Eucalypt Ridge Quilting

In My Garden

2012-02-03T17:32:00.003+11:00

I have been doing my own stuff during January, but now I am back to work with this beauty. It is called In My Garden by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched in Bathurst and was made by Dawnie.

I quilted the original for Anni, but had forgotten how lovely the little details in this quilt were. There are snails, birds, flowers, chooks, butterflies and dragonflies, amongst other creatures and plants.

I think my fav block is the pear trees, just lovely.

It is quilted entirely freehand with some ruler work for the SID and I had a lot of fun with the swirls and leaves and other little details.

I have managed to finish some of my own quilts, one of which (my Jacqueline de Jong quilt which I started in a class with her the year before last), I am stitching the binding down on now, and then to put on some bling. I love bling, and look forward to putting as many crystals on this quilt as possible. I will post pics when it is done.

Enjoy

Belinda

Fan Quilt

2011-12-16T08:31:00.002+11:00

This beauty belongs to Rhonda and has just gone home for Christmas.

My instructions were to do "whatever you want". So I had a little play....

I used Keryn Emerson's Darra block in the centre along with Kerryn's buckle centre and Simplicity sash.

In the darker green I repeated the Darra block and triangle, along with Deb Geissler's lone star swirls elongated and manipulated to fit.

In the lighter green I used Kay Oft's feather clam 1202 as a p2p around the curve of the fans, and then Kerryn's Kendall triangle to fill.

The fans were filled with freehand swirls and parallel lines trimmed to fill the space.

The inside black border has the same feather clams as in the lighter green, the green border uses the Simplicity sash design (as in the centre) and the outside border has freehand swirls in it.

I really enjoyed quilting this quilt and playing with the designs to make them work.

Enjoy
Belinda

Butterfly Garden

2011-12-09T16:56:00.004+11:00

I quilted this lovely a couple of weeks ago, another one for Jane, and it is a BOM by Leanne Beasley called Butterfly Garden.

I freehanded a swirly hearty design in the centre of the quilt, going around the hearts, butterflies and stitcheries, then did a clam based design in the green inside border, also freehand with my clam ruler.

I was going to use a digitised heart design in the outside border, but decided that a freehand heart would fit in best with the rest of the quilt. Isn't it lovely? I do like the butterflies over the top of the scrappy centre.

I have been out in our garden first thing in the morning taking some shots of the roses. I love the pinks in this one and it has a beautiful smell too. And, my hayfever isn't playing up, so I can actually take a big sniff of the fragrance and not sneeze for the rest of the day! Bonus!

Enjoy

Belinda

Bluebirds and Berries

2011-12-02T08:07:00.004+11:00

I have just sent this beauty home to its mama, and aren't those little birdies so cute? It is a design by Gail Pan and was made by Jane. Very cute.

It is not heavily quilted, just some SID around the appliques, hearts and circles, and then continuous leaves in the scrappy squares in the centre. The light blue border has a freehand clammy doodle in it, and the outside border has an Anne Bright design called Ivy Trellis Heart Border.

It is nearly the end of the school year here, just another 2 weeks before a 6 week Christmas school holiday, and we are ready for a break! As is my friend below who is still practicing his double bass every morning - at the moment we are learning "The Great Gate of Kiev" - (aka The Great Gate of Kevin!!). He went from a quarter size to a half size bass this term and it is so big it needs to sit in the front passenger seat of the red car! I had visions of having to put the trailer on every Saturday to take the thing into town for music, but I am saved from having to do that - or buy another car. Next year he will go up another size....

Enjoy

Belinda

A Kitten's Tale

2011-11-28T11:12:00.003+11:00

This quilt was made by Julie and it is a design by Lynette Anderson called A Kitten's Tale. Its been a while since I've seen this quilt up close and personal, and it is a lovely design made beautifully by Julie.

It is quilted with freehand hearts and loops in the outside border, curlicues in the inside borders and SID in the blocks. The pinwheels have a continuous curve with a little curl in them.

On a different note the poddies, Swiss Cheese and Cheddar Cheese are progressing nicely, down to 3 feeds a day and resembling little piggies when they suck on the bottles!

I've been finishing off some of my own quilts and have listed a couple of them on my etsy shop, so go and have a look if you want.

Enjoy

Belinda

Annual Christmas Quilt

2011-11-16T12:35:00.005+11:00

For the past couple of years, I have quilted a quilt for a local lady - and it is a Christmas quilt from a book or magazine. She is passionate about Christmas and is making them for her children and friends.

This year she made this beauty designed by Anni Downes of Hatched and Patched fame, in Bathurst. It is out of Anni's book "A Christmas Story".

It is not very big, and is quilted very simply with some SID, diagonal lines and some freehand holly leaves in the corners. But, it is very cute - I have this book and I might have to get my act together and make it for a future Christmas (note how I am not committing to a specific year!! - I could be 100 by the time it happens, but the thought is there!!)

This is just a fun pic of a top which I have pieced using a tutorial posted by Kay Sorenson of Quilt + Color and the pic is taken with the fish-eye setting on my camera. I am going to give it to my friend for her birthday next month.

Anyway, the poddies are doing OK, and the others are getting fatter (if anyone is interested), and it is sprinkling, and I am going to go back to work.

Enjoy

Belinda

Will's quilt

2011-11-14T17:29:00.002+11:00

This beauty is a gift for a young man who lives overseas and isn't it lovely. I do like the bulls eyes blocks and they are quilted with Anne Bright's Square Dance b2b.

The outside border has a couple of runs of Bounce border (also by Anne Bright). Just scrummy.

On a different note, here is an up close and personal shot of Lizzy Lamb with no ears (remember she lost them in a dog attack last year). She is going to have her own lamb soon-ish we think (some things take us by surprise!). Need to wait and see on that one.

And these are the poddies, Swiss Cheese and Cheddar Cheese being bottle fed because mum can't due to a bad case of mastitis and a blocked teat. They are happy to be fed and then they go back to mum for love and care. Works well for me, and everyone's happy.

Enjoy,

Belinda

I'm still here...but flat out

2011-11-05T16:55:00.004+11:00

I haven't disappeared, just been flat out with lots of non-picture quilts, and the garden and sheep etc etc....

Anyway, this beauty belongs to Margaret and is for her son. All done with autumn colours, so I had a little browse on Sweet Dreams Quilt studio and came up with some designs to use.

I did a combination of freehand and digitised designs in the centre - the design in the cream diamonds is from Tammy Finkler and is one of the designs in her dahlia pattern set.

The cream and green triangles were stitched with designs called Oak Acorn block and triangle from Sweet Dreams Quilt Studio.

On a different note, it was shearing time today and after major dramas getting them across the road last night (unlike last year which was quite calm - this year Terry had to wrestle Lizzy lamb in the drain then drag her across the road into the paddock, and THEN the others would follow....we only really had one fight this time), the shearing itself went OK.

We are supposed to have 4 ewes and a wether - however it would appear that our wether is a ram and we now have a black lamb called Aloe Purple (!), and a set of twins who appeared after the shearing, and after we had decided that she had lost her lamb and was getting mastitis, and after we had chased them around the paddock AGAIN trying to separate the ram.....

And, this particular ewe has only one working teat, hence the odd shape of the other one, so hopefully they can get it together. I think she is Lizzy lamb's mother and that was why we had to poddy her (Lizzy, that is). I'm hoping we don't go down that track again.

And, here I was, thinking that all was cruising along nicely.

And, I don't know that the other 2 ewes are pregnant as well. Great.

Anyway, enjoy

Belinda

Black and red and a touch of Asian

2011-10-06T17:41:00.001+11:00

Check out the stars on this quilt - the red is a shiny satin fabric and it gives a lovely zing to the blacks, whites and greys in the rest of the quilt. I did the ditching on the Gammill classic and then moved it across to the statler for the rest of the quilting.

In each of the star blocks I used a range of 7 different Japanese crests from Legacy Quilting (not too flowery as the quilt is for a 21 year old young man), and I positioned them in the centre of each of the blocks.

Interspersed in the star blocks were 5 other pieced blocks, and I had a little play with some other fillers and Japanese/Asian designs, as well as a couple of trim backgrounds from Anita from Thimbleworks.

In the black sashings, which you can't see very well, are a bamboo design going vertically up the sashings, and then in the horizontal sashes, I used an pumpkin seed design.

I enjoyed all the pattern manipulation with this quilt, and I think it has turned out beautifully.

Enjoy

Belinda

Lots of hearts

2011-10-05T14:19:00.004+11:00

This beauty went home the other day... another one which could quite easily have lived in my house...!

It was quilted both on the Statler and freehand, with 2 of Anita's trim fills behind the hearts....

freehand wavy lines and ruled lines in the little checkerboard sashes....

freehand swirly curls and hearts in the four patches and in the purple, and then a leafy heart (called Sweetheart Leaves) in the spotty border, by Anne Bright...

Then in the solid red border I used a design called Romancing Feather Sash (2221), and in the outside red floral border, a design called Romancing Feather Border (2216), both designs by One Song Needle Arts.

Enjoy

Belinda

Roll Roll Cotton Boll quilt

2011-09-26T16:32:00.002+10:00

I have been working on this top for months, and yesterday I finally got it finished. It was designed by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame and was her mystery quilt over Christmas and New Year 2010/11.

I was over all the blocks and little pieces by the time I had made them all, but once the border went on, it suddenly came alive and now I love the way all the pinks and greens work together.

Sorry this is sideways, but you get the gist.

I had to get it off my floor as the girls are coming to stitch on Wednesday and my room looks like a tip as it is, without having all the blocks and borders all over the floor.

The weather here has been gorgeous, so here are some pics taken in my garden. This first one is taken on our deck looking out towards Ophir. I love that tree in the middle.

Cactus flowers.

Enjoy

Belinda

Mariner's star quilt

2011-09-24T10:10:00.003+10:00

I did this quilt a couple of weeks ago, but time has just disappeared and now here we are in the school holidays!

Anyway my partner-in-creative-memories-digital-scrapbooking-crime made this beauty for her husband and he wanted nautical, no flowers or girly things.

