Joan Elliot's Angels completed.

Some background information on this project. The patterns were in the World of Cross Stitch magazine 2006 (British publication). Every quarter the magazine had 3 angel designs. The original design was for an afghan rug, but with so many quilts in our house, I would not use an afghan (also I don't like the look of all the threads at the back, and I don't like the look of a backing on an afghan...overall I just don't like afghan rugs I guess :) I had some fabric that would work just the same. working over 2 threads, using 3 strands of thread. The finished piece is 114 cm high x 48cm wide.  I bought some butterfly fabric from the internet in a sale, and Phil suggested doing the flange (blue border) just to give it a bit more of a border, and it works perfectly. I did a running stitch in between the angels to attach it to the wadding on the inside, and the backing fabric, and added the butterfly fabric, the binding hand stitched, and finally the hanging sleeve on the back to add to the hanger. 

They were designed by Joan Elliot, one of my favourite designers. When DMC had their 100th anniversary, she designed an angel using the entire collection of DMC threads at the time. (366 colours I think). At the time, I had won the complete set of DMC threads in a Family Circle competition (I entered the stitched photo I did of Alexander and Cameron), and couldn't resist the challenge of this project. (This photo is not of my finished Angel, but one I got from the internet) My angel is safely stored with mum in Melbourne. I am stitching some small Lizzie Kate Flip Its in the mean time, until I begin the next big project, St Nick in his study - my first Heaven and Earth Design project...YIKES..it is enormous, but I am sure it will be fun to do....I hope!

Solvi's Mystery Quilt Part 4

Now for a border....it is big enough for a cot size quilt. This was fun!

Solvi's Mystery Quilt Part 3

Now to sew all the blocks together. There should be enough to make a cot quilt.

Solvi's Mystery Quilt Part 2

Solvi's Mystery Quilt Weekend

Our stashbuster group this weekend is doing a mystery Quilt. Sølvi from Norway, is organising the instructions. http://solvi01.blogspot.com/ Here are the first blocks.

#11 Angel

Here is the 11th angel completed

Project Spectrum Pink Strips

13 pink blocks completed. There are 63 x 10" blocks altogether so far.  These will be cut down to 9 1/2" blocks, so they are all square. Here is what the floor looks like after sewing, time to get the Dyson out! I am having a rest from the strip blocks for the moment, I have a few quilts I want to sew...but I have done the 3 colour themes for this 2 month Project Spectrum challenge. The box of 1 1/2" and 1 1/4" strips is slowly getting smaller. It is hard to believe I have managed to sew so many blocks out of this box. It makes me wonder how many quilts I could make from all that stash I own, and in comparison to some other quilters I know, my stash is tiny! :) 

Project Spectrum Yellow Strips

That didn't take long....only 5 squares (and a little bit left over for an extra half)....next is the pink strips, this should take longer!
So far
yellow 5
green 18
blue 12
neutral 15
total..50

Project Spectrum Green Strips

April/May Project Spectrum colours are green, yellow and pink. OK, I cheated, and started these green squares a few weeks ago. Today I sewed the last of my green strips to the 10" wadding pieces. I managed to get 18 squares out of all the green strips that I have collected. 

Wool from the Isle of Skye

Stopping for a coffee, I spied a wool shop across the road. After seeing so many sheep on the side of the road, I hoped that there would be some good stuff here, and I was not dissapointed! Here is the weblink for the shop. http://www.teoshandspun.com/ The bottom skein of blues and greens is a handspun silk, the colourful orange varigated is a handspun mohair mix, the pale purple and green is fine mohair, and the pink/purple is a merino/silk. I am thinking about some scarves with these!

My Favourite Quilts Part 1

Here are some of the photos of some of my favourite quilts I have kept over the years. Alexander and Cameron were very helpful holding them up! Japanese Blues (from a Judy Hooworth Seminar) Storm at Sea Quilt (from a Kaye England seminar...my favourite quilt and my favourite pattern) Zebra stripes on the Sahara (from a Judy Hooworth Seminar,learning to sew striped fabric) My favourite colours together...yellow and purple (from a Judy Hooworth seminar)

My favourite Quilts Part 2

A Quilt Sitter Challenge, "Bird's Nest"block. (this was a lot of work, and well worth the effort!) A Quilt Sitter Challenge, using whatever fabrics I took out of the stash. Gretchen (from a Kaye England workshop)....one of my favourite scrappy quilts A Round Robin Quilt (made with Quilt Sitters Group at Oatley Cottage - it is enormous, and it's the quilt the boys fight over to snuggle under when we watch a movie on Friday nights

#10 Angel complete...almost

Horray.....this is the 10th angel finished....well almost finished! When I was uploading the photo, I realised I had not completed the blue border between the angel's wings. 

