Not one, but two —

— finishes to share today!!
I had a good day of focusing today and got the last few stitches into my two latest finishes. And I had daylight left to take some photos so I could post by the end of the month!
Yahoo, I'm on fire :-)
(Whoops, I now see I was just a bit late for the good light and none of my colours are showing very well!) (Maybe not on fire after all!)
So here's the lo-down —

Friday's Village is a quiltalong we did at The Country Yard. This design was put out by Moda last year as Be My Neighbour.
We've done a few projects where participants show us their completed block and in return get the pattern for the next block and this is what we did with this one as well. I think we had a 'sharing of the block' every 2 weeks (or was it twice a month?) with the added challenge of receiving a small amount of fabric that had to be used in the next block. Fun fun fun. Most people used scraps to complete this and, come show and tell day, we ended up with a wide variety of colourful quilts.
Finally mine has transformed from flimsy to quilt aka a finish.

I went out to the sheds to find a wall big enough to hang this. And, as you can see, I got some good rustic shots too! Please excuse the dirty wall; no quilts were harmed in the taking of these photos.

You can just see the nice texture given by the quilting. I quilted this with allover circles. I really wanted to do some allover quilting which is something I haven't really tackled before. I purchased the Westalee Circle ruler. As you see in the photo below it pivots from the centre and you 'simply' go round and round in circles. There are 6 circles in each set. The only catch is each circle within the set is complete on it's own which means a lot of stopping and starting between each one. I got around this by starting the circles at a seam line so I could stitch in the ditch from circle to circle. (I did take a picture to explain but it doesn't show up.) That worked really well.

I thought this a great ruler for getting accurate circles and I know there's a lot more I can do with it rather than just circle after circle. So I'll have to play some more. 

We cant have a finished post without some photo bombing by the animals. The chooks were highly interested (for about a minute).

And some scenic shots.

I had a little whoopsie while quilting. Look carefully at the photo below and you will see a pin encased in the quilt! Whew lucky I didn't hit it!

I cut a wee hole to release it, darned it, then covered it with a strategically placed label!

What else? I used wool/cotton batting which I think is one of my favourites (Matilda's Own) and it's a very cosy 75" x 90½" - it sits on top of our King sized bed very nicely.

My second finish is the baby quilt I've been working on lately.
This was from a pattern by Joanne of Canuck Quilter called Tic Tac Who.
I put soft minky on the back and used wool/cotton batting. I kept the quilting fairly simple but did take advantage of some rulers to get even curves etc.

The back shows it a little better but once again the photos aren't the best.

Here is a better look at the wee dog in the quilt—

I love this design, I'm sure I'll make it again.

Tonight we put our clocks back for the end of daylight saving. I'm quite happy to gain a bit of extra daylight for doing chores before breakfast but the shorter evenings will will make it feel like winter is just around the corner. Not that that is a bad thing, we've had more than enough heat this summer!

I hope everyone is having a happy and safe Easter weekend. 

Happy stitches,

Travelling again —

This is the sight that welcomed me to Australia last week when I went over to visit my son and his family —

I had a lovely time...these two were delightful —

They kept me very entertained with their antics —

And nice to see the dolls quilts (and dolls' dresses) I made them for Christmas in use —

"Pretend sleeping for Ganma's photo!"

My daughter-in-law is a photographer so we went to the park for some photos —

(I took this one)

You may rmember that I like to crochet when I'm away. I continued on with the blue baby blanket I'd started last month.

This pattern can be found on Ravelry *here*.
It's not a huge blanket - I don't want a big thing to carry around while travelling!

I couldn't spend my evenings and the flight home with idle fingers so I got some more wool and started this one —

This is a cool design - start in a corner and work on the diagonal, each row
gets longer.

And just to keep right up to date, before I went away I finished the quilting on my Houses quilt (yaay!!!), my OMG for March. I just have to organise some binding and it will be done :-)

Love the effect of these circles!

I had such a great time away...since I've been home I've been busy catching up (bookwork and stockwork - punishment for going away!) but I'm hoping to be 'back to normal' soon!

