Do I want to take this one on?

Last week I went to my applique group and 4 of the dozen or so people sitting around the table are doing Di Ford's Mystery quilt from Quiltmania.

Initially I was interested, when I heard a few people talking about it, and it was a BOM where they send fabric parcels to you.  The BOM with fabrics, are really the most successful, as we tend to feel that the fabric is here, there is no excuse, just get on with it.  AND, you have paid the money that is always an incentive.  The BOM which are pattern only tend to peter out after a while.

I have noticed this myself with the BOM's as digital patterns on my website.  The first couple of months are busy, then after that it really slows down.  People are less enthused, and get lost in other things to do.  That does not bother me as I know that the serious stitching people will get back to them, and they are still on the website for as long as needed.

So, having said that, I was a little disappointed to learn that the shop in Aus who were doing the fabric packs, had totally sold out.....well that kind of makes the decision for me, dosn't it?    Well, apparently it does not, because I can just use my own fabrics - ta dah! 

The thought of all these quilts exactly the same bothered me a bit.  How many? you might ask.  Well, there are a couple of facebook pages for this BOM and each of them has over 300 members, plus all the people who do not do facebook, or blog, or whatever.  I joined one of the groups and saw lots of photos of people using their own fabrics.  This one of Dorothy's is really different, so I went in search of fabrics in my stash.

 I have a box of fabrics entirely marked for "Broderie Perse".  These are a couple I found.

The one above on the right is my current favourite.  It is an old Smithsonian print, and needs a home.

 And then, I found this panel I bought a few years ago.  It has all the floral motifs of the one used in Di's mystery, but not enough to make it work.  There is also a lot of blue, and I have more greens and reds that I would prefer.

So here I go on the journey.  Lots of the girls have started on part 2 and I have seen some photos of the next part on the FB pages.  I get my magazines at the newsagent, so I am about a months or so late.  Many others subscribe.

At least I know my quilt will not be just like all the others.  Must not forget also that I need to have the Little Sisters quilt finished in 2 months...........not a lot of spare time, but my hands are sore and I need a rest from quilting.

Last but not least

I am now all up to date with my blocks for April.  This last one is block 6 of the Pom Pom tree.  This is a funny little block, and I think of it as "the one with the hat"!  It is a bit wonky, and that is how the original quilt was - not quite perfect or  symmetrical.  This appeals to me, but if you are the type of person who likes to see it all perfectly matched, then you will probably want to redraw some parts of the block.

The block is now ready for you to download from the Legend and Lace website.  The cost of $4.95 if you live in Australia, and $4.50 if you live in any other country.  If you pay by Pay Pal you might get a strange message telling you that it has failed.  Something is going wrong with PayPal and it is sending this message.  Before you do it all over again, check your emails to see if you get a confirmation email first.  Usually it is ok, and I am sorry about this.  It is some little quirk that I have tried to fix but does not want to talk with me.

Be patient and I might get it fixed.  The link should come to you in an email, and you have 3 days to download.  Good luck!

Don't forget the photos :-)

Tiptoe through the Tulips - part 6

The next part of the Tiptoe Through the Tulips quilt is now ready.  There are 8 of these little "tulip trees" on the border of the quilt - 2 on each side, either side of the centre baskets

When you start to add these pieces of the quilt, you need to measure between the point of the largest green leaf straight, across to the sloping edge of the basket about 2 1/2".  That is where you start the placement.  If you prefer, you can wait until the next part is ready, then just place the tulips half way between these tulips and the corner pieces.  Remember, it is a Folk Art quilt, and is not meant to be perfect!

The pattern is on the Legend and Lace website now.  The cost is $4.95

On Friday we went to the Meadows Easter Fair, and I bought a whole box of strawberries for jam.

 I got about 4 kilos of usable fruit from the box.  Lot os bits had to be cut off.  The birds got those

 Seems a real waste but they were bruised or discoloured.

One kilo of fruit plus one kilo of sugar, and some lime juice.  Let them sit over night and the sugar melts. Seeing all that sugar is a worry!  Anyway, last night I finished it all off and got 10 jars of jam. 

I got a little more quilting done on the Little Sister's quilt as well.  I really like this free-hand kind of design.  I am marking with a wash-out blue pen, and if you don't like where the line goes, you just do another one.  Once it is quilted, I then spray with water, and the lines disappear.  You still need to wash the quilt. 

One thing I read on the box the pen came in (yes you should read it) it says you should remove with water before washing it, as some chemicals in washing detergent reacts with the pen, and the lines go a yellow-ish colour.  Did not know that, but I always removed them before washing anyway.

The Little Sister quilt

My friends have been asking me about the progress of this quilt.  It has been in production for the last 5 or 6 years, and to get things moving, I entered into a show.  The due date is early in July, and I allowed myself 4 months to get the hand quilting completed.

It is hard to tell from this photo, but all these corner motifs have been quilted.  I plan to put a little more into the background.

Apart from outlining all the shapes, I had no idea how I was going to handle the background quilting.  Until......recently I purchased a Samsung Note (a tablet) and one night I was looking at the photo of the original quilt humming and hahh-ing about it, when I realised that I could actually expand the photos, with amzaing clarity.  It actually showed up all the quilting stitches!

