SOMETHING NEW?

Got so many other things I could be doing (housework comes to mind) in preparation for arrival of family for my Grandma's 100th birthday on Jan 6th or even finishing a UFO? But why do things like that when you can start something new and kid yourself that starting to use all the pink strips on quilt as you go blocks will be quality usage of your time tonight?
Pulled out all the pink strips and strings.
These are 4 blocks that will get used somewhere but not sure how.
Will do the tops at 9" and the batting and back at 8.5" so can sew the tops together with no sashing to keep the pattern.
Managed to mess up one of these so instead of ditching that one, cut all 4 down before I realised I would lose the pattern if I had to sash.
Not a drama, can probably use these in the border. 

Allietare Week 5 Bonnie Hunter Mystery

Week 5 and a week of no cutting, just sewing!

You cans my range of neutrals here in this clue. This is just some of the blocks for this clue.

To go back to the linky page, click here.

Bonnie Hunter's blog can be found by clicking here.

I have done some of the sewing for this part of the clue. Am waiting for the reveal to see how many more I need as I am doing a smaller quilt. I have loved the opportunity to showcase some of the really fun neutrals I have collected this year in addition to using up some scrap strips from my Scrap User System. This is my third mystery and this is the bravest I have ever been with fabric.

HAPPY QUILTING!

Allietare Week 4 Bonnie Hunter Mystery

With hours to spare, I have finished Clue 4 before 8:30 pm on Christmas Day.
I have used every single day available to complete this clue.
It's been a busy week at the office and with Christmas celebrations today.
Lots of scrap neutrals in each set and lots of different reds and blacks.
Looking forward to seeing what Bonnie has planned for the reveal.
So exciting

You will want to head back to Bonnie's link up so please click here to do that.

Here are all the elements cut out for Clue 4.

12 done! Half way to my goal for my quilt!

Done! In time to post to the links and be ready for the Clue 5 to come out tomorrow night.

I've done a total of 24 for this clue. 

HAPPY QUILTING!

Allietare Week 3 Bonnie Hunter Mystery

Clue 3 began with pulling more neutrals for variety and more strips from the bins.
A simple clue but I wanted to keep it scrappy.
#Quiltvillemystery2015
#AllietareQuilt

You can go back to the weekly link up by clicking on the link below
http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-3.html#more

I even pulled that Scotty Dog fabric from the revered 30's collection. 

I even pulled some random pre cut neutral squares.

I added some greens from the 30's collection. they go well.

I ended up cutting down some 2.5" strips as well.

Here are my twosies- over 30 different neutrals. So much fun.

The headless chook at the bottom fits with the decapitated geese from the last clue. 

Not to self- don't cut fabric after 8pm.

The 4 patches. Love this colour combo. Considering a quilt of greens an neutrals just like this.

Happy Quilting

BONNIE HUNTER: LEADERS AND ENDERS TUMALO TRAIL

So this is my current Leaders and Enders project since Patches and Pinwheels moved into construction mode.
Tumalo Trail which is in Bonnie Hunter's book Scraps and Shirttails II
I sewed a bunch of shorter strips together and cut them into 3 patches to sew together.
Almost done with these and will need to move onto the next element of the block, the half square triangles.
Even after P&P and this new one, not much of a dent in the strip stash... I persist!

http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/p/book-pre-orders.html
I even got a comment on my post from Bonnie which always makes my day.

Allietare Week 2 Bonnie Hunter Mystery

Motoring along with #Allietare
Clue 2 done by Sunday. So loving getting to use my neutrals.
16 different reds, 16 different neutrals.
I also got a "great job" from Bonnie Hunter- which is always exciting.
And very excited to see I got a special mention in this weeks links blog post.
Looking forward to Week 3 and hoping to get some string blocks going as I have TONNES of strips and strings already cut and ready to go.

http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/allietare-mystery-monday-link-up-part-2.html

Bonnie Hunter Mystery 2015 #Allietare - Fabric Choice

Slightly different to Bonnie's choice with using the green instead of her gold.

