Rail Fence and AP&Q

Finally I got the right copy of the magazine.  It is 20/4 - their Reproduction Prints issue.  There are some really nice quilts in there, including one that is a Devils Claw.  Horrid name, but nice block.  I had one of these quilts on the horizon for a while, and might now be encourages to make it.

AP&Q do such a good job with photography.  The colours look so rich!

I am a hand quilter, but sometimes I machine quilt

For all the hand quilters out there who never try machine quilting, give it a go!  I occasionally machine quilt a machine pieced quilt, and still hand quilt the "good" quilts.  This one is going to Aust Patchwork and quilting magazine and needs to be there mid May.  My plan was to sew in the ditch, then to do my all time favourite twisted rope border design.

I really hate marking these designs - such a time consuming thing.  I bought this "Quilt Pounce" and it does the job pretty quickly.  You have to make sure that you buy the correct powder though.  One of them brushes off and the other irons off.  I found out the hard way that i had the wrong one!  After the first disaster, where I marked the quilt, and before I had finished half one side, it had rubbed off, I then got the correct powder.  This little box is full of the powder, and once you have worked it through to the underside, then you just wipe it over the template.  Do not tap it on the template - wipe only.

I don;t for one moment pretend to be good at this, I am just passing along some tips I found work for me.  Proper machine quilters and teachers will no doubt have far better tips and ideas.

The next really great thing is a good machine!  I bought this Brother Nouvelle 1500S after using my friend Irene's machine.  She lent me hers after my Bernina caught on fire.  I kid you not - it actually caught on fire one morning, a couple of year ago.  I was in the middle of machine quilting,  the quilt was still in the machine, I left the room, then heard all this banging.  I rushed back into the room and saw flames coming out of the motor.  I was beside myself.   That machine was a gift from my mother and I had it for years.  Anyway, cut the story short, I used Irene's machine, loved it, and when I took my Bernina to be repaired, I also bought a Brother for myself.

It does only a straight stitch, has various lengths and pressures of stitch.  The walking foot is great, it has a wide throat, which is so important, a big table, and most importantly, I can actually do free motion stitching on it, because it moves as fast or as slow as I want it to.  It is classed as a semi-industrial machine, and really belts along when sewing.  Actually the best thing of all is that it cuts the thread.  I do a little back-stitch when finished sewing, press the button, and it cuts.  So cool!

 One of the big dramas right now is that I have to clean up my sewing room.  it is the pits!  On this wall my DH is going to build me a whole wall of sliding door robes, floor to ceiling, and the ceiling is 9 feet high. I am going to have so much storage space, but I have to really downside the "junk".  See all that lovely light coming in on the RHS of the photo, that is a huge window, where we are getting Plantation Shutter installed next week.  This room has the best light in the house, and in winter I do not even have to turn the light on in the day time.  So lucky - but a lot of work to go.

All of this stacked up stuff will be in that cupboard!  Looks messy?  Should see the stuff that I have already moved out, and stored under the bed.  I am going to be a new girl!  This is my pay-off for leaving work - get to clean up 15 odd years of accumulated mess.  Stay tuned for up-dates.

Rail Fence Quilt

I hope no one rushed out the buy AP&Q issue 20/3 to see my Rail Fence Quilt!  I did, and it is not in there!  Not sure what happened, but sometimes the editors have to move them to another issue because of one thing or another.  Tomorrow I will follow up to see what is happening. 

More Scrap Quilts

This is the latest finished top to add to the Scrap Quilt project.  I am going to call this one Secret Garden.  It kind of reminds me of one of the lattice fences I have around my garden to keep the dogs out.  I had been playing with the blocks for a while, then had a little hurry up.  This quilt is the next one to go to Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine, but I thought another quilt was the next!  I was kind of dragging my heels with this one.  So, yesterday I got out my vast supply of suitable border fabrics and finished it off.  I love green, but don;t use it much in borders.  This one is by Moda, and called Looking Back by Brannock and Patek.  I bought a half bolt of it, so there is enough for the backing as well.  Better get cracking on the quilting soon, I guess.

In the post today, I received back my Rail Fence quilt from Aust P & Q.  It is to appear in the next issue Vol 20/3, which means I will remove it from my website.  This quilt was beautifully machine quilted in a Baptist Fan design by Elaine Pelatt at Quilting in the Vines, at McLaren Vale, South Australia.

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Here are some close ups, so you can see the fabrics I used, plus the lovely stitches by Elaine.  I just love Baptist Fan, and I almost want to have all my quilts done with this pattern.

Who needs a new project? Apparently I do.

These are the first blocks of the Block of the Month from Quiltstation.  It is the Maltaville Album Quilt.  There are 4 patterns issued each month, for 12 months.  Month two blocks have been released, but I am wee bit behind.    The original quilt is in the Smithsonian in Washington DC

These 4 blocks are not very complex and as we progress, they get a little more difficult.  It is so nice to be working in "colours" other than green, red and gold that I have used for the Beyond the Cherry Tree and the Circuit Rider's quilt.

Talking of Circuit Rider's quilt - this Block of the Month is ongoing.  We have just started block 13, and will go on to 24.  Anyone wanting to join in now can still do so.  It is on the Legend and Lace website.

I have been a bit busy lately trying to get my Pieces of the Past sampler quilt quilted for the Sydney Quilt show in June.  The hardest part was trying to decide what design to use - all settled now.  Lots of circles and straight lines.....

I have also been knitting. Autumn is in the air, and I just wanted to knit.  I hooked onto this fabulous knitting site Ravelry.   Lots of free patterns and pretty things to look at.  I am waiting on some wool to arrive so I can make this Tamaqua Vest .  I got the wool from Kraemer Yarns.  The colour I chose was Spice.