Problem solved!

A friend and quilting genius warned me that using Little Folks voile on the back of a quilt posed a great problem with basting. The gorgeous soft flowing fabric simply would NOT stick to the masking tape used to hold it flat on the floor.

Well, I had a small stroke of genius the other night and realised that all I had to do was sew some cotton around the edges of the backing and stick the masking tape down to THAT.

Here is the whole backing (wrong side) taped down ready for basting.

Lay down the next 2 layers ...

Add something like 700 pins ...

And get quilting!!

This is seriously going to be the softest snuggliest quilt I have ever made!!

It's nice to have a hand quilting project to keep my knees warm on cold evenings.

Andi :-)

Have you got yours yet?

Get your copy here.

Andi :-)

Have you met Jen?

I first met Jen when our kids were in swimming lessons together.
We soon discovered each others' crafty sides and enjoyed having crafty catch ups each week while the kids swam.

Jen's blog is called Oh Joh and she is a great maker of aprons, clothes, cushions and other crafty delights. 

Jen is in the process of making her first quilt ... for her son. She has filled it with so many details that have meaning for him. He loves words and numbers. He loves Roald Dahl (if you look closely, you'll see she has embroidered icons from some of her son's favourite stories). He loves cars. And .... he really loves his mum!! She has put so much of herself into this quilt.

And have a look at the divine fabric she has used on the back!!

The problem arose with the binding. Jen declared she was 'making it up as she went along'. So, I insisted she come over for a crafty catch up so we could bind her quilt together.

That day was yesterday. Jen arrived with yummy danishes .... a woman after my own heart ....and we set to work!

We got it to the stage where it just needs to be stitched on to the back. Jen plans to do this by hand (if her son can wait long enough for her to finish!!)

As an even lovelier surprise, Jen arrived back at my place in the afternoon just as I was starting on dinner with a thank you gift. (She shouldn't have but I'm glad she did!)

One of her gorgeous aprons. I popped it on straight away!!

Thanks Jen. I had a lovely morning!!

Andi :-)

PS Jen has also posted about our morning here.

Excited!

Love seeing my work around the place.
Look where I found this!!

Andi :-)

My next hand quilting project

Andi :-)

Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair

I had a lovely time yesterday at the Fair with these 2 new friends (we have all met in recent months via the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild).

This is Clair and Rachel taking a quick break from fabric admiration.

I also got to catch up (if rather briefly) with Gina, (and her lovely friend Anna), Nikki, Cathy, Jenny, Lucy and Jen.

I was EXTREMELY proud of myself. I bought NO fabric!!! Just a bit of fusible webbing and some thread.

A very different experience for me.

The actual quilt show offered a huge range of quilts. Hand and machine pieced work, hand quilting as well as machine, applique, art quilts, beginners, old hands, you name it!!!

Here are a few pieces that caught my eye .... (you can click on the images to see more of the details)

Karen Terrens from Quilts on Bastings made this stunning quilt that won second prize for her exquisite machine quilting. It is called King David's Modern Crown.

 Karen also had this gorgeous whole cloth quilt called Crop Circles.

Cells by Raelene Kwong.

First Kiss by Anne Davis

Happy Magic by Naomi Miyake

Hidden Winds by Sonia Higgs

I Love England by Maddy Clark

Marrakesh by Michelle McKillop

Texas Star by Sandra Boyle

Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Andi :-)

2 birds - 1 stone

As I have mentioned before, I  will be teaching a "quilt-as-you-go scrappy log-cabin cushion class" as part of Notebook Magazine's: The Craft Room.

I need to make some samples showing the technique and I thought I'd do a wonky improvised version to show a second option to students.

This mosaic shows the progression from a single patch to a completed cushion.
The front of the cushion is made from my extremely pink stash and the back uses some vintage reclaimed terry toweling and some giant pink ric-rac.

Why "2 birds - 1 stone"?

Well, I am doing a swap with this fabulous crafter and thought this cushion might also make a good swap offering for her daughter's birthday gift.

Kate, if this looks a bit too scrappy / wonky, there will be a second, much more traditional looking version coming up and you can chose which one you like best.

(I hope you don't mind that I'm also using these as samples for my class. I can always make another one especially for Miss J if you like).

Andi :-)

Resolution

My friend Kate keeps threatening to host an intervention every time I buy more fabric.

I know she's right ... especially since my husband is about to begin an unpaid sabbatical and I have left my job too. Also, I have more than enough fabric in my stash to keep me going for a couple of years.... easy!!

So, as much as it pains me to say this publicly, I WILL NOT BUY ANY MORE FABRIC IN 2010!!!

This is going to be extremely difficult for me. Especially with this gorgeous line coming out in a few months ...

Image from The Fat Quarter Shop

But I'm really going to try.

After all, January is my birthday month, so imagine how much fun some guilt free birthday shopping will be if I manage to stick to this.

Wish me luck!!

Andi :-)

Getting organised (or .... I love IKEA)

In honour of our first wedding anniversary, Dan and I got some quality kid-free time organised this weekend.

