Another Bag

 

To add to the collection, thanks to my friend Julie from Brisbane. That makes about bag # 7. My DH just smiles and shakes his head. 

I had great fun putting this one together, but wonder if I should have used a more firmer batting.

The only problem is all those pockets :-)) I spend half my time patting each one to find the keys, the sunnies, the phone. You get the general idea.

Also a bag I made last year for DDIL- I think she has thrashed it, so it was well worth making.

 

I also made a pincushion for a friends birthday.

You can’t beat the pansy fabrics for a quick, good looking gift!

 

We have just had the Craft Show here in Hamilton NZ and I was lucky enough to have one of my quilts juried in.

Didn’t win a prize – but what the heck! Actually the critic was very good – said they like the quilt and everything about it was very good, but I must watch those quilting lines. I know there are some on the quilt, but how do you get those pencil lines out?

 

I’m off to a quilting class on Saturday using Batiks and Drunkards Path rulers.

Ah time to go and have a wine!!

Time for a Cleanup

After 20 years of trees growing without a prune, we had the team in yesterday to chop the tops off the trees around the house. Great job done.

 

Also at last have managed to get the kitchen splashback finished. These jobs seem to take so long, as we do them in drips and drabs. Eventually we get there.

 

 

 

In between all this going on I have been resurrecting some hand pieced blocks I started about 15 years ago. My goodness they looked so drab – no wonder I got bored doing them , so I have decided to do some brighter ones to complement. I’m really enjoying doing them and manage to piece one block in a couple of nights.

 

 

To Prove I Did Do Some Work!!

 

A dear GD in Australia had her 13th birthday last week, and even though this is a little late I’m sure she’ll like it.

I even put a pocket for the cell phone and another for the ipod!

The pattern was from a Little Projects Club through Cushlas in Auckland

My photos can be enlarged if you click on them.

This shattered nine patch quilt is for a dear GGS  who also lives in Australia ( different family) He is 6 months old now.

Still needs a bit of quilting.

The last one is  a table runner for me. Still have a couple of borders to add then I ‘ll machine buttonhole the flowers after I have basted and batted it.

A Lovely Weekend Retreat!

What a great weekend of chatting, eating, drinking and sewing. Not necessarily in that order!LOL

I know the photo is dated 2008, but I was at the same place, and as the weather was pretty stormy , I never got to take a photo when the sun shone through for about 30 minutes.

The food as usual was divine, and the chef ( YES a chef) w as very generous with his recipes.

As you can see it was a very busy and productive retreat. I arrived at about 4pm Friday evening, and sewed to my hearts content, only stopping to eat the wonderful meal and drink some wine.

I Might Be On the Right Track thanks to Julie

A class I started recently. What Fun!! Need to do a few more.

This is a better photo ( I hope) - nope! Seems like you need to click on the picture to get a bigger view of it. My photos seem to be too high in megapixels. If anyone can help me get this problem sorted I would greatly appreciate it!
Darn it - I didn't see the peg bucket in the way until it was too late. Ah well never mind I'm not going through all that again. :-))
My husband was quite concerned when he was looking at the quilt in the last stages of it being made. I could see he didn't want to say anything ( unusual for him) He then asked me if I had made all the blocks. The penny dropped as to what he was getting at. I told him the stripes were meant to be skew wiff and not straight. He was happy then. He thought I was getting lazy with my piecing.

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Finished in Time for the Birthday!

Goodness me, it takes me just about as long to set this blog up correctly, as it does to make the quilt!!
Trouble is I don't do it often enough.

This quilt was a great success thanks to the idea from maryquilts
and our GD was very happy. It was for her 9th birthday.
I put polar fleece on the back and didn't put any batting in the quilt. Also when I made the string blocks I used some old calico curtains for the back of the blocks rather than paper.
Not sure if I'd do that again, as it's quite heavy, but I didn't want to get rid of all the paper. On second thoughts I don't suppose it's any heavier than if I'd batted and backed it. It's a double bed quilt and measures 64" x 72"

Now onto finishing a cot quilt for # 4 Great GS who lives in Australia.

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Checking In!!

Haven't done much on the quilting side of life lately as we have had family over from Albany WA Australia for a visit. Had a wonderful time and drank too much red wine, but thats what you do.
Must get back to finishing the quilt I started at the retreat, as Mereana's (GD) birthday is coming up real fast on the 5th August.
Those jolly big grand-daughters are now busy producing children of their own, so now I have another Great grandchild to make a quilt for. 4th one. Actually they are my husbands GGkids not mine ( I'm far too young for that carry-on :-))
I'm off to another retreat in a couple of weeks so must find ( not too hard to do) another UFO to finish!!

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Great Weekend Retreat!

What a wonderful retreat I went to last weekend. Scrumptious food, fabulous bed, and a weekend of sewing with no interuptions. Every girls dream!!
I spent Friday night drinking too much wine, and couldn't be bothered sewing, but thats O.K.!
Saturday I added a 12" strip to each side of a strippy quilt I made 12 years ago. It was not big enough to go over the side of the bed, so the quilt languished in the cupboard. I am now in the process of quilting the add ons.

