quiltmekiwi

Finding time to play

2012-03-21T10:30:00.000+13:00

Trying to find times to play is sometime difficult, I'm sure you will agree very important to keep your sanity.
So with a big part of Sunday to myself I stopped procrastinating & did this make over...............

I bought this cupboard many years ago from a OP shop, it was some nice wood, I got bored with that, rag painted it with white paint then the teal colour. And now years later got bored with it & gave it a new look.
Notice the cushion sitting on the cupboard? I showed you a couple of weeks ago that I had started it, well there it is all finished.

My first go with wool felt, the stem & leaves are from a tweet jacket I found at the OP shop for $5. The flower is from the pack of wool felt I won from Julie.
I have also finished a Eye spy quilt too, but will show you that later.
Our cat Brian has been doing well without his tail, just has the problem with cabin fever!
Thanks for all who have asked about his progress.
The rain is easing off here, some places have been badly affected.

Wishing you all a magical day!

one of those weeks.......................!!!!!

2012-03-15T20:24:00.018+13:00

Wow so much can happen in one week, can't it? Well it feels like it has been one of those weeks.
Our sweet big boy Brian has been to the vet many times this week. He has had a nasty injury to his tail, looks like a door slammed on his tail. The vets tried to save his tail, but this morning the they told me his tail couldn't be saved, too much nerve damage. I'm sure he is going to be fine, but I feel for this this proud cat.

On to quilty matters.........................

Ngaire's granddaughter has been at her stash again! look what she came up with.......................

I quilted "lion, Zebra, Elephant, Giraffe on the borders, orange peels on the squares, a leafy vine on some of the sashings, accented the panel blocks.

The next quilt was for Miranda, she made this one for her father. Using some Minkie for the large blocks & musical fabrics & other fabrics for the four patch blocks, has resulted in a very simple quilt. Miranda wanted me to quilt it as I did on the last one she commissioned me to do....

See you next time!

Leeanne

More customer quilts...............................

2012-03-08T19:53:00.014+13:00

Shireen finished this sampler quilt 12 years ago & thought maybe it was time to get it finished.
Made at a class at Bernina. Shireen wanted cotton batting, & gave me the freedom to quilt as I wish.

Once again my Madeira Polyneons did not get time to gather dust!

Apart from the feather wreath I did all the quilting free hand, the wreath is a stencil I have, I traced the basic shape & modified to suit the style of quilting I was doing.

Some close ups of the individual blocks....

Next a wee wall hanging for The Country Yard
Made by Megan from a pattern by Natalie Bird from the "Birdhouse" called : "Old cat & Friends"

customer quilt

2012-03-05T12:49:00.000+13:00

Cat gave me this quilt to work on for her. This was a swap quilt, you can read all about it on Cat's original post here
You may want a better view of what I did, so just click on the photo's & that should help.

No Madeira threads were harmed in the quilting of this top.


this one was special to me, those of you who know me, will know why.

Cool wedding cake house! I think it is cat & her hubbies! Can you see I quilted "Here comes the bride"

The back! Each participant put a sigi block in as well.

Years from now this will hold some special memories for Cat.

I will leave you with a couple more pincushions I finished last night while watching American Idol.

P.S how is everyone feeling about this 'word verification' thingie? Some folks have it, some don't? Does it put you off leaving a comment? Ha....if it does, you won't leave a comment to tell me so!

"A Trip Down Flimsy Lane"

2012-03-04T15:20:00.001+13:00

I love when you can make the time to just 'potter'.
So with pottering on the menu for today.....(well after Hubby & I cleaned the house!)
I finished " Classic Strippy" from Bonnie Hunter's book : Adventures with Leaders & Enders. You may remember my post about making this quilt way back here!
Now this is a BIG quilt : 90" x 108" , I made mine a bit longer than in Bonnie's book as I wanted the quilt to go over the pillows. I have my washing line extended as high as would go & it was still on the ground!

Way back,
..................well a while ago I posted about these wee stars .So here is another flimsy, this has been finished for quite sometime, ready to be quilted.

Maverick Stars is from Bonnie Hunters website, she has many cool free patterns, you can find Maverick Stars here.
Great quilt for a Leader & Ender & to use up those scraps. Some of the centres I did 'crumby'.

I just need to get quilting these as I love them!!

Click for a better view

This one was a BOM (no scraps here!) from Crab Apple Hill I have spent quite a few years working on this , lots stitchery, the hand bags, the crazy patch blocks. this too is ready to be quilted, when that is done I need to add all the beads.
All these quilts have backing & binding already cut & ready to go!

As suggested by Leeann I'm bringing you the month of March.

weekend sewing......................

2012-02-27T13:33:00.000+13:00

But first I had a visit from my Rivet Man ( a.k.a my hubby !)

He hung my wee shelf for my mini sewing machines and a hook for my lovely calendar a sweet friend gave me. This calendar comes with ALL the patterns of the quilts featured. Now my studio is looking more homely.

Now to the sewing bit...........................!

It's not finished but it has started, a cushion & my first go at using wool felt. The stem & leaves are from a tweed jacket I bought last year from the OP shop, the flower is from the wool felt I won from Julie!!!
But I did finish this!...............................

This is what I did have......yuk, yuk!

The inside of the new one....................

I got the pattern from Cottage Flair it is one their own designs called " Snazzy Wallet". I did find the pattern was not very clear, photocopied pages and hand drawn pictures made it not very clear. But I got there in the end and now it can go in this........................

I hope you all had a restful weekend enjoying the things you love!

twenty years ago......

2012-02-23T20:24:00.000+13:00

An Apple a day keeps the Doc away! Well I think it keeps the sad face away!...........I smiled looking at this quilt. It just reeks happiness! Can you spot the apples with only one leaf?
Levonne made this quilt and from what she tells me, it WAS her happy quilt!
Every stressful day at work she would come home and in her words : " sew another apple".
This is the back! Love it!

If your mad about plaids you'll like Levonne's next one too.


Quilting in some fun!

click for a close up & see the hens eggs!


a bit of sunshine for those cloudy days! see the sun?

Double Irish chain, Levonne says she still has this Jinny Beyer fabric for the binding.

So twenty years ago Levonne made these quilts, and can now bind and enjoy!

Pssst.....more secrets revealed! ....................

