Birdie Stitches Block of the Month

I've joined in!  Each month of 2011, there will be a new stitchery design to do.

Block 1 completed:

And these are the fabrics I've chosen... one for each of the 12 blocks (although I'll probably make some changes as the year goes by):

Not exactly sure what I'll use the finished quilt for... but its a great chance to hone my stitching skills and learn a bit more about using Flickr.

Liberty Coasters

2010 was a very busy year... moving country, setting up a new company, and having a baby.  I got a little behind on things... so in an effort to catch up towards the end of the year, I finally finished my mum's Mothers' Day present (yep... shoulda been out in May).

I made these coasters out of four different Liberty prints using this tutorial.  I then added a stitch around the coasters a 1/4" from the edge once I'd turned them out the correct way.

The fronts:

 And the backs:

So pretty!  I want to make another set at some stage using the leftover fabric from the cushions I made last year.

Lots to do this year...

I was looking through all my 2010 posts and realised I still have a lot of projects to finish:

• monsters quilt
• knitted toys
• placemats
• wheels quilt
• ring stackers

And then there's another couple of projects I've started that haven't even made it to my blog yet:

• hexagon quilt
• shirred dress

And then there's the ginormous list of projects in my head that I want to do!!!!

So... I've decided to join in with the 8 week Fabric Diet and concentrate on getting my unfinished projects finished :)

Hmmm, 8 weeks is a long time...

James with his Santa sack

Pickledish Block Finished!

I finished off the pickledish block for my bedroom cushion last night.  Dave is horrified that we are having "patchwork" in our bedroom... he'll get over it I'm sure :)  It's so pretty:

Not entirely certain how to finish off the cushion cover... I would love to hand quilt the block using some embroidery thread in matching colours and then add some piping around it with a plain grey zippered back.

It was a fun block to make... if I make it again though, I would like to make the scrappy pieces all the same size and evenly spaced around the curve.  But that's probably just the accountant coming out in me!

More Christmas...

I saw this Santa sack a couple of weeks ago and decided to make one for James out of a Kate Spain: 12 Days of Christmas charm pack that I had.

The original only had squares on the front, but I sewed up 40 charm squares into an 8 x 5 rectangle and then joined it together into a sack.  I wasn't sure how to do the tie, but after deciding it would be ridiculous to spend $20 on two taxi fares just to get to Spotlight and back to buy a couple of metres of cord, I opted to make a cord out of some Amy Butler: Love fabric that I had. The Santa sack is fully lined with some spotty fabric.

It's a little smaller than the one I saw, but oh. so. much. cheaper!!

I love it... so bright and cheery!  And I love how its all tied together with a little bit of "Love"!!!

Christmas Decorations

Now that we have James, Christmases are gonna be fun all over again!  My plan is to make a few handmade decorations each year.

I saw this snowflake design in Doodle Stitching and thought it would work well for Christmas.  I had the red hexies left over from the hexie cushion that never got made... and backed it with some fabric from a Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas charm pack.

Feeling pretty happy that I've started Christmas and its not even December yet!

Pickledish Progress

I decided to keep my project small seeing as I don't get a lot of sewing time now.  I'm making one pickledish block into a cushion for our bedroom.

I've sewn 5 of the 8 strips so far.  The fabric is a Bliss charm pack with coal Kona solid for the background.

We have grey and white bed linen so it will add a bit of colour to the room.

Pickledish...

I came across this quiltalong today and absolutely positively have to join in... I've always loved the look of this pattern.  It's always looked too hard to make but after seeing how it's done I think I should be able to do it OK. 

But what to make??  What colour to make it??  What size to make it??  Ah, something to dream about tonight!!

Look how cute it is here with the stitching in the middle of the block:   http://comfortstitching.typepad.co.uk/comfortstitching/2010/09/pickledishand-a-possible-quilt-a-long.html

I'm gonna have to set up a flickr account now so I can add my photos and see all the other pickledish loveliness.

Ooh, too excited lol :)

September

Wow, another month has just flown by!  Baby James is 2 months old already.  And my sewing machine cover project is over 4 months old!!!!  It's almost finished... I'm just stitching on the binding.

And here's a pic of another project I'm working on.  My plan is to make placemats... not sure how many will get hand stitched together like this - they may all end up being different patterns :)

I went to a needleturn applique class a couple of Fridays ago with some girls from quilt group.  The second class is tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that.  It's also our 5th wedding anniversary tomorrow and my birthday on Saturday... so I'm looking forward to a couple of nice dinners and a relaxing weekend!

More James

A whole month of no sewing... (except for making a green screen for my husband's office... he basically stood over me until I finished it lol).

I'm a little preoccupied...

James

The last month has flown!!  All my time is occupied by this little cutie :)

James was born 26 July.

I started another quilt cos I got sick of waiting for the baby...

OK... here's a sneak peek at the next quilt I've started... and yes, of course its a baby quilt!  The fabric is called Wheels.

The end result won't be as green... and I'm not using all that orange either.  I think you'll be surprised at the colouring once you see the finished design. 

Will finish it once I get home from the hospital... soon!!!

Ring Stacker Toy

Well, my due date has come and gone and still no baby!!!!  Lazy lazy boy :)

I've finished 5 of the 9 Monsters Quilt squares so far.  Its a slow process though because all I'm doing is sewing around and around in circles!!

Another project I've wanted to start is the Heather Bailey Ring Stacker Toys.  Aren't they cute!