I went looking through my stash of patterns and then had to have a look through some designers' pages (as you do), and found some fabulous patterns which would work perfectly.

There are lighthouses, a clipper ship, pelicans, north star, compass rose fish, and some rope -all done on the statler. Then I did some freehand wavy water patterns. I think it came out really well, and looks great.

My boys have finally convinced me that a Nerf gun is not too bad a thing to have around (Ha!), so they now have nerf wars and enlist the aid of some friends from school. Check out the size of the gun on the right - nearly taller than Connor! I have no idea which sort it is, except that they shoot and hide and run around for a bit and then go hunting for their foam bullets.

Enjoy

Belinda

Another beauty....

2011-09-12T16:53:00.005+10:00

I'm trying to convince Jane (who owns this beauty) that she should give this quilt to me - or at least adopt me as her cousin! Without much luck though....sigh. She has made this quilt to give to her cousin as a gift.

Anyway it has lots of feathers on it, along with some curved cross hatching to break up the large spaces.

It was made in a class with Lynne Alchin who always has such beautiful designs.

The fabric in this quilt is predominantly French General which I'm also partial to, and the whole effect is just lovely.

Enjoy

Belinda

Baltimore Garden quilt

2011-09-06T16:20:00.001+10:00

This beauty went home this week. It is called Baltimore Garden by Ann Langely and Karen at The Stitching Post has it in a kit and patterns (if anyone is interested).

It is entirely freehand quilted with some ditching around and inside the appliqued designs and lots of feathers.

I particularly like the black and white checks - very scrummy.

And this crane is surrounded by jonquils - the view out of my sewing room.

Along with working hard, I have been trying to get a couple of my own quilts made up, but they are both by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame, and have a gazillion pieces, so it is taking time to get them all together. I hope to have one done by next week, and that is the Roll Roll Cotton Boll that Bonnie ran as a mystery late last year, over Christmas and New Year. Its only taken me 9 months to get it done.

Anyway, enjoy

Belinda

Hexies and a finish

2011-08-28T18:40:00.002+10:00

Check out this beauty - I think they are 1/2 inch hexies, and the graduation of colours is quite lovely. It took me a while to see the rings when I was quilting it, but you can see them quite clearly in these photos. It was completed in a class with Lynne Alchin.

This is the back......

I quilted it using both the Classic and the Statler. The swirly designs in the centre and the corners are a design by One Song Needle Arts (from the Dogwood design series), and then the fill is freehand pebbling.

The outside border is half inch parallel lines.

My finish this week is a SAL I have been doing with The Stitch Specialists yahoo group and is called the Tree of Stitches designed by Abi Gurden.

Each of the colours is a different stitch and there are some beads in amongst them. And an owl in the middle. Very cute and I found it very enjoyable to do. I haven't done a lot of specialty stitching, but this was a good way to learn new stitches without being overwhelmed by a huge project. Thanks Abi.

And this morning young Hazza competed in a ten pin bowling tournament in town and managed to pick up a second in the handicap second. He played a really good third game and this brought h is scores up. Next weekend is another tournament which he is competing in. This is all in preparation for the Nationals over Easter next year, so the more tournaments he competes in now, hopefully he will cope with the size of the Nationals.

Enjoy

Belinda

New computer

2011-08-22T12:36:00.002+10:00

Try again...I tried to post last night but the internet was playing up.
Anyway, this quilt is one I made for my dearly beloved when he was having chemo and ray treatment 5 years ago, and it makes my eyes swirl - just like they were doing over the weekend.

I had a "catastrophic" failure of my hard drive last week (funnily enough when I was trying to upload photos to update my blog!), and now have a new beaut, touch screen, fast and large memoried (?) one. I have only lost a couple of months worth of stuff overall, as the backup was saving dying files, so not too much stuff that I won't be able to recover.

I did manage to get the 40GB of books off my ipod, as I was NOT looking forward to downloading all of those again.

Anyway I am up and running again - but with no recent pics unfortunately. I have some on my camera which I will sort out and show - some which I can't because of designer request - but I am still here and getting relatively back to normal.

I'll be back...
Belinda

Fancy Stitching

2011-08-09T07:32:00.004+10:00

This beauty is a first quilt is is called "A Thankful Heart" by Natalie Bird.
I love the watermelon block - seriously cute!.

I quilted it with freehand hearts, swirls and curls, with a bit of continuous curve.

I love these girly quilts, mostly because they don't tend to make an appearance in my house, with an 11 year old boy who won't go into the girl aisle in K Mart (and who is now wearing size 10 mens shoes to school)!

Here we have another fancy stitched piece, and it is mine. Shock horror. I actually finished something - actually, it is one of a set of four and is a Chatelaine design called Micro 1.

It has taken me ages because I am not good with specialty stitches, although I am getting better, and I got stuck on the one-over-one in the centre. This is 32 ct and I needed both my glasses and the magnifier of the lamp to see the centre properly. I think maybe 28ct is what I need to be using!

Enjoy

Belinda

It's not Christmas...

2011-08-07T09:30:00.003+10:00

This beauty belongs to Dawn and is a Chris Jurd design. I've loaded the pics the wrong way, so you get to see the back first.

It is heavily quilted with lots of feathers, and ditching to hold the points down.

Dawn has made it with traditional green and reds, but there a lots of florals and some stripes and dots in there, with a lovely floral piece of fabric fussy cut in the middle.

It was a pleasure to quilt, and it is probably going to have to go on my list to do....

Enjoy

Belinda

I'm still here..

2011-08-04T14:41:00.004+10:00

Its been a while, but I have been working hard, just doing stuff which I can't show pictures of. However, now that school and music have gone back, my hand work is getting done - slowly, slowly.

These are the blocks from my Kim McLean class earlier in the year. I have nearly run out of prepared blocks, so may have to get my act together this weekend and get some more sorted.

Don't they look great?

So that's it for the show and tell! However I do have some pictures from when we were in Melbourne the other week.

This is a large sculpture along the river ?Southbank? which quite took my fancy and I can see a freehand design in there.

This is a fancy fish eye feature on my camera which I was playing with, and the red stick like things are a sculpture with fabulous colours. Near Federation Square and The Art of the Brick which was a Lego exhibition we had just been to.

Speaking of Lego, this exhibition had a build and play section, so off we went. I assumed the parents would be watching, but no - they had a little place where the parents could play too. Except we had to make a tractor with all the pieces inside a ziplock bag. You couldn't get them out or manipulate them, just build the tractor in the bag. The other lady on our table managed it, but not me. I couldn't keep all the bits together, so put it away before I said bad words! And, of course my dearly beloved managed to do it too.....

Harry's and my tower. He's not really that much taller than me - its the angle (she says, knowing that her 11 yo is already just a tiny bit taller)....

Enjoy

Belinda

Show and Tell

2011-07-25T16:13:00.006+10:00

Our local group of Stitch and Chatters run a block swap each year, which involves about 20-something swappers, who swap blocks each month - you know the drill.....

Anyway, last weekend we had a lunch so that we could get as many finished quilts together in the same room (and also give us a deadline for getting the blocks put together, so they don't forever live in a box....Julie.....).

I showed a picture of mine a couple of weeks ago, which went to a friend who needs it.

Anyway, all these quilts are made from the same block and don't they look great!!

So much time was put into making something different and there is not one that is the same. This one actually has specialty sewing machine stitches in the cream. Can't see it very well, but it was a practice piece for learning a new machine. What a great idea.

This one has a border made from the left over half square triangles chopped off from the ends of individual pieces.

This one has a very gentle progression of colour and tone.

This one was finished the morning of the lunch...I think it is going to have borders but we need to work our what is going to work for this particular designs.

Ann's are usually off centre - she works very hard to produce a finished product which none of the rest of us would have thought of . I think she needs to make more blocks to make it bigger because she has nothing to do with her time.. Ha!

I have been hard at work, in between being ill with the dreaded lurgy, but seem to have no pictures to show, mostly because I either don't have permission to show or they are going into magazines and I can't show them prior to publication.

Enjoy

Belinda

Did you know...

2011-07-18T08:03:00.004+10:00

.....that there have been this many types of barbed wire around over the years?

We went to Melbourne last week to see the King Tut exhibition, and ended up in the Melbourne Museum afterwards. One of the exhibits was this display of different types of barbed wire. Fascinating. I have some other pics of Melbourne which I will share probably next post if I can get my act together.

Anyway, moving on to other more colourful things...

Check out this beauty! It is a Michelle Marvig design and is done predominantly in Kaffe fabrics.

I have quilted it using both freehand and the Statler and it is a very impressive quilt now that it is done.

It was so large that I couldn't lay it out on my floor, and my DH wasn't around to hold it up, so sorry about the crinkly edges.

Anyway, school goes back tomorrow so I am hoping to get back to some kind of schedule, except that I have picked up the dreaded lurgy so spent yesterday afternoon in bed. I am feeling much better today but have no voice and a terrible painful cough.

Isn't it funny how when you whisper to someone, they whisper back?

Enjoy

Belinda

Flannel and polar fleece

2011-07-16T15:10:00.002+10:00

I'll try again.... my last post disappeared into nothing, so maybe there is a blank one out there..

Anyway, this very simple quilt has the top made from fannel and the backing is polar fleece, with a wool wadding in the middle.

It is quilted with a simple stars and circles design from Kim Diamond, but I wanted to show how beautifully the quilting shows up with polar fleece on the back.

It is very forgiving and makes the pattern really stand out. And, with the three warm layers it is scrummy for a Bathurst winter, which is where it is living.

Enjoy

Belinda

Floral block swap

2011-07-05T07:55:00.002+10:00

This is one of mine and is the finished product of our local group's block swap for 2010. We had to pick floral fabrics in the required colour for the month and use a floral cream as the background, and then each month swapped the blocks.

I think we had about 36 people who swapped each month.

Anyway, we are having a lunch in the next couple of weeks for our show and tell, but my quilt has been given to a friend who is having some health issues. So this is my show and tell.

Last weekend we went to Wattle Flat to visit with my parents and brother and SIL, and after lunch we had to go for a walk to walk some of it off. So off we went to Sofala which is about 5 mins drive from Wattle Flat (outside of Bathurst, towards Mudgee).

