Tulip Basket - last one

for the time being anyway.  I am going to have a bit of a break from the basket blocks for a while.  There were only ever going to be 12 of them, to go with the Rose Garden BOM.  I never dreamed they would be so popular!

I have made so many new friends with this little project, and I do hope you will stick by me.  I plan something else a little later in the year, but in the mean time we have to get those blocks finished and into a quilt! Right!  The Tulip Basket is ready for you now on the Legend and Lace website.

The Tulip Basket, being the last, I thought I would challenge you a little.  It is really the trickiest, with set in seams.  Break it down into 4 segments, and it does not look quite so hard.  These instructions are all in the pattern sheet.

 Mine is all done!  I changed my mind about the border fabric.  I totally loved the large print fabric, but it is so hard to work with, and just overwhelmed the whole thing.  I showed it to a few of my friends and they agreed that this blue and pink paisley was a better idea.

 It is a print from the Moda Collection for a Cause, and I have half a bolt here.  It just looked right, and did not take away from the work in the centre of the quilt.  Sorry Sheila, I did try....

You can see a close up of this fabric.  A number of people I know have not been able to use this print either.  It is really beautiful, and I REALLY want to use it, but it is being rejected so many times now.  I might end up making a shirt out of it! Or a pair of trousers.......

Looking over old projects

With Winter firmly in South Australia, and the outside is wet and dreary I am spending more time looking at what sewing I want to finish off.  The Little Sisters is done, and I dug through my projects and came out with the Calico Paradise that I started a while back.  The is a pattern created by Dawn, Collector with a Needle, recreating an antique quilt.  The pattern is in Dawn's Etsy shop.

The pattern is huge! and really hard to trace the whole thing in one go, so I have been doing it a little at a time.  Not all these pieces are actually appliqued in place, but tacked ready to applique.

 The sheets are full size and hard to handle but extremely good quality

The centre has been done for some time and you can see where I posted about it before here and here

 I have traced the design onto the back of the fabric, ready for "back-basting". 

Some of the pieces in place ready to go.  I plan to take this to Sydney with me next week for my quiet time sewing.  None of the people I am staying with are sewers, but we will do lots of sitting about talking.  I am staying with my sister for part of the week, and we never run out of things to talk about.  Her DH has been very sick, and she is not able to go out much, so there will be lots of sewing time.

Talking on sick husbands, mine is on the mend.  We missed our visit to Melbourne which was suppose to happen TODAY.  He was simply not well enough to travel.  Well, he was probably ok to fly, but then would just sit about the hotel room all day, while I am out enjoying myself!  We got a refund on the hotel and now waiting to see if the airline with come to the party with a credit.  Fingers crossed on that one.

I will have the last basket block ready for you next week before I go.  Keep an eye out.

Come and try......

A date for your diary - 8th August 2014 - a workshop where you can try 4 different blocks.  The Flyer is posted below.

Come and Try………..

Would you like to make a few new blocks, and perhaps turn them into a quilt, or cushion or a table runner?

We have some new ideas for you.  Try one, two or three different blocks on the day and see what you come up with.  All can be made from your scrap bag or fat quarter stash.

Propeller

Abacus

Criss-Cross

Double Wedding Ring

                       

 
               

The Propeller uses 2 ½” strips, the Criss-Cross 5” squares. Abacus and Double Wedding ring use Fat Quarters plus background and setting squares.

Friday 8^th August

St Paul’s Lutheran Church Hall, McLaren Vale SA

9.30 to 3.30

$50 for the day includes lunch, morning and afternoon tea

Extra $30 for curved ruler for Abacus and Wedding Ring

Contact Mary – 0403005552 -  email - kamrothe@internode.on.net      

Or Wendy  - 0417084245 – email – wdwhellum@iprimus.com.au         

Yes, I know many of you live outside Australia, but you never know who is reading this, might just be someone passing through the region who would like to spend a day with like minded people.  

 

baskets and roses together

Sometimes it is a blessing when you can not go out.  I still have the DH mostly house bound with the Bronchitis that stopped us going to the Clare Valley a few weeks back, but I have got a LOT of sewing done.

I decided to use the time to combine my basket blocks and rose applique into the one quilt they were always meant to be.  I had to make one more rose block so that I had a nice even 25 blocks to get a good setting pattern.  The blocks are available on the Legend and Lace website under Rose Garden and Baskets Galore.

He has one week to get better as we are booked to go the Melbourne next weekend.  I am going to the quilt show, and he is going to do whatever he likes!

For some time I have been putting aside my scraps of shirtings with this setting idea in mind.  I first saw it in Jean Kimballs book Old Voices New Impressions.

There is not actually a photo of the whole quilt, but photos of the blocks in the setting

These blocks are far more intricate than mine, but it got me thinking about the idea.

 I used my trusty EQ7 to get the setting just right.  I planned to use this blue fabric all along, as the quilt was starting to look a little too "pretty" if you get my drift!  I needed to tone down the "pink-ness" of it.  I did all the triangles and the setting squares, then just cut off the squares on the edges to make it fit.

 All ready for the borders.  It was always going to be a hard job to decide

 the large floral is a "must" as it has the right colours, and it has been in the cupboard for ages just waiting

I tried the shirting on its own to start

 Then the creamy stripe which I like

But I think I will got with the pink stripe.....having said I want to have it not so pink but I think I like it best of all. 

I am going to go out this afternoon with a friend.  She has had a sick hubby for a while as well, and we are going to escape and go window shopping, or something else that takes little money and makes us feel good.

