Civil War Quilts - Block 9

Block 9 - Birds In The Air . . . I really like this block.

Although it wasn't without its challenges!


I did some adjusting on my machine before I began sewing. I decided to use the seam guide, which is screwed onto the bed of the machine. Small problem . . . I was all set up for a perfect 1/4" seam - I thought. But when I had the whole block together, the "birds" half was smaller than the other half, which would have made the block too small. Those tiny fractions of an inch really do matter - even more so on a small block with many seams.

So . . . I unpicked, re-adjusted the seam guide and stitched again.

Second time lucky - the block is now the size it should be! And I've taken the seam guide off. I think just using the plate markings as a guide is what I'll stick with from now on.

I did read a hint about starching the fabric before working with it to avoid the triangles stretching on the bias . . . and it worked a treat. Cutting and piecing was a breeze. Wish I'd thought of that before I stitched Block 5!


Pattern: Civil War Quilts - Block 9 - Birds In The Air
Designer: Barbara Brackman
Publication: http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

Cotswolds - Finished!

It's been not far off 3 years since I started this quilt . . . and now it's finished and on the bed! I wrote a bit about this quilt here and here.


This medallion quilt radiates from the centre in alternating borders of pieced blocks and then plain (or at least large chunks of fabric) borders.


The quilt has a couple of really lovely paisleys in it, so the quilting (by Quilts With Attitude) is a very scroll-y, swirly, paisley-ish design to match.

I've washed this quilt and (look away now if you are a purist or a bit precious about quilts!!!) put it in the dryer to give it a crinkly, vintage look. I must confess to being a little anxious about doing that, but it's turned out just fine . . . although it did shrink a bit (it started at 93", then 92" after it was quilted and bound, then it lost another 2 1/2" in the washing). Still, it's finished and on the bed - ready for its intended purpose. After all, isn't that what quilt making is all about?


Pattern: Cotswolds
Designer: Susan Smith
Publication: http://patchworkonstonleigh.blogspot.com/

Civil War Quilts - Block 8

Block 8 - Cotton Boll. This block went together reasonably quickly . . .


But for a simple block it sure makes quite a statement when you see it amongst the other blocks! Makes me realise the importance of the right fabric choice for future blocks.



When the blocks are laid out, they are starting to look like the beginnings of a "real quilt".

There are some great blocks being shown on the Civil War Quilts Flickr Group. It's well worth a look.

And check out this week's block by BeeCee at Piece and Quilt. Also, if you love batiks, you'll love her "Autumn" quilt. It's is fantastic.


Pattern: Civil War Quilts - Block 8 - Cotton Boll
Designer: Barbara Brackman
Publication: http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

Mystery Solved!!

I was sent this the other day . . . all has now been revealed!!

Civil War Quilts - Block 7

Block 7, Log Cabin, is this week's block for the Civil War Quilts. It's been chosen for Abraham Lincoln's 202nd birthday anniversary on February 12, 2011.


This was a very quick little block to do. My "creative consultant" saw the various log cabin quilts on Barbara Brackman's blog and thought that one of those might be nice! I do note that there is still no needle or thread in his hand . . .

I thought I'd keep a little journal of this quilt, so I've got a sample of each of the fabrics, the cutting instructions and I'll also put a photo of each block. I always think I'll remember the details, but am constantly surprised these days at how quickly the details seem to fade into vagueness . . .


I find, too, that by sketching out the block and writing down the cutting dimensions, I've already got a very clear picture in my mind of the block going together before I even begin.

This is a little A5 Visual Art Diary, but a little plain with its black cover. I may have to make a little "Civil War Quilts" journal cover for it.

But that's a job for another day!!!




Pattern: Civil War Quilts - Block 7 - Log Cabin
Designer: Barbara Brackman
Publication: http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

"Man Craft"

I share my life with a man who has about as many "gadgets" for his craft as I do for mine! He works with timber . . . creating beautiful heirloom pieces - and lots of them are for me. Click here to see some of his handiwork. He uses all this gear when he's creating . . .


