Back to nature

It's my birthday month, and the children are back at school on Monday, so we have been trying to cram in as much special family time as possible.

Yesterday my sweetheart took us to a surprise destination that was new for all of us.

Crystal Creek

Crystal Creek. A cool, freshwater swimming place with waterfalls. Oh, it was so relaxing. Even though it has been very, very hot and humid at home, only 70km away in the mountains, it was cool. The water was cool. The trees were shady. We all swam. Ahhh....

It was such a strong contrast. We felt hot and tense on the way, and as we drove up the winding mountain I could feel us all become more calm. We felt so cool and relaxed.

Before we went home we all wanted to change clothes. That is how cool we felt. We had a little wander and a look around.

This tree particularly caught my eye. The lichen on its trunk is so beautiful. It might just inspire a little quilty art piece at some time. Getting back to nature is what we all needed. Thank you.

lichen tree trunk

and some huge berries, or native plums

And so, in the cool of the afternoon at home after a homeward stop for frosty home made gelato (I had cinnamon and ginger, both rich and with such depth in flavour), I drew up a log cabin block and a block arrangement on graph paper while cooking dinner.

This morning I cut the pieces for the blocks, and pieced them. It took over 4 hours, between breakfasting, cleaning kids rooms and supervising playing (but mostly, I just had time to sew, my sweetheart kept a keen eye for us all). Bub was awake and cranky at 5am (he's teething, little darling,  and eating a lot of frozen corn and frozen raspberries to numb his gums), so I started sewing early before it heated up too much for sewing in the kitchen.

individual block also looks a bit like a Carolina Lily

Just needs the four applique blocks trimmed down and added on. (Need to finish the last 2 blocks tonight).

wow. loving the arrangement. So Christmassy

Tomorrow is basting and quilting day. The next day is binding day.

There is a very tight schedule for the Project Quilting challenges of only one week from start to finish.

And lastly, a little treat I bought in Olive Branch while picking up the fusible bias tape. French General fabrics for a classy table runner. (At this stage it's for me, but I am not sure of my upcoming colour scheme in the dining room, so i will have to see.) I hope it's for me!

Inklingo- No go (for now)

Last night I was sitting up reading about Inklingo. I had downloaded the free shapes ready to prepare for piecing Carolina Lily blocks as part of Project Quilting's second challenge for the year. Then I saw that one block finished at 3.18 inches.

To make a quilt big enough to make into a Christmas Tree skirt I need it to be about 20 inches square. I would need to make 64 pieced blocks at that size, and still calculate the sashings and borders (how do you cut something that size with a regular ruler?) because the Inklingo pack for the next borders and sashing would be US$50. Er... no, I am not prepared to pay that just for this challenge.

So I went to bed last night, thinking of other things I could do, rather than hand or machine sewimg 64 Y seams.

I am pretty good at applique. I was thinking I could do some of that rather quickly (but it's only now at 10.16pm that I realise I could have machine appliqued the pieces I did today. ARGH!)

I found this pattern in my stash under the bed.

It's a Lori Smith pattern. This block is about 6.5 inches unfinished. Great. I have a plan.

I can make four of these applique blocks, and make some log cabin blocks to make a little quilt about 24 inches square before cutting it up to turn it into a Christmas tree skirt.

The day started in a wonderful way, with my Sweet Man taking the children out to town for an hour or so (I started to prepare the applique blocks, and sat down in the air con in a blissful state watching some old TV show called "Bones". Ah. Bliss for a Mother. Child free sewing time. Ahhhh. Can you feel it? *spoiled*

Then I realised I had run out of the applique bias adhesive. Dang it! I think the quilt shops are still closed! I phoned a shop on the way to town, and it was open! And Olive Branch Quilts had a few rolls in stock.

almost 2 blocks appliqued, and there is a hole in my finger!

After lunch we were all driving in to the museum. The children were all asleep in the car (woohoo!), so my sweetheart stopped off at the quilt shop for me to pick up the tape on the way while he stayed with them in the air conditioned car. Oh! Mummy time again! *spoiled*

Check this out. The old packet I had says $17.10 . The new packet I bought today says $6!! It only has half the tape in it, but it's still much cheaper than it used to be. It seems to have come down in price.  That kind of thing doesn't happen very often.

While I was in the shop I bought the fabric I need to finish the 12 Days of Christmas birds wallhanging. I had the feeling this was going to be the right shop for buying these fabric colours and brought the quilt top with me.

(I just LOVE that every quilt shop has its own feel, and you know that one will have brights, another will have Christmas, and another will have moda's French General. hee hee).

I found the perfect pear print for the binding - it's an Anni Downs print.





















