PatchworkDreams

Queens Garden. Made with 80%silk and 20% cotton. Up until I added the final green border the salmon pink dominated this quilt top now the green border makes the 4 centre blocks the vocal point in my eyes?

To me in this photo your eye just sees the salmon pink borders????

My favourite block!

Loved how the buds turned out on this block.

Loved how the stems crossed over on this block and the blue flower heads, and those tiny wee blue flower heads.

These flowers were a challenge for me to get that tulip look?

Biggest challenge on my Centre was the crowns to look like wee crowns till Jenny told me to do a double row of appilque in those tiny dots!

Those crowns were a challenge? They are a silver and black silk fabric which frayed and was so difficult to photograph. Plus my yellow jewels looked dead flat till jenny suggested doing a double row of appliqué inside each other and it work a treat.  Zoom in to see?

Love these flowers, I added a dark pink double straight stitch on the edge of the petals inside the flower shapes.

Blue silk just glows in real life.

Close up of the double straight stitch.

Blue birds have been part of my life since I was about 2 years old and my Aunt let me grind the coffee using a delft coffee grinder that had the Willow pattern on it? She would read the story to me every night before I fell asleep?

Close up of those leaves for those of you who want to see that double applique stitch

Close up of my appliqué on the stems and the embroidery stitch I added in the stem for texture

This beauty was just opening last week.

To day a friend gave me a bunch of flowers just because!

Making  up applique pieces for my QG Final borders.  I stand to do this.  These are for the QG below.

Update on my QG 10.30pm last night.

quilting in the ditch on this bargello, I sit on a stool on wheels and it is adjustable for height, so I can lower or left it depending on what I’m sewing.

IVe just stopped appliqueing down leaves here using my Janome, it also has a stool on wheels I find them much better than a chair on my back. Sitting on top of the sewing machine are 2 daisies I need to applique for my QG I will do those now to change my sewing position.  Then it will be back to the leaves.

IM hand quilting this and it’s all ways out ready to add a few stitches when I need to relax my back.

Hanging over my rocking chair is some sashiko hand quilting for when I want to sit and also put my body in a different position.

I finished sewing on the last two black borders and it just did not feel right??? Added a few leaves and red circles and it changed the whole feeling of the quilt top.

Happy with how it looks now with the green leaves and red circles and one wee yellow circle in each corner! I now have to find several hrs to appilque these extra leaves and circles down now, I have started on them so  they will grow quickly now.

I managed to cut and make the flanges and sashings for the memorial quilt top during the week.

Looks a bit like the Irish quilt  now with all that green LOL.

I pulled my Queens Garden to add the final two borders and now have miss placed them,  do you do this to? It’s so frustrating LOL. I wanted to finish it before Christmas?

I had a win today I was looking for something 5 mins ago and found my borders!  Now to get them sewn on before I miss placed them again .

Update 10.30pm, this left hand side  border has been a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be, I hope to machine appliqué the yellow corner daisies down tomorrow? 

Machine quilting in the ditch around every tiny piece of this Bargello is driving me nuts LOL

The lovely soft new leaves covering my Bonsia garden plant, it is around 25 years old and I prune it like you would a bonsai?

Only one Lilly came up, hoping more will spring up.

just started to open this morning tomorrow it will look like the one below?  It will be 4inchs across and 6 inch’s long magnificent flowers. Small Brom

Fully open but much smaller flower.

Small Brom flowering stunning colours

Vanilla flowers slowly opening and hubby pollinates them so far the first two have set so we are hoping for lots of beans this year.

Gardenia  in flower and  the perfume is heady and beautiful.

Our hot dry weather is back which means we live out doors more than in doors till the wet comes and the mosquitos drive us indoors again.  Many meals are eaten out doors and coffee all ways.

This is the perfect weather endless days of sunshine and not to hot around 27C

Sitting beside the fishpond this morning .

Looking down to the fishpond

Blocks are made from a silk obi belt which is made of gold thread and green silk but very very tightly woven so quiet thick and heavy.

This is where I was cleaning in the Garden this morning racking up the leaves from the crazy path  that wanders past a fish pond then down to the lower slopes, tthen  washing the paths clean.

Close up of the background fabric for the blocks.

When I join the blocks I will add a bright Irish green flange first to each block then use a dark green for the sashings.

This lace was around a piece of silk that fell apart when I was handling it for the block so sat and unpicked the lace from it, then added the wee bobbin lace basket in place of the silk. It would have been a hank-chief at one time but a very long time ago,  well over 100 years old.

MY mum did beautiful fine needle work.