Lots of bits and pieces in here . . . see it's not just "girly" crafts that have lots of accessories!


So when he asks if I'll do him a favour, what's a girl to do? So what is the favour?

To make covers for his tool chests, of course! And could they have a monogram, too?

So a trip to the fabric store and a few hours later, he has covers for the tool chests . . . and monogrammed as well.


He already gets lots of comments when he takes his tool chests to site. It's amazing how many people stop and admire his kit. His tools are his livelihood, so he takes them pretty seriously. He likes to work with good quality, well maintained tools. And vintage tools and heirloom tools, too (see any similiarities to a lot of quilters here? Did I mention how I like to sew with Francene?) So he takes good care of his stuff. And it looks lovely all nicely fitted into these gorgeous tool chests. It will be interesting to see what sort of comments he gets now . . .



And true to form, Squeaker had to get in on the act - quilt, tool chest cover - it's all the same to her!

The one that went astray . . .

This is a little heart that I made for a friend for Christmas, but it seems it went astray in the mail . . .


But if life is really about the journey and not the destination, then I guess having made the heart is the main thing!

I made a heart, as my friend has a "heart thing" going on. And I wanted to try my hand at tiny little cross stitches, so I worked this on quite a fine linen using a single strand of DMC thread. My Luxo magnifying lamp was my best friend while stitching this!

So, while the little heart didn't make its intended destination, I hope the good thoughts I had for my friend while stitching traveled across the miles. Anyway, there's always next Christmas . . .


Pattern: One of the hearts from the European Cushion Cover
Designer: Agnes Delage-Calvet, Anne Sohier-Fournel
Publication: Made In France - Cross Stitch and Embroidery in Red, White and Blue

Civil War Quilts - Block 6

This block is #6 and it's called "Richmond". It's a block which was published about 1915 by the magazine Hearth and Home. They asked readers to send in patchwork patterns for the state capitals. Richmond, Virginia, became the capital of the Confederacy in the spring of 1861.

I really enjoyed making this block. It incorporates my favourite star . . .



And the little 4-patches are really cute, too.



It's amazing how different this block looks in different colour ways. With some blocks I see the star very clearly, with others a cross, some a diamond. Check out the Flickr Group to see what I mean . . .



Pattern: Civil War Quilts - Block 6 - Richmond
Designer: Barbara Brackman
Publication: http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

Civil War Quilts - Block 5

Well, this is block 5 done - Kansas Troubles.

The background fabric is quite orange and vibrant in "real life". It's been a while since I've pieced little tiny triangles, and I'd forgotten just how much a little stretch can throw a whole block out!

Note to self: be very, very careful when piecing tiny pieces on the bias.


Pattern: Civil War Quilts - Block 5 - Kansas Troubles
Designer: Barbara Brackman
Publication: http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

Heartsong Stitchery (the Christmas Version) Finished!

I have put the finishing stitches in this Heartsong Stitchery (the Christmas Version) by Rosalie Quinlan . . . and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

It's stitched on linen, using DMC Blanc (3 threads). The stitchery is about 12'' x 8 1/2". Rosalie's pattern was stitched on red linen with white thread, which looks really good. But I was having a bit of a "Scandinavian Moment" when I started this.


I decided to go with a chain stitch on the hear border, rather than satin stitch . . . and I'm really happy with the lacy effect.


I was planning to "frame" this by stretching it around a canvas frame, but "he who sits on the lounge offering advice" thinks that a pair of pillow cases would be good. He's yet to pick up a needle and thread and make a start on the second one!


Pattern: Heartsong Stitchery
Designer: Rosalie Quinlan

Civil War Quilts - Block 4

Block 4 - Texas Tears - is done. It may end up requiring some persuasion to be just the right size, but we'll see when the whole quilt goes together. I'm not sure that I love this block, but I'm suspending my judgment until I've done all the blocks. In a quilt with 56 blocks, not all of them need to be the "star of the show", in my opinion.

