Hand stitching

After a long break holidaying and working hard, I am back sewing. I am making some cushions for a magazine project. One is machine quilted. One is being an experimental hand stitched wonder!
 It is good for watching the cricket under the air con on hot night!
There are many projects on my list for this year, several hanging over from last year. But I am on a mission to finish! OK! !maybe I might start some new pieces, but this year is for finishing!

Machine quilting again!

After a few weeks off after the quilt show, I am quilting again. 
I have done some crocheting, attended a midwifery conference and tidied my sewing room! So its full steam ahead for me!

quilted postcard

quilted postcard

I have been making some quilted postcards, just a little fun, this is such a simple design, enhanced by some iron on sparkly chrystals.

detail of japanese suit

My son was given a  great suit by a Japanese exchange student he knows, the fabric is divine, so soft. I think it could be pyjamas, the detail above is on the sleeve.

my son in his new Japanese suit.

I am trying the BSR on my Bernina 820, its interesting, I l keep on going too fast and it beeps at me! This is  a quilt I am trying hard to finish, the brown spaces are hard to mark so I have made  freezer paper template to iron on then trace round with a chalk marker, it is sewing quite nicely which I am pleased about. The ditching took forever and was quite difficult as I missed a few places and had to go back and fill the gaps!!

I am really happy with the quilting design, simple but effective. Thanks to my aforementioned son who helped with the choice of design.

Shame to be sitting under the air con quilting ! but it is good therapy for when you are tired  and there's a G20 thingy on and everybody has either skipped town, or also staying at home, the kids are out and husband away working.

block with freezer paper ready to draw then quilt

more of this quilt!its very brown...

Experimenting with paint

Postcards

 A little stitch experimentation 

followed by 

some paint experimentation. 

paring it back 

to a simple scroll vine

 Some braille paper

courtesy of Kathryn

stitched 

and 

then

 painted

 Hmmm maybe I should paint the scroll at the bottom?

This is an A4 page

Its fun to experiment sometimes.

Giving myself time 

and

 brain space to experiment,

 I am not really good at painting and need a shove to use the paints I have collected

having fun is my goal

and am

 really enjoying

the simplicity

trying to not make it hard!

Funky Feathers and show quilts

I have spent 3 days at the recent craft and quilt fair demonstrating machine quilting- free motion machine quilting that is!

I won a prize at the show- Best Modern Quilt,

 it is based on a sewer drain picture that my husband took,

 he has a collection of sewer pictures form around Australia, 

Spain  and France from when we were there last year. 

I am basing my new series of work on these pictures.

Best Modern Quilt

drain picture

This quilt is called "30 Years Later", I started it in about 1984, it is hand pieced, not appliqued. It did start out with pink instead of yellow small wedges, the colour change came about earlier this year and I am really happy with it. It could almost be a "modern quilt". As part of the Queensland Quilters Modern group, I am still a bit dismayed by some of the newer modern quilters who think they are doing something radical and new! it is only a term used to describe a style, many older quilts can be described as "modern" even though they are many years old. Much of Nancy Crow's work could be called 'modern'. The same came about with Art Quilts a few years ago- they are all quilts, if they need to be categorised, all good and well, but in the end we are all quilters.

I make quilts in any style I want, I make what is pleasing to me -

 traditional, art or modern- or in between.

I do not want to be categorised as a particular type of quilter -

 except perhaps a fun quilter!

Stones in the Ocean, going to my niece for a wedding gift

String 21, made a s a birthday gift for my son, who wanted a scrap quilt.
Many more scrap quilts to come I think as I really enjoyed the process.

Tea for Two- this was made form an old tablecloth belonging to my mother in law

It was great fun to make and I am on the look out for some more tablecloths to rework.

 At the show I did some work on some Linus quilts for Queensland Quilters and mostly did some very funky free motion feathers on black fabric with fun bright thread.
 This was fun, I had many comments about the type of thread I use, any bright colour is good! I do not use regular sewing thread, but a good quality thread, and in a fun colour, orange always seems to sew better than white or cream in my opinion.

inspired

I have just spent 4 days in Adelaide at the Australian
Machine Quilters Festival!
What fun.
Meeting old and new friends!
Absorbing some great ideas
and
spending time with a few much admired quilters!
Catching up with old and new relatives.
Found an old friend from long ago!

Having withdrawals from my Bernina.
Home today to spend 3 days demonstrating machine quilting at the Queensland Quilt Show!
Oh dear, then back to paid employment.....
Pictures later

Preparations underway

 There is a lot to do when you are planning a holiday then a craft fair! The Brisbane Craft Fair Friend came in the post this week, I feature in a  vague sort of way! I am doing some machine quilting demos on 3 of the 5 days. So I need to have some pieces to demonstrate on. I have lined up some Linus Quilts as they are small and are for a very good cause.

This black and white is the background for a collection of place mats that I will also quilt, they need some bright appliqued flowers ironed on yet. The applique will be stitched down by the quilting, just a bit of fun, which may also involve some bobbin work too! I decided to use up some scraps and the black and white jumped out as a good background.

When demonstrating it helps to have something smallish sometimes as then you can talk and sew... and we all know I love to talk!

Below  is a quilt top made by Kate, I was given it a few months ago, it is perfect for the demonstrations as it has lovely cream spaces to quilt, and they are not too big. I have starched it and its back which is bright, sadly the colour in the picture below is not quite right. I am about to  pin baste then do some "ditch quilting" to stabilise it and give the reels some definition. I find this really helps when quilting and gives the overall quilt a much better look.

All this when I am preparing to got Adelaide for the AMQA Festival and take some classes with expert machine quilters!

OOh and I have won a prize at the Queensland Quilters show in October. Just waiting to see which category and which quilt! 3 more days to work......then some holidays

Did you know that a family pack of Clinkers can turn a lovely bunch of night shift co-workers into energy filled 'almost manic' great work companions? maybe it was sugar overload?
 So privileged to work with such great people!

Doing the time warp!

That's me stuck in a time warp! so I want to stitch Traditional quilts, but wait, I want to stitch Modern too!

Oh and I want to do some hand applique and some funky machine quilting... and I want to do some machine quilting/couching- but I need a new foot for that!

So much to do and so little time, I do feel as though I am in  a time warp, managing to scrape together a few minutes here and there to stitch AND enjoy it!

Oh well, and another birthday looms, surely I can't be that old? 

maybe I can do the time warp dance?

 New thread that arrived in the post! some excitement after night duty! such fun colours

 The back and binding of one of my exhibition quilts, hooray ! I was just stitching the hanging sleeve on! so close to being finished.

 The inspiration for the above quilt!, my friend Sue says I should work in a series, this may be the start of said series....thanks Sue

Hmmmm really bad colour reproduction, but a sneak peek at one of the quilts I have just finished.

I am really looking forward to a few weeks holiday and some rest time soon, I am a little weary.
But not to complain, I have some sewing machines, a great husband, 2 kids who could cook every night if they tried.....and of course some new babies at work....caught one the other night!  just standing in the right place at the right time!
So its off to think about a magazine article and some more fun stitching!