Looking forward to really using the neutrals this year now I am out of the boredom of tone on tone.

So much variety to pick from and still have the option of using strips from by neutrals tub!

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2015/11/mystery-monday-link-up-allietare-part-1.html

Allietare Week 1 Bonnie Hunter Mystery

20 different neutrals to start off the 2015 mystery!

#Allietarequilt

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2015/11/mystery-monday-link-up-allietare-part-1.html

Bicycles, butterflies, spots, swirls, maracas, tape measures, bingo cards, flowers, Christmas decorations and an oriental.

Neutrals are my new favourite thing. Looking forward to using jars and zebras next time! 

BONNIE HUNTER: PATCHES AND PINWHEELS CONTINUED

Patches and Pinwheels ticking along quite nicely. Finally sewed all the half triangles together during the week and squared them up today ready to sew together to make the pinwheels.
Although this quilt won't be massive it will still be large (78" x 78") and it really hasn't dented the stash much at all. In any case, I'll love it.
Happy Quilting.

CHALLENGE: ONE BLOCK WONDER -SCQUILTERS CANBERRA RETREAT 2015- PART SIX

You'll have to excuse the outer edges around the top, but this is the biggest piece of floor I have. This is my One Block Wonder, just the flimsy but ready to go to the quilter (as soon as the back is pieced).
I Love it. I think it looked best far away, but love it.
The inner borders are fabrics from the same NYC Grand Central Lind and the main border is 6" of the original fabric. The back will be the same blue as the inner border.
Happy Quilting. Next time you see this one it will be finished.

BONNIE HUNTER : GRAND ILLUSION, MYSTERY QUILT

So, many months on, the top is together. Borders to come. I've put a black and white version so you can see the pattern better.
There is one mistake with a turned block. It's not bothering me but conveniently it is near an edge so I can get it out and turn it if I thus choose. It's not so obvious and doesn't affect the motion.
This quilt is huge and is currently about 80" x 80".
I'm getting my tops ready to take to the quilter. I am hoping to leave 3 or 4 with Sharon to be done. Once the borders are on this, I am sorting out about 3 backs from my yardage.
Happy Quilting

BONNIE HUNTER: PATCHES AND PINWHEELS

So you saw my box full of squares to be sewn in to twosies, four patches and then 16 patches..... well below are 85 x 16 patches.... not one has the same fabric repeated (but each 16 patch may share similar fabrics) and so now it is on to the pin wheels of which I also need 85.
All the fabrics are cut ready to go and I have done 5 complete pinwheels (just to work out the seams... which I have almost sorted out).
I love using all these scraps, though still not a huge dent in the stash.
Still have a tub full of fabrics to cut into strips.... but that gets boring especially after I just cut fabric for 85 pinwheels!
Happy Quilting

MY FIRST QUILT GIFT

For one of our challenges, we had to finish our oldest UFO (mine was the rail fence quilt I have posted previously and I only finished the top so didn't complete the challenge). My friend Jan from Queensland did this twisted hexagons at the Sydney Retreat 10 years ago. She finished it for the challenge, quilted and bound. I walked past saying I thought it was lovely and found it in my hands. This is the first quilt I have been given. I am even wrapped in it now on my couch as I write this post. So excited to have received this gift, I just love it.
Thank you Jan, you really made my year with this gift.

2016 SCQ Retreat Challenge: JARED TAKES A WIFE

For this year's challenge we have come up with Bonnie Hunter's Jared Takes a Wife.
It is a free pattern from her blog Quiltville.
The challenge is a stash challenge meaning we have to make do with our stash.
There are two exceptions to this rule:
1) The yellow community fabric (that you can see on my star points) which we bought at our Canberra retreat.
2) One other fabric purchase for sashings or backing.

I have slightly modified the block by using the black where a neutral should have been used. It will give a secondary pattern when I use black sashing and red cornerstones.

We have 8 ladies in the challenge.

VIVA LAS VEGAS

Helloooooo!
Just so you all know, I have been overseas for the last 9 days.
Updates to come, stay tuned!

