Friday, October 30, 2009

Sew & Tell 1 - Friday Finishes



This week has seen me busier than a dog burying a bone on a marble floor!! The following quilts are in no particular order. The first one belongs to Mary, one of my lovely customers, which she pieced at our first retreat from an orginal pattern of Shontelle's (Sugarplum Quilts). I quilted it using the IQ with a pattern from Keryn Emmerson, Cascade, stitched out at 11.5ins. The quilt was VERY large 101 X 95 ins.

The next is our Group entry for the upcoming Festival of Quilts to be held here in Adelaide from 5-8 November. My Mum did all the redwork, Shontelle pieced it, I quilted it and Scarlett did the label. It truly is a labour of love!
The following quilt was done for Jane of The Patchwork Apple. It is a new kit that has been put together and will be available in the shop and also at the Craft & Quilt Fair being held in conjunction with the Festival of Quilts. The quilting pattern is Wrought Iron by Jodi Beamish.

The next is a really cute little baby quilt, I used Double Bubble on this in keeping with the spots in the fabric. I'm not sure of the designer of this quilting pattern but if anyone's interested just ask and I'll check.
Last, but by no means least is the very precious Scarlett!! We have her every Monday whilst her Mummy is at work but this week we were very lucky and she had a sleepover. She'd had her bath and thought it hilarious that she was in Nanny & Poppi's bed sans clothes. It was quite an effort getting her to come to me so that I could dress her. Isn't she just gorgeous!!!

Well, that's almost the week that was - I did 2 other quilts but haven't got photos of those yet. Please call back next week and I'll post some photos from the Festival of Quilts. Cheers.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Yes! I am an Embroiderer!

Those that know me well understand that a "sewer" I am not (I am however a machine quilter). Many can't understand this conundrum and I don't try to anymore! Anywho I digress - today I had a Mystery Indulgence with a fabulous group of girls, it was held at the Patchwork Apple and we were taught by the ever patient and lovely Sara. Sara taught us to look at fabric in a different light and therein the fun began. A great fun day was had by all and I can now say that I am an embroiderer......yeah right!!!!

A few photos will follow but I am really disappointed with my camera at present and I apologise to the girls that I've missed out due to my photos not being clear enough. (I need to get it worked out as I am becoming frustrated at taking photos and not being able to post them due to poor quality).


1. This is a group photo - minus me of course and Sara, she is forcing Jane to have champagne!



2. Kris is in the front of the photo with Ronda behind and Frances in the background. I love hearing Ronda laugh - it is soooo infectious!


3 & 4. This is Deb working hard and also a photo of her work. Deb & Lorraine chose the same fabric and there is going to be a "cushion off" at our February Retreat!


5. This is the ever patient Sara working on Lorraine's piece - I feel this gives Lorraine a distinct advantage! Where was Lorraine you may ask????


6. Oh!! Here she is shopping. I hope that's not more fabric in your hands - no wonder she has such a lovely smile on her face!

7. This gives a little look at what Frances is working on with her fabric.

8. This is Gerrie's - the grapes look positively "dewey".

9. This is what Ronda is doing with hers - looks very elegant.


10. Yes!!! This is me....the over achiever!!!! What more can I say????? Wink, wink!!!

Thanks heaps to Jane, Sara and the rest of the group - I had such a fun day. Cheers

Friday, October 23, 2009

Sashiko Quilt

This week saw me complete the quilt that I spent quite some time Standing & Staring. The whole quilt was SID'd, the "clamshells" on the blocks of fabric were executed using the IQ (Intelliquilter) the rest was freehand. All SID done using rulers. This quilt presented some challenges but they were "quilted out"! I delivered the quilt Wednesday and the customer was delighted - that's all I need to keep me happy! PS Sorry for the photo quality.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

S&S - the Life of a Longarmer!!

I am currently working on, (I use the word "work" very loosely), a challenging Japanese themed quilt. I should be honest and say I'm doing lots of S&S (Standing & Staring)!!! The owner has done beautiful "sashiko" work and I want to do my best to enhance it - it's entered in the Festival of Quilts which will be held here in Adelaide November 5th-8th.

I'll post a few photos of what I've been looking at for the past few days. Call back soon to see the finished product and wish me luck!!!


Monday, October 12, 2009

McTavishing for the first Time

Recently I was lucky enough to work on the most beautiful needle turn applique quilt that I have seen. The customer's handwork was perfect, and believe me I was upclose and very personal with this quilt for quite some time. This was my first time McTavishing and I was really happy with the results. Thanks for looking.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Quilters Dream Wadding (Batting)

I was welcomed home today by a long awaited parcel from the US!! I'm going to be importing Quilters Dream wadding (batting) into Australia. I absolutely LOVE this wadding, the 100% wool is so luxurious and I can't wait to get the first quilt completed using this. I've coveted it when I've been in the US and I'm so excited to have it here.

If you want further information about any of the Quilters Dream products please email me, quilting@patchworkonparade.com.au

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Table Cape Tulip Farm

Today we went to table Cape Tulip farm - it is truly beautiful and if you're ever in the area during tulip season it is certainly worth a visit. It is about a 10 minute drive from Wynyard and well sign posted. We had a lovely picnic filled with cheeses from the Ashgrove Cheese Farm, followed by chocolate covered raspberries from the Christmas Hills Raspberry farm. Oh Yeah, our diet is going swimmingly. Speaking ofswimming, we spent the most decadent afternoon in the Roman Baths in Launceston. Tasmania, I have to say is SO BEAUTIFUL!!

Tasmania

I'm in Tasmania at present having a four day holiday with my friend, Hilary. We are enjoying a few fantastic days before the busy period for both of us starts with our work. Hilary is a dog groomer and from here until Christmas things get really busy for her. And, as we know the life of a machine quilter is never her own leading up til Christmas. We are enjoying the most gorgeous weather here, Tasmania had been in drought for the past 3 years but it seems that has broken - there is water EVERYWHERE!!! These are photos that were taken, yesterday, during a walk along the banks of the Meander River in Deloraine - what a gorgeous little town - we just loved it!