Shabby Roses BOM

Jenny at Elefantz has designed a BOM called Shabby Roses. You can access her blog by clicking on her name or the Shabby Roses BOM button on my sidebar. She has already posted the first two patterns and will post the next one, BOM number 3, on the 1st May. Jenny is also having a give-away to celebrate so go across to her blog and enter. The first two blocks are very pretty and are a combination of stitchery and blanket stitch applique.

WISP for April

At last I have finished a wisp for this month. Since I returned home from Goulburn, I don't seem to have achieved much. I've done the dreaded washing, some of the mountain of ironing awaiting me and a small bit of housework but have still only managed a minimal amount of quilting with the rest of my time. I think my management skills are sadly lacking. Not sure what to do about this!!!

The photo above is my only finish for quite a while. It is a small wall-hanging for my quilting/sewing room. I finally completed the binding at my quilting group today but will have to wait to hang it as I don't have the right size wall-hanger. Hoping I might get to the quilt show in Brisbane this week where I should be able to buy one. Am trying to catch up on my various BOM's for April and my Giggle Button Club project.

Home from Goulburn

Homeward bound. One of many food and fuel stops. 34 Chevie on the left, 2 Model A's in the middle and a 36 Ford Coupe on the right.

Good-bye to Goulburn's mascot!

We arrived back home late Tuesday. The trip down and back was incident free except for our mate who, on the way back, after checking the water level in the radiator, accidentally left the cap off. Luckily we noticed the water pouring from his car at the first petrol stop so after he purchased a new radiator cap (couldn't find the old one) and filled the radiator with water, all went well. We had a lovely week away and enjoyed the Nationals very much. Plenty of cars to see and activities to attend. The Saturday night cruise through the centre of town was very popular with many locals lining the streets even though it was a bit wet. In all, the weather was pretty good with the Sunday Show and Shine at the showgrounds being quite hot and sunny. We encountered a fair bit of rain on the way home and had to zip our removable windows in to keep dry. The next Nationals are in Western Australia but I think it will be too far for us to go for only a few days.

Since I have been back, I have only managed a short session in my quilting room. I am suffering from withdrawal symptoms big time. I have been able to trace out all the BOM's for April but have not managed to start stitching as yet. Today was family day with both the boys and their families coming over for a barby. It was lovely to catch up with them and see our grand-children again. Todd brought our dog Cain back looking much slimmer so I will have to try not to overfeed him. I think he enjoyed his visit with Brodie, Todd's dog, as they get on quite well. Tomorrow is Chris's last day of his holiday before going back to work so we will just take it easy and have a quiet day, maybe some stitching might be in order as the V8's are racing in New Zealand and Chris will be in front of the TV I'm sure.

Boonah Quilting Retreat

Last Friday we headed to 'The Outlook' at Boonah for our quilting group's retreat. We had a lovely time quilting, crafting, eating, laughing, talking, more eating and even more quilting. Within our group we have a varied number of handcrafts being undertaken including doll making, bag making, knitting/crochet and card making. A number of lovely things were made with many tips shared and everyone happy with what they had accomplished. I have made some wonderful friends since joining the group, one's I am sure I will have for many years to come. I was working on a quilt for my daughter Kym in black,white and purple. I cut up a quilt panel from Lorelie Harris with cats on it which I bought several years ago at a quilt show. The quilt is made up of 15 cat blocks with purple borders added and nine patch blocks in between with a central larger block. I got a bit bogged down with the centre block as I had miscalculated the measurements, not by much but as you know with quilting a quarter inch here or there makes all the difference. It is the first big quilt I have designed so I am not too unhappy with my efforts. It just meant I didn't get a lot done, so the photo above shows my nine patches. I also completed the cat blocks but forgot to take a photo of them. Will show more later when I get back to it after Easter.

This is just a short post as we leave today for Goulburn to attend the Hotrod Nationals. We will head up to Toowoomba this afternoon and stay there the night, leaving in the morning at 6am with 3 or 4 other hotrodders. Should be there by Thursday sometime with another stop over night on the way. Goulburn is about 1100 klms away in New South Wales. Morning temperatures in the area have been down to 4 degrees C so have packed some warm gear. Room in the hotrod's boot is quite minimal so we can't take too much but I have managed to fit in some quilting magazines and a couple of stitcheries that need completing. Well must close and finish those last minute things that need doing. Above is a photo of our hotrod - 1928 Model A Ford Roadster.

