Moore Patchwork & Quilting

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

Made with Love

I finished the stitchery tag I'm making for my Mum for Mother's Day.

 

 

As you can see, I've included all the things I like best - stitchery, fabric, buttons, ric-rac braid and a twisted cord.

Finished size is 5" (h) x 2.5" (w). 

My plan is that Mum will be able to use it as a book mark.  She's been complaining about not having a nice bookmark for a while now so hopefully this one will suit her needs.

On the back I added a small pocket to hold a gift card.

Mum likes gift cards and I have to admit that I like giving them to her.  She's very difficult to buy for and this way she can buy what she wants. I bought her a Coles/Myer card so she can have a few options.

 

 

The pocket sits neatly on the back so it shouldn't interfere with the bookmark idea.

I really enjoyed making the tag, thought that  it shouldn't be limited to Mother's Day and would be a nice gift for all occasions.  With that in mind I ended up making another two. I think they would be a nice way to brighten up any gift.

The Made with Love pattern includes all three stitcheries and instructions to make the tag and is available in both printed and pdf formats on my website.

 

 

 

 

Gift cards are very popular now.  I'm not sure if I always like them. I know that I have appreciated receiving them at different times but I really like opening presents.

Even if I end up receiving a less than useful gift, I still like the thrill of not knowing and then the suprise when the gift is open.

What do you prefer - gift cards or actually 'gifts'?

Just leave a comment between now and Friday afternoon and you will go in the draw to win a pdf copy of the Made With Love pattern.

Until next time

Lyn

 

 

 

 

 

Made with Love

Thanks for your comments on your favourite embellishment.  Buttons and ric-rac really rule!

I've spun the random number generator and the winner is number 5 - that's you Margaret.   Congratulations. A pdf version of Love to Sew pattern is on its way.

Made With Love...

This week I started a new design called Made with Love.  It is going to be something for my Mum for Mother's Day which is coming up very quickly.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a pack of charm squares from the 30's Playtime range by Chloe's Closet.  They are very pretty and colourful.  My original intention was to make some hexagons but the other day I was deciding on what to make Mum when these fabrics just beckoned to be used.

I'm going to make a fabric tag with a stitchery design on the front and with a pocket on the back for a gift card.  Mum will be able to use the tag as a book mark or just have it hanging around!

I'm using the favourite linen/cotton fabric for the stitchery and will definitely add some ric-rac braid, a button and a twisted cord - all my favourites!

Ric-Rac madness...

Gina commented that she likes ric-rac as well and gave me a tip on how to store mine so that they are more easily accessible.

I mentioned to her that my ric-rac basket was in a bit of a mess - in fact it's reached crisis point.  A lot of it is in knots and I have trouble finding the colour I'm looking for.

Gina's suggestion is to roll it onto pieces of cardboard.  What a good idea.

This afternoon I'm going to make a start and hopefully next time you see this basket you won't recognise it.

Until next time

Lyn

 

 

 

Love to Sew

I've been busy organising supplies for a new design, I'm calling Love to Sew.

I plan to make a needlecase to replace one of mine which has definitely seen better days.

My fabric is from the beautiful range called Urban Cowgirl.  I bought a layer cake a couple of weeks ago with the intention of making a quilt but I haven't progressed any further with that idea so I couldn't resist using a couple of the pieces for my new needlecase.

I especially love that print on top - in fact that's one of the reasons I was so attracted to the range. It will be the outside of the needlecase and I think I will add some ric-rac braid to it as well.

I plan to work a small stitchery design on the front of the needlecase and instead of using my usual cotton/linen fabric, I've chosen a light colour cotton print. For the wool felt (to store the needles in the needlecase) I'm tossing up between the dark blue at the bottom of the photo, or a grey piece.  Will wait and see which one looks better.

Weekend away...

I'm heading away tomorrow (Friday) for a couple of days - down to Canberra.  Hopefully will be able to finish my stitchery for the new needlecase. Also looking forward to visiting the local patchwork shops down there.  Hope you have a nice weekend too.

Until next time

Lyn

My Hexagon Garden

My little quilt is starting to take shape.

The stitchery is completed and it's now all layered and pinned waiting to be quilted.

I'm going to do a combination of machine quilting and hand quilting with Perle 8 thread.

