Sunday, August 11, 2013

Last month's quilts!

You may wonder where I have been (that is if anyone follows my blog!
Maybe I am talking to myself! (First sign of madness eh?)

Well I have been busy "learning" my new Gammill quilting machine.  I have named her "Mary"..an old fashion name, but the reason she is called Mary, is because I use to live in Mary Street, and part of the proceeds from selling that place went into buying my Gammill machine...hence "MARY"!
 I have been quilting panels, then I find I have hours and hours of hand sewing the binding on, after I have attached it to the front of the quilt.  I did try to sell the panels WITHOUT binding sewn on (I was supplying the binding with the quilted panel) on eBay, but had no takers, so now I have attached the bindings and will probably hold onto them until my next sale in December.

I think I will put $25 on them, so they (hopefully) will fly out the door!
However, I have been sewing as well and using up some of my scraps, and have made one of these quilts, which was a tutorial many years ago on Crazy Mom Quilts. 

My scraps have made 3 scrap quilts in the last month, and the drawer the scraps were in was hard to close, but now it closes easily, but is still full... says something doesn't it?

I have 3 quilts sitting there waiting for me to find backing & wadding for them so I can quilt them.
Until next post...
Jewells

Saturday, July 6, 2013

A night's project


My friend Jane, from the States, sent me 6 different coloured balls of this "yarn".  
I had already knitted a scarf from this type of yarn a couple of years ago and vowed I'd never make another...then came a box with this amongst other goodies from Jane.
I rang and thanked her for the parcel and mentioned I couldn't remember how many stitches I had to knit.
 4 or 5?... 
She said, "oh no Julie, I crochet it".. so she then went on to tell me to loop 10 consecutive loops on a hook, then pull the 10th one through, keep doing that to the end.
It took me a couple of hours last night while watching TV.. (I worked on it during the adds)
...man it grew real fast...over 8 feet long!
Think I'll start on another one tonight.

Until next post...
Jewells

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Another way to make up a panel

Last year my daughter sent me this panel to make up into a quick throw quilt for my grand daughter and this is how I made it up and sent back to her.
However my daughter, in a blonde moment, bought the same panel again this year for me to make up, as my grand daughter is just crazy about Owls... in realising her mistake, she still sent it to me, to "whip something up" please.
 
This is what I came up with: a table runner,  a 2 sided cushion (with the 2 owls in circles on the panel) & a 2 sided owl stuffed with lavender (the little owls from the bottom of the panel).
 
She also sent me the remains of another panel that had "Happy Birthday" in letters in a banner style print.. as it had already been hacked cut into, I couldn't be exact with points, so I decided not to even try to match points and just randomly sewed it together, plus a pink from my stash and this is the backing of the table runner shown in the picture with the cushion & lavender thingo.

Now, I couldn't send this off to my grand daughter without making something for her little brother.....
so again I dived into my stash and came up with this fabric and made him 2 throw cushions for his room...I'd say "throw" is the operative word!

Until next post...
Jewells

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Another Kit Made!

Last week I couldn't decide what to sew, so I decided to make up one of my many kits that I have bought over the years.
My method of what to make was to put my hand in the shelf, pull out 3 items and choose which one to make.
This is the one I decided on.  I bought it YEARS ago at the Darling Harbour Quilt Show in Sydney.

Soooo cute! I will be keeping this one!

Mum is making up the second kit (it too is a table runner, but in Autumn tones) which she is now sewing the binding on, so the photo will be taken when she is finished.

The third kit is a Christmas Stocking, however my grand daughter has asked me to make something with the owl panel her mother has sent me.. as it is the same panel as a quilt I made for her last year, I will have to make something other than a quilt out of it...hmmm

Until next post..
Jewells

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Christmas in July

 I am participating in a GoNe StiTchiN' swap (Christmas in July 2013) and here is a sneak of what I have been making for my swap partner Tracee (no it isn't a secret).
I have gone for the 3 letters "A" for Angel (above photo)
  "S" for Santa
and "R" for Reindeer.

I even succeeded in quilting the top item on my new Gammill quilting machine, with NO mistakes!

Now I am off to attach the back of some binding by hand...wish I could use a thimble!

Until next post..
Jewells

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Quilted Items For Sale


As mentioned earlier, I have just bought a quilting machine and I am learning how to use it.
So instead of wasting fabric by sewing samples, I am sewing panels and also making up small quilts to practice on
.
As I will be making quite a few of these, I have decided to make the binding and offer the QUILTED panel plus the binding for sale.
So here I go: 

ALL QUILTS & SET OF 9 PLACE MATS ARE 
 $12 each PLUS $8 postage
(WITHIN AUSTRALIA).. if overseas, please contact me for postage rate.

9 QUILTED Christmas PLACEMATS
with PLENTY of Binding
Size of each placemat: 28 x 41cm (11" x 16")
Stitch pattern: Holly & Berries
  
Must admit I have made a boo boo on 2 of the placemats..
the BACKING was not stretched tight enough & there is a crease in the fabric.. not really noticeable, but I have to be honest..

after all I am still PRACTICING!

QUILTED COT PANEL No 1 - no mistakes made!
with PLENTY of Binding

Writing on panel says:
baby's furry fluffy
floppy first friends

Size: 70 x 112cm (27.5" x 44")

Stitch pattern: Tumbling Teddies
(2nd photo shows back & pattern)

QUILTED COT PANEL No 2 - no mistakes made!
with PLENTY of Binding
Winnie the Pooh & Friends
PURE WOOL WADDING
 
Size: 57 x 114cm (22" x 45")
  Stitch pattern: Circles (2nd photo shows back & pattern)
 

QUILTED COT PANEL No 3 - no mistakes made!
with PLENTY of Binding

 Size: 86 x 112cm (34" x 44")
Stitch pattern: Bunnies & Hearts
(2nd photo shows back & pattern)
 

QUILTED COT PANEL No 4 - no mistakes made!
with PLENTY of Binding
Size: 86 x 112cm (34" x 44")
 
Stitch pattern: Circles
(2nd photo shows back & pattern) 
   

Would LOVE to sell these... and more to come.
Please email me or leave a comment if you want to purchase any.

Until next post...
Jewells

 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Learning the Gammill

My sewing room has been invaded by a HUGE machine!  My other half helped installed the new Gammill, while Mum and I stayed out of the way.
 and here I am, moving the head to mark out the size of the quilt, then press a button, stand back and watch it do its magic!

OH I LOVE MY NEW TOY!!!

Until next post..
Jewells