Work on Wed 10th April

Hi Everyone,
Easter has come and gone and I had so much fun watching the voting at quilting gallery, for Bunny and myself to both end up at the top just says how great Esther's designs are.
Go back to work tomorrow for 4 days but have spent much of the last 3 starting the quilting of my Blue Forget Me Not

This is the largest I have attempted, I thought my work table was huge but soon discovered it wasn't big enough to prep on, but now that I am stitching it is great 

My free motion is not great , in fact it is awful so am not really sure what I am going to do. To date I have ditch stitched all the inner frame edges and this morning have stitched most of the outer frame edges, center 2 done in this photo.

Practice has improved my rolling of the quilt through the machine throat.

More of my Aunt's fabric has become my backing.

I have made some sandwich's to practice free motion on as I have stippled before, but not on anything this size. I am wondering  about stippling the sashings but around the flowers not over them.

For the frames I am thinking of straight lines that either give the corners a mitered effect or a cross hatched square in each corner, I like the idea of an medallion in each corner but that might be beyond me.

Also maybe nothing would be better as they are becoming puffed frames and I might be better to stipple the block backgrounds.

Please if you comment, give me your suggestions because right now I am a total beginner and a little confused as to what step next.

Cheers everyone Jenny

Work on Wed/ Thurs

Hi Everyone,
Thursday in NZ but can just scrape this in thanks to Esther's generous time frame.

Firstly a huge thanks to everyone that voted for my Evolution Wallhanging in the Quiltinggallery.com
Show and Tell last week. Have added a link on my side bar to this site as it is so much fun and although only 14 entries  there was some wonderful work on show.
I was so happy to be lying second with my very first entry - but to have the two guest judges award me enough points to win for the week, prize is Michelle's two Quilters Cookbooks in PDF Format.
I was astounded and thrilled to pieces!!!!!!!!!
Thankyou Judges if you visit my blog.

EVOLUTION

Have just had two days away in Paihia with Steve and Kelly.
Steve has been house renovating for a friend and Wed the carpet went down and he had to be there to let them in and rehang all the doors when they finished so really it was a busman's holiday for him.
Strong onshore breezes meant no swimming for us, and being high tourist season Kelly was not welcome anywhere - extra signage - NO Dogs till end of Feb.
Paihia is in the Bay of Islands and really survives as a Holiday destination so guess this is understandable, she does enjoy the car thankgoodness.

We did find an area we could wander with her to see the Haruru Falls

This is looking down the river from the falls towards Waitangi, just around the bend.

We have a public holiday on the 6th Feb, Waitangi Day to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the first Europeans and the Maori People.
We have Maori land right issues continuing to this day from the treaty.

Had dinner with friends Steve had made while he was renovating, wonderful night and just had to take a photo of this paintingof a Vietnamese Lady on their wall.

Will have to work around the flash but think I feel a wallhanging comiing up.

Lastly have been thinking about the Show and Tell up at Quiltinggallery for this week. 

I can enter every week if I want to, but if I am lucky enough to win again within a month, the prize would be awarded to the next highest votes which I think is very fair.

The theme is winter landscapes and I am thinking my Snowdrop block with it's snowflakes will qualify as it does not have to be a finished work.  

I am going to enter so check in after Fri 8am EST to see and vote for what you like.

Now I have to go through my completed quilts / wallhangings and see what might be suitable to help stage  open homes in Paihia as our friends want to sell.

Have a great week everyone.

Jenny

WOW on 28th Nov

Have had a wonderful couple of weeks working on Esther's Nov blocks.
It was so hard to decide which flower on what background, which is why I made my banksia flower first.
Knew the yellow would work on either but it was not until I went with the blue based green for my leaves that I made the decision, witth help from BOM members.

The leaves were very strong on my striped background but this feels more like looking at the flower against the sky. I had also felt that this was a more stylised block - until I googled images  and found that the leaves are really as serrated as the design shows.

 Beeding Hearts and Daisies, I  knew I couldn't do white daises but I had a of very very pale yellow Fairy Frost fabric which I really wanted to use.
My first magnolia block now looks very sad as I used the background fabric for several attempts to make it work - waste not - want not, as if I need to remake a block I only have one piece of striped fabric to spare!!! However it would not work but I am thrilled with the how my final choice worked.
It was also my base fabric for the Banksia Flower.

