my friday favourites #2

Heaps happening everywhere and I'm excited to share some of it with you!

Here's what caught my eye this week...

... first up, I popped into the village in the middle of a wet & dreary winter's week
and spotted this lovely splash of colour

I'd buy the lot if I could
- but I settled on this pretty little mixed bunch!

... and onto some quilty inspiration
Julie from pinkdoxies has been very prolific lately with her adventures in hand printing & hand dying.

hand dyed, applique & embroidery

fibreart, working with big pieces


Her latest posts are a wonderful account of how she has systematically worked through the processes,
and you can read all about her progress & her thoughts.
Julie has also posted here on how to successfully combine hand dyed and commercial fabrics
- well worth a peep!

pinkdoxiesDeconstructed screen printed with Procion MX dyes.
Embroidered and hand beaded 11" x 29"



... next up, I spotted LeeAnn from niftyquilts latest finish, her 'Housetop' quilt.

I love how LeeAnn has built a quilt around lots of recycled bits & pieces, using tablecloths, an apron,
a vintage linen napkin, a skirt and a dress- so creative and so full of memories!

For close up details of this quilt, & lots more, have a look here

... and finally this week, there's lots & lots of sock knitting happening 'down under'
Meredithe from pomegranateandchintz has been busy stitching up a storm!
Aren't these gorgeous?

Meredithe also has a wonderful range of templates
I recently purchased this set while I was in Melbourne, perfect for a bit of fussy cutting!

oh my, I see someone else has caught the 'sock bug' too
 Jane Brocket has made a sweet pair of socks
gosh, they do coordinate beautifully with that Kaffe floral - follow the link for a little look!


What are you loving this week?

{all other quilter's photos printed with permission}

the whole ca.boo.dle {a WIP}

There is certain amount of leeway when starting out with a scrap quilt...

... no need to think "does this go with that?"
- of course it does!

... no need to measure for the right amount of fabrics
- when I did run out, as you do, I simply substituted something similar

... no need to worry too much about fabric placement either
- the main thing with this 'scrappy trips' is getting some contrast happening

I'm enjoying mixing it all up,
simply focusing on my colour choices, and making my (brave?) fabric combos based on that.
There's little bits of Anna Maria Horner teamed up with my older repros, next to a few Kaffes,
all sitting alongside Denyse S. and many, many others
- the whole ca.boo.dle really!

There's a little way to go yet, but I love how it's looking up on the design wall so far...

2nd half of the Warriors is on still {yawn} so I'm going to keep on sewing

... luckily I have a Beef Ragout simmering away slowly in the oven!

For the great 'scrappy trips' tutorial I used, check here

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here- where there's lots more scrappy fun happening!

and for show & tell with Lorna over here at sewfreshquilts

and with 'building blocks Tuesday' over here this week at 'Smiles from Kate'

my friday favourites #1

Today I thought I'd take a look back over the past few days, and here's what caught my eye this week...

... my niece's new bicycle

... this new pattern booklet Jenny From One Block
featuring Jen Kingwell's 'halo quilt' - so now I've got the book, just need to find the time!

and check out this lovely version posted by Loulou
I've been following her progress on Instagram and love-love-love her fabric choices!

... then I came across this sweet vintage paper piecing pattern by Charise from charisecreates
and I'm so tempted to give this a go too!

... and I'm just loving reading Rachaeldaisy's posts,
have you come across her blog bluemountaindaisy yet?
Pop on over to see her incredible quilts- she's inspiring- so skilled- and her playful photos this week made me smile!




photo printed with permission


What are you loving this week? 

when is a quilt big enough

My daughter recently commented that I didn't make my quilts big enough... and it's got me thinking!

I don't know about you, but my quilts seem to end up all slightly different sizes. Sewing scrappy must lend itself to some uncertainties, yes? Like running out of fabric and doing a spot of creative substituting, all the while trying to achieve cohesion & balance. But I never seem to know just how big my quilts will be until I've finished, and I'm sure it's mainly because I tend to cut first and think later!

Like today for example...

... but more about this WiP next time!

I have of course, made a few large -ish quilts over the years...

"trippin' lightly round & round"

BOM scrappy sampler

AMH 1/4 log cabin

... and I do enjoy making smaller scrappy baby/ cot sized quilts.

