HSTeria Quilt Along

Loving this Quilt Along, thanks to Vicki at Field Trips in Fiber for coming up with this great idea! Hop along to the link please after reading this post and see all the other HSTeria projects.

I'm busy pulling out more fabrics in different colours and generally making a real mess on my cutting table - and over  other surfaces as well! Because of the colouring of this quilt it's a matter of careful placement so that's taking more time than the cutting and sewing at the moment. Using the colours I showed last week I have begun on Ocean Waves and making it with the memories in mind of my 1962/63 sail to NZ through Suez and the return to UK through Panama - I will never forget the beauty of the ocean and the sky, incredible.

All At Sea

I've just been along to the store to buy more of these white plastic trays, great for keeping pieces nice and tidy after cutting and waiting to be sewn.

That's all from me at the moment on HSTeria, gotta get busy on green cats!! Watch for another post on Sunday. Don't forget to visit the HSTeria link-up. 

Before I go we have been watching and reading about storms, flooding and tornadoes in the States, it looks horrific, know that other folks in other countries are keeping you in their thoughts.

Sunset one evening last week, just look at that sky!!!!!

HSTeria Quilt Along

First post for HSTeria Quilt Along today kindly organised by Vicki at Field Trips in Fiber, I have started cutting my half square triangles and  have gone with 2" finished squares. Huge indecision on both fabrics and layout so I'm going with the idea of two quilts! Had a few Bali Pops by Hoffman and really wanted to make something with those, that limited me to the 2" finished size and not sure yet whether to go with Flying Geese format, nor whether  to keep to these sort of shades or add a little of something else, I will probably do to the latter and make it a real multi coloured quilt - what do you think?

I suddenly realised that these colours are quite similar to my choice of some of the fabrics used in my Midnight At The Oasis quilt which is still waiting for the final border.

I'm using my GO Value die to cut these and by folding the strips into three and by carefully laying them across the die  I'm getting the half square triangles above, 2" finished squares and rectangles which would measure 2"x4" finished all good for using  in a future project.

My intention  had originally been to go with KF, PJ and BM fabrics so during the next week in addition to sewing the triangles I need to think about a more complex design for my second HSTeria quilt and pull the fabrics for that one. Looks like the next few weeks will be pretty full as in addition to my quilting I have unbelievably been told that I have FIVE appointments booked at the hospital in May  for my follow ups - all for different parts of me!!

Here in New Zealand we caught the tail end of Cyclone Ita, the full force of which  caused enormous devastation for the people in the Islands in the Pacific who were smack bang in the middle of it all. We had some shocking weather but as I said this was the tail end for us. We drove down to the beach at the start of the bad weather

Pretty rough!

Link up time now with Vick and HSTeria participants

so go along and see what we all have planned!

Fingers crossed and posting to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2014

Yes it is a case of fingers crossed here, my computer is still playing up, well perhaps not so much the computer but a setting that is stopping me connecting to the internet so this post is only happening because my husband has linked up his iPhone and I can do it this way!

Here's my latest cat, I had been searching for more of the Brandon Mably Tent fabric and at last was able to get a hold of a one yard piece, arrived two days ago and I was pleased as anything as I really wanted this fabric in the quilt.

With the loss of internet I have been busy sewing. Almost finished quilting the the cot quilt for our youngest grandson, made another 8" square for the Journal Quilt Project and generally fiddling around with my fabrics! On the subject of fabrics I have sinned yet again!!

As you can see I couldn't resist the new fabrics from KF, PJ and BM - sure you know who I mean here!

The colours are just glorious, I couldn't say which is my favourite but the Gloxinia fabric is especially luscious. Some of the designs are new and a few are older but in new colour ways, these have yet to be put away in their new home but for the moment they are folded neatly on my cutting table so I can keep going back, unfolding, stroking and refolding!

it is precisely 8" square but because of where I was standing it looks as if it has a curve top and bottom, it doesn't!