I put my daisy on stabiliser and  marked the center circle, straight stitched all the petals out and back from inside the center, then trimmed the stabiliser and padded the Daisy. Satin stitched the edges then did one cicle of stitching to flatten the center and added the beads.

The Bleeding Hearts look a little more orange/red in this photo but it is a blue/red which works well with my border fabric. I now have both red and yellow flowers in mainly pink based blocks so am very happy.
Slight errors in fabric movement when satin stitching the "teardrops" frustrated me but had always planned on adding at least one bead. When I opened my bead packet I found many had not seperated into singles.They looked so good in two's and three's I used them as was, but did seperate and catch each one down as  I stitched them.

This was my inspiration photo.

Knew there was a myth  linked to Bleeding Heart's and have always thought of the throat as Teardrops. Think the pearl beads express this, may even add an extra couple of falling teardrops after quilting!!!

And now.

My DH came home last night with the  most winderful Pelergonium,
Almost Black I have never seen anything like it.

repotted it this morning and it will be wonderful on our deck.
Also bought home a Fucshia cutting and I really hope this survives.

What a beauty. Almost cried when I stripped it's flowers this morning and planted stem into pumice.
Hopefully we will enjoyi t's beauty for years to come.
Enjoy you wednesday.
Jenny

WOW for Nov 14th

Only Tuesday but working tomorrow, missed linking to Esther's Blog last week for same reason so decided to start early.
Quick addition on Wed. Got a wonderful view of the eclipse this morning, only about 91% in Whangarei but just before 10.30am soft cloud covered the sun and you could safely look and see the complete moon and  a cresent of pale sun on the edge. Our manager totally convinced because of the shape that the sun was the moon!!!
A few minutes later full cloud moved across and no view at all.

Summer is slowly arriving in Whangarei and my favorite rose is already in full bloom.

Roses don't grow as well here as they do in Christchurch as our winters are not really get cold enough.
This is Crepescule, a old fashioned climber and we have planted two  to hopefully eventually cover our very uninspiring boundary fence

My DH and I just love the wonderful apricot tones as the buds  first open, then the changing shades as the flowers mature.

They are repeat  flowerers so we will have their blooms well into Autumn
Our Agapanthus are just coming into flower and in another couple of weeks will be spectacular.

And  I will be picking this and a few others later today, summer is here!!!

On my last post I said we had found a wonderful wallpaper for the kitchen / dining room that worked so well with our stainless appliances. This is it, metallic silver squares on a white/grey marbled background.

That 70's lime green has finally gone.

Unfortunately ---- we are going to be one roll short to finish the room as we bought all they had but the match was bigger than DH thought!!!

Means the other end wall  which has a sliding door to our Laundry will have to be painted, not a major as most of that wall is the door.

Was a major though that when we moved the fridge freezer to wallpaper behind it - it stopped working!!!

Needs a new electronic's board - and it's only six years old.  $260-00 I can't spend on fabric.

We are watching one on TradeMe that closes next Sunday, it has a damaged door and may be a cheaper option as we can just swap doors.  At present have a friends fridge sitting on other side of kitchen.

And I can't blog without quilting so have looked back to show you an almost totally original design from a couple of years ago.

This is Drumbeat, a quilters group challenge. It now hangs inside our front door
We were given a 5" Fabric square that had to be used within the design, with the Challenge theme of Celebration and it had to be within 36" square.
A very tribal looking  fabric, my DH drew me the main drum pattern,-- to call the tribes for a celebration--and he made me the fabric padded drumsticks for hanging it. I just love his 3D drawing skills.
I bought an extra metre of the challenge fabric so I could fussy cut as I had a secondhand book called Angle Antic's by Mary Hickery and I resized and used various pattern segments from a pattern also called Drumbeat for the foundation pieced areas, then applipieced them to my background fabrics.
The feather fabric horizontal banding is raw edged and hangs loose from the quilt.

You can see the original 5" square I was given on the backing of the quilt as I got concerned I hadn't used the original piece of fabric so designed this variation of a Mariners Compass for the backing, using the 5" square and incorporating my drum fabric scraps.
I was very pleased to be awarded the prize for Best Use of Fabric at our biannual exhibition.

