Midnight Madness

For a number of years now, sister Linda has hosted Midnight Madness quilting nights for the Taupo Quiltmakers.

The finished quilt is a mystery to the participants and they cannot resist plying Linda with questions in the hope that they might get some idea of the outcome. So far Linda has been successful in keeping the outcome a secret.

When the ladies have completed the first block component of their quilts Linda reveals a finished quilt she has made herself so the ladies can at last know the outcome.  They have never been disappointed and have a lot of fun on the road to discovery.

This year Linda chose a scrappy quilt Stars and Strings and I made up a sample quilt using Kiwiana scraps.  Linda machine quilted it giving the scrappy blocks a corrugated effect - very striking.

One of the things I love about this block is the different images you can get depending on how you look at it.

To the left we have a definite starry block

 or you can see intersecting diamond shapes

or a squarish shape like this.

I really enjoyed working on this project and if you like to pop across to Linda's blog you can see the different results from the actual Midnight Madness evening.

Don't forget to scroll down and look at Linda's own version of this quilt and the wonderful quilting she has done in the star part of the blocks.

Cup cakes and polka dots

Recently I was sorting through my scrap stash and thought these fabrics went well together.

It thought they would make a nice quilt and I could call it Cup Cakes and Polka Dots.

Only problem there was not enough fabric to make a quilt so what's a girl to do?

Go shopping, of course!

In this case, on line to The Fat Quarter Shop.

In no time at all the postman popped a package in my letter box and now I have lots of fabric to go with my small scrap stash.

The packaging from The Fat Quarter Shop was so nice I did not even take the fabric out for a week or more - I just enjoyed looking at it.

A bit of a dilemma when you are trying to reduct your scrap stash and you end up buying  more fabric in the process - nice fun, though!

In case you were wondering.................

On the 5th September I wrote about the Ugly Duckling challenge I was participating in.

The other side of the coin was me handing in my ugly fabric which is featured to the left.

On Thursday night the results of the challenge were revealed.

There was a mixture of results - place mats, a handbag, an arm chair sewing caddy, a covered coat hanger, the apron I made and, of course,  the result of my own piece of fabric -

a table runner.

I really admire the way Janet picked out the colours from my fabric and matched them to red, green and black - it was more than I could have done.

A fun exercise - I enjoyed participating.

More Stitching

There seems to be no end to the possibilities of quilt projects from our stash of fabrics on hand.

A while ago I was given some fabrics from a range by Moda called Harvest Home.

The fabrics have been patiently waiting for my attention and now, finally, I have found a project for them.

This is just the beginnings of a quilt for me and the name of the block is Granny Squares.

It gives the appearance of having been worked with triangles but the trick is in the trimming of the blocks when they are completed.

Each block takes me about 40 minutes to complete but I am enjoying the process.  The variety of fabrics within the range gives me lots to play with so that each one looks different but has a common border to give uniformity.

Let's hope it won't be too long before I can share the finished quilt.

Ugly Duckling Challenge

Our quilting group put out a challenge for those who were interested:-

From your fabric stash choose an ugly fat quarter, put it in a brown paper bag and hand it in on quilting night.

The co-ordinator numbers the bags and then hands them out to someone else in the swap.

You take the bag home and make something 'beautiful' out of the ugly fabric.

You have to use at least 50% of the ugly fabric in your project.

I dislike plaids, so guess what I got - a piece of plaid fabric featured in the centre of the image above.

I had several ideas in mind but finally settled on making an apron inspired by the vintage pattern pictured here.

From my stash I found a piece of rust red fabric and with a bit more searching found some broderie anglaise.

It has been a while since I embarked on a project like this but I did enjoy the process.

I added a pocket so that I could use more of the ugly fabric.  I did have some left but have definitely used more than 50%.

At the end of the day - an apron.

I hope the recipient will consider her ugly duckling to have been transformed into swan.

As a footnote - I really, really did not like the piece of fabric I handed in so I wonder if I will consider it had been appropriately transformed when it come homes to me.

Stacked and ready to go

Something warm and cosy about a stack of quilts.

This is only three quilts, I know, but with a special purpose in mind.

I have just put labels on them today and now they just need to be packed and sent off to our great-nephews.

We hope they get to treasure each having their own special quilt.

More musings from my bedroom window

Further to my entry about sights from my bedroom window I thought I would write about the rhododendron bush that catches my eye every day.

It has been growing amidst our hedge row and this will be the fourth summer we have lived here and up until now this shrub has been a sorry sight - producing a few buds but never coming to flower.

In my opinion, I thought it needed to be taken out, but as if to spite me this year it has come in to bloom with the loveliest of shades of yellow.

