Terrain pillows

I have been meaning to make some pillows to go with the Terrain quilt. I still had some fabric left over from the two layer cakes that I had used so I thought I would see what I could come up with. I decided to make oblong cases as I like rectangle cushions more than the square ones :)

So I cut the layer cake pieces into 3" strips and bordered them with 1" white homespun strips.

This pillow picks up both the green and the orange Terrain colourways.

and this one picks up the blue and pinks.

and together they work well!

And even after making these pillow cases, I STILL have some Terrain fabric left! I secretly think it is breeding in my scrap bag!

I am linking up with the gorgeous Alyce at BlossomHeartQuilts as part of the Kate Spain Blog Hop!

And for those of you who commented on the view in my last post, here is the view today.....the sea is angry today my friends!

We are lucky enough to be renting a villa by the sea for our last 6 months in Coffs Harbour....we thought we would go out with a bang!

The Terrain quilt

My first introduction to Kate Spain's Terrain was a charm pack bought at a little quilt shop in QLD whilst on holidays in May 2011. I loved the line and with the aid of another charm pack ordered online from the same little shop, I made a pinwheels quilt as a gift for my friend's wedding in Oct 2011.

Pinwheels quilt in progress

But I wanted a Terrain quilt too!! I bought 2 layer cakes and then life got in the way......come 2012 and I was thinking I would make a quilt using half square triangles. So I got to work and made a whole heap of HST.....only to find that it didn't do it for me :( 

So I played around a bit and came up with this design, with the fabrics grouped (loosely) in colour ways and surrounded with a corresponding solid ( thanks to Sandy at Wrapped in Fabric for putting together a great Terrain/solid bundle).

The quilt is King size, my biggest yet! By the time I had finished piecing the top and back, I was really beyond quilting it. Queue my new friend Jenny - who saved the day and quilted this quilt for me in a giant stipple.

The back is white, with a strip of layer cake pieces down the centre.

Finished off with scrappy binding, I can now say I really love this quilt!

A shot of the quilt in our king size bed.

I still have some of the layer cake fabric left over.....and I have plans to do something with that in the next few weeks...maybe some pillows to match!

Today I am linking up with the lovely  Alyce from Blossom Heart quilts as part of the Kate Spain blog hop!

**Please excuse my dodgy pics - only had the Ipad to play with!**

I'm back!

So after a bit of a Christmas/ New Year hiatus I am back :).

The first fews weeks of January saw us in the Barossa in the heat, working on our little house.

This is me patching the stone wall in what will be our bedroom.

We had a lovely time catching up with friends and making new ones. Our mulberry tree was in full fruit and we all enjoyed standing out underneath its cool leafy branches and eating ripe juicy fruit. I managed to stew some too...delicious with icecream or stirred through yoghurt.

I have to admit that when we returned my sewjo was nowhere to be found :( . It took a rainy,stormy weekend last week to bring her back. It was too wet outside to do anything, so I sewed instead!

I finished Lara from Luellabella's January Wombat Stew block. Lara loves teapots and have requested a teapot block. I used Charise's Craftsy pattern for a teapot and cup.

Lara also loves selvedges so I did my best to include one of those. I embroidered the names of my favourite teas as well.

Next on the list was a pattern test for Kristy from Quietplay. Kristy has created an alphabet pattern in both upper and lower case. I was asked to make the word Kindness and test the lower case.

Another fabulous pattern by Kristy...the whole thing came together quickly and easily. Kristy will have the patterns for sale in her Craftsy shop soon. Stay tuned!

I am also participating in Kristy's BOM....And Sew On...and here is my effort for January.

I am looking forward to making a start on the February block....it is actually the one that I made for Kristy when she was Queen Bee in Wombat Stew a few months ago.

Half Moon Modern TGIFF

So a few months ago I was browsing Pinterest (as you do) and came across a wonderful quilt made by Belinda (BGMom1) using Half Moon Modern. The pattern she used was Roller Rink by Elizabeth from Oh Fransson.

Quilt by BGmom1

I loved the combination of grey and white with the bright colours of HMM so I thought I would give something similar a go. I had a layer cake and a pack of charm squares in HMM so I set to work. I cut 2.5" x 5" strips and sewed in blocks of 6 strips. I then sashed each block with 2" strips, alternating with grey and white.This was one of those quilts that come together quickly and easily. The top came together over a week or so.