Not much going on in the late afternoon, although this isn't the main drag of Sofala.

Enjoy

Belinda

Bits and bobs, no quilts this time.

2011-06-29T11:50:00.004+10:00

My dearly beloved and I went off to Sydney on Monday of this week for an army dinner at Government House with Her Excellency Marie Bashir and her husband, and the CO's of the batallions of the RNSWR. What a fabulous location and beautiful house. We will definitely be going back for a daylight tour. There were huge portraits of previous Governors and other influential people from our State, and all the history gave me goosebumps.

And, as a bonus I didn't fall up any stairs, spill any food down my front or knock over my wineglass. All class, that's me!

Coming through the Blue Mountains I noticed these trees and their weird shapes - I'm thinking they have been trimmed for the power lines, but I'm not sure. Makes a great picture though.

This was the view out of one the windows in my sewing room, last Tuesday, the day before we were due to go to Sydney for the Quilt Show. It doesn't snow very often in Orange, but, of course it was on the day before we left. So we decided not to go just in case something happened on the roads.

A couple of days earlier, this was the view out of another one of my windows. How cute is this little birdie?

By the way, I do actually work in there, not just gaze out the window.....!

Enjoy

Belinda

Sydney Quilt Show

2011-06-28T16:16:00.002+10:00

This quilt is called "Crossroads" and was made by Harry, and it won a second prize in the Junior A category. This is his third big quilt and he designed, stitched and quilted it. And then stitched the binding on by machine. He is very chuffed with this quilt and is now keen to get on and do another one.

He is planning on making a couple to raffle off next year for the local Relay for Life and also to raise money for the Ten Pin Bowling team he plays in, to go to Sydney for their National tournament. So, we'll be busy.

This one is called "Braided Berry and Lime" and was my contribution to the Show. I love the colours and the pattern and have plans to make another one in oranges and browns. Yum.

This one belongs to Sonia and is called "An Angel's Story" by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched.

I love this pattern, and you should not be surprised to know that mine is started and not finished - ha! - but every one of these quilts inspires me to get it out n finished.

It is quilted with ditching in the blocks, a swirl in one of the frames and then freehand leaves, curls, hearts and flowers in the scrappy piecing around the blocks. Very yum.

I have been busy hence the slackness in my posting, but I hope to have some more pics shortly, including a couple of a dinner which Terry and I attended last night at Government House in Sydney. Very posh but a great night!

Enjoy

Belinda

Flowers and urns

2011-06-14T12:31:00.002+10:00

This quilt belongs to Cathy and was designed by Jennifer Corkish , based on the finding of the urn fabric. I love the way the flowers, leaves and urns are all surrounded by couching which gives them a 3D effect.

It is freehand quilted with a feather in the outside border (what else, but feathers? ), then a wavy line following the line of the design in the next inside border.

The applique has a fan-style filler around it, with a feather wreath in the centre of the urn.

This beauty is destined to be a wall hanging in Cathy's home. What a lovely room decoration!

Enjoy

Belinda

Gather ye Rosebuds

2011-06-14T08:25:00.000+10:00

Look at this beauty! I have seen this quilt around and about, and saw it in Salt Lake City but this was my first closeup of the actual quilt. It is called Gather ye Rosebuds and it is by Kathy Adams of Koolkat Quilting right here in Australia.

It is an adaptation of a stained glass window and each of the pieces has been individually machine appliqued on a piece of black fabric.

It is quilted with all fillers, and with lots of different colours, and with all the starts and stops it took a long time, but it is stunning isn't it?

Its going to hang on a wall above the fireplace - a perfect substitute for the real thing.

Enjoy

Belinda

Happy Birthday to Great Nana and Ann

2011-06-13T07:57:00.003+10:00

Today Great Nana turns 90 - what a fabulous achievement and a fabulous lady! I have boxes of scraps which she has ironed even though she can't see well, and when she comes to visit she is so interested in what we are making and who is doing what and wants to know all that is going on.

Anyway, Julie and Ann decided to make her a quilt for her 90th, and she has always loved this rose quilt which was published in AP&Q a few years ago (which Julie made and Great Nana always loved), so they decided that this was the one - with a little twist!

They put 90 roses on the top, and sent out the word to local, interstate and international quilters that we knew, to send in 4 inch squares of different pinks to make the rosebuds with. Needless to say, there were a lot of pinks which came in the door, and each rosebud is a different pink.

The background was (I think) a tablecloth which was given to Great Nana as a gift many years ago, and is the perfect size for a single bed.

It is quilted with lots and lots of feathers and bound in pink.

Anyway, Great Nana got it on Friday, and was very overwhelmed and cried!!

This is a great gift for a fabulous lady. Happy Birthday Great Nana.........but the story is not over!

It is also Ann's birthday today, so Happy Birthday Ann! I was going to make you a cake but you got cookie cakes instead!

And a picture of the splatted mess of icing which went right down my front, in my apron pocket and across the bench. And on the floor. And down the dishwasher. etc etc. You get the picture.

Finally, the 4 completed blocks of my Flower Garden which I started in the Kim McLean class in February. I have another 3 nearly done, but can't find my 1/4inch bias maker in the tip known as my sewing room, so I'll need to borrow one to finish the next three.

Anyway, long post, and I have another one for tomorrow - don't faint!

Enjoy

Belinda

1930's pinwheels

2011-06-09T07:44:00.003+10:00

I quilted this lovely before I went to the US, and came across the photos when I was looking for something else.
Anyway, it was out of an old AP&Q, the owner can't remember whixh one, and all the pinwheels are stitched by hand.

As usual it has heaps of feathers on it, but they work really well don't they? We decided that too many feathers was never enough.

There is a swirly feathery thingy in the corners of the blocks which are going to have a button put over them. Very nice.

It is freezing here in Orange at the moment, getting to a top of 3 degrees C today. Good day for stitching on a binding or just getting back into bed. But, I'm quilting a very nice "Gather ye Rosebuds quilt, and it should be finished this arvo. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics later on.

Enjoy and stay warm.

Belinda

Jelly Stars by Fig Tree Quilts

2011-06-06T10:47:00.002+10:00

This lovely came off the machine on Friday and is on its way home. Isn't it lovely?

It has been made with French General fabrics, and, conveniently I happen to have a layer cake and jelly roll of this gorgeous fabric sitting in my cupboard waiting for the right project to come a long, and I think this is it.

All the feathers look great too. I nearly had to keep this quilt, but I think the owner would have noticed that it didn't go back to her. Shame really!.

Enjoy

Belinda

Last pics of Salt Lake City, then back our scheduled programming...

2011-05-29T07:22:00.003+10:00

Can you tell I was very taken with this city and these mountains? This was taken on the way to the airport on our way home. Even after a few warm/hot days the snow was still gorgeous.

We went to a little village of shops - I can't remember the name - but there was a quilt shop, knitting shop, beads, clothes, and other goodies and we came across this truck, the bed of which is almost taller than Kate! I'm not sure how I'd load my groceries in the back of this one without a ladder to get me there. .

This was the scene on the opening day of the Spring Market taken from the first floor. We were a little late getting to the 0930 opening and there were streams of people flowing through the door. It wasn't as bad when we got down there as the aisles were wide and people were stopping to see all the goodies.

I think there were 29 aisles of vendors. We did about 15 aisles in the first day - didn't even get to the end.

The is a picture of part of the roof of the convention centre where the show was held. Just lovely. I can see a quilt in there.

Alas, we had to go to the post office to send some goodies home, and looked like real goobers wheeling a suitcase down the street with 2 of our boxes in it because they were too heavy to carry, carrying another. Lucky we didn't know anyone.

I'm back to normal now, all jet lag has gone thank goodness, show quilt for Sydney is finished and I'm back into it all.

Next post I'll have some quilts for you to look at,

Enjoy

Belinda

Salt Lake City

2011-05-24T15:53:00.003+10:00

One of the things I really liked about Salt Lake City was the fact that out of most windows there was this fabulous view of the snow covered mountains. Most days were clear and bright and cool - though there were exceptions to that (one day was very cold and others were very warm), but anyway, the mountains were beautiful and I took lots of pictures of them.

One of the days we were there, Kate and I hopped on a train to Ogden to visit the Shepherd's Bush shop. I have liked their cross stitch patterns for a while and Kate is almost fanatical about them, so when she suggested a visit - off we went. The trains were very easy to navigate and tickets easy to get (especially for a country bumpkin like me).

Both Kate and I had a little moment in this shop and we didn't see much of the rest of the little town, and to be truthful, Kate's moment was much larger than mine....

Anyway we had a lovely day and the girls in the shop were very lovely and put up with us spreading out stuff from one end of the shop to the other.

Enjoy

Belinda

Some things that were interesting, and a little odd.

2011-05-19T07:31:00.003+10:00

Well, we're back and I think that my jet lag is nearly done after only 2 days. Usually it takes about a week - might have been the glasses of red on the plane and the long sleep during the flight!

We had a lovely time, came home broke with lots of goodies and some still en route via the mail.

I had to buy a new camera as mine finally bit the dust and it was a pita to get it to work. So I took lots of inconsequential pictures while working out the settings of the new one! Subsequently, instead of lovely scenery and quilts you get these as a first look at our time away.

The carpark at the Salt Lake City airport.

A sign at a quilt shop.

In the car park next to the quilt shop. At first I thought they were talking about donating your lung but it is for cars. Odd. Whay would it be lung? If anyone knows the answer please let me know.

The high school where the High School Musical series was filmed.

And, the best of the lot.... a squirrel fur quilt. I could understand if all the pelts were pieced together but singly across the top? Again, if anyone can enlighten me?

Salt Lake City is a very pretty city and we managed to see a fair bit of it, and Kate and I both have pictures. Kate has a new blog called Milthorpe Armadillo, so for some more normal pictures, go and have a look at her stuff.

Enjoy

Belinda

San Francisco airport

2011-05-16T13:56:00.002+10:00

Well, we are on our way home after several days shopping and then the Quilt Market which went for three days. It is a trade only show and where the designers and fabric companies, and other sellers display all their goodies for the shops to see samples and to place orders.