I was planning on using the left over fabric from the green and brown baby quilt I've just made, but after cutting out the pattern and looking at the fabric, I realised I don't have anywhere near enough large fabric pieces left over :(

Not sure which fabric I'll use now. And I'm in no fit state to think about it either.  So therefore... the ring stackers have been put on hold until inspiration strikes me!

Maybe I'll just go and sit on the couch and watch some tv... and wait patiently for this baby!!

2 Finishes!!

It didn't take long to finish off the baby quilt, and since then I've made another WHOLE baby quilt in just a few days!!!  Gotta love working with charm packs... so quick and easy to piece together.

Here is my first finished quilt for the year (and first ever finished quilt... unless you count that crappy one I did in year 7 lol)!  I love the binding around it... learnt how to do that through the quilt group I go to (thanks Kate!).

I made the second quilt by cutting up 25 charm squares and then string-piecing them together like this:

And here is the finished quilt:

I had a few squares left over from the Tweet Tweet charm pack, so did a little strip across the back incorporating the border fabric from the front.  I did a wider binding this time, but it was a lot harder to do the corners... I prefer the thin binding.

Now - I'm working on the Monsters quilt that I started back in March.  Baby is due in 3 days... so I think it will be a "put-on-hold" project for a couple of weeks.  I'm finding it uncomfortable to sit and concentrate for too long... but if he comes late, you never know how much of it I'll get done!

Baby quilt

Over 37 weeks pregnant now so I'm finally starting to spend more time at home.  Which is great because it means more time for sewing!

I've finally made some progress on the baby quilt that I started making back in March.  I opted for a very simple quilting technique... straight lines!!!  I love the way it looks... here's a sneak peak:

And a close up of the stitching (a 1/4" each side of the seams):

I was rapt when I discovered that my machine came with an even-feed quilting foot... yay!!

I can't wait to get the quilting finished now and start on the binding.  Will definitely* get this one finished before the baby arrives :)

*not a guarantee lol

Glasses case

I'm having so much fun going to my quilt group each week!  We're making a charity quilt using the disappearing 9 patch and each of us have made about 5 blocks to get it started.  I was a little worried about how to make all my seams match up well enough, so one of the ladies invited me around to help sew the squares using a string-piecing technique.  Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the blocks :(

I was really inspired by some of the projects she was working on.  I collected up my fabric scraps and found that I mainly had greens and browns.  I made a quilted glasses case using the technique found here.  I used 1.5" squares, so they were 1" by the time they were sewn together.  Here are some pics:

This is a great technique for small scrappy squares.  Very quick and easy for a beginner!  I definitely plan to make some more of these once my scrap stash builds up!!!

New cushions

The sewing machine arrived in late May and I busily started working on some cushions for the couch.  After ditching the hexagon idea, I opted for this beautiful range of cotton fabrics called Rouenneries by French General for Moda.

In between house guests and dinner guests and some other small sewing projects, I've only just managed to finish them!

 

Kitty thought she would test them out... although she decided that sitting directly on one was a little cramped for her and she chose to spread out next to the cushions instead :)

Don't look too closely... I still have about an inch of hand stitching to go on each cushion just where I inserted the zip.  Must add that to my sewing-to-do list!

Some Current Projects

Still waiting on my sewing machine (one more week I believe!!).  In the meantime I've been working on some new projects.

The paper pieced hexagon cushions I mentioned last month weren't working for me... so I picked out just the brownish fabrics and decided to start making a table set - trivets and placemats.  I've hand pieced together two trivets and have them basted up ready for quilting.

The neutral colours blend in nicely with the timber and the seat fabric.  My plan is to piece together vertical strips for the placemats in varying widths.

After running across this cushion the other day, I instantly knew what I wanted to put on the dust cover for my sewing machine.  I just love the Cherish Nature charm pack I bought a couple of weeks ago... here is the start of "Cherish Nature Project No 2 - Sewing Machine Cover"!

I need to applique the pieces and stitch some beaks, eyes and legs.  Still trying to decide whether to use sewing cotton or something heavier like cross stitch thread.

The last two weeks I've been going to a quilt group.  It's great to meet some more people living locally and its also very inspirational to see their projects and flick through the different pattern books that they're using.  They are a very talented group of quilters and I'm definitely looking forward to learning more and asking their advice on my own projects as I slowly work through them :)

New Fabrics :)

I think my sewing machine is still sitting on the docks in Melbourne... so in the meantime I've been amusing myself by buying fabrics!  I reckon I spent nearly a whole day browsing the online shops... and certainly found some beautiful fabrics to order.  They only took a few days to get here from Texas :)

I was so pleased with the fabrics... I ordered some fabric for more baby quilts which I'll post photos of later once I start making them (hurry up sewing machine!!), and I also bought a couple of charm packs.  One is Cherish Nature by Moda...

I fell in love with the colours... and decided I'll use them to make a dust cover for my sewing machine and a couple of other sewing accessories. First up I was inspired by Heather Bailey's pattern for her Square Deal Pincushion.

Can you believe I hand stitched this!!!  I thought I hated hand sewing... but I managed to get this done in one night.  It was actually quite relaxing and extremely rewarding.

The other charm pack is Tweet Tweet by Moda... I'm playing with the idea of doing a baby quilt with 4 large disappearing nine patches on the front.  I spread them out on the floor and played around with the order of the fabrics for quite a while until I was happy with them.  Then... disaster... I saw her coming... I grabbed the camera to try and capture the pattern before it was lost forever...

I managed it just in time!  Kitty is such a girl... she loves shoes, bracelets, and fabrics!!!