Sunday I started sewing together the blocks I had made earlier for one of my dear Grand-daughters 9th birthday quilt. I got the idea for the string quilt from Maryquilts.com

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Another Quilt finished!

A very simple but effective cot quilt made for some dear friends in Australia who are expecting their baby in August. They live in the country like us, and also breed horses, so after keeping the background fabric in my stash for about 6 years, I thought it would be perfect for this quilt.
http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Sorted!!

Thank goodness for son's who are in the IT business. The problem was my new camera takes such huge megapixel photos that they couldn't be uploaded easily. I have now reduced the size so hopefully I will be able to put my new photos up.
Last week I made a lap quilt for a dear friend who is very ill with Prostate Cancer. I had some blocks made in flannels that I started about 10 years ago, but lost interest in, so these came in very handy.


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Trying to Blog....but so much trouble.

This is so frustrating, as I tried to upload some photos last week of some quilts I have made, but to no avail.
Today I have tried again, but still can't do it. If anyone knows what I can do to fix this problem plea.....se tell me.

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Back in the Land of the Long White Cloud!!

I'v almost forgotten how to do this blogging stuff as it's been so long. I've been to Australia a couple of times since I last blogged, but managed to finish a quilt for my DGS for his birthday. The kids these days all seem to have big beds - his is a king single, so the quilts have to be large enough to cover the mattress and go done the sides abit. He's only a little squirt although he's 6 years old, but I guess he'll grow into it. :-))

ttp://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Another quilt finished!

Found a photo of the wall hanging I finished in October 2008. I really enjoyed making this quilt, as I love log cabins, and pinwheels. The curved border was fun to do. I made a paper pattern using freezer paper, ironed it onto my fabric, cut out the curves, then appliqued by hand onto the bottom border. http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Its nearly driving me mad that I can't take any photos of the quilts I am making. I have ordered and paid for a new camera, but it hasn't arrived in the shop as yet. I hope it gets here soon, as I am going to the Melbourne Quilt Show at the end of February, and need to take some photos.

I have just finished a quilt top for my DGS and am about to baste it for machine quilting. I don't mind doing the kiddiwinks quilts, as they don't mind if Grandma makes a few mistakes.

Gosh it was so hot here yesterday - usually it gets up to about 23-25 c in the Summer, but yesterday apparently it got up to 34c. No wonder the perspiration was dripping off me - and I thought I was having lots of hot flushes.



http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Autunno in Trieste finished at last!

It took me about 8 months on and off to handquilt.

A couple of photo's I managed to take before my camera seized. A close up of Autunno in Trieste

This is a quilt I started in about 1996 ? I think. I am on a bent of trying to either finish some UFO's or make quilts mainly from stash without buying more fabric.

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Well I think I stuffed that one up, as I somehow posted it with out all the photos. Here is the photo of my grand-daughters little quilt. She is 4 years old, and the family have just moved into their new home. The fabric you can see with the little squares is the backing. Worked out perfectly. I hadn't quilted it when this photo was taken. Will post another when I find it:-))

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

Happy New Year everyone.


Gosh it seems so long since I wrote something on this blog, I had almost forgotten what to do.


I have been fairly busy since my last blog, making a quilt for my dear Grand-daughter. It was a fairly simple quilt as you can see, and I think the ric rac cost me almost as much as the fabrics, but I thought it made the quilt.

I have also been handquilting that queen size quilt I showed a picture of awhile back. It's finished at last, but wouldn't you know it my camera lens has jammed. I was in the process of taking photos of the grandchildren opening santa's pressies, when it happened. Fortunately I was able to download the photos I had taken.










http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com/

This weekend I decided to change the quilt on our bed, and took this log cabin quilt out of the cupboard. I was keeping it 'nice' for what I don't know. I made this quilt in 1999. I really love the colours, and it has cotton batting and I hand quilted it.

A few months ago and friend rang and suggested we go to a local quilt show, about an hour from home. After having lunch - isn't that part of it :-)) we arrived at the show.

Straight away I fell in love with their raffle quilt, and as I had been wanting to make this block myself, took a few photos, and of course a couple of tickets. Must support the quilters!!

Well blow me down, I won the raffle. I can honestly say I can remember everything I have ever won, because there aren't that many things!! I have put a photo up so you can see it.

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com

A Slight Change of Direction

Oops! He's missing the bottom part of his leg, but it still is a WIP

Even though at heart I am a traditional quilter, I also love small wall hangings, embellished with lots of machine stitching. I have just spent the last two days in the company of Pam Holland, world renowned quilt artist, learning her method of collage, although I couldn't for the life of me, get my head around making a grasshopper with pink legs, so after day one, I was back home, going through my fabrics once again. I loved my background and border fabrics, but they needed a jewel coloured grasshopper. I disappointed my friend Carol, although she said she wasn't surprised, that I had to be more realistic, so my grasshopper looks more like a native insect of New Zealand - a Weta.

Drat- wouldn't you know it, I just went to take a photo of it, and the camera batteries are flat. Never mind will take the photo and post it tomorrow.

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com