2012-02-20T14:08:00.001+13:00

This quilt is made from Annie Downs book " Some kind of Wonderful" ........and it IS a wonderful book! I had to buy one for myself. Kerryn made this using "Itchings" by 3 Sisters of Moda.

I did a loopy, trailing paisley vine all over in a beige Madeira Polyneon thread.
Please don't feel nosy by clicking on the photo's for a closer look!

Next is a wall hanging from Whimsical's Button's & Blooms book
Using the same thread as the previous quilt I did whimsical flowing loops.

Next is another wall hanging made from a panel called " A Quilters Home"

The last of the secret projects................ a table runner ..................... very simple quilting.

And last but not least two cushions for Kerryn. These were both from mini Round Robin groups she was apart of.


this one was from Helen Stubbing's 'stitching Round the Block'

some secrets revealed!

2012-02-18T17:01:00.000+13:00

A few posts ago I wrote about this cushion being made from scraps from a secret project , well I can now post about these 'secret' projects! At the Counrty Yard today we had our New Years launch where we showcased a heap of new projects that the team at shop have been secretly working away on. On show were : new fabrics, patterns, clubs, kits & BOM's. This is a cushion I made to go with the new BOM, see next lot of photo's.......................

please click on photo's for a closeup.


back of quilt

"Homecoming Lane" designed by Gail Pan, pieced, appliqued & quilted by me. We have used several ranges of fabrics to give a homely country old world look. I did raw edge machine blanket stitch for the applique & on the cushion I did needleturn to show you can choose any technique that takes your fancy!
I quilted a scalloped edge with pebbles and piano keys to give some texture to the busy border fabric.

back of cushion

By the way, Gail's patterns are lovely to use, easy to read & understand.

I have more to show you......so stay tuned!

How many is TOO many????

2012-02-16T16:18:00.000+13:00

Can a girl have too many miniature sewing machines?
I got home from work today to this parcel of cute sewing machines. I bought them off Trademe
( for non New Zealand bloggers, that is like Ebay )
Twenty five of them for $32! Not bad, no where to put them?
This one is my favourite ...................

wishing you all a happy weekend and I hope you get a chance to feel as content as these two.
I just found two more in the bottom of the box....so make that twenty seven.

Jelly Roll quilt and Marie Bostwick novel

2012-02-14T16:38:00.000+13:00

my shadow!

When Kerry's Mum passed away her children wanted to get her fabric so she could make a quilt in memory of her Mum. So they popped along to The Country Yard as this is Kerry's 'local' . They bought a Jelly roll, sashing fabric and a pattern and gave it their Mum.
Pieced at a retreat last year and given to me before Christmas to quilt.( I had a big back log !)
I finished quilting yesterday and phoned Kerry to tell her her Mum's quilt was finished, turns out it would have been Kerry's Mum's birthday yesterday! I never knew, isn't the world a mysterious place sometimes.

Kerry wanted me to quilt a similar style as this quilt. Hugs to you Kerry and I hope this quilt gives you warm thoughts of not only your Mum, but your thoughtful children also.

Second book in the series finished! I loved it and now have the third to read.

Is it halloween already?

2012-02-09T16:30:00.002+13:00

Ngaire's granddaughter has been raiding her stash & come up with this Halloween quilt. It is a fun wall hanging, complete with pumpkins, spiderwebs & witches!

I am having problems with my link to my Flickr page.........not sure what is the go on that, maybe I should change to Pintrest?

Brian & Simon

Cushions.................

2012-02-07T16:35:00.001+13:00

A cushion I made from scraps leftover from a secret project and a doiley.

A CD pincushion I made for a friends birthday. I haven't forgotten to make yours Helen. I have made quite a few of these for people, here is where I got the idea.

A few weeks ago I got together with a few friends and we had a pin cushion bee. many laughs later, someones nearly landed in a cup of coffee out of frustration! Another ditched her's all together and started over!

smile when the postie comes knocking on the door..........

2012-02-04T14:45:00.000+13:00

Pictures of yumminess! Lucky me won these from Julie please check out her blog, it is always a feast for the eyes and look at her header quilt, it is plaidyumminess!

More bloggy surprises were found last week when I was reading one of my favourite blogs................a photo of my Buggy Barn Quilters Village quilt! I posted about it here but you can see it on the Kansas troubles blog

"Trouble"!!!

A special Heirloom.............

2012-01-31T10:12:00.000+13:00

Twenty years ago Jenny made this quilt as part of a class, she felt it was time to get this beauty finished!

The background fabric, sashing and backing fabric is cream calico, the batting is wool all save from 20 years ago. I'll let you enjoy the photo's..................

I love the texture the quilting has added to this quilt. I wonder what binding Jenny will use?
For more photo's please check out my Flickr page , or you can pop over there from the link on the top left hand corner of my blog.

Now I'm off to work on some secret projects for the The Country Yard 's new years launch, which is on the 18th February. I can show you more after that date.

this is a blog of quilting not cats!

2012-01-19T19:46:00.000+13:00

Is this a happy face or what! This is a Laurel Burch fabric. Ngaire's granddaughter has made a fabulous job of this quilt.

Out came the Madeira polyneons for this quilt, a flower border,cross hatching, loopy-la-la's & orange peel, click on the photo's for more detail if you fancy.

Also finished the mystery stitchery for The Country Yard . Many ladies were part of this nine month mystery stitchery and are already lining up to what is in store for this years mystery!

Once again my nice selection of Madeira's polyneons came in handy with a simple wandering leafy vine. The puffy poly batting gives this quilt nice texture.

my next job

can you see me smiling?

2012-01-15T10:24:00.003+13:00

See my friend helping with a photo shoot? Oh we are so happy to have this wee boy back!!
But we are a bit confused about cat law, as our other two cats, (one is Simon's sister, Rose) are hissing & growling at him. We just don't get it? Is this some effort to re-establish their pecking order? maybe when Simon went missing for 5 days, they, Brian & Rose arranged the pecking order to suit just the two of them? I really don't know.

Anyway while taking photo's of the finished quilt (that I can't show you more until later) I took a photo of my first Round Robin quilt.

2009, 12 of us started a group & had some fun & laughs each month. This quilt is hanging in my studio, it is a nice reminder of the love of quilting, friendship & good times.

Last night we went to see "War Horse" at the movies, I really liked this film. A sad/ happy film. If you are a animal lover & like stories of friendship, you will most likely enjoy.