She was all ways making these lady dollies, she would make 4 then added them to each corner of  gingham material cut into a metre square, crochet a lace edge around the square and they would be engagement gifts. This Dollie was given to me by another quilter though.

Another very very old hankachief that must have been very precious to my mum.   I added the hand lace butterfly as I needed some thing to strengthen that centre silk that is so fragile now, plus I All ways like to add a butterfly to my quilts.

another tiny piece of hand made lace from another quilter.

She must of loved this style of  fashion as it is on many of her pieces.

another quilter made this one for me it is from the lace that was used to make her Wedding dress.

Another vintage handkerchief she cherished.

Catching the Palm nuts as they are dropped by rats, possums, and bats in the night, if I don’t remove them every second day they start to ferment and the smell is awful?  So I lay this cloth and empty it every second day.  This morning it was full!

Little wild Lilly.

Close up of my day Lilly

They grow wild through the gardens.

A Brom flower

Close up of the crazy paving path

I bought the centre of these wee circles about 20 years ago online they are 1930’s fabrics, the bowtie fabric ive had for about 10 years and earlier in the year I took the bull by the horns and deiced to make up these blocks in to a quilt top>

My finished UFO 1

I found these QAYG blocks in a secondhand shop around 5 years ago, I had to unpick most of them as very few were cut to the same size then I added the last 2 fabrics around them.

UFO Abstract log-cabin finished! 2

A new QUILT :-One night I had a dream about a Dragon-tree quilt?  When I woke up a drew my tree straight away on some fish and chip paper!!!!

Pinned to black fabric which has iron-on-fussing added and then drew around the pattern by fine chalk and carefully cut my tree out in the black fabric

Then carefully placed on to a sarong and ironed down followed by machine appilque.   My dragonflies are machine appilqued using sparkly blue and red thread as these are the colours of the Dragonflies we have in the summer over our pond and swimming pool.

Dragonflies! New Quilt 1

I made these blocks when teaching a beginner class for appliqué,  there were  6 blocks in the class but I made extra blocks for this quilt top.  My challenge to make it more  interesting for myself for was I could only use black and white and a touch of red.

Finished UFO 3

New mini quilt, these lovely wee houses were put up by Tiffany I made one as a challenge by a friend which turned in to 16 I loved making them

Mini quilt these wee houses are 3 1/2 inches finished?  New Quilt 2

Centre of  Esther Aliu free BOM Queens Garden  for 2018

Queens Garden New quilt 3

My last QAYG hankie Block so happy to have these all finished They are made from beautiful fine delicate hankies from around 19 50 to 1960 many were my mums.  Grandmothers flower garden blocks are repro-prints from 1930’s .

Finished UFO 4

Centre for Morning Glory one of Esther Aliu BOMS for 2018 I adored this quilt centre the first time I saw it.

Finished centre I worked Bordier-Perse for my flowers instead of building the flowers by applqiue.  I love this as it is and will quilt it as a wall art.  Finsihed New Quilt 4

Unpicking and redoing a great many of these churn-dash UFO’s of around 15 years!!!!!   after removing all the blocks that had any dark  patches with the churndash shapes and only using the cream patches and I can see the secondary pattern so easy?   I unpicked all those blocks that I had used a dark fabric>

Another finished UFO  5

Ive all ways wanted to make a Red and Green quilt,  my friend Nancy Paris showed me a quilt top she had made and I loved it, this was the start of my Red and Green quilt this year, all the stems and leaves are machine appliqued down but I’m making my circles and hand aplqiueing them and padding them also.

Of course I had to change the pattern or it would not be me LOL  I changed the shape of the leaves and added more leaves on the joins of the blocks so my secondary patten shows those leaves forming circles?   Not finished by a long way as I have a huge border to add yet, so we wont call this a finish LOL

I made a Florence Peto My Calico Garden years ago in bright colours and the blocks 6 1/2 inches square, and have always wanted to make it again in the more traditional colours she made them in the 1950’s

and her she is??? in 4 1/2 inch blocks and more traditional colours Finished new Quilt number 5

Esther Aliu released a bonus design Juliette this year and I just had to make it, from the first stitch I could not stop sewing this beautiful design.

Beautiful beautiful Juliette. Finished new quilt Number 6

A mini Round Robyn made about 12 years ago by myself and 6 other quilters?  I did not want it to make it in to a pillow and be chewed by dogs or have dirt feet propped up on it LOL  SO it stayed in draws since it came back to me.   3 weeks ago I came across it again and deiced there and then it was going to become a bed quilt!!!!  See below a all most finsihed bed quilt top,  If I finish it this week I will update this photo.   Finished UFO quilt 6

Finished quilt top, I just have to sew on the black and it’s ready to be sandwiched for quilting. I need to take a photo in the day time to show the true colours.?

