Happy New Year!

I have been so slack with my blog – I see its almost 2 months since I wrote anything. A lot has been going on including a trip to family in Western Australia for Christmas, then when we got back home, we had the painters, builder and Tiler in doing some refreshing of our home inside. Its so good to get these jobs done as we built the house 25 years ago, and some things were left as we ran out of money. You then get used to it, until one day you decide that's it - time to sort it out!
The hardest part was getting my sewing room painted. Its happening in a weeks time, so I have to dismantle it – unbelievable job!! It’s a very small room and I’ve ended up sewing in the lounge and using my sewing room as a bit of a storage area ( only for my patchwork, knitting wool and the odd bit of ironing. So much so that I can’t really find anything thats not in a storage bin!  Here are some before photos  - I must say I’m  ashamed! Haha!
The main reason for this post was to show the progress I am making with my Mrs. Billings quilt. I am determined to finish it this year, and am hoping to get the top pieced ready for hand quilting by Easter! Fingers crossed!







 

Now I’m not sure about the blue border. It may be too bright - in keeping with the French Generals I am mainly (but not only) using I have been auditioning the next two borders and I think its going to be too multicoloured which I really dont want.
My centre hexagon is not stitched down as yet, and I think I’ll be changing that also.
Got to be careful I don’t over analyse it. :-)
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My…how they grow!

This is a photo of my Grandchildren in Australia, all dressed up for a  Graduation Ball. Only two of them are going, the older two (who had theirs last year) just making up for a lovely family photo.



Matt, Alex, Malitta and Troy. You are all beautiful kids!

On the quilting front, I have just finished a couple Christmas gifts for friends. I can’t get over the fact that I’m a little ahead of the game at this early stage. I think it must be çause I’m not on any committees at the moment. :-)


 

  This is a rather large square bottom bag, which is perfect for putting your knitting in beside the armchair!




A table runner made from a tutorial by Tara of Tazzie Quilts. Thanks Tara it was so easy to make.

I also made a skirt for my 9 year old grand-daughter Jenna. The photo isn’t the best but I’ll show another one when I get it.


I made her one last year, and her Mum tells me its the only skirt she will wear! Makes me very happy çause you never know with kids, whether they’ll like something or not. If not  it stays in the wardrobe!
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So exciting!

I  had a phone call on Thursday evening to tell me I had won 1st place in the Large Bed category at the Auckland Festival of Quilts Show.

What a fabulous surprise it was, as the standard of quilt making in the Auckland Quilt Guild is very high. My quilt was beautifully machine quilted by a good friend Judi who has a long arm machine.

Along with the usual categories in a show the AQG has  a category of one or more makers  which doesn’t receive a Blue ribbon, but an aqua coloured ribbon. That ribbon doesn’t count in the achievements of Blue Ribbons.

I haven’t had a quilt win a ribbon since 2006 so I was over the moon as you can tell!!

FIFTY SHADES OF CREAM!

 

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Rushing as usual

to finish my cute little doll quilt hosted by Lori of humble quilts. I really love her Header quilt on her blog, and I think Lori was asked so many times about it, that she graciously offered us a quilt- along called 'Faithful' 
Typically I left it until the last minute, thinking it wouldn't take me long, but those HST are more time consuming than you realise, especially as I didn't have a container full already and had to make them from scratch! 
I love the quirkiness of it...no matching on the corners, which is quite hard for me to do.
I haven't quilted mine, as I intend making 8 more blocks to make a larger quilt.

Thanks for dropping by, and please take a look at http://humblequilts.blogspot.com
at the Faithful Quiltalong’
Sue

Had a Great Time…..

last weekend at a retreat run by my little local group – Village Green Quilters. We had the retreat at a Bush Camp which would have been lovely for photographs, but for the weather which on the Friday night, and Saturday blew and rained like you wouldn’t believe. After going to bed in our bunks, I froze – so much so that I wore my fleecy lined rain jacket and socks to bed. Haha what a sight. I had taken a quilt and a mohair rug, but obviously it wasn’t enough. Fortunately for the second night, I remembered I had a picnic rug in the car. One of those old fashioned tartan ones that our mothers used to own. I slept snugly the second night.
We had lots to eat of course, and huge amounts of laughter. Just what the doctor ordered!
Some show & tell of what was made or started or finished for the weekend.

            All hard at work                                                          

Sue T’s Sampler 


 

 One of the 4 tops Anne made




 

The centre of Esther's Mystery Medallion


 
 Jackie’s cot quilt

Friends holding Judiths blocks 

Lynn’s lovely applique  Quilt         Pat’s baby quilt
                                               

Centre of Pats Mystery Medallion

               
 Maureen’s scrappy Quilt



 
 Linda’s Lovely Zig Zag quilt 




                        
   Maureens Grand-daughters quilt

Lorraine's Double Wedding Ring

Norma’s two lovely baby quilts –
ready for whenever she becomes a Nana

  Jan’s ZigZag Quilt

Gayle’s baby  quilt

                                                

Carol’s Striking quilt

 
    Esther’s quilt

  Sue B’s son’s quilt     

       
            Carol (with matching shoes) 

                          

Lynns beautiful quilt

Another striking quilt of Linda's
 

Sheila’s double wedding ring.  

The girls insisted on holding up my weekend’s worth of work. Doesn’t look much, but took ages of precision piecing – 

My Mrs Billings.

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10 days to Hand in Day

For the Festival of Quilts in Auckland, and I am busy finishing two quilts.  I am not on the committee this year, so there was no excuse not to have a quilt to show.
This one I started in March this year…. this is probably a record for me to start and finish a quilt in the same year. :-)
I started machine quilting this about 2 weeks ago and as I am not a good machine quilter yet… I am just doing straight lines. 




The other quilt…..I have just collected from the quilter….and have sewn 9 metres of binding on. Now for the hanging sleeve.



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Remade

A post or two back you will have seen where I had made 72 nine patch blocks - all the WRONG size for my quilt. After much anguish and lamenting, I realised I had to bite the bullet and make 72 new ones.

 I couldn't just cut the originals down to size as it meant the centre row in the 9 patch would have been a different size to the others. 
I then looked at my quilt and realised that the last 2 'rounds' of my medallion weren't fitting as per the instructions. After checking the emails against what I had printed I realised my printer had printed the measurement wrong and where I had read/cut 1 3/4" for my plain borders they should have been cut
1 1/2".

So, after undoing my quilt back to the last 3 rounds, and resewing them, I now have it pretty right!!

Please excuse the photo but it is getting very hard to find a space large enough to fit the quilt in for a photo.
Now for the last couple of borders.
Thanks for dropping by

http://www.susannasquilts.blogspot.com