Back after along break

Life has certainly been busy.

 An understatement!

Recently an old friend said to me "So you are still keeping busy then?"

This year has passed me by in a flash, I did an interesting job at my work for the first few months-learning, then co teaching  the new Digital Hospital program at my hospital. 

Then I got a new full time day job, after 38 years of shift work, day work it is for me for a while.

My quilting has been happening in the background, luckily my wonderful husband loves to cook.

A few weeks ago I  had a wonderful experience judging the Tasmaian Quilt Guild annual exhibition, I was one of the TQG early members, and it was lovely to be back in my home state again, amongst friends. One of the other judges I have known since I was 17, the other is now a friend!

I had some success at the recent Queensland Quilters Exhibition- two second prizes and a judges commendation (one of those special coveted prizes!).

This is Mood Ring- Because I can!

A fun quilt to make- because I wanted to....its about 2 m square, big.

                                                               


                                                                 Modern Flower- improv at its best!

Floral Medallion- started about 25 years ago, inspired to get on with it in a class with Gwen Marston , and finished at last this year.

I have been sticking to and completing the Monthly Art Project, my plan for next year is to attempt it weekly again, just need to be more organised when working full time.

Tidying my sewing room is my main objective for the next few months.

What I learned at AQC 2018 and special visitor

I did a day trip from Brisbane to Melbourne on Saturday

Things I learnt - I did not even do any classes!

Straight line quilting rules! -The power and simplicity of straight line quilting on modern, traditional and art quilts is evidence that straight line quilting has never gone out of fashion.

Straight line quilting can enhance, outline and even make its own deisgn!

Melbourne is as ever, beautiful, easy to get around, great food to be found for any meal at any time. Small bars are wonderful!  Embla being the bar I found - it's OK to be a woman on her own sitting at a bar with a very nice glass of wine and a bar snack for dinner with an attentive waiter!

Grey hair signals to fellow tram passengers to stand and give you their seat!

Quilters from all over are happy to chat. I have a lovely chat with Judi from Hobart from my previous life there. Brenda from NSW and I had a serious and welcome chat about the Monthly Art Project (MAP) and its predecessor the Weekly Art Project (WAP). I am inspired to continue the WAP to enable me to gather some momentum, ongoing design and construction flow and to encourage me to document my proceses and learnigns and to blog more often, while continuing with the MAP.

The quilts being produced and shown (thankyou fellow quilters) are inspiring, I wish I had more time (perhaps less time on social media) to sew. Hopefully now I have a day job, I may become more organised....

Special exhibitions are worth a day trip to anywhere they are being held.

Jetstar is interesting, hmm, I prefer not to have to pay for a cup of tea!

Melbournes grand old buildings do not disappoint. ever.

This is my son, he is home for a short while from is overseas travel and work. Having some mummy cuddle time before heading to China to work next week.

Long time not blogging

Its been a while, life got busy, much stitching has been done, but no blogging!

I have started a day job, Monday to Friday- day work after 37 years of shift work! 
A significant change in our lives! A little less time for stitching, but if I am organised, more time as I will not be so tired.

Last year I was highly motivated and was doing the Weekly Art Project - which encouraged me to make something and blog each week. An excellent plan.

This year I am participating in the Monthly Art Project (MAP), I am keen to get back into the weekly art 'thing' as it was quite satisfying, and now that I working day work, it could be a litle easier to manage, and be organised.

My MAP  paramaters:

Specific- expand my design skills- add colour later on as I become more confident                                                                    with the black and white.
Measureable- progress will be obvious (I hope)- small blocks- about 10-12 inches                                                                                            square
Achievable- yes- small blocks, 2 colours
Realistic- expanding my 'organised Improv' skillsTimebound- yes. Machine pieced and quilted · 

I am inspired by Nancy Crow and the modern quilters of the rest of the world!

Here are some preliminary drawings and February and March blocks

The first 2 cuts

Progress, its a bit misshaped by now, making it larger than the intended finished size is the key to success

moving right along with the next few lines, ready to square up and quilt

 Quilted

Preliminary drawing for March

 March block completed.

This is proving to be a fun project, and I think that as of this week I will try to make a small block each week, be accountable and blog a little more, procrastinate a little less!

