a mosaic in Picassa to test out which layout I might prefer most. It's much easier than trying to scramble around finding free space on the floor to decide arrangement--each block is 16 inches and so it does take up quite a lot of space in the room.<br />
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The fabrics I used in this quilt are a little off my usual beat of late, they are mostly by Tilda with some Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry thrown in. I am loving the soft feminine look of this quilt. I hope to get the blocks sewn together soon and on the long arm as I plan to free motion quilt this one and have been looking forward to the practice.<br />
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In other news, our shop is having a 20% off of everything sale with a minimum purchase of $24. Use the code "January" at the checkout. We would appreciate your business and hope to continue to offer exciting new fabrics in 2014.
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Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-77452886655669827782013-12-07T06:32:00.003+11:002013-12-07T06:32:58.959+11:00Bring Me Flowers BOM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few months ago (September), I signed up for Amitie's "Bring Me Flowers" BOM a pattern by Jen Kingwell. I've never done a Block of the Month in which everything was sent out month by month, so I thought I'd try it. It's also supposed to be done entirely by hand, which I will admit here and now that I have not done. I will hand piece where necessary, for example, in these blocks I did the applique by hand, but otherwise I haven't yet. I have to admit, I appreciate the sturdiness of machine sewing, it holds up, it's neat and I enjoy it. Why mess with that, so half the fun of making these blocks for me has been trying to figure out how I will get around having to sew by hand. The most challenging so far was sewing the drunkard's paths (which are extremely small) by the machine. I've used quite a bit of foundation piecing to make these as well.<br />
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As far as the fabric selection goes, I have substituted out a couple of the Jen Kingwell fabrics out for fabrics from my own stash here and there just to give it the little bit of extra pop of color that I like. I'm caught up now and anxiously waiting for the next blocks to arrive!<br />
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In the meantime, I've been moving at a glacial pace through the easiest of the borders (the checkerboard border) of my Midnight at the Oasis quilt. I have half of one side finished and I'm determined to make finishing this border my sewing goal for the week. Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-69933601911519605932013-11-29T17:41:00.002+11:002013-11-29T17:41:46.919+11:00Grand Opening of Polka Dot Tea, Giveaway and Shop Discount!<br />
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Ok, I have to say first that I do not plan on inundating my blog with post after post about our fabric shop. I started this blog years ago (nearly 7 now!) as a place to share my personal creativity and life happenings, but this is something I really needed to share. We decided to do our grand opening sale of Polka Dot Tea -- it just so happened to coincide with the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. In celebration of that we are offering a Giveway of 20 fat quarters and a discount on everything in our shop with a minimum $24 purchase. If you would like the discount code and a chance to win the giveaway, please visit <a href="http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/polka-dot-tea-giveaway-20-fqs.html" target="_blank">Lily Quilt's blog post here.</a> Visit our shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PolkaDotTeaFabrics" target="_blank">here</a>.Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-39709360816177489452013-11-16T16:01:00.001+11:002013-11-16T16:01:25.316+11:00Polka Dot Tea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some of you might not know, but recently my friend <a href="http://mespetitselefants.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Danielle</a> and I have decided to venture into the business of selling fabric here in Australia. Together we will be <a href="http://polkadottea.com/" target="_blank">Polka Dot Tea</a>, specializing in selling some of the finest fabrics available including Yuwa, Kei and other modern Japanese fabrics. We will slowly be adding to our shop over the coming months and hope to include fine linens, luxury solids, chambray and Liberty of London to name just a few. You can see what we have listed in our <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PolkaDotTeaFabrics?ref=l2-shopheader-name" target="_blank">shop</a>, including these <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/169434650/polka-dot-tea-charm-pack?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank">5 inch charm packs of 40 different Yuwa/Kei prints </a>for a limited period only. You can 'like' us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/polkadotteafabrics" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for regular updates or look for us on Instagram @polkadotteafabrics We look forward to helping you with your material needs!Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-43674635243677137352013-11-04T18:55:00.000+11:002013-11-04T18:55:11.168+11:00Midnight at the Oasis Quilt Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been reluctant to do a blog post until I made some decent progress with my latest project, "Midnight at the Oasis" by Jen Kingwell Designs. It was quite slow going to get all of the applique border done and I did it in several stages over the last couple of weeks and really took my time as I wanted to do it right. This has been my first real effort at doing applique by hand and I'm quite happy with the result. I did not do needle turn applique, but instead I used freezer paper for each piece. That meant quite a lot of tracing! I ironed my freezer paper to the back side of the fabric and cut quarter inch beyond that and tacked it down with a glue stick. Then I pinned with tiny applique pins and whip stitched the applique. I also cut out a slit at the back when I was finished to pull the freezer paper out as I didn't want the bulk to be in the quilt.<br />
