Quiet but not idle

I haven't posted for a while but I have been busy stitching for Christmas and making samples for next year's classes.  At the end of November I attended another Quiltworx workshop for the 2014 Technique of the Month which is called Mariner's Compass.  Four glorious days of non-stop sewing and being fed and watered, bliss.  So here is the finished quilt top, which I am really pleased with and which we will be teaching next year.  Patterns and kits should be available from March next year. 

I have also produced a new pattern for a quilt that will suit beginners as it has big pieces and a variety of blocks within a traditional setting.  I have quilted it with some very simple straight line machine quilting but am quite pleased with the finished result - just have to stitch down the binding.  The pattern and a kit will be available if you are interested. 

Customer Inspiration

One of my customers came in recently with her completed Flower Garden quilt.  She is the lady who inspired me to start the Kim McLean Flower Pots quilt that I showed you a photo of recently.  The background is a very soft grey linen which looks stunning as a backdrop to the Kaffe Fasset fabrics.  Not a great photo, I didn't have room to lay it out flat it is very big.

Out with the old .........

A few years ago I made an ironing board cover from Kaffe Fasset fabric and it sits in the shop and gets well used.  So much so that part of it had worn through unfortunately, so I have just made up a new one in the same design but using Liberty prints.  Love it.  Kits for both are still available.

Eclectic Elements

These new fabrics have also just arrived, funny how they all show up together.  Anyway, my original plan was to make up a simple quilt top and get Peter to upholster an old chair with it.  There is a link from the Jim Holtz blog with a great photo of a few ideas http://timholtz.com/eclectic-elements-fabric-is-here/ 

Will load them on the web soon and will have bundles available.

Tilda Lovers take note

We have just received an order of twenty new Tilda fabrics and they look so gorgeous sitting on the shelf I thought you might like to look too.  They are all loaded on the website if you want to have a look at them individually here is the link:  http://www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=152

So now of course I am thinking, thinking, what will I make with them...  Any suggestions?

Rosalie Quinlan's BFF

I have been happily stitching away on part one of 8 of Rosalie Quinlan's new bom called Best Friends Forever and here are the first four stitcheries.  The are ready to be made up into quilt as you go hexies.  and lots of them.  Just putting them on the web if you are interested.

New Quiltworx sample - Grandma's Wedding Ring

Well, obviously another month has just flown by because I have been sent a beautiful new quilt for our Quiltworx Trunk Show, Grandma's Wedding Ring made in in batiks.  It is lovely to have the quilt in the shop because it will be a long while before I get the chance to make one myself, definitely on the list though!  Patterns are here too if you are interested.

New Trunk Show quilt and customer quilt

 

Cattails in the Meadow is the first photo.  This is a Quiltworx pattern made by a Glacier Star student who wanted more homework!  The grey background actually looks much nicer in the flesh and it is not quilted yet. The second is our newest Trunk Show quilt called Split Log Cabin.  We have kitted this up in bali batiks if you are interested.

Glacier Star Class / Bali Fever Done

Two photos to share with you. The first is the completed Bali Fever quilt, pieced, quilted and bound, very pleased.  Bad photo, no its not as wonky as it looks :)  The second photo is from one of my clever ladies making the Glacier Star - this is her progress after three classes - looking amazing.

Liberty Stars

Liberty Stars is complete.  Pieced, quilted, bound, pattern written, kit cut!  All rotary cut (no templates) and set on point.  Very pleased with the quilting by Bev at Hopscotch Quilting in Bendigo, it looks great and really pops on the solid off white background fabric.  Thanks buddy, very quick turnaround :)  It's now hanging up in the shop if you want to come on in out of the cold and check it out or find a kit on our website here: http://www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=2170

And the winner is ..........

Congrats to Sharon aka Lilabelle Lane, she is our winner of the Liberty Bundle.  The samples are coming along with the quilt being quilted as we speak and the blue hexies evolving into a quilt.  See photo... I will applique them to the background fabric, then add some stars or flowers, not sure which, to the edges.

