I'm a glutton.

I am so happy the third (and last) quilt in this series (Jo's Little Women Club) is completed!

This quilt is only 2 feet square, but it feels like a big finish as there are so many pieces in it. I still need to wash the quilt a few times and add a label.

I think the quilt will look much better hanging on my wall with a cream background, compared to on my floor!!

The design is quite striking when seen in person.

You know what this means don't you? I can start something else!! The trouble is... I want to start another mini quilt series.... LOL!! This time there are 9 little quilts...

You would think the Civil War Bride Quilt would be enough for me - each block is like a little quilt!! You know, some people would say I am a glutton for punishment, but making beautiful quilts could hardly be called punishing...

I have finished quilting the baskets quilt.

I just need to sew down the binding and give it a good wash so that it is nice and soft and antique-y.

I am sure I will be able to finish the binding tonight. No worries!!

Basket case???

This is an update on my little Jo Morton baskets quilt. I have finished the sawtooth border. Now all I need to do is add on 1 3/4 inch border in teal, then another in brown, then quilt and bind. It's such a cute little quilt.

Looking at it, there are some areas where there is not quite enough contrast, but I have left it for the "vintage look". It's the background fabric in the top left block that loses it a little bit. Fortunately, while our eyes see it, the brain tends to look beyond it and just sees another basket.

I can't wait for another finish!!

Where am I?

Where have I been? Here of course... but it's the old problem, sew it or blog it? Blogging takes time, but I love to look back at the record of what I've been up to. I put together the baskets from Jo's Little Women Club. I should have done this about 4 months ago... but I was naughty! Okay, I admit it.

Now I need to make lots of sawtooth pieces for a border. I have done the cutting, and sewing, now I just need to trim them to size and piece them around the outside.


The card of DMC thread is there to show you the size of the basket blocks.

I found this fun feature on facebook where you enter your photo, and it is slapped into yearbook photos from different eras. This could have been me in the 1980s.I like this one in the 1950s...My Mum looked just like this in the 1960s - and I look just like her in this one with Patsy Biscoe hair!!


I hope you find this application and have as much fun as I did!!

Jo's Little Women Club medallion quilt

Last night I sewed on the binding and hanging sleeve, and the label. Then I slept under it. Now it is a REAL quilt. LOL!! It is now hanging on the wall for a little while.

I am very happy to have a finish...

So now, it's time for a new list of 5...

1. Finish Rudy the reindeer (er.. I didn't mention I started this yet, did I?)

2. Finish applique and embellishment on Baltimore blocks

3. Finish cutting and putting together JLWC baskets quilt top

4. Finish machine stitchingDollhouse blocks

5. Piece 1950s quilt top.

Strippy Quilt

I finished the strippy quilt from Jo Morton's Little Women Club. I haven't measured it, but I estimate it to be about 1 foot x 1 1/2 feet in size. I machine quilted along the swirly print I used for strips.

Made from 4 fat quarters plus backing, with plenty of leftovers!!!

Now, to finish the baskets quilt!!!

Dame such-a-lot

Such a lot has happened since I last blogged! I want to keep up with my blogging so that I am keeping track of my work. Hmm...

So what happened?

I lay in bed for 4 days with the flu, sat out in the Autumn sunshine when I could, ate oranges etc. I got the flu before the flu shots were out... so I guess there's not much point getting one now! (At least for a few weeks until I am quite over this one). I have mixed feelings about flu shots, but I really need to talk to my Dr. I had pneumonia 13 months ago and need to be very careful. Well, that's one of my excuses for not blogging..

What's another one? Oh yeah! I couldn't find my camera.. well, my DH's camera just doesn't quite cut it, it's a different brand, and I always find the colour quality so different to real life.

I have been working on another funky monkey!

