Moving Forward.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and look forward to 2017 and all the quilting fun that will involve.

I hope you all have a great festive season with the ones you love and that 2017 brings you good health and happiness.

I have been MIA on the blog for a couple of months as have been very busy both with work, quilting and playing in alot of Christmas Golf Tournaments and family visiting. Time on the computer has been minimal but thought I would do a quick post before the festive season, in which I will be working and welcoming new ones into the world.

A little of what I have been up to. In November I was a pattern tester for Joanne over at Canuck Quilter for her pattern that she has just released-Tic Tac Who?

The pattern includes the choice of an owl, a duck or a dog. Joanne gave the option of which block to do and we could make either just the block or the quilt. I was lucky that I was able to make the owl and although ther are alot of very small pieces, Joannes instructions and illustrations make everything very clear and easy to follow.

I used my stash to make this blue take on the quilt and used fat quarters rather than yardage. This now sits in the pile waiting to be quilted.

If anyone wants a quilt for a little one I would highly recommend this pattern. I will definitely make another one.

I have been busy quilting some customer quilts and totally underestimated the time it would take to custom quilt one of them but loved it when it was finished as did it's owner. This was the first quilt she had ever sent out to a longarmer so I was very nervous.

Here is a sneak peak until I ask her if I show the whole quilt.

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Another thing that has takenn up time is that I have sold my Funquilter- I noe have my Nolting Pro so the Funquilter was not being used. I have new neighbours and her mother is a quilter ( and is now my new quilting friend) and saw the machine and so I said why not come I will show you how to use it. This is her first ever quilt on a longarm-and what a great job she did.

She loved the machine and has now bought it and it is installed at her house. She lives in the same town as I do, so I have been visiting  and helping  her out and we are having alot of fun.

That is a quick catch up and photos of some of my latest activites.

Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday Season. Take care and keep safe

October Finish

My October OMG was to sew these fabrics into a quilt top.

Not only did I achieve that but it is now quilted and bound and although finished  I am not in love with it. Sandra over at www.mmmquilts.com suggested it may be that the orange is too bright and until she said that I hadn't seen it but I think she is right. My sister saw it today and thought it didn't pop as the focus fabrics are all too similar so fade together. Looking at it now I think it is both those but it is finished, it is not a disaster and it will keep a little one warm on cold days and nights so all is not lost.

It is quilted with Glide thread in Seafoam, and a Pantograph called Cascade by Lorien Quilting and quilted up nicely.

And of course a Dot Minkee fabric in light green o the back.

Back Again

Oops been awhile but here is a little of what I have been up to on the quilting front. Life, gardening and a little golfing trip away all happened. After weeks of rain the sun is shining  and so it is time for the garden makeover for summer. Yay I love summer!
So back to the quilting-
This gorgeous pile of Batik Charm squares arrived on my doorstep after a long journey from USA-think they must've travelled right around the world to get here as they took a while after posting to arrive.
Going back to before Bloggers Quilt Festival there was a Shadow Block Mini Quiltalong that was run by Janice at Color, Creating and Quilting and while I didn't participate I did comment on a couple of blogs. Then one morning I got an email that I  had won a giveaway-but hey I haven't entered any giveaways so I  thought it was Spam mail!!! It turned out that there were some giveaways for those who commented (I didn't read that part!!) and I won these wonderful charms from Jennifer at Dizzy Quilter and look at the wonderful card that was included as well.. Thank you so much Jennifer and to Janice.

For those who have visited before this may be a 'I've seen that before ' moment but this is the second quilt that I have made in this pattern and colour way (by request) but this one is quilted differently to the first. (it does lie flat just not in this photo)The woman I made it for is about to become a grandmother for the first time and she loves it.

 Nice pink dot minkee on the back

Then this is a peak at the customer quilt that was on the machine for awhile and I can say it is now in the hands of the recipient who let me know she loves it, which always brings a sigh of relief.

My October OMG is now a top (and being quilted) but I can't say that I am in love with it. I have used these fabrics in a Strip Quilt and thought it was great but this design doesn't do it for me. The colours in this photo are a bit washed out and it was a battle with the wind to take a photo.

Soft green dot minkee for the backing and Glide thread in Seafoam.

So that's the rap for now. I'm off out into the garden while the sun is shining. Back to work tomorrow and then we have rain forecast so hopefully I get the garden finished today.

I'll leave you with the first Passionfruit Flower on my vine this season-

I'm hoping for many more followed by the fruit.

Happy Quilting

Thank You for visiting.

OMG October

Getting in just under the wire.
My plan for this month is to turn these  fabrics-left over from other projects-into a Plus Quilt for a baby due very soon.

September Finish

From this-

Which was unsure about to tell the truth.

To this-a finished flimsy-

Like it more now. It measures approx. 74x94 inches.

Not the best photo but ouor spring weather so far has been rain, rain, and more rain.

It will be next on the machine after this clients quilt-

I started off by stitching in the ditch but after ripping that out a few times changed direction and by stitching 1/4 inch either side of the red it still makes it pop.

