Catching up ...

Its been a while since I showed you some of the customer quilts I've been working ...

this one for Carol is massive!  But oh the piecing!

and all of these Hexi's were hand pieced, including all the background and borders

 are individual hexi's too!

these birdhouse were great fun to do

and then there has been some secret stuff, and I can finally tell you about this one 

if you haven't seen it already, I quilted this Cotton Reels Quilt for Katy, and it is in the new issue of Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine.

Katy has a giveaway on her blog if you are interested, better get over there quick I'm not sure when she is drawing the winner!

and thank you very much to Lynne for sending me a spare copy 

and its good!

I feel a few more quilts may be started, when I should be finishing some!

Finish Along = The final Quarter 2013

I need to get this is fast!

and perhaps you won't notice that I've gone for blind panic, and the more the merrier slant,

well, what's the worst that can happen, I don't finish any of them!

so here goes:

#1.  Siblings Together - carried over from last month, this is a top that now needs to be quilted and bound.

#2  12th Street - another top, (pattern testing) and just needs quilting and binding

#3  Merry Go Round Quilt - yes, another top that just needs quilting and binding, this one is now a class sample so I better pull my skates on!

#4  Patch Fabrics project - I need to finish piecing the project and produce the finished article and write a blog post/tutorial

#5  Chevron Quilt -  I have quite some way to go on this one, piecing to finish off, quilted and bound

#6   Christmas quilt -  carried over from earlier in the year, piecing to finish, quilt and bind

#7  Kaleidoscope quilt -I have half  blocks, so again piecing, quilting and binding

#8  Black and White 2 for one - piecing started, so finish piecing, quilt and bind. 

hmm, ambitious, yes, but hey, nothing like a challenge eh?

and of course the theme ... 'just needs ....'  lol

Linking this up with Leanne for the final quarter of this years FAL

Phew!

DailyCraft TV

I was approached by the very nice man at Fons and Porter to review one of their DailyCraftTV classes  

There are a wide selection of classes available, and as an experience quilter I found it quite hard to decide which one I would get the most out of, so in the end I opted for something completely different!

well you would wouldn't you, given the chance!

What? oh yes, Hawaiian Style Quilting, 2 for 1 Hula with Stacy Michelle,

The presentation is about 40 minutes long, and once you get past (what felt to me) the hard sell for the patterns and fabrics, the class is very informative with some interesting tips on fusing particularly on large pieces of fabric.  All very detailed and precise.  There is a downloadable document that gives you all the instructions to carry out the technique, which are clear and easy to follow.  My only disappointment was that a pattern was not included so you can try the technique, even just on a small scale, if you have the materials to hand.  Not living in the USA, postage for patterns and supplies can be rather excessive, and something I try and avoid unless absolutely essential.  So to only be given the option of going through the presenters web site was the one thing that I felt let this class down for me.

Overall a good class, and had I paid $9.99 I may have felt just a little let down by the supporting document.
Thank you to Fons and Porter for allowing me to review one of their online classes.

A Finish and a FAL Report

I finished this quilt last weekend, but just didn't have the weather to get a good pic of it ...

so this morning with the sun shining I finally got it out there

This is my Overs and Unders quilt, a pattern from Scrap Basket Sensations by Kim Brackett

and I am thrilled with how it turned out! 

it has a few grubby finger prints on it, but that's ok, it will wash no problem!

so this was on my Qtr3 FAL list, so I'm hoping to have snuck this one i under the wire!

Speaking of which, I need to declare my finishes for the Quarter ..

so I declared I would finish 4 things 

#1 Siblings Together Quilt ...  I made progress this is now a completed top, but sadly not finished.

#2 Overs and Unders ....  Woohoooo! We have finished it!  Success!

#3  Table Runner  ...  Yep, another finish, blogged here

and I was teaching with it yesterday!

#4 Swoon Quilt ... nothing has happened with this, it still remains a top that requires quilting and finishing, so a Fail on the swoon front!

so that makes a 50% success rate!

not bad as I have been mega busy, teaching, quilting, making and harvesting

so I am going to link this up with Leanne for Qtr 3 FAL

and better start thinking about my Qtr 4.

(shocking we are that far through the year already!)

Saying Thank You

There's one thing about the online community, people are so generous, 

with their time, thoughtful comments, cheering on from the sides, and just being there when you need them 

and when friendship blossoms, extraordinary things happen

and to say thank you for some extraordinary help, and cheering and egging on, 

I needed to say Thank You ...

it all started with some egging on with these from Karen at Blueberry Park

Karen posted a picture of her doily prints on Twitter and I was quick off the mark to get the first prints

there were conversations about quilting, oh ... my mind was in a spin!

and so at Festival of Quilts I matched up some Kona Cornflower blue from Justine at Simply Solids

and managed to score some Aurifil 50 wt #2720 to match

and set to with the inspiration ...

I love doing this pattern really small ... again Aurifil 50 wt in #2024

and I am so pleased with how it turned out!

I didn't mark anything, just went for it freestyle in my usual 'just do it' way!

and I even managed my first attempt at the Sew Mama Sew concealed Zipper on the back!

(Thanks to Katy for the fab Pillow Tutorials that pushed me there!)

I am pleased to say that this little lovely made it to its new home,

I know it is loved, 

Thank You Helen! 

Big big Loves x

a little more quilting ....

so I've been busy with customer quilts 

both these were made by the same lady

and it was a challenging shape to load ...

but the sweetener was the magazine the pattern came from ...

from 2006! 

and I did a little of my own quilting too!

but for now, this is all I can show you :)

Housekeeping!

If you know me well, you know I'm not known for my housekeeping,

lets face it, I'd rather sew!

But the situation was getting a little out of control ...

don't you think?

but I managed to achieve a happy medium

but there was the other side of the studio too!

and I had a little motivation, with a visitor expected ...

so a reasonable level was achieved with the frame being accessible and usable ...

and then this happened!

I sold my second frame, and its gone to live in the Valleys

so it was time for a little more housekeeping, and a bit of a change round

that's better, lots of working space, and a few more UFO's unearthed - Ooops!

but I ended up with an awkward pile of pin cushions and pouches from swaps and gifts that needed to be prettied in one place

so I sort of followed this tutorial here from the Stitchin' Chicken ...

I say sort of, I got the gist of it, and then did my own thing 

and made it my own size ...

it turned out exactly how I envisioned ... phew!

and was well worth the half hour to make :) 

so now, I have a full on mojo attack!