Happy stitches,

Goals and things —

Many of us work better with goals and deadlines - I know I certainly do - so I was keen to link up with Patty D (Elm St Quilts) for March's OMG (one monthly goal) lineup. Sadly, I didn't meet my goal of meeting the deadline for linking up (hehe say that with a mouthful!) but I'm putting my goal out there anyway in the hope that I wlll be spurred on to meet it!
Last year when I wrote about this quilt, it was as a OMG too - that goal was just to get a bit more quilting done on it - which did happen - this time the goal is for it to be FINISHED!!

I've shared this photo before but this is what I'm working on.

I'm part way through the quilting; I've been doing a bit here and a bit there. The neutral coloured thread I'm using for it is the same thread I've used for several other projects over the last few months so that's made it easy to dive in and out of it.

Here it is poised, ready to go.....wish me luck
(and good planning).

Another goal I had recently was to get a baby quilt made. There is a new baby girl due in our neighbourhood very soon (overdue by 6 days right now) and I decided she would need a quilt.  I had a spare day so set myself the goal of making it THAT day.
Many of you know that it takes me months to make a quilt so, even though this is small sized, it could have been classed as an ambitious plan.
I was organised with my pattern and the fabric, most of which was cut, and got to work. There were a few (or more) interruptions but the day unfolded very nicely and -yaay- I met my goal!

Ready to Sew!

Getting there....!

You can see it was dark outside when I got the top done!

A good day's work :-)

The pattern I used was TicTacWho by Joanne, the Canuck Quilter. I have loved this pattern since she first released it so I am pleased that I've finally had the opportunity to make it!

A day's worth of simple quilting (what more do you need on a baby quilt?!) is in my near future as I'm sure that wee girl won't keep her parents waiting for ever!

Hmm, now what else have I been up to? Can you guess?

Yes, some foundation piecing. I tested another block for Juliet of Tartankiwi this week. This will form part of her 'On the wire' club and is the most adorable wee house wren. 

 The previous blocks  I tested for this series were 12" finished size but this one is just 6". (There are various options on each pattern; as testers we get asked to make a certain variation). I love it and have plans to re-make my others in this size too. Find out more about Juliet's pattern club *here*

The latest is a quarter the size of my first ones!
Very cute.

I had the goal of getting this blogpost written on Wednesday - or even Thursday - to link up with Julie and Linda's fortnightly Sew, Stitch, Snap and Share blogposts. Luckily they've kept the link-up open long enough for me to join in! Feel free to visit and share in some bloggy creativity.

Well, I've got more than enough quilting to keep me busy so maybe I'd better go and do some :-)

I hope you all have a very happy weekend,

Happy stitches,

November tally

One sleigh drop off...yes, I signed up for Chooky's Secret Santa Christmas Swap again this year so there's been a bit of sneaky sewing going on. The sleigh has left......

...and this is all I can show for now :-)

One slightly successful OMG (one monthly goal) result.... I linked up with Patty's OMG link up at the start of the month. I left the scope of my goal very broad...
For November I really want to pull out my Friday's Village quilt top and get some more quilting done on it.
Yes, I pulled it out quite early in the month, found the thread, found the ruler -
but it spent most of the month as an extra cosy spot for Timmie, who found it quite the perfect place to spend her days —

However over the last few days I've found a little quilting time and have quilted two more sets of circles. Of course because it had been put away for a wee while, I'd forgotten some of the spacings, etc, I'd used between my sets of circles so had to work it all out again! [Take Notes, Raewyn!]

This is a Westalee Ruler. I'm quite enjoying using it, now that I have
myself organised again.

Because I'm now on a roll I'm going to make it December's monthly goal as well. I might even be a bit more specific and try to get it finished...hmmm....
Thanks Patty for helping us set these goals and encouraging us to work towards them.

Two blocks completed  for the No Fuss SAL. I don't think I've mentioned this here before.  A no pressure stitch along where we go at our own pace to complete a quilt from Leanne Beasley's book, Living the Dream. Well, to date, my pace has been so laid back it's nearly been horizontal. It's been nice taking a break from my other hand projects for a few nights to stitch up these simple little stitcheries.

I'm using several threads, a solid colour for the outside of the tags and a
variegated one for the rest.

This is the book we are stitching from.