She didn't want an edge to edge design as she wanted the red strips unquilted. Other then that I could do what I liked. Using Glide thread in the colour Cork.

BQF-Small Quilt Catergory

For my second entry into the Bloggers Quilt Festival I am entering this quilt into the Small Quilt Catergory. I made this for a colleague who was having a little girl. I can't believe I did not take a photo once I added the binding-which was a dark pink.

 The quilt measures 42 inches square and comes from a design by Victoria Findlay Wolfe in Modern Baby by The Patchwork Place. I made the stars  using half square triangles to form the parallelograms as I did not want to have to deal with Y seams.

Quilted on my longarm I had no set plan when I started but love how it turned out. Backed with a soft pink minkee that has stars printed on it.
I posted this quilt to the new mum and received some great photos of the new little one having floor time on the quilt. It is truly loved by all so what more can we ask as quilters.

Thanks for visiting. I'm off to look at all the inspiration at the festival.

Bloggers Quilt Festival-Applique

Welcome to anyone visiting from the Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Amy at Amy's Creative Side.
Although I have 'visited the festival' for a few years and have loved checking out so many wonderful creations this is the first time I have entered a quilt.
To those visiting for the first time my name is Marlene and I live in a small town about an hour south of Auckland, New Zealand. I work three days a week as a midwife in the busiest maternity unit in the country. Then it's quilting and golfing-not good but love it! I have a longarm machine and have just begun quilting for others on a small basis.

The quilt I am entering, in the Applique Section,  was made as a commission for a colleague at work who was welcoming her first grandchild. The pattern is Paisley Splash and can be found on the Wyndham Fabrics website. The request was for 'bright' and grandma chose the elephant fabric and scraps filled the rest of the quilt.

I used a buttonhole stitch on my Janome machine to do the applique and it is quilted freehand on my longarm in the background. It is backed with a red minkee and came out lovely and cuddly.

When I handed the quilt over to grandma, when we were at work, she had to fight back tears/. What better way to know that this will be a much loved quilt.

Thanks for visiting.

On the Machine

Working on a commission Pink and White Baby quilt-nearly there. Same pattern as one I made in May (by request) but some different quilting on this one

Goal for September

  So my goal for September is to make more of these blocks, a pattern from the book "Large-Block Quilts" by Victoria Eapen.

I recently went on a road trip five hours south of where I live to visit my mother who in a  Resthome. She has moved into a bigger room that also has a larger bed. She has a quilt on her bed that I made a couple of years ago but it is a little small so I said I would make her another one. I was informed emphatically that there was to be NO green in the quilt. My mother has never 'done' green-something to do with bad luck!! The curtains in her room are grey and red, hence this fabric choice. Hopefully it will finish as I envisage and am thinking four blocks by five. The blocks are 18 1/2 inches unfinished so come together quickly.








                                     

August OMG Finish

Finished and so onto the quilting. Owl fabric all used up now.

                                                            Finished size 48x54 inches.

Gifted

This Giant Star quilt has languished for I don't know how long waiting for the binding to be hand sewn. I made it to try the pattern but also just to use up some boy fabrics.
Well this week I got the needed push to finish it and it has now been gifted along with the chevron quilt.
A  family, with a 3 year old and 6 month old, in our small town tragically lost their house and all it's contents in a fire last week. One of their friends coordinated collecting clothes and bedding for the children. So what does a quilter do but donate quilts.

When I was young we also had the tragedy of having our house burn to the ground and the support of the community was amazing so of course I didn't hesitate to give. It was very emotional when I handed the quilts over as the woman who was collecting the goods burst into tears when I told her I had made them. She found it hard to believe someone would do this for a stranger but isn't that what we as quilters do when we can?

I quilted the star quilt with a meander and star pattern

I have been busy quilting two children's applique quilts for a client but I can't show you the front of them as I don't have permission, and they have not been collected as yet. But how about a little sneak peek-

Green minkee on the back that did not cause any issues at all. I have had three applique quilts to do for this client so thinking up different designs for each one has been a challenge but almost there-just the borders on the last one to go.

I also handed over the elephant quilt that also prompted tears from the grandma I made it for. I handed it over at work and got some  amazing feedback and another order for a baby quilt.

OMG for August

As I was tidying up my sewing room I was folding these fabrics and thought they go well together so why not make them into a quilt. I have been using the purple star fabric for over 10 years now-boy I must have bought a lot of it or maybe it's been a second purchase.

My goal for this month is to sew it into a quilt using the Wiggle Time pattern from Cynthia at www.quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com. I will make it as big as the fabric allows. I have used this pattern before to make this Queen size quilt-

Of course Maisie had to pose for her shot as well.

Here is a shot of her yesterday-

Determined to fit into her bowl od catnip and sleep the afternoon away!