And a coral and an olive green for borders between the stitchery birds and the holly berries border.




These fabrics will be put away under the bed until  this busy challenge week is finished.

Such a blessed afternoon followed with a fantastic special dinosaur exhibit. It's on for another 6 months, and we realised we could book the birthday parties for our eldest two there this year. Woohoo! Sounds fantastic! Just turn up and everything is done!

It's my birthday month, and I am celebrating every day. You may have noticed there has been a lot of fabric shopping. That's enough shopping for now. The next thing I would like is lots and lots of Tula Pink fabrics. *happy drool* Maybe if I am very good this year, Santa??

The next challenge will be to make something using only stuff I already have. I think I am fully stocked.

In the 12 Days before Christmas sales I ordered some sale fabrics online with a view to using them for a quilt for my bed.



They have arrived, and they are more yellow than I first thought. I am visualising a French Braid with overlaying appliques in some beachy style for 15yo Harlee. Thoughts come while I applique for the challenge.

Tomorrow I am planning to draw up the log cabin parts for the Carolina Lily challenge, and hopefully stitch some together. In the evening work on one more applique block.

Then by the end of the next day (Thursday) I am hoping all blocks will be finished, giving me one day to sandwich and quilt it, and another day to cut it up and add binding, in time to post it online Sunday. Phew! Tight timeline.

Hope to see you round.

New Project!

Well, it's great news all round here!!

The Superhero Comics quilt top and Time For Love are both in the mail (registered post) to be quilted.

Esther Aliu's new free BOM for the year "Diamond Hill" is going to be absolutely perfect for my MIL's 70th birthday which is in two years. Good. Let's aim to finish it a year early so that she has an extra year to enjoy it. I would like her to love it, pat it, and hug it for as long as possible. She's in very good nick, so I think she will get at least 10 years out of it. This means I have more to add to my "wanting to do" list for this year.

I have printed the first part of the pattern, but will not even look at choosing fabric until I feel like I have finished something else. I kind of got into a routine for quite a few years, where I wouldn't let myself start something new until I finished something else. And that inspired me to rummage through some projects and gave me the oomph! needed to finish a project. (Maybe that's why I have decided so many of my quilts will be gifts, does it inspire me to finish them? I must confess, that is not the way. There's a Cathy Miller song called "It' Ain't Finished Yet" about the wedding quilt that was meant to be given away 2 years ago, where she's spent a small fortune on fabric and threads, she needs more of that fabric she bought in Tibet, but It Ain't Finished Yet. Yep, I think that's sometimes me)....

Project Quilting has issued the second challenge for the year, around the theme of "Carolina Lily".
I came across something new for me to try. It's Linda Franz's "Inklingo". Here is a link to the page that is inspiring me. 

The idea is to print the cutting and sewing lines for a shape directly onto the fabric, then hand sew or machine sew the pieces together. It happens in your ordinary inkjet printer (or 3 in 1 machine). There are some free shapes to try. You have to add them into the shopping cart, then log in to download them, but then they are on your computer.

Now, this is a fun challenging thing for me!

I want to make my MIL a Christmas tree skirt for her white faux tree, using the Inklingo technique to with Carolina Lily blocks.

I have chosen these fabrics.

While I don't usually prewash my fabrics it seems I need to for this printing thing. Let's give it a go. Stay tuned! It is a challenge after all! It's the first of 7 days, and all I have done is washed half of the fabric. Busy times tomorrow!

Does this sound crazy?

It's been a lot cooler here, which means it is more pleasant to be Sewing in the Kitchen! Although with all the rain, the mozzies have been breeding, and some nights, like last night, the outdoor kitchen was full of flying insects.. then frogs and toads were also everywhere eating the winged things.

As a result of sewing this morning, I have lots to show and tell, and I've had lots to think about.

Gingercat (AKA "Babycat" when he was named by the children as a kitten, but a name he seems to have outgrown) is deciding whether or not the cartoon section is too busy. "Yes, I'll just stay all the way over here, thank you. That might be sharp. Or moving. Or it might try to pat me."

Then, I realise I probably have enough fabric for 3 more superhero comic quilts (not quite like this, because I have panels), and enough for 2 Star Wars quilts, and enough for 2 Motorbike quilts.

That's 8 quilts.  I felt tired thinking about it. Maybe I could hammer out one a month this year. Would that be too much? As well as various stitch alongs and projects I have already decided to make?

And who do I give them to? Now that I have a new set of inlaws, there are lots of youngsters without quilts. Ethan is 10. Harlee is 15. My boys are 1 and 6. My newest nephew, Miles is 1. And my cousin's boys are 13, 10 and 9 - still using their baby quilts to cuddle under watching tv.

