Our Next Project

I have designed and made up the next project that the girls will be tackling. It is a zig zag table runner and I thought I would make it in Christmas colours for those who celebrate Christmas in July as it is July 1 here in Australia.

Zig Zag table runner

I am writing up the instructions for the runner and will have it ready in a day or two for those who may be interested in it.

 

Don't forget to go to the Qultery site and pick up their new freebies, the gorgeous penguin from their Ice Capades set in their free embroidery design section

and also Hudson the latest Kool Kat in their free BOM section.

Embroidery Library also have their new free July designs out.

Disappearing Four Patch Cushion update

A few people have asked me for the tutorial for the cushion that the girls made yesterday. There are many tutorials on the web already and this is a great one from Andie Johnson. We started off with four squares of fabric measuring 8 inches x 8 inches each.

New quilters in the making

Have had a great day today with Jade, Anna and Tenai teaching them the fundamentals of sewing. Tenai had never threaded a machine before that alone use a rotary cutter or stitch a 1/4 inch seam. We made a disappearing 4 patch cushion with an overlap back on it.

Jade, Anna and Tenai

 

 

We started at 10.00 am and finished at 3.00pm with time for lunch and a gossip in the middle.Didn't they do a great job!

 

Next it is a zig zag table runner that we will piece, quilt and bind. Nothing like going the whole hog for a second project.
 

HIA Floral Sketches BOM

I have been working on blocks for the HIA Floral Sketches BOM today and Block 6 is about to be sent out to those who have signed up to receive this BOM. Just a reminder that I am actually doing two quilts simultaneously, one using the 5x7 designs and one using the  6x10 designs.

Floral Sketches Block 6 5x7



Floral Sketches Block 6 6x10

 Don't forget to go over to Bernina Blog on Wednesdays to pick up the letters for the free sewing themed alphabet. They are up to the letter G and if you are missing any click on the letters you can see on the right hand side of the page to take you back to the page they appeared on.

Ageless Embroidery also have another free alpha, a gorgeous grape alpha

 

Crazy Quilt Block 23

Block 23 has just been sent out in the Kenny Kreations BOM that I am doing. Once again it is a blue toned block.

Crazy Quilt Block 24

 

 I am working on Block 6 of the HIA Floral Sketches BOM and hope to have that block out tomorrow.

Julia's Needle designs have a free set of rooster embroiderty designs available.

Projects to share

I have been busy over the last few days making some new curtains/drapes for my kitchen/dining area. I have made curtains for three windows as well as shaped valances for each window. Also took a tumble in my sewing room while cutting out the curtains, slipped on one of my large T square rulers I had put on the floor. Fell on my kness and had to be rescued by my husband. He thought he could hear children calling outside when it was me.

I have some pics to share with you of projects made by Terri. If you have any pics of projects made with our BOM's please send them in as we all like to see what others are doing.

Terri's  Blackwork Giraffe Quilt

Terri's Aristocat Quilt

Terri's Antique Rose Quilt

  I am thinking very seriously about buying a Thermomix kitchen appliance. If anyone has one and would like to share their thoughts please email me.

Thought you might like to see

I started university 37 years ago and also studying my science course at that time were Craig and Debbie. Craig and Debbie have also recently retired  and have been caretaker light house keepers on a tiny island called Matsuyker Island off the southern tip of Tasmania.The Maatsuyker Islands Group is a group of small islands and rocks located 5.5 kilometres off the south coast of Tasmania, and Maatsuyker Island is the southernmost island in the group. They are isolated and rely on helicopter drops for their fresh food etc.

 

You can follow some of their exploits on this Facebook page. including the vicious weather conditions they are encountering.There is a video near the top and quite few photos underneath the video post.

Hints and Tips 12- Joining Quilt/Bias Binding

The method I use to join binding is simple and quick. By the time it takes you to find any gadget you may have to help you join your binding you could already have your binding joined using this method.

 

I have cut my binding at 2 1/2 inches wide but of course this will change if you are using bias binding to trim the edge of a project etc. I do not iron a crease in my binding before I apply it as the binding need to be slightly larger on one side than the other to all for the turning to the other side .

Before you begin turn the edge of the binding down to meet the other side as shown. Place a pin on the edge to mark this spot. Do not remove it.

Fold your binding back in half and begin stitching it on starting  approximately 5-6 inches from the edge as shown.

Continue stitching your binding on until you are about 6 -8 inches from where you began stitching. Lay this end of the binding over the top of the binding at  the beginning and trim so that the edge finishes a scant 1/8 inch from the pin you placed at the beginning. 

Open out both ends of binding as shown

Place the two ends right sides together as shown and join as you do when joining the binding strips together in a long string at the beginning.

 

 

Trim the seam, finger press flat and then refold to complete stitching your binding to your project. Your bindng should fit nice and snugly.

 

 

Don't miss out on these

Embroidery Library have three lovely bluebirds and blossoms designs that are free until Jun 23. You will find them on their Free Designs page.

Urban Threads have a delightful rainbow zebra as a free design this week. It would be equally as lovely stitched out without the colours in the background as a well.

 

I know I wasn't going to but......!

As you know I have decided to not do my freebie roundup as such but a new

Print NStitch tutorial and design from Kenny Kreations is just gorgeous. Lyn has put a downloadable tutorial and  free design on her website for an image that has an accompanying design to stitch over the top. She also has other sample designs for you to try at the bottom of her homepage page.

 

Many thanks to Lyn for providing this free tutorial and design.

