Quilt Dad Monster Giveaway!

Okay, I just found out myself so you may have to be quick but John at Quilt Dad is celebrating his 2 year bloggerversary by having the most fantastic giveaway!
If you have never seen John's blog before then you are in for a treat. He has lots of quilting inspiration floating about over there! Go take a peek!

Admiration

Last Wednesday I escaped with friends for a day of stitching ,coffee and cake at Noelene's house.
Noelene moved to our area a few years ago and we were lucky enough to have her join our little quilting group ( this is the other smaller group I belong to).
Noelene is one of life's beautiful people..generous of heart and kind natured ..chats a mile a dozen and her quilts are a sight to behold. Her passion is hand piecing and quilting . I always giggle when she tells me she thinks sewing on a machine is more difficult than making a quilt by hand....HA !!
She loves to reproduce antique quilts and has made quilts of her own design in an antique style.
Last July , our little patchwork group ventured to Melbourne to see Noelene's quilts on display at the Quilt Show ...as the feature quilter !!
I think she was in her element as she sat chatting to all those who came past and admired her work (17 quilts on display ) and she was only too happy to pass on her knowledge and technique to all who were stopping and asking questions. Noelene favours the paper piecing method .
All her quilts are intricately hand quilted and what is more amazing is the fact she uses the stabbing method rather than rocking the needle up and down to get a number of stitches on the needle at a time.
I admire Noelene and all the other ladies like her, who are keeping the art of
making a quilt completely by hand , alive .
Excuse the poor quality of the photos but I have included
some pics of Noelene's glorious work !Noelene drafted her own templates for this Dear Jane quilt from looking at photos,
before the book was released with patterns included !




Amazing, all the 1 inch hexagons have been fussy cut !


Even those of you whom are more taken with modern style quilting would have to agree her work is stunning.
Well, I think so , anyway !

Our humble Inaugural quilt show.....

I belong to a quilt group that was founded at my workplace and we have been merrily stitching along for 10 years. There are currently 12 members in the group.
We decided our 10th Anniversary called for a celebration of our collective abilities and we should hold a quilt show/ display . One of the larger groups in our region kindly donated the use of their professional quilt hangers which helped to make the whole display look so much better - and we would have run out of wall space without it !
A local quilter who judges quilts on a State Guild level kindly came and judged the quilts .
It was very interesting to read her comment sheet and to see the criteria used to judge a quilt; design elements, Colour ( impact,harmonies,interaction), Visual Impact,Techniques ( workmanship) , Presentation( finishing, how the piece hangs), Best Feature, Areas for improvement.
It was amazing to see our work on display. We have all progressed from the first meeting when we did not know what a fat quarter was or a 9 patch for that matter !

Everyone attending the show was able to vote for the Viewer's Choice Award ...but that was a non contest really. Corrie ( founding member) won with her stunning William Morris Hand appliqued quilt .
Edit: I neglected to note that the William Morris inspired quilt was designed by Michelle Hill...who has somehow found my humble blog and left me a comment...wow !

If you belong to a group that has enough quilts between you to have a display...go ahead and do it ! We were all a bit wary of the idea at first as no one felt their quilts were up to display standard but it was so worth the effort...and it was lovely to hear all the comments from the visitors.
We all enjoyed the experience so much that we will hold the show bi-annually as a fundraiser for charity.

x PJ x

Desperate times.....

Problem. Need to use large spool of embroidery thread but it keeps unravelling from the spool when lying down and I do not have one of those fancy dancy thread towers.
Solution. Piece of wire from the garage and some playdough.


Works like a dream.
If only I had been so inventive back in my Yr 10 Science Class !!

tulips and bees ....quilting bees !

Well, we survived the freezing cold conditions in Canberra for Floriade. It is a wonder there were any tulips left with the gale force winds !


Beautiful tulips, but must admit,I was frozen to the bone so I couldn't wait to get back in the car and drive to the mall. What luck ! A fabulous new Hobbysew had opened there with a great array of fabrics so I spent an hour or so warming myself up while browsing ( and buying ....sshh.. don't tell DH ).

These are my blocks for Amy for the ANZAC quilting bee. They proved to be a challenge in that I had to think outside the square..but I am pleased with the final result .I hope Amy is also.



Have you seen the latest blocks in the Quilt Project ? The quilt will be on display in Melbourne for one evening only, here are the details .

School holidays start at 3.10 pm tomorrow. I have been busy gathering ideas for crafty ventures to keep the children occupied over the next 2 weeks. First on the list is some goop ! definitely an outside activity.
Any links to some great sites with kids craft activities greatly appreciated !

x PJ x

Super-duper sized catch up post !!

I was horrified when I saw the date of the previous post !
Very neglectful of me. So, in no particular order , a glimpse of what I have been distracted with for the last 4 weeks.
A birthday party for Emily, 45 people at our house on a cold, miserable day.
We had the usual party food fair plus games. I made a piniata.Which held together really well. Too well. Note to self..next time use less packaging tape LOL...I think Arny Schwarzenneger would have had a hard time busting it open !
We took some fairy cakes to share as her birthday cake at pre-school. All gobbled up rather quickly...3- 4 yr olds are apparently ravenous by morning tea time when they have been climbing , running and chasing !
Emily is putting the candle in her playdo cake...you know..the one they have at child care and pre-schools to "blow out "the candle...so they don't spit all over the cake that is to be shared !