Labels for quilts

Do you hate making labels for quilts?  I do.....well I did, until my friend Mary showed me how to make a really nice one.

Have you all seen that fabric for printing photos from you Inkjet Printer?  I never looked at it as I never had any intention of making a quilt with photos.  Apparently they are good for other things as well.

This is the one put out by Matildas Own - an Australian company, but I expect there are others available. They have the instructions on the back of the pack.  You type up what you want to say, and then run it through the inkjet printer.  I have the put mine in face down, but all printers are different.

I only needed to print on half of the sheet, so I can use the other half for something else.  In this case I used it for my name and address details, as required when you enter into an exhibition

So, I cut the label to the size I wanted and cut a few strips of fabric for the sides. These were from the scrap bag, and already 2" wide.  2 strips each side, and then top and bottom.  Trim as you please.

 Cut a piece of fabric about the same size as the finished label, plus 1".  I used a light fabric, as I did not want to to show through my quilt, but any fabric would do the job

Cut it in half, then sew a 1/2" seam, leaving a gap part way for turning

Press the seam open, and lay the right sides together.  Trim if needed

 Sew right around the edge, clipping the corners if needed.

Turn it out the right way through that hole you left in the back seam

 The hole is still there once you press it, and you do not need to sew it together, as it will be hidden once attached to the quilt

All done!  Now you can just slip stitch in place on the back of your quilt and it looks very neat and tidy.

You can use a fancy "font" and pictures from Clip Part if you want, but I just left mine a bit plain.

Thanks Mary for showing me how to do this.  There is no blog for Mary, so I can not give you a link

Pom Pom and other things

 Edit
I stuffed up!  Wrong photo.  I used block 7 photo instead of block 8 and have now changed it.

 
We are now up to block 8 of the Pom Pom Tree BOM.  So, if you have been collecting these blocks, then the latest one is now available.

They are a digital download, at the price of $4.95.  There is a little problem with Pay Pal, where you get a message saying your payment has failed, but it has not actually failed at all.  You should still get the email with the link to download the pattern.  If you do not get the link, please let me know and I will fix it.

When you come to the end of a long term project do you have something in the wings......something you have thought about doing for a while, or something that needs attention?

I am up to the end of the Little Sisters.  On the weekend I washed it and crossed my fingers and toes that it all came out out ok (and it did) and now I am up to doing the hanging sleeve, label etc

 I just love the back of this quilt!  It looks like a "wholecloth" and makes me think that I might make one of these one day.........

Doing the hanging sleeves and labels are not my favourite jobs, but you have to do it.  I have a new way to do the labels, which I will show next time (I have to do it yet!)

 This is the last "sneak peek" until it gets posted away

The "NEW" project is the Basket Galore blocks and the Rose Garden blocks I made last year.  They are all going in the one quilt. These block pattens are still available for $2.50 each.

 Yesterday I started to trim down the blocks to 8 1/2" and now I have to worry about the sashing and setting.  I have a few ideas in my mind, and some fabrics I really want to use.  I expect it will all work out in time.

I was suppose to be on the road

We have tried on two occasions to go to the Clare Valley for an extended weekend.  Even had the same accommodation booked, and both times have had to cancel as the DH is sick.  He gets colds easily, and no sooner has a sniffle or sore throat, and ends up with a chest infection.  So, we cancelled again.  It is getting a bit embarrassing with the accommodation, but they are so nice about it.

Instead of driving, and sitting by an open fire, I decided to work on the pattern for the 8th part of the Tiptoe Through the Tulips digital BOM.  I wrote this pattern about 10 years ago, and I am finding better ways to say the same thing now.  This is the 3rd and final border, then just one more part to go next month.

Now that I am up to date with all my "must do" things I have got the knitting needles out again.  I started on a pair of socks the other night.  I have a whole drawer of winter socks and I just love making them with beautiful yarns.

This NORO yarn is made in Japan, and a mixture of 70% wool and 20% nylon.  There is going to be a fair bit left over, so I am thinking I might even get a pair of socks or mittens out of it for my granddaughter.

We are finally starting to feel the winter weather is upon us.  I know it does not get really cold here, as it does in some parts of the world, but we acclimatise to where we are, and it does feel cold now.  Hope I can avoid the winter bugs as I am far too busy to get sick!

One more to go

We are up to block 11 of the Baskets Galore BOM.  This is a "bread basket".  Nice easy one to make.  The cutting is straight forward, but you will have to use the templates for a bit of it.  You can get your pattern HERE

I have had great feedback from people about these pattens, and I am trying to find something to go on with.  Might just take a little more thinking to find it.

With a looming deadline I have had my evenings taken up with the quilting for my Little Sisters Quilt.  I am about to declare this quilt FINISHED!  I just need to wash and get the remnants of the blue marker pen out, and put on the hanging sleeve...hate that bit, and a label.

I have a couple of photos to share.  I don't want to appear "precious" about it, but I have entered it into a judged exhibition, and so think I should keep it a little under cover until then, don't you think?

So Dawn, and Penny, who were constantly nagging me about this......it is done!  Only 5 years late.  My DH asked me last night if I was going to write the pattern?  Get a grip!  I have just finished sewing it, but I might a little later.  I need to find a good printing house as I am not happy with the way my patterns look right now, and would like them to have a more professional look to them.

Ok, now I can get on with some other things, or just "veg-out" in the evenings for a while.