Red is a Neutral for AHIQ: Improvisational Utility Quilts

When I began this challenge I had in mind a throw sized quilt, but I stalled.

I really wasn't happy with it, I thought of sashing to break up the red and

various other ways to stop the red overwhelming everything else.

Yesterday I almost took the blocks down off the wall to throw them in the bin!

After mulling things over I decided I had to finish, so I've gone with the small number of 

blocks on hand and found a border fabric which

I thought seemed to contain things a little.

Even now this still plays havoc with my eyes, and no doubt
with yours, and I have very mixed

feelings on it, but at least

I have a top, which is best viewed from a distance!!!!

To give myself a break from it yesterday I spent some time

reading the book below which arrived in the mail.

Stunning photographs of Victoria's quilts and

paragraphs on her early life, her history in

art and how she came to this point in her life as a

quilt artist.

So very interesting.

I also received an order of fabric by Kathy Doughty

of

Material Obsession

her latest range is 

Seeds and Stems

I am three missing out of the range right now, I'll order those tomorrow.

My favourite is this one below

and that's all from me tonight, tomorrow

I'm going to put time in for planning future projects and
deciding the order of quilts needing to be quilted.

A quick rose photo to finish.

Her name escapes me at the moment but her scent

doesn't - it's divine!

Happy Quilting

Something Old and Something New

I have a finished top with Chain Link Horizon (the new) and posting

photos of two quilts from waaay back (the old) and a couple of garden

photos added to the mix.

Chain Link Horizon is a pattern by

Kathy Doughty

at

Material Obsession

and

I've played with my own colour scheme

by using quite a lot of FK Collective fabrics in my version.

Measures 60" x 72" so quite a nice size to handle.

I found it a super quilt to cut and sew, large half hexagons make

things much easier and I'm intending to make another one later this year

as a gift for eldest grandson, I'll be using more masculine colours in his.

The old quilts next - I opted out of a joint exhibition with

my husband who paints - but at the last minute there were two empty

walls so I hunted these two out.

Java Moon

 I made around 1993 following some time spent in Jakarta,

I fell in love with the traditional batiks, came home with quite a stash!

This is my own design.

The left hand side strips  are actually perfectly straight, I took three photos
and each one was off kilter.

Jungle Fever

I can't remember exactly when I made this one but I used commercial batiks,

Hoffman I should think, and I did have a pattern but unfortunately

can't locate it in order to give credit to the designer. 

To add more colour to this post I have two photos of gladioli

flowering right now. I brought a few corms home from my Dad's garden after

he passed away in 2003, they're now invading certain spots in

our garden, but I love the colour.

Here they are mingling with a few shrubs

and here's a close-up below,  I love seeing all the detail in the

individual flower. Stunning colour.

I'm heading off now to cut the binding for my large blue hexagon

quilt, a corner shown below.

The pattern is from the KF book

Quilts in Morocco

and it's a large quilt

80 1/2" x 84 1/2"

I'll post when the binding's on.

Happy Quilting

Maureen

It's been a long time !!!

Almost four weeks since I last wrote a post, lots going on around here mostly

due to 

medical issues to cope with for me, hopefully matters have eased somewhat and normal 

service should be resumed!

Last time I posted I had made a start on Chain Link Horizon, a little progress 

happened this week.

Not what I could call an elegant photograph,

I've sewn four rows together at one time and pinned them up on the wall,

trimming needs to be dealt with and threads cleaned up. Five more rows

yet to sew.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will spot that the blue 'star' on the RH side

has two different fabrics in the top three half hexagons. I had a small piece

of a lovely Philip Jacobs fabric left in my blue bin and was sure there

was just enough for the three needed and began cutting - wrong, not

enough so I substituted with one piece of 

PJ Blue Feathers. 

Three of my favourite combinations are below.

So what have I been doing whilst taking an enforced break?

Catching up on reading, planning a re-organisation of my

quilting studio, thinking about what needs to be taken care of

in the garden, but not able to do it, deciding which older pieces of

furniture will get the Chalk Paint treatment.

Watching Autumn creep into the garden has been a pleasure, just

walking around looking at which plants have finished and

which are now flowering - not many I'm afraid.

On a walk around the block this beautiful Liquidambar

caught my eye

along with a favourite sight of mine at this time of year

a Sasanqua camellia, I always love to see

the carpet of fallen petals, and of course now flowering

are the hibiscus

we have quite a few in our garden.

 I'm devoting tomorrow morning to catching up with reading your blog posts,

unfortunately this daily pleasure fell by the wayside.

I'm looking forward to my normal routine again now.

See you soon!!

Maureen

A happy find on Sunday and other matters

I'll come to the happy find shortly but first

I've been slowly cutting and sewing my Chain Link Fence

quilt - I have to say I'm finding this addictive!!

I'm time poor at the moment otherwise this quilt top

would be all sewn up.

