Moore Patchwork & Quilting

More Knitting

I finished knitting the Blossom Bolero on the weekend.

Isn't it cute?  I actually made mine a bit longer than a bolero, so it's really a Blossom Cardigan.

The Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece knitted up beautifully and the pattern was easy to follow. The only seam to stitch was a little tiny bit under each arm.

Our knitted baby's items will be going to a Women's Shelter in Tasmania.  I feel really blessed that I could make these items for someone's little girl. 

Beanies and Scarves...

As it's almost the end of May, we have decided to stop knitting baby's things and start our June knitting.  For June, we've chosen an organisation that works with homeless people.  They require beanies and scarves and so I spent some time looking for beanie patterns on Ravelry.

I found this Stashy Hat pattern by Baby Cocktails.  It has a simple texture pattern which will add a bit of interest and I'm going to use the yarn leftover from my Harvest Moon cardigan.

It's been a while since I knit a beanie and I can tell you, knitting on a circular needle makes it very easy.  I'm pretty sure the last time I knit a beanie I had a seam to sew but not this time.

I started it last night and have already finished the band and have started the pattern.  I'm not sure that the pattern will actually show up very well with this yarn but at least it keeps me interested.

Until next time

Lyn

 

I love Hexagons

On Thursday I added the borders to my I Love Hexagons designs and as much as I loved the fabrics I had chosen, they just didn't look right to me.  There seemed to be too much happening.

I left the little quilt on my work table over night and on Friday morning I decided that the borders definitely needed changing.

A quick trip to the quilt shop and I came back with a small red check for the inside border.  I used the blue floral that was originally going to be the inside border on the outside and now I'm much happier with it.

I have it pinned up ready for quilting.

I was inspired by a little quilt that Amy from nanacompany made for her daughter.  She tied her little quilt rather than quilting it and I'm thinking I might do the same thing. I will machine quilt in the borders and then tie the hexagons.  Think I will try it out and see how it goes.

Vintage Modern...

On my 'quick' trip to the quilt shop, I spied this layer cake from the Vintage Modern range.

I've had my eye on this fabric ever since I saw it on the Fat Quarter Shop.  I love the fresh colours - just like their Ruby range.  I also couldn't resist the green spot which is from the range, and the sold green fabric which is from Bella Solids.

I'm not sure what I will make with it yet, but I'm thinking a quilt might be a good idea.  One for me.  I could imagine sitting on my couch with a quilt made from these lovely fabrics on my lap. 

Until next time

Lyn

I love Hexagons

I've finished making the hexagons for my I Love Hexagons design.

In fact I've sewn them all together, finished the stitchery (you can see a bit of it in the bottom right hand corner) and am about to put it together.

When I started the project I wasn't really sure what I was going to make but in the end I decided to turn it into a small quilt.  I bought  fat quarters of  the blue and pink floral fabrics for the borders - the blue one is for the inside border and the  pink  will be the outside border. 

I'm hoping it will look very pretty.

Go the Maroons....

Well it's State of Origin time again (Rugby League).  The first exciting game was last night and guess what? We won!  Yeah - go the Maroons.  It was a very close game and at one stage I had all but given up hope of a victory but I've learned from years and years of watching these matches that you never write off the Maroons until the final whistle blows. Two more matches to go. In the meantime - Paradise is celebrating today. 

Until next time

Lyn

Stitch at Home

The postie just delivered this lovely new book by Mandy Shaw.

I really loved her other book, Stitch with Love, so when I saw that she had a new book out, I knew that I would like that too.

This one has both stitchery and applique designs all based on a 'home' theme.  One of my favourite projects is an applique quilt called Village.  It has different homes including a treehouse, caravan (my favourite), doghouse, and a bunny hutch.  It's really nice 

Another cute project is a Cottage Sewing Case made from felt and fabric.  Really clever. There are also cushions, a dog bed, a bag and some bunting.  All very handy.

A nice addition to my library.

 

Until next time

Lyn

 

Sewing and Knitting

On the work table in my studio are lots of hexagons.

A little while ago, I bought a pack of 5" charm squares in the 30's Playtime range to make hexagons but as it sometimes happens, I was sidetracked and used the fabric for my Made with Love project.  The other day I was looking at the charm squares that were still left and thought I would go back to my original plan and make some hexagons.

I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to make with these hexagons - a small quilt or a tablerunner - but I know I'm going to add some stitchery.  I'm going to call the project I love Hexagons because as it turns out - I do!

Baby knitting....

In the meantime, I've started my next Knit4Charity project. 

I found this pattern on Ravelry as well.  It's called Blossom Bolero and  it's for ages up to 18months.  The pattern includes a couple of different edgings for the bottom and sleeves and I've chosen a lace edging.

I'm making mine from Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece yarn that was in my stash. For some reason the colour didn't photograph well because it's actually purple! The size is 3-6months and it is so quick to knit up.  I've already made the body and am now knitting on the bands.  I will then be able to start on the edging.

I can see myself making a few of these.

Until next time

Lyn

Postcard Swap

The theme for May's postcard swap is Jigsaw.  Now that might sound harmless enough but for me it turned out to be a bit of a challenge.  I tossed around all sorts of ideas in my mind and thought "It's a puzzle."

