Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend

Super secret sewing not so secret anymore.

I am happy to report that I have gifted 'Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend' to one of my gorgeous nieces so now I can finally share.

This is a Elizabeth Hartman pattern and I just loved making it.  It is no secret that I love scrappy piecing and the string diamonds were a great way to use up scraps as well as yardage.

I was surprised at how easily the whole quilt went together.  The instructions and diagrams were clear and easy to follow.

It took me a while to decide how I wanted to quilt it though.  After much deliberation I decided to go with meandering feathers for the background.  This was my favorite part of the whole quilt.  I love the texture the feathers create and I think it softens all of the negative space.

For the diamonds I just went with a small stipple and squiggly lines.

Overall I love the whole quilt and I an happy to report that me niece loved it too.  She turned 12 years old and this quilt is a bit more grown up for her which is why it was well received.
The front of the quilt.

The back using left diamond offcuts and a very bright floral print.

 And to finish off, the obligatory picture of the binding!

Next up I am trying to finish 2 quilts for Christmas gifts and another one for a birthday in January.
All of the blocks are made, I just have to assemble the tops and get busy quilting!

Until next time.

Sue

I Blame Instagram!

Yep, it's all Instagram's fault I haven't posted in a while.

A couple of months back I met up with some ladies from a Facebook Group I am in and they all talked about Instagram and how great it was so I was convinced to set up an account.  Let's just say that I have became a little bit obsessed with this whole new world of instant gratification.  I have been following people, joining in swaps and challenges and completely ignoring my blog.

But now that I have got the infatuation out of my system it's all systems go again.

In August I joined in a Bonnie & Camille charm swap organised by the talented Ms Midge which yielded 112 charms from across all of the B&C collections.  Following on from the swap is the Bonnie & Camille Charm-A-Long.

We were challenged to make a project using the charms from the swap for a chance to win some beautiful prizes.

So without further ado, here is my entry:

I have wanted make a circle quilt for some time and I have many different circle projects on my list but I didn't feel any were suitable for this challenge.  So I came up with my own design.
I am calling this quilt 'River Walk'.

First I cut random sized circles from some of the charms and machine appliqued them to the background fabric using invisible thread.  Tying off and buying threads for all of the circles was the hardest and most tedious part of the project.  But once that was done it was time for some fmq fun.

I chose to quilt circles and the plan was to quilt them densely close to the applique and then gradually spread them out towards the edges of the quilt.  I don't think I was quite as successful as I had pictured in my head but I can assure you I wasn't about to unpick and start again!

I still have to wash and block the quilt but as usual I was cutting things pretty fine and only just managed to get it complete in time to post before the challenge deadline.
One day I will be organised and allow plenty of time to complete projects so that I do not put myself under so much pressure.......hmmmm, one day.

Until next time,

Sue

Mini Madness

It has been a mini week here.

3 mini quilts and a couple of paper pieced blocks have kept me busy for most of my week.

First up is a mini New York Beauty quilt for a birthday swap.  This was originally supposed to be a cushion cover but after redrafting the pattern it turned out 24" instead of 12" finished!  I still thought about making it a floor cushion but a few people in the swap suggested it would look better as a wall hanging.

Next up I used some of the bonus HST from my Pow Wow quilt to make a mini chevron quilt.
You can never have too many chevrons I say!  I love how this one turned out.

And on the spur of the moment I made this mini Nail Polish quilt which was a free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop.  It took all of 1 hour to piece then another hour to sandwich and quilt.  Super easy and super fast.

In between mini quilts I made 2 more paper pieced blocks.  One for me and one for Queen Bee Kate in the QCA Star Bee.

Now, I have absolutely positively got to stop myself from starting anything new until I have made some more progress on my super secret string quilt.  Hopefully next week I will have more to report on that.

Until next time.

Sue

Pow Wow

This week I was supposed to be working on a secret project I started a while ago but I got sidetracked making a quilt using Cluck Cluck Sew's Pow Wow pattern.

I have wanted to make this quilt for some time and last week whilst rearranging some fabric I looked at my hoard of Marmalade fabrics by Bonnie & Camille and right then on the spot I decided to use some of it. Pow Wow was the perfect project.

The units went together very quickly.

And before I knew it I had a quilt top.  It was super fast and I love the result.

I still have to put a small white border on and once I do the top will measure approx 68" x 55" which is a nice throw size but I am toying with adding a scrappy Marmalade border to increase the size. What do you think - leave it as is or add a border?

This quilt yielded 240 bonus HST's.  I have assembled half into a mini chevron quilt top.  The other half will be used in a future project (another mini quilt).