Two Skirts - two gorgeous new linen prints

I finally got around to making up a couple of skirts for myself to test out some new patterns.  The first is a Bettsy Kingston Market Skirt with an elastic waist and side pockets (invisible - believe me they are there - bit chuffed about that, first time for everything).  The second is an A+ Skirt pattern by Make It Perfect and this one even includes a zipper (omg) and must say am quite pleased.  Worn it twice in the shop and got some favorable comments.  Bit shorter than I would normally wear, but actually looked ok. I used a new linen fabric that is a bit wider than normal patchwork fabric and a bit heavier.  Will pop it on the web shortly.

Liberty is here, yippee

We have just received 24 bolts of the new Liberty Stile and Bloomsbury Gardens fabric.  Gorgeous traditional designs from Liberty's archives, some of these prints look so familiar!  I have been playing with some of the samples I had been given and made up a couple of hexagon blocks from the blues and a scrappy quilt of the rest of the colors with some simple star blocks, sashed with little colored cornerstones.  I have a pack of blues to give away, so leave me a comment before the end of the month to go into the draw to win. 

Bettsy Kingston Clothing Patterns

We have just added a range of ten Bettsy Kingston clothing patterns to our store and website.  They are a great selection of childrens clothes, baby, girls & boys plus a great adult skirt pattern in two sizes (Adult 14–22 and 18–26).  Planning to try one out this weekend!  Hmmm just have to choose a fabric, maybe something to go with my gorgeous new boots. 

Happy Easter

 These cute baby bunnies hopped over to our house for Easter.  One was made by my gorgeous buddy, who seems to find time for everyone including five children and her own business, so I made time to make one for my darling daughter who is 'off chocolate' and darling son's girlfriend.  The two pieces of glassware in the background are my raffle prize from the Easter Exhibition.  This is the second raffle I have won in the past month, so I have bought a tattslotto ticket for tonight:)

This is a laptop cover for darling daughter's new computer.  We couldn't find one she liked, so she chose this cloud fabric and I whipped one up for her using bag wadding inside, which is firm but flat - very pleased.

Easter also gave me an opportunity to finish off Bali Fever.  Just had to add the borders, but there was a bit of piecing involved before I did.  Quite happy with the result.  Now thinking about quilting ideas.  This is available as a pattern and we will be kitting it up shortly or you can use Bali Pops (jelly rolls in batiks).

This is our new Quiltworx Trunk Show design.  It is called Winter Wonderland Snowflakes and is a gorgeous star design with very fine points.  Looks gorgeous in batiks but could also be made up with a Christmas Theme.

New Kaffe Fasset collectives.

I think some of these new prints will end up in my applique project.  The large paisleys are great for fussy cutting, as are the Big Blooms on the end there.

Needle Turn Applique!

I have been trying to improve my needle turn applique with this fun Kim McLean pattern called Flower Pots.  I have had a lovely time fussy cutting the Kaffe Fasset prints and am a quite pleased with my effort so far as these shapes are all big and chunky with no tight points (so far).  The next block has some silly pointed stars in it, so that will test me.

New Quiltworx Trunk Show Quilt

Yes, I am on a roll, three posts in one day.  Just had to show you a photo of the gorgeous new quilt I have been sent as part of the Quiltworx Trunk Show our store is participating in.  This one is called Confetti and it is made up using three Bali Pops (jelly rolls).  Yes, we have the pattern in stock which includes all the foundation piecing papers you will need to make up this quilt.  Might possibly have to be added to my growing list of projects.

