Bee's and HST's

It has been a week of making bee blocks and about a gazillion HST's!

First up May Queen for the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild Liberty Bee chose teeny tiny churn dash blocks with beautiful shirting backgrounds.
There are 16 churn dashes per block and each of them has 4 tiny 1.5 inch Half Square Triangles.
That's a total of 128 HST's in all.  I absolutely love how these blocks turned out.

Then our June Queen chose a block with lots of HST's as well.  This time it was Pinwheels with a gorgeous periwinkle blue background.
I used the Accuquilt die cutter for these and boy did that make the job a whole lot easier.  The half square triangles all came out perfect size so no squaring up or trimming was required.  Which was just as well as there are 72 of them in these blocks.  The Liberty plays so nicely with that background don't you think?

And finally June Queen bee for The Bee Hive chose the Ripples block and again it has a ton of HST's but compared to the previous 2 blocks it was a breeze with only 48 of them! Kat's colour choices are gorgeous and l'm looking forward to seeing this quilt come together.

And now that l'm ahead with my bee blocks l am hoping to get the quilting done on at least 2 of the 12 quilt tops I have patiently waiting for some love and attention.

Until next time.

Sue

Girt By Sea

I am so excited to finally be making a start on the quilt for my mum.

It took a while to get my head around the 'so out of my comfort zone' colours but they are growing on me and I have a plan (well sort of anyway!).

I utilised the colouring sheets that came with the Girt By Sea pattern by Modern Makers Retreat to do a few mock ups but when it came time to start the actual piecing I went a completely different way.  I think my mum is speaking to me and guiding me so I'm running with it.

I am new to English Paper Piecing and I really, really, really wanted to enjoy it but sadly I don't think it is my thing.  I follow so many people who love this technique and they all make it look so simple.  And maybe it is, but for me it is definitely a work in progress!

The middle of my centre star didn't line up very well but I don't have it in me to unpick and redo so I am embracing the imperfections and pushing on.

I still have a couple of rounds of EPP to go before the centre is finished and although l am getting a bit better at this technique I will be happy to get back to my machine for the next stage.

If you are on Instagram (if you're not, you should be!) you can keep up with everyone's progress by following ModernMakersRetreat or the hashtags #girtbyseaquilt and #mmrgirtbysea.
There are some absolutely amazing versions of the quilt being made by some extremely talented quilters.  Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Until next time.

Sue

Angel In There Somewhere

I needed another project like, well you know – you’ve been there. 

I resisted the temptation to join in the Girt By Sea sew along for a while but then I read something on the Modern Makers Retreat blog that really resonated with me and from that moment I was in. 

Let me set the scene by sharing a little history…....

The person I most admire and the person l am most proud of in this world is my mum.  She went through some very difficult times and when my dad walked out he left her with 3 small children and a mortgage on the house they had just purchased.  At the time she was a stay at home mum but instead of crumbling she found a job, worked her tail off, put herself through night school and eventually qualified as an auditor and hospital administrator.  Through shear hard work and perseverance she managed to keep the house and raise 3 children with little assistance from my father.  Life wasn’t always a box of chocolates but my sisters and I never went without.   She was an incredible woman, never judgemental and always supportive of the decisions my sisters and l made (whether they were good or bad).  She showed us by example how to be strong, resilient women.

Now, how is this all relevant to the Girt By Sea sew along?  Well sadly mum passed away early on in my quilting journey so I never had the opportunity to make a quilt for her.  In all honesty, it hasn’t really been something l have dwelled on but when I read this Modern Makers Retreat post something changed.  

I can’t say why but my mum popped into my head as I read the words “there’s no place like home.”  Girt means to surround and at that moment I felt my mums presence surrounding me and I knew that I had to make this quilt for her.

With the decision made it was time to settle on what colour scheme to use.  Normally I would revert to my favourite scrappy ‘throw everything but the kitchen sink in’ kind of style but I wanted this quilt to be different, it had to be done in mum colours.  She loved autumn tones of browns, mustards and burnt oranges – all colours I rarely use so it took me some time to settle on a colour pallet.  I wanted to honour the autumn tones mum loved but needed to add a little punch. Plums and magenta were the answer.

