2007 Quilt #2

I stitched the binding on this tonight. I love how this quilt turned out. I read a quote the other day that was sent on the bottom of an email, but I do not know who originally said it. "Don't wait for inspiration to do something; do something, and you will be inspired!!" This is so true for my quilting. As I was pinning and quilting this quilt, I was already thinking of 3 more quilts I want to make! This morning I hope to cut out some more of the stash to try another quick and easy pattern to use the stash, and see results quickly!

Sudoku Quilt progress

This is so much fun to put together (well, if you like doing Suduko's, it is!) I used Phil's Suduko board and puzzle book to find a puzzle, and completed it. Then in groups of 9, I sorted and started to sew. It took less than 1 1/2 hours (including stopping for lunch) to get the 9 blocks sewn together to form the quilt top. Now I just have to sew the 9 large blocks together, and border, quilt and bind! This is great fun, and I can see other quilts being made this way!

Sudoku Quilt and colour blocks

Here are the blocks I have made for my Sudoku quilt. I have the 9 blocks sewn, now I need work out a Sudoku puzzle to work out the placement of each block. Here are the strippy 10" squares I have been sewing in between. Phil did a great job sorting all the strips into colour groups for me, and it has made it a lot easier to continue stitching. This week, I am concentrating on the light brown pile, and see if I can get all the strips sewn on to wadding. I have no idea how many 10" blocks I will end up with. I am going to guess and say 8..I will let you know how I go by the end of the week!

Floral Bouquet #2 progress

Gail's tip of having the thread ready for the next stitching session has been working well. I am more inclined to work on it in the evening!

2007 Quilt #1

My blue project for Project Spectrum is finished!. I know I am supposed to work on it in February/March, but I didn't realise how quick it would all come together. Once I started I couldn't stop...a good sign I know! This pattern is called Weed Whacker from Quiltville. A great way to use up 2" strips. (Although you wouldn't even know I have been able to make an entire quilt from the way the box is still over flowing...how many quilts can I make from that box?)

Sonia's 2nd quilt

This is Sonia's 2nd quilt. Sorry for the quality of the photo, and Sonia refused to show her face in the picture. Do you like her socks? They have sheep faces on them! I love the way Sonia fussy cut the cats on part of the border. She is really pleased with it. Sonia is already cutting out the fabric for her 3rd quilt. She is confident to try some triangles. Sonia is now cutting fabric for the Weed Whacker quilt pattern as well! (the blue quilt I am currently working on)

Sudoku Puzzle Inspired Quilt

Once I started sewing, all these ideas came into my head, and I can't just sew one quilt at a time. So while the other quilt is being pinned, I started to sew these batik pieces together. I have made 2 groups of 9 squares so far. This block, comes from something I tried to do last year, and made a mistake with my sewing, and ended up with this block. I liked the look of it and kept one aside to use as a future project. When I was sorting out my stash, I found it again, and thought I would use it with some batik prints. I am going to make 9 different groups, and then try and arrange the blocks into a Sudoku puzzle quilt.

Reversible Quilts

I pulled this book from the shelf the other day, and reread it. Reversible Quilts, by Sharon Pederson.  I think it will be a great way to use up all those strips of wadding that are too narrow to use in a quilt (I don't like to join wadding, unless I absolutely have to). Also a great way to use up some of the 1 1/4, and 1 1/2" strips that I keep in boxes, that I cannot bear to throw out. So, I cut out lots of 10" square pieces of wadding, also 5x7" wadding squares for Artist Trading Cards (to be done at a much later date), and got the strips out,ready to sew. Phil watched the soccer the other night, and sorted out all the strips into colour groups for me! Thanks Phil! I have started to sew some up, when I only have 20 minutes, and I don't want to start the next part of the current quilt I have going. So far, I have these squares hanging on my curtains. These will be on one side of the quilt, and I am going to piece blocks, then quilt then on the other side of the block. I am still working on what to do on the other side, but for the time being, this is therapeutic, and I can relax whilst still sewing something! Once they are complete, I will cut then down to 9" squares,and work out how I am going to arrange them. Looking at how many strips I have got, this looks like an on going yearly project!

Project Spectrum

From Lolly Girl, she runs Project Spectrum. A way of using up some stash with some colour guidance. This year she has chosen 3 colours every 2 months to make something in those colours. Lolly Girl is a knitter, but many people used the Project Spectrum for quilting, cross stitching, photography, card making and so much more. I have decided to use her colour themes, as inspiration to use up some of my stash. The colours for February/March are Blue, White and Grey (she says Gray, but I changed it to the correct spelling ;) ) Here is the beginning of my Project Spectrum quilt for Feb/Mar. Embarrassingly, I didn't even need to get any fabric from the shelves, I managed to find all the blues and white/creams I needed in my boxes of strips. This pattern is called Weed Whacker, from Quiltville on the internet  A no brainer pattern, where I don't have to think too much...so far so good, and only a little bit of unpicking where I must have dozed off and sewed the triangles to the wrong side on a few strips. 9" blocks equals a quick sew. At this rate, I may even get 2 quilts made for this period, and may even get to use some of the blue fabrics on my shelves....just need to find another simple pattern!

Expanding Stash

Well, I don't know how, but somehow that fabric stash is multiplying by itself in those shelves. I sorted through it this weekend, and there are fabrics there that I cannot remember buying? Here is a photo from Jan 2006. Here is a photo from Jan 2007. It has multiplied by itself so much that I have had to turn some of the piles to their sides, and double stack! Right....time to work on some quilts this year. I got all the batiks out (they are not even in this photo), and I have a block ready to start this week.

Floral Bouquet # 2 progress

Slowly this Xstitch is being worked on. I am trying a new technique from a fellow X stitcher Gail. She suggests before you put your stitching away for the evening, thread the next colour, and leave it in your piece ready for the next stitching session. This might help get me pick it up more frequently. Sometimes I think it is all too hard to get the pattern out, work out where I am up to, find the colour that I next want to work on...etc. So far this is working out really well! Thanks Gail, I may actually finish this sometime this year!

Scarves

I finished Alexander's teacher's scarf a few days before the end of term. It was the Australian Mohair loopy wool that I love knitting with. The hand dyed wool was in shades of blue, very pretty. Damn it, I forgot to take a photo! By the time we leave this international school, half the teachers will be wearing Australian hand dyed woolen scarves! Next was Alexander's red scarf, the same wool as Cameron's green scarf (see 11th December 2006 post) , and of course a scarf for his Qantas koala, and Stitch. Alexander wearing his scarf, with his toys. Elmo and Kanga are wearing Emily's. Next was the multi coloured pink/orange scarf for Alexander's friend Emily, and Isaiah, in black and orange, and one for his toy. That is the end of my knitting for sometime now! Unless, Cameron wants some for his friends. He hasn't asked! Sonia knitted one for Bradley, and she knitted one for Meghan. Time to get back into the Xstitch and the quilting.