gypsy caravan {revisiting an old WiP}

                                                                                                 a starting point

Like many, I'm pretty good at starting a new project, but finishing it seems to be somewhat more illusive! So, this year I made a real plan {see my list here} It's a fun challenge for the next 3 months - hey, no pressure- but I'm finding it quite motivating and I'm actually sticking to the list so far!

The Gypsy Caravan quilt was already well underway, so I thought it was a good place to start. I had cut out the fabric & began sewing it ages ago but, for some reason, I stopped! I got it all out this week & got busy!
I used my little selection of Amy Bulter fabrics, mainly Gypsy Caravan, as a starting point.The name of this fabric range was my inspiration, plus I'd seen a few quilts out there using these fabrics. However, I really wanted to lift the tempo a bit, you know make it quite vibrant, so I infused a bit of variety by incorporating other fabrics from my stash. Now, in true gypsy style, this sure is a riot of colour!

Scrappy tactics included: 
I did control some of the piecing by ensuring the 4 patches had the darkest colour all going in the same direction.
And I repeated the large floral on cream & the light blue fabrics throughout to break all that colour. I also repeated some rows- mirror image kind of thing- to help get a bit of overall balance.
I notice now it's all together that in some places, colours and/or fabrics merged which I'm really happy to leave as is.
Linking up with Scraptastic Tuesday here and with 'oh scraps' here on Sunday. Why not pop on over to see lots more scrappy inspiration!  

2015 Finish-Along Q1 list

The 2015 Finish-Along Q1 

Here's my proposed finishes for the first quarter of 2015!

• Broken Dishes... yep it's alot of HSTs, but I'm finding that there's something rather soothing about simple repetitive chain piecing! My inspiration was a pic of an old well loved quilt made using feedsack fabrics, and I'm keeping it quite restrictive with my scrappy colour selection. This is one project I've been going back & forth on for some time now & I need to get it finished. 

• I had a lovely collection of doilies & hankies from my mum, and I spotted a quilt in an old NZ Quilter magazine & I figured I could do that! I compiled them into a quilt top and started machine quilting, but it's not going smoothly! Am actually not too sure what to do next now!

• Classic meets Modern... I still need to make a decision about the setting, then piece backing & layer it up for quilting. Oh and then do the quilting too of course! 

• Well, what can I say... this quilt was well underway, I had cut into the fabrics ages ago but for some reason I stopped! I used  Amy Bulter's Gypsy Caravan fabrics as a starting point and added other fabrics from my stash to infuse some variety. I think I should get back to this!

• Modern Buzz Saw, I guess it's a take on the old delectable mountains pattern. Now this is what I really want to get on with ASAP, but am just a bit busy with new babe Evie, and Olive, and making dinners for two households! But... I will get there! The plan : I've got a selection of cream & whites for the backgrounds, and am going to use predominantly pinks & indigo prints - with a sprinkling of other colours just to add interest. For the first border, I'll use that Kona Kale that I had already cut into long strips for something else then rejected them! 

That's enough for now, need to keep it do-able!

but wait there's more...

 I do have these long term, slow sewing projects which will simply roll on over into each quarter! 

{Do they count?}

• Am wanting to try out Kantha quilting on this scrappy Stacked Coins quilt top. I need to piece the backing, layer it up & pin together first. And do a bit of research about this sort of quilting.

•  Moda Building Blocks... I plan to follow the overall colour scheme, but am substituting some background solids with low volume neutrals, and using predominately AMH fabrics. I would like to make a few blocks each month. 

• Lovely Lattices in Liberty... I've started machine quilting this, but it's slow going! 

•  Green Tea & Sweet Beans... I've always always wanted to make this quilt! The fabrics are sorted and all bundled up ready to take to the beach for some hand sewing over my holiday. 

Linking up with Adrianne  here

slow sewing

So, I've eased back into the sewing mode very gently this year! Last week's Scrappy Stacked Coins renewed my enthusiasm! I enjoyed sorting thru' my fabric stash, playing with different combinations, the no pressure sewing... but it's time now for something completely different!

this first block is huge! 36"x 36" 

6" x 6" block

6" x 6" block

and another!

A few of us from the Monday Modern group are making the Moda Building Blocks Quilt, one block a month. Initially, I wasn't too keen, an all solid quilt doesn't really appeal, but then I started seeing a few that were quite a bit different and I was hooked! Have a little peek here for one spectacular finish! I've made a start this week, and am going to slowly work my way thru' the blocks, perhaps more than one a month, perhaps not!