Happy days & thanks for your friendship xxxxxx

:-)

2012-01-11T07:37:00.001+13:00

Our sweet Simon is home! Thank you for your kind comments, especially Michelle with your uplifting story.

cats..................& quilting.................

2012-01-09T17:28:00.000+13:00

While working on a yummy quilt................sorry this is all you can see for now!
I had Rose come to pay me a visit, she really wanted to cuddle up on this quilt, but I directed her to my sewing machine cover.

I think she, like me and hubby are missing Simon, her brother.........he has been missing for three days :-(

Merry Christmas to me again!!

2012-01-07T09:16:00.000+13:00

After a visit with my friend Megan I was presented with a beautiful Christmas present. I wish I had taken photo's of all the pretty blue curling ribbon wrapped around these sweet tins. Megan's daughter instructed which tin to open first.
What......................... presents inside the tins? The tins alone are a wonderful gift.

Home made strawberry jam, truffle yummy's and a lovely needle case.........................


inside of needle case

The needle case outside cover is a lovely grey/blue wool felt with a lovely painted wooden button. Of course not only can I store needles, but small scissors, threads and most likely a small hand project.
T*H*A*N*K*Y*O*U M*E*G*A*N

With another rainy day here I'm off to my studio!

"Merry Christmas to me, merry christmas to me!"

2012-01-06T11:39:00.001+13:00

Look at this wonderful present I got from my friend Raewyn !
She knows what my favourite block is.........the Dresden!

Checkout how well it goes in my room......................

Sitting next to my Stitching Round the Block cushion and sharing space with my whimsical quilt and this next photo is the quilt hanging above the bed.............................


2010 Lynette Anderson mystery button BOM

A closeup of Raewyn's beautiful needleturn! and stitching.........T*H*A*N*K*Y*O*U R*A*E*W*Y*N

Orca Bay photo shoot.....................

2012-01-01T16:54:00.001+13:00

can you spot the 'helper'?

So I'm all finished with step 7 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery I thought maybe the wood shed would be a nice spot for photo's, but the blocks seem to blend in.....so plan B

back to the Thyme as I had some time to make these blocks I thought it was a good spot..................

Mmmmmm can you spot the 'helper'?

Rose! She just can't help herself!

How can a cat go to sleep so fast?

I did all of step 7 ......only because my 'helper' didn't come into my studio!

Has anyone else had problems with these string/geese blocks being more elastic than the Ohio Stars? I am not having much fun putting the rows together.

Already there are lots of links ups here

My eldest daughter is turning 21 this week, this I what I made her.

The fabric is called "April in Paris"

It is easier to see the quilting I did from the back.....sort of echoy paisley?

Here's a shot of the back....I hope she likes this. It was hard to know what to make when she hasn't spoken to me in a few years, but I felt compelled to make her a quilt.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:48:00.002+13:00

Happy New Year!
I'm sure this will be a great year for much sewing and completions of UFO, flimsy's etc.

I have enjoyed reading a couple of books in the last few weeks I thought I would share as if you haven't read them I sure you would enjoy.
My friend Raewyn lent me this book and it is a must read for all quilting chicks!.....Thanks Raewyn.

What a great read this was. Easy reading, relaxing, a trip down memory lane of previous Elm Creek books and I nearly cried a couple of times.

I am looking forward to the last chapter in the Orca Bay Bonnie Hunter mystery, in between working on that I have been working on something that I can only give you a sneaky peaky of..........more later!

part 6 of Orca Bay Mystery

2011-12-25T19:09:00.001+13:00

Look what turned up in my vegetable garden.............................

All finished.....56 Ohio Stars....of course I had to actually finish part one!!! So now I feel double delight.
My wee 'orange friend ' from last time was nowhere to been seen, but I did find these marigolds in my wee vege patch and the pumpkin leaves work well for plates for my blocks don't you think?

This one is for you Rhonda , check out the square top right hand corner....same brown fabric you are using!! I used the same fabric on this table runner........

now for proof I did make all 56 blocks.....................................!

Now don't these wee sweeties go well with my blocks?

Wanna pop over with me to see what everyone else is doing......?

Thank you for taking the time to stop by my corner of the world :-)

Orca Bay Mystery part 5, Dresdens & some other ramblings.....

2011-12-19T17:07:00.000+13:00

Here are ALL 350 units for part 5 of Bonnie's mystery!!
Bonnie said cut 700.....yes 700 triangles!! Gulp.....but I did it :-) I did all the cutting in one hit, hubby came into my studio with a cuppa and asked how I was going, i said "well I could do with more of a variety of browns" , he said " didn't already give you some of my shirts?" I said "yes this is the one here". He said I have another would you like it?".....................
Stop the press......I'm thinking a quilter could not ask for a better husband could they? Yes sweet I know, but when he showed me the shirt (pictured in one piece under my blocks) I said "no, it's too nice....but thank you so much".
So I did a bit of sewing here and there, but then yesterday hubby went to play a gig and the boys were content playing with their mates, I got stuck in!
Turned up the volume on the ipod and listened to Tracy, Phil, Louis, Eva, Rod, Tom, James, Andrea, Kenny, Barbara and more!
So apart from still more to do on part one, I'm done, which is good as I'm going away from my machine for a bit, I will work on this while away................

I started this well over a year ago, it is portable and a no rush thing.....................

Remember I went to this Christmas party? I had to make a gift, but silly me forgot to take a photo of what I made. Lyn ended up with my gift and kindly photographed it for me.

note to self...make one for me!

I hope you are all enjoying Bonnie's mystery, either just as a spectator or by joining in the sewing madness! For more wonderful blocks check out what some others have been doing , you can pop around the world all from the comfort of your computer chair!
I can not believe the amount of hits I have had to my blog since I started this fun mystery :-)

Merry Christmas to all, be happy, safe & well fed!

Orange Orca Bay Mystery

2011-12-13T08:50:00.000+13:00

Well Orange, gold, burnt orange, terracota...you get the picture!
I was thinking what have I got that is orange to use to photograph my string blocks?...check out the photo's and see for yourself!

sideways!!1#@!%

I was wandering around the garden looking for something orange, not finding anything....someone 'helped' me!!
Thank you Rose....I knew there was a reason I left the papers on the back!
I did a good chunk of my blocks how Bonnie first said to do them ( trim to 5.5" square, then trim my triangles) Then I did the rest by simply cutting in half diagonally then trim up using my special ruler .