They are quick to make, you get a real sense of accomplishment pretty quickly,

and they make wonderful gifts.

... more recently, I find I'm simply wasting enjoying time with a little creative play,
 'doing it for the process'
with no intention of getting any results.
Some of these little bits & pieces of random trial blocks and improv do make it into a quilt,
usually a throw sized one that I can quilt easily on my home machine.
And any rejected blocks all get popped into a basket for later,
maybe for an 'everything but the kitchen sink' kinda quilt one day.  

I remember a quote I read a long time ago by Roberta Horton

"a quilt must be big enough to say something." 

Well, when I'm not following a pattern, I seem to end up mainly making what I would call throw sized quilts
- for a variety of reasons including fabric scale, block size, quilt symmetry, available stash fabrics, expense of backing & batting now I'm retired, etc.

{sigh} not sure if my quilts actually 'say anything'

but they are cosy, and warm, and comforting...

retro flowers quilt 125cms x 125cms

'spice road' quilt 130cms x 165cms

              flying geese quilt 120cms x 140cms

vintage spin quilt 145cms x 145cms

Is there any 'right' size?

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here and with Beth for MainCrushMonday over here
... love to hear your thoughts on quilt sizes?

If you are interested, there's more on quilt sizes, balance & proportions over here
and I found this too- suzyquilts quilt size chart 

a little bit of everything

... a bit of improv {i.e. no plan}

... a bit of recycling, including shirts from mr.D and my FinL

and a bit of giveaway fabric from Liz at shushi'mquilting {thanx!}

... a bit of a wild mix of checks & florals

... a bit of fabric substituting when I ran out

oh, and a bit of lining-up-my-checks too!

Such a liberating way to sew, I love it! Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here, with Leanne & Nicky for scraptastic Tuesday here, and for 'show & tell' here at sewfreshquilts

are we there yet?

Well the short answer is "no"

but that's ok!

It's been some time since I worked on my 'gypsy wife' quilt, been busy getting side-tracked

And, as you know HydeeAnn is very busy with family at present,

And, Megan from jaffaquilts has been busy with heaps on at work
Yep, everyone's been busy doing "things"
... so Megan was happy for me to fill in this week with a bit of an overdue catch-up from me,
... instead of them!

... and I'm really really glad at the beginning of this QAL that both Megan & HydeeAnn stressed

'going at your own pace'

no pressure

just enjoy! 

Because (sigh) I am just a little bit behind with the schedule!

You can find the schedule & other tips here

and you can follow along on instagram with the hastag #GypsyWifeQuiltAlong2016.

Lots of fun seeing all the colour combos that everyone is choosing, all very different.

I'm only just starting on section #6 this month 

It is big, but nothing too tricky to piece.

First up today - 6" (finished) Indian Hatchet block and then 2 x 6" (finished) bordered pinwheel blocks...

Nurses Cross block up next - not your ordinary cross that's for sure!

The piecing is a bit different, but follow the pattern, trust me it does work

and I took a few progress pics just to show you...

but wait, there's more...

* I did cut my cream setting triangles all a bit bigger than the pattern
- just leaves a bit of wriggle room when joining up later!

Then finally today 7 x 3" (finished) 'square in a square' blocks

easy-peasy

I found what takes me the most time is making those all important fabric decisions...

*I was on a bit of a roll and made a few extras of those little 3" sins blocks,

{the total is 23 for the whole quilt, but I didn't want to put you all off!} 

So I hear you ask "Are we there now?" Well, there's still just a few more filler blocks to make and still more slicing of lots of those 1 1/2" long vertical strips - BUT the end of section #6 is definitely in sight for me now - and I'm back into the swing of gypsy-wife-ing again :) 
How is everyone else going with this QAL? Oh, and Megan from jaffaquilts is back very soon with an official QAL post, look out for that one too!

Linking up with Lorna for 'show & tell' over here at 'sewfreshquilts'

and to needle & thread Thursday here at myquiltinfatuation

a bit more #50

I did spot a few who had finished their Gypsy Wife quilts already -

Velda from grannycanquilt... looks amazing!

And Debbie from littlebirdquilts has also finished her top too... sew beautiful!

(follow the links for a little peep)