Spider Web

I like to think I know a little about quilting, well I do, a little
But there are still blocks that I know nothing about.
After reading what Heidi had to say here I realised that I didn't know what she was talking about.
So using trusty old Google I searched for the answer and this is what I found..........Spiderweb Quilt.

What an awesome style of quilt with so many variations and styles available.
I love that further down the page the writer of the Spider Web Quilt page writes about how her son mentioned a spider web quilt looked like a pizza, I can so see that and had a giggle at that.

Guess I am going to have to put this on my 'to do list' or is that my "wish to do list"

Quilting

As I have mentioned a few times before, I like to quilt.
And as I have mentioned many times before as well, I haven't had much time for it in the last few years, but that seems to be changing.

I happily read blogs and get inspired by what others are achieving and also looking at the wonderful patterns they have managed to find.
Now I also manage to, on occassion, find sites that have free BOM happening. Some of them I like and others I think I would really like to make one day.

Today I came across this site 'Val Laird' and she has this gorgeous BOM called 'Gifts of Grace'.
So I have set the site up so I keep up to date with each new pattern being released.
I think it is a cute little design.

I have also found free stuff over here at Bunny Hill Designs.

Not overly fussed about the current free BOM with Snowmen, but did love the one from last year, so have the pattern and will one day make it up. It was 12 designs around a basket for each month of the year, so cute.

Advent Swap Update

Finally, 2 days after they said it would arrive, I have received my much awaited parcel from Italy that came via MAF Biosecurity!

From the outside it all looks ok, obviously it has been opened and there is MAF tape used to keep it closed.

Upon opening it, everything seems ok.

They have opened 1 or 2 of the little gifts, as you can see

The rest they have just ripped the paper to get a better look at what is inside.

So apart from 2 that I know exactly what they are (although one can be rescued) the others, I can see what they are made out of, but until I take all the paper off I am not 100% sure as to what it is.

So things not as bad as they could have been.

Roll on Dec 1 so I can start opening them to see what I got, thanks Simona, Merry Christmas to you.

Bag Swap

I found a little swap going on over here a few weeks ago for a little friendship bag.

I have never made a bag before, but thought there ought to be a first time for things.

So I followed the directions from an awesome tutorial here and came up with this....

This is my first attempt, I have already learnt a few little things from making this first one. This is not the bag I will be using in the swap, I will be bettering the art of bag making and making another for the swap, but for a trial run, I was impressed with myself.

My mum has a pattern for another bag as well, so will give that one a trial run.

Depending on how easy the 2nd bag is, will decide on which style I decide to make for the friendship swap later on.

Current Quilt

A few years ago I started making this quilt by Bronwyn Hayes.

I have done several of the embroideries necessary for the quilt top, but like most things I still have a few to go!

I have all the fabric for the quilt, have gone for a grape and maroon colour instead of the blues, so once all the top squares are finished, then I just have to piece it all together, oh and do that bit that I don't enjoy, quilting it.

I am in no rush to finish it, it is an easy thing to have in a bag and take with me to the caravan or away for the weekend, it is also very easy to pick up and do a few stitches and then put back down again.

Now the boys are letting me get a little bit more time to myself, then maybe I will get this finished!

Yea right, and pigs will fly! Back onto the UFO pile it goes!

First Quilt

When I moved to New Zealand in 1998, I had just started to get into quilting.

I didn't however have a sewing machine nor in fact a sewing kit!

I did however have the afternoon free one weekend to go to a quilt show. Whilst there I got some material and decided that I could do a quilt by hand, why not? Everyone use to do it that way before machines etc.

So I started with a simple straight forward 9 Patch design.

And I sowed the whole thing, more or less by hand. I did spend a weekend at my Aunty's house one time and finish piecing the top with her machine!

But the backing fabric is 2 pieces joined together by hand.

Then I set about tacking it all together and then quilting it all by hand, with a hoop.

I started this quilt in 1998 and to this day it is sadly not quite finished!

I have all of the bottom row and a few squares up one side to finish, oh and then the binding.

One day I will get it complete, I will get in the right mood to want to sit down and finish it, but for now it is all wrapped up in the cupboard, waiting for that 'one day' to come along!

Bag Swap

Over the last week or so, I have managed to come across several new blogs to follow.

PS I Quilt and Cornbread and Beans Quilting Weblog, to name a few.

One of these wonderful blogs had a step by step tutorial the other day on how to make a little quilt bag. So I popped on over and checked it all out. It was awesome, so simple and easy, even for fragile people like me who haven't seen the inside of her quilt bag for several years now! Man am I glad my 2 boys are getting bigger by the day, hopefully I am now counting down the months not years until I get to have an hour here and there to start up my quilting and sewing again.

At the end of the tutorial it explained about a little bag swap that is about to take place.

Mmhh I thought, this would be a nice little project to undertake.

So I skipped on over and signed my name up for it.

Thought I might do something up in New Zealand patterned fabric?

So if you fancy a wee tutorial on making a little quilt bag, then pop over to PS I Quilt and check it out.

If you fancy joining the swap, then click on the picture and skip on over there as well. Registration closes 20th August, postage has to be by Oct 6.

Have fun

Horoscopes

I am a part time quilter, I would love to be more, but I have a young family so this is something I am looking forward to doing more of when my boys are bigger and no longer need me all of the time.
This horoscope came through from my mum, and it sums me up perfectly:

Scorpio - October 24 to November 22
Being passionate Scorpios can be excellent quilters. When they rely on their natural intuition, they excel at choosing colour and pattern combinations. Sometimes their compulsive nature can cause problems, as they leave projects unfinished in their quest to have the latest and greatest. When they stick with a project they produce supreme work. They always must have the most up-to-minute supplies or tools and tend to be jealous of others who may possess anything more recent. They have been known to sulk if they get frustrated in their aim to be unsurpassed. Nevertheless, their desire to have the best is what drives them to produce exceptional quality work. As they possess abundant energy they can do a large amount of quilting without even needing a break for a cuppa coffee.

Breast Cancer

October is of course Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This is one of the charities that I am proud to support.

I wear something pink for the whole month.

Check out the following site for a cool quilt (ok technology quilt, not a real sewn quilt) but still way cool.

Patchwork Quilt

At the conference they referred to all the different services involved with parenting like a patchwork quilt.

Quite a nice resemblence I think.

Several months ago National Office sent all centres some material and asked us to create a quilt block. There were certain specifications involved, but generally a block representing what our centre meant to the local community and when building the block we had to try to incorperate the 2 pieces of material supplied so every block had a common thread.

I was the lucky person who had the privelige of putting our block together. We didn't go for anything too fancy, found a design that represented what we wanted to say and then I printed it onto special quilting material you can put through your home computer printer and then added some borders. I was really happy with what we ended with, simple but nice.

It was quite funny because I had forgotten about this, as it was about 3 months ago I sent it in to National Office and then there they were talking about parenting and a patchwork quilt in one of the evening sessions.

Suddenly it dawned on me what they were about to do.

The quilt, celebrating 55 years of Parents Centre, it was a wonderful moment to be part of, especially as my block was part of it, even though it was for Central Auckland Parents Centre, it was still my block.

There were some amazing blocks in the quilt. The centre block showing the logo of PCNZ was so well done. In the blue plain squares the quilter had quilted in the shape of the logo, unfortunately it doesn't show here, but looked so good in person. A lot of effort had gone into this and it showed. It was beautiful.