Please check out what others are doing with their mystery, here..........

If I was doing red blocks like many I could have photographed my blocks with my red Hollyhocks......

Need some Christmas spirit.....? Please go to Leeann's blog for a funny Christmas video and to see her lovely red sting blocks, Leeann is from Northland New Zealand like me!

Ho, Ho ,Ho...Merry Christmas!

2011-12-11T10:45:00.001+13:00

Here you go Marcelle!
I phoned Marcelle yesterday to say her quilt is finished and she said "you haven't posted on your blog about it?" I said " Well I thought I would give it to you first". "Oh no, I'd much rather see it on your blog first, as I don't do surprises very well". Says Marcelle. I laugh and say, "ok I will post in the next couple of days."

Made using all her Christmas scraps........

.........including the back!

"Please quilt simply" says Marcelle...........

Merry Christmas Marcelle!!

Last night I attached the last hand painted button to Christmas Fun by Lynette Anderson and hung it on my quilt rack next to my Christmas tree.
I really enjoyed hand quilting, just going with the flow, no rush ( although the last couple of days I did think to myself it would be nice to have it finished for this Christmas:-)!!!

When I had thread basted ready to quilt I realised I hadn't done some of the stitching on the edges of the blocks......!!!! Then I thought, does it really matter. I put YoYo's in my four corners just for something a bit different. My Reindeer row is going the opposite way, my house is green....so it isn't exactly the same as Lynette's.....because if it was, well then it would be hers!

Matilda's Station finished & a quilt airing....

2011-12-08T19:59:00.001+13:00

Matilda's Station is all finished. Megan has made this for her daughters Christmas present, she had me sew the binding on too, so hopefully she will find some secret time to hand stitch the binding down.
There are buttons and embellishments to be added. Also the sheep have 'wool' (aka : stipple) that was added after the photo shoot. The chickens have feathers too!

Some photo's of different parts of the quilt follows......


back of the quilt

I have added a few 'eye spy' things to find, maybe if you click on the photo's you will see clearer?

It was quilt airing at the home of 'Quiltme' today.................

step 3 Orca bay and a customers quilt.......

2011-12-06T09:05:00.001+13:00

I had a wee bit of time to work on step 3 of my Orca Bay Mystery, here are my 350 HST resting out on my Thyme! I still have to go back and work on step one.........
Some people are very quick and have finished pop over and see if you can see anyone else doing browns like me. ( I am #61)

As much as I am loving doing this mystery I do have customers quilts to work on, so here are a couple of photo's to see what I am working on..........................................

called 'Matilda's Station'.......more soon, I am off to work at my favourite quilt shop!!

Orca Bay step #2 and a Christmas party

2011-11-30T09:23:00.001+13:00

72 ....3.5" strippy squares finished! And I love them and loved making them :-) I used recycled printer paper for my foundations, set my stitch length to 1.5 and used a 90 needle just as Bonnie said and it worked great. When I made Brooke's quilt I used fabric foundations and it worked well too, but for 3.5" blocks I think paper is the way to go!

Brooke's quilt

This wee block is my favourite, the little house in the middle, this came from my fabrics for my Blue & Yellow Dresden Plate quilt I am making....sneaky aye!
So when my rulers arrive from Australia I can start step #1.

Check out other Orca Bay finishes here...........

On Monday we had our Christmas party for our group of patchwork friends, we all know each other through The Country Yard.We all had to come with a plate for a shared lunch, hand stitching, and a handmade gift. I got this beautiful covered clear file book from Kerryn. I have put my printouts from The Bonnie Hunter mystery in the pages.
There were some lovely gifts made, I forgot to take a photo of what I made!.......

Here are some of us making decorated paper bags and cards....some where very creative, others who I won't mention any names did the bear minimum!

cushion, customer quilt finished and part 2 of the mystery

2011-11-26T13:29:00.001+13:00

A wee finish of mine, I have made this for one of my sisters, but first it will be a sample at The Country Yard. I did the stitchery using Cottage Garden thread, the pattern was designed by Sally Giblin the Rivendale Collection called "Sisters".


the back of cushion

Finished this Chook quilt yesterday for Ngaire, well her 18 year granddaughter made this from a panel.
I had fun photographing in the wild wind we are experiencing here in Northland.

Eight blocks down, sixty four to go! I had to miss step one as I haven't got the rulers Bonnie recommended (they are on their way). I cut 72 x 3.5" squares from recycled printer paper, set my trusty 801 Bernina to 1.5 stitch length and made some. I didn't have many blue strings as I used many on this quilt , so I had to cut some from my 1.5" strip draw.

Finished read & hand quilting?

2011-11-25T09:09:00.001+13:00

Finished! What a lovely read, nothing quilty, but we won't hold that against the author. My dear friend Barbara gave me this for my birthday, some months back.

Yes.... your eye sight is fine, this is a photo of hand quilting by me. Well the very start, there maybe another post of the finished quilt that has been machine quilted!!! LOL.
It has been years since I hand quilted and lately I have had a hankering for it, so I thought I would give it a go again on my Lynette Anderson's Christmas Fun BOM. I am using a #8 ecru pearl thread, not sure what I am going to do. I might sew the hand painted button's on as I go.
You can see here some of my points on my wee stars are cut off, as my Grandaughter would say : "never mind". Will I have it finished for this Christmas????

I am waiting for my special rulers to come from Australia, so I can start Bonnie Hunter's new mystery, Orca Bay. Tomorrow will be the 2nd step, but I tell my self it is not a race, but I feel like I am at the back of the pack and can't get traction! Here are the fabric's I have chosen, are any of my readers joining in?

panel quilts, appliqued dogs,and a thought?

2011-11-17T16:20:00.001+13:00

Some panel quilts I have just finished quilting..........................

Panel called 'Baby Moon'

A Nancy Halvorsen panel called 'Garden Song'

Ngaire has made this quilt for a friend who is mad on dogs, Ngaire has appliqued different breeds of dogs.
Look at the backing, isn't it perfect!

I watched a DVD the other night called 'Akeelah and the Bee' and this saying was read out that I thought was very thought provoking, I will leave you with it.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves : who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous,talented and fabulous, actually who are you NOT to be............................

customers quilts

2011-11-13T14:13:00.001+13:00

This quilt is off to sail the seas to Australia to a wee lad of 5 months old. Sharon made this quilt from a Debbie Mumm Panel and left it to me to quilt.

