WIP Wednesday - Santa sacks and a Quilt

I have been meaning to make my little peeps some Santa sacks for quite some time now and preferably before my kids are too old to be excited about the stuff that mummy makes.  I was so chuffed the other day when my 5 year old said that she 'wants to be a maker like mummy when she grows up'!

Anyway I decided to make some reindeer appliques and I think I am going to use a denim for the sack.  Will probably applique the kids names on too.

Another WIP that has been sitting around for a while are these:

Essentially twenty four 12 1/2" applique blocks which hopefully now that I have shown them will end up being a quilt for my daughter. They will be stitched using raw edge applique, with maybe a 1" wide sashing in between each block.  Then I will add lots of embellishing on the flowers.  That's the plan anyway.  The photo is a bit flashed out so the colours aren't true.

 

Linking up to W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

 

 

Free Motion Quilting with Angela Walters

Since making Rocket to the Stars, I have to say I have had enough of the paisley pattern I used to quilt it!  In saying this I actually find the paisley free motion design one of the easier patterns to quilt but I am now sick to death of it.

I find stippling very difficult which is probably good as I don't really like the look of stippling anyway (probably because mine looks dreadful!).  Anyway I thought it was high time I tried something different.

I was browsing on Craftsy and noticed Angela Walters online class Machine Quilting Negative Space.  You may know her book Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters which I now need to buy as her online class is fantastic.  She makes free motion quilting look incredibly easy and once you practice some of the designs they aren't as difficult as you may think.  I highly recommend this class if you would like to learn about free motion quilting.

I had started a pink girly version of a rocket ship cushion at the craft and Quilt Fair and begun quilting it in paisley (of course) but after watching the class decided to change it up a bit and finish it off with a circle pattern and I think combining the patterns gives it a more interesting look (and it was definitely quicker to do).  I think circles are my new favourite quilting design!!

I love the texture it has given to the piece by using the two different designs.  Although if I had of taken this class before I started quilting this cushion I probably would have done it a bit differently so the paisley pattern didn't look like it was just plonked in the middle.

Angela seems to like combining different quilting designs and I think the effect is amazing.  I feel so inspired that I want to keep quilting but I don't have any tops ready to quilt and don't want to waste my abundance of excitement on a practice quilt sandwich so I had better get my you know what into gear and make something to quilt!

Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair 2012

So the Craft and Quilt fair went really well after a very nervous start.  It was lovely to meet and work with Robyn and Carolyn.
 
It was the strangest thing actually having people tell me they wanted to make my quilt.  Strange in a good way!  I spoke to one lovely lady on saturday who said she bought the magazine the day before and told me she had already begun making the spaceships.

Anyway in case you hadn't already guessed I had a really amazing time.  I would love to do it again so I guess I had better think up some more designs :)

My Rocket to the Stars quilt!! 

Searching for Seaglass quilt out in Modern Quilts in december. I absoluely love this quilt!

The cutest ever Snakes and Ladders Game by Carmel Morris of Solomon Sewing

Some more fabulous quilts that are going to be in a new magazine released in december called Modern Quilts.

Gorgeous little hedgehogs by Sarah Hanson of Dolls and Daydreams out in next month's issue of Homespun.

I also ran into some old friends whom I hadn't seen for 12 years from my hometown of Yeppoon and it was lovely to see Amanda again also.

Red Raspberry at the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair

I am very excited to say I will be working on the Universal Magazines stand at the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair which runs from October 17-21.  I will be there on the Saturday and Sunday.  My Rocket to the Stars quilt will be on display at the stand!

Rocket to the Stars before quilting.

I have been preparing some applique cushions in order to demonstrate raw edge applique technique and free motion quilting.  To say I am nervous would be the understatement of the year, so all you lovely people who have been quilting for years, please be gentle to a new quilter. ;)

I can't wait to meet fellow quilting and crafting enthusiasts!

My Rocket to the Stars quilt is in Australian Homepun magazine!

I am very excited to say that my second quilt 'Rocket to the Stars' is featured in Australian Homepun!

 

 

 

I actually forgot to take a photo of the quilt finished before i sent it into the magazine so the only pictures I have are straight out of the magazine.

If you would like to make your own Rocket to the Stars quilt you will find it in the Kid's Issue of Australian Homespun (No. 113 Vol. 13 No. 10) out now.

There are so many fabulous projects in this issue.  I especially love 'On Toadstoal Lane' by Jennifer Goldsmith of Frazzy Dazzles and The super cool Snakes and Ladders game designed by Carmel Morris of Solomon Sewing.  There is also a fabulous appliqued teepee by Claire Gee of Matching Pegs.  My daughter Lily has also requested that i make her the 'Lily' skirt by the incredibly talented patty Young of MODKID.

So go out and buy yourselves a copy.  You know you can never have too many magazines!



Red Raspberry - In the beginning...

...there was a girl who liked to sew.

Somehow, despite being a home economics failure ( she got a C) she discovered her sewjo.  Her first handmade outfit was a made from a lovely (hideous) mauve crushed satin kind of fabric, accessorised with a matching purple bow of gigantic proportions.  It was the late 80's after all!  How she loved that dress.  But now there was no stopping her.  An addiction was born.  Glorious batwing tops, bubble skirts, peplums and multiple zipper numbers all in varying shades of polyester, crushed velvet and lace.

Somewhere along the way she lost her sewjo and discovered new and exciting crafts that took her fancy for a short while until she inevitably became bored and moved on to something else.  Then came that day when she spied a gorgeous creation on a magazine cover!  That magazine was Australian Homespun with one of Kellie Wulfsohn's quilts on the cover.  'That's a quilt?' she thinks.  'But quilting isn't fun, is it?'  She buys the magazine.  Does she make the quilt?  No.  She buys more magazines to drool over.  She buys fabric.  She hoards fabric.  Does she make anything??  No.  

One day while flicking through her new favourite magazine she reads about a competion - Search for a Craft Star.  'Wow.  That might be fun to enter.  I might make a quilt.'  says the crazy person who has never in her life made a quilt.  Then she thinks maybe I should start with something small, a tablerunner perhaps?  No, it definitely has to be a quilt.  It can't be that hard can it?  

So she comes up with a design.  She feels that first flush of excitement of beginning a new and exciting project so the making of the quilt top goes quite quickly.  Her sewjo is back.

Close-up of Kokeshi Doll Applique

Then she starts to procrastinate as she realizes the enormity of the project that she has begun.  More procrastination and everyday life with two small children gets in the way of all creativity.  Then the sudden realization that ( oh crap! ) there is only 3 weeks to go until she needs to send off photos of her finished project.  
Doubt sets in.  What was she thinking?  She should just forget about it.... 'No.  I am going to finish this.' she says and she did.  She learnt free motion quilting and with a great deal of swearing and weeping, she quilted her quilt.  She finishes with a few days to spare and posts off her photos.

Anyway to cut a long story short, my quilt won the amatuer category.  I did receive a wonderful prize ( thank you Pfaff! ) but the best and most exciting part of the whole endeavour was seeing my quilt pattern as a project in my favourite magazine - Australian Homespun.  I loved designing and making the quilt and hope to design many more.

Kokeshi Doll Quilt

My goals in starting this blog:

1.  To keep the ideas flowing and the momentum going.

2.  To participate in the online craft community instead of just being a reader of other blogs.

3.  To stop procrastinating and try to finish projects in a reasonable time frame ( this will be a hard one!)

4.  To share my projects with you. 

Cheers

Gill

P.S.  Please look out for my next quilt in the October 2012 issue of Australian Homespun.