As much as l love the vibrancy of this pallet I must admit that I am also terrified by it.  It is so far out of my comfort zone but I think that is quite fitting.  My mum is proof personified that you can work through adversary and succeed.  Knowing she is on this journey with me, guiding me, I am embracing the challenge and excited to finally be making a quilt for her.

I am still working on a name for the quilt but I am sure it will have the word 'Angel' in there somewhere.

String Block Tutorial

For my reign as Queen for do good Stitches Cherish Circle I am going with one of my all time favourite techniques - string blocks.

It's no secret I love scrappy and I absolutely love string blocks.  They are fun, fast and you can use a ton of scraps.

For this quilt, I am going to try and jazz up the string blocks using the Quick Curve Ruler.  I have an image in my head so I hope it works out as I see it!

But my little worker bees don't panic, I will do all the curvy stuff. All I want from you are the string blocks.

For those of you who may not have done string piecing before, there is a multitude of tutorials on the interweb but here is how I did mine for this project.

Requirements:

• Paper foundation cut into a 11" x 8" rectangle (I use general A4 copy paper or tracing paper for this purpose).
• Fabric strips between 0.75" and 2" wide and about 9" long in a variety of bright colours and prints.
• If you have an old needle I suggest you use it in your machine for this project as paper piecing will dull your needle.
• Keep your stitch length at around 1-1.2.  A small stitch length will help to perforate the paper making it easier to remove and will prevent the seams from unraveling when the blocks are trimmed.
• Neutral thread.

Instructions:

Draw a few reference lines across the short side of the paper which will be used as a guide to keep your strings straight.

Starting somewhere in the middle place your first fabric strip right side up along one of the marked lines.

Place a second fabric strip on top of the first right sides together aligning the raw edges.

Sew 1/4" seam along the edge through all layers from top to bottom (no need for backstitching).

Flip the top fabric strip open and give a quick press (I use a handkerchief or teflon sheet when pressing so the pencil marks are not transferred to my iron).

Place the next fabric strip on top of the strip you just added right sides together aligning the edges and sew your 1/4" seam from top to bottom.

Continue adding strips across the paper foundation until the paper is completely covered.

It's that easy.  You do not need to trim your blocks (I will do that when adding the curves) but it would be appreciated if the paper is removed please.  If you used a short stitch length the paper should tear away fairly easily without putting too much stress on the seams.

I need a total of 48 blocks so if you can manage 2 or even better 3 blocks that would be awesome. Terrible picture but this is where I am heading with this quilt.  I am aiming for a fun, bright and happy quilt for a little boy to be donated to the Keep Safe Quilts program being set up by Jackie Gillies (a follow on from #quiltblockstohealtheviolence).

Happy string piecing!

Does Anyone Read Blogs Anymore?

It has been way to long since I have ventured into blogland.  But seriously, does anyone read blogs anymore?

I used to spend countless hours trolling through blogs every week but since I discovered Instagram that has all changed.  I am totally hooked and although I know Instagram will never replace blogs, it's the instant gratification and ease of scrolling through feeds and liking photo's that is so addictive.

Of course it is just that, instant gratification.  It is not as easy to share detailed information or lots of photos of a project on Instagram (without totally driving your followers crazy) and it is easy to miss posts when you are following hundreds and hundreds of people on Instagram.

I love blogs and I love blogging but there is no doubt it is far more time consuming.

So once again (how many times have I made this pledge?) I am promising myself to try to blog on a more regular basis.

It has been 4 months since my last post and in that time I have finished a few quilts, several mini quilts for swaps, countless bee blocks and blocks for do Good Stitches charities.  Far too many things to share in one blog post so I will just share pictures of my latest finish.......introducing Organised Chaos

In a never ending quest to tame my scraps and sew my stash I made some scrap vortex blocks following CrazyMomQuilts tutorial.  I want to make a whole quilt using these blocks but for now I decided to try my hand at a modern version with the scrappy blocks floating in a solid background.

The plan was to do straight line quilting over the whole quilt but I quickly learned that quilting straight lines on a domestic machine is no easy feat so l scrapped that idea and went with free motion swirls in the background and used the straight lines in the scrappy section of the quilt.