I was lucky enough to win a few giveaways happening in blog land..and "meet"some lovely crafty types along the way!
These toasty warm, knitted/felted wrist warmers from Miss Muggins , love the wrapping !


and this stunning quilted pillow pattern from Kellie at don't look now.
I was in the newsagent this morning and spotted the latest issue of Australian Homespun..and there was Kellie's gorgeous quilt on the front cover ! She is one talented lady !
We had a trip to my Dad's orchard...Emily follows him around like a puppy dog, chatting incessantly ( NO idea where she inherited that trait from ! ).
She helped Pop in the packing shed...and found a few apples to bring home !
Blake enjoyed riding the motorbike and tractor , then whining all the way home about how hard done by he is , having to live in the city ."why can't I live on a farm ? "
Geez...give me strength !!

Then there's the stitching projects...Amy from Seven Stitches...all the way over the ditch in NZ kindly organised a virtual quilting bee for Aussie and NZ participants,and she called it what else but the ANZAC quilting bee.
Here is the fabric she has sent .Plus her lovely Gee's Bend postcard ! Very Amish inspired colours. We are to construct 2 x 12.5 " blocks using string piecing. I plan on sitting down tonight to complete mine , but Nova was on a mission and had her's finished in record time ! And they look great.

This is my piece for The Quilt Project. With a little extra added !

A big thankyou to Kirsty at kootoyou , for organising this group. I can't wait to see the final result. I must admit I procrastinated so long over my design but I was happy with the final result. I haven't done much stitching before, other than blanket stitch for applique, so the craftmanship may be lacking..do not look too closely !
Do pop over to the flickr group , make sure you see this particular piece..totally inspiring !

This mumma can't do much without her little helper wanting to join in, so here is Emily working on her stitching...she really did quite well for her age..stitch spacing a tad uneven, but she concentrated SO hard on staying on the line !

Last but not least, I found this at my fave op-shop last week. A classic vintage print , the girl reminded me of Emily..had to grab it ..for a princely sum of $2. Yay !
x PJ x

What a great give away theme !

The lovely Elaine from Faithful Quilter is having a fab giveaway "the Stimulus Package " for quilters !
Very timely theme...the economy is not the only thing around here that needs a bit of stimulus !
My motivation would benefit from a wee bit of "stimulus".
Pop over and browse Elaine's blog...very inspirational for some traditional quilting designs and styles .

First time.

We have had a busy weekend with a lot of "Firsts "

The first time I have seen a naked Banana !! I think I should have found a maple leaf for his modesty ... his PJ's needed a wash...

The first time Emily collected fresh eggs..

The first time I totally improvised a quilt top ...one way to use up all my flannel scraps !!
Very utilitarian..I know it won't win any prizes !


Hope you all had a lovely weekend !
x PJ x

Mmmm..... coffee and chocolate.....Kitchen Swap !!

My partner Melissa received the little box of goodies for the Kitchen swap I sent her.
Melissa mentioned her kitchen was brown and cream, so when I saw some cute coffee themed fabric in those exact colours , on one of my fabric shop adventures...I knew I had to get it!
Apparently I chose well, Melissa and her husband both have a love of coffee!!
I made a set of coasters and a chalkboard fabric message board with the fabric.




What goes so well with coffee? .. ...chocolate !! ..so I included a Donna Hay Chocolate Recipe book, a spatula to help make some yummy chocolate cakes...and some cute stencils to decorate cappucino or hot chocolates with ...place them over the cup and shake the sprinkles over !!





Thankyou ,Melissa , for being my kitchen swap partner..it has been lots of fun !!

Starling

Oh, I could not help myself....very naughty...swore I would not buy any more fabric for at least a month..but look what I found .and of course had to have !

This online fabric shop , Kelani Fabric Obsession , has free postage within Australia.


They have some of my favourite prints, including my latest purchase.
I fell in love with the Starling print after seeing Elizabeth's latest creation over at Oh, Fransson.
I plan on using my fabric in the same manner as she has.

Now..off to browse more fabric shops.. what ? oh no..wont buy any more...I promise..well...I think I promise..( so glad my husband is not home when the postman delivers my parcels...phew !!)

I have been busy with the 4 swap parcels I need to have posted by the end of May....what was I thinking ???...signing up for 4 parcels that all have the same post date !

But what fun it all is !

x PJ x

loving vintage embroidery

When I go op-shopping I have a little routine...check the fabric bins...check the bookshelves....rummage through the racks of 50c throw out clothes...then... I hold my breath and hope....as I delve into the boxes that contain the vintage doilies and linens , that I may find my next fabulous little piece of embroidered heaven !!
( note to self ...remember not to squeal with delight too loudly...those ladies out the back might start upping the price tags on things if they think I would pay more !! ).

The hours of labour and love that are invested stitching these vintage beauties is amazing.....




Some of my finds , inevitably , will have holes or stains in them. Then there are the rare few that are in pristine, straight from the glory box condition. Like this one .Yay !!




Once home, I will attempt to remove the stains. I have an evergrowng stash of stained and holey embroidered linens that I have grand plans for !! Yes, indeedy !!
I want to use them to create a quilt featuring the embroidered pieces of these vintage linens .
I have not found the exact pattern or idea for inspiration yet. I just know that is what I want to do with them . One day .

This is a vintage child's apron...adorable !!!


x Peta-Jane x

Planning and organising

x PJ x