I need to catch up on all of the posts that are on my dashboard from the past few days so now linking up with everyone at so scrappy Rainbow Scrap Challenge and hoping that my thumb nail for the link is the right size! Late note - other issues cropped up and can't get the cat down to thumbnail - apologies to Angela!

Hope you are all enjoying Easter and finding time to quilt!

May be a few days before I can write another post but fingers crossed that Tuesday may be the day I can get things back in working order.

A quilter in the making?

Sadly my computer is down so in desperation I took the plunge and loaded the Blogger app on my iPhone so I'm not sure how this post will look! The photos may be too big, please leave me a comment or email me if it's a disaster.

Our 9yr old grand-daughter wanted to have decorations for Easter both at our place and hers, in an effort to avoid sticking tape or pins in our walls I suggested making bunting to string across our lounge and we would make enough for her to do the same at home. As I was busy cutting there were odd pieces left over from the fabrics she had chosen and when I looked up she was busy on one of my design walls

I think looks great and has given me some ideas.

This is all I'm going to post just as a tester and hopefully will have things under control for posting to RSC 2014 in two days time.

A Purple ScrapHappy on Saturday

I've been busy making six more purple kitties and making another journal quilt, I have two more  to make before the end of April, that's another story so here are more kitties, now have ten purple in all. 

I had to take this with my iPhone and they're not as clear as I would like, my camera is playing up so this is the best I could do for today. My intention is to get them all my cats arranged ready for sewing sometime in January next year, I'm planning ahead!

Autumn has truly arrived with us in the Southern Hemisphere, the mornings are crisper day by day but the days are beautiful - apart from the rain we had for visiting royalty. The leaves on the Japanese Maple in the back garden are just beginning to colour up for the season and the parakeets are back in the apple tree pecking holes in the fruit. If they would sit and peck at just one that's OK but no, they have to go around as many as they can taking just one bite from each apple.

All ready for the "season of mellow fruitfulness" I treated myself a few weeks ago to a beautiful knitted and felted bag from fibrefrenzi, also a smaller bag as a Christmas gift (told you I was planning ahead) do go along and have a look, not only fibre but paintings bursting with colour, looking at the posts gives me a huge boost every time.

this is the larger bag

smaller bag

The detailed work in these is just amazing.

Sunday morning here and I feel like sitting outside with a good book and morning tea, garden seat here I come after linking up with so scrappy and all who are taking part in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2014, please go visit. 

A Passion for Purple with RSC 2014

First four purple kitties for the purple month, six more to go!

Top right one looks more magenta on here, but it's a lovely purple with the scarlet dots,  KF dots

are a favourite of mine. I have gathered together some good information on photographing quilts, lots to read but hopefully by the end of it all I will be better organised with my pics for the blog. It's amazing what can be done/not done to achieve great results.  Have a peek at this site.

Here is one of my favourite cats

bought for me for my birthday in 1992 by my daughter so
"Kitty" has been around quite some time which accounts for the faded colour, she was somewhat brighter all those years ago but the sun here in NZ is pretty strong and colours fade quickly even when you make the effort to try and keep them out of sunlight.

I've been chopping up more pieces for my large box of cotton confetti, I do this with my tiny leftover trimmings from blocks, just slivers of fabric which used to be thrown in the waste bin

this is my latest small bin on my cutting table, when it's full I just throw it all in my huge container, I now need to start working on a project using my "confetti stash".

As you can see not much achieved this week, similar to the week before actually, but I have covered two moveable design walls with flannel and almost finished another 8" square for the Journal Quilt Project 2014, two more of these tiny quilts need to be ready before 30th April so next week is going to be a busy one.

Linking up now with scraphappy joining the rest of the girls who have all been busy with purple. When you link you will see I have managed to have the heads of two cats and bottom halves of the other two in my thumbnail!!! Don't know what happened there - obviously my reading up on photography has done me no good whatsoever.

Before I sign off here is our newest hibiscus in flower

Happy Quilting