Some of those secrets

I've been working on quite a few secret projects

one of the major secrets has been the quilts I made for Nel Whatmore

Nel designed all of these quilts, she sends me a picture of the design in  the fabrics, and after lots of discussion, I have then made, quilted, and finished the quilts then returned them to Nel.

Firstly I made this quilt earlier in the year using her fabric Line Memory Lane

I used some design elements from the fabric for the quilting inspiration

and repeated it in the border

You can see the finished quilt and buy the pattern here.

Then there was what I called on Instagram as #84inchesofawesome

Merry Go Round

I love this view of the back from under the longarm with the sun shining through 

I pieced this one, quilted and finished it too,

with some of the left overs from the piecing, I made a couple of pot holders

and some bunting

I was so thrilled to see this hanging on the Cotton Patch stand at Festival of Quilts

ooh look and the bunting!

The pattern is just being finalised and will be available very soon

And Secret Garden,

this was hand EPP'd by Nel over the last year, I had the pleasure of quilting this one

The view of the back

again, this one was hanging on the Cotton Patch stand at Festival of Quilts

you can get the pattern here

I had a fabulous time at Festival, and am thoroughly enjoying working so collaboratively with Nel.  Its been a real pleasure to understand the story behind the fabrics that give me inspiration for the quilting.

So much to catch up on

so lets start with July and Fat Quarterly Retreat!

I know, I know... back in the height of the summer heat

I finished my swap samples in time! 

these were on my FAL list, so that's one less project!

and as is now customary, I made a new bag!  

Lets just clarify that, I started the bag at 4pm the day before, all done by 8pm, just in time to pack for the morning! 

and I have to say I LOVE my Noodlehead Poolside Tote!

there may be another one in my future ...

I also managed to finish something else on my FAL list ...

this cushion for Nicky

we entered into a private swap last year at retreat, and so I needed to complete my end of the bargain.  I'm pleased to report the feathered cushion now resides in her sewing room.

Another one off the list!

And my Lovely Roomie made me this amazing draw string bag, 

its a perfect size for travelling with, and I have used it already!  Thank you Di x

I dont seem to have a picture of my swaps, but I received another, most beautiful drawstring bag from Di, some coasters from Soinia, and a teeny tiny bear from Penny. 

Whilst we were free Friday morning Di and I took ourselves off on a trip to the Village Haberdashery ... and we may have cleared the shelves of a little Cotton & Steel while we were there!

And there may have been an afternoon tea in the mix too! 

Oh, that is definitely one to be repeated!

Thank You Shev for organising us!

The Retreat was a roaring success, smaller, more intimate, and thoroughly enjoyable, meeting old friends, new friends, online friends, having fun together!

So that was July, some secret sewing, and some FAL finishes!

And the winner is ...

Quilting Tangent who wrote:

 Quilting Tangent said...

I like your quilting, it looks like wind blowing your pinwheels.
In a magazine, I like to see allot of quilts in different colorways, different degrees of difficulty and from traditional to modern and everything in between. Their has to be patterns. 24Tangent@gmail.com

27 July 2014 14:39

 

If you'd like to email me your mailing address I'll get the magazine in the post to you. 

Quilt Now!

if you haven't heard about the new magazine on the quilty block, 

well, now's your chance!

The Editor of said magazine is none other than the very talented and amazing Katy of I'm a Ginger Monkey!

I am smitten over this great first issue, but I may be a little biased, because of these 

finally some of that secret sewing can be revealed! 

If you don't already have a copy and fancy winning yourself one, keep reading, and you may be able to see the full fancy photo's of these 2 lovelies by Katie and Justine.  And, read my article on Long Arm Quilting!   

The very lovely marketing team sent me an extra copy to give away to my blog readers! 

Yes, you lovely people! 

So leave me a comment, telling me what you like to see in a quilting magazine (just one comment only)  and I'll consult Mr RNG on Monday!

FAL - Qtr 3

Oh well, seems the more I declare, the less I get done, but slowly slowly I WILL conquer this list!

The fact I keep adding to it doesn't help really!

#1 Sunnyside Quilt (carried forward from qtr 1 & 2) - just needs quilting and finishing!

#2 Union Jacks - need to finish this one and get it ready to send to a friend the other side of the pond. (carried over from Qtr 2)

#3 Rapture Quilt - oh how I want to get this one done!  I have a plan and everything!