In keeping with the scrappy theme, I used orphan blocks for the backing.  It was a bit like a jigsaw putting these blocks together but I love the effect and I love that it used up nearly all of the orphan and practice blocks I had gathering dust.

Curiously I don't seem to have made a dint in the scrap baskets so I see many more scrap quilts in my immediate future.

Until next time.

Sue

Just Because

This is my 'Just Because" mini.

I made it for no other reason than just because I felt like it.  I had some left over HST's from another project and decided to use them up rather than hoard them.

Continuing with the just because theme, I have decided to enter this little quilt in the mini quilt category of the Spring 2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival  hosted by Amy's Creative Side just because it's fun to share.

Make sure you head on over to Amy's blog and vote for your favourite quilt in each of the categories. Voting runs from 22nd - 29th May and winners are announced on May 30th.

Stash Sewing

I am still managing to sew only from my stash.

I have just completed my scrappy trip along quilt with the help of my QCA Bee mates.

I love how this turned out and will definitely be making this pattern again in future.
It is so easy but so effective and the blocks can be laid out in different formation to completely change the look of the finished quilt.

I have gifted this quilt to a work colleague who has sadly been diagnosed with Cancer.  Her prognosis is excellent as they have caught it very early so that at least is a positive.

Simple stipple quilting has kept the quilt soft and snugly perfect for her to wrap herself up whilst recuperating.

Until next time.

Sue

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Life has just been too busy this past 6 weeks to allow time for blogging.

A family crisis, full time work and significant birthdays for my kids (21 & 18) have taken priority and to top it off I had a fall breaking my arm which meant that I could not sew for several weeks (insert sad face!).

Just before the accident I managed to put together my Log Cabin QAL quilt for SewMyStash2015.

And now that everything is back to normal I have been sewing like a woman possessed to catch up on bees and swaps.

 

And that my friends is a wrap.

Until next time.

Sue

Bag Swap

I have been true to my stash sewing commitment and so far this year I have managed to refrain from buying new fabrics.  Yay me!!

Well actually that is not entirely true.  I did buy a meter of fabric to complete my Aragon bag (pattern by Sew Sweetness) for the Aussie Bag Swap 2015.  But as that was for a specific project it doesn't count!

Here is the bag I made for my partner.

I tried to be true to her guidelines but as this was a secret swap I had to rely on Instagram and Facebook stalking to determine my partners likes.  She has not received this as yet but I hope I she will love it.

This is the very first 'real' bag I have made and although some parts were a bit tricky, on the whole it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be.

I made a little pouch from left over fabric and have filled that with a few goodies for my partner to enjoy.

Now that this project is finished it is time to start stalking another partner for another secret swap. This time it is the Aussie IG Mini Swap 2015.  I know exactly what I want to make for my partner so all I have to do is start pulling fabrics and get it underway.

Stay tuned.

Sue

FMQ Challenge

In an effort to improve my free motion quilting skills I am participating in the 2015 Free Motion Quilting Challenge hosted by QuiltShopGal.

I followed along with the previous years challenges and learnt so much from the many incredibly talented quilters who kindly donated their time and expertise.  When I saw that Darlene was running another challenge this year I jumped at the chance to get on board.

This months expert is Molly Hanson who has has featured in many magazine articles and has written the book Free Motion Quilting for Beginners.

We were challenged to make a pillow using one of three options.  I have gone for option 3 - filling a heart shape motif with feathers.  I changed it up a bit and instead of filling a heart shaped motif with feathers, I have created a heart shape with 2 feathers converging (well that was what I was going for anyway!).

I was really pushed for time so instead of a pillow I made a mini mini.  It is only 10" x 10" and the feathered heart was pretty quick to do.  The double crosshatching on the other hand took F.O.R.E.V.E.R.  There was a ton of threads to tie of and bury which almost made me throw the whole thing away but I made myself persevere.

I tried to brighten it up by hyper quilting in orange but I am not sure that it had the effect I was going for.  In fact I may even like the back better than the front!

  
If I was to do it again, I wouldn't put the little swirly thing at the bottom of the heart.  It looks a bit odd but once quilted I really, really didn't want to unpick so it stayed.

Final thoughts - I love quilting feathers.  I prefer free hand to structured feathers and I look forward to incorporating them more frequently into my quilting.

