Threads that connect...

I often find myself saying out loud, "I love my quilting stuff". To which my family roll their eyes and respond with "yes's" and Stepford Wife nods, too scared to disagree or to fight a losing battle!
Even though I consider myself an emerging quilter having only been quilting for 4 or so years, I've managed to build an extensive assortment of 'stuff' quite apart from the fabric that is lovingly glanced at every time I pass the glass paneled cupboard.  Amongst other things, there's the various configurations of rulers, different sized cutting mats and roller cutters, special needles for hand and machine, pincushions (well they're almost at collector stage), machines for piecing and quilting, a hera marker, curved and straight pins, tape measures and then there's the threads....not only in a range of colours but some of which that are antique and purchased for the spools, not likely to ever be used!
It's these haberdashery items that connect quilters around the world. Symbols of what we love and use and items that we could all talk about for hours on end given the chance. 

It's fair to say that very little willpower was applied when I pressed the 'order' button for a pdf of the Spools pattern from Thimble Blossoms as a quilt just for me. A quilt design that celebrates the cornerstone of quilting...thread. Mind you, the construction phase took a quite a while as it was something that I picked up and put down! However, on a mission to finish what's been lying around for far too long, it became the second quilt this year to be pulled from the 'half-baked' pile.

I used a jelly roll of Snippets by Sandy Klop that I purchased on my very first interstate fabric buying spree with the Sew & Sews girls...way back in May 2009! It was high time this little treasure was used in something so personal. I love the traditional primary and secondary colours this line features which I think work perfectly with this design. The greys are Kona Coal and some Bonnie & Camille Ruby in various shades and pattern.

One thrilling note was the unearthing of a 30cm piece of Snippets featuring the pink 'outfits' lying on a remnant table at Ballarat Patchwork and purchased whilst the family was travelling to Melbourne last October. For such an old fabric line, this was surely a wonderful find and the piece was promptly incorporated into the back.
The binding is some Denyse Schmidt Picnics and Fairgrounds that combines beautifully with the traditional colours of Snippets.

And speaking of trips away, this time to Sydney visiting a gorgeous shop, Burnt Orange in Mosman, NSW just last week. Another item to add to my plethora of quilty treasures, a beautiful little bowl featuring a button print that is nothing short of delightful. Originally designed as a sugar bowl, meet my new thread bowl.

I'll tumble for ya....

Yes, showing my age a little here with a Culture Club/Boy George reference but I could also say I really fell for this quilt and in more ways than one!

This is my red, pink and grey tumbler quilt. It was born out wanting to have a go at a tumbler pattern, which I strongly recommend. But more importantly, falling instantly in love with the quilt featured on the front cover of Sunday Morning Quilts by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison. So it's absolutely fitting that I should finish this quilt this week and share it through Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday.
It's fair to say, I'm a red and pink girl and had plenty of it in my stash and when I started pulling fabric from the pile was pleasantly surprised at how much grey I also had.

One such piece of grey was a piece of re-purposed fabric from a shirt of Joe's that met a sad demise. It was a shirt that I had help him buy when we first met. We both loved the print but I think I was more of the enabler in the purchase. His mum wasn't too impressed that he'd spent so much of his pay on one shirt and it always made me feel awful that I'd talked him into buying it! But he got lots of wear out of it (...perhaps to prove that he too really loved it) and it ended up ripping across the back. When we were cleaning out his mum's place I found it in the bottom of his wardrobe. I couldn't bear to throw it away so I squirreled it home, washed it and popped it in my stash cupboard. The colours are perfect so I cut quite a few blocks for this quilt.

I have to admit that this quilt was a long time in the making. My initial, "I have to make this" flurry soon passed and it became one of those long-term projects. I picked it up and put it down and then late last year I decided I would make an effort to finish it.

So out it came again and I began to share it on Instagram. My sister noticed it and commented that her friend would love this quilt. Sure enough that was indeed the case so it finished with a new purpose. The really funny thing is that what influenced their liking for the quilt was that little bit of Joe's shirt when they exclaimed, "there's even a bit of Yayoi Kusama in it". I don't know if Yayoi ever designed fabric used by Sportscraft back in the early 90's but I have to admit...it does look like her work! Wouldn't that be funny!