I found some clampy thingies for the gammill which may work instead of pins, and a few other things. It was very interesting to see all the different booths, Anni and Pete from The Home Patch were there, Helen from Pattern Press and Hugs and Kisses, Kellie from Don't Look Now, Gail Pan, And Lynette Anderson were also there.

So now we have sore feet, no money, stuffed bags and 15 hours on a plane back to Sydney.

I have heaps of pics so will post when I get back.

Belinda

Shopping in Utah

2011-05-09T02:24:00.003+10:00

Well, the show is done and we had a great time. My quilt got a second which I am very excited about and I learned how to make silk screens out of a photographic type paper which starts all sorts of thoughts about what to do next.

Today Kate and I are off to shop and sightsee with Helen Stubbings of Hugs and Kisses fame and Tracey Browning of Constantine quilts.

It has turned cool after a couple of quite warm days.

Later....I'm waiting in the car all shopped out. The others have gone into their last shop and then we are on the hunt for coffee. Tracey is driving and the 3 of us are navigating, none of us are good with north and south so there is hysterical laughter happening. But, we are having a lovely day catching up on the goss and listening to Aussie accents.

We are in a little VW bug and the boot is FULL!

I'm sorry I have no pictures to show, but it is cloudy and we are in a ski resort shopping area called Parkville (I think) which was built when the winter olympics were here a few years ago. There is still some snow on the mountains but only high up.

Anyway the others will be back soon,
Enjoy
Belinda

We're here.

2011-05-05T12:56:00.002+10:00

Well after about 28 hours of travelling we arrived safe and sound in Salt Lake City complete with all our luggage. We had good flights and San Francisco immigration was very quick and pain free - and we didn't miss our connection thank goodness.

We did a borders and binding class this morning which was fabulous, with Carmen Geddes of Ten Sisters Handicraft (www.quiltsmart.com). . We did piping, prairie points,scallops and the like. Lots of hints and tricks.

This afternoon I did a class with Georgia Stull from Heartland Quiltworks ( www.HeartlandQuiltworks.net ) and learned heaps of new things about CS4 and the Statler. Lots of lightbulb moments.

The show we are at is the Home Machine Quilting Show - www.HMQS.org. Check out the picture of the venue. There is snow still on all the mountains around the city and it is cool, but a great venue and very pretty city.

Tomorrow the show proper opens, and we get to shop!

Enjoy
Belinda

En route to Salt Lake City.

2011-05-03T12:32:00.002+10:00

I know it has been a while but I have been head down tail up and upside down for weeks now trying to get quilts done, markets set up, manned and taken down, and then sorted to go away to HMQS and the Spring Market in Salt Lake City.

Finally Kate and I are at the airport but not together because I decided to upgrade to business class and she is premium economy, and I'm in the lounge having a very nice cup of tea and a scone!!

I don't have any pics of anything relevant to our trip as I am posting from my iPad, but I do have some pics taken from my sewing room - actually I don't because they are not coming up for me ( I'm a little new at this).

I'm back in 2 weeks but will try and post while I am away,
See you later,

Belinda

Borenore Caves

2011-04-18T14:19:00.002+10:00

Yesterday we all got out of the house and went about 17km out of Orange to visit the Borenore Caves.

It is not a big cave system like out of Goulburn, and where one has to crawl in the mud and generally get filthy dirty, but it has a couple of walk through caves which are dirty and muddy enough to suit an 11 year old without the parents having to get dirty too.

There was a fair bit of water flowing through the main cave area and I took this great picture of the reflection in the water.

It was good to get away from a quilt which was giving me grief, and I came back to it in a much better frame of mind.

Belinda

Di's Hunter Star

2011-04-14T13:08:00.002+10:00

Check out this beauty - as usual beautifully made and flat. This design is on my list of to do, and is further up the list than most because I do actually have the rulers and the fabric and the pattern - the rulers purchased at MQX 2009 - that's only 2 years ago - not bad going really? Anyway, I digress. This was done entirely on the Statler with designs from Keryn Emerson and Tammy Finkler, and hasn't it come out beautifully.

I have been busy head down tail up, but now it is school holidays so I'm working in amongst the "Mum I need....." or "Mum, can I....." etc. This morning I found this battle going on, on the Wii.

At least there was no fighting.....for now.

Enjoy

Belinda

Black and white and zentangles

2011-03-29T07:16:00.003+11:00

This weekend Jane Monk is coming all the way from Tasmania to hold a Zentangle weekend at our local school. We still have some spots available if anyone wants to come, just send me an email or give me a ring. Zentangle is an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetative patterns. The picture above is one of Jane's - sorry it is sideways - and is an owl. Fabulous!! And you don't need to be able to draw, most of the patterns are really simple and done in small amounts so a whole page is not something to be scared of. It would be a shame to miss out on this opportunity, so come along. It is $160 for the 2 days, including lunches, munchies, tea, coffee, a starter kit and a certificate. Doesn't Di's quilt perfectly match the Zentangle theme?

It is all different black and white fabrics, and I have quilted it with a couple of alternating patterns - In the Moment Arch Block and Bounce Block - both by Anne Bright.

The inside spotty border was quilted using a pattern called Bouncing Border, and the outside black border used In the Moment Arch Border both by Anne Bright.

Don't forget the Zentangles,

Enjoy

Belinda

"Forever Spring"

2011-03-26T08:20:00.002+11:00

I finished this beauty last week, and it went back to Wendy just in time for some of her family to see who will be visiting at the end of this month. It is a design by Trish Ostwald called "Forever Spring" and was in APQ Vol 10 No 12.

It is quilted with a combination of freehand and statler patterns. The centre of the pieced block has a design called Dragonfly Rose, with the triangles around it done using a Garden Bunnies p2p (2640) by One Song Needle Arts. The green borders and thin floral borders are just ditched.

The serpentine feather next to the vine in the alternate vertical rows was done freehand, and the vine was ditched too.

The very outside border (of which there appears to be no pics - slack, sorry) was done with a Welsh cable on the statler.

I had a little time to do something for myself, and this pretty pink cot quilt was the result. NO, there is no news there....thank goodness, I'm too old to go down that track again....but I have listed it for sale on my etsy shop

Enjoy

Belinda

A Gardener's Journal

2011-03-23T10:07:00.002+11:00

This lovely was made by Dawn and is the Gardener's Journal design by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched fame in Bathurst. Dawn has modified it a little though, to suit her gardening talents and there are all sorts of little surprises amongst the stitcheries.

It is quilted with freehand leaves and swirls around the stitcheries, some ditching in the stitcheries, and then a border design called Rambler in the outside border. I have quilted lots of these over the years and the lovely sentiments in the stitcheries never fails to inspire me.

On a different note, Haz went up to Scouts last week. This bridge crossing was symbolic of the transition from cubs to scouts. See the shirt in his right hand - he started the crossing wearing his cub shirt over his scout shirt and had to remove it half way over! The 3rd Orange group has been good for him, and its hard to believe he has been doing this now for 3 1/2 years. My Tuesdays won't be the same - just moved to Thursdays instead!!

Enjoy

Belinda

No quilting this weekend Neil Diamond instead... (lots of pics)

2011-03-22T19:30:00.004+11:00

Its been 10 days since I last posted and its been flat chat the whole time. I have some pics which I have been waiting for permission and details for and will post them this week. BUT, this last weekend TJ and I tootled off to Singleton to see the Neil Diamond concert.

Never mind that there were multiple double bass events on or the Relay for Life, so we called in favours all over the place and went off for a weekend by outselves.

The top pic is the view out of the bus on the way to the Hope Winery in Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley where the concert was being held. We did take our wet weather gear, luckily because it did rain before the concert but not during thank goodness.

It was very organised with lots and lots of coaches bringing people into the venue, and then taking them home at the end.

There were 16742 people there, but we had seats relatively close to the front, so got a fab view. And, there were 2 empty seats right in front of us. How cool is that!! Mind you, most of our pics have heads in the bottom of them, sorry about that. I'm not tall enough to get over the heads and the people in front just wouldn't sit down for me to take the pics!!

We had a great night - well worth the 9 hours of driving to get there and back. He is 70 years old and still has the same fabulous voice. Lots of dancing and singing went on, I must dig out my CDs to put in the car. Haz will be so pleased - not....

Enjoy

Belinda

I love the colours...

2011-03-12T07:56:00.004+11:00

What a striking set of colours - such a pleasure to quilt. And, funnily enough, a lot of the fabrics in this masterpiece also reside in my stash!! This quilt belongs to Jenny and was a class done with Michelle Marvig, and for the life of me I can't remember what the name of the quilt is but I will find out.

It is quilted on both machines, the green swirly designs were done freehand, the blades and the centre flower were also done freehand, and all the SID was done prior to taking it over to the Statler. This gave me some time to work out what I was going to put into all the blank spaces calling out for swirly feathery quilting designs.

OK. Working from the centre of the flower out -in the purple, the clams (1201 clam double) add another petal shape; then, again in the purple, I combined 2 designs (a single clam and a dahlia - dahlia 7 p2p - design) to make the outside petal.

In the gaps around the blocks I used 3671 Buttercup Feathers block by One Song Needle Arts in various sizes to fill the gaps.

In the outside border I reused the dahlia/clam combination in between the green spikes.

It sounds all very complicated but once it started coming together then it went very quickly. And the end result is yet another quilt which probably needs to go on my "to do" list.

On a different note, I have finished another couple of my Kim McLean blocks, started another BOM project and almost finished a whole quilt (except for the quilting of course) - I need to put on a few more leaves where I singed the block ironing it after it was washed where the reds ran.....

And, its a rainy day in Orange so Haz and I will probably go and see Gnomeo and Juliet at the movie before going to the recycling centre to look for accessories for his costume for book week...

Enjoy
Belinda

Jen's Birthday quilt

2011-03-10T11:28:00.002+11:00

Check out this beauty!! It was made by Ann for her daughter Jen (who chose the colours) and hasn't she done a fab job.

It is quilted freehand with a circle template and wavy ruler for the outside border.

