Look what I won!

I was so thrilled to receive an email to let me know I'd won a Fall into Fall giveaway held by Violette.  I've won a jelly roll of Kona Cottons, delicious!  I've always wanted to make a quilt with bright solids with a black a background.  Now I have to decide which pattern.

I've nearly reached the end of my little pile (64) orange peel applique.   I've really enjoyed stitching these and I'm looking forward to putting the quilt together.  I included a  photo of  a couple of hexagon flowers that are bound for my Roebuck quilt.  

The final photo is of part of a quilt top (Figtree Quilts Jelly Rose) I'm ready to put on the frame to machine quilt.  I've been procrastinating about the quilting design but I have decided, finally, to do a meander in the background of the blocks and a feather border and play the rest by ear.  Whether this changes when I get it on the frame remains to be seen but at least it's getting closer to being completed! Sorry the picture is sideways.

Now I'm off to watch The Wizard of Oz and finish a few more orange peels, perfect Saturday night!

Bye for now,

Rowena

And the Winner Is....

I have drawn the winner via the random number generator and

                      Karen from Briarside Lane blog

was the number comment that came up. So CONGRATULATIONS Karen!  I've sent you an email asking you to send your postal address to me.

I have been so amazed at the number of people who participated in this brilliant giveaway organized so kindly by Debi.  I am still making my way to the blogs of all my new followers, thankyou all for entering the giveaway.

Please check back every so often because I will definitely be having another giveaway before the end of the year, this was so much fun!

These are a couple of patterns I bought this year.  I intend to make a start on the Miss Rosie's Quilt Co pattern in the next week.  It's taken a while to put together the fabrics, some stash and some new purchases but I am finally happy with the mix I have.  I am looking for the right red and green for the Strawberry Lilies by Fig Tree Quilts.  I really love this pattern, as usual Joanna Figueroa has made a wonderful interpretation of a classic pattern.

We are in the middle of spring and I woke this morning to my 10 yr old son calling out "It's snowing Mum!!"  We were getting our pool ready for swimming in a couple of weeks!  Australia is a country of extremes in weather but I have never experienced snow this close to summer!  Where we live it rarely snows even in the middle of winter so this really is freakish weather.  It's a good excuse to stay inside and sew (but who ever heard of a quilter needing an excuse!!)  

Hope you are all having a great weekend with plenty of sewing/quilting time.

Bye for now, Rowena

Giveaway Drawing Tomorrow and 1/2 inch Hexagons

Tomorrow night I'll be drawing the winner of my Fall into Fall giveaway.  I'd like to thank Debi for organizing this.  
I've been overwhelmed by the number of entrants in my giveaway and I've had so much fun visiting everyone's blogs.  It's been such a fabulous way to get to "meet" new quilters and crafters.  So GOODLUCK to everyone!

Meanwhile I've been making these little hexagons using the glue method instead of basting stitches.  I plan on making a small change purse for my Mum with these.  I've been using the cottonbud (qtip) to apply a narrow line of watersoluable glue around the seam allowance then fold the fabric over the papers as usual.  It's such a quick and easy method.

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This is something I've had around for a long time.  I bought this pink floral a little impulsively with the intention of making a quick and simple strippy quilt.  I've been making these HST and sewing them into strips to use alternately with the pink floral.  I'm such a sucker for a pretty floral!

Lastly my pile of orange peel applique is growing.  I think I need 64 to make the little quilt on the cover of Remembering Adelia.  Of course I have another 3 quilts very near to completion and another 3 I'm ready to start along with all the wishes and want tos.  I love this obsession!

Bye for now, Rowena

Fall into Fall Giveaway

This giveaway sounded like fun so I've jumped in feet first! Click the scarecrow to go to the official site to check out all the other generous giveaway participants
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To enter my giveaway leave a comment and become a follower( if you have a blog ). Please make sure you have an email contact.  This is open to everyone in blogland!