How did we spend it?
A very romantic trip to IKEA of course!!

New shelving for my sewing room to try and get my ever growing stash under control!!

I knew I would never be able to maintain a beautifully stacked display of fabrics like these fabulous stacks ....

1. my fabric stash, 2. To-Do, 3. My CLEAN stash ;), 4. A cabinet of fabric..., 5. My little sewing room and stash, 6. Repurposed, 7. Folded and Color Coded, 8. Folded, 9. organized fabric

 

So, I bought a heap of drawers / boxes to fit the shelves and filled them with colour coded fabrics.

 

Here is the inside of my 2 favourite drawers:

 

 

And of course, some new fabric to add to the mix:

 

 Dream On layer cake purchased at Over The Rainbow

 

 Tufted Tweets fat quarter stack purchased at Fabric Worm

 

Echino Spring 2010 fat quarter stack also purchased at Fabric Worm

 

I think I need to take a break from fabric shopping for a while. Wonder how long that will last??

 

Andi :-) 

 

PS Dan and I did also manage a romantic dinner in town ... just in case you were worried!! 

Inspiration - Where do you find yours?

As mentioned on a recent post, I've been book shopping.

From top to bottom:

Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner

The Gentle Art of Quilt Making by Jane Brocket

City Quilts by Cherri House

Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts by Kaffe Fassett

I find I am using books like these ones more and more for general inspiration and less and less for the actual patterns they contain. For me it's all about the eye candy .... not just the quilts themselves but also the settings in which they are photographed. Beautiful textiles in gorgeous photographs make me feel good! They give me inspiration to sit down at the sewing machine and start playing with fabrics.

But I find that the actual patterns are so (often) self-evident or rehashed from previous books, that I tend not to actually use them. I guess there's not a lot new about patchworking. There's only so many ways one can sew squares, rectangles and triangles.

In addition to these sorts of books, I have begun looking to general design and pattern books for inspiration. Books about interiors. Books about architectural style. Books full of lovely photographs to inspire the imagination.

Where do you look for your creative inspiration?

Andi :-)

Maddie needs a big girl quilt!!

It occurred to me that my great-niece Madeleine, who will turn 4 in a couple of months, doesn't have a Patch Andi quilt on her big girl bed!!!

How neglectful of me!!!!

So this is her quilt top all finished.

Blocks are large-ish .... 7 inches sewn.

Matches the red gingham sheets on her bed.

Now, on to the backing .....

Andi :-)

More info on the Craft Room classes

I've just had a heavenly time at Amitie selecting fabrics for the 'Quilt-as-you-go Cushion' classes.

Lots of choices with brights and neutrals included.

Tempting?

Andi  :-)

Modern Melbourne Quilt Guild

A fun new group meeting monthly in the North Melbourne area.
Yesterday was the third monthly meeting and I actually remembered to take some photos this time ...

Lots of stitching, eating and chatting ....

Many gorgeous creations to admire ...

And lots more .... but you can see more of the lovely eye candy by visiting the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild site.

If you are in the Melbourne area, enjoy a quilty thing or two, and haven't joined up yet ..... check it out!!!

Hope to see you there some time.

Andi :-)


PS Don't forget to check out the Melbourne Craft Room Classes!!

The Craft Room ... wanna come??

Notebook Magazine has finally brought the Craft Room to Melbourne .... a great selection of crafty classes for beginner and experienced crafters alike.

Come along and learn basic sewing, English paper piecing, knitting, crochet, embroidery, pattern making (or even a bit of quilting with me!!) There's a great selection of teachers taking classes at one of Melbourne's best quilt fabric shops so you can get your fill of eye candy too!!

Read more about it here.

Sign up for August classes here.

Come along and have a giggle and make something new.

Andi :-)

A cushion for baby Gretchen

My parents decided to give this quilt as a gift for my cousin's new baby girl.

My in-laws also wanted to give a gift for the same baby so I have made her a cushion using the same fabric selections.

It's a quilt-as-you-go style cushion top which I really enjoyed doing.

As part of Notebook Magazine's craft room series in Melbourne, I'll be teaching a class to create cushions just like this one.

Interested? Stay tuned for details.

Andi :-)

Where have I been?

Not to London to visit the Queen, I'm afraid!!

We've been struck down by the dreaded lurgy at chez Patch Andi in recent weeks.
Not much energy for blogging.

What's a girl to do under such circumstances?

Online shopping of course!!

Here's some of my recent loot ...

(Fingers are for scale)

Apologies for not including all the relevant links but I just don't have the energy today.

But all this goodness was purchased from this delightful store.

I have also been doing some book buying damage but I'll save that for another post.

(I also have some more fabric due to arrive next week. I HAVE been naughty!!!)

And just to prove my hands haven't been completely idle of late, here's a sneak peek at a secret project I've nearly completed.

All will be revealed once this is safely with it's new owner!

Back soon.

Andi :-)