a long way beyond the cherry tree

No  preoccupation is a grand thing!

I've been having a fine time revisiting Eddie the Eagle who will be the centrepiece of my adaptation of Beyond the Cherry Tree quilt. Previous Eddie was too small so he was unpicked and resized to a bigger and better version. He should now play nicely with the other blocks.

My progress is way way behind with this BOM but that's OK.Probably only 12 or 16 of the 25 blocks will go into mine, then I'll wing it with a border of my own design.

Circles of Death now  has it's third ring attached, next task is to find the PERFECT espresso brown fabric for the next ring which is to be covered with quaint appliquéd shapes.

 Elsewhere, last weekend was a perfect time to  catch up with a few outstanding blocks...

 ... a friendship swap. After the signature was done there was a bit of space above, what else was an Aussie to do than add a kangaroo for my North American buddy!

This morning Sydney woke to a glorious sunny day. After what seems like an eternity of rain the sun was so welcome - fortunately the neighbours can't see me outside in my jarmies with the camera.

 sunshine!

 lots of green in my garden

 

a blush of pink on the miniature rose

 winter zygocactus about to flower

 baby bear camellia in bud.

Until next time...Happy stitching!
K

updates and a new start

Last weekend our Marg Sampson class got together at Material Obsession for our monthly instalment of inspiration, fun and lots of chat.

Here are a few photos of some of the work currently underway:

 Bernadette's beautiful broderie perse...

 

...and a stunning fussy cut hexagon border.

 Jean from Linen and Raspberry has been working on  a version of Folk Art Baskets

more stunning fussy cutting.

 Susan has also been busy with hexagons and stars for her central Folk Art Baskets panel...

next border - green as a base for the appliquéd baskets.

A little help with the selection of fabrics for the next round of my Circles of Death. 

Let's throw in some pink!

My new project, is for my on-line quilting bee. June is my month where my fellow quilters  make a block of my choosing - I selected to base my quilt on an antique featured on page 92 of Quilts of Virginia, 1607-1899, made circa 1860 by Susan Spigle of Botetourt County. The block is called Winding Blades.

 

Here is a test block made this morning.

One more block to finish and I'm all caught up with the backlog of promised blocks caused by this beastie....

Final stitches were placed in Mad Birds last night. 

It is quilted, bound, labelled and has a hanging sleeve, ready to submit to the Guild for the Darling Harbour Show. One final spritz to remove the last traces of blue pen and it's ready to go.  It's probably the fastest I have ever made a quilt from start to finish, commenced February 2010, finished June 2011.  Hand quilted in 10 weeks, it measures 195cm square.

Once it's hung at the show I'll post more overall and detail photos .

Until next time, happy sewing!

K

I can't wait...

...until July 23 !!

My great friend and the (non-blogging) better half of my Tuesday afternoon quilting twosome has re-invented the quilting retreat with her new venture:  "Quilts in the Vines".

The inaugural QIV retreat will be held on the weekend of July 23-24 at Algona Vineyard on the outskirts of Bathurst in the Central Tablelands wine region of NSW. Everything has been arranged.... everything, from luxurious accommodation at a 4 star hotel to delicious meals of locally grown produce, a shopping spree at the local (reportedly fabuloso) quilt shop, even early morning guided walking tours of the area to freshen up the mind before a day of creativity, topped off with our very own tutor (the wonderful Margaret Sampson George) for two full days.

No cooking, no interruptions, just quilting to our heart's content- and look at the view.... Sounds like bliss!

Hopefully this will be the first of many on a regular basis designed for quilters who like to get away - in style. You can read a little more about it here.

Come July 22 I'll be ditching hubby for the weekend, saddling up the silver bullet and heading up the highway for a fun-filled quilty weekend. Yee ha, bring it on!

PS - FINISHED QUILTING Mad Birds last night!