You will win 2 books, one by Anni Downs and the second book is by another Australian quilter with a clever way to machine quilt before you applique and how to use a medium -large print as a guide for all-over machine quilting from the back. You will also receive a pretty quilt pattern and 2 small packs of repro fabrics.
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO GET A CLOSER LOOK.
The giveaway will be drawn on 15th October.
Good luck everyone and have fun!!
Bye for now, Rowena

Remembering Adelia

I love this.  I've been busy prepping and stitching the orange peel pieces to make the little quilt on the cover of this sweet book.  I even managed to pick up some of that wonderful blue stripe border fabric at my LQS.

It's school holidays here (I homeschool my 10 yr old son) so there's been more time for sewing, yay! 

I've also been having so much fun visiting all the blogs of people who have entered my giveaway.    

Bye for now, Rowena

Fall into Fall Giveaway ( or Spring?)

I haven't had this blog for very long but I saw this Fall into Fall Giveaway over at Quilting With Debi and thought why not join in.  If you click on the scarecrow image it will take you to the Fall into Fall Giveaway site.  Do go over and have a look yourself, you also might decide to be a participant in the giveaway along with an enormous lists of others.  As per the rules I'll post my giveaway details on 1st October so keep an eye out.

In the quilting department I've been busy putting together some blocks left over from a workshop I did with Judy Hooworth a couple of years ago now.  The workshop was based on the book Quilts on the Double (this link gives a great preview of the quilts in the book which you can make with this method) written by Judy and Margaret Rolfe, two very clever Australian ladies.  The method is based on sewing two contrasting strips together and then cutting quarter square triangles from the strip sets.  It's very clever and simple. See the photo.

You can see below the result of one set of strips put together from a selection of Kaffe's lovely pinks and greens with a contrast of a Jinny Beyer deep blue/purple and pink spot for the border.  One set of triangles became the quilt I finished with the pink spot for the border (quilted when I'd just got my longarm  :o !).  I've spent today on the other set of triangles which I've paired with a really bright pink Kaffe fabric my DD (18 yrs) chose and a little lime green batik that was left over from her birthday quilt.

I've also included a picture of a quilt I made out of everyones scraps left over from the workshop(they were going in the bin!!!)  I asked if anyone minded if I rescued the fabric scraps and they were all quite happy for me to take them home with me so "Kaffe's Scraps" was created.  I still have some small 1/2 square triangles left over from the workshop, probably enough to make a cot size quilt if I buy a little extra yardage.  This method in Quilts on the Double is perfect if you need to make a couple of quilts fairly quickly without too much stress.
Bye for now,
Rowena

A Perfect Pocket bag and How Did You Become A Quilter?

Here's a recent finish from an Indygo Junction bag pattern called Pocket Perfect . It was really quite simple to make with good instructions.  The fabric I used was a French General (stripe) and a Robyn Pandolph (floral).  I lined it with some Les Olivades fabric a friend had left over after making curtains.














When I was tidying up I found a silk embroidered heart I made a long time ago.  The boullion roses are done with Madeira Silk Floss which is a four strand floss that I have always loved to use.  I tea dyed the lace.  I used to teach embroidery and smocking at my LQS years ago and this was a sample.

The Attic Shirtings I ordered arrived in the mail today.  I'm going to use them with the repro's I posted a picture of last week.  Like most quilters I have more ideas for quilts than I have time to make but I sure have fun trying!

I was thinking about how we come to be quilters, I'd love to hear from you.  My Mother hates sewing but always had lots of unbleached calico (natural muslin) for me to sew on my Nanna's ancient Singer. Thats where it all began for me.

I used to be a dressmaker and collected fabric for making clothes.  During my 4th pregnancy I started doing handwork because I was in no shape to be trying on newly made clothes and I didn't need anything for the baby because I was convinced I was having yet another boy.  I fell in love with embroidery and cross stitch and satisfied my need to create by embroidering a baby's blanket.  When my one and only daughter was born
I was so thrilled to finally have my own little girl to sew for, I started the day I brought her home from hospital!  However the really special item I made her was a quilt for her cot.  What a wonderful thing this quiltmaking is I thought to myself as I chose the fabrics, perfect for a fabric addict such as me, Not only do I get to play with fabric but I get to play with LOTS of different fabrics!!!  That was a really great moment and I've never looked back!

Hope you are all having fun with your fabric and quilting, bye for now, Rowena.

Attic shirtings & more paper piecing