Crossroads!!!!

I'm not referring here to the Anna Maria Horner quilt, although

I have bought the pattern, but I feel as though I am stuck

at a crossroad with my quilting!

Too many ideas, books, scrolling through Instagram and thinking

"oh yes, I'd like to make that" and adding to my

mental list.

I want to make traditional, I want to make improv,

I want to use my patterns designed a number of years ago,

there just doesn't seem to be enough time

to achieve what I should like to achieve.

Is this just me or does anyone else get totally frustrated?

Whichever, I need a big re-think.

Rant over, sorry about that,  been a bad week.

On a positive note I have made a start with my new

Hindsight fabrics.

Cutting into strips using the method demonstrated by

Kathy Doughty at

Material Obsession

a while ago on

The Quilt Show

Usually I would have two 24" rulers, I iron the fabric first off and

then I can adjust the meet up of the selvedges to make sure

the fabric hangs correctly  ( always have done this). Kathy gets a straight RH edge

and lines up the edge of

a ruler on it, as you can see here I'm using the full width

of the ruler for a 6" wide length.

I bring the LH ruler up to the edge of the RH, remove the RH

and then cut - a a beautifully straight, equal 6" all the way along.

Thanks to Kathy!

I  can then cut into other widths using the same method.

So this is the start of a new piece using 2 and 1/2" strips and

cut into 14" lengths

this was one seen on Instagram - Scrap Buster Quilt -

more sections to come and I'm doing things a little differently.

One of the reasons I love to cut these multi-coloured, bright and

bold fabrics into strips is that sometimes little surprises come along

Example - four strips not yet sewn and randomly picked

and placed on the wall, second strip

see how the large butterfly wings sort of meet up with the half of a flower

in the next strip down? I like that.

Similar thing in the next few strips, third strip down, large pink

flower with limey yellow leaves meets up with a strip of

Echinacea, same colour and I see a little surprise.

Fluttery eyelashes!

Now, remember my little wall quilt top made for the

Red is a Neutral prompt with

adhocimprovquilts.blogspot.com

this is next up for machine quilting and

there will  be kiwis on the back

and KF Spot black with purple for the binding

it blends pretty well (perhaps too well) which is what was hoping for.

Feeling somewhat more cheery now for having written this post and here

is a photo of the last of my

white camellias

this is one of my favourites, I love the

symmetry, all those petals whirling around.

We're heading to Level 2 tomorrow here in New Zealand, hopefully

everyone makes a huge effort to stick to the rules!

See you soon.

Maureen

Playing catch-up with Playtime and re-stocking

Last time I wrote I was busy preparing for my de-stash sale

at our main Guild here in Auckland.

I'm pleased to report that the sale was extremely fruitful in terms

of cash for some of the new range of fabrics on the market.

I have just a brief look further along.

The last post showing Playtime - the quilt in progress below -

was in March and since then it has languished in a drawer.

This was the result of the challenge to create a Medallion quilt with

Ad Hoc Improvisational Quilters.

I thought it was about time I revisited this project.

I made more Kaleidoscope 6" blocks as per the top row in the photo for

the opposite side. By the way the photo is not orientated correctly but you'll  see this

further along.

Here I have to say that apart from the four centre blocks

I was 'flying by the seat of my pants' and fitting everything to work

around the centre and not measuring accurately.

The flying geese had to be different sizes in order to fit, that's ok

it is Ad Hoc Improv after all.

Things began to come unstuck when I started on the kaleidoscope blocks,

however I pressed on and added four corners losing points and

gaining odd shapes along the way. 

Then I decided to add borders.

I realised at this point that I had

committed two cardinal sins in all this, swapped from the original machine

to my older model and then used two different tape measures and rulers!!!

Result:

Not Good

The borders are pulling in, at least on the left, right and bottom

so these are going to have to come off and I'll re-do them.

You will have no trouble spotting the irregularities I'm sure. 

Truth is that it was in the rubbish bin three days ago but I decided to

pull it out before adding the borders and when I've sorted these Playtime

will be going back in the drawer to hibernate!

NOTE

Change of plan  - now added to quilt tops waiting to be quilted!

