Wonderland Quilt

The other day I posted a peek at the blocks I created for my Wonderland Quilt. Well on Thursday I sewed the blocks into columns and today I sewed the columns together to finish the quilt top.

Words can't describe how proud I am of this quilt. Ok the seams don't all match up but this is by far the biggest quilt I've created to date.
I just love the colours and patterns. And the different styles of blocks I made.
You can see the quilt above artistically draped over my red couch which it is destined to adorn. I've made one cushion top and am deciding if I'll use my small remaining amount of fabric to make another cushion or use it as an accent for the quilt backing.

Whip it Wednesday

Another busy week of sewing, working and baby wrangling. But I'm still getting through and generating new WiP.

I have finally made a cushion cover from the Wonderland fabric:

And surprise surprise I have pieced blocks to make my Wonderland quilt!!! 35 blocks sewn up on Sunday while little Guy was sleeping. They are fairly basic but the fabric does more than enough talking.

I love the way the colours combine together.


And I made some stack and slash blocks just to be a bit fancy!

And I've started thinking about Christmas - specifically decorations.

And this is part of my haul from the Quilt show last weekend. More WiP in waiting!

World's Biggest Hexagon Quilt Challenge

On Saturday my Mum, Aunty and I went to the Quilt Fair in Brisbane. I was really surprised how many stalls and people were there, many more than last time. We had a lovely afternoon browsing and picking up some goodies. But I think my favourite part was the display quilts. There was a group of ladies there who are attempting to make the World's Biggest Hexagon Quilt. Their aim was to make the quilt about 15 metres long, so far they have 40 metres! Anyone can help, you just need to piece 1 inch hexagons into rosettes - the middle hexagon must be in a green material, then the six around the outside can be any colour of your choosing. Every entry goes in the draw to win a $250 fabric bundle.

And the really lovely part of this is once the quilt has been finished and exhibited it will be cut up into smaller quilts and donated to patients in Nursing Homes and Aged Care facilities.

Your completed rosettes must be received by the organisers no later than 1st December, 2009. The quilt is then going to be quilted and bound and will be on display at The Australia School of Applique on 14-16 May 2010 as part of a Retrospective Quilt Show displaying new and antique quilts. There will also be a judge from the Guiness book of World Records coming.

Pop over to their blog for the address details.

The Sunday Stash

It's great to see Tamara back on board and the Sunday Stash alive and kicking.

I thought I'd share a few bits and pieces today, my stash is becoming a little out of control!

First off a piece my Aunty recently bought me back from Liberty in London.

And a piece I picked up at the craft show yesterday, I just love the shiny spots.

And a couple of pieces from Paula Prass Flights of Fancy.Head on over to 1/4 of an Inch for more stashy goodness.

Another day, another cushion

I'm beginning to realise that there are a few things that I really enjoy sewing: bags, cushions, coasters....

Here is another cushion I made for my Mum, to match the one I made the other week. I quite like this one.

And I have finished the first of my Pay It Forward gifts - for Anya from Hillscreek Quilter. It will be winging its' way to the USA this week and I'll let the rest of you have a looky once I know Anya has received it.

Things I love

Here are few things that have brightened up my day today:

Sunflowers - have I ever mentioned they are my all time favourite flower? Now that they are in season I'm determined to always have some in my vase.

Fresh herbs, Basil and Watercress here.

Sitting in repurposed milk containers, in a little water to keep them fresh.

This cushion I made for my mum finally from fabric I bought on holidays with the family in March. (Another tick for the list)
She loves green and white.

Coasters I started as a house warming pressie for Mel and her hubby back in December. She loves red.

And I love my man, who today completed his first major bicycle ride - the Wilson HTM Brisbane to the Gold Coast - 100 kms. That was after riding the 12kms from our house to the starting line. In a time 35 mins better than he hoped for - even after having a crash and skinning his elbow, knee and putting a mass of bruises up one side of his body! All money raised from this ride goes to charity and this year they had over 10,000 competitors! Congratulations to all!

Happy 1 Year Bloggiversary

I've been so busy with sewing and thinking that I'll soon have made 100 posts - that I completely missed my 1 Year Bloggiversary - October 9, 2008.

So to all of you who have stopped by, commented and been so nice - I say thank you. I have made many new friends, learnt heaps and had a blast looking at everyone's blogs and cruising around.

So please stay tuned because I would really like to offer my first give away in the next couple of weeks.......

**Edited to add, or maybe I'm early..... go figure

'Whip It' Wednesday

I've been having a lovely old time sewing lately and making a bit of headway through some of my WIP (work in progress). So I thought I'd dub Wednesdays 'Whip It' Wednesday. So if you would like to share with us some of your WIP, then leave a comment below and if there are enough participants I'll get one of those linky widget thingos.

Firstly I'd like to share the sewing machine cover that I have just (as in 2 minutes ago) finished. I made it to pop over my machine when it's not in use but it is also big enough to fit over the hard plastic cover, if I really pack up.

I received the lovely blue tape measure and scissor fabric as my first posting from the Amitie VIP club. And have only recently purchased the orange sewing fabric which I discovered matched beautifully. Pair those with some retro spots and we had a very whimsical foursome.

And given that I am hopeless at seam matching, I used a brick pattern for the patchwork.

And made the binding out of all the little scrappy bits left over from cutting the rectangles.

Overall I'm really pleased with it. I think I'll make or cover some boxes now to stash my scissors and scraps in.

And lastly we have my list that I made a while back, of all the things I wanted to make or needed to finish. I am pleased to report that I've been able to cross a few things off lately.

1. patchwork sewing machine cover similar to ones seen recently on Sew Mama Sew - done
2. cushions for my mum made from green material purchased while on holidays in March
3. cushions for my new red couch made from Wonderland material
4. throw rug for my couch made from Wonderland material
5. bind quilt made for friend's daughter (whose birthday was in February!) - done
6. sandwich and quilt and bind my hexagon quilt and my red stack and slash quilt
7. other random cushions
8. and finally -start to think about this years Christmas pressies.

So please leave a little comment and let everyone know what you have in your WIP and maybe we can all inspire each other to 'Whip It' on Wednesdays! :)

Vintage Sewing books

My Mum gave me these books the other day, she saved them from my Granny's house for me.

It's a set of three books with everything you could need to know about sewing, knitting and crochet. With really well illustrated instructions and patterns. As well as information about altering patterns to suit your bust or bottom etc.

I'm keen to look at the crochet instructions because they look to be amongst the clearest and most straightforward that I've found.

And I just love the totally retro patterns, although quite a few could be adapted to more modern looks.

There are 3 books in the set and they are called "Stitch by Stitch; the illustrated encyclopedia of sewing, knitting and crochet". I've just had a quick look online and it looks like there were a whole series of the books put out by a magazine, they are available at various sites second hand.