Will post this tomorrow then the following day we will have Esther's wonderful new blocks for November.
Happy Wednesday everyone
Jenny

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WOW 31st October

Missed linking last week and wasn't sure if  I would find time today either.
Have taken time out from my sewing room this week now that I have finished Esther's October's blocks and suddenly it's the last day of the month.
Have been sanding and painting window frames in our Kitchen/Dining room.
It's not like quilting  but if I take my time I do a respectable job!!!
Steve has been wallpapering - Yes after time spent stripping all the old paper we are now repapering, something we thought we would never go back to but we found a wonderful  paper that suits the area at the local emporium shop.
Heavy vinyl paper, made in Canada, $10.00 a roll, far cheaper than paint!!!
Can't show a photo this week as Steve is renovating a house in Pahia, an hours drive north and he has taken the camera so he can show the owners updates of his progress
When I have had enough of painting I have played with my photo programmes, yesterday that was when I could leave the CNN News of Sandy's progress across the east coast of USA
Many of us are making Esther's blocks and I am sure we are all wondering how they will all come together - will they work or won't they.
Before Steve left I took a few photo's of background, frame and inner mount fabric's and have made collages.
Some of the proportions and shadings are out because of photo size but I think my wall hangings will work
Esther, your blocks are wonderful - and am not unpicking my Morning Glories!!!!

Used a photo of extra fabric as my background so have not been able to line up my fussy cutting of border  strips, background flowers will show much more.
Have not worked out how to do oval insets for the mounts, but feel colour balance with the white snowdrop block is coming right.
My frame fabric is the same fabric Esther is using for her light background Blocks and my mount fabric is the Lavender from my other blocks.

Again the background is oversized compared to the blocks as I photographed a couple of strips to create my background, these photo programmes are such fun to play with!!!
I am just hoping this works at the end of the day.
The colour balance I think is finally coming right

My frame fabric is a 3ZL mans shirt, a burgundy flocked iridescent paisley. I had only the collar left over once I cut  the framing strips but I am hoping it works.

Cheers for this week, enjoy what ever you are doing

WOW 17th Oct

Just home from work so time to link to Esther's Blog for this week.

In July my DH was asked to redo a garden, getting rid of all the old plants incuding a couple of very old standard roses, plus Azaleas and Lavender.
We had had all these growing in Christchurch so thought lets try and rescue them as our garden is also very much a WIP and free plants, Yea!!! we can design to suit.
The Largest Azalea was still in flower at the time and has never stopped blooming all winter

The other 2 are putting out buds, but this week the oldest of the standard roses opened it's first flower.

I am sure it is Deep Secret and she is just beautiful!!! Imagine appliequing this.
Think she is approz 25 years old by the age of the property she came from.
We didn't know if she would survive the shift but this is the proof of my DH's gardening skills.
He took her back to bare root stock, trimming any damaged roots off.
Gave her a radical prune keeping only the strongest branches with a few leaves.
A fertilizer tablet underneath at planting and once new leaves started appearing he wire brushed the crown.
We have new growth and buds everywhere.
The other standard has budded but nothing open yet so have no idea what she is.

Now to quilting.
 Esther released October's blocks on Monday.
Glorious blocks, but I was out of printer ink so had to wait to print the patterns and get started.
Played with making snowflakes for the Snowdrop block to stop my frustration.

This is the technique Mary Transom taught for her insect wings in the course I attended a few years ago.
Draw you basic pattern onto Solvy. A plasticised wash away.
Place net or tulle over top and secure both layers  in an embroidery hoop.
Stitch your design in free motion zig zag for outer edges, and main lines, stitching over the lines a couple of times then free motion straight stitch to fill the design.
I didn't use free motion as I found an embroidery stitch on my machine that resembled a snowflake pattern,
bernina 440 it is stitch 54.
Because the snowflakes are small I compromised and used zig zag for the first cross then straight stitched out and pattern stitched back to center with dark silver mettalic between the arms of the cross.

After stitching I trimmed as much of the Solvy and Tulle away as I could without cutting into  my stitching.

If you have an edged design like wings this is so much easier, as you have your zigzag stitch for the edges, very easy to trim close to.

Rinsed under warm water to dissolve the Solvy and dried with an iron you are left with only your stitching on net.

Yes I am thinking of making the snowdrops on my light background.

White on light, I am not sure but have a white with mettallic sparkle that may pull it off, and have 2 white flower blocks already on my Lavender background.

Will make the flowers up first and see how they look.

Happy sewing everyone.