I watched a video interview with Kaffe, Liza and Brandon two days ago,

they were asked whether they were concerned with perfection

in their quilts, both said no they were not, Kaffe said that perfection was sterile,

well he may have changed his mind had he seen this quilt of mine!!

Time to move on I think.

A package of Vibrant Blooms by Shannon Newlin arrived

on the doorstep four days ago

and yardage of this one

the pattern is ready and waiting and I'm hoping to make a start next week.

Meanwhile as soon as the new Kaffe Collective range appeared
I was on the computer like a shot ordering, they arrived yesterday and

I'll put those up next post but a peek below of two which I 

am in raptures about

and the largest flower is almost 8" perfect for a quilt

needing a show stopping feature fabric.

So there we have my post for this Thursday, not a lot to show really apart

from my additional fabrics - do I need more fabric you may ask -  No,  do I care that I still

fall in love with the colours and designs and add to my stash - not a jot -

I am feeding my soul.

And that's it from me today apart from a garden photo, I have lots of clumps of these

little white cyclamen

just a little damaged from all the rain.

Bye for now, back next week and hopefully in a better frame of mind and 

on to another quilt!

Maureen

March aka here comes Autumn

Yes, officially the 1st of March is the start of our Autumn

down here in New Zealand, the leaves of the

Japanese Maple are already showing their colour a little

and the hydrangeas, once richly pink and blue, have

now begun their journey down the road into the antique colours

and still as beautiful as ever!

All things quilting - not a lot actually, I've been down

with an infection which stopped progress.

The sum of my achievements covers five more blocks for

the 

Red is a Neutral

 invitational with

AdHoc Improvisational Quilters

I intend to sash these blocks to negate stress on the eyes!!

A fabric has been chosen but I need more than the small amount 

on hand, another order should be here within the week.

I do quite like them just as they are but when I have 20 blocks

measuring 14" the effect could be pretty overpowering.

Found my unfinished piece

with the name

Playtime

As I only have four more small kaleidoscope blocks

to add, along with four corners, it would probably

only take a morning to finish, better get on to it!

By the way, all the photos will enlarge if you give

them a click.

Oh, of course the Kaffe Fassett Collective have a new fabric collection

out now, needless to say I spent some time ordering!

One package arrived yesterday - yummy colours -

and the opening of the package was supervised by

my little helper who 

 doesn't have the tip of her left ear missing, she just

moved her head as I was taking the photo. After

sitting quietly watching proceedings she took matters into

her own paws to check out the fabric

and  was swiftly ejected from the cutting table.

She is an ardent KF fan.

Another non-quilting job was a trip down memory lane.

John's Mum had given me a box of buttons as we left England

in 1980, these were gathered by her grandmother, her mother and

mother-in-law over the years. They came from items of clothing dating

back to the late 1800's  and she could tell me, for example, that the horn buttons 

came from a coat made for my husband as a child,

buttons from dresses worn by her grandmother - you

get the picture.

My children used to have great fun visiting their Gran

who would let them rummage through the box.

I thought this one here was very special and very old,

measures almost 1/2" with

lovely intricate detail.

Perhaps the Downton Abbey era.

Well, after sending you all to sleep with multiple

photos and not much progress I shall head off to

the cutting table.

See you soon, have a happy weekend.

Maureen

Ready for Red is a Neutral and quilts on doors

Dealing with Red is a Neutral first off.

This is the invitational with

AHIQ: Improvisational Utility Quilts

and the back story is on their blog.

I'm going with a Liberated Wedding Ring

inspired by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran. 

Today I stitched four 7 and1/2" blocks using

a stack of reds, a heap of scraps and Vilene as the

foundation for the strips.

Four of the small blocks form the ring as below

but the effect of twenty of these larger blocks with all the red could

be a bit too much for the eye so I'm going to sash them

more of these are set down for tomorrow.

You might remember the two small quilts shown below.

It's pretty impossible to have quilts hanging in our living room,

we have two large sets of glass doors, but our entrance and

hallway is a good spot and  my two "top" ladders are in there

I came to the conclusion that small works would look good

hanging on the doors - laundry and the first bedroom

leading off the long hall.