Spring has come which means lots of flowering orchids in the  garden.

Miniature cymbidium orchid

Sitting at my machine this morning just before 7am it was so beautiful I had the louvers wide open and it felt like I was sitting outside Spring is here.

Sewing Down red circles with double blanket stitch Ive done 7 today in between other things.

Appliqueing down circles on my Mini RR this morning.

During the last week Appliqueing Down leaves by machine .

During the week cut out irononfussing circles and placed them to see if I should use them ?

During the week all  leaves appliquéd plus yellow circles, red circles iron down waiting to be appliquéd.

Starting my first circle at 7am before I did any thing to day I wanted to make sure at least one circle was appilqued down today LOL.

Love this double blanket stitch for Appliqueing small pieces.  It’s one stitch at the time on these small circles but far far faster than hand appliqué and my hands don’t get sore any more?  BUT I do miss not been able to hand appliqué  for hrs?

UPDATE :- Wednesday night Australian time . I Have been working on the Centre this afternoon and tonight, finished appliqueing all the leaves and circles down, added the deep purple flange, then the grey border, then  two sides of the deep pink flange and have pined the other two sides of the pink flange but to tired to sew them on its 10.30pm in Australia so stopping sewing now. I’ve just placed the light olive green fabric around the centre, with luck it will be added tomorrow. 

Sun creeping in to part of the garden around 7am this morning.

Beautiful roots of a raintree

Last night I nearly stood on a snake in the gape between the car and white post, my closest in-counter with a snake and hope it’s the last! They are on the move this time of the year to mate after winter.

New path marinading through the garden

Went walking in the garden to take more photos, I was sitting here but my reception dropped out.

Stunning colour?

Looks like a wee pond but it is the centre of a bromeliad flower we have just had some rain!

Another completely different kind of Brom!

Hubby spoilt me last week with a bunch of red roses and Lillie’s, the Lillie’s perfume is penetrating the house and all through the garden, I have them on the front veranda as the perfume is to strong if I have the flowers inside.

One of my 2018 challenge UFO’s I want to work on!!!!

I started making this a few years ago but my applqiue stitch on my 830 Bernina was not so successful and i was dissapointed so stopped working on it.  see how shaggy the edges are?

Now going over those edges with my double blanket stitch on my Janome and what a lovely finish it gives? so I will have to trim ALL the edges and reapplique them down?  But it will be worth it.

Id only done a few petals on the cones so have just competed doing them on the Janome. Now need to do the petals.

Completed the outer black border today now on to the narrow black border, then centre circle hope I don’t run out of black thread

Have been machine appliqueing leaves down this after-noon so
I can start adding hand applique grapes, Ive also been sitting watch a TV series while hand turning those grapes. I love sitting doing hand applique in the evenings

Pressing this little Round Robyn 20inchs square which I made  with 5 other quilter by mail, I love it, going to add to it, started by pressing it today and thinking about my first border around it?  In purple tones of courseLOL

Update 11.30 pm Been playing with fabric and ideas tonight?  Nothing sewn yet just playing at this stage?

Redwork blocks from 2007???

I made this one and added the year so know that these blocks are 11 years old!!!

Also made some blue ones around the same time.,  I used the other blue ones 2 years again a quilt for a darling little girl in Holland.  These blocks are designed by Bronywn Hayes Red Brolly designs an Australian designer about 10 years ago or more!!!!

Another mail swap around 12 years ago love the soft pastel colurs every one used, one lady couldn’t make hers so I will need to make it one day!

Need to unpick the bottom dark aqua silk blade as it has black grease on? Have no idea how that happened?

My first try at making Florence Peto’s My Calico Garden about 12 years ago in very bright colours??? I then wanted to add a different border too? 11 flower blocks on the left 2 panels were done by other quilters mail swap blocks . These blocks were 6inchs not 4 1/2 inches finished .

Borders I have made but still not added?? Ive lost the lilac fabric so still thinking about what to do? Have several idea’s just need time to do them!!!! It is now 9.15pm and I just found the lilac fabric now when looking for some purple fabric???  After about 4 years looking for it, it was folded in side another fabric!  7 mins later in another draw found two mauve strips cut for this quilt??? This quilt really wants to be finished finally?

My second Calico Garden I finished two weeks ago! Much more like the original but twice as big.

The basket blocks are from two mail block swaps over 12 years ago, loved how this turned out but had to add the big flowers to some of the basketsLOL  Then around the outer border so it kept growing?  There is a leaf border to add to finish it off again just need to find time to finish it?????

