Friday, August 20, 2010

Just Dreamy House Cushion

Inspired by the absolutely adorable Red and Aqua House blocks made for Kerri's Gnome village quilt ({Bee} Imaginative), such as this one, this one and this one! And unable to resist String Piecing anymore, I drew this...


which turned into this...



I did change a few things such as the door and the owl in the window because the owl didn't match the fabrics at all, but I really like how it turned out!

It was a bit of a sampler cushion as I experimented with lots of new things:
~ It is my first go at String Piecing (the roof)
~ The first cushion that I have sewn on my machine
~ My first attempt at raw edge machine applique
~ My first attempt at Straight Line Quilting














~ And...My first go at Hand Quilting!

Phew! I should make cushions more often.

As we are on the topic of firsts, maybe I should write my first tutorial for this cushion?

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and if you are in Melbourne hope you stay warm as it is supposed to be a very cold weekend!

Miranda & Charlie

EDIT: It is Fabric Tuesday  today (8/9/10) at Quiltstory so head on over and check out all the wonderful fabric creations!

Fresh Poppy Design

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Quilting the Fancy Free Quilt

After a bit of a rough start...I have finally finished quilting the Fancy Free Quilt!

Rough Start? Lets just say that the instructions I wasn't really following- said to stitch wavy lines with a walking foot and everything was fine on my practise square...but quilting wavy lines on a 6 inch square is a little different to quilting a full size quilt and I soon discovered that nice wavy quilting with a walking foot is basically impossible!
 So after a lot of frustration and unpicking, I decided to try using a free motion foot, which was much much easier and really fast! Also, While practising I also did a bit of stipling and was really surprised that I was still able to vaguelly stiple- I was told that when you are a beginner, if you don't practise for 6 weeks you have to learn all over again.

I also only had enough basting spray to baste the back of the quilt. I figured it was more important I basted the back really well than the front and because I couldn't wait a whole week to get more spray I decided to pin baste the top. However, as I don't have any safety pins so I decided quilting and sewing pins were just as good- which they were...just alot more ouchy!

For the Quilting:
I was having a bit of difficulty quilting on my little machine and not having an extension table I created my own ...using yellow pages and a bit of sticky tap! It suprinsingly worked really well and certainly made the quilting a lot easier.
I also used a beautiful pink variegated thread, which I absolutely adore. It has a bit of a sheen to it which I think looks great because some of the fabrics in the quilt have a sort of metallic detail.

~  In the squares I stitched wavy lines over all the seams and then stitched-in-the-ditch (with a walking foot) around the edge of the block. In the border I had intended to stitch similar wavy lines but after stitching once all the way around, I decided I like it with only one wave. My stitches also are not very even but considering it is the first quilt I have done free motion, I think it's pretty good. I have also decided that my excuse for unevenly sized wonky wavy lines, is that it adds a bit of interest!

So now I need to do something with all the threads hanging of the front of the quilt, add some binding, a label and it will be finished.

Hope yourhaving a great weekend!
Miranda & Charlie



Sunday, August 1, 2010

Craft and Quilt fair goodies

Last weekend I went to the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair with a friend and we had a wonderful time!

Although I promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything except the Hand Dyed fabric I need for my art quilt in Studio Art
 ...I am guilty of coming home with some extra goodies, which was probably inevitable but I did manage to not go over my limit of $50!


1. The Quilted Owl (Pattern by Laura Lobb on In Stitches)- As you may know I have a bit of an obsession with all things owl so I thought this was absolutely adorable!

2. Fabric pack to make the Quilted Owl- I loved the fabric they used to make the owl on the pattern 
(one on the right) and it just happened to come in a handy and time saving bundle- great for indecisive people like me!.

3. Kaffe Fassetts Pencils in Red- I saw this fabric on True Up a while a go and loved it! Ironically it is destined to become an awesome pencil case! haha
4. Japanese Fabric- I find it very difficult to find Japanese fabric and I had this one book marked on my computer so I was very happy when I saw it at the fair. I'm going to use it for the "Kokeshi Friends Stitchery" from the Melly and Me Kaleidoscope book.
5.  Hand Dyed Fabric- I had been looking desperately for multi coloured hand dyed fabric, specifically in the colours of the Aurora to use in an art quilt of the Northern Lights that I am making for Studio Art. My friend Caroline from the MMQG suggested I check out Dyed and Gone to Heaven which had a stall at the fair.

Coming Up: I am also in the process of quilting my Fancy Free Quilt and after a bit of a rough start, I am nearly finished!

Hope your having a great weekend

Miranda & Charlie