Here he is!!! What a cutie! This one reminds me of a little cartoon stuck to my fridge. It is one scene picturing the traditional pirates with a wooden leg, or a hook, or an eye patch and one is saying "Arhh, here comes Mr Perfect" because a pirate with all his appendages and eyes is approaching. At the moment, this is Pirate Magoo because he is missing an arm and his eyes!!!

Here's something else I have been working on... yay!! The medallion quilt from Jo's Little Women club is finished! (Well, the top is finished). I just love it!! I challenged myself not to use green (which I usually LOVE) and I only have one in it (one is not too bad is it????).. the original quilt was green and red, so I wanted to do something cool and soft rather than warm, but still use the vintage look of Jo Morton fabrics.

I have also been working on the Quilt-Aid blocks. I am at the half-way mark in terms of time, and have 3 weeks left to completely finish my quilt and write the instructions. ACK!! You know what I will be showing you next!!!

I will post pictures of the Quilt-Aid blocks very soon!

Like sands through the hourglass... these are the days of our lives...

On her blog Karen has pictured some really WOW tools she made. I am so inspired!! I just love quilter's blogs!! I want some of those really cute ribbons...

It's been a while since I got to look around anyone's blog much. I am working a lot at the moment as I have made a career change. I took a year's leave from secondary school teaching.... I don't think I will ever go back. I am loving my new career as a business owner!!!

I made the hourglasses for a border on the Little Women medallion quilt.

I am trialling fabric to go between the sawtooths (is that sawteeth?) and the hourglasses.

nice, but too pale

definitely needs to be darker

the purple on the right isn't quite right, I quite like the pink on the left

I am really looking forward to my quilting retreat on the weekend!!!

Confessions and Apologies

I must have been tired when I last posted about the sawtooth border.

You know, the squares didn't need much trimming at all, mostly just the dogs ears... and for small pieces like that it is more accurate to trim. And it didn't take me as long as I thought it would.

The border is supposed to be dark edges to the centre

But I liked light edges to the centre for my quilt.

I trimmed the 1 1/2 inch blocks using my rotating cutting mat. It only took one and a half hours to trim, piece and attach the border to the centre. The technique really worked, so go for it!!!

Next will be a plain border, then hourglass blocks. I started making the hourglass blocks last night. It will be easier to select fabric for the border once I have laid out all the hourglasses.

I plan to work on the hourglass blocks tonight and have some more show and tell tomorrow.

Jo's Little Sawtooths

Sawtooth border.... What a sore point!

Here's my medallion center so far. Next is a sawtooth border. Let me show you the really easy way to make all the half-square triangles!

Mark with a ruler and sew 1/4 inch each side of the diagonal fold.

Then cut through to divide into half square triangles.. but NOT like that!! Ok, throw that one away.

Sew another one and cut it like this.

Then cut it again.

and some more cutting...

Now fold them open and press flat. See the half square triangles??

Ok, next instruction, accurately trim each unit into 1 1/2 inch squares. What? Look at all of these!! There are 72 units.

I am the kind of person who will piece it accurately if you tell me the correct measurements. I do NOT like oversized piecing with hours of trimming. ARGH!!

I think it will be quicker to re-make the units with 1 7/8 squares because I am not in a hurry to trim all of these.... (if it takes 2 minutes per square that's 2 1/2 hours of trimming....)

Jo's Little Women Club

I am still missing my camera. Maybe I left it in my girlfriend's car?? It's probably under some papers somewhere at work...

I am working on Jo's Little Women Club part 8. One purchases 25 Jo Morton fat quarters to turn into little quilts over 6 months club membership (that is why they call is Jo's Little Women Club!).

Here are the quilts for this club - usually it is 6 little quilts, one per month, but this time it is 2 little quilts and a medallion.

My fat quarters

This is the centre of my medallion. Did you notice I have no greens in my quilt, so the leaves and stems are blue.




I need to get the centre finished so I can work on the pieced blocks during my quilt group retreat on the first weekend in April. My aim is to sew, sew, sew and finish the medallion quilt top!! (Maybe Mum will quilt it for me??)