All my applqiue was hand done then.

Loved making these flowers with lots of different coloured DMC threads

I usually used 3 threads of DMC embroidery threads

Close up of one of the flowers!

Used French knots in one of the centre circle, its so relaxing doing this kind of free embroidery.

This fabric was a coushion

Fabric washed and pressed ready to use, I just love this panel, I was thinking of border perse whenI bought it but now will keep it for the centre of a quilt as it’s to beautiful to cut up?

My Calico Garden is finished and put away till I can find time to sandwich it?????

I discovered that all the quilting pins over 1 30 of them have rusted!!!!!

Each time I have to pin like this before machine quilting these tiny pieces down 2inchs long and stat at 1/4 of an inch wide? 

First I draw my design free hand difficult to photography 

Then just sashiko along those lines or change them if it does not feel right?

Love how you can just let the needle go where it wants too?

A mini Round Robyn made about 12 years ago? around 20inchs square?  I love it need to build a quilt top around it?

A challenge was to make a wedding quilt We had to use the colour  we least liked using mine was brown?

Close up of one of the hearts? I did love making up these wee heart designs.

I had no books I just made these hearts up as I went.

I also did not know how to do embroidery so learnt as I went?

most of my hearts just grew?

many of the stitches were from my memories of my mum doing beautiful beautiful embroidery when I was a tiny child.  I just kept making up stitches.

Back of my log cabin

Finally finished and on its way, I will miss this one as I love the colours but it’s going to some one special in my life.

Where I was up to last week

My smallest circles, when I made this flower block I thought there’s no way I can sew those little circles so d3cided not to use it and put it in the to difficult draw LOL after machine appliqueing 40 little flower blocks I decided to give it ago?  And it was a success so I have sure improved my sewing machine skills doing My Calico Garden!!!

You can see how small they are, you can see there are 8 wee circles in the top 1 inch square still can not believe I did them LOL.

I appliqued 22 wee blocks this week and sewed and sewed short seams, so many that I had enough tiny 1 1/2 inch squares to make

6 more Healing Hearts and 2 little squares waiting to be made in to hearts?

My Bargello quilt that has the rusty pins in it, these are guaranteed none rust pins???

I was hand sashiko quilting the top right hand corner at around 1 pm to have some quiet time and moved a pin to draw a circle and to my horror it was rusty, removed a few more and they were all rusty to, some really rust some just starting, so far have with a lot of care been able to remove them with out ripping the fabric?

BElive it or not I started making these Bargello strips over 30 years ago but did not know the first thing about making a quilt and after sewing tiny strips for a week ended up with a quilt top shaped like a little???  It stayed like that for 25 years till I started to unpick it but it still was way out of shape so then I cut these two odd shapes in to two even shapes add3d some black and now I have something that looks like it might pass as a quilt LOL.

That’s a tiny cross stitch Waratah Australian flower in the centre of this Healing Heart.  I did it at least 15 or 20 years ago, keep some thing long enough and you find a place or use for it LOL.

Now we have a pink heart to?

These are some of my Healing Hearts so glad I don’t need them my self?

Where I was up to last week on sewing all these wee blocks together?

Added another row last week

Completed two more rows up to last night these meant the 3 longest strip are done so I’m over 1/2 way!

To day I’m working towards the far corner so getting close to finishing!

Some of these are so cute and adorable

Having so much fun making and appliqueing these wee blocks

To give you an idea how small those wee circles are.

Another much more dainty orchid

Sun about to set?

This is a palm flower looks more like some thing from space

Stunning orchid out side in full bloom

We have been having very  cold but beautiful sunrises the last week .

A beautiful 100% wool old afgan Im repairing, those squares are only 2 1/2 inches square!!!!  and in fine 2 ply wool?????

I’m appliqueing the wee flowers as I get to the next strip, so to start I just had to applique 2 wee blocks all by machine to join the first 6 rows starting from this corner.

I’m sewing the strips in to pairs then in to 4s then will join this on to my corner piece?

Slowly she grows

Playing with 1 1/2 inch squares

And I made a tiny quilt top?

Which became a heart?

Then I wanted a card!  I can not find cards to go with these Healing Hearts that I feel is right so decided to make my own out of fabric?  So I pulled a lovely piece of fabric and started playing as I’d decided to make a border perse card? I cut out a flower, then a bud and finally a butterfly and fussed on some irononfussing, I cut out my shapes I’d choosen and placed them on the cardboard and ironed it all down? it worked like a treat .

I added two antenna’s and some wee legs with a fine marker pen. So now I ended up with a hand made fabric card and a Healing Heart? They are now ready to be posted tomorrow.  Im just so glad I don’t need these healing Hearts myself.