I had fun quilting the waves!

funky wonky houses!!

Carolyn made this fun quilt and was happy for me to quilt how I liked. Busy black and white fabric is not so good for photographing quilting, but maybe if you click on the photo's you will get the idea.I got my inspiration from the fabric.

Orca Bay Mystery fabrics.....

2011-11-11T11:09:00.001+13:00

Ok, I have watched with great interest the last couple of years to Bonnie Hunter's mysteries this time I thought 'go for it Leeanne!'
I thought I would use some shirts....true Bonnie style! I didn't have many reds, but plenty of blues and a nice amount of oranges. So I've gone with orange, blues and replaced the black with brown and of course I have plenty of neutrals in shirting (not pictured) . There are a couple of fabrics that I might pull out, funny how a photo helps you 'see' the colours?
Any readers going to do this mystery??????

snowmen...................

2011-11-10T19:08:00.001+13:00

He won my heart when he looked at me standing surrounded by fabric and pattern's ,our eyes met and I paid the owner of Patchwork Passion for his pattern and fabrics.

Here in colour! Last Friday I went with some friends to Calico Christmas (for non New Zealand readers, this is a annual exhibition from one of our cites quilters guild, complete with shop owners and there yummy wears) and that is where I bought this magnificent fellow.
I had to ask a friend how to cast off when knitting his scarf , as it had been so long since I knitted I had forgotten how!!!

Another snowman.........this is the snowman from Lynette's Christmas Fun
I quilted this for Kerryn for The Country Yard


thanks blogger, I wanted this photo sideways!!!!!

look at that another sideways!!

How are you coming along with your blocks? I have nearly finished my last one, then I will piece together, I was thinking I might hand quilt mine.

Please click on photo's for close ups.

Thank you for stopping by................................................:-)

French, greek and Irish inspired quilts...

2011-10-30T14:42:00.000+13:00


The pattern is called 'The Greek Cross'

close up of quilting

Marcelle made this quilt for a friend living in Ireland made from Moda fabric by Brannock & Patek called 'Remembrance'

The other day I gave you a peep of this quilt . Here is some more photo's, complete with some stunning cushions!
This fabric is also my Moda by French General called :'Maison de Garance'.

Now back to making my Christmas presents!!

Birthday quilt finished

2011-10-29T18:01:00.000+13:00

My nephew's 21st birthday quilt is all finished! My kitty Rose is supervising the photography.

The pattern for this came from Bonnie Hunters book :'Scraps and Shirttails' called "Star Gazing". I really love this quilt and it will be hard to part with, but I did think it was nice and masculine.

I had some fun collecting shirts for this.

quilt back

label

The backing and label is also inspired by Bonnie, I really love her work.

2011-10-27T20:10:00.000+13:00

This quilt is hanging in my hall way and I really think it is my favourite quilt. I made it when I first started working at The Country Yard .
It was run as a mystery quilt, there were three colourways and three different settings, you chose the pack of fabric in the colours you liked and the first Tuesday of the month you would pop in and pick up your next 'mystery'. Of course it wasn't a mystery for me as mine was the shop sample.
We would have a car load of ladies travel a good 3/4's of an hour once a month to pick up their monthly mystery, stay for a chat, coffee and a muffin. I remember one day being over joyed by these ladies sitting on the shop floor with coffee and muffin, chatting and laughing! They were just so happy. Of course now the shop is much bigger and there is no sitting on the floor!

Our much loved and well attended Annual Exhibition is on Saturday where we can share good company, wonderful quilts, lovely fabric, yummy food and relaxing music.

This was my first go a Trapunto and apart from a table runner is the only Trapunto I have done. I am very keen to do some more when time permits.

I read a couple of great books - 'Heirloom Machine Quilting' by Harriet Hargraves and 'Quilting for Show' and 'Whitework Quilting' by Karen Mctavish .And had a go!

P.S : I wanted to take the opportunity to say Hi to my new followers, welcome! and I do love you stopping by.

Birthdays, Charity and a special day.....

2011-10-25T16:35:00.000+13:00

The following photo's are a quilt I made for my niece who is turning 21 in a few weeks. I made this quilt as leader and ender of a few months. My original inspiration came from Julie when she was doing a 'string -A -long' that made me get a move on, so thank you Julie!
I used fabric foundations and all my scrappy strips. The setting was from an old book called :'Scrap Quilt' -strips and spiderwebs -by Marcia Lasher.
I made a scrappy backing and had fun doing a quick quilting job.

Next to show you is a charity quilt I have recently finished quilting for the Round Robin group I belong to. At the beginning of the year we decided to make a quilt to give away to charity. Rather than make a block I volunteered to quilt the finished top, someone else put the blocks together and everyone else made a block and if you pop over here you will see some of us sewing the binding down.
As a group we have decided to donate the quilt to Project Promise it is a local organisation. We will have this quilt plus another on display and for sale at The Country Yard's Annual Exhibtion this Saturday.

Next is a wee peep of something I have just finished and will be on show this Saturday also.......

simple 2" cross hatching

2011-10-18T16:35:00.000+13:00

Look at the awesome pieced back Megan has made!

Press on photo's.......

and the award goes to.......

2011-10-15T14:25:00.000+13:00

Me!

My bloggy/ workmate/Round Robin/ OCC (obsessive compulsive crumber) friend Raewyn (http://stitchingfarmgirl.blogspot.com) nominated me for the Versatile Bloggy Awards!
It is a really nice thing to do and very appropriate as Raewyn was the one who encouraged and help me start a blog.(If you haven't already visited Raewyn's place, please do as she makes some lovely inspiring things.)
Blogging is very inspiring and I often find when looking at some blogs it is like I am looking at a lovely glossy magazine. You 'meet' some really kind, funny, helpful and like minded people.It is always a buzz to find a new comment and of course a new follower.
I find my blog is a great way to document my work as professional quilter, with a touch of my own bits and bobs I manage to make.

These awards come with 'conditions' -
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself on the post.
3. Pass the award to 15 bloggers that you think deserve it.
4.Contact all the bloggers you have picked for the award.

