My quilting thoughts and inspirations sprinkled with a glimpse of life down on the farm

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Some practise and a finish or two

When I looked at my to-do list at the start of the week, I wasn't sure how much of it I would get done, given that I had limited sewing time; however I came up with a clever idea and managed to kill two birds with one stone.
I wanted to do a little more practise of the scroll flower motif which Amy has introduced for this month's free motion Monday.  And I also wanted to make my ED a cushion as part of her birthday present this week.
Yep, you've got it, ED has a cushion with Amy's scroll flower on it!
First of all, a small amount of applique.....
then some quilting.......
Most of the photos have been taken at night and the colour is a bit
washed out. This is pretty close to the true colour.
It was good to have a project to work on, rather than just random quilt sandwiches. I like this scroll flower design; I used a lot of echoing to change direction and get out of corners. I think the echoing adds to the design.

I did this on my Bernina as my big machine is all set up with a quilt for the MOML.
— ta-da! One completed cushion!
ED and some friends came around for a birthday tea last night; during dessert I was able to grab a few moments to sew the last of the binding down.... it was a great way to get out of dessert duties (oh the joy of having adult children :-))... and in spite of a bit of guessing, I was able to keep what I was making a secret until handover :-)
Simple back with a splash of colour.
Another little giftie thing I completed earlier in the week is this little hanging, which I made for a friend. I used the spool pattern *here* on Edyta Sitar's Laundry Basket Quilts blog. It is an easy way to make the spools, starting with 5 equal sized squares which you cut up then sew back together (of course!)!
Always interesting, isn't it, to think, that it took 5 x 2inch squares to make
one 2.5inch block!!
I have been inspired by the Grinch and am trying to have a handmade (made with love) element in all my gift giving this year. I've got to the end of April and have managed so far, which is a good start, just need to keep it up...!!
The weather is certainly telling us that it is Autumn this morning, I think I am going to have to find some warmer clothes. Once the clouds burn off though, the day will likely warm up and we will be peeling off the layers! Maybe I could also warm up now with a bit of activity in the kitchen, and finish cleaning up after last night's dinner party :-)  (One drawback of dishwashers that you cant get all the dishes done at once - I wouldn't have it any other way though!)
Have a good day everyone,
Happy stitching and thank you for visiting,

25 comments:

  1. What a beautiful pillow! And I love the little spool wall hanging...I may have to make one of those for myself! :0)

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  2. gorgeous pillow! it looks wonderful and I am loving that spool mini too.
    beautiful fabrics and the pattern looks great.
    hope the sun breaks through!

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  3. Your cushion us gorgoues...love your quilting...

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  4. Great cushion and I love the scroll flower quilting... so effective... those spools are lovely too..
    Hugz

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  5. Happy birthday to ED. She looks very pleased with her gift. I am in awe that you can do that with a sewing machine....straight lines are a challenge for me Lol! You are very clever Raewyn. Love your spool wall hanging...and laundry basket quilts. The spool quilt is on my list. I have gone for a visit so thanks for the link xx

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  6. Great job on the design, the pillow, the ED (she's beautiful), and the spools! Thanks for linking up and participating.

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  7. What a nice job you did on the pillow quilting! Very pretty. I also really like the spool quilt.

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  8. I love your quilting, and your spools are fantastic!

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  9. The quilting on the pillow is just beautiful and I love the spools .

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  10. Love the quilting design on the cushion! I see why you put the word smile on it, ED has a lovely smile!! Very cute spool quilt! I am glad you had a picture of the spool quilt with the thimble in it, it gave perspective to the size of the quilt. We are looking forward to Spring here, though still have cool weather.

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  11. Beautiful *Smile* cushion & the smile you received from your daughter tells me she loved it!
    Cute wee spool hanging too.....Love Edyta's designs are lovely. Happy gift making!

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  12. I so admire your quilting skills, it really is lovely. Very nice spools hanging too and I am sure receiving gifts that you have made must be a delight for your friends, beats shop bought any day when you have the skills to make such beautiful things.

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  13. I really like that quilting design. Looks great!
    What a fun little spool hanging. Someone will love that, for sure!
    I hear you on the dishwasher thing. I have about a dozen people to dinner most Sundays and am still doing the dishes throughout Monday--sometimes I even have a load left for Tuesday, if I have been away from home for much of Monday. But I'd rather that than standing at the sink until it was all done! : )

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  14. I lowe your pillow. Looks fantastic.

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  15. Clever you completing two tasks at once...love the cushion and the wee spool blocks are very cute. Hugsxxxx

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  16. Gorgeous cushion and I like the quilting you have done. A perfect combination!
    That is a cute little hanging, too.
    Yes, there is a different feel to the air now the season has truly changed.

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  17. What fabulous scroll flower quilting looks great on your cushion design. Edita had great designs at laundry basket quilts. It's nice to get some finishes to our lists, great job for the week.

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  18. Dear Raewyn,
    you did 100% more than me this week. I had no time and no chance to get a free "area"!!!
    Your pillow is lovely and the little wallhanging so cute!!!!
    Many hugs from a very lazy person ;-))
    sigisart

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  19. Beautiful scroll flower quilting. Your stitches are so nice and even! Well done!

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  20. The cushion is lovely, gorgeous quilting. Love your mini spool quilt too, really lovely. It has got cold here too all of a sudden. We had our first fire last week!!

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  21. Your quilting looks beautiful! The cushion really looks great. Happy Birthday to ED!! Love the mini spool quilt. You got a lot done for one week. So jealous!!

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  22. Hi dear Raewyn
    I just love visiting your blog and see your fabulous stitching - it's always a treat and so inspiring!
    Your smile cushion is gorgeous and the spool quilting too!
    How I wish you lived closer and I could do a quilt class with you.....
    being an embroiderer I think I'm quite keen to hand quilt something small to start!
    You seem to be a prolific finisher!
    Hugs
    Shane

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  23. Your scroll flower quilting is absolutely lovely. I do the same thing--a bit of extra echo stitching to get out of a corner. Works like a charm, as long as I stay focused on where I am and where I'm going.
    Your work, whether it's stitching or quilting or embroidery, is always perfection, Raewyn. There's always something interesting to see and usually something to learn when I come for a visit. So visiting here is a treat, all the time.

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  24. Nice job on the scroll flower. I didn't like my small size but I like yours

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