CHALLENGE: ONE BLOCK WONDER -SCQUILTERS CANBERRA RETREAT 2015- PART FIVE

15/07/15

Vertical strips are now all together, so now just to sew each of the long seams together to make the top.

That will be tomorrow's job. 

CHALLENGE: ONE BLOCK WONDER -SCQUILTERS CANBERRA RETREAT 2015- PART FOUR

13/07/15 Managed to get 2 rows sewn tonight. Once again, so glad I took the photo of the layout.

14/07/15

Managed to get rows 7, 8 and 9 sewn today and then row 1,2,3 and 4 (bottom photo).

Hope you are enjoying watching this come together as much as I am.

LEADERS AND ENDERS- BONNIE HUNTER

So the photo below is my box of twosies made from onesies to ultimately form the 16 patches required for Patches and Pinwheels, a free pattern offered by Bonnie Hunter on her blog.
Just scraps, done on a light/dark formation and as leaders and enders.
What is a leader and ender? You know the piece of fabric you use so your threads don't get all caught up, well straighten them up a bit and make a quilt instead, putting these thru before the blocks of your main project! I've got 1360 squares sewn in to 680 twosies there which will make 340 x 4 patches which will then become 85 x 16 patches.

CHALLENGE: ONE BLOCK WONDER -SCQUILTERS CANBERRA RETREAT 2015- PART THREE

And so here we are with the first 2 rows being sewn into strips. So glad I took the photos. I stcked up and put sticky notes but the photos sure help making sure you have everything in the right position.
Will have it sewn together before I go away so will definitely be able to sew those borders on before heading to retreat. #notchasingmytail

CHALLENGE: ONE BLOCK WONDER -SCQUILTERS CANBERRA RETREAT 2015- PART TWO

09/07/2015
So managed to get all the blocks sewn yesterday before I went out for dinner at 6pm.
Pinned them together when I got back in.
Tonight was design night... on my design floor.
Going to let it sit for a while. Took photos so I can put back together tomorrow to start sewing together.
Will be getting some co-ordinating fabric for borders in NYC and it will be a race to get them on before heading to Canberra for the retreat.
Definitely a quilt that looks better from afar.
I actually got a better vision by looking at the camera on my phone. It actually helped me decide where  to put the blocks which I was struggling with at the start.

First lot of blocks down

Halo my quilt inspector

Vertical view

Horizontal

CHALLENGE: ONE BLOCK WONDER -SCQUILTERS CANBERRA RETREAT 2015- PART ONE

So for the Canberra retreat, only Lorraine and I are doing a book challenge this year. Aunty Anne focussed on finishing UFM's (unfinished masterpieces).  We chose One Block Wonder by Maxine Rosenthal.



Click here to go to Amazon for the book.

28/06/15
It took me a long time to find a fabric but I got the fabric below, called Grand Central, which I got from the City Quilter in New York. It's just divine and it's New York and it's got trains and it is about travel. Many of my favourite topics on one fabric. It is the most lush blue. the photo doesn't quite do it justice. It a very calming blue.
It also took me a long time (3 months) to get the courage to cut as well. With the challenge quilts I like to just do that, nothing else. So once I finally get the courage to cut, I like to keep going. It would be hard for me to get more of this fabric sent before end of July, so I make sure I read first, read again and then read at least one more time. I also have a bit of a rule not to cut fabric much after 7:30 pm. Eyes are tired, brain is tired. No point cutting fabric and messing it up when you can wait until morning and do it right.

Fabric finally aligned- took me about six goes.

I am sure some fabrics just go together quite easily. 

I am sure that it was also the operator being very retentive.

29/06/15

Got the courage to cut my first strip this evening. See below for some sample blocks from the first strip. 

06/07/15
So I have made about 15 blocks on the left there and am designing the others as I go.
Haven't cut all the fabric yet but thought I would sew some blocks for something different to do.
Quite a nice quick process this part.