 Later edited: Here I am in 2016 and haven't blogged for months when out of the blue I received an email from Artsy. Somehow they managed to track down my earlier mention of Yayoi Kusama. By way of explanation Artsy strive to make all of the world's art accessible to anyone online. Their admiration for Yayoi Kusama is demonstrated through their bio featuring over 150 of her works and exclusive articles and up-to-date Kusama exhibition listings. To check it out visit here. Thanks Artsy for getting in touch. More than happy to help share the love.

Global phenomenon....

It seems the 'scrappy trip around the world' block has indeed taken the blogasphere and instagram by storm. I was a bit late to join the tripping so missed the #scrappytripalong which began around new years eve on instagram thanks to Megan and Katy. Since that time a wonderful assortment of quilts have surfaced almost daily....so resistance was nigh on impossible. My quilt top is an attempt to feature green and saturated brights....which is a little difficult to see in an instagram shot! I can also see a block (second row far right) that needs a bit of adjustment. That rich pink/red dot is bugging me split the way it has so it will be out with the quick-unpick for that one. I've managed 22 blocks so far with 8 more to go.
If you want to have a go at the highly addictive, super simple scrappy trip around the world block you can find the tutorial here.

One thing leads to another.....

Of course it does...never truer words spoken. But, I can't help thinking about how this statement currently relates to my quilting.
For me 2012 was a year of gifting and donating quilts along with some minor efforts at craft markets. And here I am at the beginning of 2013 with a commission list that is pleasantly surprising. I am delighted that my obsession with fabric and the craft I use for my escape is now desired by some and that they're serious about their own 'Little Sew and Sew's' production. (My husband is thrilled that some of the fabric is moving from the shrine otherwise known as the 'stash'!).
Thank you, one and all. I am really quite chuffed that you actually asked me to create your bespoke quilt and have given me the greatest excuse ever to sit behind the machine!
In the meantime, I'll share with you a little project I've been crafting for one of a number of babies I have on my horizon. This quilt top is based on the modern log cabin quilt from the front cover of the book of the same name by Susan Beal. Mine is a modified version based on 2.5" to make a 12" block and is cot sized (48x60). I also switched it up a little more by creating 1/2 blocks to go on the second and fourth rows....I tell you, it never rains, it pours!

Looking back on 2012....

I don't want to say too much about 2012....for me, it was fairly topsy-turvy....like quitting my job of 10 years only to be re-employed 6 weeks later. Don't ask but as Kylie Minogue says, "better the devil you know....".
In the meantime, 2012 was fabulously creative and over-the-top stitchy. I made lots of quilts of varying sizes and styles. I subtracted from the WIP pile only to add at the other end (does that = EVEN?). I participated in two guerrilla markets, the first tragic, the second a veritable bonanza with my little birdies flying off the branches. I donated numerous quilts that left me with more than 'warm fuzzies' not only knowing that  the quilts would go to homes that loved them but that the funds generated would go towards R's soon to depart music department's trip to Ireland. I've used lots of fabric and batting scraps but that bucket is just not diminishing. A big highlight is that I have been approached for consignment quilts and bespoke. And I've spent lots of quality time with my lovely Sew & Sew's friends and plan to continue catching up for fabric fondling and a good laugh each week. So right now.....2013 is shaping up to be full of fabric....just as I like it!

1. Nicey Jane Quilt, 2. Floral Bouquet Quilt featuring Bliss, 3. Floral Bouquet Quilt featuring Bliss, 4. Made in Cherry Finished Quilt, 5. Made in Cherry Back, 6. Confetti front, 7. Butterflies quilt, 8. Confetti back, 9. The Gosling Baby Quilt, 10. Small geometric quilt, 11. Geometric quilt, 12. Granny Square quilt, 13. Scrappy patchwork picnic quilt, 14. Scrappy patchwork picnic quilt, 15. Granny back, 16. Ruby Plus Quilt, 17. Granny Square Quilt, 18. Granny Square Quilt, 19. Granny Square Quilt Back, 20. Zesty Quilt, 21. Zesty Binding, 22. Baby Quilt Non Gender Specific, 23. Granny Square Quilt, 24. Dolly quilts on the line, 25. Garden Party, 26. Scandi Birdies off to market, 27. My space at market, 28. Japanese X and + Blocks

Party in the garden...

