Wednesday, July 28, 2010

One Flower Wednesday




One more flower this week.

I missed posting a hexie flower over the last couple of weeks, but if you scroll down to my post from yesterday you will see one more hexie flower there.
I have made 14 flowers now. :)


Tuesday, July 27, 2010

It has been a while.....

......quite a bit of my sewing time in the last couple of weeks has been taken up making this Morrell Quilt block. That 10 inch block has 193 pieces in it! The centre octogon was appliqued on, but all the rest is hand pieced. Twenty blocks to go now!

I haven't had as much sewing time as I would have liked recently, so I have only managed a little progress on some projects.


We have had some sunshine today so I took my latest hexie for One Flower Wednesday outside to photograph.

Two more Joseph Coat blocks are finished. I have 22 completed now.




I have always wanted to make an album quilt and I have seen some very tempting traditional quilts, but I haven't seen one that I would really love to make.

Look at this version of an album quilt..............




The Roseville Album is Kim McLean's latest pattern. I succumbed! Pam and Kathie have started the quilt. Pam has created a blog just for Kim McLean quilts. Glorious Applique is a feast for the eyes. :)
I'm not sure when I will start this quilt......I have a few WIP to get finished first. lol



A rosemary flower in the sunshine in my garden this morning.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Progress this week



A few weeks ago I started the Tail Feathers BOM. Here is the first block finished.
I just love those little birds!!!


Below is my one hexie for One Flower Wednesday.


My daphne is covered in blooms at the moment.


I have also completed 2 more blocks for Joseph's Coat.

Yesterday I spent some time cutting out lots of pieces for the next 3 blocks for the Morrell Quilt. Still more little triangles to cut out..........

Thursday, July 1, 2010

More Morrell, a hexie and books.

I have been spending more time on my Morrell quilt this last week or two. Three more blocks finished.

The block above is hand pieced.

The block below is a broderie perse block. All the raw edges are hand stitched with one strand of Gutterman cotton thread using a buttonhole stitch.




The last block is appliqued onto the background fabric using needle turn applique.




I have also spent some time reading the book The Gentle Art of Quilt Making by Jane Brocket, that I won in a giveaway from Cathy of Cabbage Quilts. This book is a riot of colour! Jane uses simple designs rather than complicated piecing to create impact. Her inspiration comes from either the fabrics she is using or something in her environment. It could be a field of tulips, the memory of an evening dress or tiles on a wall. Reading this book has inspired me to look past quilting patterns and to look for inspiration around me. Up until now I have followed other people's desgns with maybe a small change of my own. I can feel my quilting will now start to go in a different direction as I learn to trust my instincts and start to try to create my own designs. I expect I steep learning curve, a few mistakes, but lots of pleasure along the way. :)



Here is my one hexie block for One Flower Wednesday. All my hexies are one inch.

The flowers are camelias from my garden. These flowers begin as a very deep red and as they open and enlarge the colour lightens. These flowers are much larger than those of all my other camelias.


I received a belated birthday gift yesterday from another quilter. (Thank you, Judi! :))
The package included some batik fabrics that coordinate perfectly with a little pack of fat quarters I already had. Now to think of a design to use then in. I also received a book showing miniature quilts and their makers. These quilts are in the Museum of the American Quilter's Society. The book is called "Oh, Wow" and I think that sums it up perfectly! There are lots of amazing quilts and it is hard to believe each of them is 24 inches square or less. I want to be able to make quilts like those one day!!
There is a mixture of hand and machine quilted quilts and a variety of modern and traditional designs.
I had only heard of 3 of the quilt makers before. One of them is Mariya Waters, who I was lucky enough to take a class with here in Melbourne just recently. I hope to take more classes with Mariya soon.

It is great that quilters are generous enough to share their skills with others. I still have lots to learn, but what a wonderful journey it is! :)