If you are a bit hesitant to try this with expensive printable sheets straight up I suggest you practise on fabric that has been treated with fabric softener so that you can dip your toe in the water so to speak before you do the "real" one. Those people doing my crazy patch BOM have that tutorial but if anyone else would like it you can find the basis if it here. Go to the printer friendly button at the top of the blog to print or save  in pdf form.

 

This printed image and design would look fabulous stitched in metallic thread and made into a little bag. Bead embellishment would make it really "pop".

Pinwheel Quilts Ebook

Fons and Porter have a lovely ebook that has patterns for three pinwheel quilts available for free download. Those of you who participate in my BOM quilts  will know that I use pinwheels a lot and have provided instructions on how to do the triangles for pinwheel blocks three ways.

 

I cannot thank all of the kind and thoughtful people who have sent me emails of encouragement and support, I needed the time away from the blog and have been sewing up a storm over the last week. If I have not replied to you I apologise but I also needed time away from my emails. If you have asked me for a particular pattern and have not heard back from me please send me another email.

 

I am going to be working at my old school over the next two days,counselling all the Grade 9 and 10 students for their option choices ready for their mid year change.

Time Out

As most of you have probably realised I have taken a time out from my blog. After being remonstrated for making an error in my last freebie roundup I was devastated to say the least,so much so that I had to fight hard with myself to even continue the blog. I have not posted for a week and will probably not make another post for a few more days. Many people have written to me via email and I am so appreciative of that. I would reply to you all but my email is down at the moment and I am waiting for my ISP to get back to me.

I have taken time off  from blogging to do what I love, and that is sewing.I would be devastated if I lost my sewing mojo and I have been working hard to keep that as it is my overriding passion. I will share some pics of what I have been working on ( Hoopsisters Feathered Star) later on next week. 

Freebie roundup-update

I made an error in saying that  the Urban  Threads giving bunny was a s'more. It was late last night when I published the blog page and I aplogise for that. I have had a few unkind emails sent to me and a comment left on the blog . So that I  do not make anymore errors I will no longer be doing this freebie roundup.

Freebie roundup

Do not forget to visit the sewing themed ABC over at the Bernina Blog on Wednesdays and pick up the latest letter . You will find the red link Freebie-Naeh-ABC-D half way down the page.

 

 

Urban Threads have two free designs. You may have to log into your account to get these. One of the designs in three sizes is of some S'mores. Whilst the other is of a little stuffed in the hoop  s'more.

 

 

For those who do not  know what a s'more is, it is a campfire treat popular in the US. It consists of a roasted marshmallow with a layer of chocolate between two crackers.

The San Francisco Stitch Co Yahoo group Spell Binder mystery has finished but they have put up two fabulous quilt labels to use for the mini quilt in their files. These would be great for any project. The date colour can be deleted if need be. 

 

 

Gumnut Gallery have a lovely 5 inch x 6inch  motif design that would be great to embellish bags etc.
 

 

 

 

Ageless Embroidery have finished  their new font so be sure to pick up the rest of it before it is taken down. It is an applique font so that you can put an applique in the circle before embroidering the initial.

 

 

This lovely little floral design is available for download on the Designs Machine Embroidery magazine website. It is available on the right hand side of the page.

 Smart Needle have a gorgeous new salamander applique freebie. You have to log in to pick this one up.

 

 

Floral Sketches Block 5

I have completed Floral Sketches Block 5. This BOM is using Hatched in Africa Floral Sketches 2 set as a basis for the  machine embroidered centres of the patchwork blocks. With this BOM I am making two quilts,one using the 5x7 design size and another using the 6x10 design size. People are able to mix and match the blocks as they all end up at 16 1/2 inches square before being stitched on to the other blocks.

For Block 5 I have split off part of a design and rearranged it to get the embroidery used. I have also used the Friendship Star patchwork block but have changed the placement of the half square triangles in the two blocks to give two variations.

I will be sending out the lesson to all those who have signed up for this  free BOM later on today.

Floral Sketches BOM Block 5 Variation 1

Floral Sketches BOM Block 5 Variation 2



Crazy Quilt Block 22

I have just sent out Block 22 in the Kenny Kreations Crazy Quilt BOM that I am doing. We are now onto the blue blocks and then it will be purple. Of the many hundreds of buttons that I have in my collection it seems that blue and particularly mauve purple seem to be those by far the least in  number.

Kenny Kreations Crazy Quilt BOM Block 22

Block 22 detail

Today is wet and miserable so it will be back to more sewing. I hope to have Block 5 of Floral Sketches BOM out to everyone by the end of today my time.

Hints and Tips 11- Fuss free Gathering

I am sure that we have all on more than one occasion tried to gather long pieces of fabric and had the thread back as wee try to pull them up. One way to prevent this is to zig zag over a thin cord and then pull the cord up to achieve the length of gathered fabric that we want. The method I am about to share with you is a variation of that method but we do not need to use cord.

 

I am using black thread on white fabric so that you can easily see what  I am doing.

Put your needle into the fabric  at the point you want your gathering to start from and pull up your bobbin thread as you do when you begin a line of quilting.

 

Pull a fair amount of bobbin thread out , it has to be at least the length that you want your finished  length of gathering to be.

Pull out your top thread to the same amount that you have pulled your bobbin thread out.

Using a zig zag stitch start  stitching over the two threads you have pulled out. I am using a very wide zig zag so that you can see it clearly but have a bit of a practise to determine which one works best for the fabric you are using.

When you get to the end do not select the automatic thread cutter if you have on but leave a tail of both threads that you can later tie off .

Pull your two threads under the zig zag to gather up your fabric to the desired size. Adjust your gathers and ties off all threads at the end before you start to stitch the gathered fabric to another piece of fabric.

 

This is a good way to make puffing used in many heirloom inspired projects.