Another Finish

I have finished the top for Lori and Randy's Medallion Sew-Along.

Thank you Lori and Randy for a great project!

This quilt gave me the opportunity to try machine applique with buttonhole stitch for the first time.  I am very pleased with how it turned out.
I also made the Southern Belle block (2nd pieced round) block for the first time.

Thank you for all the well wishes on my previous post. I'm feeling much better now.

Stitching overload! :)

I have made great progress with Jane Pizar and the medallion sew-along quilts are growing.

At our Friday Girls group we had a 12 hour stitching day yesterday. Lots of time for hand stitching. :)
I finished sewing the half circles to the 2nd round. Here are both circles together. (they still need to be stitched together)

Playing with half circle placement.

Stitched down.

The red fabric in the 2 photos above is another French General fabric (from La Belle Fleur range) and it will be used for the next round.

On the machine stitching front here is where I am up to with the Lori and Randi's medallion sew-along.

I have decided to use a different background fabric for the outermost borders for this quilt. I feel the broderie perse is slightly lost/overwhelmed by the red print design  I used in the centre.

I will be following Lori's design for the appliqued border for the red version.

Have a great weekend! :)

Blogiversary!!!

Today is the 4th anniversary of starting this blog! What a ride it has been! :)

I have revelled in the inspiration, friendship and encouragement I have recieved. It has been wonderful to meet so many talented and friendly people, both online and in real life! I treasure the friendships I have made through blogging.

Thanks to many bloggers my quilting making skills have been stretched to the point that I feel like I can now tackle any project. (well, anything I have seen so far Lol)

Thank you all!


What have I been stitching over the last few days?

I have started hand quilting the Piecework Sampler. The thread is DMC 80. It is much finer than Perle 8 or 12, and a little thicker than the YLI quilting thread I have used before. My stitches lie somewhere between "big stitch quilting" and fine hand quilting.....leaning towards the"big stitch" size. :)

On the machine I have been making pinwheel border blocks for my 2nd medallion block.

Again they are all made with French General fabrics. I have about 8 more to make.

Lastly I have been working on another fleur de lis block as a swap block for the Chester Criswell Quilt. Here's a peek of my progress..

All of those projects were found on blogs!!!

Here is another one that has piqued my interest in the last week. It is an amazingly intricate quilt that would be a wonderful challenge. Since I am not one to back away from a challenge I am seriously thinking about joining in!! :)  What about you??

Beautiful flowers from my DS for my birthday. Yes, he knows my favourites are yellow roses! :)

Medallion Sew-Along

I have finished the stitching of the second border for this little quilt. I have enjoyed making all those small blocks. Lori will be back soon with the instructions for the final border which is more applique.
To see more of these little quilts Lori has a Link-up Party on her blog.

I am keen to start making the pinwheel blocks (the correct size this time! Lol)  for my other centre.

As I mentioned in my last post I am continuing to make delectable mountain blocks. Here are the most recently completed blocks.

It has been ages since I had any photos from my garden!!  Here are a few from this afternoon.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this one! A Jonquil this early in June! It smells delightful too!

The little Correa is starting to bloom...

 ...as are all the Zygocactus plants.

 Lastly an African Violet that is doing well inside.

Winter is with us here in Melbourne. The days are getting shorter and the weather has cooled off.
Perfect stitching weather!

Piecework Sampler top finished and more Medallion Sew-along

All the blocks are together with their sashing and cornerstones. It is the first time I have join Cheri with one of her sew-alongs.
I am thinking about adding a border around the whole quilt., maybe using the same fabric as the sashing.

I went to a new-to-me quilting shop during the week.

This is what came home with me. Some more French General fabric.

I love the fabric on the left.

I am planning to go back next week because they have 20% off everything in the store. :)

After lots of help from Lori I am back on track with the Medallion Sew-along. I now know why my pinwheels turned out too small....and how to get the next block the right size too! (Thank you Lori!!!)

So, here are some blocks for the 2nd pieced round (with some of those new fabrics!)

I have a few more finished and fabric choosen for a couple more.

On the hand work front I am still making delectable mountain blocks and appliqueing Jacob's Coat.

Winter has begun here in Melbourne. Friday night brough a spectacular thunderstorm with lots of welcome rain (welcome here because we were lucky enough not to be inconvenienced by flooding, unlike some others around our city.) Today we had sunshine again. :)

My thoughts with those in Oklahoma and surrounding states being affected by deadly tornadoes.

Medallion Sew-along

Here is my first centre with the pinwheel border attached.

This afternoon I will start the 2nd pieced border.

Visit this post on Lori's blog to see plenty more Medallions.

(You may notice I have extra pinwheels in my border. Somehow I cut them too small!!! I hope I can figure the maths to get the next round to fit!! Lol)

A small finish, some progress and a fun Friday.

I have finished appliqueing Wanda's block.  Wanda has this design in her Blogger profile. (Click on her name to go to her blog) This is her own design and Wanda was kind enough to share it with me.  I love the intricacy of this design!

In the last few weeks I have joined 2 sew-alongs.

First is a Piecework Sampler by Cheri of Quilts By Cheri.

These are my blocks so far...

...and some of my favourites..

I have used all French General fabrics for this project. The next step will be to cut some more sashing and cornerstones and then stitch it all together.

The other machine project is Lori and Randy's Medallion Sew-along. I have made the pinwheel blocks for one of my centres.

Well, maybe I should concentrate on one project at a time, because I cut all those pinwheels a bit too small!!! Each side has one extra pinwheel! Oooppps!!! I have decided I am not going to make them all again, so my block will end up a bit smaller than it should be. Hopefully I can fudge the blocks for the next step! Lol

Friday last week I joined Linda, Bev and more than 20 other ladies for an Antique Quilt Day. What a great day!!! Sharon brought her quilt!!!!

Sharon and I had our blocks with us so we laid them out on the quilt. Sharon's quilt was made in 1852 for her Great Great Grandmother's wedding.

What an amazing sight to see our new blocks against the original quilt!!

Meredithe has lots more photos from the day on her blog.


I am making slow progress on Jacob's Coat.

It is another beautiful Autumn morning here in Melbourne. Its a little crisp at the moment, but it promises to be another lovely, sunny day.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :)