A finish and another birthday quilt ticked off the list!!

 

 

 

In between planning and sewing birthday quilts l took some time

 out to finish up this long standing PHD l mentioned here.

At long last it's finished, and off to be quilted later this week.

This quilt, called Flea Market Dash, began life as a kit from Amitie.

l made a very small change or 2.

The pattern is still available, not the kit.

So very different to the normal colors that l choose,

but l love the brightness of this one, and after all,

 its still reproduction, just from the 50's. 1950's that is!! LOL

Tick!! 1 PHD bits the dust!

 

 

 

 

Next on the birthday list was a quilt for my niece turning 18.

 Millie wanted and chose batiks, in lights, purple, greens and blues.

 Quite jewel like colors. So l purchased 3 jelly rolls,

 as batiks or those colors don't exist in my stash.

Not having a lot of experience with jelly rolls, l was disappointed to find

that 2 of the rolls were slightly larger than the 2 1/2" l thought

they would be. So with rotary cutter and ruler in hand, l headed to the cutting board.

 

And some time later had a pile of trimmings that looked like this.

 Hmmm! Now l am ready to sew.

 

And sew l did. First l made strip sets, and then using my Kaleido-Ruler got busy.

Nice neat piles waiting to be sewn into blocks.

 

First couple on the design wall, just to see!!

These blocks sew up very quickly and accurately.

 



'

 

As l had more purple than the other main colors,

l spaced them on the design wall, ready to be  filled in with the other colors.

 

Ready to be sewn into rows.

 

Top complete!!

And off to the quilter later this week.

This quilt was super fast and super easy.

And l must admit, suits these batiks perfectly.

Sure hope Millie will be happy!!

Well, l know l am.

That's another birthday quilt ticked off on the list.

 

Close up of the fabrics.

 

 



One of my new year resolutions is to make a dint in some PHD's.

When l finish 2 old PHD's l can start a new quilt.

Oh, dear. Hope these birthday quilts don't count!!

 

Thanks for visiting.

Stay tuned. More  to come!!

Linda.

 



Hello? Any one there?

l didn't mean to stay away so long!!

l had Internet service at the beach house, but only my ipad for company,

so l could check on blogs and leave comments,  but blowed if l know

 how to use it to post photos on my blog, so wait l did.

During my stay at the beach, l enjoyed 2 lovely weeks of stitching time.

 The first was 5 days on my own, and mostly l worked on starting

 and completing some VERY overdue birthday quilts.

The second 5 day stitching marathon, l was joined by Anne, Sandra,

 Margaret and Jill. Lots more sewing, more quilts finished.

At the end of my 2 weeks sewing, l had emptied 12 bobbins.

 That's a LOT of sewing, so l have LOTS to share.

l made a good dint on some PHD's that NEED to be finished.

And now l have had a lovely week at home settling back in

 and ready to start blogging again.

And boy, do l have LOTS to share with you.

Where to start??

 

l can see Kathie has shared her latest quilt with you,another lovely quilt in the making,

 so thought l would start there, and share mine. Of course,

 we have both been inspired by the same books and same quilt.

One of the birthday quilts is for my sister. She knew she wanted blue and white,

something modern she said. When she was sewing with us in November,

she spied the blue and white quilt l have on my bed.

THAT'S IT! she said. That's what l want.

 

 

 

l started with a pile of yummy fabrics.

 

 

Cut them into strips.

 

Made strip sets ready to sew.

 



 

Cut the strip sets.

Ready to add the other sides.

 



 

Blocks all finished.

Rows completed.

 



 

On the design wall for any final adjustments.

If you look hard to the left, behind the chair, you can see the inspiration quilt on my bed.

( Don't forget you can click on the photos to make them larger)

 

Half way!!

 

Top completed!! Yay!!!

169 blocks in total.

A great days sewing.

And best of all, one birthday quilt ticked off the list!!!!

 

Close up of the fabrics.

 

 

 

Here is my red and white version that Kathie mentioned.

l first blogged about it back in Feb 2011.

Its been quilted and bound. This quilt received a lot of attention

 at our exhibition last year. So a pattern is coming soon!!

 

 

 

 

l finished my original blue and white one back on November 2010.

Its the largest one l have made, and fits our king bed nicely. See the one red square?

 

 

 

What's this you ask????

Well, l can only blame it on holiday brain.

When l did the maths, l didn't check twice before l cut,

( seams l have a habit of doing this, ask my girlfriends!! LOL )

 and these are left over blocks.All 150 of them. So l have a few choices.

 

l can make another quilt the same, just need a few more blocks,

 but l have one already and don't need another.