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I made the Churn Dash blocks at the same time as I was working on the applique. They measure three inches finished size and took a while to get through as well. I had a little help from my friends, Merran, Silvia and Danielle, which started out as Merran sending me a "naughty" Churn Dash block for working on this quilt when she says I need to finish my Steam Punk quilt first! That one is so close to being done, but I'm waiting until closer to Christmas to finish it when I have some more time to spend at the quilting machine working on my own quilts instead of customer ones. <br />
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In other news, my husband and I are just getting through the busy season--we each have spent so much time this year being sick with random colds, stomach bugs and flues that about the happiest moments we are experiencing are when our heads hit the pillow at night! :)<br />
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<br />Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-46812483596722612752013-10-02T13:33:00.001+10:002013-10-02T13:33:39.399+10:00Lots of Dots -- Month Three<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been debating and debating how I would do the New York Beauty block in my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/au/listing/94141387/lots-of-dots-quilt-pattern?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank">Lots of Dots </a>quilt
by Chris Jurd. Although I like the quirkiness of the original as it
adds interest to the quilt, I decided in the end that I want to keep
mine more uniform--especially if I decide to play with the placement a
bit differently in the final layout. Instead of the four different New
York Beauty blocks, I decided to make one four times and sew together as
one large radiating sun. I then found that the center was far too
large so I played around with the center and decided to make another of
month one's blocks to fit into the center. Heh, heh, I'm happy with the
result now.<br />
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I also had forgotten to take a picture of
the second block I made from month two, which is shown in the second
photo. I'm trying to keep a little bit of a travel theme with this
quilt and will be fussy cutting here and there to try and reflect that.<br />
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The
third photo shows all the blocks I have made so far all together so you
can get an idea of the scale of the various "dots". I still have to
make the second block for month three...Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-10194560001533300072013-09-27T19:19:00.001+10:002013-09-27T19:19:43.215+10:00Midnight at the Oasis Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Not long after the needles started to cool from making the Marcelle Medallion quilt from the Liberty Love book, I received in the mail my copy of issue 96 of Quiltmania. After my friend <a href="http://mespetitselefants.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Danielle </a>posted a picture of her copy of the magazine with the Midnight at the Oasis quilt by Jen Kingwell inside, I knew I would have to have another go at making a Medallion quilt. Midnight at the Oasis looks even more challenging than Marcelle in that it requires hand applique in some of the borders, which other than appliqueing some circles on my Steam Punk quilt, I have not done before. It is another "adventure" for me! With some help from Danielle and a local friend I managed to work out a technique to make the Orange Peels using freezer paper and a glue stick! It worked, but don't look too closely! There is plenty of room for improvement with my technique, but I'm going to go easy on myself starting out as I'm sure I'll improve with practice. Next border is all applique, so I'm looking forward to that! <br />
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If you would like to quilt along with me, please do! I'm using #midnightoasisqal if you want to find it on Instagram. You can also purchase the pattern from Amitie Textiles <a href="http://www.amitie.com.au/shop/Patterns/Jen-Kingwell-Designs/p/Midnight-at-the-Oasis-by-Jen-Kingwell-Designs-x907236.htm" target="_blank">here</a>, if you don't want to hunt down the magazine issue.<br />
Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-65460667370986395132013-09-21T17:24:00.000+10:002013-09-21T17:24:10.297+10:00Life is an Adventure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's AusMod Bee time! Actually, I'm just catching up with August's block for the lovely <a href="http://catandvee.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Cat</a>, who asked each member in our bee to create a word for her quilt. She let us decide the word we wanted, so I chose "adventure" simply because that is how I believe we should approach life. Have a sense of adventure, don't take yourself too seriously and try to have fun! Hope everyone is having an adventurous weekend!Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-61327842120282251422013-09-18T09:08:00.000+10:002013-09-18T09:08:09.014+10:00Marcelle Medallion Finish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once in a while I get obsessed with a quilt in that I have to finish it right away. Some quilts stay in the making stage for years and it has nothing to do with not feeling the love for them, it is usually a completely random thing which ones get finished and which ones don't. <br />