The quilt design is out of the Quilter's Companion Magazine, no 36 made by Jenny Thurling. I think Ann has changed her design a little bit, but that's where the inspiration came from.

And the back has white fabric with red and black threads which shows all the lovely quilting and piecing patterns. Scrummy.

Enjoy

Belinda

Morganne's quilt

2011-03-05T08:26:00.002+11:00

I quilted this beauty for my friend Morgie - her mum made it as a birthday present for her and it has exquisitely stitched sewing machines all over it. The amount of work in each block is amazing and her stitching is perfect.

I quilted it using both the freehand and computerised machines - the outside border is a pattern by Keryn Emerson called Arabesque. The mustard border has freehand leaves, and the Irish chain blocks have line dancing and leaves in them - you can't see much as I have used black thread.

The stitchery blocks have a One Song Needle Arts Frame called Tea and Roses Block29 with just a simple circle inside. The machines have have SID around them.

These last two pics are Ann and I at the photographer's getting some quilt pics done professionally. Ann's DH took the pics with my camera.

It was interesting to see how someone who knows what he is doing work!

Enjoy

Belinda

A flower garden

2011-03-03T07:44:00.002+11:00

I found these 2 floral pictures on my computer this morning looking for something else, and I had forgotten how much I like them. The first is a little dandelion (I think) and I remember getting up close and personal with it - and fighting off the dogs who wanted to get in amongst the picture too!

The second is the result of me playing with the light settings on my new camera. Love it!

Anyway, moving on to another type of garden, a hand pieced grandmother's flower garden quilt - the first quilt for Carol and it is just gorgeous.

It is a little large to lay out on my floor (!) so I got my dearly beloved to stand on the table and hold it up to get this picture. Each flower has a floral ring and then a plain ring. Just lovely.

I quilted it with continuous curves in the cream paths and then a feather wreath design by Keryn Emerson in the flowers. Simple and not overpowering to the simplicity of this design. It is now in the mail back to her for her monster task of binding....

This last pic is for Eleanor who has been asking for at least one pic of my blocks from the Kim McLean class last month. I have finished another one and have another 4 at different stages on the go, so I haven't been totally slack.

And what would a picture be without the lovely Indiana in it too.....

Enjoy

Belinda

Lots of hexies

2011-02-25T08:51:00.003+11:00

This beauty belongs to Joy and was made with all different liberty fabrics. I really enjoyed looking through all the fabric designs and recognising some (not very many though), and I saw some that are just gorgeous!

Anyway, it is quilted with feathers and curls in the white paths, and the little gardens themselves stand out a little with no stitching on them.

I have been plugging away at several of my UFO's, and have some pics, but I think they're still on the camera, including my first block from the Kim McLean class, so will get them off and post them in the next day or so.

Enjoy

Belinda

Kim McLean Class the other day

2011-02-13T07:32:00.002+11:00

The other day I went to Harbord to the Kaffe Fasset and Kim McLean classes. I decided to do the Kim class as I have loved her designs ever since quilting her Turkish Tiles for a lady about 6 or so years ago (I think it was that far back). Anyway she has been retired from teaching but has been publishing some patterns through the Glorious Colour website and doing some things with Kaffe - and came out of retirement to do these classes.

This was the view along the tables - check out all the fabrics and stuff. The black and white with bits of colour on it in the foreground was the block I was working on at the time.

This was the mess known as my work area. I should let you know that the class went from 10 - 4. All of that stuff came with me because I couldn't decide what to take and what to leave behind!

These were the views out of our classroom - how fabulous is that. I would think this particular RSL would have almost the best views in the city.

Then I drove home and it only took 4 1/2 hours!

By the way, the design Kim is standing in front of is called Flower Garden.

I had a great day and I'm glad I made the effort to get there, now to finish yet another quilt started!! I have nearly finished the first block so will post a pic when it is done.

Enjoy

Belinda

Diana Quilt

2011-02-12T08:27:00.002+11:00

My 2 furbabies - the little one, Indiana has had a scratch on her eye, so she is now known as the Golden One, as that's how much she has we have contributed to the running of the vet clinic!! But, she is good now and back to her normal bright eyed self.

Anyway, moving onto quilting...

This beauty was made by Rhonda from Nyngan and is called the "Diana Quilt" by Annette Schultz. There is a mix of freehand and statler work in this quilt. The centre vase has a trim background by Anita Shakleford behind it and freehand feathers in the corners.

The stars have diagonal lines in a blending thread, and their background is a continuous curve with the odd loop thrown in. The dark blue borders have a pattern called Lacis small by Keryn Emmerson (in different sizes). The outside border has a freehand viney loopy design which has also ditched the applique down.

Enjoy

Belinda

Guess where we are?

2011-02-06T07:32:00.002+11:00

Nope, not at one of our local quilt shops...

We were in airconditioned comfort with all the necessities like food, drinks and a toilet nearby...

We were invited to a corporate box at the Armor All Bathurst 12 hour race to see the warm up races and qualifying laps at Mt Panorama in Bathurst. So, we ditched the kid with a friend with instructions on all the music stuff he had to go to, got a little dressed up, forgot our hats, and headed off to the car races.

I am a bit of a petrol head, so it was music to my ears - every time a race started I had to rush outside to the balcony to listen to the roar of the engines and breath in all the fumes....and then it got too hot so I would retire to the airconditioning to watch the rest of the race on the big screen and out the huge windows.

We did a bit of looking, and I found the car for me...pity it won't get up the driveway as it sits about 1cm off the ground.

No quilting done today!

Enjoy

Belinda

Judy's quilt and other stuff

2011-02-03T07:20:00.003+11:00

This is another one of Judy's, she is a newish quilter but very prolific and I enjoy seeing which designs she is going to do next. Isn't this simple rail fence effective? I like the browns and black in it, and the design is lovely too.

Anyway, it is for a male, so I have quilted it with one of Kerryn Emmerson's designs, called "Darra" with about a 16 pattern height and isn't it fabulous!

These last two pics are the flowering Agapanthus which were in full flower when we came home from LA. I got a little carried away with the camera seeing how close I could get!

We're waking up this morning seeing pictures of the devastation from Tropical Cyclone Yasi in Far North Qld, a Category 5 Tropical Cyclone which crossed the coast at Mission Beach and Tully at about midnight last night - Queensland has had a very rough beginning to 2011. Many many years ago I went to James Cook Uni in Townsville, and luckily nothing like this happened way back then, so I am watching the TV and hoping that it will be OK for them.

Belinda

Not Quite a Log Cabin

2011-01-31T16:20:00.005+11:00

This quilt was made by Leonie West of Westalee Designs fame using her rulers and one of her patterns.

She wanted lots of feathers, especially in the red, so she got them! Lots and lots of feathers!

This next picture is of the back - I can't decide which side I like the best as the back looks as good as the front. I really like quilting these very symmetrical and geometric quilts as the backs can look stunning.

And, school went back today after six weeks of fun and visiting with relatives, playing on the various gaming consoles and just relaxing.

Yay!

Enjoy

Belinda

Baby quilt

2011-01-23T08:24:00.002+11:00

My favourite travel agent has just gone onto maternity leave to have her first baby, so Kate and I decided to make her a small gift so she doesn't forget us!

Although these are not necessarily traditional baby colours, she knows we are a little different (!), and also I am hoping she will use the quilt and not be concerned about any marks which may make their way onto the quilt when it is on the floor being used.

I quilted it with an edge to edge by Anne Bright, but reversed it so that when you look at the back the letters and numbers go the right way and is readable. It didn't matter that everything was back to front on the front of the quilt because it is so busy.

Good luck Renee! Can't wait to see your little one!

And, speaking of little ones.....

Rock wall climbing at Cuboree!

Enjoy,

Belinda

Grape Technicolour Quilt

2011-01-17T17:44:00.003+11:00

Well, I have finally finished (except for the binding) my Chris Jurd NYB quilt and it is still very busy. Actually its not too bad in the pics, though some of the backgrounds get a little lost as there is not enough contrast. I did the class to learn the technique, so I'm not to disappointed that some of the blocks don't stand out as they should - I've learned that I need to be much more careful about contrasting fabrics and what is and isn't going to work.

I really enjoyed picking different fabrics and not being inhibited about making things blend together. I am going to use it to cover my cross stitch makings which live beside my chair in the lounge room - my little four-legged friend (as in the pics below) thinks it is a good thing to chew on precious things left just for her on the coffee tables.....cross stitching silk threads are a little expensive to replace.....

Speaking of my friend, she is a little out of sorts at the moment because there have been 2 weeks with only one adult in the house, and now that the boys have gone to Canberra for a cub camp, there is still only one adult, but a different one. So she follows me everywhere..

She is not allowed in my sewing room, so finally gave up standing in the hot sun and took a rest in the shade of a pot!

This afternoon she had to sit on my lap as I was binding a quilt for my friend who is about to have her first baby - it is VERY hot here, so between dog and quilt, I was stitching very quickly.

Enjoy,

Belinda

We're back...

2011-01-15T07:27:00.002+11:00

We arrived back in Australia on Wednesday morning after a long and bumpy flight from LA - it was fine though. We had our eye masks, headphones, books, ipad, ipod, munchies and a 2 seat row, and we coped just fine. I managed to get some hexies sewn together too, which is unusual for me as I tend to get very motion sick.

It was lovely to catch up with our LA family again and there was a lot of Nintendo playing - sometimes the best place to play is on the bottom steps so you can help each other.

We went to the Lego Store in Glendale twice, which was Harry's version of heaven. The only problem is that they don't have seats for the adults who are waiting while every small and large box is examined extremely closely.

When we got home with our treasure, the kids had to sit on separate sides of the room so that their pieces didn't get mixed up! There was Lego everywhere, with teeny weeny little pieces making up the bulk of the mix.

Then it snowed.....

The kids had the day off school so we went sledding at a nearby slope. Of course we hadn't taken snow gear as it was supposed to be warmer than that... cold wet frozen jeans and sneakers. And, lots of snow balls thrown and stuffed down the backs of jumpers and coats! Great fun!!

