Moore Patchwork & Quilting

Dessert

I'm slowly working away on my Nice People Nice Things quilt and have finished another block - Dessert.

 

The front has a delicious looking piece of cake and the back -

 

'Life's uncertain, eat dessert first'.  Good idea!

Dishcloth...

Because I've been struggling with a cold the last week or so I wanted to do some 'no thinking' knitting and chose a dishcloth.  I was able to purchase some Sugar 'n cream cotton from American Yarns and the dishcloth knitted up in 2 evenings. 

 

Can you guess what it is? These dishcloths are fun and easy to make and I think I'll knit up a few for Christmas presents.  Make nice stocking fillers.

Peace on Earth...

Finally finished the quilting on my Peace on Earth quilt and am now stitching on the binding. Should be able to show you next time.

3:16..

I've finally finished reading Max Lucado's book 3:16.  The reason it has taken me so long is because he includes a 40 day devotional in the back of the book (it probably took me more like 90 days but I was determined to do it). The book examines the most life-changing verse in the bible - John 3:16.  Max takes each word of the verse and exposes what it means to us and comes it up with - 'He loves. He gave. We believe. We live.'   3:16 are the numbers of hope. In the devotional, he follows the life of Jesus from his birth to his resurrection. 

All the news coming out of the world at the moment is doom and gloom.  I'm a little tired of it.  I'm glad that I don't put my hope in money or what the government does or does not do. I have a future because of the numbers 3:16.

Until next time

Lyn

Simple Blessings

Recently I showed you a lovely book from Kim Diehl called Simple Seasons.  I enjoyed that one so much that I ordered another one of hers called Simple Blessings.

This is actually the first of Kim's books.  The second one is called Simple Traditions (which I have as well) and the third is Simple Seasons.

I was really excited when the book arrived today and couldn't wait to open it.  I was not disappointed. Simple Blessings is just as inspiring as the others.  It is full of beautiful applique projects and handy hints on how to achieve the same look.

Kim actually machine appliques all of her quilts by using monofilament thread and a small zig zag stitch. She suggests matching the monofilament thread to the applique and  not the foundation. Use a smoke colour on medium and dark prints and clear thread on light or pastel hues.

One tip she gives is to use a pieced background of two or more neutral prints instead of using a single piece of fabric for added interest and impact. Isn't that a good idea?  Another way to use up your stash.

She also suggests that when arranging your blocks for placement into a quilt top, always position pieces with strong hues in the corners.  This will clearly define and anchor your quilt centre.

See what I mean about handy tips?  There are heaps more.  When I finish 'drooling' over the projects I'll finish 'reading' the book and discover more.

Until next time

Lyn

Simple Seasons

Today I bought this lovely book, Simple Seasons by Kim Diehl.

It has 13 different projects including a lap quilt, wall quilts, table runner and doll quilt.  I really like her projects.  They are very country with simple piecing and applique and she also gives good instructions. In this month's Homespun magazine I read that next month there will be a feature on Kim Diehl and one of her projects.  I will be looking forward to that.

I only started buying patchwork books about 12 months ago.  I considered them to be too expensive and relied mainly on magazines.  But then one day I was browsing in the patchwork shop, when I found a book of Cabbage Rose favourites and that started me off.  I now realise how valuable a resource they are.  They are full of inspiration and  I find myself browsing through my small collection of books all the time. I haven't actually made any of the projects but I find they give me ideas for using different blocks and fabric choices not to mention different techniques. I'm now a huge fan of patchwork books.

Hot, hot, hot...

It's quite hot here today (about 35C) which is expected seeing it's summer.  I'm enjoying the heat although admittedly I haven't actually spent much time outside today.  When I went out this morning, one of the cats, Boots, was still in the house but the other one, Flossy, was outside.  Poor boots must have got bored without any company because when I came home I found my knitting all over the family room floor.  Fortunately the stitches were still on the needle otherwise I might not have found it quite so amusing.

Until next time

Lyn

Cottage Flowers

Today I was looking back through some of my patterns for a bit of inspiration and I pulled out this one by Vicki Porter called Cottage Flowers.

It's one of those patterns where the photo just doesn't do it justice.  It features 18 stitchery blocks and the finished quilt size is 156cmx125cm.  The stitchery blocks are traditional garden flowers in a naive embroidery style.

Vicki was a teacher at Berrima Patchwork Shop and for a couple of years I used to go there once a month to attend one of Vicki's classes.  Each month Vicki would have a new project for us to do, all featuring her beautiful stitcheries.  I made cushions, bags, and quilts.  Vicki is a very generous teacher and I learned so much from her.

This quilt was from one of her classes and was made over a 12 month period.  The photo doesn't capture its beauty.  It would make a  nice long term project. 

Just looking at it today brought back fond memories of those classes and how I used to look forward to going every month. I was always encouraged and inspired. I think that's what makes Vicki a good teacher.

Cowra shop closed...

This week Nada and I had been planning to go on another road trip, this time to Cowra (about 2 hours away) to visit one of our favourite shops. So imagine our disappointment to discover that it's closed down. It was such a good shop - full of beautiful fabrics, patterns and kits.  We used to go there once a year and Nada would also send her quilts there to be quilted.  We still haven't quite recovered from the disappointment.

Until next time

Lyn