The original quilt was outlined (as I have done) then it was will filled in with heaps of (what looks like) free-hand floral quilting shapes.  That is pretty much the way I have decided to do it as well.

It takes the pressure off about laying it down flat some place, and marking background lines.  I can just fill in the spaces as I come to it........so, I now think I am more than halfway done, and I have more than 2 months to go.  Each night I thread up 10 needles before bed, and the next night, between dinner and bed time I quilt those 10 needles.  Sometimes I get less done, and sometimes I have a little extra time, so I think I will get it done.

Still on the subject of getting things done, these are the next two parts of the Tiptoe Through the Tulips quilt.  The next part is late already, and I am having trouble deciding what to do.

The tulip goes between the previous months basket block, and this funny tree shaped that goes into the corner.  I feel like we should do the corner next, and then you can see how the tulip fits into the space between.  Guess it will sort itself out soon.

Mini Log Cabin

We have a saying in Australia "no flies on me!"  It means that I move quickly and the flies do not have time to settle.  We have lots of strange sayings like that.

I finished that little log cabin quilt last night, and took the easy way out.  After arranging the blocks, and finding suitable border fabrics, I layered and quilted it with big stitches and Perle cotton.

 This part of the little quilt finished at 12"

I chose the first border fabric which is quite similar to the centre of the blocks.  It needed something to lift it.  The second border is cut from a stripe fabric.

I did not want to waste the fabric, so cut two different strips out of the same print.  I would have had t make a hole in it if I used the same print.

 I save my off-cuts of batting, and join them using a "serpentine" stitch on the machine, or batting seam tape

I decided to use the "envelope" or "pillowcase" method of finishing off.  You layer the quilt with the batting down first, the backing on that with the right side up, and the quilt with the back up.  Sew along the edges 1/4" inside the edge of the quilt.  Leave a gap in the seam to help turn it out the right side. 

 Trim the seam through all 3 layers

With this little quilt I left a gap about 3", but with larger quilts you need to leave several inches for turning.  Once you have turned it out the right way, you can slip stitch this closed.

The quilt is turned right side out, and you just have to tidy up the edges and points a bit.  Rolling the seams in your fingers, and tacking or pinning helps.

I put a quilting stitch just inside the edge of the quilt to keep that edge flat, and did some cross hatching over the rest of the quilt.  I might do a little more.

This is fun......I think I will start on another one pretty soon.

Orphan blocks

I decided to join into Lori's Doll Quilt swap, and thought it was only a quilt top.  Wrong! it is a whole quilt.  Panic set in.  I had committed and I do not want to pull out, and I was going away for a week!  What to do?  Then I thought of my stash of "orphan blocks".  I selected a couple of pieces out of the box, sashed, bordered, and machine quilted.  Voila! I can not show you what I made just yet, as the recipient has not received it, but I can show you what I found.

 These are 3" "hour glass" blocks.  There are about 9 of them.  Just the right size for dolly

 These 4" 4 patch blocks would make a nice border for a scrappy quilt, or put them into a doll quilt

This is an assorted collection.  Any one of them could go into the centre of a little quilt, and a bit of sashing and borders.  Very pretty!

 These are 8" blocks, and these could also go into the centre of a little quilt.  Nice fabrics

 I have these 4 6" blocks.  I can not recall what I had these for, but I am sure I could find a new home.

6" nine patch and Puss in the corner blocks.   I found quite a few of them left over from larger projects

 The 3" nine patch blocks were made for a block swap, but they were off size.  I do not think dolly will mind if they are fudged a little:-) also these 'square in a square' I think I made these for a border and had too many.  Can't remember!

 Heaps of pinwheels......I think these were a border for something that never eventuated, or I changed my mind.  Do you ever do that?

Finally.....the icing on the cake........9 perfect little 4" log cabins.  I can not even remember making these, but they are gorgeous.  I am going to start with these.

I emailed my favourite magazine editor and asked her if she would be interested if I made a few dolly quilts from "orphan" blocks, and she thinks that might be a nice idea.  I need incentive......so having the editor interested helps me get cracking on the idea.

What do you do with your left over blocks?

Farmers Basket

 Yes, I know I am really early this month.  But, in about 30 minutes I am being collected ready for the long drive the Millicent and the Geltwood Festival.  I figured that by the time I get back next week, I will be too busy to think about this project.

I have to warn you up front that this one is Tricky if you are doing rotary cutting, and sewing on the machine.  Sorry  ...  this was not my intention, as I make my blocks by hand piecing with templates, I did not think it might be a problem.  Some of the cutting sizes are a bit strange.  Just use a generous 1/4" seam allowance on the machine, and it should all be ok.   OR, take the plunge, and hand piece them.  This is the perfect time to try it out.

The little group of blocks is looking really pretty now.  If you have your blocks up to this stage as well, I would love a photo to share.  Lori has shown hers, but I have not seen any others.  Come on, be brave and send photos to me!  My email address is Legendandlace@Gmail.com

The patterns for all these basket blocks are on the Legend and Lace website free of charge.