Here is a card I made earlier in the week to go out with a Healing Heart, I cut this heart out of fabric and stitched it down with my sewing machine worked like a treat.

When I first saw this I thought it was a painting???

TThen when I picked it up and realised it was long and short stitch I was amazed at the craftmenship.

IT is increadiablel to think this has all been done by hand and some how ended up in a second had shop?

TThese threads are no thicker than the threads

Jjust look at those rocks????  Every  time I look at this piece of art I’m spellbound by the work that went in to making it. it is roughly 18inchs by 13 inches.

I have two borders like this one waiting to applique down all the leaves “so I can finish my scrappy churndash?

I Just need to finish these 9 patches and my Centre for Calico Garden is finished prepping too.

A Healing Heart will be on its way tomorrow?

Start of My Calico Garden last Wednesday?

So quickly she grows?

I love how the colurs are just working and it’s all been random?

I think this is the fastest quilt top I’ve made, nothing seemed to go wrong, I’ve not even broken  a needle? plus today I solved how I could add those wee 2 inch coloured squares all around the border with no difficulty?  I will make up 4 1/2 inch blocks using a 2inch coloured square and the rest just calico attach those as the last patches then trim this square to a straight edge, will show photos when I make and add them?

This is Florence Peto’s quilt design I’m working on now.  The pattern is in the book Enduring Grace

I was feeling rather smug as I thought I’d completed all the 9 patches I would need, but to make my border I need another 38 or 40 LOL.

Wrapping left over bias around a swimming noddle

Then rolling an old part of a stocking over them to keep them in place, plus it keeps them clean.

EEvery inch of the canvas backing is covered in needle punch chain stitch???  100s of hrs of punching to do this?  Below are photo as I zoom 8n for you to see this beautiful piece?

NNot the tiniest piece of background fabric showing it is so tightly woven in?

THey have only used Black, sage green, blue grey, and silver threads but it is Oh so beautiful now? What a lesson  in patience.

Sun just coming over the top of the range tipping the trees with its warmth!  I was up early this morning.

Our pool looks very inviting but it’s far to cold for me to go in yet its winter here for us?

Our local tourist train stopped in front of our home two days ago for quiet some times, a tree must of come down on the track .

Hubby Brough me home some Lillie’s on Friday and they have all just burst open, it’s so lovely to have some bright colours to look at.

Pulled my wee singer out to do those 9 patches as my other two machines are busy LOL Notice where my treadle is?  Cord was not long enough to reach floor so I used my right hand to operate it while I stood and sewed those 9 patches again I was in to much of a hurry to clear a table space to sit down and sew, in fact it was easier standing as I could turn easy to press which I do constantly when sewing patches.

Ripping up Calico to soak so I can iron it dry for my little applique squares in Calico Garden by Florence Petro. Calico is some times called homespun?  It is a very cheap cotton but strong washes well and last for ever.  Was used a lot when candle-whicking was in fashion about 20 years ago.

This calico has all ready been machine washed so has shrunk and all the dressing is out of it. I have a 2 managable piece here around a metre square covered in hot water for 20 mins, it takes at least 20 mins for all the fibres to be soaked to forget their memory so I can then iron them flat and have NO wrinkles

Last night I ironed and cut tiny squares till I could not see the lines on my ruler any more LOL. This morning I have been moving wee squares around having fun, I call it playing!

Made up more patches today and now happily sewing them into 9 patches see ones on the left some are sewn together 

Have pinned on a flange now about to sew it on.

Update:- That yellow  flange was sewn on to this quilt top. Below photo is one of the borders of this quilt top?

Appliqueing a leaf every now and then I stop and sew one. Even one they grow this way?

Pinning on more grapes so I can hand applique tonight it is one of the centre blocks for my Red And Green quilt top see below.

Red and Green

Just cut out 20 more lovely smooth Calico 5inch squares! These will all have little naive applqiue flowers on them.

Calico rolled in towel waiting to be ironed dry

Calico been ironed dry after towel drying only, if it is ironed dry throughly it will feel like linen and does not crease easily

Calico been cut up into 5inch squares I have cut out 50 or more this morning, a piece of fabric still soaking will give me 30 more, when cutting out several layers of fabric when you get to the last cut and you only have a few inches under the ruler for that last cut slide some cut pieces under the ruler  see in photo, before doing that last cut, this will stop your ruler from sliding or moving.

Leaf borders rolled to store while they wait to have the leaves machine appliqued

Early this morning the dawn was so lovely I sat out side in the cold and watched it break

In the sewing department I’ve been lucky to have another table added to the two I’ve had for some time, these 3 together will take a queen size quilt no problem to sandwich, I’m very happy.

