Welcome delight (Michael Miller Challenge)

This last week I've focused on finishing off a cot quilt using the Michael Miller challenge fabrics. This quilt will be a gift for my good friend Sam, who is expecting her first child this summer. Sam and I spent some years studying together while we were at University on the NSW North Coast. Sam and I were often lured away from studies by a call to surf and swim on the beautiful beaches around Ballina and Byron. Aaaah..... those were the days!

I hoped to make a pretty and fun quilt to welcome Sam's new baby to the world and I like the fresh and clean look of finished quilt.

I made simple circles using drunkards path curve templates and have pieced them together with some Kona white fabric. There wasn't a lot of fabric to play with for the Michael Miller challenge but together with some green and turquoise solids, I've used every single inch (well close to it!) to make the circles and binding.

For the quilting, i drew on some outward spirals from the centre of each circle at 1/2 inch intervals (well, i drew them by eye, so as close to 1/2 inch as i could tell!) using a water erasable pen and connected them up to the neighbouring circle. This took a bit of planning so that i'd only have the one continuous quilting line and i could end off under the binding for a super secure finish. There were a few places between spirals that needed separate quilting, and in these cases i tied knots and buried the threads so it would look tidy. I was tempted to use a variety of thread colours but ended up using a blue/grey Aurifil thread to quilt all.

For the binding i used the remaining Michael Miller fabrics and have backed the quilt using a lovely Monaluna organic fabric. This is the first time i've completed a quilt where i hadn't pre-washed my fabrics, and i do like the crinkled finish that it gives after washing it. I'm not sure i'd like such a crinkly look on all quilts, but i do like it here!

So Sammy, i do hope this will keep your precious little baby cosy and that you'll thrive and enjoy all the adventures you have ahead of you as you welcome your delight to the world.

Linking up with:
- Amanda Jean for Finish it Up Friday
- Gemma for I Quilt Thursday at Pretty Bobbins and
- Lorna for Lets Bee Social

Soul Blossoms Quilt Top

Last week, i managed to piece together all the blocks for Marta and Orlando's Quilt. The Amy Butler Soul Blossoms fabric really shines and i'm stoked with how it's turned out.

 Inspired by a quilt by Ann D. Hansen called 'x-tra ordinary'  on p.28 of her book 'make it Modern Quilts' (more info here), i think the use of Amy Butlers Soul Blossoms fabric in this quilt design really makes it sing.

Thanks to all those who have shared their advice regarding binding and quilting. I've really appreciated the diversity of suggestions which helped me a great deal when i made my final selections.

Linking up with:
- Lee for WiP Wednesday
- Amanda Jean for Finish it Up Friday
- Gemma for I Quilt Thursday at Pretty Bobbins and
- Lorna for Lets Bee Social

Binding suggestions please??

100 blocks for Marta's quilt are well and truly ready for final piecing together. Despite my best efforts to keep accurate, they did need some squaring up in the end, but now, as 10 x 10 inch blocks they look good. There are some that are less than ideal, but i'm pretty happy with them.

It's nice to see the overall colour scheme come together and see the crosses link up the blocks.

I'm looking forward to piecing together the quilt top.

Thanks to all those that have given me some suggestions for quilting.....you've given me some great ideas and some i hadn't thought of. 

Binding suggestion please????

I'm still undecided what colour and/or print of fabric i should use to bind the quilt. I'm keen to avoid any more pink colours (thinking of my brother-in-law who will probably wish for something less feminine?). You all had such great quilting suggestions and i'd love for you to share with me what you think i should use for binding!

Linking up (eventually!) with Lorna for Lets Bee Social and Lee for WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Chita Pin Cushion

On our recent travels to Portugal, i purchased some local Chita de Alcobaca fabric. It's 100% cotton, and very unusual. It freys like crazy, but the patterns are really pretty. I decided to whip up a little pin cushion, to remind me of Portugal and our travels there.

I made it log cabin style using 1 inch strips except for the last outer strip which was a few inches to incorporate the pretty pattern. When filling it, i used some standard synthetic filling but added some rice to the bottom so that it feels a little heavier and sits nice and flat.

I made 2 at the same time so that i can give one to my Mum.

Linking up with AmandaJean for Finish it up Friday.

Memory Lane....New Zealand

New Zealand is gorgeous!

It's rugged beauty is breath-taking and if you haven't visited, i reckon you really should add it to your bucket list. I've especially enjoyed hiking through the mountains and the South Island is my favourite.

My first visit must have been over a decade ago and my sister and i travelled from the Bay of Plenty on the North Island (think.....dolphins, islands and lush, green vegetation), down to Kaikoura on the South Island (think.....fur seals, sperm whales and rugged, snow capped mountains by the sea). It was on this trip that i collected a handful of fabrics that reminded me of the places i'd seen.

When i got home to Australia, i designed a quilt based on blocks that reminded me of my favourite, inspiration-packed New Zealand locations and used the fabrics i'd purchased together with some from my stash to make it up.