Now the hard part 7 things about myself! (I will try and make this part interesting)

1. When I was little I wanted to be Magnum PI when I grew up.

2. Three years ago I took up learning the Double Bass...I wasn't very successful, as every time I was practicing I was thinking about patchwork!

3. I went to Brownies when I was a child and loved it.

4. I have three cats all with Human names.

5. I belonged to my College Clay Target Shooting Team.

6. I was taken to the principal's office at the age of 14 for kissing my boyfriend on the school field.

7. At the age of 8 my friend and I shaved our legs with no water or soap!!

OK, now it is passing time....and the awards go to.......

http://magpiechic.blogspot.com/ (Jacqui)

http://creativeribbons.blogspot.com/ (Julia)

http://stitcheryjen.blogspot.com/ (Jenny)

http://chezstitches.blogspot.com/

http://stitchinfriends.blogspot.com (Teresa)

http://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/ (Wendy)

http://shelbystitcher.blogspot.com/ (Joan)

http://ivoryblushroses.blogspot.com/ (Lisa)

http://roguequilter.blogspot.com/ (Janet)

http://greenfairyquilts.blogspot.com/ (Judi)

http://michellespatch.blogspot.com/ (Michelle)

http://allthingsrustyandfabric.blogspot.com/ (Michelle)

http://helenquilts.blogspot.com/ (Helen)

http://wiquilter.blogspot.com/ (Kaizen)

http://www.quilthollow.com/

http://lucyquilting.blogspot.com/ (Lucy)

If you haven't already popped over to 'met' these wonderful bloggers, I suggest you do :-)

sneaky peaky over......

2011-10-10T18:20:00.000+13:00

A wee while back I gave you a sneaky peaky of two quilts, here and here .....well I can now show you the front of the quilts as I have delivered them both to the owner. I will leave to look at your leisure, thanks for stopping by.

quilted presents

Lollipop border & lollies falling from the sky

Nice to finally meet you Cat I hope your children enjoy their Christmas quilts!

simple cross hatching.....

2011-10-06T17:45:00.000+13:00

Designed by Kerryn walker, owner of www.thecountryyard.co.nz ,pieced by Lois, quilted by me, fabric range by Lynette Anderson.

Red, Blue and White

2011-10-03T19:15:00.000+13:00

I really like this quilt, the layout, the colours and I quite like the quilting.
Marcelle made this quilt as a gift for her brother.

corner and side

I'll leave you to look at a few photo's.........


Centre

I used Madeira Poly neon in white for the Fleur delis/feather and background fillers.Sulky in red for the cross hatching.
I hope Marcelle's brother gets many years of enjoyment from this quilt.

A quilt from Remarkable Symposium........

2011-09-29T17:43:00.001+13:00

This quilt was made by Jacki at Remarkable Symposium 2011. The design is by Lisa Walton of http://www.dyedheaven.com/ . Jacki attended one of the classes on offer called "Cutout Magic".

Jacki picked this quilt up today and was so excited she hugged me! I made and attached a hanging sleeve and attached the binding ready for Jacki to hand sew down.

I'm not sure if you can see the quilting I did....maybe if you click on the photo you will see. I just free motioned the red cutouts using Madeira Polyneon thread and stitched in the ditch either side of the red wavy border.

seeing double?

2011-09-29T16:54:00.001+13:00

No I am not loosing my marbles.....well not today!
I know for those of you who follow my blog, publicly or privately (I'm surprised how many do) you will have seen this same quilt back here.
This quilt was made by Lois who signed up at the beginning of the year to do a pieced mystery at The Country Yard.

Difficult to photograph busy fabric, so check out the next photo.

Same quilt layout on both quilts just quilted differently.

Round Robin quilts......

2011-09-27T17:35:00.001+13:00

Jacki's Row by Row is great. This quilt was made by a Round Robin group, which consists of twelve quilters, me included (my piece was the washing line) all doing a 'Row', some of these rows were shared as Jacki wanted this quilt to be certain measurements.

Such a fun time being apart of a Round Robin and at the end you get a fabulous quilt all of your very own.

Click on the photo's for the close ups of the wee bits I quilted.

Thank you Jacki for letting quilt another of your quilts

My Row by Row, still more quilting to be done on this, but I love it.
Thank you girls!!

reading.....

2011-09-26T14:58:00.000+13:00

I finished reading this book on the weekend....I loved it, so bittersweet, some very funny bits and sad pieces.
Now I want to see the movie!

Today I stayed home to try and get the mountains of things that need to be done....well, done! I cleaned out the fire, put the wood basket away somewhere in the garage.... that needs to be sorted!
Cleaned the goldfish tank out...I can see my fish now!
Some baking, 'testing' baking....test results...not bad.
Make a start on the handmade Christmas presents ....well I have officially started....not sure when I'll finish.
Organise my freezer and what to cook this week, busy times in our house.
And of course washing.......

I have been working on this cover for a couple of weeks, whenever I get a few spare moments I have done a bit more, well I finished it last night. This one is for my Bernina 440 I use for quilting. This one
I use for my Bernina 801 I have at home for piecing. I did the same strippy pieces for the gusset .
I hope everyone else is having a productive day.

Tentakulum threads....

2011-09-21T18:39:00.000+12:00

look what I was lucky enough to win from Teresa . Not only did she send me the thread I won, but a sweet little needle case and a pattern she has designed! I like the look of all of it.
This is the first i have heard of these threads, has anyone used these before?

One patch, four patch.......

2011-09-21T15:49:00.000+12:00

Levonne's granddaughter's quilt

Levonne has made this for her 2 year old granddaughter, simple cross hatching was what I was asked to do.


Miranda's quilt

Remember the days of candle wick bedspreads? I do!! I had Olive green and bright orange one's......thank goodness we aren't seeing that here today!
Miranda is a newbee to the quilting world and here is what she has made a friend of her's who is very sick.
Once again I did a simple cross hatch as requested.

Sneaky peaky again........

2011-09-19T19:16:00.002+12:00

Naughty me! Here is the second quilt for Cat , well the back. I will have to wait to show you the front until Cat has seen them....that's the nice thing to do!

Off to the quilter..........

2011-09-14T15:55:00.000+12:00

I love how this scrappy strippy quilt top has turned out. I have made a scrappy binding too.

sewing time for me.....

