A Finish - at last

At last I have a finish to share. Some of you might not consider finishing a quilt top a true finish, but I do.

I usually take a break between finishing a quilt top and quilting it. I like to think about what I'm going to use for the backing and how I'm going to quilt it.

I'm still not sure if I'll machine or hand quilt this one. I haven't done any hand quilting for a while, so it might be time for another hand quilting project. Unlike my friends in Perth, I don't need to worry about it being too hot to hand quilt in summer in Wellington!

This could be my first project for 2015 Finish along, which Adrienne from On the Windy Side is going to be hosting next year.

This quilt pattern was designed by Chrissy of Sew Lux and released by Clover and Violet. It's still available on their blog if you would like to try it too.

And yes, I've changed my blog header to be more festive. If you're a newish follower and don't know about my Gingerbread Village, you can read all about it in this post. I'll post some more photos of my hand made Christmas decorations over the coming weeks.

WIP and a winner

I drew the prize today and the lucky winner is number 11, Cathy from Cathy's Sewing Room in Adelaide, Australia. Congratulations Cathy and I hope you can make something nice with the fabrics. I'll be in touch to arrange shipping soon.

It was lovely to hear from so many people about the new things they have tried this year. Thank you all for taking the time to leave a comment.

I've still been really busy with work this week, so I haven't got a lot of sewing done. I have managed to add another very narrow striped border to the mini medallion quilt along.

Today I've been working on the final border for this quilt. The colours are quite different to what I usually use, but I do like them. I've really enjoyed making this.

I've also been selecting the fabrics for my next Women of the Bible blocks. We have Rebekah and Ruth to work on next. I'm trying to do one blue and and one pink each time the patterns are released, to keep the quilt balanced.

That's all for today. I'm hoping for quite a few finishes in December, but probably being unrealistic. It would be nice to start the new year with a clean sheet, but that's probably not going to happen (unless I stay awake sewing until 3am each night).

It's almost been a year, so that means Giveaway time

The prize - 4 half metre cuts of  In The Navy prints by Camelot Fabrics

Wow, it's almost been a whole year since I started this blog. Why did I do it? There were 3 main reasons:

1. I'd been reading quilting blogs for a few years and drew lots of inspiration from what others were making. I thought some people might be interested in seeing what I was making.

2. I've always include a few photos of my quilting and embroidery finishes in my annual Christmas letter to family and friends. Many of those people tell me look forward to my letter so they can see what I've been up to in the past 12 months. Some years it was hard to choose which photos to include with so many projects on the go. So I knew I had plenty of material to share.

3. Would you believe I'd actually started a word document I called 'Craft Log' and was building up a document filled with photos and descriptions of what I'd made, year by year. So I knew I wanted a permanent reference of what I'd made, but up until that point I wasn't ready to go public with a blog. I worked in IT for many years solving software issues, and quite frankly, I didn't want to spend any more time on a computer than I had to.

After I sent out our 2013 Christmas letter I decided to investigate blogging, and I posted my first post on 16 December 2013.

I can still remember some of the very first people I became on line friends with back then. I won't name names for fear of offending anyone I miss out, but I've made some great friends during the past 12 months. You've all been very supportive of my efforts, and I've enjoying getting to know people from all over the world.

I've tried many new things since I started my blog:
- I joined my local quilt guild (called Capital Quilters) and met some new friends there
- I joined Instagram and met many embroidery people through that
- I participated in a quilt a long via Instagram
- I joined the Possum Magic round robin and met some fun loving people through that
- I revived my crochet interest and am planning on making a blanket next year

I could go on and on!  Anyway, to the point of this post. I running a give away to thank you all for your loyal support over the past 12 months.

The prize - 4 half metre cuts of these In The Navy prints from Camelot Fabrics

To enter:
1. Leave a comment telling me something that you tried for the first time in 2014. It could be quilting or sewing related, or sports, or travel. Whatever was significant to you.
2. If you follow my blog, leave a comment telling me how you follow - bloglovin, feedly etc
3. If you follow via Instagram leave a comment with your user name. I'm @wendysquiltsandmore
So some people can leave 3 comments.

I will ship anywhere in the world, but I must be able to email you, so if you are a no reply blogger, please leave your email address.

Entries close at 11am Sunday 30 Nov New Zealand daylight savings time. That gives you 3 days to enter. Good luck, and thank you.

A virtual garden tour - the type where you don't leave your chair

I'm just back from another trip to Auckland for work. I stayed with my mum and dad and enjoyed seeing them again. Some of you asked to see more of mum's needle work and her garden, so here goes.

Mum's canvas work cushions

more of mum's cushions

Mum's canvas work Laura J Perin's Christmas Wreath

We went to pick up the framed wreath, but were really unhappy with the framing. It was such a pity after so much hard work. They agreed to take the frame off and try again, but I still think it will be too close to the stitching. Anyway, it's a beautiful piece of work. The ribbon at the top is done in a very velvet thread from Rainbow Gallery and is just gorgeous. I have all the threads and sparkly canvas here to do it for myself, but it hasn't risen to the top of the list yet. The Christmas spirit usually hits me about a week out from Christmas, so I might even start it before the end of this year.