 

l can make a few baby quilts, 3 at least.

 

  l can put them in the orphan box,

and who knows, maybe one day l can use them for a different project.

 

Or a quick gift quilt if the need arises.

 

What would you do???

 

 

Lots more to share in the coming weeks.

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 

 

 



Quiltmania #93

Only home for a brief few hours, and of course, the first thing l

 did was catch up on some blog reading and then checked to

 see if the latest issue of Quiltmania was out yet.

 

You see, l have been keeping a secret!!

Carol from Quiltmania had contacted me and asked for photos from our

 Infinite Variety Revisited Exhibition.

And she wanted ME to write the accompanying article!!

Now, l am no journalist, so it was a pretty scary thought!!

 

And then the middle of the night phone call from France to say

 they needed the article the next day put NO pressure on me!!!

 

 l enlisted the help of my daughter and between us,

we managed to scrap together around 1200 words which we duly emailed.

 

So!!! l am super excited to say its been published!!

In the current edition - Quiltmania #93

 

And to top it off, l have a quilt published in the same edition!!

How much better can it get than that!!

 



 

 

If you go to this link,  flick through the pages and you

 can get a sneak peak at the first page of the article

 and also see my quilt. Its the blue and brown T block quilt.

 

l can't WAIT to see the whole article!!

Let hope l can get my hands on a copy real soon!!!
Its a great start to 2013.

 

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 



Post Christmas wishes.

Just where did the days before Christmas go?

Its a commonly asked question.

They disappear in a daze of preparations,

 gift wrapping, cooking and socializing with family and friends.

 

l would like to thank all you lovely readers who think

 l have something to say worth reading.

Quilting brings such joy into my life and l love sharing my adventures with you all.

l have met and made so many wonderful friends through quilting and my blog.

Wishing you all the joy of the  season. Stay safe these holidays.

After all there is that ever growing list of quilts to make!!

 

A few special gifts to share.

This one came in the week before Christmas.

Even the card is cute!

Thank you Kathie! Just might hand quilt this one.

 

 

A few days before Christmas,

a dear friend gave to me - 12 Christmas Cookies!!

 

Almost to cute to eat!!

 



 

 

And now l am preparing for my annual sojourn

 to Sorrento for the month of January.

So its cleaning out the fridge, making sure the washing and ironing

are up to scratch,  packing all the left overs to be enjoyed another day, cleaning the house

and packing all my sewing stuff to take with me.

l have several different groups of women coming to join me for sewing

retreats during the weeks ahead, and l want to be sure to have

 plenty to work on. Several more birthday quilts top the list,

and maybe a few PHD's ( Projects half done! ) Thanks to Francoise for that one.

l love using it. Makes me and all my quilting friends sound so smart!! LOL

 

l hope to be able to post from Sorrento.

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 

 

 



Gourmet Cheese and an antique quilt!!

A huge thanks to everyone who played along.

And l learnt that THERE is recipes for Tuna and Chickpea Patties,

 though that was not what l was making.

 

l have been taking cheese making classes this year and having tons of fun.

 The most recent one was on making feta, gourmet feta and yogurt.

So when a free day presented itself l made a big batch of

 gourmet feta to give as gifts this Christmas.

 

 

Here it is all dressed and ready for giving.

 

Here it is in its natural state before l made balls with it.

 

 

Here is a cheese platter l was able to present to guests recently.

All 3 cheeses made by me.

L-R Cheddar, Camembert and Blue.

Maybe my guests were being nice, but they all seemed to enjoy them

and there was none left at the end of the night!

 

 

 

Remember those antique quilts in a box l mentioned recently?

Well, here is a few pics of one of them.

The fabrics are so bold and cheerful.

 



Here you can see they left me a clue, Grandma's dress.

 



 

 

Grandma's dress again. She had a nice wardrobe.

See how she pieced some background to make them fit.

 



l love this block. Again clues. Getting to the bottom of the scrap basket here.

l count 3 different shirting backgrounds and 3 fabrics for the basket.

And even some pieces are pieced!!

 

 

 

And so to the winners of my pattern.

Jenn was on the money guessing feta cheese, but she had insider info,

 so sorry Jenn,

 No pattern for you!!

 

Christine, Haley and Jill all suggested cheese, and while they didn't guess exactly,

 l am feeling in a generous mood, so l am giving all 3  my pattern.

Can you send me our postal address's please

 and l will get your copy in the mail ASAP.

 

Thanks again for playing along. l love a good mystery.

When l come back next time l have another mystery for you.

 This time its an antique quilt. One from the box!!

 

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.