Doing good things

When Dan and I had kids, we dreamed about our children being peace-makers, do-gooders, kind, caring people who make a difference in the world.

In day-to-day life, this doesn't always feel like a reality. Sibling squabbles and childish selfishness can get in the way of ideals and dreams.

So, we endeavour to do good things with the kids, in very overt ways, so they can see how good it feels to do good for others.

Our kids get a generous weekly allowance but they don't get to spend it all. Some they have to put aside for savings and some they put aside for charity or (as it is known in this house) Tzedakah. In past years, we have taken the saved up Tzedakah and the children have chosen a large toy to place under the charity Christmas tree at our local department store. Their gifts have gone to children their own age who otherwise might not have received a gift at Christmas time.

This year, we did things a little differently. Jake expressed a desire to do something for the homeless and to be able to give a gift in person, rather than leave an anonymous gift. He wanted to make a personal connection.

So, inspired projects like this one,  we took the children's Tzedakah money (and some of ours also) and we bought five backpacks and went shopping for useful and nice things to put inside.

Yee-haw! A Texas quilt

Well, if we are going to take an Aussie quilt to QuiltCon, we'd better have a Texas one too! ;-)

This succulent was the closest thing I could get to a cactus at short notice ... lol

This is the first pixel quilt I've made that has the added element of applique. It's not easy to create a 5-pointed star using squares and rectangles! :P

Aussie Aussie Aussie

In preparation for our trip to Austin in February, I thought it would be good to make something very Australian to share at our YouPatch booth.

An Aussie map quilt hanging on the most Australian of icons, the hills hoist!

A fun collaboration (and a freebie for you!!)

You may know that the YouPatch software creates pixel quilt patterns using the Kona Cotton solids range (by Robert Kaufman fabrics). So YouPatch and Robert Kaufman have become firm friends since our launch earlier this year.

So when we were approached by the good people at Robert Kaufman to collaborate on a pixel pattern project, we were delighted to get involved.

Robert Kaufman have a new range of brush stroke fabrics that were created using actual scans of Vincent Van Gogh's brush strokes. How cool!!! So what better image to use in a quilt pattern than the artist himself!

This was our first pattern using non-solid fabrics so presented a bit of a technical challenge but decided we were up to the task and created this pattern for a pixel quilt:

The pattern is available here as a free download. You can find out more about this fabric range here.

Thanks Robert Kaufman for including us in this project!!

Andi and the YouPatch crew xx

Make Modern (and a wrap up of the show)

The Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show was a whirlwind of craft and quilts and meeting people and learning lots and .... pure exhaustion!!

I've been told I look a little tired in this shot :P

Thank you to everyone who came and chatted with us and attended my demonstrations about the YouPatch website. We loved meeting you all and hearing your crafty stories!

But now the show is over and we are looking towards the next wonderful YouPatch projects and collaborations .... which brings me to Make Modern.

Have you heard about Make Modern yet? It's a new online Australian magazine all about modern quilting. Gotta love that!!!!

Issue 2 was released on Saturday and we are delighted to have a pattern in this issue as well as a great business review. Go check it out (here)!!!

Our pattern is a pixelated pink skull cushion (perfect for Halloween!!)

Please go and have a look at this great new offering and support a group of dedicated crafters (like you and me) making a splash in the world of crafty publishing!!

I think Make Modern is absolutely packed with value!! Great projects and articles. Everything I'm looking for in a quilty magazine! If you do buy the magazine, let me know what you think?

Happy stitching to you!

Andi xx

Getting ready!!

Dan and I set up for our first trade show today: Melbourne's Stitches and Craft Show at the Caulfield Racecourse.

I was invited to be one of their 'guest artists' which is very flattering and I'm a little nervous (and excited) about how the next four days will pan out. I will certainly keep you posted.

In the meantime, here's a look at today's setup ....

A pretty big space to fill.

With my name on and everything! (Don't I look gorgeous in fluro??)

Half way set up. Still a bit messy.

The right hand section of the booth all ready to go.

Complete with my wall of divas!

And the other half.

With the computer ready to show everyone how YouPatch works.

Are you coming to the show this week? Please pop over and say 'hello'.

Much stitchy love to you.

Andi xx

What have I been up to?

Apart from the usual school holidays, kid wrangling, etc ..... I've been sewing some teeny tiny pixels together.

The smallest 'pixels' are 3/4 inch so fairly fiddly. I've completed 40 blocks out of 100. (What you can see in this pic is about 6 blocks).

It will be a while before this baby is finished so I'll try to pop by here regularly to show some progress pics.

See ya later stitchy people!!

Andi xx

Is it that time of year already??

I'm seeing reports of Christmas trees going up in shopping centres and the jingle of Christmas music playing in the malls. And it's still September!!!! CRAZY!!!!

But ... it's not too early to start your Christmas stitching!! We have a Santa pattern that is perfect for the silly season.

Pattern available for purchase. Just click here!

Ho ho ho quilters!

Andi xx

Winner!!

Congratulations to Anne from Sew Little Time who has won a copy of this month's Down Under Quilts magazine.

I have sent you an email Anne!

Andi :-)

Down Under Quilts Giveaway

Aussie quilters will already be very familiar with Down Under Quilts. Well this much loved magazine has just gotten even better with a new look!! This month's issue (the Spring issue) will be in the shops this Thursday with a fresh new feel.

