The circle game

I have finished knitting a jumper for Peter using the Aran wool I bought whilst in Ireland at Christmas so have had a little break from stitching.  Unfortunately it has come out a big bigger than I'd planned due to the different ply :( My newest project is hand pieced which I haven't done for a bit, so really enjoying the slower pace.  It's The Circle Game from Jen Kingwell and a uses a glorious mix of big bold geometric prints and spots and stripes and lots of color.  Here are two of the sixteen blocks, not yet pressed so looking a little wonky, but pretty pleased with how they are coming out. Loving the look of the newsprint.

Recent Achievements

Ok, so here I was thinking I was blogging weekly and see it was two weeks since my last post!  I do have some achievements to share though, so I was not idle.  My gorgeous friend Wendy Watkins (aka Honeypot Quilting) has beautifully quilted the Autumn Reflections quilt I pieced together at the Kyneton Retreat and it is looking ultra fabulous with its binding finished.  This is a great quilt for busy people with all the pre-cutting taken care of.

I have also finished another Cottage Garden Thread Club stitchery.  The gold/brown Ixia thread around the bauble glows like silk or metallic thread, so clever for a cotton stranded thread.  11 down, 1 to go.

Well I did weaken and start a knitting project, but it is with the Irish Aran wool I picked up in Killarney on our recent holiday.  That will be a long term project though, afterall it is stinking hot at the moment, don't think Peter will be looking for a new jumper just yet. 

Kyneton Retreat

Just had a lovely weekend at a quilting retreat in Kyneton.  Lots of stitching was achieved, with a good dose of eating and talking of course.  Here is a photo of a completed class sample called Autumn reflections that was a very quick & easy project using a jelly roll (bali pop) and a charm pack of matching fabric.  I've also made up a couple of blocks in the disappearing hourglass pattern, which looks super cute in a little boys robot fabric.  I also put the finishing touches on my Paradise in Bloom which is now hanging up in the shop waiting for patterns to arrive.  I enjoyed the applique, mixing both hand needleturn and machine blanket stitch with lovely effect, so a very productive week or so.  Thought I was very good and battled my will and did not buy anymore wool and did not start a new knitting project, even though it was touch and go as to whether my self control was going to hold up.  Luckily for me, the shop was not open on Sunday!!

New Year's Resolution

Well it's embarassing to see when my last post was, so going to try and post more regularly this year, even if its just a photo of a work in progress.  I am always working on something, including embroidery, crochet, knitting, so how hard can it be to post a photo!  So to get the ball rolling, here is a photo of the latest stitchery I have finished from the CGT Thread Club.  It is a sweet little girl with some daffodils by Melissa Grant.  There are twelve altogether, one per month for a year and the year has just finished and I have three left to do.  I have been stitching them on A4 sized fabric (8 x 11" approximately) as I photocopy the pattern on to fabric rather than hand tracing, so it seemed a good size to stick to.  They all use the Cottage Garden hand dyed stranded cotton, so everyone is different so it's giving me an opportunity to try out different colors that I might not usually choose and collect one of each. 

What happened to June & July?

Well we have lots to share and I have been busy with lots of projects, as usual.  So will share a few with you now.  We had Feathered Star in July and Two Baby Sisters in June, and for August we are very lucky to have Prairie Star in our Quiltworx Trunk Show.  Here is a picky, it's huge and just fits our wall, love the colors and the most amazing quilting.

I have just finished the Tessellate quilt from Max and Louise, just to show that I can use repro fabrics, and really enjoy it too.  So classically timeless, it suits our old terrace house beautifully.  Here is a quick picky, looks a bit weird sideways.  I have quilted it myself and it's not too bad :)  Lots of applique and a little bit of hand piecing with the blocks and sashing machine pieced and machine quilted.  We have the pattern in stock and will put some kits together for those interested.

I have also been doing some embroidery and made up a cushion from this pattern from Mrs. Sew and So using our new Soft Cottons.  Its' a bit 1930's in design but it feels a bit Kaffe Fasset in size and color, what do you think?

Trunk Show quilts that have been recently

Osprey

Raindrops

Both patterns are now available here
http://www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=135

Pepperdish

The latest Quiltworx Trunk Show quilt is called Pepperdish.  A lovely mix of foundation piecing and applique.  All Quiltworx patterns are on our website at www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au