In other sewing news, I finished another paper pieced star to add to my collection.

I'm not loving this one but I think it will blend with the others so I will reserve my judgement.

And finally, I completed one more block of my super secret project - here's just a little sneak peek.

Until next time.

Sue

Wonky Week

I have spent the majority of my sewing time this week making a wall hanging for a friend's housewarming.

It didn't start out as a wall hanging, that was a bit of an after thought.  Initially I made some improv wonky houses as a test for a bee swap.

Then I remembered I had a housewarming party to attend so I quickly utilised my test blocks and turned them into this.

It sort of grew as I went along.  Once I had the houses made I decided I needed some trees, then I thought a few flowers might look pretty. Then I decided to add clouds and birds and butterflies etc. etc. I kept adding embellishments until I thought it looked finished.

Some free motion quilting finished it off nicely and I managed to finish the binding about 2 hours before I had to leave for the party!

I loved the freedom of improv piecing and I am really happy with how it turned out but more importantly my girlfriend loved it so mission accomplished.

Here are a couple of close ups of each house.

Also this week I fulfilled my July bee obligations with these blocks.

And I got my next project cut up and ready to start.

I am using some of my precious Bonnie & Camille Marmalade fabric.  I decided to use it rather than hoard it!

But the highlight of my week was my no. 2 son's Deb Ball so I will leave you with a picture of my baby all grown up and looking handsome.

Until next time.

Sue

Sneak Peek

A sneak peek at my next project, another string quilt.  Cant give too much away yet but I have made lots of string sets in black/white and hot pink.

Which will be turned into diamond blocks like this.

I will share more on this on the coming weeks as the quilt top progresses.

Apart from strings I have been working feverishly to catch up on my bee obligations for this month.

I made 2 paper pieced stars using the same pattern.  One for Queen Kelly in rainbow colours.

And one for me in my own colourway (green, grey and white).

And in another bee group Queen Rose requested black/red/white granny square blocks.

I had to make these blocks twice.  Thought I was clever and knew how to make Granny blocks.  When I finished I discovered our queen wanted four rounds.  Of course I made blocks with three rounds so had to start again.  Note to self.....always, always, always read the instructions before starting a block!

And finally, I finished Round 2 Supernova block.  It was my partners turn to chose our inspiration colour this month and she chose green.  I am so glad she did because I love green and have heaps of in in my stash.

I just hope my block is not too green.  I probably should have put a bit more contrast in this but l love it and I think it will go nicely with the lilac block from last month.  I can't wait to get my partner's block to see how they all play together.

Until next time.

Sue

Back in the string of things

After a leave of absence (illness and family commitments) I am back in the string of things.

I literally mean stings because that is predominately what I have been working with for the last 4 weeks.
It's no secret that l love scrappy quilts.  I love the informality and 'homely' feel of them and scrappy works with my current goal of using what I have in my stash to create something with a modern aesthetic.

So here is my latest creation....to be named either Square Dance or Hip to be Square.

This is the second quilt I have made from my favourite quilty book "Sunday Morning Quilts" by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison.  It measures 72 x 72 and this quilt is for me. Winter is here in my part of the world and I can't wait to curl up on the couch with this bright and fresh quilt.  Because it is a busy top I quilted it with a simple loopy loop design which gives the quilt a lovely texture.

And for the back I used a pretty coloured fabric I found on sale at my local Spotlight store.

The store was very crowded with sale shoppers and someone was hovering around this bolt of fabric so I quickly swooped in and stole it before anyone else had a chance to fall in love with it.  Good thing I did because as I waited in line to be served (which took like FOREVER) a couple of people commented on the fabric and wanted it after me.  I played nice and left some for them!

In other news....I have joined yet another online block swap.  The Supernova Friendship Block Swap is being hosted by Stephanie at Late Night Quilter and Sandra at One Million Stitches.
Each month we make 2 identical blocks, send one to our partner and keep the other. At the end of the swap the idea is to not only have a new quilt but a new friend as well.

I am partnered with someone from Oklahoma and we have so much in common, not just quilty stuff but real life stuff too.  She is a great pen pal and I am enjoying getting to know her a little bit more with each bit of correspondence.
My partner and I decided to use a navy background for our blocks and each month we are picking a different inspiration colour. For the first round we chose lilac as our colourway.

Aren't they just beautiful?  They look like they are shimmering to me.  I can't wait for Round 2.
For some more eye candy make sure you head over to the Supernova Friendship Swap Flickr group to see some of the awesome colour combinations others are using for their blocks.

Until next time.

Sue