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My Marcelle Medallion quilt made from the Liberty Love book by Alexia Abegg is now finished! Yesterday I decided that it has been a long time since I've quilted a quilt for myself so I hogged the machine with my Marcelle and decided to spend my day free motion quilting it. I'm still new to the whole free motion quilting thing, which is why I really only want to do it with my own quilts. I was kind of happy that the piecing on this quilt was not perfect as it gave me the freedom not to worry whether or not the quilting was perfect. I just went for it and needled the whole quilt quite heavily. My intention is to hang this quilt on our bedroom wall anyway, so heavy quilting will work just fine for the purpose. I even finished hand sewing down the binding while yabbering with my sister-in-law on the phone for three hours! <br />
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Ok, now I can do something else for a while -- like the dishes, laundry or something similarly exciting. <br />
Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-74126108709436365612013-09-14T08:21:00.001+10:002013-09-14T08:21:14.458+10:00Marcelle Medallion--More Borders Added<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's getting harder and harder to photograph a flat shot of my Marcelle Medallion quilt as it is growing! I just have the crosses and outer border left to do now. I had planned to write a mini tutorial on an alternative way to do the Flying Geese triangles, but to tell you the truth, I didn't like my method. Lol, I think I could stand as an example in the Quilt Along of what not to do! Don't foundation piece the Flying Geese triangles, but do foundation piece the center star.<br />
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Make sure if you haven't already checked out the <a href="http://pennypoppleton.com/mmqal/" target="_blank">Marcelle Medallion Quilt Along</a> that you have a look! There are lots of really awesome Marcelle Medallion quilts being built at the moment! <br />
<br />Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-39198796269802078092013-09-09T19:02:00.001+10:002013-09-09T19:02:58.164+10:00100 Steam Punk Blocks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I thought I would update you with the progress on my Steam Punk quilt lest you think I'm ignoring it. Last week I finished the last of the 100 blocks. Whew! Of course this is not how they will be laid out. They will be set on point with 16 of these blocks to be chopped up as side settings. My plan is to use Essex Yarn Dye in black as the sashing color, which will read as a dark grey. The finished quilt size should be approximately 95 inches square. I'm glad I soldiered on with these blocks as the larger size will suit our bed. <br />
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Because I love making mosaics, I thought I would make four smaller mosaics so that you can see all the blocks a little closer up.<br />
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<br />Jeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932750381169536137.post-77046987101552675302013-09-09T08:29:00.002+10:002013-09-09T08:29:16.460+10:00Marcelle Medallion Quilt Along<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lately I've been seeing a lot of pictures on Flickr and Instagram of the Marcelle Medallion quilt by <a href="http://greenbeepatterns.bigcartel.com/product/liberty-love-signed-copy-preorder" target="_blank">Alexia Marcelle Abegg</a>, from her book Liberty Love. Not wanting to be left out, I decided I needed to buy the book and posted a photo on Instagram of my acquisition. <a href="http://pennypoppleton.com/mmqal/" target="_blank">Penny</a>, who has already made this quilt previously, decided that we need to do a quilt along for it. She put together a great schedule that includes tutorials as well as some generous prizes! <br />
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I finally started it this weekend as I struggle keeping to schedules. I also decided to jump ahead so that I can write a tutorial for you for an alternative way to make the Flying Geese triangles. Stay tuned for that!<br />
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I tried a new to me method for making the star center in that I used freezer paper to make the templates and sewed the pieces together in pairs, but to be honest, I wasn't impressed with my work. The method was precise than I would have liked, which I found irritating. There were just too many variables that made the measurements get out of whack. That, together with dealing with biases and y-seams made it less enjoyable. If I decide to make another one, I will try Penny's tutorial on foundation piecing that you can find <a href="http://pennypoppleton.com/penny-poppleton/2013/9/4/mmqal-color-vs-value-scant-14-seams-and-a-quick-foundation-p.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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For my color choices, I decided to use the first border print as an inspiration for the quilt. I've had that fabric sitting in my stash for ages and have never quite had the right project for it. Since it is a favorite fabric, I decided to chose my fabrics with that fabric as a loose guide. I haven't chosen all the fabrics yet, I'm working it out as I go along. This will be a real experiment for me as I've never yet made a Medallion quilt! So, let's all Marcelle Medallion Along! #mmqalJeannette Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222394545520919392noreply@blogger.com8