So now we are back to the floods in 4 of our States, and a massive bushfire just put out in Western Australia. There are lots of places to donate and I know there are going to be quilts made. We need not to forget how long the cleanups are going to take. Months and years. We have had extended coverage on most of our main TV channels, and after not hearing much while we were away, its very distressing to see so much damage and heartbreak.

Belinda

Snow in California

2011-01-04T14:50:00.002+11:00

I am attempting to compose this using my iPad, so it is quite possible that only rubbish will appear for which I will apologize now!!

We have been here for a week now and having a lovely time with the cousins. They were due to go back to school today but it snowed yesterday and school today was cancelled. They are forecasting more snow for tonight so we'll see what happens.

We have done a little shopping - no fabric however,but some Wilton products and clothes and Lego. Harry was like a pig in mud at the Lego store in Glendale. I'm not entirely sure how it will pack up but we'll see.

I don't have any pics at the moment as getting this technology to work is a feat in itself! Home in a week, so I'll try and post before then.

See you later
Belinda

We had a lovely day yesterday

2010-12-26T08:25:00.002+11:00

Well, we had a lovely day yesterday with the family for a Christmas lunch, swapping pressies and generally not doing much. It was a lovely summer's day, and we rolled home and were early in bed.

Today it is pouring and we won't be going anywhere. Maybe from the lounge to the machine and back!

It has been very busy here, and I finally turned off my big machines at about 2pm on Christmas Eve. I had a last minute frantic call from a new granny, and how could I say no to that .

Anyway, I probably won't be posting for the next couple of weeks as Harry and I are off to visit with my sister in LA, flying out tomorrow. I have checked the weather sites and it should be good to go. If I can work it out then I will post some holiday pics, but other than that - I'll be back.

Enjoy the New Year,
See you soon
Belinda

Symbols of Japan

2010-12-18T19:29:00.002+11:00

I quilted this beauty this last week for Margaret. Isn't it divine? I love the different shades of the pinks and greens.

It is a design based on traditional Japanese designs, interpreted by Val Moore and Patricia Cox, and other pics can be seen on www.simplyval.net.

Each of the applique pieces has been machine satin stitched on. Exquisite. I have quilted it with a filler of a sort of clam design, big and little; parallel curvy lines, and a design by Anne Bright in the outside border called Asian Gardens b2b.

Totally not quilt related, but isn't she cute? Indiana Lara (named by 2 men - I wanted something like Fifi) wrapped in Harry's original baby towel post bath!!! I'm thinking my dearly beloved is having a moment and thinks he wants another baby. Ha!

Enjoy

Belinda

I'm trying something.

2010-12-14T07:52:00.002+11:00

I have a problem in that some of my pics are not able to be clicked on to make them larger. So after consulting my web guru, we are trying making them larger. So, we'll see.

Last night was our school awards night, and Mr Smarty Pants above received the school library award for consistent library use and actually reading the books, not just leaving them in his bag. Well.....we were very surprised and pleased with this achievement.

These are my nearly current NYB blocks. What do you think? I think it is a little much, and I will probably rearrange them to try and tone it down. I like the colours though! (Don't you love the stripey flannel sheet as a design wall?)

Enjoy
Belinda

Feathers 2

2010-12-09T06:53:00.004+11:00

We have been a little busy here, with a school excursion, birthday, homecoming, rain and getting sorted for Christmas, and I have not many pics to show for it.

However this little quilt is one of mine from a couple of years ago. It is a Mexican Feathered star and has been very heavily quilted and trapuntoed.

I have used the "cutaway trapunto" method for this quilt which took ages, but, I think makes all the puffy bits very puffy. When it was quilted, I echoed the star shape, and then put in lots of feathers and fill.

When I was quilting it I used a blue washaway marker which I was spritzing with water to get it to disappear as I am a bit leery of leaving the blue in for longer than it needs to be.

Next morning all the black had run. Nice. Not. It has been washed in a large wash in the machine and, touch wood, all the black came out. And, no I didn't pre-wash. Silly girl.

Anyway, enjoy

Belinda

Pretty in pink - and something not so pretty at the end!

2010-11-30T06:55:00.004+11:00

This quilt was made by Lynne of Sydney, in a class with Jennifer Corkish. It has lots of flowers which have all been needleturned, and lots of open spaces for quilting.

It is quilted using rulers and templates, and freehand fillers and feathers. The outside curved cross hatching was done with a new ruler from Westalee Designs and doesn't it look great!

Lynne always uses gentle and pretty fabrics in her quilts, and I particularly love the pink rose border she as used in this masterpiece.

We are very excited as Terry is back tomorrow after being away for 3 1/2 weeks. He is coming back to this....

and long grass, washed out driveway, 2 dogs who will be beside themselves and a 10year old who CANNOT wait for his fav dad to come home. And me.

Enjoy

Belinda

Portobello Market

2010-11-26T13:36:00.002+11:00

This masterpiece belongs to Di from Molong, and she is giving it as a gift - unfortunately not to me! It is the Portobello Market quilt by 3 Sisters for Moda, and you can download the pattern at the United Notions site.
It has many pieced blocks which Di says gave her grief, but I can't see what her problem was! .

It is quilted with freehand feathers in the red background fabric. I used a chalk marker to give me an idea where the spines would go, and then filled in the gaps with big and little feathers. Very effective and looks great. The blocks were done with an Anne Bright p2p on the statler (Majestic I P2P). All the blocks are quilted with the same design. I picked a pattern which wouldn't come too close into the centre with all its seams, but one which would pick out the centre star.

Love it. Maybe it will have to go on my "to do" list, along with all the others. Or, maybe Di will make me one?

Enjoy

Belinda

Redwork quilt - done in greens

2010-11-21T07:51:00.004+11:00

I finished this beauty a year or so ago but found the pics on my computer this morning whilst looking for more quilts to post. I have been busy doing "non-publishable" quilts, so am a little light on with stuff to show.

Anyway, this was done by Margaret in Sydney, and is a pattern by Tita Leach called "Redwork Quilt". If anyone wants to purchase the pattern, let me know and I'll pass on Tita's email.

It has houses, mushrooms, snails, frogs flowers and they are all stitched beautifully and all the greens work so well. Very scrummy.

I quilted it on both the statler and freehand, with an Anne Bright design in the outside borders. It has SID around the applique and in the ditches, with fillers where needed. The background fabric is like a linen and was very easy to stitch with.

I also found about 600 pics of a bionicle battle which occurred on my front verandah...

Enjoy

Belinda

French Braid

2010-11-16T07:36:00.002+11:00

I was never really intrigued by these French Braid quilts until I saw one up close and personal with Bonnie at a little show in the middle of NY - we both decided that we had to make one (or more), and immediately started collecting fabrics.

In my machine quilting life I have really only quilted one of these with an all over pattern, as the fabrics were soft and didn't need full custom.

But, earlier this year, this beauty came to visit my studio and, after too long, I finally worked out what to quilt on it. I didn't want to spoil the transition of colours by putting too few thread colours on it, and didn't want each of the segments to be the same. I also didn't want to make it too "cute", it was way more elegant than that.

Anyway this is the end result. Fabulous.

Belinda

JAB 2

2010-11-11T07:14:00.002+11:00

Julie, Ann and myself (hence the title JAB) decided that we needed to be making a series of traditional style quilts together. Initially it was to be yearly but I've held up the bus by not getting to the latest one, but Ann would design it and work out all the requirements, Julie would make it and I would quilt it. We would rotate who would get to buy the fabrics, make the final decisions on the quilt design and then keep the quilt.

The first one would go to Julie, but I don't have a picture of it. This was our second piece, and it is mine. It is 2 plain fabrics, purple and white. The white feathers all have a second layer of white wadding in them to stop any purple threads showing through - wasn't that a gem of a task!
It is very heavily quilted with feathers (of course!) and fill. The white is not stitched in at all.

The quilt is very deceptive - when you first look at it, you think there is not much quilting on it, but voila, when a light is put on it the quilting really stands out. I love that surprise.

I'll have to get pics of the third one, and then quilt the fourth so we can get onto the next one.

See you

Belinda

Piecemakers Times and Seasons Calendar 1999

2010-11-05T07:18:00.002+11:00

I have recently quilted this beauty for Marg (which is a gift for her son for his significant birthday). It is the 1999 Piecemakes Times and Seasons calendar. There is a huge amount of needleturn and reverse applique in this quilt and her choice of colours and textures is a work of art in itself!

The sky in the top pic (not well shown, sorry) has a seam down the middle and Marg has matched the pattern perfectly.

It is quilted freehand with textures, until the outside borders where I have used a fish p2p from Kerryn Emmerson (www.kerrynemmerson.com), an anchor from Sweet Dreams Quilt Studio, and a rope from Laurie Thomas (www.itsaquiltthing.com). Worked beautifully to frame this nautical quilt.

See you later

Belinda

Postage stamp quilt

2010-11-05T07:08:00.002+11:00

This masterpiece has just come off my machine to be returned to Jenny tomorrow - all those tiny pieces are 1 inch finished and most of them are fussy cut. Just gorgeous. And it is Jenny's original design.

I have quilted it with lots of feathers - in a rolling feather design in the outside border, a wavy feather in the inside plain border and in a wreath in the blocks in the centre.

The 9 patch blocks have straight lines in them, and the inset triangles have a line dancing design.

All in all, this beauty could live very nicely in my house!

See you

Belinda

It's been busy here...

2010-11-03T08:54:00.002+11:00

This weekend just gone, I went to a class with Chris Jurd and made these beauties! I am very pleased with them, although I was thinking my blocks would be a little more subdued than this! Eleanor and Morgie came along too, and we stitched away for 2 days. The class was great and if you get to do a class with Chris, then do it - great teacher, lovely lady and very easy pattern to follow. Her blog is Patchwork Fundamentals (www.chrisquilts.blogspot.com) and the pattern is called New York Beauty.

On Sunday night Morgie and I came home, and after scoffing pizza we had to go to bed as our brains were all worn out.

However, Monday we were ready to go again and we moved to the tidy sewing room to continue with our projects - the only thing missing was the bowl of choccies which should have been there for a sugar hit. We had already demolished the licorice! At 11pm we decided it was time for bed having stitched, laughed, drank, cut, recut, muttered under our respective breaths and made a big mess.