One more block completed for A Holly Cottage Christmas.

Here is the top row joined  up —

The first photo is an outdoors one and has truer colours!

One rescued chicken.
You may remember this wee chick from June.

Well her and her siblings are all grown up now. One of these girls had to be rescued from the (cowshed) effluent pond the other day...here she is looking very indignant and totally filthy. She was in it up to her neck  :-(. I'm so pleased that the MOML found her and rescued her for me.

I'm happy to report that after a hose down and a good night's sleep she was as good as gold again!

A bit of a slow month for me really but that's how it is sometimes, isn't it? I had a wonderful massage after work today so am feeling ready to take on the world :-)

'till next time, 

Happy stitches,

Festival of Quilts and OMG

(If you're here for OMG, scroll to the bottom!)
This last weekend the Auckland Quilt Guild held their Festival of Quilts exhibition. As one of NZ's larger (largest?) guilds in our largest city, this event always creates a lot of interest.
I was excited, as always, to be there.
Before I could enjoy the show, there was a bit of work to do. The Country Yard, my favourite quilt shop, (and the one that I work at hehe) was a merchant there so the last little while has been spent frantically making new samples, putting together kits, patterns and so on.
This is how our stand looked after set-up on Thursday afternoon.

The Auckland Netball Centre is a great venue; it's spacious and airy and never gets too crowded and hassled. Here is the view from The Country Yard's stand —

And the second level is a good spot for a photo too.

Friday at the show was my play-day and Saturday my work-day. I spent a good little while on Friday with Julie and Linda. Together we took in the quilts. There were over 200 there and I enjoyed their company. What I love about the quilt world is even though we may all have different tastes in fabric, colour or design, we can still appreciate it all...maybe that's just a sign of a well addicted quilt person but it thrills me just the same.

There were plenty of beautiful and interesting quilts. naturally I haven't photographed them all and there are plenty of note and interest that I've missed but here is a sprinkling of what we saw.

BEST OF SHOW - Whitewash by Annie White. Own design.

Amateur Best of Show -
Patchwork of the Crosses by Diane Campbell

Dandelion Wishes by Margaret Reid.
A 'Passionately Sewn' pattern.

Vron Square by Susan Wade.
Variations of Rose of Sharon blocks.

Graceful Beginnings by Tracey Roberts. Her own design.

'My Around the Corner Quilt' by Rebecca Bishop.
A Wendy Williams design.

A Karen Styles design by Mary Hawke.

Sophie's Star by Samantha Scott.
Yes, worn jeans! Apparently the quilter went through about 9 needles!

Some quilts I just have snippets of —

Victoria, a crazy quilt by Anne Joule.

'Tribute to Linda' by Colleen Burr.
Using Sharon Schamber's cording technique.

Quilting on the same quilt

Another great edging, this time on Julie Brittain's Ruby Blue.
(Her own design.)

There were several Special Exhibitions there too.

The Hoffman 2017 Challenge —

The challenge fabric is on the left.

Some of these were amazing. Sadly I only photographed one, the winning entry.

By the light of the moon by Hayley Scott.

The Aotearoa Quilters 2017 Challenge - Orange —

A very striking wall!

I think this one was part of the Symposium travelling Exhibition. 

'A Granny' by Clare Smith.
Very clever use of the doilies, even her face was a doily.

The Aotearoa Quilters Challenge - Fragile —

Shop Local by Helen Beaven

There are more quilts shown on Julie's blog, Wendy's blog, Sue's blog. Sue also won a ribbon  - click *here* to see her gorgeous quilt.

Before I sign off I'm going to quickly add my One Monthly Goal for November; time is running out for me to link up with Patty's Elm St Quilts. I don't think I'll get a chance to blog again before the linky expires!
For November I really want to pull out my Friday's Village quilt top and get some more quilting done on it.
Here it was at the end of July —

In October it had this quilting on it but nothing has happened since.

I was nearlyhalfway there with the quilting.

So having put this in print, I now need to make this happen! I've got till the end of the month, surely I can do it!
And, as a carry on from my previous post, I have done a bit of tidying of The Palace. I did some pottering yesterday and got some things put away and tidied.Yaay!

Happy stitches,