AQC and my stuff .....

The highlight this week was going to AQC (Australasian Quilt Convention) which was held in Brisbane for the first time (usually Melbourne).  My first visit there and the highlight was seeing amazing quilt art.  I did take pictures but they are much better seen on the website HERE if you are interested.  There is a tab on the top of the page called Quilt Show and in that a number of sections that one can browse through.  You can also google the different artists names to see more of their work.

More of an Art Show using Quilting as a technique and just amazing.

Of course there were traders too..... and they were fun to visit.... and friends to meet up with which was a highlight also - most of them I met via blogging.  I did miss a special friend who I usually play with at the shows - not the same without her, but wonderful non-the-less.

Meanwhile regular life continues at home.... I have finally done my green fish for this months scraps

... and I finished my little dribble bib which will go with the quilt....

Working hard on my way behind Field Journal blocks

I am going to be working on Puzzle Box this weekend.... these are a few of the blocks I have already done.

Made using 'leftovers' of previous used fat quarter pack.  Puzzle Box is a free pattern kindly given by Christa Quilts and can be found HERE 

Righto, Gotto Go... a quick cuppa then off to the sewing machine.... have a lovely weekend xx

Sorting things....

It seems as quilters/sewers/crafters there is always something to be sorted/tidied/made....

I largely keep my 'work room' tidy (forgive me but I find it very hard to get down to work if the room has stuff all over - it is my weakness).

I do, however, have a small storage space and that is 'a scary place' as Mr 10 year old grandson told me when he visited.  This weekend I decided to tidy up part of it .... amongst other things was a box of mini quilts I had taken down when we painted the inside of the house 4 years ago!

This is my main quilting area (which is obvious isn't it?)

Hubz helped me to do this.... it is a really happy place now.

Most of these are gifts/swaps.  I also have a collection of mini's for a hanger which change from time to time and I love them too - also mainly swaps.

Lots of fun and makes me smile every time I walk in there...

My sweet giraffe quilt is finished now....

I did these big informal swirls all over.... I was going more for gentle African breeze but it is a bit cyclonic!!! haha

I love it very much...

The backing is a flannel, grey with cutest little giraffes all over it... I used a darker grey streaky for binding (the background to the giraffes is a very light grey spot)

In the evenings I knitted up this pair of shoes.  Don't know the gender of the baby so going for as neutral as I can be.  I am just sorting out for a bib to go with it..

This is a pattern used for me and my siblings, my children and many of their cousins, my grandchildren and now extended family.  My pattern is written in my Mum's hand so it's pretty special to me.  They are a little shoe that I found the babies didn't kick off easily.

Part of the tidying was getting to use some of my scraps - sometimes I find I end up with very generous sized leftovers from a quilt... 

I made this quilt in 2018 and it lives in UK with a grandiegirl....  cute little hedgehogs with one facing a different direction.  In the label I encouraged her to be brave to take the other way if she needed to.

Anyway, the leftovers have been tamed.... this will be a Star Pop quilt...  Raewyn was doing one and I rather love it.  I expect another bunch of leftovers will get the same treatment.  I just need to buy some plain fabric for the stars to go with it.

Righto, Gotto Go.... I have a bib to cut out and prepare the handwork for it...

Have a lovely week......xx

Catching Up....

Like Julie I like to make up my own Miracle Spray for use in the house.... I do a whole lot at once and it usually lasts the year.

This is great for surfaces, there is Eucalyptus in it which is a natural disinfectant (and smells nice).  Not full of a whole lot of chemicals and actually cleans well.

I don't use it where there is varnish (can make it tacky) or glass (leaves a residue).

Civil War Bride blocks so far..... there is another row of 5 to add then a border so still a way to go....

I added the binding on to these little mini quilts... not sure what I will do with them - can't remember what I was thinking when I first made them....  any thoughts?  Between 18 - 24"

I had a machine sewing day with friends last week and worked on my baby Giraffe's.....

This quilt top is 58" square so a good size. 

Now to find time to quilt and bind then get it into the post....

We had a cool spell and it was nice to sit and work on my crochet blanket....

Needs a wash and block the edges then can be packed away for hand delivery later this year...

Meanwhile I am trying to get some progress on my Field Journal blocks (which are way behind)

This one was beautifully done in Bullion Knots for the pattern - my bullions are more like road kill so I did chain stitch... not nearly as nice as the pattern but it will do....

Waratah is lovely...

and how sweet are these ... 

Righto, Gotto Go, I want to get a bunch of these ready to sew next to my chair.  Some take a few evenings, occasionally I can finish one in one evening.... kindof depends what we have on the TV and how my concentration is going...

Have a lovely rest of the week.... still damp and humid here 

A quilt finish ......

Hubz and I met up with some of the UK family in Bali in 2015 - it was a lovely time together.  I did get an afternoon at a fabric shopping area and luckily had taken a list of quilts that I wanted Bali Batik for (there is just so much it would have been totally overwhelming for me)

At a retreat in 2016 I made the top using a pattern using the Quick Curve Ruler.

During the Christmas break I quilted it and now it is bound ..

80" square so quite big....

The wiggly stuff in the big areas gives lovely texture...

I played a bit in the pieced areas...

gives a bit of a different texture....

I found the perfect wideback someone was destashing.... 

Good to have another out of the Quilting Queue....

Righto, Gotto Go.... I have the Black and White fabric out to cut and sew and cut again for 4 patch blocks....

Club Show and Tell....

This week at club was a fundraising day for Prostrate Cancer.  We were encouraged to wear blue and bring blue quilts to hang....

There was a wonderful display...

Panoramic view and the busy table where I sit....

I won't comment on all these.... scroll away... hopefully the papers will explain anything ...

samples for an upcoming workshop ...

This was the blue quilt I took in....

One of my very early FMQ learning ones done on a tiny machine - 

9 blocks all different done separately then joined as QAYG.  Trapunto extra wadding included...

The day included pizza, fruit and icecreams!  

There was a destash table with contributions going to the charity....  I made a reasonable donation and came home with these!!!

.. and I was lucky enough to win a lucky door prize of these two fat quarters....  not sure what I will do with them...

Around $750 was raised on the day.

Of course some stitching was done too.  I worked on this little Field Journal stitchery and finished the last bits in the evening...

Righto, Gotto Go.....sewing and quilting today ....

Have a great rest of the week ....... xx