My oldest quilting UFO

Stashbusters topic of the week was to admit to our oldest UFO. Actually I am not too embarrassed by this one, although at some stage in the near future I will actually get it finished and it will go on our bed. It is a double wedding ring quilt. I did a course with Oatley Cottage in Sydney, May 2001. When I originally told Phil I was going to do the course, I said it was the only double wedding ring quilt I will ever make, because I don't really like working with curves. His response was "Well, you should make a big one then" Why did I listen to that response? So, here is the bigger than king size quilt. I enjoyed making it, and enjoyed finishing the top. Then it sat as a top for a few years. When we decided to come to Germany, I asked my quilting friend Ellen to quilt it for me on her long arm machine. Ellen did an amazing job on it. This is only a quarter of the quilt. I don't have enough space to lay it out, and the photo wouldn't show the detail. Below is a more detailed picture. When I chose the 6 fabrics for the rings. I didn't realise they would all read as one fabric when you look from a distance. I know the idea of this pattern is to be able to read each piece as a single unit, but personally I'm not too fussed. Now I just have to bind it. I have the binding all cut out, ready to go, but somewhere in the move I lost the instructions on how to bind a curved edge....so this has been the reason it is still a UFO. I have tried to Google binding instructions to complete it...with no luck. I mentioned it to the stash buster girls, and someone came up with some detailed instructions on "scalloped edges"...I just needed a different word. So, perhaps this will get finished before our 12th Wedding Anniversary next February....or maybe not! The other UFO question was "How many UFO's do you have?" Well, I am not pulling them out of the box to check....'cause I don't want to feel guilty about it...but probably about 10. That is a vast improvement if you had have asked me back in 1999! :)

Green Scarf

This is the scarf I started while we were in Austria. In the afternoon when the boys were all skiing, I did a bit of knitting.

I had hoped to finish this while I was in Austria, but didn't get much of it done. I didn't go skiing in the afternoon, as my lessons were only in the morning. I was not confident to go by myself. My logic is that if I am with an instructor and I get in trouble, the instructor is obligated to get me down...somehow. If I am by myself, then it is up to me. I felt safer with my instructor. So, I was happy to drink coffee, and knit for a couple of hours.

I finally finished the scarf last week....and typically, the weather has changed, and I have put away the winter coat....and this scarf will be great for next Winter!

Hobby Day at School

Sorry no photos. Mr Day took some video, I told him strictly only to video quilts, not me!

I had a 20 minute talk with the Year 3,4 and 5's to talk about quilting. I took in about 7 of my quilts, some of the designs on graph paper, and a sample of wadding. Alexander and one of the Year 5 boys helped hold up the quilts for me as I talked about them.

I talked about how I had been quilting for about 17 years, and how I went from a simple drawing from a sheet, to the final product. The kids asked some really great questions, and I really enjoyed talking about my quilts. One of the teachers later asked me if I would teach her to quilt, and she said some of the other teachers would be interested as well. So, I need to think about this one a bit more, and see how many would be really serious about it. Below is one of the quilts that I did take along with me. As a thank you gift, I was given a box of Quality Street Chocolates...yum! :)

Learning to knit socks on 4 needles

Knitting socks is a trendy thing to do in Germany. I strive to be trendy (although it doesn't seem to work). Anyway, I like the idea of knitting with 4 needles, and have to give it a try.

This is what I have done so far....not quite looking like a sock yet. I have to continue this knitting until it is about 8 inches long, then I can start on the heel.

I like knitting with 4 needles. I am glad I wear glasses, otherwise I think I would have lost an eye by now!

#9 Angel Beauty

Here is the angel I finished tonight.  Here is a picture of the entire piece so far.... Next week I can hopefully do a bit of knitting, I bought some wool for a scarf, and I am also going to try a pair of socks....it is the "thing" to make at the moment! :) I have never worked on 4 needles before....the challenge intrigues me!

Wicked Easy Quilt with Pinwheels

Here is a picture of the blocks so far for the purple "Wicked Easy Quilt" I am trying to work out how to put some pinwheels into the pattern, and then decide which colour...I am leaning towards orange! :)

Project Spectrum Strips

Project Spectrum colours for February & March are blue, white and grey. I pulled the 1 1/4 and 1 1/2" strip boxes out. This afternoon I sewed the blue strips and got 12 x 10" blocks sewn, and used up all the blue strips. I thought I would get 8 blocks, so I was not too far off the mark! I think they look quite good when they are laid out like this! Here are the cream ones I did a few weeks ago. These are sewn directly onto the wadding, so I can try some reversible quilts (see 19th Jan post). I have thought of a block to use on the other side of the wadding, but I want to get all the strips sewn on first, to see which colours I will group together!

Berlin- Brandenburg Quilters Meeting

A few weeks ago I joined a Yahoo German Quilt group...it is helping me with my German. I can write my messages in German, and practice a bit more...on a topic I love!

Marga, a member, who lives close by, sent me a private email to invite me to the above group. I bundled up my nerves and went along.

The yahoo quilt group I belong to in Australia calls meeting people from the internet, "meeting axe murderers".

When I arrived I introduced myself at the doors, and was asked who told me about the group.

I say "Marga, but I don't know her last name, I talked to her on the internet"

She replies "Ahh Marga.....yes, I will introduce her to you"

So, I met Marga, and a few other ladies at her table. There was some talk about new exhibitions, a big quilt show coming up in June, and other stuff. It was spoken in normal German speed, which I am not terrific at....so I missed a lot of it, but that will all come in time. There was show and tell, with some divine quilting and lovely quilts, wall hangings, bags. Marga wanted to know if I had bought anything for Show and Tell....no not this time....perhaps next meeting (they meet once a month). 

