Sunday, September 30, 2012

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.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

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!

Monday, September 24, 2012

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.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

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.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

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.

Monday, September 03, 2012

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.

Sunday, September 02, 2012

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.