Sailing Through Suez

Chinese Coins

The doors look as if they need a good clean, but I can assure

that's not the case, they're off-white and the

angle of my photograph throws shadows here and there.

Apologies to those who read this blog and also AHIQ

as I have a post over there as well! 

Happy Quilting

Maureen

A sunny Sunday - a flimsy, flowers and a super sunrise

I began my day at 6.30am, I always try and catch
the sunrise

this one was a real beauty!

Since my last post I have a flimsy finish- Freshly Squeezed - but

I could only take a quick photo draped

across the old garden bench, I'll try and post another one later.

54" wide and 66" long, 6" finished blocks.

These pieces were left over from my Chinese Coin challenge, see below,

with AdHoc Improvisational Quilters.

A Taste Of The Orient

I still have heaps of strips left over, somewhere in the future

there will probably be another quilt in these colours.

I've been pondering on the present challenge with

AHIQ  -  Maps and Mappings  - 

you can read all about the challenge from Ann

HERE

or click on the sidebar button if you'd like to know more about the blog.

I had jotted down my ideas and a few days ago happened

to visit the local book store, I came home with this book.

I'll post a little more on this in a later post but for the moment I'll share

a few words from the author in her preface where she explains that this is not a 

textbook, nor the work of a scholar, but a book "that invites the reader

on a journey from map to map, to let their imagination run free ..."

The last six words decided me on which of my ideas was the

one calling to me 100%.

On to the flowers.
A wander in the garden as we head for September, the official
first month of Spring here in New Zealand, yielded a touch of white with this

Hellebore

and this arum lily just beginning to unfurl, I love the

movement here.

Don't you think the curves are just wonderful?

That's me for the day, almost lunchtime and then time to bury
my head in a book for a little while.

Back during the week - happy quilting until then.

Maureen

Oops!! Two weeks since my last post

It's hard to believe that August will be upon us on Wednesday,

what happened to July???

A package of new fabric miraculously arrived on my doorstep

these are marked for a new project later in the year.

I've been adding borders to a piece made for a

challenge with AHIQ - you can check out this dedicated blog

with the button on my sidebar. You can see I'm sticking with

the Ad Hoc theme by not having consistent borders.

She also has a name now - Playtime.

This is where I'm at presently, not much further to go and

I'm hoping this will be a finished top by the end of August.

I'll post here and also on AHIQ.

There is an interesting challenge for the contributors

to the AHIQ blog - Maps and Mapping, check this out if you can.

I love the Perle cottons used by many of us for our

quilting and spotted five variegated lovelies the other day

these came home with me and now live with my others in their 

new home

a decorated tin

purchased from our local Garden Centre along with a larger size

below.

I knew they wouldn't be on the shelf for long, my husband wondered

why I had intended buying bulbs and came home with these!

You know by now that I love blooms whether newly opened or

fading, here is the last of my roses one week after picking.

Don't you just love the colours?

See you soon, have a good quilting week.

Maureen

A very cold Saturday, de-stashing and Improv

I've just come back home after selling

excess books and fabrics at our monthly

Guild meeting.

It's very cold and grey outside but the

wonderful sunrise gave me a good start.

I've been really busy the past two weeks carrying out some

de-stashing of fabrics for my sale and the same with my books,

very little actual quilting has been going on.

Some of you might recall the start of an improv medallion

with AdHocImprovQuilters early 2017, I came to a

stop with the central portion and couldn't decide

on where to go next.

Due to the formation of a dedicated blog - please see the

button right hand sidebar and do go visit - it was suggested invited contributors

give an update on improv quilts made earlier.

My update was pretty sparse, just this unfinished piece
and my Chinese Coins.

I was stirred into action to work again on this piece following

a comment - a nice one.

Next round of borders going on, churn dash blocks re-purposed from my

parts box, I rejected these from an earlier quilt. Of course you can see 

I left the odd few threads in there - too much of hurry to

get this post off.

A finish with a lovely wee flower from my

back garden border, I believe it's some sort of creeping geranium,

do I love the colour!!

I'll be back during the week after some serious

quilting!

Maureen