If you're interested in seeing what others are doing with their blocks for this Block Of The Week project, check out the Flickr Group - there's certainly plenty of variety and inspiration! And if you're not already full to the brim with projects on the go, have a think about joining in. It's a great way to use your stash and the weekly blocks are pretty achievable. Go on . . . have a go . . . what's stopping you?


Pattern: Civil War Quilts - Block 4 - Texas Tears
Designer: Barbara Brackman
Publication: http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

Australia Day 2011

This is my Australia!

My family.
The beach.
The bush.
The heat.
The rain.

Today, January 26th, we celebrate Australia Day - being Australian, no matter where we are from, in all its richness and diversity. We are a nation of many cultures. Of many traditions. We are a nation that comes together in triumph and tragedy in equal measure. We are tough when we need to be, gentle when it counts. We know when to lend a hand and we can laugh at ourselves. We truly do live in . . . "the lucky country".

We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream and sing with one voice:
I am, you are, we are Australian

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

By Dorothea Mackellar

To find out a little bit more about Australia Day, click here.

A Spot of Shopping . . . and Owls

We took a little drive to do a bit of antique shopping . . . we didn't come home with much, but had a lovely day out just the same.


What I did bring home are these gorgeous threads to do a little cross stitch. I love the colours of the Simply Shaker Sampler Threads . . . and I love the names of them - "Fragrant Cloves", "Shutter Green", "Cranberry". How can you go wrong?


And then, at the last stop of the day I picked up this little doiley. It's sandwich tray size. And it looked so cheery to me in the red stitching. I may use it for its intended purpose, or it may make its way into a project down the track. Who knows?


And if you have a thing for owls, and you haven't organised a calendar for this year (or even if you have), this site has the cutest little owl calendar that you can create yourself and print out. The artwork is wonderful. This is the one I made for myself . . .

Civil War Quilts - Block 3

Block 3 of Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilts is "Seven Sisters"

It's been a while since I've done any needleturn, so I found these stars a bit of a challenge. I can needleturn circles till the cows come home, but my stars may have a slight starfishy-ness about them on this block! Still, Block 3 done! There's a flickr group going with lots of these blocks being added all the time. So if you're thinking of making a start on this block of the week, or you just want to see what others are doing with their blocks, it's well worth a look.

If you get a chance, click on over to Fiona's Blog - Peaceful Threads by Fiona. She's celebrating her 2nd Blogging Anniversary today. Fiona always has something on her blog to inspire and motivate, whether it's a glorious piece of stitching or wonderful pictures of her pretty special part of the world. Well done Fiona . . . and thanks for sharing!


Pattern: Civil War Quilts - Seven Sisters
Designer: Barbara Brackman
Publication: http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

Alison's Puzzle

I started this quilt back in 2008 on a quilt retreat with a group of friends. At a retreat 6 months earlier, we were talking about things we'd like to do . . . and my friend Alison talked about how she wanted to try things that were a bit 'outside the square', or outside of her comfort zone. One of those things was learning needle turn applique. While we were there for the weekend, our hostess/tutor, Carol, designed the centre panel and made it up for us to see if we would like to work on it as project on our next retreat.

And we did.

And it was named "Alison's Puzzle".



The centre panel hung for a long time on the design wall (well, actually it was pinned on the top of another quilt that I could see every time I sat down to sew) until I made up my mind what I wanted to do with it.

Would it be an enormous cushion?

Or a small wall hanging?

A bed quilt?

I decided not to make a full size quilt, but rather I added pin wheels and a plain border to make a wall quilt, which is 50 inches square. I've used a striped binding, the same fabric as the inner border.

I'm glad to see this one finished and hanging on the wall. And I'm also glad to say that Alison finished hers into a single bed size quilt. It's in wonderful blues and browns. And it looks fantastic.

So thanks Alison for being willing to challenge yourself, and taking us along on the journey with you!


Pattern: Alison's Puzzle
Designer: Carol Pasfield
Quilted by: Quilts With Attitude