As usual, the magazine will be available in Newsagents but will now also be available at Coles stores!!

We are very excited to have a YouPatch pattern in this Spring issue .... a gorgeous pixelated tulip!

In addition to lots of gorgeous patterns, each magazine comes with a free wheel of pretty quilting pins!!

The giveaway bit ...

Practical Publishing is offering a free copy of the magazine to one lucky PatchAndi reader (Aussies only for this one). You each have 3 chances to enter.

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what image you would like to turn into a pixel quilt.
2. 'Like' the PatchAndi FaceBook page and leave a comment on this post to tell me about it.
3. 'Like' the YouPatch FaceBook page and leave a comment on this post to tell me about it.

A winner will be chosen at random next week on Wednesday 24th September.

You can also win a free copy over at Anorina's blog: Samelia's Mum. She's a fabulous quilter and also has a lovely pattern in this issue.

Good luck to all and see you soon.

Andi xx

The big chop

Last weekend I took the plunge and shaved off my long hair for charity. Together with over 100 amazing sponsors, I managed to raise over $6000 for the Leukaemia Foundation of Australia. And I donated my actual hair to the Australian Alopecia Areata Foundation. I felt proud!!

Here's what my day looked like ....

It feels good to have done something positive in a global environment where so much of the news is negative ... horrific even!

Now I just need to keep my head warm until Melbourne's weather decides to be hot again.

Sending positive thoughts and wishes to you and yours.

Andi xxx

Art on my couch

My friend Matthew Broughton (www.mattbroughtondesign.com) is a graphic designer and a wonderful artist. One of his favorite techniques is lino cutting and he has recently produced a number of stunning lino cut prints with an Australian theme.

Unfortunately, we have almost no wall space left in our house so I felt unable to buy any of his prints as I had nowhere to display them. So you can imagine how excited I was when he revealed that he would be printing his designs onto fabric to make into cushions.

We have new couches at our place that have been screaming out for some new cushions. Everything fell perfectly into place.

We're not afraid of color at our place ;-)

Australian fauna - a black cockatoo

Australian flora - A banksia branch

Our Luna Park

An iconic Melbourne tram

Such a gorgeous collection!

These cushions were printed at local bespoke fabric printers Frankie & Swiss and are beautiful quality.

Check out Matthew's website to find out all about his work and to buy yourself some gorgeous artwork!!

You know you want to.
Andi xx

A new baby

No ... I'm not pregnant!

But my niece was ... until last week ... when she gave birth to the most delicious little daughter called India. She is a very special baby who will be more loved than most people I know. But of course, that might be my bias talking.

My niece asked for yellows, greys and neutrals. But I couldn't resist a splash of red!

And of course, the baby's name on the back (or the "other front") of the quilt.

All fabrics from my stash, including the scrappy yellow binding.

Already much loved by it's new recipient. Here's some more pics .... just because.

Welcome baby India. We love you to the moon and back. 

Andi xxx

Autumn leaves?

Yep ... I created this abstract pixel pattern from a picture of autumn leaves.

Using YouPatch I chose the lowest level of detail and dropped the colors down to 5. Then I selected my own color palette and voila .... this was the result!!

For the quilting I went with an off-centre spiral, augmented with some fun squiggles and swirls.

And for the backing, I chose this stunning fabric that I bought at Amitie Textiles.

I'm hoping this quilt will be accepted for the exhibit at QuiltCon.

I'm a bit excited to have this one finished and I have another finish to show you in a few days. Much stitching excitement!!

Andi xx

My favorite time of year

A week of sickness in this house has kept me from doing much in the way of crafting or blogging. But the blossom on the tree outside my house gives me hope that some warm and healing weather is on its way!

Hope you and yours are feeling well and happy.

Andi xx

Finished quilt top

A slightly grainy Instagram shot taken with my iphone. But I love it!!

The back of the quilt will have the baby's name on it so I'll have to wait until s/he is born before I can finish this one off. Just a few weeks to go!

Happy stitching to you.

Andi xx

A finished quilt (and loads of pics!!)

My niece is getting married in October so, of course, a wedding quilt is required!

I know I have finished this one rather early for an October wedding but I have so much YouPatch sewing to do in the coming months, I knew I had to get it done now or it may never get done.

This quilt is HUGE. 96 inches square. That's 8 foot square!!!! I used Katy's tutorial for 12 inch economy blocks and I really love how the blocks come together to create secondary blocks!!

My niece is a fashion photographer so I have included fabrics with images of cameras, handbags and sunglasses among the many and varied fabric choices.

Given that this quilt is intended for two people, I thought I'd better include something about her beloved too. He is a bit of a mad surfer and loves the ocean so on the back of the quilt ..... I created the ocean.

This one was too big for me to quilt on my little Bernina so I sent it off to be quilted by Kylie (who has no website or FaceBook profile or anything I can link to). She did a gorgeous job of creating waves on the solid Kona fabrics I used on the back.

The Binding from the front just looks like scrappy solid blue colors but on the back, the binding perfectly matches up with the colors I have used for my backing. 

I'll finish up with some (more) gratuitous quilt shots. 

I'm sure my niece and her fiance will love this gift. She definitely 'gets' the whole handmade thing! Now I just have to see if I can wait until October to give it to them or if they 'need' it early to have a warm quilt on their bed this winter. We'll see.

Happy stitching to you.

Andi xxx