One thing we didn't participate too much in (due to our hayfevers), was the sheep shearing on Saturday morning. This is Harry leading our little flock down the hill to the little shearing shed across the road. They are very tame and come for food, so we had a little procession down the driveway.

This pic is Lizzie (who lost her ears in the recent dog attack).
She looks very odd now with no wool and no ears, but it is not worrying her and she is more interested in the sheep nuts which she loves to eat from our hands.

See you later,

Belinda

No quilts today - angels and stars instead.

2010-10-28T14:09:00.002+11:00

This angel cross stitch I started before Harry was born, and it has been unfinished until just recently when I decided to start another big cross stitch. I had put it down when Harry started getting into everything, and I was in amongst the beading, and just never seemed to find the time to get back into it again.

Anyway, it is done now and came back from the framer yesterday. I am very pleased with it, the mats match perfectly and the frame picks up the blues and greens. Just lovely.

In amongst when I am supposed to be doing housework or other such drugery, I have been on the hunt for a recipe for royal icing which works for me, isn't hard to make and does all that is it supposed to do. And, I think I have found it, on a blog called Bake 350 (www.bakeat350.blogspot.com) , and, as you can see the sugar cookies looks great. A little rough around the edges, but the white set properly and the blue didn't run off the edges of the cookie. So, 3 dozen cookies later, I am going to try freezing some of them to see if they survive defrosting too. The white dots are cashous which were Terry's contribution.

Enjoy

Belinda

Sue Ross BOM

2010-10-25T09:41:00.004+11:00

This BOM was last year's efforts, through Material Obsession in Sydney (www.materialobsession.com.au)

and each month a new pattern would turn up with lots of lovely fabric goodies.

I sort of kept up, and only really slowed down towards the end after I had had my hip done.

Anyway, it had an appliqued basket in the centre which I thought I might make into a bag, and so I made another circle design (taken from EQ7) and put it in the centre instead. It is quilted with a spider's web design. The bind is on but not stitched down.

I really like the busyness of this quilt, and I learnt a lot about circles and stitching them onto a background with nice smooth curves and no pointy bits.

We had a busy weekend, and my dearly beloved was promoted to Lt Colonel in the Army Reserve. He was very surprised when it happened as we thought it would take place later in the year, so that will keep him very busy next year.

See you

Belinda

Civil War Crossings

2010-10-22T07:16:00.002+11:00

This is another one of my bind-on-not-stitched-down quilts called Civil War Crossings. It is a pattern by Eula Parris Smith and Barbara Brackman and was published in QNM Nov 2008 (p. 90). When I saw this I knew I had to make it, and its only taken 18 months to do (its been finished for a couple of months now).

I made it in scrappy browns, pinks and a blue; with the inset triangle fabric another one of those pieces one buys without knowing what they are going to do with it. It's probably not technically correct to have a birdie toile-y fabric in with civil war designs, but I liked the colour and the finish. It is quilted with an all over clam by Kay Oft. And the picture is sideways - sorry about that - but you get the idea

Last weekend it snowed. Enough said about that. The sheep and chooks were less than impressed, as were we trekking out into the sideways weather to go to a bass rehearsal.

This weekend is forecast rain for Saturday. Kate and I are heading off to a craft day at the Kenna Hall in Hill Street (if you're in Orange and have nothing to do). It is being organised by our friend Ruthie who is fundraising money for a memorial garden/contemplative spot to go and be peaceful. If you're around and can make it, come and say hi.

See you later

Belinda

Double Delight

2010-10-19T07:49:00.004+11:00

This is a Double Delight rose which is in our rose garden - the flower is a little ratty as it was taken at the end of last season and had dealt with heat and wind, but the scent and colours are just fabulous! One of my most favourite roses.

This is my Double Delight quilt which was designed by Bonnie of Quiltville (www.quiltville.com) and was run as a mystery last year. I made it out of my stash (with only a little enhancing having to take place)! The outside fabric is a dragonfly and floral fabric which I bought from Spotlight having loved it when I saw it. I had no idea what I would do it it, but it was perfect for this quilt. I quilted it using Anne Bright's Rose Bouquet b2b. I love this pattern too, but this is the first quilt I have had the opportunity to use it on. It is not quite finished as I have to stitch the bind down, but I'll get there.

Bonnie will be running another mystery quilt soon, so I'm looking forward to a big quilt with lots of tiny little pieces! Perfect . I have made several of her mystery quilts and they always come out looking great.

My quilt holder-upperer was a little shy.....

See you later

Belinda

Four urns

2010-10-14T07:29:00.002+11:00

This quilt was made by Cathy and had the most gorgeous mustardy gold fabric for the backgrounds of the appliques. It gave a different look to the normal light backgrounds and, with the purples in the piecing and the appliques, makes it look very sumptuous and "touchable". (Its raining here again so maybe all this wet has made me come up with long words!!)

I love the use of both these colours and the workmanship was exquisite as always. Unfortunately she wouldn't leave it here for me to look at forever.

Back to work this week for me and I'm quilting a lovely french braid in reds, purples and black. Stunning. I should have pics soon.

See you

Belinda

Cupcakes in Adelaide

2010-10-11T08:51:00.002+11:00

Look what we found....yum yum yum!

We did have to drive to find it with much grumbling from the back seat, however the spider drink and hot dog soon stopped that moaning. I had a cherry ripe chocolate cupcake and it was scrummy.

The shop is called the American Candy Stand Cupcake Cafe (www.americancandystand.com.au) and it is at 224 The Parade, Norwood SA.

It inspired me to come home and make some cupcakes for Harry to take to school, however, the butter and eggs are still in their respective containers....maybe this afternoon I'll get my act together.

School has gone back today after 2 weeks on holidays, so back to work for me.

See you later

Belinda

We're back from Adelaide and a good time was had by all!

2010-10-09T07:40:00.006+11:00

We have been in Adelaide for the last week having a family holiday and also for me to attend and teach at the Inaugural Australian Machine Quilting Festival held over the long weekend. The next one is from the 28 Sept to 1 Oct 2012. I don't think the web site is updated yet, (www.amqf.com.au) but there is a little info on their blog.

I really enjoyed going to see some quilts, do some shopping, but mostly to catch up with other machine quilters. Ours tends to be a very isolating job when we work from home and events like this are a real treat to attend.

While I was off working the boys went to the beach, movies, shopped and generally did "boy stuff".

It was a lovely time to be in Adelaide as all the trees were coming out in their new leaves and blossoms - very pretty. It is a little warmer than Orange, so I think we came home in time to see the blossoms at home too!

I had a quilt hanging in the show and was fortunate enough to receive a 2nd place ribbon which made my day. I'll have some close ups later.

It's nice to be home - back to work on Monday.

Belinda

Scrap Basket Blossoms

2010-09-28T05:54:00.002+10:00

This piece of loveliness was made by Jenny Webb and is based on a pattern by Kim Diehl called Scrap Basket Blossoms (and was in QC issue 36). Isn't it gorgeous? Yet another one that I want to make! My list "to do" is enormous as it is, without luscious beauties like this one tempting me!! It is quilted freehand with rulers and templates. The outside border quilting design is based on the pattern on the fabric. Just gorgeous!

On a different note, I am getting back into my cross stitching which I did a lot of pre-baby. Considering said baby is now 10 (!) I needed to start doing it again. I had a Lavendar and Lace angel just about done, it only had a little of the beading to go and, shock horror, it only took about 2 sessions to finish it!!!! I couldn't believe how little there was to do - maybe I was so sick of the small beads that I decided that there was heaps to go and put it away. And, it was a big bonus that I could find all the bits for it after so long. Anyway, it is now at the framers and should be finished later this month.

So now I have moved on to another monster cross stitch by Papillon (Castles in the Air), about to load a Chatelaine design onto the frame and have a christmas one by Lizzy Kate going too. And so it starts.....

We are off to Adelaide shortly and I will endeavour to post a pic or 2, if I can work it out, otherwise when we get back.

Take care

Belinda

Japanese Walk in the Garden

2010-09-25T08:46:00.003+10:00

This masterpiece is Walk in the Garden (by Ann Visman) and isn't it gorgeous! It was made by my godmother and cousin Rhona and she is a newbie at all of this patching business, and she is heavily into the Japanese/Asian style fabrics. This is her second quilt made in this design.

It was quilted both freehand and on the statler. The statler designs are from Christy Dillon and Legacy quilting.

See the curvy bits done in the yellow (not the clam)? - well, that is done with my new ruler. Dead easy and very effective. I'm hoping to get some pics on my web site in the next little bit.

If you want details about this pattern, let me know and I'll forward you onto Ann.

See you

Belinda

This was supposed to have elephants on it...

2010-09-22T12:53:00.003+10:00

This quilt was made by Fiona as a gift, and has a combination of piecing, applique and 3D techniques in it. It is a design by Michelle Marvig of http://www.thepatchworkheart.com.au/ in Penrith.

I have quilted it with lots of feathers, swirls, line dancing and ditch stitching. I enjoyed coming up with all the different designs in this quilt, and Fiona's request was that she wanted feathers in the plain yellow areas. So I went to town....!

It is the last week of school here, and Harry went off to school dressed as Biggles as it is their book week parade today. He also took his double bass, to perform in front of a group from one of the local nursing hostels who were coming to school to see the parade.

See you

Belinda

Charleston Log Cabin

2010-09-19T06:16:00.004+10:00

This is a quilt by Carol, actually it is her third one of this pattern and each one is done beautifully and in the most gorgeous fabrics. It is a quilt by Christine Cohrs of http://onceuponaquilt.blogspot.com/. I have quilted it using various rulers and templates, with, of course, feathers. I like the effect of the straight lines in the creams, and once I got my act together, could do it continuously with no overstitching.

This week has been a big one for us, as I am now married to a retired pensioner - note I didn't say old age as I get into trouble for that! My dearly beloved has finally retired from the NSW Police Force after 30 - something years (I think around 36) and is now focussing on his Army Reserve career. No rest for the wicked I reckon!

Enjoy

Belinda

Look at all those points!