I thought I’d completed appliqueing Down two borders and was going to add them to the top but I still have 1/2 the gold leaves to do on one row!!!  Good thing in the end as I’ve decided to add a 1/4 inch yellow flange between the blocks and the leaf border, see left bottom hand corner ?  Makes a huge difference.

I’m getting closer to 1/2 way with appliqueing my leaves down !

Cut out the yellow flange this avo and have added it to 3 sides what a difference it makes,  it’s amazing how such a small strip of colour can change the whole?  

Florence Petro’s Calico Garden quilt top design, I made it up years ago but in bright 9 patches, I’ve all ways wanted to remake it using scrappy 2inch blocks and this morning I’ve been playing with 2inch squares???

Colours I’m looking at using?

Some of the wee blocks I’ve made of Florence’s wee design blocks

Now that I do so much applique on the machine I do miss the quiet relaxing time of hand applique. So have decided to keep the last few hrs before I go to bed just to do hand work in.  I sat and appliqued  a bunch of grapes on last night it was so much more relaxing and peaceful.

I’ve had this waterlilly for around 10 years now and she throws me one flower every day 365 days of the year!

Love my ball water feature she just keeps on gurgling 24 24?

Just repotted Jon’s Mother’s Day plant and she has doubled in size?

Hopefully this is the last fall of leaves

Rod cleaned the  driveway yesterday? Hopefully this is the last of the falls of leaves for a few months

Hubby brought home a bunch of Lillie’s for me on Monday I was spoilt.

First Lilly trying to come out, think it is to cold inside so have put them on the side veranda . Notice the tiny wee moth nestled there, it’s about 1/2 an inch long and Snow White with a red head?

This glorious Brom has looked like this for around 7 years now.

A peaceful spot

Quiet retreat spot

Still to cold to swim but a lovely spot to sit beside and read.

Juliette to be? 

I’ve managed to machine appliquedown all the vines for my leaves and have all most 1/8th of the leaves done, they are working out to be much easier to do than I thought they were going to be?

using two different threads on the top, one dull gold for the taupe colurs and a olive green for the brighter greens. It seems to be working ?

I’m happy how quickly these borders are growing. All vines and centre flowers are appliqued down now.

Starting to join my strips on my scrappy churndash quilt top to be!

Where I stopped last night, I still have two seams to do, but I was to tired to pin any more, so made up another leaf border and placed 3 of them around the centre to see how it was looking, these borders still need to be machine appliqued down.  My table is not big enough to show the top border? It would hang over the end! But you get the idea of what it will look like, I’m so happy to see those strips almost all sewn.

This is how I work with the long stip of the border, it helps to stop the other leaves from lifting while I applique these ones down

I will have to decide on the last border when I have sewn all these pieces together and appliqued every thing down, months of sewing here for me?

Where I was at last week? My Juliette quilt to be? designed by Esther Aliu you can find her pattern on her online shop.  Nothing is ironed down or sewn yet?  I need my table for another quilt top I’m working on so I’ve packed up Juliette see below.

Back of a hexagon of Juliette, Ready for the interfacing.

Interfacing cut 1/4 of an inch smaller than hexagon so there’s not so much bulk on the seams.

I lightly crease my fabric on the centre lines to place my first 4petals and circles.

All placed ready to be ironed down

These are all the pieces to make up my Juliette. All hexagons and 1/2 hexagons appliqué pierces are  ironed down, now to find time to machine appliqué them down? There are 4 hexagons and 8 1/2 hexagons.

Ready to be stored till I can sit and machine appliqué all the applique down on Juliette

Have added a wee water feature to the right of where I sit so it’s lovely hearing the water bubbling away.

On my left is a tiny waterlilly pond with lots of tiny fish?

We have taken the railing down on the front patio, added a step below it and I’ve thrown a couple of cushions down and it’s such a lovely place to sit in the winter avo sun?  We have wide verandas around 3 sides of the house so we can find a cool spot during the hot hot summers.

Finally my tree that was almost wiped out has sprung back to life and is covered with new soft growth?

I’ve turned my Clay pots in to a hanging feature rather than plant holders after fighting the wild turkeys off for months.  They dig up all plants in seconds?

I’m going to have to redesign my borders as I want to use my floral white cherry blossom material but it has been cut into 7inch squares so I have to work around them?

Thank you Esther for such a beautiful Gift.

I’m buried in the clouds

After 10am and the Tourist train just went past not a very nice day for them to visit our village.

All 9 panels are rolled up waiting for me to spread them out on my work table and sew them together today.