Bits & Pieces / Punch Needle Class

This week I managed to put some of the sashing on my first 3 Verandah Views blocks. The blocks go in different parts of the hanging so I am anxious to see how it progresses as more blocks are completed. I decided to use some leftover fabrics from my stash. I love fabrics by 3 Sisters and have bought quite a few of their fabric lines over the years so will mix and match from the bits I have left from other quilts.

The photo below is of the second Fire Appeal Quilt that I have put together for our group to send down to Victoria. It is a combination of applique and stitched blocks each done by one of the ladies from our group. The detail is a bit hard to see but is lovely when you get a close look at it. I used blue and pink for the sashings. I think it turned out quite well, don't you? The room where the photo was taken is my 3rd bedroom where you can find my bear collection. You can just see the bears at the side of the quilt and my bear collector wall-hanging which I stitched some time ago on the other side.


On Thursday, I went to my local quilt shop Homespun and Beautiful for a 3 hour punchneedle class. Here are a couple of photos of my punchneedle project. When finished, it will go on the front of a pouch that holds the punchneedle and the needle threaders (Sorry forgot to include the pattern photo). I thoroughly enjoyed this class and love the look of the design as you fill in more stitches. You draw the design outline on the back of the weavers cloth and then punchneedle from the back. There is a bit of a technique to threading the needle and getting the fabric tight in the hoop but after that it is just a matter of getting a rhythm as you punch and making sure to keep your stitches even. The hoop sits in a holder which is a must have as it frees up your other hand from having to hold the hoop, allows you to turn the hoop in the holder as you work and stops you from stabbing yourself accidently with the needle.

Back side of design.

Right side of design.

I was a bit naughty when I was at the shop doing my class as I couldn't resist buying the bag pattern by Bronwyn Hayes and also the panel with shoes on it. It is by Sandy Gervais and the line is called Objects of Desire. It was our anniversary on Wednesday so I think Chris will forgive me for my extra purchases, I hope.

Catching Up with BOM's

A Christmas Wish BOM by Gail Pan. Block 3.

Verandah Views BOM. Block 3.

Here are a couple of photos of the stitcheries I have been working on. Block 3 of a Christmas Wish completed and sashing added. Verandah Views Block 3 is finished as well. This month we were given the instructions to complete the first 3 blocks so sorted out some fabric for the sashing today. Hope to get that done sometime next week.

My room isn't very tidy at present as I have a few other things in the planning stages. I always seem to be thinking of what my next project will be even before I finish the one I am working on. Is it only me that does this or there other quilters out there who do the same thing? I must say I love being able to leave projects out when I'm in the middle of something and time runs out as I can pick up where I left off when I return and save lots of time and energy. I am so enjoying my hideaway, I'm afraid housework isn't on the agenda very often these days.

We have our Retreat at Boonah, coming up in a couple of weeks time and I have been sorting out what I want to take to work on. I saw a pattern in a Country Threads magazine for bags to carry your quilting mat and quilting ruler. It uses a jelly roll so I have been working on these, hopefully will have them completed for the retreat or if not will take them along to finish. I am also hoping to start on a quilt for my daughter, Kym. It will be black, white and purple (her favourite colour), just have to work out what design I will use.

Photo update.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been putting together the above quilt. Last year, all the ladies in my group, The Jimboomba Quilters and Stitchers, stitched a block to go into a quilt which we were going to give to a hospital or charity to raffle. In the end, we had enough blocks to make 2 quilts, one for a boy and one for a girl. When we saw the devastation of the fires down south and how so many quilters were rallying to help the fire victims, it was decided by everyone to put the quilts together and send them to Victoria. I have finished the first one and am now working on the girl's quilt. I am happy with the way it has come together and hope some little boy will love it when he receives it.

I have also been doing lots of stitching over the last week and have now finished three Bunny Hill blocks. I like the way the blue variegated thread is looking although it is a bit hard to see in these photos . I am almost finished Block 3 of Verandah Views and the 3rd block of a Christmas Wish. Trying very hard to keep all these up to date and not fall behind, so far so good.

No WISPs done for March as yet but am working on a couple of things. Just need a few more hours in each day.