Bec's 3 year quilt

Bec's 3 year quilt, a photo by craftykat on Flickr.

How long does it take to create a quilt? Well in this case - 3 years of planning and collecting and then just over 1 week of hard work.
My poor friend Becky - a quilter herself, I promised to make her a quilt for her 30th birthday. As soon as I decided I was doing one I started to collect fabric of things she likes - like Heather Ross' horses & gnomes, anything to do with airplanes (she is an aeronautical engineer), cooking, gardening, music and sewing (wow just realised she has many interests). But I never really had a plan for what I was going to do with the fabrics so I just collected more and more. Fast forward to about a month ago when I was planning a little visit to her in Perth (yep long way from Sydney) and suddenly the inspiration to get it done hit me. So I spent some time looking at patterns and thinking how I could organise this mismatch of fabric. I finally settled on one of Elizabeth Hartman's The Practical Guide to Patchwork patterns called "Rain or Shine". I also teamed it with some Kona Solids. So I pretty much started cutting on the Sunday, flew out to Perth the next Saturday with just the hand binding and about half the little rosettes to do (which I finished over there). So happy I finished it and she loved it!

The back


Closeups




At the little bakery in Margaret River where I sat all morning to finish the binding

Urban Circus Quilt

Urban Circus Quilt, a photo by craftykat on Flickr.

I have been sitting on my stash of Urban Circus for a while pondering what to do with it. I combined it with some Kona Solids scraps and kinda winged the desgin - and volia! Very happy (and so was my friend). I used Sandi Henderson's Butterflies for the Back and some stripy fabric from spotlight for the binding.

New Library Bag

New Library Bag, a photo by craftykat on Flickr.

As a librarian - my daughter needs a library bag! She has just gotten her first library card (who knew that you could get a card at 8 months old?) so Little Miss E finally has another thing made by her mum. Made using the new Avairy2 fabric from Joel Dewberry.

Look what I found

Now Little E can sew with me :)

Found: Gladesville Vinnies
Cost: $4.50 (1/2 price sale)

Accidental Quilt

I accidently made a quilt the other day. I have a so many projects on the to-do list so i have no idea how it happended. I was supposed to be making a competely different quilt and then I started to experiment with the scraps and before I knew it I had sewn a quilt top. It was only a baby size quilt and I had decided I needed to order some white sashing for the main quilt I was supposed to be making so that project was put on hold. So not wanting to add to the pile of almost completes I finished it! It is made using Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane fabric (and an Amu Butler Spots snuck in) and Kona Solids.




Nala took a moment to admire the quilt

Quilt for Claire

Back at the end of November I suddenly realised that my wonderful sister-in-law would be turning 30 in a few days time. I usually do quilts for peoples 30th - and while most people are usually turning 32 by the time they actually get their quilt, I decided that I could easily whip a quilt in 3 days. Also not factoring in that I had a 3 month old to look after - I was determined to get it done!! Well I did not make the 3 day deadline - though I did manage to get it all cut and about 1/2 pierced. Fast foward 3 months later ... and its done. I used Oh Franssons New Wave Quilt pattern teamed with some of Amy Bulters Love Fabric and some Kona Solids.


and the back



I love the pattern (well I do love everything designed by Elizabeth Hartman)but I probably need patterns that are a bit more forgiving with seams lining up. There were a few unpicks involved and not many of the seams line up but I don't mind. A handy tip is to pin from the centre when sewing strips together - at least if your seams don't match it is a bit more even then from starting at the top and then the bottom seams are very jagged.

Front close up


Back close up


I actually hand sewed the binding on this one instead of machine sewing. Very time consuming but I do love how it looks. Little Miss E kept staring at the quilt so i would lay it on the bed and do some of the sewing with her in the middle of it. This quilt almost did not make it to Claire because E loved it so much.

Sneak Peak

Somebody is enjoying the quilt I am making as I am hand sewing the binding :)

Queensland Flood Quilt Auction

**Please note that auction closing time has now been changed to 9pm EST Monday 24th Jan**

Toni from make it perfect has started up an auction to help in the Queensland flood appeal from her blog - So to help out I am auctioning off this funky quilt to help out my fellow Australians!

The quilt is perfect for a cot quilt or a playmat. The front contains fabric from Cosmo Cricket, Patty Young, Heather Ross, David Walker and Erin McMorris plus Kona Solids. The Wadding is 100% bamboo. It is fully machine quilted with straight lines and outlines of some of the quirky shapes in the fabrics. It measures approx 97cm x 108cm


(please excuse the photos - it is still drying on my clothes line! - I will try to take some better photos later in the day)






































As promised - some better photos!














































How this auction works:
1. Bidding will start at $30 (Australian).
2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4. This auction is open to everyone, Postage is FREE.
5. The auction begins NOW and will END at 9pm on Monday 24th January 2011.
6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your quilt to you.
7. Thank you for participating and happy bidding!