2010-09-15T06:50:00.002+10:00

This beautifully made quilt belongs to Jenny and was made in a class with Chris Jurd. It is foundation pieced with some applique and it was a pleasure to be able to get up close and personal with all the different colours that Jenny has used. Her points are perfect!

It is quilted freehand with the aid of rulers and templates. The feathers are freehand. I love the preciseness (is that a word?) of this pattern and, like so many I see, it is on my list of things to do.

I'm getting sorted to head off to Adelaide for the Australian Machine Quilting Festival (1-4 October) where I am teaching a class on how to use rulers and templates in designing and executing quilting patterns. I have also managed to get my act together and design a couple of templates to take with me, which will be on the stand with the Westalee rulers. I will post a pic in the next day or so.

See you

Belinda

Blue skies and feathers

2010-09-12T07:26:00.002+10:00

Well after what seems like endless days of rain, wind and dark skies, we have blue. The cloudy pic is taken looking down the valley from the house and the blue sky pic is taken looking at the house from the driveway.

Anyway, moving on....this lovely princess feather is another one by Kathryn and this one I want to/will make - not sure when, but I will get to it one day. I love the outside applique border, especially the pears. And, you might be able to see it in the pics, the fussy cutting is gorgeous. It was made in a class with Lynne Alchin.

It is quilted with lot and lots of feathers and background fill. The spine of the quilted feathers in the centre was made using a curvy ruler and some marker points; and the curves for the spines in the corners were made using Renae's arcs.

See you later

Belinda

Burrinjuck Dam Trip

2010-09-10T07:27:00.007+10:00

Last October - yes I know it has been a while but I just came across the pics on my computer - my mum, son and I went from Orange to visit Burrinjuck Dam, which is outside of Yass in NSW, where they were celebrating the Centenary of the construction of Burrinjuck Dam. The reason we went was that my great- grandfather, Charles Rawson Cuningham, was the surveyor for the location of the railway line which was used to haul tools, men and other equipment to where the dam wall was being built.

The pic to the right is standing on the dam wall looking towards the cachement area, and from memory the storage was only at about 20% then.
This pics below are taken from the car, on the road which was built directly over where the railway used to run. It was quite an odd feeling to be where so many men worked so hard to clear a space for a little railway, and to see the bush which they had to work in.

There were little carriages were used to haul the goods, and each of them were named after my great-grandfather's children, and this one is the original carriage named after my grandfather. It had a long history after the dam was finished, and, I think, ended up in the Wollongong area used to haul coal before it was rescued, restored and is now at the caravan park in the State Recreation area near the dam.

While we were there, Harry decided to take some pics of the view through the drains on the dam wall! I think there might be a quilt in some of them.

Black and white and red

2010-09-08T07:43:00.003+10:00

This very striking quilt was made by Carolyn for her son a couple of years ago, and every time it pops up on my screen saver I remember how red it was! Fabulous Christmas red colour.

And doesn't the back look fabulous too? It is quilted freehand, and the pattern in the outside border matches the design in the border fabric.

On a non quilty note, my DH had the pins removed from his arm yesterday - after he fell off a paint tin (which he was using instead of a ladder - and haven't I made some mileage out of that much to his disgust ??). So hopefully his arm will start to strengthen up and things will get back to normal.

See you later

Belinda

Red and Green

2010-09-05T07:37:00.003+10:00

This gorgeous piece of work belongs to Kathryn, and is still one of my most favourite quilts. I think it is because of all the little circles in red, and the fact that Kathryn told me to do "whatever" so I have done lots and lots of feathers to fill the spaces.

I have been trying to get her to write the pattern for this beauty, so I can make it - along with the other 7 million projects I have on the go and in my head. But I think she has as much free time as the rest of us - maybe I'll just keep nagging!

Enjoy

Belinda

Tuesday's Folly

2010-08-31T15:16:00.003+10:00

This is one of my quilts, designed on a Tuesday, when I stitch with my friend Ann (and we get into all sorts of trouble with EQ and talking about what we could make and how difficult could it be?). Anyway, I entered it into the 2010 world Quilt Competition and, to my surprise and great pleasure it was awarded the Best in Australia Award. I am thrilled, and have almost forgotten all the unpicking I did to get the tension sorted!

This show has entries from all over the world, with coordinators from each country getting their country's entries sorted, and then the collection is hung at several large quilt shows in the US and then finally comes back to me in December. There are pics of the winning quilts on the first site listed below and they are all stunning.

On a different note, it is raining here again, but my sheep Lizzie looks like she has turned a corner. No infection yet, fingers crossed.

See you later

Belinda

World Quilt Show - New England8/19/2010 - 8/22/2010Manchester, New Hampshire

Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XVII9/16/2010 - 9/19/2010Greater Philadelphia Area

Pacific International Quilt Festival XIX10/14/2010 - 10/17/2010Santa Clara, California

World Quilt Show - Florida11/12/2010 - 11/14/2010West Palm Beach, Florida

Toby's quilt

2010-08-31T07:36:00.007+10:00

This gorgeous quilt was made by Toby H and the photos don't really show how lovely the quilt actually is. The colours are very strong and contrasting, and the designs of the fabrics are stunning, especially the outside tree and bird border fabric and the red pompom designs. And the back is gorgeous too!

Anyway, it is quilted both freehand and on the statler using One Song Needle Arts designs.

On a sheep note my Lizzie is still going and is still eating although her front leg is very sore. They are forecasting more rain for this weekend, so I hope she is settled before that comes along.

See you later

Belinda

Not much quilting - other stuff instead

2010-08-30T17:45:00.004+10:00

We have had an eventful few days here, starting with a pack of dogs getting into our small (only 8) flock of sheep and doing some nasty damage. To date we have lost 3 with another still injured but we are hoping she will recover. The injured one is my first poddy, named Lizzie, and she has lost both her ears and has a bite on one of her front legs. This attack happened during the day, when it was pouring with rain and blowing a gale. We had to retrieve 2 sheep from the dam where they had been chased into and that was a saga in itself involving wet weather gear, brush cutter, husband with broken arm and lots of mud. Anyway, one of those sheep has since died from bites, trauma and pneumonia. Needless to say, there have been lots of tears here and dire threats against any dog we see out of its yard and anywhere near the sheep.

Also my 10 year old son went off to a cub camp for the first time without his father, and by all accounts, had a great time. It is a big achievement for him to do this and we are very proud of him.

Winter Tulips

2010-08-26T12:44:00.003+10:00

I quilted this masterpiece earlier this year for Lynne, and it has the most fabulous tulip fabric in the outside border. It is a design by Michelle Marvig of The Patchwork Heart in Penrith, and it has lots of little pointy bits and lots of open space for the quilting. It is quilted with a combination of freehand and computerised designs - the tulip baskets and the outside border are patterns by One Song Needlearts. The last picture is the back of the quilt - Lynne always has intricately pieced backs for her quilts so she can turn them over and have a new look for her bed.

At the moment it is raining here again and is COLD, so I'm off to find something else woolly to put on and get back to work. I have been messing around with trying to restore my beloved's ipad and am not having much success, and am getting cranky - it shouldn't be this hard!

See you later

Belinda

Waratah quilt

2010-08-23T07:55:00.002+10:00

This beauty was made by Ruthie a couple of years ago and whenever I come across it in my photo album I still love the pattern and the fabrics. Ruthie was my saviour when Harry was little as she was my day care mum and I was still working as an ambo, and she sometimes had very long days if I couldn't get away from work on time.

Anyway, we managed to corrupt her into some patchwork and I hope she is still doing it even though she is busy doing other things, and still being the super day care mum.

The quilting designs on this quilt came from The Quilter's Quilter, and it was stitched on my statler - no freehand this time.

Is it any wonder....

2010-08-20T12:35:00.004+10:00

............that the colours in my quilts tend to be bright? Look at the colour of that bougainvillea with the lipstick tree in the distant background in full autumn red. Every year the purples and reds inspire me and I have lots of close up pics of the autumn reds and the bright purples.

As we live outside of Orange in central west NSW the bougainvillea is not supposed to grow here, being a tropical plant, but we persevered for about 4 years, covering it every night during the winters. Now it loses its leaves in winter but comes back in the spring, and then at the end of summer and beginning of autumn it comes into the most beautiful flower.

The quilt is made from all Kaffe fabrics except for the small pink border. And, all bar the stripe serape fabric came from my stash. It is quilted with a floral all over and has a black and white daisy backing. I love it.

Lots of feathers

2010-08-18T07:09:00.003+10:00

This masterpiece went home last week to Deidre, after having the living daylights quilted out of it! It is very heavily quilted with lots of feathers and background fill. The applique is all done by hand, and there little bits of ribbon and braid mixed in with the stems. Beautifully made and it was a pleasure to quilt. The patterns are from a book by Pat Andreatta called "Heirloom Applique", 1985 and it was taught in a class with Tita Leach.

Thank you to everyone who commented and emailed me, I'm glad you enjoyed the first post. And, to Fairlie - here is the second post you thought I wouldn't write!

See you soon

Belinda

Welcome to my new blog

2010-08-16T17:29:00.005+10:00

Well, finally I have made the plunge and am going to attempt to write about some of the happenings in my home and work life - rather than just reading everyone else's blogs!

So, I hope you enjoy my ramblings...

I am a wife, mother (of one DS who is 10 going on 30), friend and longarm machine quilter. I have been patchworking for about 17 years and longarming for about 12 years now. I have a love of fabric, quilts and quilting and one of main things I love about quilting for others is being able to pat so many different designs of quilts and fabrics, which, then, of course, means that my stash is enhanced!

I have a long list of quilts in progress and in my head - not to mention the cross stitches that also need to be done.

I am going to make to effort to post some of the quilts that come through my studio (with permission of the owners) and that I make, as that is one of the things I enjoy about looking at other blogs.

The quilt in my header is called Paula 2: Lava Flow and I finished it last Christmas, after doing a class with Paula Nadelstern in 2008 in the US. I have always loved her work and when the opportunity came up to do a class I took the opportunity. It has 16 wedges in the star, and about 80-something pieces in each wedge, all fussy cut and machine pieces. It is quilted on my longarm.