Now for some spring time garden photos taken yesterday. Yes, orchids can grow outside in Auckland, provided they are kept in a sheltered place.

Orchids on the right hand side of this photo

more orchids and hydrangeas about to flower soon

That's a NZ native cabbage tree growing in the neighbour's garden. It doesn't produce cabbages.

So, you've had virtual garden tour of my mum and dad's home in Auckland, New Zealand. I hope you've enjoyed it.

My Biscornus

Over the years I've made a few biscornus.  The word 'biscornu' apparently comes from a French adjective, and means skewed, quirky or irregular. Wikipedia defines 'biscornu' as a small eight sided stuffed pin cushion, decorated with embroidery on the top and bottom.

Wikipedia clearly haven't seen my 15 and 6 sided biscornus. I made both of these using a pattern from The Victoria Sampler. 

15 sided and 6 sided biscornus from The Victoria Sampler

For the 15 sided biscornu each of the 15 panels are stitched separately and then sewn together.

In the 6 sided biscornu there are larger square pieces on the top and bottom, and then 4 hardanger panels on the sides.  The hardanger on the sides is lovely, and of course the tiny beads always add a special touch.

I made these biscornus using beautiful variegated threads and ribbons from ColourStreams - the colours were Mardi Gras, Jacaranda and Carnivale.  The ribbons were used to make spider web roses.

I've also made some some lovely biscornus from kits by The Sweetheart Tree. These biscornus are made by stitching two square pieces and then rotating one of them 45 degrees before sewing them together.

Biscornus from The Sweetheart Tree

Left = Lavender Blossoms biscornu
I think the other two were actually Teenies from The Sweetheart Tree which I've converted into biscornus.

I love the beads along the seams in these biscornus. Take a look at this page (click here). There are so many kits available. I have to admit that I've still got 2 more kits waiting to be stitched. They are Cherry Blossoms and Rhodes Butterfly.

I also made this lovely design from Chatelaine Designs  I love how the greens and gold look on black, but it wasn't easy to stitch on black. I now always put a white tea towel on my knees when I'm stitching on black linen. That way the light shines through the linen and I can see the holes more clearly.

Chatelaine Designs biscornu

To complete my collection I have my gingerbread biscornu which includes hardanger too.

Gingerbread biscornu from The Victoria Sampler

Have you ever made a biscornu? Are you tempted to try?

Possum Magic update

I haven't been doing much quilting lately, as you'll probably know if you're a regular follower.

There are three reasons for that:

1. I promised I'd finish my "Your Place or Mine?" wool felt applique top before the end of the year. I haven't made much progress on it, but I have avoided starting anything else quilt related. So I think I get a half tick for that.

2. I've been seriously distracted by all the yummy things I see on Instagram. I made the crochet mandalas and now I'm doing my first Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery project. It's a four week mystery stitch along which I'm really enjoying.

The down side to this project is that it's taking me forever because I chose to do mine on green lugana ,rather than the sparkly gingerbread linen that they suggested. I already had the green lugana, and thought it would look Christmassy, but now I have to make some thread substitutions because of the green background.  I'm getting there though, and after tonight there will be no more unpicking.

3. Work!!  Yes, I have a part time job, and for the last three weeks it's been really busy. Our annual conference and awards dinner will be held in Auckland this Friday. I've organised everything from the registrations, to the hotel, to the dinner for 100 people.  I'm looking forward to next week when life will be more back to normal.

When I do get free time, one of my first projects will be Carla's Possum Magic quilt. I can't wait to get started on this. I have an idea and I have the fabrics - I just need some free time. I love all the lime green in this quilt. It looks so fresh and summery.

Carla's Possum Magic quilt

The lovely Art Gallery fabrics I'm going to use

the ladybirds Rebecca paper pieced

There are updated photos on the Possum Magic tab at the top of my blog. Check out what the others have done lately. Here's a sneak peek:

Alice's quilt

Sharon's quilt

my quilt

Mine really isn't quite that vibrant - it must just be the way the light has caught it.

My first quilt

Today I thought I'd show you my first quilt. It's not the first quilt I ever made, but it is the first quilt ever made for me!

My Amish inspired quilt

My mum discovered patchwork and quilting in the 1980s. After making her first few quilts, she asked me if I would like one. Of course we didn't have the internet then, so I trawled through some books from the library I discovered I was attracted to the Amish quilts with clear lines and bright colours.

I found a pattern that I liked, but the funny thing was that this quilt was made from brown and pink florals in the book. I knew that I wasn't going to have a brown and pink quilt, so when we got to the shop I started pulling out the brightest fabrics I could lay my hands on.

I distinctly remember my mum being a bit embarrassed at my bright fabric choices, but fortunately she went with my choices and we can home with a very colourful bundle of fabrics.

This quilt was made before we had rotary cutters and mats. It was all hand quilted by my mum.  Sadly it's faded quite a bit, despite never being left in direct sunlight.

a matching cushion

 My local quilt shop has been running classes to make a modern quilt very similar to this, which I find quite amusing. I like to tell myself that I was ahead of my time choosing solids like this.