I have been in love with Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party fabric for an age. First there was this quilt that I couldn't stop staring at and then this one by Megan of Lucy & Norman fame. I loved the boldness of the Garden Party prints and the vibrancy of the saturated colours. And from each of these quilt's points of view, the BIG patchwork choices. I started collecting my fabric years ago...the range was well and truly finished by the time I discovered it and then in typical style it lay folded in my cupboard. Occasionally I would bring it out and worship its brightness and then argue with myself as to what I was going to do with it.
Then back in September I decided that the best course of action was to use it to make a quilt for my sister for Christmas. How clever and organised was I?
I cut the fabric into the biggest squares I could out of my mostly fat 1/4 collection. I then joined them into giant sized 9 patches and sliced them up to create a quilt top of very large disappearing 9 patches. And there it sat, pushed to the end of the line due to all the other sewing activity that surfaced. Then as Christmas rolled around I talked myself out of finishing it until I couldn't decide what to buy her as an alternative. So with 4 days to go I made a dash for Spotlight with my VIP 15% discount card for backing, binding and pins (due to the fact that all of my basting pins are currently sitting in other quilts ready for quilting but that's another story!).
Quilters will know how the rest of this story goes, moving all the lounge furniture to baste....not easy with a thumping big Christmas tree in the way!.....quilt through the night so you can hardly move the next day after the wrestling of  the 'anaconda' through the machine and to top it off......hand sewing on binding throughout a 35 degree day! But having said all that....we do it because we love it and we love an appreciative reaction even more! Merry Christmas!

Selling out....

Earlier this year, Clare and I participated in a twilight guerrilla craft market. We'd spent a few months whipping up baby quilts and getting ourselves organised. Our strategy was that baby quilts were quicker to produce and cheaper to sell. We were excited and our little spot looked lovely on the banks of a row boat lake in the parklands.
But guerrilla markets are based on the 'pop up' theory and rely on very fast word of mouth to drive the buyers. Sadly, the evening timeslot was an experiment and the people just didn't arrive. And this was further compounded with Adelaide's Mad March of events, so there was just too much competition for everyone's dollar and time. So after 2 hours of just one sale to Clare we packed up and spent our float money at the artists bar at the Fringe Festival.
Over the months some of my quilts had been given away for fundraisers or given to friends and family in need of a quick baby present. But most of the stock remained.
Then Clare was invited back to the next market but this time there was no secret location and lots of effort was put in by the organisers to promote the affair. I loved the idea because the location was right at the end of my street!
Clare and I decided to use the opportunity to quit the stock we had but I supplemented mine with these little Scandinavian birdies by Syko.

I spent two weeks rifling through the scrap bin determined to use only scraps of fabric and stuffing and ribbon from the stash. I ended up with 48 little birdies and as many butterflies in my stomach, worried we'd be rejected like the last market.

But I needn't have worried....(that's hindsight for you!). Those little birdies flew off the branches and all but two of my quilts remain. Clare did alright too with all of her quilts selling on the day. Admittedly we put very reasonable prices on them and were prepared to drop them a little further to secure a sale but all round, we're happy.

What did we learn? Timing is good. Pre-Christmas and buyers are looking for gifts. So this is the one to participate in. Promotion is good. Little is good. Small things go well. Bundling is very good. Offer a price for 1 and then a discounted price for four. Buyers love value for money! I did this with my birds and every sale was a batch of four.
So where am I at now? Well I anticipated that I'd have some birds left over for the kids friend's Christmas gifts....but I don't. So I'm back in the scrap bin and at the machine to turn out a few more. 'Tis the season!