2011-09-11T14:36:00.000+12:00

For some time I have loved the header quilt over at Julie's, one day I will make one from my plaids, but for now I was using my strips from my scraps. This is what I have so far, I will add a plain border then a strippy scrappy border, then back to the plain...I think?

I am making this one for my niece who is turning 21 at the end of the year, I have made her twin brother a quilt too (photo's to come).

I have nearly finished this quilt (scroll down the page to see the strip on the apple tree) but I have been so busy making the above quilt that it has been put aside, I must finish it...one day.

I hope you all are enjoying the weekend and the Rugby world cup! I have watched a couple of games with my son, it will be interesting to see who takes the cup.

Sneaky peaky!!!

2011-09-10T17:48:00.001+12:00

This is the back of a quilt I have just finished for a blogging customer.It is all finished, but I have the other one to quilt before they can go home.....so that's all you see for now Cat !

Lynette Anderson's Christmas Fun mth 6

2011-09-06T19:50:00.001+12:00

Only two more to go!! Can you notice the personal touch I made to this block?..........AKA....a boo boo!!!

Nice texture

2011-09-06T19:33:00.002+12:00

Look at this lovely simple quilt that Meg has made and let me quilt for her.
Meg asked for a stipple in the centre and 'something' on the border.

Please click on photo's for clearer views.

I hope Meg likes the 'something' I did on the border using Signature Variegated thread and Madeira Poly Neon.

Here is a corner of the back.

No quilting......

2011-09-04T13:56:00.001+12:00

No quilting this week from 'Quilt Me' as I have been on a school camp with my son all week at OPC.

What a fantastic adventure. Not only is the area spectacular, but the activities are so much fun. I abseiled down a 25 metre cliff, went caving (this was scary for me, dark, wet and we had to squeeze ourselves through tiny gaps) looked at glow worms and watching native Weta ,riding the flying fox over a huge gorge, with views to die for! Orienteering through thick bush, with plenty of Tui to keep you company. Having coffee at the top of the ski field on Ruapehu and stitching some of Lynette Anderson's Christmas Fun and soaking in thermal hot pools at Tokaanu .

Tomorrow it's back to quilting.........................I hope you have all had a great week!

Kiwiana and a birthday present

2011-08-26T20:16:00.000+12:00

Manaia Bird

Ileen is a new customer and has made this quilt (96" square) for one of her Granddaughters 21st present. The only request was she wanted a "Manaia Bird" --Maori carving . So I made friends with Google and got to making a stencil.

There is over 30 hours of quilting.

Please click on the photo's for more detail.

Using Madeira's Poly Neon, Sulky threads.

I used a Poly Neon variegated thread to create the paua eyes .


Back of quilt

My Great niece is having her birthday next month so I thought it would be nice to give her a quilt.

have a fabulous weekend!

Christmas Fun and a new / old love........

2011-08-16T18:58:00.000+12:00

Lynette Anderson's Christmas Fun month 5 finished, the next one will be here soon!

After a visit to Bay of Islands/Pahia last weekend I found this old 1930's beauty from a antique store.It hails from America. No label unfortunately. It has a white muslin backing and cotton batting and all hand pieced and hand quilted.
I like this one flower with the black fraying fabric.

I will need to give it a wash....very gently of course!

I think I am in love !!!! I have a real appreciation for English paper pieced quilts and they make me smile.

Who made this quilt? Was she/he a happy content person? Was the maker new to patchwork or a seasoned quilter? Was the maker a mother,father, daughter,lover, friend? What ever this makers story was I am so happy she/he made it :-)

customers quilts and a novel finally finished

2011-08-10T19:26:00.000+12:00

Lois' kiwiana jelly roll quilt

Lois made this jelly roll quilt as a gift for a family member ,she just wanted a loose stipple all over.I used Signatures variegated thread in greens.

Ngaire made this quilt for one of her granddaughters, once again I was asked to do simple quilting.So using Signature Variegated thread in pink I X-hatched the nine patches and echoed the hearts and did a 'loopy' stipple on the border.

Just a side ways photo to make your night interesting!.......why does this happen????

Finally finished this book!!I only started it in June, but I just read a bit at night when I hopped into bed at night.It is a trilogy, so not too bad.I enjoyed this book.It doesn't have much in the way of quilting like the Elm Creek novels,but a nice story and an interesting look into the Amish lifestyle.It is a story about Hannah and how she over comes some big set backs and finds peace and love.

Layer cake quilt

2011-08-06T21:08:00.000+12:00

Denise made this quilt at a class at The Country Yard using a layer cake by 3 sisters called 'Oasis' (my photo is sideways....sorry if you have a crooked neck!)

Denise wanted me to keep the quilting simple,so I did a loose stipple using Maderia's variegated rayon thread for the square blocks and circles and the top and bottom border, Denise is going to scallop the bottom border. I also loosely stippled the cream borders using Maderias cream poly neon and for the echo on either side of the jumbo Ric Rac.

For a completely different look using a layer cake and the same pattern go see this I did a while ago

Mid winter Christmas

2011-08-03T19:06:00.000+12:00

Mid winter Christmas!
This lovely quilt was designed by the country yard for a pieced mystery and I was lucky enough to quilt one of the samples.Simple clever setting in lovely fabrics by Nancy Halverson.

Using my stash of Maderia poly neon threads I played!

Back of quilt

Megan did a fabulous job of piecing this quilt and thank you to her for allowing me to quilt for her.

warm happy babies......

2011-08-01T13:38:00.001+12:00

My customer Margaret said to have fun with this one....so I just played, keeping in mind not to quilt too much so it will stay soft..

Please click on this photo to see Margaret's lovely satin stitch, so neat and tidy and I love the variegated thread she used.

Welcome the the world new baby where ever you are and enjoy this quilt that was made for you with love!

NEW ZEALAND

2011-07-31T15:03:00.001+12:00

Destination......New Zealand!
This pattern would work well for any feature fabric eg; music,animals,places etc,etc....

Maybe if you click on these photo's to enlarge them you will see the quilting better.

Last but not least....the back, I love this Kiwiana toile (not sure of the spelling on that one)

I hope everyone's weekends are going well.

Cot quilts

2011-07-27T19:50:00.001+12:00

two cot panels quilted the same, one with a lofty poly batting, the other with cotton batting and minky for the backing.

The one with the minky backing, you can't tell from the photo, but the minky is the most prettiest soft pink.....and it IS very soft!