Until next time.

Sue

Sew My Stash 2015

Yep, that's my mantra for this year and to keep myself motivated and on track I am joining in the fun over at Project Leasa.

Leasa posted her thoughts about sewing from stash on Instagram and thought she might get a few followers to join with her in the challenge.  As it turns out hundreds of like minded people have embraced the challenge and the SewMyStash2015 widget was born.

So if you are ready to play along head on over to Leasa's blog for more information on the challenge and to link your projects.  If you are on Instagram have a look at the hashtag #sewmystash2015 to see all sorts of wonderful awesomeness.

The first project I am sewing from stash is scrappy log cabin blocks.  I have cut up umpteen strips from scraps and have been happily sewing away between other projects.

This is my progress so far.

I decided to play with scale and make blocks of various sizes.  I'm not sure how to incorporate them into a quilt yet but I want the layout to be a bit random and abstract.  So more smaller log cabin blocks and some low volume filler blocks are needed to fill in the spaces. Again if you are on Instagram check out #scrappylogcabinqal to see the amazing things other people are doing with their log cabin blocks.

If you are not on Instagram, you should be!  It is addictive and a huge time waster but oh so much fun and there is just so much inspiration, creativity and talent on hand.

In amongst log cabin blocks I made a few design boards using the Bee in My Bonnet tutorial by Lori Holt and I also whipped up a little pincushion thread catcher which I made up as I went along (after reading a few different online tutorials).

Both of these projects were quick but they are far from perfect (the glue gun and I had a few disagreements whilst making those design boards and there were a few curses muttered and unpicking required as I made the thread catcher).  I am owning it - they are handmade after all and that sometimes means there will be imperfections.

Until next time.

Sue

Roly Poly Block Tutorial

I am sure this block has another name somewhere out there but I couldn't find it so I made this to my own specifications and am calling it Roly Poly for the QCA Rainbow Bee #3 swap.

Fabric Requirements:

(4)  6.5" assorted coloured squares

(8)  3.5" low volume squares for the backgrounds

Step 1

Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of each 3.5" background square.

Mark a second line 1/2" from the first line (to yield a bonus half square triangle (hst)).

Align the square with the corner of the 6.5" square right sides together (making sure second marked line is on the outside corner.

Sew along the marked line.  Actually, I like to sew just to the side of the line rather than on the line. 

Can you see how I have sewed just next to the line?  This gives you that smidge extra room to press the triangle over the seam allowing the edges to meet.  Make sure you sew on the side of the marked line closest to the outside corner.

Sew along the second marked line and then using your rotary cutter and ruler carefully cut between the two sewn lines.

Flip the small triangle to the outside and press giving you a 6.5" square and press the hst in the manner you prefer (l pressed mine to the side of the dark fabric).

Step 2

Repeat this process for the opposite side of the 6.5" square.

And you will end up with this:

Repeat for each of the coloured 6.5" squares.

Step 3

Lay out the blocks to form a circle (low volume triangles will be on the inside and outside corners).

Sew 2 blocks together making sure to keep the alignment correct and press the seams open.

(I like to pin the intersection where the low volume edges meet to get a nice crisp point).

Next sew the 2 sections together to form completed block (this time I pin the centre intersection and the point at which the low volume fabrics meet) and press the seam open.

Pressing is a very personal preference but for these blocks can you please press the seams open when joining the 4 blocks together.

And there you have it, a complete roly poly block.

So far I have made 10 blocks and I love how they are looking together. 

Depending on how you squint you will see circles or crosses or both.  Oooh, maybe naughts and crosses would be a better name for this quilt?

But wait, there's more!!!

What about those bonus hst's?  

Don't throw them away.  You will be surprised at how they add up and what you can do with them.

Here is a pile I have waiting to be trimmed up from a recent quilt finish and from the roly poly blocks I have made so far.    

All together I have over 150 and that is after making 2 mini quilts with them.

Bonus hst's are perfect for mini quilts and for cushion covers or for the back of quilts so get into the habit of sewing that extra line when flipping corners and you will have a pile ready to use in no time.

Any queries, concerns or questions, do not hesitate to contact me.  I am more than happy to help.

Sue