One thing is for sure, I will keep one of the superhero comic quilts for my household.

And I think one will go to 13yo Blake, and I am still deciding, but maybe one for Ethan, and one for Miles. Then I can keep one of the motorbike ones, and one of the Star Wars ones for my household too. One Star Wars to 9yo, one motorbike to 8yo, and I will make something beachy in batiks for Harlee.

I was feeling so stressed thinking about all the quilts to make to give away.  Where did that come from? Then I told myself: "Lorraine, just make one a month. They don't know you've planned to make all these quilts this year, and they won't miss them if you don't. This is your pleasure and recreation. And once they've had a quilt, I won't feel like I ever have to make them another one...well.. except for my kids and special nephew"

Does this sound crazy for a year's plan?
-4 comic superhero quilts
-2 Star Wars quilts
-2 motorbike quilts
-1 Christmas redwork wallhanging
-1 Christmas tree skirt
-The Goblin King quiltalong
-1 beachy batiks quilt
-Fandom in stitches is also collecting patterns for a tribute quilt to Carrie Fisher and George Michael  (if they do QAL, I will probably join)
-Esther Aliu starts her new free mystery BOM tomorrow, depending on the first block, I might even start that...
-Project Quilting still has 7 challenges left, I will try to make gifts out of the next ones

and what about something for me? Something bright in Kaffe Fasset fabrics????

Oh Lorraine! My goodness!

Look at what happens when you lose your quilting mojo for a couple of years... suddenly you feel like you have to make 24 quilts in a year. That's one every 2 weeks. We shall see. It might just be too crazy.

Get your longarm fired up Mum. I'm on a run.

crinkly shot: just needs fusing and machine stitching

2 hours later.... Wait a minute! I also found a Christmas quiltalong! 

and a modern quilts QAL

and this ugly christmas jumper QAL... oh sew many projects!

Time to crack out the sewing machine

While the older children have gone to their grandparents' for a couple of nights, it is time to get the sewing machine out for a few days! It's lovely to swing between hand and machine work, and projects that stimulate compared to projects that soothe.

Last night I had a cosy night in... just me and my baby boy...

I finished this Red Brolley embroidery.

And worked this week's block from The Goblin King QAL.

I am pretty happy with my progress of both lots of handwork, and with some sewing machine time  I was thinking to start something with the Star Wars fabric before the next Project Quilting challenge is released on Monday.

I went rummaging under the bed in the stash and found 2 lots of 12 blocks already made out of comicbook superhero fabrics.

I felt like I shouldn't start something with the Star Wars prints until I have completed both quilts. (AARGH! Why do I feel that way? My cousin's son just turned 13, and has totally outgrown his baby quilt, maybe I am thinking of him?)

some panels for creative backings and borders

I have already pieced one set of blocks together.

Now to buy some bright solids to frame the leftover fabrics, and I can machine sew when it's not so hot this evening.

leftover bits for creative borders and backings

Happy Redworking

It's been a happy time here in subtropical North Queensland, just working on simple redwork from Red Brolley patterns.

The first redwork piece is stitched

Tomorrow the next instruction is released for The Goblin King Quilt-a-long. I'll want to finish that quickly. It feels good keeping up with my sewing "commitments". I feel more likely to allow myself to start something new, and that feeling is bubbling away this year like it hasn't for a long time. It's so good to have my mojo back.

For now, it's just time for an hour or so of slow stitching...

Two different fabrics in one block creating a "sampler" feel

*happy sigh* redwork

Up to date

I am grateful for a delightful Friday night sewing with friends. It felt lovely to stitch while the dinner was cooking, to grab a few minutes between childrens' bedtime and  watching a bit of the Labyrinth movie with the older ones...

I felt like I was smiling over a cup of tea and looking at my stitching friends... and that was just what I needed.

overheard while watching The Labyrinth.. Miss 5: That Goggling King is never, ever getting our baby

I actually finished the Sarah block from The Goblin King stitchalong, and started a Red Brolley stitchery which is just warming my heart.

Now that I am between challenges for Project Quilting, waiting for next one, and finished my weekly Goblin King block, I felt like rewarding myself with the start of the Christmas redwork wallhanging.

In terms of goals at the moment:
1. Project Quilting challenges (particularly using some rather gorgeous Christmas fabrics if possible)
2. The Goblin King stitchalong
3. Red Brolley Christmas redwork quilt
4. Finish the 12 days of Christmas birds quilt
5. Finish the 12 Christmas pear decorations
6. Have the Time For Love flimsy quilted
7. Ooh! And some Star Wars fabric is burning a hole in it's shopping bag... I have a plan!