If you like this panel it is available to by from www.thecountryyard.co.nz

Mid winter Christmas

2011-07-25T18:00:00.000+12:00

Well I thought this would be a good quilt to post about today as here in some parts of New Zealand it is snowing, so here are the snow men.
This quilt is made with a jelly roll.

A close up of what I did on the stars, I used a new thread that you will see me using more of as it is very nice to use, it has a nice pearl effect and is a nice thickness, 30 weight it is called Sulky this thread has been around for a while but now new and improved .For the background filler of stars and loops I used a signature variegated thread.

another bag and a finish for my bed and lots of photo's

2011-07-18T17:16:00.000+12:00

A friend in Switzerland likes sheep, so I hope she likes and gets a laugh from this bag.

A close up of some of the sheep knitting!

I finished this last week,I started piecing it at a retreat back in May. These quilts are always fun to make. I made mine a bit bigger than the pattern...Buggy Barn, Quilters Village. 109" x 80" as I wanted it to go over my pillows.
The bulk of the fabric is Kansas Troubles except for a few and the border fabric.

Please click on this one if you want to see the feather border. The rest of the quilting was open meander using Signature variegated thread. I used Bamboo batting and flannel backing and my thanks goes to Bonnie Hunter for the idea for the label.

A few Buggy Barn quilts I have made

Here are the same houses!

Butterflies

Christmas Presents (quilted by me)

Flowers and Birdhouses (quilted by me)

Row By Row, Buggy Barn houses,flowers,hearts.

Stars (quilted by me)

Courthouse Stars.

Turning Twenty,Angels,knitting and stripping......

2011-07-13T19:08:00.000+12:00

DID THAT GET YOUR ATTENTION????

A good customer of mine has made another lovely quilt.......do you recognise the pattern?
Turning twenty, remember this quilt Lois made, also turning twenty and this turning twenty.

These photo's aren't the best, no doubt if you click on them they will look better.

Hopefully Lois' friend will be happy with this quilt.I know from my own experience how wonderful it is to be given a quilt!
I decided not to do any quilting on the sashings as the fabrics are busy and more quilting may make things too busy.
I did a free form feather on the border.

Apart from the ditch stitching all threads were Signature Variegated.

Thank you Lois :-)

Month four of Lynette Anderson's Christmas fun....tiny YoYo's and lots of french knots!


Cute Button!

This cute fabric arrived at The Country Yard and while I was rolling it on boards I thought "Oh my friend Barbara would love this if I make it into a knitting bag!"

Does this bag look similar? well you would be right, same pattern, same designer...me!

Now to the stripping...............................

Just another project.....I have a few birthday's coming up in the family, 3 twenty first's, so I have to get my butt into gear!
Anyway Julie's blog is one I follow and I LOVE her header quilt (note to self....make that one Leeanne!....)
this is where the stripping comes in! I will do a plaid one one day, but decided to dig into my draws of strips, a most eclectic mix of fabric.I am not sure about sashing yet, but these blocks are sew much fun to make, very easy to not cook dinner, wash clothes etc!!

Machine quilting and classes.

2011-06-29T18:57:00.000+12:00

I made this quilt for The Country Yard , pattern from a Buggy Barn book, the quilt is called 'Courthouse Stars'.I used a big range of Kim Diehl fabrics called 'Along the Fence', plus a few others.

Quilting : echo stitched the stars and a loose stipple in the background and on the courthouse steps using a variety of Signature variegated threads.

One of my customers ,Lois loves cats!...please click on the photo's so you can see the cats.
Lois made this quilt at a class at The Country Yard. The sample had scalloped top & bottom borders, Lois was unsure if she wanted to do this, so I have stippled and if she wanted to scallop the borders she can cut them and then attach a binding.


meow!

The back of the quilt.

I taught a machine quilting class today and was very pleased with how well everyone did, some ladies just lacked a bit of confidence, but once shown the basics can go away and practice!

I'm glad you had time to stop by.

Christmas Fun #3

2011-06-20T08:39:00.000+12:00

Just finished this cute # 3 block and #4 will be here this week.
I rather fancy keeping up, but do we have just one project? NO!!!
This month I did the stitching on the heart blocks AFTER I joined them, I feel it is easier to get the stitching straight, the last couple of months some of the stitching ended up in the seam.

Have a fantastic day!

Autumn Leaves

2011-06-16T21:05:00.000+12:00

"False friends are like autumn leaves,scattered everywhere.True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare"

Ever heard that saying? I have always liked it very much, this quilt made me remember it.

Kerryn (the owner of a fabulous quilt store) made this quilt for her brothers birthday.

These are all the colours Kerryn's brother likes.
Lets hope he is happy with it.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by, enjoy the rest of your week and weekend.

Books........

2011-06-13T18:08:00.000+12:00

Hi all!
I hope life is interesting for you all, no doubt some of you are having a few challenges as life seems to throw us all from time to time.
No quilt photo's today but thought I'd share a couple of new books I have.................


Primitive Quilts

I got this wee beauty from my favourite quilt shop this is a new magazine from America.If you love country quilts, this is for you....there are one or two (or three!) things I would like to make.

A novel I bought off Fishpond (like Amazon for those of you outside New Zealand) So far I am really enjoying this book.It is about the Amish community and hopefully about quilting ...just a guess from the title.
It would be great if it was a talking book, then I could 'read' a book AND quilt!

Speaking of talking books, the last two I got from the library were terrible!Boring, boring, and BORING!!!

babies.........butterflies....and sparkles

2011-06-03T15:22:00.000+12:00

Just finished this quilt for The Country Yard as a sample for what you can do with the new 'Go Baby' die cutter, bright, simple and cheery.
In the four corners on the border I quilted "Go Baby"

Another cute baby quilt.Margaret has made this for friends who have adopted a baby, once again, bright and cheery.

Apart from echo quilting around the Elephants I did an all over paisley/clam shell loopy thing.

Marcelle has made this quilt for her cousin that has moved out from Ireland into an all white flat and Marcelle, thought she might like some colour in her life...well she will get it with this.

For a bit of sparkle I used a metallic thread to cross-hatch the scrappy squares and used a Maderia PolyNeon for the loops on the butterfly strips and feather border.

Thanks for stopping by, sorry I wasn't in to make you a cuppa!

P.S the photos are much clearer if you click on them to enlarge.