Online Bloggers' Quilt Festival - Radiant Poppies

My second entry in the October Online Bloggers' Quilt Festival is my Radiant Poppies quilt, and I'm entering it into the Hand Quilted section.

I made this quilt for the Pantone Radiant Orchid challenge last year.  I used Elizabeth Hartman's Kitchen Window pattern, but stopped at three rows so it would be a lap quilt. I chose the Joel Dewberry Poppies fabric as my feature fabric, and worked out from there.

I hand quilted around each of the window panes, but then also quilted diagonal lines across the quilt with Perle 8.  I enjoy hand quilting with Perle 8, and I love the finished look that it gives. If you're interested in hand quilting I recommend you join the Celebrate Hand Quilting group on Facebook.  They're a great group of people (men and women), always willing to help other quilters.

This quilt is 52" x 52" and you can read more about it here in my original blog post.

I'll leave you with a view of the back - I just had to use up those beautiful Joel Dewberry poppies.

Thank you for visiting.

Online Bloggers' Quilt Festival - Spinning Stripes

It's time for the Bloggers' Quilt Festival again, and once again I'm entering two quilts.

The first is my Spinning Stripes, which I finished in September.  I'm entering this quilt in the Mini Quilt section.

I learnt to make this quilt in a class run by my friend, Shirley Mooney.  She showed us how to turn this single piece of fabric into a stunning mini quilt.

I machine quilted this mini myself.  I spread the quilting over two weeks because there were so many ends to bury.

I'm really pleased with how this quilt turned out. It's my favourite greens and blues, and it's a very interesting design.  I have another version already cut and ready to piece soon.

This mini quilt measures 22" across.  Thank you for visiting.

Halloween Hexagons

It's been a while since I blogged, and I feel a bit guilty because my last post was all about setting goals and staying focused for the last quarter of the year.  Then suddenly I felt the need to make something with the lovely Cotton and Steel Spellbound fabrics in my drawer.  They are Halloween themed, so it really makes sense to use them now. They'll probably bring out a new range next Halloween, and it will be even more tempting, so best I use these ones in 2015.
 

I've had The New Hexagon book by Katja Marek for six months now, but I haven't made anything from it yet because I've been immersed in la passacaglia.  But last Saturday night I decided I could make a small table mat using the Halloween fabrics and the paper pieces I got with the book.  Surely that's OK if it's "sewing my stash"??

The piecing for the New Hexagon is much quicker than for la passacaglia, because the pieces are so much bigger.  I used all my passacaglia tricks though of glue basting and using clover clips to hold the pieces steady.

currently 16" x 36" for a hall table

As a result I've almost pieced the whole table runner already.  I'm not sure if I'll hand quilt or machine quilt this yet.  It might not be ready for Halloween, but at least I've made something with the fabrics and dabbled in the New Hexagon book too.

I've also started my pink Tula Pink dress

and I'm working on my sewing machine cover with my mum who is staying for Labour Weekend. Busy times!!

I must dash and write my posts for the Online Bloggers' Quilt Festival.  It totally crept up on me this year - I forgot that it's on at the same time as the Quilt Markets in USA.  Voting doesn't open for another week yet, but this week is the time to link up the entries.

Q4 Finish a long goals

I did well on my Q3 goals, but I don't really expect to be so successful with my term 4 goals.

I think people in the northern hemisphere get more productive as they move towards Christmas because it's winter and they tend to stay in doors more.

We are just the opposite down here in New Zealand and Australia - summer is coming and the evenings are getting warmer and lighter. Add to that the fact that the school year is wrapping up, and we have lots of school related functions to attend.  My older son just got accepted into the course he wants to do at University next year (Bachelor of Software Engineering), so there are big changes ahead as he prepares to move to Auckland in February.  

Anyway, here are the things I would like to get finished in Q4:

1.  Dresses x 3

I've decided to sew myself some new dresses and tunics this year.  I'm using Tula Pink extra wide backing (Free Fall) for two of them, and a Cotton and Steel print for another.  I made most of the first one last week, but I just need to add the tie backs and hem it now.

2. Christmas Tree Etui

This is another addition to my Gingerbread Village.  I stitched the first panel back in January, and only picked it up again last week.  It would be lovely to have it ready by mid December.

3.  Christmas Tree Quilt

This is another great design by Wendy Williams of Flying Fish Kits.  I've had the pattern for months, but sometimes you just have to wait until the Christmas spirit strikes.  I made a small start on this at our guild retreat in September. It's wool felt applique so also involves a lot of hand sewing.

4. La Passacaglia

This definitely won't be finished in Q4, but I do want to keep working on it. I'd love to have the quilt top all finished by 31 December, or at least 31 January. Then I'll have to think about how to quilt it.  I'll definitely do it by hand, but I'm not sure about what type of design I'll use yet.

This is a slightly different arrangement to the photo I posted last week, and I've changed my mind again since I took this photo.  I haven't started joining the top section yet, so I'll just keep shuffling them around until I'm happy with the placement.

A major milestone for my la passacaglia

I went to bed very happy last night because I've completed the bottom half of my la passacaglia.  Yes, I'm 50% done!!!!

For my newer followers, I started this quilt at Christmas time.  I made about 20 rosettes between January and July, but I only started to join them up in August.

Some of my early rosettes - they're not all in the quilt yet

All the decisions required about pattern and colour mean that joining the rosettes has been a slow process. Hand sewing all those stars on takes forever too.

Two of the potential rosettes in this photo didn't make it into the quilt afterall

I am extending the pattern slightly beyond the edges shown in the book, but I do currently intend to mark a straight edge and attach a fairly plain border (or maybe two - a skinny one and then a wider one).

Some people in the facebook group are appliqueing their edges to a border so they don't lose any star points, but I think it would be too hard to fold the points down.  Others are hand piecing a plain row of pentagons around the edge and then attaching a border or binding.

Forward planning on my kitchen floor

The bottom section measures 37" x 55".  I have lots of rosettes made for the top half. I just need to decide on the placement, make the stars, and join them up.  I'm not sure if I'll manage all that before Christmas or not.

If you're thinking about making this quilt then I really would recommend allowing about one year.