We watched a short film about a weaver in Southern Germany....he was 88, and travels to peoples homes. The owner supplies all the wool, and he weaves these amazing pieces of cloth, which the owner then makes into clothing. He made a piece that was about 1 metre wide, and just over 7 metres long. It took him 3 days in total to complete, the woman paid him 80 DeutscheMark....about 40 Euros in today's currency! Man....so much work for such a small amount of money. The accents were very thick, and even Marga had trouble understanding some of it.....and some of the film had German subtitles.

So, I joined the group, bought a pin, and a CD with all the show and tell from May 2005 -Dec 2006.

The CD has over 350 photos to look at...I had a quick look this morning, and there is some lovely things on the CD. Above is the logo of the group, that is part of a friendship quilt. It looks like each member made a star, and signed their name on their block, and it was all sewn together. It is a lovely quilt! Marga is an amazing applique quilter...she thinks she will be able to turn my into a hand quilter.....my Sydney quilting group will be howling with laughter with this one.....usually I don't even use the "A" word....we will see!!!! :) Marga invited me to her place on Tuesday for a sewing day. Unfortunately I have already agreed to help out at Alexander's school trip to the Egyptian Museum, but I will try to go to the next one. I wish I had have met this group when I first got to Berlin. I think this would really have helped with my quilting, and my German, and getting to know where the quilt shops in Berlin are...and internet shopping a lot earlier! (Although I think this is a bonus to the credit card) See, the internet really can be a helpful resource!

2007 Quilt #4

This one is for Lisa who lives downstairs, who is expecting a baby boy in June. Wicked Easy Quilt, link below. http://www.byannie.com/free_patterns.html Right, now to try the same pattern with some pinwheels! I am also going to sew up the blue strips, like I did with the beige/neutral strips. I am going to guess that I will get 8 squares out of my blue strips. I will see how that goes!

2007 Quilt #3

The Japanese fabric quilt complete. This one is for me...lots of Japanese fabrics that I have collected over the years... Alexander held this quilt up for me to take a quick photo of the quilt...It is a little bit taller than him. The pattern is a very simple one from Wicked Easy Quilt..I have a few more ideas with this pattern, and hope to make a few more. I want to try to add some pinwheels in there as well. Wicked Easy Quilt, link below. http://www.byannie.com/free_patterns.html

Floral Bouquet 1 & 2

Finally, this one is complete...it was great to remove it from the frame. The designs are by Lauren Tucker from Twilleys of Stanford. I won them in from a cross stitching magazine. I wrote a letter to them with a photo of a piece I had made from the magazine. Floral is not my "thing". Here is a photo of the matching one that I finished last year!

Wicked Easy Quilts progress

It has been a good day for sewing. Cameron is at Mohammed's, Alexander is at Martin's, and Phil is asleep on the couch. So, I am being left alone to sew. Here is what I did today. Sorted strips into the right boxes...I have been lazy and not putting them away. It only took 20 minutes to do the whole lot. So my sewing space is looking neater...for the moment! Sewed the borders on to the Japanese fabric quilt. Pulled out appropriate strips for Lisa's baby quilt....all from the scrap boxes. I only had to pull 2 fabrics out of the stash to add to it. It is the same pattern as the Japanese quilt. But I decided to colour co-ordinate it a bit more. I think it can be used as an "I Spy" quilt. Lots of things in there to point out. If I can get it sewn and bordered tonight, I can pin both quilts tomorrow afternoon, ready to quilt!

Wicked Easy Quilt in Japanese fabrics

I pulled out the Japanese fabrics to start something new. Here is a really quick pattern to use stash, and it doesn't take long to sew up at all. Wicked Easy Quilt, link below. http://www.byannie.com/free_patterns.html It will be lap size by the time it is finished. Today we found out the young lady in the bottom floor of our apartment building is pregnant. She is having a boy, so I will pull out some fun fabric and use this pattern to make a cot quilt for her baby. She is due in June, so I have heaps of time, but I would like to get it finished this week as well. Another great way to use up some of that "boy" fabric that I bought so much of when the kids were smaller. Right, Phil has taken the boys ice skating, then Cameron goes to Mohammed's for a play date, and Alexander is off to Martin's party...I have plenty of "me" time to sew.

Reversible Quilt blocks

In a previous post about these strippy blocks from the Reversible Quilting book (see 19th & 28th Jan post), I thought I had enough fabric strips to make 8 of these blocks. Today, I decided to sew all the beige strips before I begin sewing the next quilt. I completed 15 blocks! Almost enough for a lap size quilt....just from my 1 1/4 and 1 1/2" strips. I can't even imagine how many quilts I can make out of the 2' strip box! This weekend, I hope to start a quilt with Japanese fabrics, and try and work on some blue strip blocks as well. P.S. Family is all well. Boys are at school and happy and Phil is busy at work...seems to be a lot of quilting going on, and not much else! :)

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!