Jenny

Work on Wednesday 19th Sept

Have had busy days off, but NOT in my sewing room.
Last week my DH finally convinced me it was time to part with some of my "treasures" from over the years.
Went through the cupboards and brought back to daylight items I have had for years and never see or use.
So my first venture on to Trade Me, and I didn't realise how time consuming it is.
Spent enough time spent answering questions, but they all closed on Sunday night, so my planned 3 days of sewing Esther's blocks turned into emails, packaging, and trips to the post shop!!!!
However all sold and we have extra funds for the house and for some FABRIC SHOPPING FOR ME!!!

So what have I achieved in my Sewing Room.

Esther  gave me a real problem this month, I love both the blocks but which to go where.

For the first time I have worked backwards ( for me) and made my hibiscus flowers first, before deciding my background fabric.

When we lived in Rarotanga we had the most beautiful mixed hibiscus hedges, withan enormous yellow/orange Hibiscus so decided to fussy cut each petal to try and get the yellow centre and deeper petal edges of that flower.
These have the vein and stamen stitching done and are padded ready to go on my background, which this morning was still undecided.
I really wanted to add this colour to my white striped background blocks as most are in varying pinks and blues, but when I sat the flowers on the fabric along with my leaves - it didn't work.
But on my Lavender Background - WOW

It was one last trip to the post shop this morning, and now my leaves are sewn on and first flower is in place. Once I link to Esther's Blog will decide what thread to stitch the flowers with.

Hope you are all enjoying your Wednesday and Esther's beautiful blocks.
Cheers, Jenny

Work on Wednesday 5th Sept

So far a  varied week for me, we are so quiet at work that I was asked to use us some of my rather large amount of leave so have been off work since last Fri and don't go back until 14th, yes the day before Esther's new blocks come out!!!
What have I been doing, stripping wallpaper in our kitchen dining room for a couple of days.

This is the original 70's nicotine stained wallpaper from when we moved in, and the only bit that didn't get painted over immediately, we ran out of paint and thought oh well it's all coming off one day!!!

Under that wallpaper I found the original almost dayglo yellow paint. The photo makes it look almost livable but it really is closer to the colour of the brush and pan on the table, and it hits you when you walk in. Just hope this WIP won't take to long!!!

Posted a blog on Sunday about my first ever applique project,  Mermaid Trilogy.
Then I made Steve his favourite Muffins.

Double Chocolate and Raspberry

they are so yummy



Steve has been renovating a bathroom for a friend and guess who got called to help strip wallpaper, followed by grouting tiles. So much for my holiday so far, but I have found time to unearth some blocks I had been making before my sewing room shift, and now hope to do more work on them.

I have been fascinated for ages with the wonderful effects in Kaleidoscope Quilt patterns and after plenty of reading on the web decided to have a play, using once again Mum's fabrics as this really is a practice exercise which will probably end up as a charity quilt.

These are the 4 Kaleidoscope centres I still have to turn into blocks

I was amazed how much material it took to match up 8 identical fabric layers to cut the centers from.

More amazing are the pattern's you don't see until the segments are stitched together.

I found an Avalon Bloom quilt design and drew up similar blocks that worked for my finished centers.

Here are the 5 completed blocks.



As you have probably guessed the floral border fabric is the one my kaleidoscopes were cut from, and why I had difficulty matching the pattern repeat, it looked like it had a repeat across the width as well but it didn't!! I now know why so many of the fabrics used for these blocks are a border stripe that repeats across the fabric.

The one I want to use eventually is Shimmer Butterflies border stripe by Timeless Treasures, and Hooray I have just found it released in NZ.

The only other thing for today is that I keep trying to comment on Esther's Blog and although the comment form comes up and I can fill it out, including the letters and numbers, the form won't scroll down further or enlarge for me to find the post button. Is this my internet explorer or some other hiccup?

Anyway, enjoy your Wednesday everyone

Jenny

Wednesday Link started early

It's Monday, my only day off this week so can I find time to link to Esther's Blog on Wednesday, yes -
if I start now.
Thought I would show you the inspiration for my Bamboo Wallhanging.
My Oriental Expressions Quilt
Our bedroom is a very slow WIP to accomodate this quilt as coverlet for our bed.
It will be coming off at night, we are not sleeping under it - and Kelly is NOT sleeping on it !!!!

It was a pattern from a 2010 APQ magazine called Fengshoe by Yvonne Morris.
I had wanted to make an oriental look quilt and had an Oriental "Brocade" fabric from my Mum, the blue fabric. I am very glad she never made a suit, it looks  far better in my quilt..
I  loved the pattern but changed the 4 Dresden Plate blocks to calligraphy blocks for my own interpretation.
They represent clockwise from top left Happiness, Peace, Dream, Love, what better thoughts to go to bed with.
To date it is the most complicated quilt I have made.
It is being held up for this photo by members of my Dargaville quilting group, some of them standing on chairs to get it off the floor.