Linking up with WiP Wednesday here

stash attack {a WiP}

just love that blue daisy on white, only had a 10" square of it! 

just caught the end of the late afternoon sunshine!

so hot here in NZ at present, fan blowing everything around...

but you can get the general idea of the finished top! 

Quilt Stats:

Scrappy Stacked Coins Quilt
1 1/2 metres purchased AMH Primrose in Sapphire, used as focus background fabric.{I ended up with some leftover too!} Cut 5 strips 5 1/2" wide x length of quilt. 

This used up heaps of scraps & sewed up quickly!
Scrappy strips cut 9" long & assorted widths
Scrappy tactics included - using a few blending AMH fabrics along with my own combination of older scraps to infuse a bit of variety. I played around with placement of the light/dark fabrics, and was also mindful of lining  up some of the geometric prints. And, to keep some sort of balance happening, I reciprocated the fabrics in the first and last rows but in reverse order!  

I'm wondering about how to quilt it now... I guess some initial straight lines to secure things, and then I'd love to do some hand quilting, maybe Kantha quilting style! 

{see last post for details re inspiration}

Linking up with Oh Scrap  here on Sunday

a bit more # 26

it's a girl!

babe Evie was born at home on Friday!

Mum, babe, Dad, and Little-now Big Olive all doing really well

effort- to- impact ratio

It's interesting, isn't it? A quilt with complex traditional piecing certainly creates a lasting impression, but so too can a quilt simple in design yet meaningful & vibrant. I have to say that last year was a real mixture of quilting styles for me. I enjoyed making several quilts for gifts. To me, while the quick & easy sewing made for minimal effort really, these quilts still seemed to have great impact, mainly due to using beautiful fabrics! Gotta thank those designers out there- lots of fresh, new fabrics are amazingly released almost daily! They're very tempting with large graphics & florals, and really too wonderful to contemplate cutting up into teeny tiny pieces!

On the flip side, I also had a few slow burning projects on the go last year, complicated designs with small, fiddly block construction like Gypsy Wife & Retro Flowers quilts.  They were challenging but I was content to take my time and found it extremely satisfying as I slowly worked thru' all the processes.

My first WiP for this year is all about the fabric!
I've always wanted to make a coin quilt, and as I'm on a bit of a stash attack at present, I decided on a scrappy stacked coin quilt! My inspiration came from a combination of a couple of ideas, from here and here. I popped out to see Cheryl at all things patchwork as she has a sale on and I bought a largish piece of AMH's Primrose in Sapphire as the background focus fabric. Back home I started sorting fabrics from my stash, colours that could compliment, and am now in the middle of swapping different sized strips around to get a nice balance-thingy happening!

What are you most happy stitching... great impact with little effort? ... or slow sewing, savouring the process as much as the result? ... or maybe like me, a bit of both! 

Linking up with Lee here for WiP Wednesday

pop on over to see lots more quilty inspiration!

a little old fashioned, but that's all right

So I've started the year off with sewing the binding onto one of my older WiPs. I began this quilt in 2013. My inspiration came from an article in a Quiltmania magazine, 2013. In WW II Britain faced many shortages, one of which was warm bedding, and the women of Canada made lots of comfortable, warm quilts by the thousands. Some quilts are now part of a museum collection and one photo really caught my eye...

quiltmania magazine 2013

I pieced the top using up a scrappy mixture of fabrics from my stash to create a kind of old fashioned and antique looking quilt. And it was quilted by Annette/Wild Cotton quilting.

auditioning for the border fabric

close up of the quilting

But then it ended up buried in the depths of the wardrobe because I felt it was all looking 'too grey.' And you know, sometimes it is good to leave things for a while! When I relooked at it over the holidays I suddenly knew what was missing! I added a punchy bit of purpley- dark red for the binding, et voila... new life to a little old fashioned quilt!

Linking up with Cynthia's "Oh Scrap" linky party here.

a bit more # 25

YOU WEAR IT WELL a little old fashioned but that's all right

- Rod Stewart 

{here's the song}

mission accomplished!

Baby Wrap stats:

Mei Tai pattern here

10 hours to make, over 3 days

Made by my daughter, with me assisting & deciphering pattern! 

oh and Olive let us use Teddy for the test drive! 

Materials - Recycled turquoise wrap and leftover cotton fabric from grandmother's skirt

One baby wrap done ... but still waiting for baby!

Linking up with TGIFF over here @ Soul Blossoms
and with Finish it up Friday here @ Crazy Mom Quilts
pop on over to see lots more quilty inspiration!