BOOK REVIEW: NINE PATCH PIZAZZ - BY JUDY SISNEROS

Aunty Anne, Lorraine and I got on to this for a challenge to take to Townsville retreat in 2012.
We got to choose all our own fabrics for this one and whichever design we wanted.
I chose an oriental with beautiful cranes on it. Really enjoyed making this quilt with some nice bigger pieces and classic 9 patches, it really is just lovely and as Judy says, some of them are just "mushy" which makes for a nice calming effect.
My quilt is still needing to be bound (has binding on one side and is the subject of a recent post, "Current Projects".
You can see from the photographs below that I have more defined non patches where as Aunty Anne's quilt is more "mushy".
Both fabulous quilts. I had mine professionally quilted by Sharon- "The Patchwork Quilter" here in Adelaide.





Click here if you cannot see the book in your email.

My Quilt- Yet to be named

Aunty Anne's Quilt- Monet's Flight

BOOK REVIEW : NEW CUTS FOR NEW QUILTS - BY KARLA ALEXANDER

This book was purchased by my quilting partners in crime, Aunty Anne and Lorraine when we were in Townsville for our retreat challenge. The challenge was to choose a quilt from this book and make it in time for the next retreat (which we ultimately did not go to in Bendigo and thus showed our quilts in Launceston). The criteria was we had to use stash AND we had a communal fabric a brown/green batik which we had each bought half a metre of which also needed to be used in the quilt.
I chose the 9 patch design, Trident Links. At first it took me a while to get my head around the main deck stacking instructions but once I had the fabric out and worked out my stacks, I was ok.
I found with this quilt pinning the stacks together was useful. Do read each instruction/step carefully.
There are some great quilts in this book (17 to be exact) that would also make great stash busters as well as project a group challenge amongst friends or within a guild or maybe on your own on a rainy day. You could piece a top within the day.






Click here if you cannot see the picture in your email.

My quilt is called "Berry Nice" and you can see it below. Quilted by Sharon "The Patchwork Quilter" here in Adelaide.

 My cat Halo loves this quilt, as do I

On show at Launcestion retreat

So for some great project ideas, grab a copy of this book, shop your stash and make some different quilts!

Enjoy your Sunday :)

CHALLENGE: SCRAP ORGANISING- BONNIE HUNTER

I was introduced to the world of Quiltville and Bonnie Hunter by my friend Lorraine. She said she read her blog every day and she had some good tips.

Good? They are just great. Bonnie Hunter to me is the quintessential quilter. Making quilting accessible for those who maybe don't have much money or need a bit of simple guidance.
One of my favourite posts of Bonnie's is that regarding her Scrap-Users System.
It really gives you a good system to tame those scraps of fabric left over from other quilts. The number 1 piece of information is- you pay the same amount per metre for the bits left over, so why not consider them as valuable as your yardage.
Honestly you would be surprised how many quilts you can make with your scraps.
If you tame them in to usable strips and squares, they are ready to use for your next project.
I have spent quite a bit of time taming scraps and some yardage in to usable strips and squares. Below you can see some of my handy work thanks to Bonnie's techniques.
If you aren't sure about what size to cut your strips (I pondered on this forever as I thought what if I cut it the wrong size?) then Bonnie has also a PDF which highlights which of her free patterns used what strips. Click here for this.
So click on the free patterns, pick some and then get cutting so your scraps are usable!
I'm a total convert now. I still have a tub of fabric to cut but am trying to get organised and finish some of those UFO's. I allocate 20-60 mins a night to sewing activities, so it may be cutting, binding, sewing. By doing that you get bits done, you will be surprised how much you can get done by setting a 20 min timer. So get out your scraps and start doing a little bit each day, they will be tamed in no time and you can use them rather than looking at them and saying" Ugh I have to iron and organise all of that."
You will then also have scraps ready for Bonnie's mystery quilt later in the year.

 1.5" , 2", 2.5" and 3.5" strips

2" squares for Patches and Pinwheels sewn in to twosies, light/dark.

Ready to be pressed and sewn in to 4 patches.