Finish it Friday...

I am happy to say that I have finished my Dad's Father's Day present with a few weeks to spare.

It is made from Elizabeth Hartman's Rapid City Quilt pattern. 

The colours in this quilt reminded me of the sea so I have quilted horizontal waves down the quilt.

 

I finished it off with a simple cross hatch fabric as the binding.

I am linking to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Changes on the horizon...

Sewing has been a little slow around here!  There has been a lot going on and sewing has been put on the back burner.

The reason for this is that a few months ago we were advised that our roles were being made redundant so they could be sent offshore to India.  This left me with mixed feelings as I have worked and worked hard for the company for over 17 years.  Human Resources will continue to try and source another role for me until my finish date however I have been advised that my location, Brisbane, has no opportunities.

I believe that all things happen for a reason so I have decided to look on the bright side! I have wanted to go to University for quite a few years now but it just never seemed like the right time and I was always concerned about how to fit in studying full time with working full time.  So this has provided me the perfect opportunity to follow my dreams and do a Bachelor in Education focusing on Primary School teaching.

It has been quite some time since I finished Secondary School, actually 20 years, so I am completing a Tertiary Preparation Program so that I am prepared to start my undergraduate in 2014.  I have now started this course full time and there is no time for anything other than study and work.  Hopefully once I've finished work that will give me a little to sew again.

Now for a few picks of what I have done.

I need to sew these into blocks which will become the joining blocks of my Marti Michell BOM class.
I have 60 of the four patch squares and I got the middle squares cut.  I've sewn the flying geese, 60 of each combo and now I've just got to get the 2 flying geese sew together and then I can start sewing the block together.

Latest quilt in progress...

I hope everyone is having a great week!  I have been plodding along trying to shorten my to do list.

First up was to get this quilt basted.  I use the adhesive spray and my parents big outdoor table to baste.  So much easier than crawling on the ground.

The design may look familiar, it is the Rapid City Quilt, design by Elizabeth Hartman.  You can see a previous version I made here.

The pattern fabric is the same as in the last quilt but with a different background and tree colours.  It creates a completely different feel.

Next up was completing another two blocks at my monthly (although I've missed a couple and it's more like quarterly at the moment) Marti Michell BOM sewing class.

Engagement Party block

Friendship Card block

And lastly 60 x 4 patch units which will be the corners of the alternate blocks which go between the other blocks we've been making.

I also have 60 sets of flying geese to sew which is what I'll be working on this week.  I am on track to getting this quilt assembled for a birthday/christmas present later this year.  Here's hoping that continues.

And at some stage I'll get around to quilting the Rapid City Quilt :)

I am linking to WIP Wednesday and Fabric Tuesday.

All finished...

I have a couple of finishes to share this week.

The first is the Amy Gibson's 2012 BOM quilt.  I am so happy with this quilt.  I am so glad I'd bought the Notting Hill collection and was brave enough to have cut into it for this project.  I really feel the way this fabric works so well in these blocks is a big reason why I like it so much.

The binding is Grand Bazaar by Patty Young.

The other quilt is the Lazy Suzy quilt.  This quilt I did at sewing class with Sew This & That.  It is using Posy charm pack and jelly roll by Aneela Hoey.  I've used Denyse Schmidt for the binding.

I am taking a break from sewing for a few weeks but I will be back soon with some Mother's Day gifts.

I am linking to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

So many pics...

This week is full of photos again.  First we have the latest blocks from Amy Gibson's 2012 BOM which you can find at Craftsy.  You can see the another 6 blocks here.

String Block

Broken Spider Web Block

Modern Log Cabin Block

Wonky 5 Sided Log Cabin Block

Hexi Stripe

Sunny with a Chance of Hex Block

I also worked on another 2 blocks from the Marti Michell BOM that I'm doing at Sew This & That shop.  One block down and the other is still waiting to be pieced together.

Thankfully I had one (or 3) finishes.  I found out a couple of days ago that one of my friends is expecting a little boy so I decided to sift through my scraps and put together these cute bibs.  I used the JCasa pattern which you can find on etsy.

I am linking to WIP Wednesday and Fabric Tuesday.

New projects...

Well I have kept busy this week with a few new projects, some still in progress and one finished.

As you may remember I have been making hexagons for a cushion cover which is coming together very slowly.  I wanted two pillows for the bed which will go with my Birds & Bees Quilt, so I decided to use the same fabrics and create this simple square block.  I am going to quilt this before making the cushion so it has some texture and feels that bit stronger.

I got this beautiful bundle of Joel Dewberry's Notting Hill that I got Sew Love Fabrics which I have been itching to cut into.

I really love this collection.  Here are a few of my favourites.

The second project I started had me cutting into these beautiful fabrics.  I signed up for Amy Gibson's Craftsy BOM 2012.  Yes, just a little behind but I liked the blocks used and thought they'd be a good challenge.  The beauty of doing this a year late is that all the BOMs are posted and I can work through them at my own pace.

And the last project, which is the one I got completed, is this Metro Bag from Grand Revival Sewing Patterns.

I am linking to WIP Wednesday and Fabric Tuesday.

Dresden Plates in Hoops

Hi all

I hope you have all had a wonderful week.

I spent half the day Monday finishing another Dresden Plate, this time the plate has curves.  In the class I did on how to make Dresden Plates we learnt how to make the template from scratch so I am pleased that the template was right and the plate came together easily.  I really love it and have decided to sew both plates on to fabric and place in an embroidery hoop.

I used a paper pieced hexagon from the same fabric as the backing to cover the hole in the centre.

I have 2 different size hoops so the Dresden Plates will fit snugly within them.  These are going to hang in the sewing room once they are finished.  I can't wait to add some colour to the walls.

I am linking to WIP Wednesday.

Pillowcase Dress

I have had this pattern for a Pillowcase Dress for quite a while now and never got around to making one.  On the weekend we had visitors who have a sweet little girl so Saturday morning I decided to whip one up for her.  I am so glad it was a simple pattern and was very easy to read.  I found the pattern at Viola Lee Patterns.

The fabrics were all my stash which was fantastic.  Normally I end up buying at least one new fabric each time I make something so I was happy not to need to visit the shops.

I am linking to Fabric Tuesday.

It's finished! Rapid City Quilt done...

So on Wednesday I promised to post the finished "Very Blue" Rapid City Quilt and so here it is!

My husband is extremely happy with his present and even went so far as to say he thinks it's the best quilt I've made so far, of course he's going to say that though :)  I was very happy though when I finished it and it was perfectly square.  That doesn't happen every time :)

To make it look a little more manly I got the step ladder out to take some photos.

For the binding I used a simple navy and white pinstripe which I wasn't too sure about before sewing it on but I am very happy with the way it looks having finished it.

I kept the quilting simple (mostly because I'm too scared to use the free motion quilting foot, I will one day though).  I started by sewing a diagonal from each corner of the quilt through the middle.  I put the guide on the walking foot and used those lines to follow the triangles.  So it's looking a little chevron or like an X but meeting in the centre of the quilt.

We are heading out for dinner tonight which will be nice.

 Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!