Stab Stitching

I have little new to post this week due to a blunt 1 cm stab wound to the pulp of my left index finger (photo on request).  Too painful to sew/quilt and very slow to type with.   After reading Kathie's recent post on hand quilting, I thought I would show you some of my unfinished, partially hand quilted projects.

I was curious to see how difficult it would be to quilt through all the seams in this log cabin quilt, and to my surprise I found it wasn't too hard at all.  Quilting straight lines can become tedious so in the "alternate" blocks I quilted a feathered circle.

On an earlier quilt that is predominantly applique,  I quilted a cross hatch pattern, but to break it up somewhat, I designed some feathers to fit in the larger spaces

and in the centre of the quilt

The quilt is called "The Wedding Quilt" and was designed by Karen Cunningham.  The pattern has been published in "Great Australian Quilts" magazine printed by Quilters Companion in 2004.

In spite of a 700km round trip to Canberra for their show, I have no photos to show you.  The emerging custom is for quilt shows to censor publication of quilts without the specific approval of their owners.  Is this a good move or not?

No one likes their original work being copied, particularly if there is no acknowledgment.  Perhaps we all ought to make more of an effort to cite our sources/inspiration before this rule becomes a blanket (no pun intended) rule for all shows.  What do you think?  I, for one, love looking at other people's work, virtual or real and acknowledging their efforts seems a small price to pay for that privilege.

Wrap with Love

When I saw Nicky's blog I got a glimpse of how close to finishing some tops are when they make it into the UFO cupboard.  Her beautiful quilt was so close to being finished that it wasn't long before the top was put together. 


Sheepishly, I went to the darkest corners of my cupboard and pulled out a UFO that was similarly close to completion.

Only the last 1/8th of the top needs to be finished.  It was started in a class with Karen Cunningham in 2006.  Karen called her quilt Antique Applique Sampler.  I followed Karen's pattern for the 8 central blocks, but went out on my own for the borders.  If you look closely you will see the blue pen lines outlining the applique yet to be sewn.  Fingers are crossed that it will wash out when I complete the applique, which will be very soon now since Nicky has comprehensively shamed me.

If you are wondering how my applique relates to the post title...it doesn't.  Friday morning saw the annual "Wrap with Love" knit-in at  Sydney's ABC building (home of Australia's national non- commercial broadcaster).  I arrived clutching my wool, needles and some recently completed 10" squares

and met up with Kate and hundreds of other people, all knitting furiously to make wraps from squares sewn into 4 X 7 arrangements. 

Well,  some of us were knitting.  Since 1992, Wraps with Love has produced more than 250,000 wraps and donated them to more than 70 countries.

Before I left for work, I took a photo of a small sample of wraps and squares

Apparently they accept some quilts, but by far the majority of wraps are produced by our knittin' cousins.
 

Lucky number 22

My husband's lucky number is 22, which I've always thought was a bit odd.  7 is common, even 8 or 5...but 22?  However, today I finished block #22 on the BTCT quilt - or for the uninitiated the "Beyond the Cherry Trees Album Quilt"

 Don't make the mistake of thinking I've actually done 22 blocks.  Sadly only 8 are complete and when the quilt is finally finished, there will be a total of 24 blocks as well as an applique border.  You can visit the blog here and the original website to download and/or order the pattern here.


My "S" quilt is moving along and I have chosen to quilt the renegade S differently, of course

and this week, during our balmy 23 degree winter, I finished my red jumper.

Don't look too closely!

Looking for the F in Quilting

A while back I had to search for the joy of patchwork, but recently I have been able to put the fun back.  I really enjoyed the Sue Ross blocks, but I auditioned so many fabrics for only 16 blocks, that there seemed to be enough left over for another quilt top.

All the pieces except the border fabric, setting triangles and squares  were already cut.   I am proud to say that I found them in my stash.  I bought soooo much fabric for Sue's blocks (wish I knew the name of her quilt) that I was shamed into using the offcuts and raiding the stash for this one.  In design, I followed the KISS rule.  It wasn't hard to put it together.   In fact, it was fun.

On the knitting front, I seem to have created my first woollen UFO.  I have knitted all the way to the neck, joined the shoulder seams and started picking up stitches for the collar. 

But it looks horrible.  No photo - too mortifying!

I will have to unpick it carefully and try again.  So the red jumper is making its way temporarily into my UFO cupboard that is mistaken by some as a vast and apparently expanding black hole.

The S quilt is being quilted bit by bit.

Apologies for blog torpor.  Life is getting in the way.

Eggs and Tomatoes

Yellow and red is not my favourite colour combination.   Red does not star much in my quilts.  I don't know whether it's because I don't like tomatoes, or I don't like tomatoes because they are red (and have seeds, and don't taste nice and have lots of different textures).  Presenting the tessellating 'S' quilt.

I have been told the pattern is called "Double S".  Thanks for all the suggestions regarding the outside edge.  I tried all your ideas and eventually found the border in my stash, depriving me the opportunity to go shopping.

It feels good to have only used fabric from my (large) stash and to have finished off a UFO.   It only took 12 years and 10 days.  Once the new design was settled on, the blocks came together quickly.  It reminded me  of a must read book.  I just couldn't put it aside until it was finished. The plan is to use big stitch quilting.  Fingers crossed I can finish it before 2012. While I am quilting I hope to settle on a name for it.

The back of my jumper (sweater) is also complete, but I am once again struggling with the intricate pattern at the beginning of the front.

The 'S' quilt had to make way for another more recent start.  Once a month I am in a class Sue Ross teaches at Quiltsmith on a Sunday.  I have long admired her quilt.  She made 9 blocks, but I am enjoying it so much I am on my way to 16 blocks.

This week I have really enjoyed all the blog posts about the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show.  Now that would be a show I would like to go to.

S is for ...

These blocks  are so old they almost need to be carbon dated.

I can't remember when I started putting the red and yellow half square triangles together, but it was certainly last century.  The book by Judy Hooworth and Margaret Rolfe excited me

and I started the project on the cover.  But you know how things are...it soon was put aside for an even more stimulating project (that I can't remember at all!) and really only came out of the cupboard on the occasional clean up spree.

As we all know, quilts are full of memories.  This one is no exception. 

My husband went to Adelaide on an overnight trip to help out a friend.  While he was there he called the LQS and asked them for all their red and yellow fat quarters.  A couple of hours later, when ringing to see if he could collect them, he was surprised to hear they were still cutting!!  What an unexpected treat.

Times have changed and so has my taste.  I no longer want the quilt on the cover.  After fiddling around with the blocks I was happy with the "S" pattern but the two tone look didn't appeal any more.  A couple of rebels were made.   This time around I think there will be a finish, particularly since my younger daughter, Sarah, claims I have never made a quilt especially for her.

It is still up on the design wall but I want to put a border on, with some floating "S".  Dear blog friends,  I would love it if you would help me decide on a colour for the border.

Morse Code

Apart from its label, "Morse Code" is finished.

 It represents a few milestones for me; my first quiltback, pieced from different fabrics;

the first time I have machine quilted a quilt larger than a cot quilt;  the first time I have designed a block rather than referred to a book.

Knitting is also on the agenda.  I've made two sleeves so far

and also undone the first few inches of the back several times.  The edge pattern is complex and I lose track of where I am up to very easily.

This weekend saw us take a trip three hours drive west of Sydney to a town called Bathurst.  On the way we went for a bushwalk into the amazing Grose Valley where my husband, big kid that he is, couldn't resist "planking". 

Nearby, I was having kittens.