And here it is! Or half of it anyway...it's a king single size - with a 7 block width and 6 block length.

The backing is simple white homespun with a strip of red along the length.

Master T is the receiver of this quilt - he is very happy as it includes some "Ninja writing" in some of the blocks. The quilt was quilted by my new quilting friend Jenny.

I finished up with a plain grey binding...my first attempt at machine binding. Let me say....I certainly need some more practice with this!!

Linking up today with Laura from Quokka Quilts for TGIFF

A little house for Jane

The lovely Jane from Where Jane Creates was the Wombat Stew Queen Bee for October. She requested a 'houses' theme. I have been slacker  just a tad busy so I only got around to sewing her block on the weekend.

I had wanted to design a block that was based around our South Australian abode. It's a 1900's Bluestone Villa with a veranda.

Our house - taken on a misty morning. The white is not snow...it's crushed granite.

It would seem that great quilty minds think alike - Kristy had run the pic of my house through EQ7, to come up with this fab paper piecing block. I literally squealed like a little girl when she send me through the pattern!

Now Jane lives at No. 34 and one of her only requests was that we somehow manage to incorporate 34 into our design. I put mine on the front door.

No 34.

I had this cute little FQ that I picked up at spotlight that was perfect for a cobblestone pathway.

And to add a touch of whimsy I used Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets for the pencil pine - one of Jane's fav fabric lines!

I am so so pleased with how this turned out. I am going to do another one in time to put in our home when it is a bit more liveable.

The block in now in Jane's possession....mine was the last block to arrive. I can't wait to see how all the blocks look put together!

Sunday Stash #12 - winners are grinners

This week I was the lucky winner of a quilt kit from The Patchwork Pilgrim! The competition was to name Nic's new Bernina Ovelocker. Now she already has Tina the Bernina so I suggested that Sheena would be a suitable name for Nic's new overlocker.....Tina and Sheena!

The kit is called Le Jardin de Papillon (which I think translates to the Garden of Butterflies) and includes fabric from the same range by Chris Chun for Clothworks.

Lots of fabric goodness here! Included in the kit are half yards and fat quarters of the following fabrics

I love the purple!

Little dots

Papillons!!

These are my favourite fabrics from the bundle....especially the purple!

 I am not sure whether I will make the kit or not....it's a little busy for my liking, even though the fabrics are pretty. I am going to stash it away for a while and see if it grows on me some more.

Do you often buy quilt kits? Or do you prefer to choose your own fabrics for a certain pattern? I'd love to hear what you do.

Linking up with the gorgeous Fiona from Finding Fifth for Sunday Stash.

A Garden Fence Bee Quilt

In March of this year, I was Queen Bee for the QCA Bee #1. For my block, I requested  "Garden fence" as designed by Cindy from Hyacinth Quilt designs. Cindy even has a tutorial for this block and you can find it here. I was inspired by Cindy's colour choice, so decided to ask for my blocks to be sewn using blacks, yellows and greys.

My bee group are spread out across the country. Soon I was receiving blocks from Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales! The lovely ladies in my bee were also very generous, often sending me more than one finished block.

I also added some extra blocks of my own to come up with a quilt top that included 36 blocks in total.

And so here it is - finished!

I've got to say that I am LOVING my new quilt photography location - slung over the balcony of the townhouse that we are renting :)

The back is pieced using strips of fabric that were incorporated into the quilt top.

I actually have had the quilt top and back finished for a while but had been putting off the basting and quilting part for months. I then had chance meeting with a lovely lady called Jenny who owns a longarm. She was more than happy to quilt this for me - and my quilt didnt have to be square!! (mine never are). She even did the basting for me! I think I love her! We chose a basic large stipple for this quilt and I think she did a fabulous job.

This quilt is a gift for my dad who has had a bit of a rough year this year. He has separated from his partner of several years and for the first time, has bought his own home. So this is for him. And what makes it extra special is the little bird that Kristy from Quietplay included in her block. My dad and I share a love of birds so it seems quite fitting that I share this quilt with him.

Linking up with Sewing By Moonlight for my first even TGIFF!