Pinestream Quilters

Last night I was the guest speaker at Pinestream Quilters in Upper Hutt, Wellington.  

I've spoken to Pinestream Quilters previously, so I decided to take along some of my bags and tapestry cushions, as well as my most recently finished quilts of course. 

Everyone loved my Giraffe tapestry cushion designed by Kim McLean.  I thought that they were no longer available, but upon checking I see that they are back in stock at the Crewel Gobelin in Sydney here.  You can read more about my cushion and how I attached the tassels here. 

I also talked about bag making and showed some of the bags that I've made myself.  

My modified One Hour Basket made with a Renaissance Ribbons velvet ribbon was very popular.  I've found the velvet ribbon in stock at Bower Bird near Hamilton.  Mel from Bower Bird has two new versions I haven't see before:

https://bowerbird.nz/products/velvet-border-odile-bailloeul

https://bowerbird.nz/products/the-queens-garden-velvet-border

Both of them would make beautiful baskets.  I'm getting tempted myself! 

Someone asked about my Pandemic Sampler by Long Dog Samplers and I was horrified to realise this morning that it's been waiting for the back stitching for 11 months now!! I really must get onto that ASAP.  

Thank you Pinestream Quilters - it was a lovely evening spent with like minded quilters. 

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Giraffes cushion - and the Peacock Party

Firstly, thank you for all the kind comments on my Tongariro Crossing quilt.

This week I'm pleased to say that I've finished my Giraffes cushion - designed by Kim McLean from Australia - best known for her Glorious Applique designs with Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

I finished the tapestry months ago, and then I took it in to Nancy's Stitch Studio to be stretched and turned into a cushion.  After that it lay on my sewing table for a few weeks as I psyched myself up to make the tassels.

Tassels are one of those things (like pom poms) that appear easy, and basic craft, but when you've got high standards, they can end up taking 3 days!!!

Yes, I fluffed around with tassels this week.  I wanted each one to be the same as the others, and I wanted them evenly spaced around the cushion.

They're on now, and they look great.  I'm going to record what I did here, in case a tassel ever falls off and I need to make a replacement! Mind you, this cushion isn't for sitting on - it's just for looking at!!!

I used the same DMC tapestry wool shades as used in the cushion. There is 8m in each skein.
- I cut one 2m length into 8 equal pieces - 25cm each
- I cut the remaining 6m into 4 equal pieces of 1.5m each
- I wrapped the long pieces around the four fingers on my left hand.
- I used one short piece to secure the top with a knot. I left those ends long, and later used them to attach the tassel to the cushion.  I darned them through the tapestry in opposite directions and tied another knot.  I then threaded those ends into the tassel.
- I used another short piece to bind the tassel. I tied a knot when done, and then used a crochet hook to pull those ends through the tassel.
- I trimmed the ends nicely.

I used Kaffe Fassett on the back - of course!

Kim has designed 5 cushions, and can purchase them through the Crewel Gobelin in Sydney, Australia. They are the only shop authorised to sell them.

I used tent stitch as recommended, and although it takes longer, the coverage is beautiful and it all looks so even.  It looks good sitting beside my Peacock at Sunset tapestry cushion here.

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post and show us all what you've been up to lately.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Weekly wrap and the Peacock Party

I feel like I've dabbled in many things this week, and not got very far on any of them.

Two nights ago I pulled out my Gingerbread Retreat Cottage.  I'd really like to get this one finished before Christmas, and then it can join the others on the shelf. I'd already started the brown roof  months ago, but this week I started the front panel. 

I have an embroidered Gingerbread Village that I bring out each Christmas.  The patterns are designed by Thea Dueck of the Victoria Sampler.  You can find plenty more photos and information on the Gingerbread Village tab at the top of my blog. 

I took my Kim McLean Giraffe cushion into Nancy's Stitch Studio to get it turned into a cushion.  They do such a great job of stretching the canvas and turning it into a beautiful cushion.  I'm going to use that gorgeous piece of Kaffe Fassett fabric on the back. 

Speaking of Kaffe Fassett, look what my mum made for me! Some hand knitted woolen socks, and matching fingerless gloves, all from Kaffe Fassett wool.  It's till winter here, so both gifts will be well used over the next few weeks. 

My socks even match the rug (blanket) that I crocheted a few years ago. 

I posted a photo of the pincushion online, and lots of people wanted to know where to get the pattern from.  If you're interested, it's an English Paper Pieced pattern from a small New Zealand company called Tis the Season.  Here is the link to the Vera pattern. 

I've also spent a fair bit of time stuggling with velcro this week.  If you're a Kiwi, you'll know what that means.  Yes, I've had a quilt accepted into our national show at Quilt Symposium Auckland.  Some of our exhibitions use velcro to hang the quilts, rather than hanging sleeves.  Don't ask why, because I don't know why.  I hate putting velcro onto my quilts, but it has to be done if you want your quilt to be hung.  I am delighted to have a quilt in the exhibition.  This is the only show open to everyone in New Zealand. 

I've also just finished my silver hexagon mini quilt for the Aotearoa Quilters' 25th anniversary challenge.  These quilts will also be on display at Symposium, and they also need velcro.  I'm not going to post any photos of my silver quilt until they are all on display.  I was determined to enter this challenge after seeing all the pink ones at Palmerston North. Making a hexagon shaped quilt wasn't easy!

So, I'll have two quilts in the exhibitions at Symposium.  If you live in Auckland I hope you can come and view the exhibitions, even if you're not taking any classes. 