A Bluebird I’m making for my QG. I need to embroider his eye! I’m putting two of them in my border.

This week I’ve been Working on the last two borders and finally finished them now have just to add the green to them and attach them to my quilt and it’s finished!  Hopefully this week now I’m back home a lot of time is spent in the garden this time of the year.

My Queens Garden nearly finished I can show you now that Esther has shown it to you all.  I have love love loved making this quilt.  Thank you Esther.

A lovely gift I was given yesterday.

I recently bought this jumper from our Op Shop I help in, I bought it as it was like a patchwork jumper, washed it and soaked it in softener and it has come up soooo soft and cuddly it has been hand knitted.  It’s perfect for our chilly mornings as it’s all most long enough for a dress LOL.

This wAs a good size Boganville plant??? These Ive pushed back in to the soil and hopefully they might grow.

ENough to make you very sad and frustrated. 

this was thick with old English mint ready for picking???

Drive way overgrown with a native fern that’s like a weed and after it flowers dies and leaves a awful black area, has to be pulled all the time once it’s in the garden it’s like a nasty weed.

leaves a dead looking spot like this with nasty spikes.

just cleaned this part of the drive way of those ferns. I can see my Buddha now back view.

front view.

all the Broms I planted out on the road frontage are growing well and are happy, we have had a very wet dry season LOL So the plants are growing like weeds.

im happy with what Hubby has achieved with removing the over grown palms and let the light in to our frontage again.

Some lovely colour in the front garden

A Real beauty. It’s a good 7inchs across.

It’s a beautiful morning and I have been out here since dawn when it was 17c now at 8.30am it is 23C.  Update 3.30pm and it is 29C!

Border of Secret Garden

This is where I was last week with my scrappy UFO first two rows on the left joined in to strips. And I’m unpicking 8 blocks which had the fabric back to front?

Back of fabric is as lovely as the front it is a woven pattern not a print so may be I was trying to use the back too as a contrast???  But it did NOT work LOL.  Now I can see why with the blocks all coming together and can see the pattern clearly.

Slowly she grows !!

I have so enjoyed making up these wee 6 1/2 inch blocks all due to my Bernina p1/4 inch foot with the guide attached I’m able to sew a straight seam!!!

As it is this morning I’m working on the right hand end row the missing blocks are been joined at my sewing machine.

My scrappy blocks waiting for me to finish writing my blog LOL.

Up date 4pm Today Wednesday finally finished the last two panels.  Not sorry to see them completed I was all most machined out sewing them all.  

My 1930’s Glorified 9patch blocks have all been unpicked bar 3 blocks, some are waiting to be pressed for recutting some are ready for resewing, May be tomorrow I will start sewing them back together.  I managed to pick up 3 pieces of fabric at our local sale at 40% off  to cut out melons to join these blocks.  I wanted to use fabric from my stash but my lights are very limited.

Piles of different stages of my 1930’s Glorified 9patch blocks . From the right hand side last 3 blocks to be unpicked, next 8 blocks ready to be pressed to recut??? Ones upside down sewn back together but waiting to be pressed, pile on the left finished waiting for the mellons to be added and blocks joined in rows. Back row left start of blocks that have melons added right of them melons cut  then some left over pieces plus one block that is 1inch cut too small he will not make it to the front of this quilt top, may be will be a label at the back?

I went shopping just for a new blade!!!  But they had 40% of all fabric shop wide???  I did want some new fabrics but at $27.00 a metre here in OZ you think twice before spending well I do.  I came home with a empty purse LOL.  Black I bought  5 metres of as I’m all ways running out of black?  The other 5 metres I will use constantly.  Fat 1/4s I’m using now and right in the middle is the cutting blade and thread I went forLOL.

These I bought to finish making my little scrappy quilt blocks and they are now all cut up and little churndash blocks.

these I bought because they were $75% off and with some beautiful fabrics that Nancy gifted me will make a beautiful appliqué quilt.  At $90.00 a box they would not have come home with me but 75% off who could not buy them LOL.

They look like wee mice????

or may be wee squirrels????

Then these fellows flew in as a wee flock to the same day??? black birds are called Drongos and the one pal yellow one at the bottom is a Figtree bird.

This is called a dragon fruit and is the flower on a very large cactus and is deliciouses to eat.

King heliconia palm

they normally grow facing North and South????

It has these giant flowers and if one fell on you it would most likely kill you they are so heavy!

She comes in each day to, and is so pretty.

He is constantly watching for some thing to move.

this is a young kookaburra

Then just after lunch there he was on my veranda?

