Amy Butler Chelsea Bag

Wow, I haven't posted in a little while... I've been having lots of fun being back in the States. We had our marriage celebration party on 7-7-07 and dh flew back home a little over a week ago. In the meantime, I have been busy visiting and enjoying summer. I went to my very first quilt workshop last weekend in Greyling with Pam Holland! Imagine coming over here to attend a workshop with a Australian quilt teacher! It was such a great experience, we had three days to design our own quilt. I will post some photos later. I learned so much and am so glad that I did this course even though I have been intimidated to attend an actual workshop.

Yesterday, I managed to get over another hurdle in my sewing career by making my first bag! Well, actually it is my first sewing pattern ever! This was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed working through each step of the project. It turns out to be quite a nice little bag. I've already given this one to my mom, but I plan on making a few more for practice. I found some Amy Butler Charm for half price at a local quilt shop. For me that is like having gold lying around and then selling it for half price!

Joel Dewberry!

Ooohhh yummy yummy! I am so excited about this new designer Joel Dewberry's fabrics! This is his collection called Chestnut Hill that I recently purchased. I have been watching and waiting for it to become available and now I have been mauling and stroking it every chance I get. I have no idea what I am going to do with it, but I will probably leave it aside while I think about what to do with it. There is enough fabric here to make two decent sized quilts. Does anyone else out there fall asleep thinking about their fabric?

Back From Our Canoe Trip

Sorry that I am not posting anything quilty today. We just got back from our canoe trip today and I thought I would post a couple of shots I took while on the river. We were very lucky that we had great weather and saw so much wildlife along the way. The Au Sable is a wonderful river. I was amazed at how many Bald Eagle we saw, apparently they have now been taken off the endangered species list.

We are looking forward to 4th of July celebrations tomorrow which is also our 1st anniversary! Happy 4th everyone who celebrates!!!

Visiting the U.S.

I just thought I would post to say that I am now in Michigan. Wow, what a long journey! We stopped over in Hawaii for an extra day to try and help with the jetlag, but we're still very out of it. Flying is not what it used to be anymore! I don't think we slept a wink on the planes and it was so uncomfortable. But, it was all worth it because we are here and will be going on a five day canoe trip starting today!

I will be able to post some quilty things after the canoe trip. Until then...

And The Winner Is...

ANDREA! Thank you to everyone else that left a comment to be in the draw. I will continue to save any duplicate magazines for another draw in the future.

The Mess of Progress

Today I thought I would post on my progress with Peas and Carrots and show you my latest device for cutting. Last week I purchased a rotating cutting mat to make template cutting so much easier! I absolutely love it as it makes the cutting go so much faster. I have also starting cutting with the smallest rotary cutter (18mm) and I find it so much handier. I don't know if this is the "correct" way to cut, but it seems to work for me. Does anyone else use a rotating cutting mat?

As you can see my work space is the kitchen table. I really look forward to the day I have my own sewing room with a design board and place to put things, but that won't happen until we finish the ground level on our house.

We have been having some lovely rain the last couple of days, I know there are plenty suffering from flooding right now, but over here we are savoring every raindrop!

Don't forget to put your comment in for the magazine draw. I will be drawing names tomorrow(Sunday) night my time(Australia) so hopefully you can still get your name in before then!

Peas and Carrots

This isn't the greatest photo, but it gives you an idea of where I am going with this fabric. Right now I am just working on making the cube blocks which consists of three diamonds of light, medium and dark values. There is not a huge contrast there, but I think it does its job for the main part. I received the panels with the fat quarter pack and it has taken me the longest time to figure out how I would incorporate them into the quilt, if indeed I would. At the moment I am thinking that I will order a few more panels to go around the entire border as you can sort of see in this photo. I am not sure, I am still thinking about it. I just like that they depict farm scenes which would work so well around here!

New Project and a House Guest

Here are the fabrics for my newest project. Maybe you recognize these, they are Peas & Carrots by Moda. This is my first time using fabrics of this style. I don't know, would you say these were 30's fabrics or later than that? I feel that as a new quilter I want to explore a range of styles and fabrics so that through working with them I learn to know what I like.

Anyway, I have started a couple of blocks today and I will show you the progress tomorrow. I plan to make this a twin size so hopefully I will be able to finish it before I leave...

Do you like our house guest? He decided to come inside for a visit, but it was cut short as soon as he made himself known. He was hanging in the middle of the hallway making it difficult for me to pass by...

Metro Blue Top Finished

I finished my Metro Blue top the other night. Dh loves this one which is ironic since when I showed him the fabrics when I ordered them, he was not into them. He says this quilt reminds him of Iceland! Anyway, I am finishing this one without a border to keep it in a "modern" style. I love that these fabrics are so thick and of good quality. Marcus Brothers and Moda both seem to make very good quality fabrics.

Free Australian Magazines For Lucky Winner!

Today I have been doing some cleaning and organizing in preparation for our trip to the States in two weeks! I'm getting excited now, I'll be away for two months and dh for three weeks as he can't leave the farm for too long.

I found these magazine duplicates as I was sorting through what I have. Usually when I buy quilting magazines here, they come with a back issue as well. These are my "extras" which I thought maybe someone would enjoy instead of going into the recycle. Even though fabric is very expensive and good quilting books are scarce in Australia, I love that quilting magazines are plentiful and good. My favorites are Quilter's Companion followed by Downunder Quilts and Patchwork and Quilting.

So, if you are interested in recieving these magazines for free, please leave a comment and I will be drawing names next Sunday(17th) and will post them to you.