A UFO hits the dust!!!

Well, am I pleased with myself this weekend.  One UFO completed (or I really should say 2 UFOs, but I don't count the second - why - because I have had a piece of white damask for quite some time - years actually! - that I wanted to hem and use as a table cloth for special occasions(?).  Hence no photo - only a white table cloth.

Now for the one that is counted and completed - a small quilt that I will use as the centre piece on my dining table.  This one started off as a 'something to do while on tour last year' - Michelle Marvig who was one of our tour guides gave us all two small projects to do.  One was a small square of fabric with a drawn pattern and some varigated threads to do a stitchery.  At our 'farewell dinner' on the last night of the tour she had divided the finished squares into 2 parcels and drew out a couple of names - one was mine - I got my stitching back plus 5 others.

I ummed and aahed for a while about what to do with these squares - put in as part of a large quilt, do a small quilt, make a wall hanging.  You know the drill - whill this work? or that?  In the end it was the colours
of the thread that made it easy to choose.

They were in autumn shades and as my house has lots of those colours and my dining table is bare, except for a vase that I like to keep there - the penny dropped - why not make a centre piece for the table.  Another easy choice was the fabrics - have a lot of those colours.  This is the end result - I like it.  Nothing fancy or over the top, very traditional - which I like also.

I hope the girls whose names are one the squares like it too.

Now to get back to the rest of my UFO's, including the other project we had on the tour - a small hexagon pincushion.

Hand Sewing - long term project

Yesterday I went to the Geelong Quilting Guild's Annual Quilt-In.  A great day with over 200 people there and some even came down from Melbourne by bus.  I'm not a member of the guild, but hope to join very soon.

Of course when one goes to something like this you have to take some hand sewing with you.  I have been working on a stitchery quilt for some time now, but was getting a tad tired of working the stitcheries - don't get me wrong - I love the embroideries just wanting to do something else.

This is one of those hand sewn quilts that I have wanted to do for some time now.  Not sure what the pattern is actually called - I have seen it as 'Japanese Daisies' and a few other names.  Anyway, a very simple, yet striking quilt and one that you can take-along with you to meetings;  waiting in Dr's rooms; etc etc.

The basic steps are you start with squares of fabric - I am using Japanese type fabrics (atfer all I did say I have known it as Japanese Daisies!!); then the same size squares of batting; (I am using 3" squares) and finally circles cut larger than the squares.  To make it easier I am using an old CD disc for the template.  You gather around the edge of the circles and draw the thread in which you then iron down.

You place a square of fabric on top of a square of batting, then place this on the underside of the gathered and pressed circle.  Then one by one you fold over the edges of the circle and can either slip-stitch down, blanket stitch it down, or as I am doing use a contrasting thread (mine is gold) and quilt it down. 

Once all the squares are sewn you then join them together with a slip stitch - the same as when you sew hexagons together.  And finally the quilt is done - already backed and quilted - no edging needed.

Not sure how long this will take me - I'm not worried, but will post my progress from time to time.

A beautiful parcel...

 was delivered by the postie to me today.  I sent a reply to a posting on Frances Leate's blog Quilting Owl a couple of weeks ago and won this fantastic parcel.  I thought it was only going to be the 'bag kit' but she has generously included other items.  As you can see there is a pattern of one of her quilts; a Halloween pattern from Thimbleberries with a piece of halloween material; and three pieces of Fossel Fern fabrics - all of which I love and will make good use of.

The bag is one of Frances' latest patterns and features aboriginal material and there is also a magnetic closure which is included.  Thanks again Frances, I will have fun making this bag.

Don't forget any of you reading this to go have a look at her blog and see some more of her work and what they are doing at The Cairns Craft Centre.