Blog

I am fortunate to live in a small coastal community, so it is the perfect spot for the grandchildren to spend a week over the school holidays….while mum and dad have to work.
These January holidays offered a mixed bag as far as the weather…..on sunny days we did beach ‘stuff’ and on the rainy days the children discovered my sewing machines. They were very creative playing with charm squares. After lots of planning and sewing they each made a quilt top….all their own work. Grandma was then charged to do the quilting and bindings. They then spent hours experimenting on my Bernina machines, discovering all the fancy stitches and patterns they could sew with lots of different coloured threads. A great achievement for a 6 year old and 9 year old.

I have also been busy making a handbag for my granddaughter to take to the Taylor Swift Concert next week. I hope she likes it.

I painted with lumier paints on black fabric, then quilted with red/gold thread for the snake, before outline quilting with black rasant.

It has been a busy year that has just flown soooo fast. As we get older the years seem a lot shorter…..or is it just my imagination.

The Christmas tree is up, all the loved decorations collected over the years are out on display, presents all done and now thinking about food. We are spending Christmas at my daughters this year, so not a lot of preparation on my part but we will be back home for New Year to celebrate with friends.

I have been busy finishing off those last little details on some of my Christmas gifts. I like to make presents for some special friends and family. My 9 year old granddaughter is getting a shoulder bag based on a pattern by Yoko Saito….but with a twist…no beautiful yarn dyed fabrics but teal colours which are her favourites at the moment. Mum is getting a new set of placemats and special friends are getting a sewing station for their lounge chairs based on a pattern from Arabesque Scissors. I made one for myself as well and find it really useful.

I am also making progress on my latest appliqué project. I have been working on this for a year now and have made it to the half way point…..a queen size quilt based on Yoko Saito’s Imaginary Garden Design…..all in my favourite shades of blue yarn dyed fabrics.

I hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year with people special to you.

Happy sewing everyone.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Houston International Quilt Show 2023.

My quilt ‘Coming Home’ is on show and was awarded 1st Place Appliqué. It is a lovely honour to see it hanging among so many beautiful works of art. I am enjoying meeting many fellow quilters and sharing the story about my quilt. It is lovely to be able to meet the quilt makers and hear their personal stories about the inspiration and creation of their works.

Lovely news……Very happy and excited.
My quilt ‘Coming Home’ was awarded Ist place in Appliqué at the Houston International Quilt Festival 2023.

https://mailchi.mp/quilts.com/announcing-the-2023-houston-festival-judged-show-winners

Isabel celebrates all the ‘Isabel’s’ in my family that have come before me…..great grandmother, grandmother, mother…then me.

It was inspired by a quilting pattern I designed for in an earlier quilt, ‘Memories of Alex’.

‘Isabel’ uses a range of Tilda fabrics, ‘Cotton Beach’, and the design repeats and extends the floral pattern. Like a medallion quilt it has a centre design which is bordered by repeating images. Each of the appliqué flowers is created with lots of fussy cutting to create repeated groupings. The sashing strips have rows of fussy cut circles appliquéd onto a plain coloured fabric.
It is all needle turned appliqué on cream coloured background fabrics. By using a selection of background cream fabrics I think it creates more depth in the quilt.

The free motion quilting is designed to enhance and extend the appliqué. All the appliqué is outline quilted then fillers added to the negative space. It is quilted with a cream polyester thread., using my stationary Sweet 16.