Blogger's BOM, a win and some good news.

I have joined in with Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works and many other bloggers in the Bloggers Block of the Month Quilt Along.  Jackie has invited some talented bloggers to design a different block each month for 12 months. If you click on the icon on the right it will take you to all the details on Jackie's blog.

I couldn't make up my mind which style of fabrics to use, so I decided to go with fabric designs from two different eras.

 Repros in cheddar and red and Kaffe Fassett/Brandon Mably/Philip Jacobs fabrics.















Here are my first 2 blocks. They measure 8 inches. This block was designed by Sherri Mc Connell of A Quilting Life.

Since my last post I have also finished 2 more Civil War quilt blocks.

Confederate Rose (well, Lily in my case Lol) and Ohio Star. I have more than 30 blocks finished now.


Recently Anna from Thimbleanna had a giveaway which I was lucky enough to win. :)
The package arrived during the week.

All tied up with string and a cute little note! Thank you Anna!!!


Here is what was inside:

Look at all those string colours!   The Ruby charm pack contains some great fabric designs and colours.  I have a pattern in mind to use it with.


During the week I also got out a project from earlier this year that I had almost all cut out so I could do some machine sewing (and work towards finally finishing a WIP!!)

So far only 3 diamonds are sewn together.

Now for the good news. I have been given the green light to hand sew again! Woohooo!!!!


It has been a loooong time!   


Right next to me is the partially finished second block of the Roseville Album quilt. For the next couple of hours I am going to enjoy some hand stitching while watching the AFL grand final on the TV. My team was defeated last week, so I am just hoping for a close and exciting game. So far it is living up to expectations. May the best team (on the day) win!!!

Tail Feathers progress

My arm is staring to feel better now, so I got out a machine pieced project.

Yesterday I joined together all the blocks for my Tail Feathers quilt and added the white border.

The next border for this quilt is a series of log cabin blocks, All the fabric came as pre cut strips, so I have been able to sew them all up too.

Last time I tried to make log cabin blocks they were a disaster!!! This time I used LOTS of spray starch!!

24 much better log cabin blocks!

Today I sewed together all the borders and added the 2 side borders to the quilt centre.....

....and started the 4 corner blocks.

I expect it will be several more weeks before my arm is well enough to do any hand sewing, so it will be a while before I add the embroidery to finish the corner blocks.

It did feel good to be sewing again!! :)


(Must say, I can't wait to get back to needle turn applique!!!)

Yellow banksia rose blooming in my garden.

Have a great week everyone!

Hello.....is anyone there????

It has been a while since I last posted....

These 3  Barbara Brackman Civil War Quilt blocks are all the sewing I have managed in the last 3 or 4 weeks. :(


The title of this post should be "What I have been buying!".......Lol

These fabrics I found in a dress making fabric shop. (Cutting Edge (no website) on Glenferrie Rd Malvern for anyone in Melbourne)

The print on the left of the first photo is a Liberty which will be added to my collection.

The fabric on the right has 4 panels printed across the width. I think it will make an interesting quilt.

Both the fabrics in the 2nd photo are Italian. I am not sure what I will make yet, but I love the designs.
Who else buys fabric with no purpose in mind? Just because it is pretty??

After reading Kathie's recent blog posts about Betsy Chutchian's recent fabric release (Cross Roads to Texas) I caught her enthusiasm and did a bit of purchasing in several places to gather the collection above. The book, also by Betsy Chutchian, not only has patterns and instructions for many quilts, it also tells the story of Betsy's great - great grandmother, Lizzie Carpenter with excerpts from Lizzie's journals.  It made for very interesting reading and plenty of quilting inspiration too. I haven't made a Lone Star quilt before, so I think that will be the first one I make from the book.

Choosing Quilting Designs is not a new book, but still contains plenty of relevant information. At the moment I am leaning towards hand quilting my Morrell Quilt, so this book will be very useful.

Treasures From Holland by Petra Prins is a much more recent publication. It is full of amazing quilts with clear photographs and diagrams and plenty of very clear instructions. Again there are several quilts I would love to make in this book.

Since my last post about the medallion above I have added to the collection of fabrics. There is more of the fabric on the top right coming (thank you Dawn for identifying it for me)
I have also designed my first quilt using these fabrics. It will be a traditional medallion quilt.

Now to wait till my arm gets better so I can sew for more than a few minutes at a time!!!

I hope all is well with all in USA who were affected by Hurricane Irene.

Oh no!!!!

I have been working on my Roseville Album block over the last few days.

Here is as far as I have got:

There is still quite bit of stitching to go and I haven't placed any of the circles yet.

I am having second thoughts about the vase fabric!! It doesn't look right to me! I am not sure if I want to change the whole thing or just the appliqued parts.
Here are a few shots with possible replacement fabrics:

Would anyone like to offer an opinion??

The 2 favourite fabrics I referred to in my last post are these:

They are both Phillip Jacobs fabrics. I plan to have the bird appear a few times on my quilt. I am also using some Liberty Marylebone collection fabrics from Glorious Colour.
My stem fabric is from Lecien and is a dark chocolate brown with a tiny mint green spot.


The "Oh no" refers to my elbow. I have tennis elbow, so I need to rest my right arm. No sewing!!! :( ...for a week!!!!!

At least I can type and use my mouse with my left hand....even if it is slowly!