My view while sewing

House is up high so I can look out above the housesThis morning I machine appliqueing one of my borders for Queens Garden

How lucky I am.

Back of volcanoe which looks like a mountain LOL

Pieces of fabric I’ve had to cut off on just one block to make it lye flat? You can see why it was flutting  LOL. I have the first two rows almost done?

Glad to see progress on these wee blocks as the fabrics are so sweet.

12 blocks unpicked, ironed recut ready to be sewn back into blocks?

Spread these out on a double bed to see what I had? Now why did I reverse some of the fabric on some off these blocks???? You can see 4 in the first two rows as they are dark brown compared to the beige that is the front of the fabric in all the other blocks??  There are 8 blocks were the fabric is back to front and I will have to unpick and resew  them?

Last night I cut and sewed cut and sewed after removing all the blocks that had any dark natal patches !!! Now only using the cream patches and I can see the secondary pattern form now?

Only some of these wee blocks are complete most need the spacers sewn on. But it now is starting to look like a quilt top t9 be?

Taken in day light this morning! Colurs are truer.

This shows you the beige silk kimono fabric that is making up the 9patches!

This is the repeat pattern on the fabric which is woven at only 14inchs wide. its 4 wee houses amongst the trees.

Stunning creeper that loves the high temps and dry

GLoriouse  colour

close up.

these love the hot and dry.

my DDIL planted these tomatoes plants out just before she left 1 1/2 weeks ago and the were so big they had fallen down so I have staked them and started to prune and tie them.

Stunning colour.

love the green and yellow.

TTiny pink berries hiding from the birds. Y

my cactus is slowly opening, I will miss seeing it bloom while down in the city.

OUr beetles are coming back, they are so colourful and interesting

My favourit cactus, such a lovely colour.

new leaf on my Mother’s Day present, took this Monday evening Tuesday morning it had more than double in size!!,

This adorable cuddly Teddy was a gift he  is made up of 40 different pieces of soft fabric a real patchwork Teddy and I love him.

PLacing  the hearts is fun.  Making a Healing Heart is much quicker than buying a card and I think means more. You add a little of your self to it.

Sending a applique Healing Heart is much nice I think than just a get well card.

A Healing Heart will be on its way tomorrow?

Over 1/2 way? on making up these 1930’s 1/4 circle blocks, Ive had to remake most of these 1/4 circles to get them the right size. Have made them by hand.

Almost finished. Have since learnt this design was also called dinner plates and napkins I can see why now seeing the blocks laid out.  I’m using fabric from around 2010 for the bow tie shapes

Now on my work tables to sew all these wee blocks together.

Joining the blocks by machine , in rows then two rows then two rows to make 4 rows.

only the top two rows to sew together. love how it is growing.

I knew I had this fabric some where and a red from the same time around late 1950’s was in my  aunty’s fabrics, Im sure she bought it to make a dress but I saw a table cloth but never made it up, glad I didn’t now LOL

Added a red flan 1/2 an inch first then the yellow and now going to add the 1 1/2 inch red strip. next I have to find time to sandwich it??????

A stunning saffron and dove grey both are very beautiful

border on the saffron

close up! there is a metre of this heavy embossed fabric.

Same with the dove grey

Saffron also has machine embroidery around the bottom.

While looking for the yellow and red fabric I used above I came across two boxes with more 1930 blocks?????

Ive since found that it is called some times Glorified 9 patch or improved 9 patch, I think it must have a few different names.  these wee blocks need to be joined with a good contrast not the same florals as the designs is lost with out a good contrast.  will see if I have a reproduction fabric that will be OK .

That centre is a 1 inch plus volcano sticking up!!!!  the quilter ran a thread around those points and pulled the thread in and then has tried to get it to lye flat. it wont of course so unpicking all these blocks  and will remake them.

that red is made of wool fabric!!!!!  I will not put it make when I remake these blocks the colour and and fabric does not belong here?

Some nasty staining on some of the fabric, but love how they have patched the blue fabric to make another square for the 9 patch?????  I will leave this piece in as it shows how thrifty they had to be in the 1930’s and 40’s.

showing some of the wee blocks and the colours. these glorified 9 patches all have good contrast

Jhhbb

Jjnnb

wee piles of unpicked squares that are all different sizes!!!!!

interesting patterns love the orange with the girls roller skating LOL

My pink cactus is just starting to flower

Roadfrontage is all most finished now just need to plant out some more Broms and a little more cleaning up.

MY herbs have doubled in size with the rain over the las5 3 days, at least some thing likes the rain?

White cactus is just starting to flower also.  Not so many flowers this year sadly.

IGreen green green every where, just on dusk and it’s just stopped raining too.