Bindings Galore

 Gardeners Journal is finished!

I tell you, it was hard at times to keep working on this quilt for someone who likes to chop and change projects; but the encouragement of the Stitch-a-Long was fantastic! Thanks to Dale, Peg and Chooky who got it started; and thanks to Chooky for running the blog.

I am so so SO pleased to have this quilt finished, an achievement!

 I have also finished binding FORKS, it has only taken a bit over twelve months from start to finish, LOL!

I am marvelling at this quilt, it looks so different with the binding on!

 I love the backing too.

 Forks completed.

 I started on a baby quilt this morning for my sister. DH picked the pattern out a couple of days ago.

The crosses are dainty!

Sampler Quilt

 Finished at last!

My longest running UFO, a sampler quilt done in a class at The Home Patch, Bathurst.

I started the class late 2002 and then moved 6 hrs away to our farm before the class was finished. I had the quilt top finished early 2003 then had trouble quilting due to isolation and being new to it. I have made and quilted many quilts since then; and now this one is done! YEAH!!!!

DS was 2 when I started this for him, and now he is nearly 11. He is very pleased to have it on his bed, and it looks great there. I love the periwinkle blue and check in this quilt but there's no way I would choose all these fabrics to make one quilt these days, tastes change! It measures 63" x 96".

 I love how varied and interesting my ditching quilting is on the back.

 I did freemotion the hexagon block and part of the honeybee block.

 Feels so nice to touch.....

 and this is a little bassinet quilt for another baby that is due soon.

This is the reversible quilted fabric from the Whimsy range by Fig Tree Quilts; if I knew how nice this was when I ordered it I would have ordered more.....

Works in Progress

 My youngest sister is due with her first baby in the next week and I haven't made a baby quilt yet! Bit different to the arrival of my first neice nearly two years ago, I had her quilt bound and waiting for her to be born to make the label! Not to worry, I am improving with speed and accuracy the more I piece and quilt! I am sure this quilt will be done in time for the baby.

Just love Carrie Nelson's book, 'Schnibbles Times Two', so many fantastic quilts in there!

I also love the brighter colours of American Jane's Punctuation fabric.... a little brighter than Wee Play, Recess and Look'n'Learn. Love them all though, great ranges for kids/babies quilts.

 A year on and I have finished quilting Forks and have the binding on waiting to be hand stitched down. YEAH! I am sure DH is pleased to have the pins gone from this quilt, LOL, as we have been sleeping under it for a while now and occasionally a pin would come undone! (and he was always the one to find it!).

 Definately a works in progress, this quilt has been cut out for 18months to 2 years. I pulled it out on Thursday and got the appliques on it. Now to whip stitch them down...

A Disapearing Nine Patch Punctuation quilt.

Not sure where this quit will end up.

and I am also making a doll for my daughters birthday, another Katkins Designs one.

When asked what she wanted for her birthday she replied 'I want you to make me something. Then you don't have to spend money.' I asked her if there was anything she wanted made and got 'Anything you want to make me mum. I will be happy with whatever you make me.' WOW. How great is that.... and she is turning 8, so isn't all that old for such a selfless answer!

Bag Making

 This is a bag made using Beach House fabric by Blackbird Designs. It is from Leanne Beasley's book 'Romancing the Road Trip' and is 'The Easiest Bag You'll Ever Make'. It certainly was easy! It is also very roomy.

 These are also from Leanne's book, and are 'Market Bags'. Not too hard to make either!

The fabric is Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey.

I have made these for birthday presents for my daughters; one birthday is up and coming very soon and seeing as I was making up one bag I thought I might as well make up the two.

Now I realise I haven't blogged for while, sorry but I have been busy stitching. I have also been to a cheesemaking class which was fantastic! In a few weeks time we will have a couple more milking cows here (Jersey's to add to our Friesan house mikers); bring on the cheesemaking! I have lots of stitching to share over the next few blog posts.

Quilting Forks

 I am about two thirds of the way through quilting my 'Forks' quilt that I started to quilt at the same time last year, definately time to finish it! Of a night I am stitching down the binding on the sampler quilt in the last post and will show you when it is finished. I can't begin to tell you how good it is to get these UFOs finished!