Its made it to the frame, and I've started quilting, but that's as far as it got.

#4  PB&J Kaleidoscope quilt -  if any are going to slip, this is it!  (carried forward from Qtr 1)

#5 Oriental top (carried forward from Qtr 1 & 2) - just needs quilting and finishing!

#6 Vintage Modern Quilt - would like to get this one quilted at least so I know if I am going to enter it into Festival this year!

Its been hanging up waiting for a quilting opening for some time. And is still hanging about waiting for a slight modification and some 'contemporary' quilting! Fesstival entry is looking unlikely now, but I'd still like it done.

#7  Sprinkles - I pattern tested this for Sue, (must blog about it) (Carried over from Qtr 2)

#8 More Pattern Testing, this one for Megan - love it so much I must finish it!

currently picked up and labeled into a bag waiting for an opportunity to sit and sew.

I've done some blocks, but that's it.

#9 and just for Sarah - Hunters Star quilt - Gulp!  this one is a monster, with more piecing than a box of dropped crockery!  Jury's out I'm afraid - but it made the list all the same!

Don't hold your breath on this one!

#10 Peppered Cottons quilt - these have been together since I bought them, ooooh at least 2 months ago!  

#11 FQR Samlple swaps

I better get a move on!

#12  This pile of fabrics into a cushion!

#13  and the pile of rejected blocks into a cushion.

So that should keep me out of trouble then! 

and being as I seem to be chipping away at these I should accomplish something!

Never mind the Customer quilts already booked in for the next few months!

Linking this up with Katy (i Hope) 

Half Square Triangle Heaven

I was so excited to be given the opportunity to take part in the Oakshott Colourshott Bundle Blog Hop hosted by Lynn of Lillys Quilts

I drew the Spice Bundle

And immediately thought of sunset and had to start drafting my idea whilst I was still at the day job, so all my calculations have been noted on a scrap of paper! 

Everyone gets a little intimidated by trimming those Half Square Triangles, so what if there was a way to make 8 accurate HSTs in one go, no trimming required?

Well there is! 

These little fat Eighths are exactly 9 3/4" x by 22" 

Perfect!  from each F8th I cut two 9 3/4" squares

sorted them into the colour order I wanted, so they could be paired up, I moved one of the first colour to pair up with the last one

taking the first pair, draw diagonal lines across both axis, 

stitch 1/4" either side of the drawn lines

repeat for all pairs

now its time to trim

Each square will be trimmed in half, lining up the outer edge of your ruler at the 4 7/8" mark,

this is done both on the vertical and horizontal axis

check to ensure you are cutting through the center of the block too

Try not to move your block whilst cutting, if necessary rotate your board to make the cutting easier. 

You will then cut on the drawn diagonal lines

so that when you have done just 4 cuts, you will have 8 HSTs ready for pressing

I prefer to press my seams open, the blocks lay flatter

trim off your bunny ears, and lay out the blocks in order of sewing

my table wasn't big enough!

lay out the blocks in the desired design and stitch into rows, 

Join all the rows together to complete your top

Those 9 3/4" squares produced eight 4" finished HSTs!

so this little quilt is 32" square

layer up, baste, and quilt as desired!

(I love that statement!)

I quilted 1/4" either side of my zig zag seams, but I just couldn't resist a little feather thrown in to reflect the movement in the clouds of my Sunset

and I matched up my threads as I went

So, the technical bits,  we all hate cutting those squares with 7/8" on, and then trying to get an exact seam and hoping the HSTs will work, so what if you could make 8 at a time without the difficult maths? 

Whatever size you need your finished HST to be in my case 4", times by 2 and then add 1 3/4", in this case equals 9 3/4"

I've used this method many times, and now I have my head around the maths, its easy every time!  

Give it a try!  I'd love to see your results. 

Up next on the blog hop is Susan the Gourmet Quilter

31 June:  Jo from My Bearpaw

1 July:     Kerry from Very Kerry Berry

3 July:     Nicky from Mrs Sew And Sow

4 July:     Helen from Archie The Wonder Dog

7  July:    Sonia from Fabric And Flowers

8 July:     Charlotte from Displacement Activity

10 July:   Trudi from Trudi-Quilting Prolifically

11 July:   Susan Claire from Gourmet Quilter

and my sunset tonight?