This lead me onto thinking that life is a bit of a puzzle - it's difficult to fit all the peices together.  Just when you think you've got something worked out something happens to mess it all up again. I've come to realise that I won't see the full picture until I stand before the Lord and until then will be content knowing that he has it all worked out! (so glad someone does)

I traced my jigsaw shapes onto vliesofix from an actual jigsaw puzzle. The fabric is left over from my Made with Love project - 30's playtime by Chloe's Closet - and the background is linen.  I blanket stitch appliqued around the shapes by hand and there it is. Ready to be posted tomorrow - a week early!

Now the next big challenge - next month's theme is Bubbles. My mind is totally blank!

Until next time

Lyn

Secret Garden

I've been cutting out some fabric scraps to make up another quilt.

I found this pattern in an old edition of Patchwork and Quilting magazine.  It's called Secret Garden because of the trellis effect.

The blocks are made with 5" squares for the main fabric and 2.5" squares of light background fabric. I worked out that I needed 100 squares of 'main' fabric and managed to use a different fabric for each square. I'm using reproduction fabrics - like the sample.  I'm not going to add a border again and my quilt will measure approx. 45" square. It's going to be one of those sewing maching projects that I will make in between other projects.

Washing Machine woes...

On Tuesday my trusty Simpson washing machine that has been faithfully serving us for 25 years suddenly decided that enough was enough. Our laundry is downstairs and fortunately I happened to be downstairs as well at the time of its demise or otherwise I would have had a lot of water to clean up. The poor old thing could not be revived but has been taken away to wherever washing machines go when they no longer work.  In the meantime a lovely new Fisher and Paykel machine has taken its place.  One advantage of the old machine was its noise.  From anywhere in the house I always knew when the washing was finished.  But now the new machine is so quiet I almost forgot to hang the washing out this morning. That's a small hurdle I'm sure I can overcome!

Until next time

Lyn

Fabric Clubs

In the last couple of days I've received instalments from both my fabric clubs.

The first one to arrive was the 19th Century Fabric Samplings Club from Somerset Patchwork and Quilting.

I was absolutely delighted when I opened the parcel.  Lots of lovely pinks and greens.

I really struggled to pick out favourites but settled for the pieces on the bottom of the photo.

Love the pinky colours and the blue stripe and the pink stripe and the green... all good!

 

Then a couple of days later these lovelies arrived from Threadbear Quilters.  I particularly appreciated the shirting fabrics at the front of the photo.  I'm always looking for these. I also like the pinkish fabric third from the bottom - such a nice pattern.

I'm really glad I found both these fabric clubs. I'm never disappointed with the fabric selections. 

One of the things I like about sewing is fabric. I love the colours and textures.  Whenever I get some new fabric, I always leave it sitting on my work bench for a few days.  Every now and then I stop what I'm doing and play with them. I admire the patterns/colours and I think about what I could make with them. It's very soothing.  I wonder if any one else does that?

Until next time

Lyn

 

 

Baby Kina

I've just sewn the buttons on the Baby Kina cardigan I was making.

Isn't it cute?  It's a very nice little cardigan to knit. The pattern is well written and being knit from the top down was a real bonus.

This one is for 6 months but the pattern comes in sizes from 3-18months. I think I already mentioned the yarn was from my stash - a 'bargain' I bought in a moment of weakness that has been sitting in my cupboard ever since! Maybe it wasn't such a bargain after all.

I know that somewhere a little person will be really blessed by this jumper just as I was blessed in making it.

I've been looking through Ravelry for my next little jumper - there are so many beautiful patterns out there; it's difficult to choose. I have some purple yarn in my stash which is just perfect for a little person. 

Miss Fisher mysteries....

I have become hooked on the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries on ABC1 on Friday nights.  I love the characters and the little sub-plots like the Constable and Dot.  What about Mr Butler - I bet he won't be eating any more fudge! I was sorry to hear that next episode is the last in the series.  I hope they make some more.

Until next time

Lyn

 

Bow Tie Quilt

This week I managed to finish the quilting and binding on my Bow Tie quilt.

I machine quilted with grey thread and for the binding - I joined together left over bindings from other projects. I keep all my pieces of left over bindings in a small basket and after all my stash busting, the basket is almost empty!  Some of the bindings I used were years and years old so it was like a trip down memory lane as I remembered the projects they came from.

I'm pleased with the way the different coloured backgrounds went together.  I think they give the quilt a bit of a 'glow'.

 

The finished size of the quilt is 42" square and each block is 6" square when finished.  (I have 7 rows of 7 blocks).  Again I chose not to add a border.

The block is made up of 2 x 3.5" squares of the main fabric; 2 x 3.5" squares of background fabric; 2 x 2.5" squares of main fabric. Draw a diagonal line through the centre of the wrong side of each 2.5" square and place on the background squares.  Sew along the line and then trim the excess fabric 1/4" from seam in the triangle.  Press the main fabric back.  Then you just join the blocks together.

I was able to use lots of smaller scraps of fabric as well as some 'ugly' pieces that I know I wouldn't use for anything else.  Some of those pieces had been sitting in my cupboard for quite a while.

 For the back of the quilt, I pieced together some of the fabric pieces I had received from Patchwork on Stonleigh fabric club.  Some of these had been sitting in my cupboard for a while too.

It felt really good to finally put them to use.  I think the back looks really good. Would be a nice quilt by itself.

Found Boots sleeping on the quilt when I left it on a chair waiting to photograph it.  It must be okay then!

Until next time

Lyn