stashbusting

Back from a lovely family break at Waihi Beach
Lots of holiday fun... walking, cafe coffees,
and splashing about with Olive & little Evie in the surf ... wonderful

No stash at the beach house and so once back home
{and all caught up with all the washing}
I was distracted totally from my 'to do' list, and began cutting shapes for a new quilt...

it's all about using my stash this year

- and channelling my inner Kathy with lots of prints on prints on prints

and you?
have you been distracted by anything in the new year too?

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

back to needle & thread

I finished piecing my 2nd auntbets quilt top this week and am very pleased with it.

Here's a few pics... and a few thoughts about hand tying a quilt.

mixing the old with the new

{a Jennifer Paganelli floral and Blueberry Park fabrics by Karen Lewis}

- my favourite fabric

I decided to hand tie this little quilt. There's lots of tutorials around, like this one I found that was nice & simple here with great needle threading tips too! After quickly stitching some leftover batting pieces together on the machine, I spent an hour or so crawling around on the floor pinning all my layers together.

Then it was back to using a needle & thread, a chenille needle and some candlewick yarn to be precise {a chenille needle has a large eye & sharp point}. And it has certainly been a learning experience for me!

Firstly, I really needed to tie the knots fairly closely together to ensure all the layers stay secure. And I found scissors  proved very useful to help pull that needle through! Oh, and despite what I've read, I avoided tying any knots over intersections after trying it just the once... way, way too thick! And finally, a little bloodshed is all par for the course!

I'm about half way now and it's looking ok so far.

I did read somewhere that 'it's not a quilt until it's quilted', so I'm wondering now,

when you tie a pieced quilt what do you have... a quilt still? a comforter?  

Love to hear your thoughts.
*I  just came across another good tutorial here by Sarah from thelastpiece

Linking up with Kelly for 'needle and thread Thursday' here

a new year.... a new quilt

I've been busy making hexagon blocks and there's a pretty selection up on my design wall now

I'll do an end-of-the-month round up so you can see too.

Wondering about starting a new quilt today

Revisiting auntbets quilt has been on my 'to do' list ever since I finished this first one
so I made up a couple of trial blocks you know, just to see...

I do love the simple scrappy design of this,

with those larger pieces that are perfect for your special fabrics to shine...

and the 1/4 log cabin and flying geese blocks add some scrappy 'quilty' interest...

It reminds me a bit of those Australian wagga quilts

{for a few pics of what I'm referring to, see here on pinterest}

Lots of different fabrics are finding their way into this...

along with a bundle of fabrics I stumbled across on Trade Me, an early collection from Denyse Schmidt, Greenfields.

I'm using them as my focus...
{insert smiley face} new-to-me fabric really helps my creative processing!

What starts you off on a new quilt?

a pattern? a colour scheme? a special fabric?

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

the 'eventually' quilt

hello, hello, happy holidays everyone!
Lots of plans & projects in the pipeline, and yes, a little change in direction next year

First up, some summer sewing
... and I could no longer resist the pull of those hexis!

I'm using an old pattern called 'Candied Hexagons' by Kerry Dear
It's from an out of print magazine that I photocopied many years ago, maybe back in 2009?

The focus is on hexagons, how to slice them up and play with different variations.

Over the holidays, I raided my precious doilies, hankies & tablecloths drawer...

and rummaged through the stash...

I'm really excited about the fussy cutting possibilities with each hexi,
inspired by all these lovely ones here -
sweetsundayquilt a reworked version of the original colourful 'Candied Hexagons' pattern
by Emma at treehousetextiles

Everyday I've sewed a couple more... they make up quickly on the machine...
and it's great for just a little summer sewing inbetween everything else...

and just wanted to see some of my pretties up next to each other....

I'm having lots of fun upcyling these embroideries into my 'eventually' quilt
{need to think of a better name!}
it'll be a while before I can actually start putting it all together... but I'm loving the vintage handmade look

What are your sewing plans for the new year?

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap'  here at quiltingismorefunthanhousework
with Lorna here for 'lets bee social' #157
and with Kelly here for 'needle and thread Thursday'

a bit more #55

LOVE upcycling & re-using, a great way of valuing those lovely old embroideries and doilies

Lots of memories here in these two earlier quilts I've made

pieces from my past quilt and babe evies quilt 

p.s. my best 9 of 2016

I wasn't going to post again so soon ... but...
I wanted to join in the end-of-year fun that's happening over on instagram at the moment...

so here is my best nine collage for 2016...

Lots of fun looking back!
Thanks for all the +ve encouragement, comments & inspiration over the year.

And lots of fun seeing everyones best 9 photos over on instagram too...

here #sewingbestnine and over here #quiltingbestnine

Plus... there's going to be a linky party the day after Christmas, Monday December 26th

highlighting your "best" 5 posts from 2016 over here at meadowmistdesigns

HEAPS OF CHRISTMAS CHEER

AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

taking a break

It's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas around here!

... and just 21 sleeps to go!

...digging out all the usual old Xmas decor bits & pieces!

... tea lights & candles for that subtle sparkle

... the beginnings of a little festive vignette on the dresser,
I love adding to it daily between now and the 'big day'

... just waiting now for Olive & Evie to come and help me decorate the tree

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

... taking a little break from blogging
... be back next year with lots more colour!   

midweek snapshot

up on the design wall...

improv tea towel WiP
still working out a plan here, more details of inspiration & progress soon, but having fun so far!

from the garden...

jamjar herbs & roses

off the bookshelf...

pondering next year's possibilities, a little EPP perhaps!

and in the post...
a fat 1/4 bundle of Greenfield Hill by Denyse Schmidt
a more traditional fabric range than some of her others,
one that evokes "afternoon teas, polite gossip, faded wallpaper" - a lucky find on Trademe!

How's your week going?