This is the centre block,  the borders surrounding the centre are called The Great wall of China. 
I went onto Trade Me and bought 2 x 7" charm square packs, one 50 oriental fabrics and one 40 metallic's for this border, and also used them for other parts of the quilt. I needed 32 different fabrics for the wall cut into 6"x2" strips so the charm squares were perfect size.
I had the burgundy satin, parts are overlaid with that wonderful black/gold mesh I can't live without.
The centre applique. The first fabric I used was a red/gold stripe and I wasn't happy with it.
When I found the fabric to frame my calligraphy blocks, I recut my centre applique, pressed it overtop, widened my satin stitch and restitched over the original.
The pattern called for 2 different widths of gold bias for edging the applique but I used  2.5 x 1000m reels of metallic soft gold thread and satin stitched my edgings, it was a lot of satin stitch!!!

The background fabric's for all my applique blocks are Fairy Frost fabric - lights and darks of the same shade that I already had in my stash.
I only ended up buying 4 fat quarters of oriental fabric for my applique blocks, and I hated cutting into them, they were so beautiful on their own.

Top and Bottom of the quilt have Origami Kimono's.
It took several attempts to fold and press correctly, even after finishing I need to make a few catching stitches to ensure they will stay put..
The fabric between tthe Kimono's  is again the fabric I used for my bamboo calligraphy .. a link together for the final room.!!

I have folded the quilt top back to photograph the side borders. Both sides have fans which are not sewn down to the quilt top, I used the same gold fabric as for the calligraphy squares for their backing with one pinned back to show John's  underneath quilting..

This shows my corner squares where Fan's and Kimono's meet, and again shows some of John's quilting detail.
Some of you  may have  heard of John Nielsen who custom quilted it for me as he has tutored longarm quilting seminar's in Aust.
I didn't want it too heavily quilted and the only input I had was suggesting using Ginko leaves as with their oriental meaning of everlasting they seemed to suit.
John created such wonderful simple detailing for me I was very close to tears when I first got it back.
Tuesday night and post is finished, ready to link tomorrow.
Cheers everyone, enjoy your Wednesday while I work.
Jenny.

Work on Wednesday

This week has flown by. Worked Thursday to Sunday, just doing a little each day on my Magnolia Block for Esther's Forget Me Not BOM.

Made sure I didn't have flash for this photo and I think it is truer colours than the one I put on the group site.
Still convincing myself I have done this block justice, if there is one block I may redo this is it!!!
I LOVE the design but I ony LIKE my block.

Still convincing myself I have put my edging and frame fabric around it, and I am liking it more.

Yesterday when I stopped sewing for coffee I thought YES a photo for my blog that is not quilting, and ran for my camera, still there when I got back.

You can just see our native Tui in the branches of our neighbours rather old and straggly shrub.
His bell of white feathers on his throat stands out.
They are a very timid bird and we hear more of them than we see as their call is very distinctive, once you know it

Here he is taking the first spring nectar.
Think the shrub is some form of Leucodendren, that has grown tall and straggly.
We thought originally it was a Rhododendren from it's leaves, but the flowers are not, they are more like a Protea's. If anyone can tell me what it actually is please do so.
Whangarei has a lot of native bush  areas throughout the town as we are almost a city but not quite.
The Tui is the most prolific of our Native birds and the iridescent sheen on the black feathers along with their bell is truly beautiful. We have the Whangarei Falls, a nature reserve approx half mile from our house and the Tui's are there in numbers, finding us as the end of winter sends them searching for food.

This morning was finishing my Crown of Thorns block, and this I feel I have done justice too.
My DH comments are, why would Esther choose such an ugly plant, but your flowers do help it !!!

The other thing that happened this week is I came home to a light box for my sewing room.
No photo as everyone knows what they areand mine is rather rough but it works well.
 DH found a light socket, switch, thick glass and left overs from my cutting desk in the garage so surprised me with a lightbox.
I had been complaining while tracing my Bamboo pattern that it wasn't sticking to the window very well,
Winter damp!!!

The prevous week he raised my cutting bench and added 3 drawers so extra storage close at hand.

Please leave a comment if you view.
Cheers everyone Jenny