After my holiday I decided I needed to reacquaint myself with Remy-my longarm before I quilted the elephant quilt. I found this top I started years ago and never finished and now can't remember what the plan was for it so decided to just quilt it up-it has finished at 35x52 inches and has a nice flannel backing so will keep a little child warm.
No matter where I tried to photograph this the true colours never showed-it is a lot more vibrant than it looks here.

Quilted with freeform leaves and circles-liked how it turned out.

Backing of left over pieces of flannel.

Then it was onto the elephant quilt that ended up giving me a lot of issues, but I do like the end result . I backed it with a red minkee dot-mistake number one but by the time I realized it would be an issue I had already ditch stitched and stitched around all the applique so I was not going to unpick all that.

It was at that point that a Webinair by Kim Brunner came up in my Facebook feed so I sat and watched it-well worth it. It was about loading and keeping a quilt square on your longarm and in it she said if using light fabric on the front that has a lot of negative space think carefully about a dark backing fabric as it will give a coloured tint to the front-So true but too late.

In the end the pink glow is not so much of an issue as the baby has now delivered and she is a healthy little girl (they did not know whether they were having a girl or a boy) .

The major issue I had was with the red minkee pulling through to the top, especially when I was using red bobbin thread and it wasn't a tension issue, so very frustrating and resulted in a lot of unpicking-in fact I think I spent longer unpicking than quilting!! Next I tried a grey bobbin-(I personally like my bobbin thread to blend with the backing, not necessarily matching the top thread.) and that just ended with more unpicking. Finally I gave in and loaded a white thread and although not perfect it is passable. I have since read on MQ Resource that a quilter had the same problem with orange minkee which she solved with two layers of batting-too late for me!! I think in the future I will stick to the lighter colours as I have never had a problem with them. I do however have a client quilt to do that she supplied a bright lime green minkee so I hope that one behaves.

I wonder how many more elephant quilts I have in my future. I love both the ones I have done so far and got a call from the recipient of the yellow and grey one to say how much she loved it and they were her favourite colours (did not know that when I made it). Wonderful to hear the quilt is being used.

Holiday over

This is where I have been!
Just look at this glorious deserted expanse of beach on the Sunshine Coast of Australia- a spot called Marcoola  (don't tell everyone though or it might become crowded!!)

This beach is 15 mins from my sister's house so you can imagine we spent time walking the sands. Not warm enough to swim as it is winter but 23degrees Celsius so I was happy.

There house is also close to hinterland so if it wasn't walking on the beach it was bush walking.ing. There had been some heavy rain so it was great to have the waterfalls flowing.

I always like to have some craft to do on holiday and this time decided to try some hand stitching and managed these hexagons-who knows what they will end up being.

                                     

Now that I am back home , and to not such pleasant weather, it is time to get into the sewing room again. It always takes me awhile to get back into the swing of life after a holiday so I decided to just continue with some string blocks as a start.

To sash or not to sash is the question-opinions welcome!

Then it is onto another elephant quilt request-this is for one of the woman I work with who is about to become a grandma for the first time. She saw the first one of this design I made-

but thought the colours were too dull. She loves brights! So I took in some samples of fabric for the elephant that I thought would work (all from my stash) and this is what she chose.

Now that I see this photo I need to add another feather in the space in the upper right corner by the green feather as that looks like too much white space. Then it is on to the borders and the quilting.

Thanks for visiting and all comments welcome.

More Fun

I have finished the ABC quilt but cannot show you the whole quilt yet. I liked how it turned out and hope the owner does as well.

I have been having more fun practicing and used the Marmalade 2 pattern from Moda Bakeshop but did make it longer. Quilted with Curly Heart panto from Lorien Quilting.

And pale blue minkee with stars on the back

This does not have a forever home as yet but there are several babies due over the next few months so I need to start having a stock ready. I love this pattern and may now make one with pink fabrics.

I did not set a OMG this month as tomorrow I leave for a two week holiday on the Sunshine Coast of Australia-visiting family and looking forward to hopefully some sunshine and a little warmer than here-I LOVE summer!!

I have cut out some hexies to hand stitch if I need some craft time. I am not a hand stitcher so we will see how far we go with the project.

Having Fun

Wonderful ABC Quilt for a client

Bindings Next

May is coming to an end and so it is time to show my May OMG that is all quilted and now ready for the binding-if I can get it away from 'The Evil One' !!

I laid it on the floor to trim it and it was quickly taken over and she didn't like it when I took it to take photos of it.

This was a practice quilt  (that will be a lap quilt for this winter) to use Remy to quilt a panto. I certainly did not have a smooth path so it is a bit jerky but once washed and crinkly you won't notice.

I also decided to use a variegated thread that may not have been the wisest choice for my first panto on this machine but I do like the effect. 

The panto is Slick by Lorien Quilting and the thread is a King Tut by Superior.

Another quilted one that is ready for binding and I love how it turned out.

And look at the backing- a light pink minkee that I think shows the quilting so well-

Onto the binding now.

I have another quilt loaded and quilting has begun- forgot to take a before photo so it will have to be a finish photo.

Happy quilting.