I am loving my Bernina Q20, in fact all my Bernina's! I am still doing a little machine quilting teaching along the way at local stores. Life is good!

Machine quilting with rulers plus a lovely win!

I have been lucky enough to have spent a few weeks this year working with Bernina at the Craft and Quilt Fairs demonstrating on the Bernina Q20 using rulers to achieve fun designs- some basic and some that look difficult but are surprisingly easy.

It looks tricky in the beginning, but the rulers can help the home quilter achieve fantastic designs with just a simple curved ruler. I use my Bernina 440 to demonstrate at the classes-  a machine with a smaller throat space, it works quite well, however at home I use my larger machine. Ruler work on the domestic machine can be a little cumbersome with a very large quilt, but is able to be done. 

My  advice is to break the quilt down into smaller ' quilt as you go' sections if you are struggling with a large quilt and want good accuracy.

Complicate looking yet simple designs can be achieved with a simple curved ruler, I have added some sample pictures below, 

basic markings are on the stitching line only

- not ruler placement -

 always remembering that the stitch line is always 1/4 inch away from the ruler edge.

I now use a small strip of non slip mat under my rulers, it is not stuck on- just sits under the ruler to stop slippage- if it gets dirty or I need a different size, I cut a new piece, - it comes on a roll and is really quite cheap.

Two simple block designs, no marking as I have used my seam intersections  for ruler placement guides. The rulers allow me to make the 'skeleton' of the design then fill with fun and individual fillers.

This is a simple border designs using a curved ruler, the a straight ruler for the

 piano key work.

  A skeleton waiting for filling, this is using a few simple curved rulers over a chalked grid.

Before

After

I had a lovely treat this week, 2 wonderful ribbons from the Modern Quilt Show Australia that was held in Sydney last weekend. My quilt Shirts Refashioned was juried in and then won a Judges Commendation in the Improvisational category and a Judges Choice! 

I am pretty happy with that result!

These are some of my husbands old shirts, they are really soft and well worn, it seemed a shame to send them to Vinnies, so I cut them up and repurposed them.

The ribbons are particularly impressive too!

Queensland Quilters Quilt Show and NZ holiday

The past three weeks have been busy! 

It started with 5 days at the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair, working with Bernina as Ruler Guru! This was my last week working with this great team.

I have made many new friends, found old friends, and learnt a lot along the way!

Here are some of my ruler demo samples, I was using pieced blocks for some of the work as they are perfect to show how easy ruler work is on  a domestic machine, then my Cindy Needham Ultimate stencils to create a grid to make some fantastic designs.

A small treat at the Queensland Quilters Quilt Show as 2 of my quilts were awarded Highly Commended, in a strong field of entries I am really happy with this result.

Below are Sunset and Citrus Wedding

These are the only fabrics that I bought in NZ, a small reminder of a fun relaxing 

holiday.

  

 The next few images are design inspiration and fun from our holiday!

 This is me at nearly the end of the holiday, lying on the pebbled beach at Russell, near Paihia on the Bay of Islands. 

Pure Bliss

Farmers Wife blocks 80 and 81

Moving right along here, I am making slow progress. 

Two blocks this week, I am waiting till my holidays so I can do some serious sewing before a relaxing little holiday!

 Block 80

 Block 81

I have been trying to get this rather large quilt quilted this past few weeks, it is large and I have been busy with other things that had deadlines!

Today is a day to sit under the fan and stitch!

 I am not quite sure what possessed me to quilt this design, it is working but is quite tedious, perhaps an all over may have sufficed!

Another project underway, one to do when I have no energy for the others and that does not need much concentration, and I have so much red fabric!

Farmers Wife block 79- almost there!

Today is day 7 of 8 in a row working at paid employment

 I am tired

 stuff has happened

 I have had a migraine

 work has been busy- nothing like September in a maternity unit!

I have made one Farmers Wife block, the end is in sight.

I am also trying to get some competition quilts finished and some project quilts done. 

Life is busy.

Block 79 of 111

 One of my current projects, I am  really happy with the lessons learned at a class with Sophie Standing, and have been using some of those learned skills and ideas 

with this piece

 Some of my threads for  this project!