This morning I went to take some photos of the blooms and there in the midst was a bumble bee doing its business.

If it is good enough for the bumble bees then I think this shrub may well have given itself another life.

Another I Spy Quilt

On the 30th July I wrote about a book I reviewed for Taupo Quiltmakers, Quick and Easy Quilts for Kids.

I had made an I Spy quilt from one of the patterns but had in mind to do another from the same book.

This one is called Baby Bricks and is a fast and easy stitching project as long as you have a variety of fabrics to pull from your scrap bin.

Big enough to just cover a single bed it will be sent with the other I Spy quilt to our great nephews.

We hope they have lots of fun playing I Spy with their quilts.

That's what friends are for

Yesterday our Sweet Peas sewing group met at our place.

Trish came with a quilt that she made made a while ago and it needed to be washed.  However, the result of washing was not good, the quilt went all crinkly in the worst possible way.

She brought it along to the group to see if anything could be done to fix the problem.

Within a short space of time our friends had gathered around and helped her with the task of unpicking the stitching so that the top could be be removed from the backing.  All too soon she had her quilt top separated so that it could be stitched afresh and hopefully this time all will be well when her quilt is stitched together again.

Lovely to see the things that friends can do for each other when they gather together.

From my bedroom window

The view from my bedroom window may or may not appeal to some but it provides plenty of interest to me depending on the season and the weather.

The walnut tree to the right was recently pruned and a couple of days later the wren birds came to visit.  Probably 30 or more resting on the trees or hopping to the ground for food.  They could obviously see items of interest that I could not.

Sometimes the fantails will fly over the embankment and appear to be sailing on the wind as they chase insects that are tempting them in the air ways.

There are walking paths on both sides of the river and I often see walkers and/or cyclists making use of facilities to exercise along the river setting.  A great place for exercising dogs as well and is used as daily routine by some dog owners.

Other days it is not uncommon to see splashes in the river as fish rise to the surface and splash around before disappearing again.  Bird life abounds as well with a variety of ducks, geese and swans taking their turn in the river from time to time or flying overhead.

Most days the local kayaking business brings a group of would be kayakers to the river to try their hand at the sport.  They come all weathers and provide more interest for us above.

I am glad not to be confined to my bedroom but if I was it is nice to know that there is a range of activities that can be observed from my bedroom window.

Scrappy and Bright

Sister Linda is librarian for Taupo Quiltmakers.

She recently bought a new batch of books for their library and those people who borrowed the new books were asked to make something from the book and to review at the next meeting.

The concepts of the quilts in this book appealed to me and so I chose the Critters and Crawlers quilt to make.

A basic square within a square block, I decided to use a variety of conversation fabrics to make an 'I Spy' quilt with blue and yellow as the background fabrics.

This is a close up of the results - can you see the stars emerging from the placement of the blue and yellow background fabrics?

Just big enough to cover a single bed, we have a great nephew in mind to give it to.

But wait, he has two younger brothers.

Some more scrappy quilts will be needed to keep them warm and cosy too.

They are already underway so more quilts are yet to be revealed.

70th Birthday Quilt

This quilting block has become a firm favourite of ours.

This one featured was made as a gift for a friend who belongs to Taupo Quiltmakers and our Sweet Pea group.

It was hung at the recent local quilt exhibition and the red really popped out from the black and white background fabrics.

I wrote in April about the autumn colour one I made for my friend, Cherie.

Just this past week Linda and I made another in shades of purple, turquoise and hot pink for our cousin's 59th birthday.  You can read about that with images on Linda's blog.

Amazing results for a relatively easy quilt block.  If you would like to try this yourself you can find instructions on Bonnie Hunter's website.

Time for an Airing

At our recent quilt exhibition one of the ladies had made a candlewick quilt which was beautifully displayed on a bed.

The set up needed some props so I offered my two crazy quilt cushions and it was nice to give them an airing in a setting like this.

On the wall behind the bed was this most delightful Baltimore style quilt with a Kiwiana flavour.

Hand appliqued and hand quilted it really is a beauty.

Of Doilies and Such

One of the ladies in our quilting group is extremely artistic and comes up with some amazing quilt creations.

This wall hanging was created as a way of showing off her doiley collection.

I stood for some time just looking at the machine quilting that she had done to create all the texture in this piece.

Her doilies are scattered in various places all over the wall hanging.

Very clever.

If you would like to see more eye candy relating to our quilt exhibition, sister Linda has been writing quite a bit over the last few days so you may like to take a peek at her blog too.

