The. Perfect. Way. to spend a Wednesday

The. Perfect. Way. to spend a Wednesday, sewing with the immensely talented Anna Maria, @annamariahorner. Lots of like minded people gathered together, with lots of planning, creating and sewing happening.

The quilt we were making was her wonderful folkflowerquilt and she had two great versions for us to see. So amazing to see these quilts up close & personal. 

and her patchy version . . .

There was a pile of other quilts too, love Anna's amazing use of colour, applique and 'big' motifs. 

{photos posted with permission}

I chose to start with a low volume background - classic & effective - and then I'll decide later what happens next! The blocks are made using reverse applique, loved learning the new-to-me technique in person with Anna.

 And I planned out my next block . . .

. . .  however, due to having only just had a wee operation, I didn't bring my sewing machine. I did manage to get my first block all underway {many thanks to Megan from jaffaquilts for the use of her sewing machine}. And I cut out another block, played with fabric, and of course got totally inspired.

After sharing her quilts, and her fabrics, and her hints for making this quilt, we all set to with creating our own versions. Anna was busy stitching away as everyone here sewed.

 A close up of Anna's latest work  . . .

And, at the end of the day, everyone put their own flowers up on the wall,
love all the diverse & beautiful results . . . 

. . .  so inspiring

Just need to get on top of my knee issues and start sewing again too.

A big thanks to Cheryl from allthingsbernina for hosting this special day, see her pics here. It was a great day, relaxed and informal, surrounded by Anna's stunning quilts.  To see a little more from Anna's two days in Auckland pop on over to Megan here, Suzanne here, Liz here, and Clare over here. Tomorrow November 21, Anna is off down to Cottage Flair in Rotorua, check out the link here.

Until next time, Linda

'bohemian on point' quilt

And here's my finish no.9 for the year, 'bohemian on point' quilt top, and I love it. I've used a scrappy selection of both Anna Maria Horner and Outback Wife fabrics, and repeated a few fabrics too. Some blocks merge, some are busy, and others are a definite light/dark combo.

I had it professionally quilted by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi in an edge to edge pattern called 'sweetheart'. I love how the quilting almost sinks into the quilt, letting the piecing & yummy fabrics remain the focus.

I made up a scrappy backing using leftover fabrics and rediscovered a useful fabric in eggplant for my binding, from 'mostly manor' collection by Victoria Findlay Wolfe. My finished quilt measures approx. 54" x76".

Definite vibe of bold & bright colours still happening around here!

And joining in with Julie from julielou with a little 'dahlia spam' 

until next time, Linda

'meadowland' quilt

I've got another finish to share this week, my 'meadowland' quilt. I've had it professionally quilted by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi in an edge to edge pattern called 'waterdrops'. I love how these curves add a soft whimsy feel to the sharper angles in this quilt.

As you can see, I've used quite a quirky scrappy selection of fabrics, lots of soft greys, Liberty, Tilda, C&S, and favourite ginghams, along with my hoarded - very few - vintage fabrics and a couple of doilies.

The backing is a wide floral dandelion fabric in 2-tone greys. And, rather than going for the final 'pack a punch' look, I went with a soft mauve AMH print for my binding. The quilt seemed to want a pretty pastel finish. My finished quilt measures 53" x 76". 

Loving my vintage bits & pieces together with just a touch of modern charm here.
Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here
and with Alycia for 'finished{or not}friday' over here
and with Wendy too for this weekend's 'peacock party' here

Until next time, Linda

spotted in a crowd ...

I'm working on a couple of things at the moment, including this new project - 

spotted in a crowd . . . oops no, in a field of wildflowers!  

Let me introduce my new favourite WiP just now (= getting all my attention) and features a scrappy selection of floral prints and a very intense colour palette of pinks & gold. My inspiration came mainly from Bari J's ig feed over here - loving the colours in her new modern maximalist master bedroom makeover!

{collage posted with permission}

I've made a few adjustments to the 'quilty stars' pattern. My quilt is smaller, 3 blocks by 3, mainly because I didn't have enough stripe to go any bigger! And I've also altered the size of my sashings & borders slightly.
Unlike the pattern, my center squares are all in assorted bright pinks not white, plus the sashing is stripey instead of white as well.

One thing I have started doing recently, is to liven up my old scraps with a designer treat, and I've been dying to use this AMH animal print somehow. somewhere. It ended up being my background throughout the quilt. {for more pics of "spotted in a crowd" fabric see here.}

Here's a few progress photos . . .

If you've been following me on social media {here} 
you may have seen one of the first blocks I made. 

See here over on ig for lots of other versions of this versatile 'quilty stars' pattern
And, if you love a bit of animal print in your quilts, 
check out Marisa's feed over here for a great 'wedding ring' quilt WiP

Until next time, Linda