BOM 23 - Sweet Caress

The free BOM for this month is a hand pieced gem. It was one of my early ones of moving into combining circles with different outers. Although I pieced the whole of this block I know that many others are choosing to appliqué the circle over the top of the otherwise completed block. We all have our own preferred methods.

Are We There Yet?

Well another free motion quilting exercise finished and very cute too ! This was another block that appeared in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, volume 9 I think. It was called I Should Have Flown South by it always reminds me of that line we have heard so many times when starting out on a trip with our children Are We There Yet?

I enlarged it by 140% and so rather than a 12in block it is now 18in ..well there abouts. Perfect for a pram quilt I think.

Something Old continues

Well have now finished the second round on my reproduction quilt but not too keen on it. I wanted to use a large range of colours, not only for the flowers but also for the floaters. I have been trying out my Photoshop skills hoping to see what other floater options would look like. I only wish it was just a quick to sew on as it is to photoshop. It took me three days to add this border and I know it will take me another week at least to unpick it, change the floaters and resew it on...phooey! I hate frog stitching

original - mixed colour floaters

with mustard floaters

with white floaters

What option do you think looks best?

Gertie

Well it is time for me to bite the bullet and start to work on my free motion quilting. A few weeks ago I did a class in needle turn machine appliqué. The class was to be a vase of flowers, which as beautiful as they were, was something that I knew I would never finish so I decided to make Gertie instead.

Gertie is by Sue Marsh from Whistlepig Creek productions and was the perfect design for the exercise. I had been wanting to try needle turn machine appliqué for a while and had seen a demonstration by Paula Storm on preparing templates using freezer paper. Put the two ideas together and viola... Gertie was born

Dreambird

As much as I know this will surprise many of you I thought I would show you what I have been doing lately...knitting. This is a shawl for my son's girlfriend, Khanam. Isn't it glorious. 

The design is called Dreambird and is available on Ravelry and it will again surprise you but it's not as hard as it looks. Admittedly I did have to restart the project four times when I became lost but after I discovered page 16 all was set. So what was on page 16 well only the basic directions, like K40 or knit to the end or cast on 15 stitches. There was nothing more. that was the thing in the first few pages there were all of these explanations as to why I was doing something and I kept forgetting where I was up to and having to unpick and start again.....page 16 was the lifesaver.

Oh another thing you see all those beautiful colours in the feathers? They all come from one ball. The brand is Noro and I just love the change in the colours. The background fabric is a linen and silk that a friend of mine had spun. Together they come up beautifully.  Well must return to the knitting as PJ returns home in a fortnight and I need to have it finished by then so I can send it over for her Xmas. They live int he UK.

Something Old and Something New

OK so I'm still playing with hexagons, even though it is about time I put my mind back onto the wedding quilt. But you have to admit it is cute isn't it? 

The hexagons for this are actually elongated hexagons and each side is only 1/4in. An elongated hexagon has two angles that are 90 degrees and the other angles are by my calculations 135 degrees.

I suppose I should have put a coin or something else beside it for reference ... next time I promise but if you can take my word for it this section is a bit under 6in high and 4 1/2in wide. Next instalment next weekend.

I saw this quilt in a museum. The original had been used to cover a tractor until it was rescued and repaired. Looks good so far. Oh the original was a lot bigger but again I want a take anywhere project and even when this whole quilt is finished I doubt it will be much bigger than an A3 sheet of paper.

500 Traditional Quilts

Well I know you haven't seen it yet but Lark publications is about to release the latest book in their 500 series and you guessed it, it's all about traditional quilts. Don't we all just love traditional quilts. This book is an absolute feast for quilt lovers with beautiful photos of 500 quilts.

I couldn't believe it .. mind you the one downside is that there are so many other wonderful quilts that I just would love to make. Would be wonderful to see them in real life wouldn't it.

Collection 22 - Where Did That Name Come From?

Collection 22	The Future Awaits doesn't the design remind you of those science fiction movies where people go into a trim travel machine and then they spin off to somewhere else .. or perhaps it reminds you of the spotless nurses uniforms?	C22 The Future Awaits
Ribbons of Peace what a peaceful coloured block. If only the world could be so peaceful and enjoy the ribbons of children playing in the parks and laughing.	C22 Ribbons of Peace	Nuclear Free  amazing how so many of this month's blocks have a theme of fear of the future.
C22 Isobel's Flight	Isobel was the first person I designed and wrote a pattern for. She had liked one of my other patterns and wanted to modify it. When I suggested this one she jumped at it. I should find a photo of her quilt and upload it.	C22 Nuclear Free
Rhonda is a dear friend. Full of life and laughter she was always the life of the party and of course she loved spots. This fabric came from her stash.	C22 Rhonda Loves Spots	When touring Alaska  we tried our hand at gold panning but alas were so successful we had to return to our day jobs as they say :)
C22 WorkingTogether	Working Together was the melding of two designs. I think it may have looked more dramatic if I had used two colours for the design but didn't want that in this quilt.	C22 Looking for Gems