A Productive Weekend!

Melbourne's gloomy weekend is perfect!

Perfect for SEWING!

Apart from some functional work like joining backing and darning some sox, I had a very productive weekend!

I completed this cot quilt -with my own simple, and somewhat sparse quilting!

The binding is on and the quilt ready for gifting.

Every year my local patchwork shop "Patchwork House" hosts a Mystery Quilt Challenge for the charity "Open Family".

Participants purchase a Fat Eighth to construct a 12 inch block. It is up to each individual to add the rest of the fabric and the design of their own choice.

It's all part of the fun!

Each one is joined together and quilted by the talented girls at the shop. The quilts are then donated to the charity to give to needy clients such as street kids or to be raffled and so raise money for the under-privileged.

The dark green with overlapping geometric shapes is this year's mystery fabric.

From my 'design' wall- this is my first option (above).

My second.

My third - but not really considered.

This is what I finally settled on!

This one I made from some of the left over pieces!

I always look forward to seeing what other more talented patchworkers come up with at the unveiling!

I will keep you informed of how the final quilts come together, sometime before Christmas!

Have a happy week!

SUZ

SOFTIES!

Have I shown you my softies!

These are two of my more recent creations!

Both for friends having babies.

I bought the pattern for the elephant at Amitie in Bentleigh.

They have a photo of one on their website, but no pattern to go with it, so I can't give you any

more info!

Didn't do too well stuffing the feet, unfortunately.

This is a "Melly and Me" pattern of Mrs Perkins.

I love the paisley pattern in this cute giraffe.

I have made her twice now.

It is a great pattern that comes together so easily!

Have a happy day!

SUZ

A parcel arrived!

I received a parcel today!

I have never ordered fabric from overseas! On the internet! So how exciting!

And quick! It was only last week that I was checking out Etsy for some fabric to go with a swap

I am doing!

Not sure what I am going to do with it, but we all know how happy new fabric makes us!

Have a happy day!

SUZ

QUILT COMPLETE!!

This is the back of my first machined quilt- done by ME!

Don't look too close! It's far from perfect!

I know I have blogged about this before, but I am so thrilled to have completed this one by my new Juki!

Can you see the quilting? I hope not because its in 'the ditch'!

Love that spotted binding! Really enjoyed hand sewing the binding on to finish it off!

Also great to have another quilt finished. Even my darling husband commented on its bright colors and how it might look on our dining table!

Have a great day !

SUZ

Latest Creations

Thought I'd share with you what I have been working on recently.

I decided to do some cross stitch while I was away, as I am participating in an embroidery bee.

Not sure what this will become, but I did enjoy the challenge of using linen, rather than aida.

This is a needle case which I have also made for a swap. I managed to put it together today,completely from start to finish, on this wet, Melbourne Sunday!

Gotta love that!

I'm not going to put it on my flickr page just yet, don't want to spoil the surprise. I think I will post it off and then wait til it's arrived!

The color is not quite true; it is a little brighter than this! There is also a sneak peak of the pink, dotty spot inside!

Below is a close-up of the bee I purchased on my recent trip to Paris. (Glad I bought two!) I think it adds something special to the needle case. I hope the recipient likes it!

I even managed some simple hand quilting before I finished it off.

Have a great day,

Suz

La Droguerie

Look what I found!

An amazing store in Rue du Jour in Paris!

Managed to get a couple of shots off before being 'sprung'!

Fantastic knitting patterns and yarn, braids, ribbons, buttons, beads for jewelry making!

Crafter's heaven!

I spent about 8 euro (12 Aussie dollars) on some braid and trinkets. Will post those next time.

Have a great day !

Suz

Bonjour!

Found this beautiful shop today on the Viaducts de Arts in Paris!

The Happiness of Ladies - or en Francais - Le Bonheur des Dames.

What a lovely shop!

What a lovely name!

Lots and lots and lots of cross stitch and embroidery patterns!

And fabric - of course!

I bought five fat quarters of yummy red fabric for my stash!

Yes - that makes me happy!

Ont un jour heureux!

Suz

A bit of sewing

A bit of an up-date on what I achieved over the weekend!

(Sorry about the quality of the photo - the light was surprisingly bright for a cool winter morning)

These squares were made from leftover scraps. They are going on the back of another quilt.

Pretty amazing really - they came together so easily!

Could make for an interesting design for a complete quilt. I will let that bubble away in my already busy brain and see what eventuates.

And this is going to be a doll quilt - even though I am not officially 'swapping'!

I love using up all those scraps!

Just another excuse to buy more fabric!

And this is what they were sewn on - I got a NEW machine! This baby is going to help me learn to machine quilt.

Then all those UFO's will be finished!

Suz

A Sewing Holiday!

My dearly loved Brother Sewing Machine is off on holiday! It is well overdue for a service.

So with other pressing matters, which I get well paid for, I have decided to take a break from machine sewing.

(There's always my English Paper Pieced Pie Quilt by Sue Daley to work on!)

My machine hasn't missed a beat in so long, I don't really want to jinx myself.

Also I want to have it in tip top condition because I am getting ready to tackle some basic machine quilting.

- All in the name of completing some UFO's lurking in my cupboards!

Here is a rather poor photo of my sewing machine cover. It's a bit of a tight fit but it lives permanently over the hard case and, I think, looks quite pretty.

The flowers are fused and blanket stitched.

This cover was made many years ago from a pattern in Homespun magazine (if I remember correctly).

And this is a close up of my sewing mat.

It was also made from Australian patchwork magazine about the same time.

Cheers,

Suz

Latest Creation

I thought it was time to show the world, and especially my loyal following, what else I have been working on.

My latest quilt is from this book (above). This is the first book I have made from my Material Obsessions book, but have also made one from their second book.

The pattern I have chosen is called Strawberry Fields-