I am also working on a few secret squirrel projects that I can't share just yet...

We've had some rain here today, only about 5mls but that is better than none. Unlike other parts of Australia we have only had a very few ml of rain since Christmas time and if we don't get some half decent rain in the next few weeks with this heat things will not be looking good fire wise. We have dry thistles in the paddock that are waist and chest high on me, I dread to think how fast a fire would burn through. So I am hoping that we get some more rain.

Sampler Quilting

Fresh in the morning sun is a snapshot of my first quilt top that is almost completly quilted!

I didn't know what to choose, fabric wise, the choice was so overwhelming. I ended up choosing the border fabric (bottom left) first then a co-ordinating solid in that lovey periwinkle blue. There are alot of stripes and plaids in this quilt as I chose them so I could give the quilt to my eldest child, a boy. At the time he was just over two years old. Now he is almost 11! All things going well the quilt will be on his bed before this birthday.

Cath Kidston Bag

I made this Cath Kidston bag earlier last month ( Feb finish due to my slack blogging). The fabric came with the book all cut out and ready to stitch! It was pretty quick and easy to finish, I only wish I had of lined it. So pretty her stuff is..... Oh, and the book is called 'Sew' by Cath Kidston.

A Warning

 MrZ who is ten, has been practising his whipcracking, after being inspired by the bullock driver at Timbertown, Wauchope earlier this year. The welt heaped up and wasn't visable the next morning, and ds has learnt a valuable lesson in taking care with whips. The wearing of sunglasses (eye protection) compulsory for any whipcracking the children do, Mr Busy set this rule into place before the first whip was bought.

 I have two bundles of fabric to clear from the deep recesses of my cupboard.

These are by Debbie Beaves, and both kits are the same excepting the colourings of the fabrics.

There is a roll of strips; 5.5" by half the width of the fabric (quilt top and scrappy binding); and fabric for backing. The purple backing kit has 27 strips and the green backing kit has 35 strips.

The quilt in the photo is what I intended to make with these kits (no longer need to), you could make this quilt or use the fabric for something else.

I would like to sell the green backing kit for $50 and the purple backing kit for $60. Leave a comment if you are interested. I will also take offers. I would love to send these to a new home where they will be used.

Chicken Run

This is Chicken Run by Hatched and Patched, and it was the second quilt top I pieced!

I pieced this one while I was finishing the sampler quilt top I made in my intro to patchwork and quilting at Anni's Shop, The Home Patch in Bathurst.

We used to live in Bathurst and it was while we were in transition to moving to our farm (6hrs drive) that I walked into Anni's new shop and liked what I saw. After speaking to Anni and Kate (teacher) I signed up for the 8 wk class though I would only be there for 6 weeks of it. Before leaving town I stocked up at Anni's shop and actually had this top peiced; a big thing for me then as I had two children under two and was 5 months pregnant with the third. After we moved, I appliqued the chickens on and was desparate to have Chicken Run and my Sampler quilt quilted. I rang and ordered a walking foot and once here made a terrible mess of the practice quilting. No way could I do that. (Now I know that the silly shop sent me a freemotion foot and not a walking foot, no wonder I had trouble!) So I rang for an approximate price to have the quilts quilted. DH said no way were we paying that. At this time I only had a few weeks till the baby was due so I resigned myself to not having my quilts quilted.

As you can see in the above photo I did start to handquilt, but that didn't get very far! My arms got very tired of holding up the hoop. I looked into buying a hoop on a frame like Anni uses but again DH was a firm NO.

So Chicken Run has been sitting tucked away, out of sight.

EIGHT YEARS later I have now ditched the blocks, leaving my hand quilting in and giving the option to handquilt more in the future. It is finished and I am so very pleased with this lovely quilt! The chooks are so cute....

This is my second oldest UFO....

I am very sorry about not posting for so long, I didn't realise how quickly time has been ticking away. As a result I do have quite a few posts to put up in the next few days to catch you all up on what has been happening here.