What I've been stitching

I have been making up another of the Quiltworx designs, this one is called Bali Fever and I now just have to join the blocks and make up the border.  Maybe this long weekend:)

New Fabric - Little Matryoshka

These cute new prints have just arrived from Riley Blake featuring sweet little matryoshka dolls with a couple of co-ordinates plus 5" and 10" stackers.  I have just popped them on the website, here is the link: 
http://www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=2096

Liberty

Well the rep has just left with a big smile on his face because we have just ordered these Liberty prints which should arrive in March.  I've looked at stocking them for sometime, so here they come, will let you know when they arrive.  All traditional prints, apparently some of the designs in the Liberty pattern library are up to 120 years old.  Many of them look familiar, is that old age?

We are excited to now be a Quiltworx Certified store which means we are able to offer all the Quiltworx patterns plus some specifically designed for Certified stores only.  All the fabric has just arrived, so I am busy cutting it all up into kits for the Glacier Star in my colors.  Lots of patterns have also come in, so I have just got them all on the website. 

Glacier Star is the six part Technique of the Month quilt that we now have available as both pattern and fabric kit as well as offering a class in our store starting in February.  We are already taking bookings, so give me a call if you are interested.   Here is the link to our website page http://www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=135

In the hope of tempting you, we have prepared a class list for the first six months of this year.  It can be downloaded as a pdf file from our website www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au via the Classes tab on the Home page (scroll to the bottom of the page).  We will also have copies available in store together with most of the samples for the projects offered.  For those who have been waiting, the Glacier Star class dates are there too.

Just about finished my crazy patchwork that I have been working in wool, here's a picture.  Just keep finding embroidery stitches to add.  Peter has found a picture frame for me, cut it down to fit and painted it, so I will mount it in the frame rather than hang it as a quilt.  

 

Quick and easy cushion, just an excuse to use the gorgeous Riley Blake Buttons!  It is a simple hourglass block, both back and front, with a zipper on the side seam, made from two co-ordinating fat quarters.  Because I had put the zipper in for easy removal for cleaning, I didn't want to stitch the buttons on permanently as that would be a pain to remove for washing.  So I have used a 4mm satin ribbon to hold the small, medium and large buttons in position on the front, stitched them through the cushion top, insert and back and tied a pretty bow on the back (see photo).  Easy to undo when the time comes.  Quite happy with the outcome. 

Lots of places are closed but we have been open since last Wednesday and since then stock has been arriving that we ordered at the quilt market back in November.  Cottage Garden Threads have released a range of 100 of their most popular colors in a 2 ply pure wool in their trademark hand dyed variegated shades.  Peter had to make up a special stand for them, so now they are on display.  They look so gorgeous I had to take a photo.....

This weekend was so hot I took the opportunity to finish off some bindings that had been piling up.  One was a tablerunner that I had made using the apple core shape and english paper piecing.  The apple cores are pieced together then appliqued onto a background.  I had made a cushion using the apple core shape years ago and just pieced them in the American piecing way, which worked but this is much more accurate.  I have made up the pattern and kitted it up in the same colors and just loaded it on the web here http://www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=2057

Happy New Year Fabric Giveaway

Yes, as promised, we have just drawn the winner of the bundle of our newest range of organic cotton fabric called Safari Soiree.  The lucky winner is Vicki Johnstone, so please contact me with your snail mail address so I can pop it in the mail to you or call in sometime soon if you are nearby.

Here is to a crafty 2013, happy families, good friends and lots of stitching.

Back to work tomorrow, but I have had a lovely break this past week or so and have done lots of quilting on the Glacier Star quilt.  Thanks to quilter extraordinaire Wendy for her help with the quilting design, I have enjoyed tackling some more complex free motion quilting designs on this quilt.  So it is quilted, ends sewn in, bound and even has a hanging sleeve, ready to hang tomorrow.  Unfortunately, my photography skills are not good enough to make all that work show up so I won't bore you with another photo.  However, once that was finished on Sunday, I decided to finish off another smaller project, O Happy Christmas.  This is the second time I have made this up, the first one was given to a good home for Christmas, so I have made another sample to hang in the shop.  This is a Hugs & Kisses pattern/kit.