Today, my New Zealand quilt (titled 'Adventures in Middle Earth, because of New Zealands perfect Lord of the Rings film locations), sits on our lounge ready for snuggling. The colours still remind me of New Zealand and our various travels there. It has been washed dozens of times and has faded quite a bit, but the swirls of quilting (thank to Carol Ikin :-)) have held it together well and it's in very good shape.

My thoughts now turn to our next travels to New Zealand and when we will introduce The Hurricane to one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Plum and June 2014 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop

It's also week 3 of the Plum and June 2014 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop, so if you'd like to see some more, new and inspirational quilting blogs, here is just a selection...

Carole @ Fresh Off The Frame

Camelia @ Camelia Elliott

Nurdan @ Hug a Bit Quilts

Paula @ Mud Pies and Pins

Lori @ Sew Psychd

Kitty @ Night Quilter

Christina @ Wips and Tuts

Diana @ Sew Crafty Chick

Marcia @ Cozy Capatiller

Judy @ Quilt Paradigm

Jasmine @ Quilt Kisses

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

Linking up with Gemma for I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins and AmandaJean for Finish it up Friday

Marta's Quilt..... is taking shape!

Well, after a few weeks of cutting and piecing, Marta's quilt is beginning to take shape.

Marta and Orlando have a whopping size bed (i think it's even bigger than a king size!), so this is going to be an equally large quilt. Yikes!! I've cut 100, 10.5 x 10.5 inch squares, and have managed to piece together the shades of pink squares with their green crosses.

I have found that i've need to be super accurate with cutting and with my 1/4 inch seam so that when i square up the block, i don't cut too much off and also so that the crosses will meet neatly with the next blocks. Even so, there are still some blocks that are less than ideal. But overall, i'm pretty happy with how they are turning out so far. It should look even better when i make up the green shaded blocks with pink crosses.

I also made the online-purchase mistake of ordering fabric in mid/heavy weight, which despite being absolutely lovely and matching the colours perfectly, is a bit too thick, so today i headed off to Addicted2Fabric to get some Michael Miller solid in pink......and it's perfect! Perhaps the heavier drill fabric will be ideal for some pillows to match?

Please help! Quilting ideas and suggestions?

So i figure, i'm a bit over half way through the piecing ....waahoooo! I'm starting to wonder about what the best way to quilt it will be. I'm pretty confident that its going to be waaaay too whoppingly large (think....2.4 x 2.8m) for me to quilt on my home machine, so i'm thinking of asking a long-armer to quilt it for me. But, i have no idea about what pattern or design? Should i go for an overall type pattern of swirls or perhaps accentuate the cross pattern with some straight lines? I'd sure love to hear your ideas and suggestions. Here is a picture of the original quilt by Ann D. Hansen called 'x-tra ordinary' (p.28 of her book 'make it Modern Quilts') which gives you an idea of how the blocks will look when they're pieced together.

Linking up with Lorna for Lets Bee Social and Lee for WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Spring Picnic

It's winter here in Canberra. The nights are cold and it's difficult to get out of bed in the morning. I'm a summer-loving type girl and i'm already longing for the change of season. In preparation for some spring picnics in the mountains and weekends away camping, i'm planning on making a picnic quilt and i know just the inspiration.

p. 122 of Malka Dubrawsky's Fresh*Quilting; Fearless Color, Design & Inspiration

Last year i saw a beautiful picnic quilt made by Malka Dubrawsky (p. 122 of her book Fresh*Quilting; Fearless Color, Design & Inspiration), and i've been wanting to make something like it ever since. Using mostly shades of green in solids and prints, i found it so fresh and when i see it, it makes me want to seek out some blue skies and leafy trees to picnic under. I love it's simplicity and focus on colours.

So, here are some of the Kona Solids i've selected in a recent fabric purchase. I like the colours, they make me happy and i think they'll work well with some of the prints i already have in my stash. For now though, we still have a few more months of winter to enjoy which are perfect quilting conditions (also good for hot chocolates, movies, snuggling under favourite quilts, sipping tea, baking bikkies, reading and playing in the sunshine that typifies Canberra winters).

Cheers to a few winter months... the perfect preparation time for a spring picnic quilt.

It's also week 2 of the Plum and June 2014 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop, so if you'd like to see some more, new and inspirational quilting blogs, here is just a selection...

Jill @ Pie Lady Quilts

Chelsea @ Patch The Giraffe (http://patchthegiraffe. blogspot.com/)

Daisy @ Ants To Sugar

Rachael @ The Floral Suitcase 

Elizabeth @ And Pins

Jennifer @ Never Just Jennifer 

Alice @ Blossom Quilts

Megan @ Sew Stitching Cute

Stephanie @ Late Night Quilter

Kelsey @ Lovely And Enough

Linking up with Gemma for I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins and Molli Sparkes for Sunday Stash