Only a few rows complete at the moment and other bits

pinned on the design wall, I was going to write 'pinned haphazardly'

but I see that this actually means

'in a manner lacking any obvious principle of organisation'

and I do like to think there is a small amount of organisation here!

I've deviated slightly from the pattern in that I am creating stars here and there, this will be

more obvious as more rows are stitched.

On my agenda for tomorrow is the putting away of all the fabric below

consisting of pieces at the bottom of the tub and basket

from recent projects plus new fabrics on top - guess whose fabrics?

You may have seen in my profile at the top of my blog

that I come from Lancashire UK. I spotted on

Instagram a quilt pattern with the name

'Lancashire Spin',

this I have to make, hopefully this year.

My happy find is below.

 A fused piece made all of 15 years ago, I had hunted on and

off over the years to find where on earth I stashed it away.

Yesterday I found it, next step is a little quilting.

I needed my very best pair of embroidery scissors to cut around all

these little bits of coral and so on. Pretty hard on the fingers I can tell you.

Size of 17" square.

I think this was a McKenna Ryan pattern.

Finished with fabric now and should like to show you this photograph taken 

on Friday, there is a brief story that goes along with this bird, if you care to read.

A stunning looking magpie - I have a love/hate relationship with these.

Many years ago I was attacked by a magpie whilst walking through

a Christchurch park, noted for an abundance of magpies at certain times of the year in the

magnificent trees. Not a problem.

I was aware briefly of something brushing past my head, didn't really attach

any importance to it, perhaps a sparrow disturbed by my walking under

the trees. A moment later I felt as if I had been hit with a hammer on the

back of my head and was knocked to the ground. A magpie

had taken exception to my presence and decided to leave

me a reminder with a hole in the back of my head. 

Boy, did I put on some speed (yes, I could do that years ago) to reach home followed by a

visit to the doctor for cleansing the hole and the necessary tetanus jabs.

I can tell you they do leave a pretty big hole and an extremely sore head!!

On that note I shall take an early lunch, have a nap and then

back to the machine for more sewing.

Have a happy week ahead.

 Maureen

Another squirrel and Colorwash 360 Online Course

No sooner does one squirrel escape my little

studio than another appears!

I've begun a quilt using pretty large half hexagons, pattern by

Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession, featured in a copy of

Quiltmania Simply Moderne.

Some of the fabrics are coming from large scrap pieces, others

from fabrics awaiting storing in their respective places.

Just playing with the pieces here on the design wall.

I took the plunge and bought the Hex N More ruler

by Jaybird Quilts, I didn't want to spend the time

copying the pattern pieces from the magazine and cutting from those, the

ruler is fantastic! 

The pattern is called Chain Link Horizons.

I've enrolled for the

Colorwash 360 Online Course

with

Wanda at Exuberant Color

lots of you will be familiar with her stunning

colorwash quilts,  couldn't pass up on this chance.

The nearest I have come to trying to create a blended feel in

a quilt is the one below,

Red Sea Sunset, an HST quilt along a few years ago.

Inspired by sailing through the Red Sea in 1962

on our way to New Zealand from England.

Using mostly batiks and the reverse side of many fabrics

to achieve the b lend from one colour to another.

My Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs fabrics will come into play

with Colorwash 360. first module is on Monday.

Somehow I need to fit in actual quilting and headed for a Tula Pink

quilt top, made last year and basted and backed all ready to go.

Opened the drawer of neatly folded quilt tops and had to take a 'phone call,

when I arrived back someone had found a cosy spot to relax.

I'd like to finish off with a photo yesterday of one of my 

favourite early morning sights at this time of year, the moon with Venus

sitting high above.

Whenever I look at the dawn sky and see the moon, in whatever quarter,

I think of my favourite few lines by Isak Dinesen /Karen Blixen in

'Out of Africa'

“If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?”

Maureen

A quilt in remembrance

I can't believe it's two weeks since my last post, it's been a very sad time 

for New Zealand.

Perhaps you will have seen on your news, wherever you live, the

horror of the massacre of people in their places of worship.

There is a lot I should like to say but this is not the platform to do so.

I will concentrate on quilt related matters.

Here is my latest quilt, just a top at the moment,

Stone Flower Patches

and you may remember  that this was a pattern from Free Spirit website

using Kaffe Fassett fabrics. There is no input in this from myself

apart from the cutting and stitching using the exact same fabrics given

in the pattern.

It was my intention to have this in a small

joint exhibition between myself and my husband, plans changed over the last two

weeks.

I found great solace in slowly working on this piece since the

massacre in Christchurch, 15 minutes each time at the machine

was the only way I could finish 

due to a torn meniscus in my right knee.

Stone Flower Patches is staying with me now.

An exhibition of quilts can take place in the future.

Do you know, I haven't even been reading blog posts,

can't quite believe that myself, I shall be

catching up on reading tomorrow.

More from me in a few days, until then happy stitching

and enjoy the sunrise below taken one morning a week ago,

a 'heart lifter'.

Kia kaha Christchurch

Maureen