I have to be quick with the machine quilting because tomorrow my sewing machine is going in for a service.  It's funny but I feel really anxious about being parted from my machine for a week (at least I hope it's only a week).  I have my old Elna machine tucked away in the cupboard so if the worst comes to worst I can pull that out.  But I will certainly miss my Bernina.

Until next time

Lyn

My Hexagon Garden

I'm making good progress on My Hexagon Garden design.  I have finished the hexagons and am now working on the stitchery.

I made nine hexagon flowers in total am now adding a stitchery border.  I have assembled the whole quilt top before working the stitchery.  I don't always do that - it depends on the project. But when the stitchery is in the border I find it's easier to add the stitchery last.  I've learned from experience that if I stitch a border and then add it to the quilt, it sometimes ends up a bit 'crooked'. 

The stitchery fabric is my favourite cotton/linen fabric and I also used that for the backround of the hexagon flowers as well.  I'm hoping to have it ready for quilting on Monday. 

In the meantime, I've just downloaded the next block instructions from the Temecula Quilt Co quilt along.  I think that's what I'll be doing this afternoon.

Spooks...

Did you see Spooks last Saturday night?  Looks like it's shaping up to be a usual spooky season with lots of intrigue and surprises. Just love it.

Until next time

Lyn

My Hexagon Garden

Looking through my stash allowed me to reconnect with projects that I had abandoned for whatever reason.  One of those projects was some hexagons made from 30's fabric that I started making a few months ago.  I had been using a fabric glue stick but at the time I wasn't happy with it and so the hexagons ended up at the back of my cupboard. I've been really inspired by the hexagon projects on the nanacompany blog and so the other day I went looking for them.  This time I persevered and found that the fabric glue stick really saves a lot of time and makes a neater edge for the hexagons.   

My original plan had been to make a tablerunner with the hexagons, but I had a rethink and now I'm going to make  a small quilt that will be called My Hexagon Garden. I will add some stitchery to it as well - probably in the border.  I have enough of the 30's fabric to make the quilt top and binding. Very stash busting!

I've discovered that making hexagons is actually very relaxing and a very 'take along' project.  I'm going to Sydney for a few days next week and am contemplating taking some hexagons with me to make.

 

Until next time

Lyn

IPAD cover stitchery

I've been working on the stitchery design for the new IPAD cover design.

I've chosen a cream cotton/linen fabric for the stitchery.  It has to be my favourite fabric.  I've also added an applique heart as well.

It looks really nice with the blue spot fabric which is going to be the main bag fabric.  The green fabric will be the lining.

I'm confident that it will be finished by Friday!

Snowball quilt...

I finally worked out the order of the blocks for the snowball quilt.  I've started sewing them together but it's taking me a while.  I'm doing it in between other things - like the Ipad cover. 

Remember the Picnic Quilt I started to make?  I had one of those lightbulb moments early the other morning - I realised that I hadn't cut out enough squares to make the required number of blocks.  I had miscalculated and needed another 20 pieces of 4.5" sq blocks and 40 of the 2.5" blocks.  I'm glad I worked it out before I started sewing.  Would have been very annoyed to find out after I had sewn them all together.  So I spent some time yesterday cutting out the extra requirements. Now I can start sewing it.

Until next time

Lyn

Sew and Sew blocks

Two more Sew and Sew blocks:

One of the best things about being involved in quilting is the friends I've made - not only in person but also on the internet. It's so nice having people who share the same interest to give you encouragement when you want to throw away the latest project or who will tell you if a fabric really doesn't belong 'there'!

And of course there are project bags.  Considering how many projects I seem to have on the go at once, I can never have too many project bags to keep myself organised. It makes life so much simpler if everything belong to a project is kept in the one place.

I've finished the quilt and next time will show you the finished item.

Fabric Club..

In the meantime, I received another lovely parcel of fabrics from my fabric club at Threadbear.

(Remember these don't count as 'purchases' for my SBS (Stash Busting Summer))

I just love the fabric in front.  It's a lovely red fabric with splashes of green.  I also like the greyish fabric behind it - it has dashes of red in it as well.

In fact, as usual I like all of the fabrics and know that they will come in very handy.

Until next time

Lyn