Every Quilt Has A Story

Apart from the Kiwiana Lasagne quilt I made recently, I have made three other Kiwiana theme quilt tops.

After I made the first one I was piecing together scrappy pieces to make a back for it but after I had put all the effort into it Linda and I decided it was worthy to become the front of the quilt and so it is called Back to Front.

Linda found some wonderful variegated red and black thread and worked her magic on the black panels to offset the array of Kiwiana fabrics in the alternate strips.

 This week is the Taupo Quiltmakers exhibition and so we have been able to have it on display amongst a wonderful array of varied quilts of all sizes and descriptions.

A real feast for the eyes - all of them!

Bookmarks With Heart

The other day I told you about the thread catchers I had been making for our local quilt show.

I have also been making these fabric hearts.

They are not just hearts for hearts sake but they are actually neat little bookmarks.

Again, the idea did not originate with me and you can find the tutorial for making them at Sew Many Ways.

Front of bookmark

Back of bookmark

They are cleverly made so as to create a pocket which slips over the page of the book you are reading.

Of course if you are living in the digital age and only use eReaders you may just like to slip the heart over the corner of your eReader as a pretty decoration.

It also occurred to me that if you wished to gift one of these bookmarks to someone you could place a few small items in the pocket side of the heart. 

After the goodies are gone, the recipient still has the fabric bookmark to remember you by.

Just like the thread catchers, I think these bookmarks could be given a crazy quilt treatment but I just have not got there, yet.

Taupo Quiltmakers Show

After posting about the Taupo Quiltmakers putting on a show yesterday I had a query about the times and dates so thought I would pop their notice up here in case anyone else is ready, willing and able to come and see the amazing assortment of quilts that will be on display:-

Stitching is Happening

If you were to visit our home over the past few weeks there would be plenty of evidence that stitching is happening.

The Taupo Quiltmakers group is having a quilt show this coming week and lots of things need to be prepared for this local event.

Quilts need to be finished and sleeves added to enable quilts to be hung for show.

The sales table needs items and one of the things I have been making for that purpose is these cute little thread catchers.

A great way to keep your work space neat and tidy while you work.  Pop any left over threads etc., into the thread catcher for handy disposal later.  Easy to fold up and take with you for portable projects.

If they are of appeal to you, you can find instructions at Sister's Choice Quilts.

The other thing that occurred to me was that you could pop a small vase inside and they could make a lovely container for a posy of flowers.

Opportunities unlimited with these cute craft items.  Dig into your scrap bag and you could be stitching these for yourself or as gifts for your crafty friends.

I think they also lend themselves to being made crazy quilt style but I have not got that far, yet.

Lasagne Quilt

Today we had lasagne for our midday meal and it reminded me of the lasagne quilt I made.

Recently our local quilt group, Taupo Quiltmakers, had a sit and stitch evening and there was an opportunity to make a quick and easy quilt under sister Linda's watchful eye.

We have been given a lot of Kiwiana fabric scraps and so I decided to to use them for this project.

This is a quilt as you go project - sewing strips of fabric the width of the backing until you have covered the entire back.

Great use for my bits and pieces but I did have a bit of an oops as a couple of pieces of Australiana fabric found their way into the project and so I have called it 'Kiwiana Meets Australiana'.

It is a lovely lap size quilt and will be sent in thanks to the lady who gave us the scraps.  Did I say scraps?  From what we have been given I have now made 4 quilt tops, including this one, and have more than enough to make another one yet.

Does this idea have appeal for you?  Linda has written about lasagne quilts on her blog and you can see some different themes if you take a peek there.

Made by Me for Me

Well I did make it for me but CiCi thinks it is for her too.

Some quilts are a bit like wine, they need to be left to mature and this one was a while in the making.

Our Sweet Pea group give each other fat quarters for our respective birthdays in the colours of our choice.

For two birthdays I have received fat quarters in shades of autumn so I thought it was about time to do something with them.

I bought some cream fabric for contrast and Linda had found a pattern for a disappearing nine patch on the internet so I decided to give that a go.

Some of my colour choices were not too good and so the layout suggested in the pattern did not seem to work for me.  I decided to play around with the blocks and came up with a layout that revealed stars and so I decided to call the quilt, Surprisingly Starry:-

I asked Linda to quilt it in a way to emphasize the stars and so instead of doing an overall design she tried a number of different techniques and included squares within diamonds, curved cross hatching and piano keys and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Now that I have had my fill of autumn fabrics (still more in my stash though), I am asking for soft greens and soft pinks so my next quilt creation from those colours will be quite different, I am sure.

You can read more about this quilt from Linda's perspective on her blog.