Now for the Peacock Party.  What have you been up to this week? Feel free to link up a recent blog post. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

A tapestry cushion, a knitted scarf - and the Peacock Party

Well, I finally feel like I'm making some progress here.  I've finished the stitching on my tapestry, and am just choosing the fabric for the back of the cushion.

Fortunately I had a few Kaffe Fassett half yards in my stash! And I think this "Enchanted" is just perfect because it brings out the blues and the oranges.

This tapestry design is by Kim McLean Designs and is available exclusively through The Crewel Gobelin shop in Sydney, Australia.

I stitch my tapestry without a frame because it makes it more portable, and it would need stretching even I did use a frame.  The nature of tent stitch means that the canvas is all pulled in one direction.

I don't know if this cushion will end up sitting next to my Peacock at Sunset cushion of not, but it might work.

In more good news I've finished my Kaffe Fassett scarf. 

This scarf is very long (2.3 metres), but it's all worth it now that it's finished.  We're experiencing the cold, damp days of winter now, so I will get lots of wear from it.

Last weekend I gave a little talk to a local quilting guild - Coastal Quilters.  They wanted to hear about how I got in to quilting, so I took along some of my earlier quilts.  Here the are hanging on the racks after my talk had finished.  Everyone came up onto the stage for a good look during the tea break.

Each one of these quilts has a story behind it and it was interesting to revisit each one and give it some individual attention.

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What's everyone else been up to this week? Feel free to link up a recent blog post and let us know what you've been doing.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Peacock Party

No travels this past weekend, but I am going on another adventure next weekend.

We have to be at our destination at 1pm, and it will take at least 4 hours to drive there, so we need to leave home at 8am to allow time for a coffee and a stop at a quilt shop.  Yes! I've negotiated a stop at a quilt shop before we've even left home.

So, what will I take with me for a weekend away?  I'll take my tapestry because it's easy to see in rooms with poor lighting.

I purchased this Kim McLean tapestry at the Sydney Quilt Show last year.  Kim is well know for her Glorious Applique quilt designs using Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  Now Kim has designed some gorgeous cushions and I'm enjoying making this one called Giraffes.

The kit came with DMC tapestry wool, and I"m doing tent stitch as recommended by Kim.  It gives great coverage and I'm really happy with how it's progressing. 

The kit even came with a lovely canvas carry bag so it's quite easy to put everything in the bag and take it on holiday.

I only started this in October last year, but I'm hoping to finish most of it before the 2019 Sydney Quilt Show in June.  Then I might be able to justify buying another kit because I love them all.  You can see the full range on the Crewel Gobelin website - they have exclusive rights to sell these designs, but they do post internationally.

It's lovely to see new people linking up to the Peacock Party each week.  Our little community is growing!
Feel free to link up a blog post showing what you've been working on recently.

Inlinkz Link Party

Too many WIPs

I feel surrounded by WIPs at the moment.  I know I should prioritise and finish one or two, but I keep dipping in and out and nothing is getting finished. 

Here's a few of the things I'm working on at the moment:

1.  My Glitter quilt - pattern by Jen Kingwell from Amitie Textitles.  I'm aiming to have all 152 blocks finished by the end of November, and then I can hand sew them together over summer. I haven't looked at them together since about April, so I hope the colours are all fine.  I don't mind if I have to sew a few replacement blocks - that's bound to happen when I haven't got a design wall to monitor progress.

 

I've got the remaining blocks cut out and bagged up, so if I can just hand sew one block each night of November, I'll achieve my goal. 

2.  Kim McLean tapestry - I've started putting a few stitches into this tapestry each night too.  I just love the vibrant colours Kim has chosen.  I can't do tapestry for too long each day or it hurts my hands, so I just do about 30 minutes each night. 

3. I'm also trying to finish my Gingerbread Needlework Shop so it can sit on my shelf at Christmas.  It will become my number one priority when the Glitter blocks are finished.

4. I stitched this sashiko table runner back in January, but I only just fused the fabric circles on this week.  I did a couple of simple rows of machine quilting on it, but now I want to apply facings to finish it. The pattern is by Indigo Niche from Australia.

5.  I also started another table runner before I put away my Alison Glass fabrics.  I've hand quilted this one, but again I want to finish it with facings. I've used a pattern by Christina Cameli. I'll post better photos when I finish it (which should be soon).

6.  And then, because I'm a sucker for quirky cute things, I bought this pattern by Elizabeth Hartman for Norm & Nanette.  I had one of those moments where you think you're just going to cut out some pieces so you can sew them together another day, but you end up just sewing a few together to see how it looks, and before you know it, you've made a gnome!

I'm not going to show my gnome yet, because he needs a few fix ups - I chose a checked fabric but it was a bit warped and the checks veer off at the sides.  I have to correct it before I show it.

So that's some of my active WIPs.  How's everyone else getting on?

Needlepoint cushions

I do love a good needlepoint cushion! My mum and I both enjoy working on wool tapestries.  This is mum's latest finish.

It's designed by Bothy Threads and is called Morris Bell Flower.  This is how it looked before I took it to Nancy's Stitch Studio and got it stretched and turned into a cushion.

Look at all those stitches! Tapestry is very dense and completely covers the canvas.

I've made a tiny start on my new tapestry too.  My tapestry is by Kim McLean Designs and is only available from the Crewel Gobelin in Sydney, Australia. 

I'm looking forward to doing some slow stitching on this tapestry over the next year or so.  It's something I like to pick up when I take a break from other projects. 

I hope you all get some sewing time over the weekend.  It's Spring time here and I'm going to watch my son play cricket tomorrow.