BASTED! and other positive thoughts.....?

Sometime's I wonder why I put myself through all this!

Funnily enough I didn't mind staying up a few nights in a row, happily applique-ing until 2am and by 6am I was awake and ready to go again. This just proves how addictive quilting is, you know you're being a glutton for punishment...and yet your hands keep on creating.....but you cant wait to smile that satisfied smile of seeing your quilt FINALLY FINISHED! ...so you keep on at it.....

At least basting indicates that youre that little bit closer to holding your finished masterpiece....

Yesterday was basting day, and after a few glitches and a few hours unpicking and re -stitching, I'm finally basted!

I've learnt a few valuable lessons (just when I dont have time!)...

Never use batting you've never tried before!
Inspect the batting before using - for some reason, mine wouldnt straighten out after light creasing and those stubborn folds wouldnt go away!

When in doubt, do not stitch any further - just stop. There's no point hoping it's going to be ok, if you've noticed something askew, it probably is.

Well all these things happened to me...but the good news is, I'm over them and they're now righted, phew, its over. When you come across what seems to be an insurmountable glitch....go and clean the house, you'll find your enthusiasm for quilting renewed in no time at all!

Unfortunately, all this means that I missed one of my favourite groups today...so sorry to you all, I missed you as I was stitching away. Looking forward to catching up next week. When this quilt is finished I will bring it along to show before it makes its journey to Sydney,

now its back to the sewing machine.....

Just a Short Break!

So many leaves....so little time. Just taking a short break, will update early next week and will (hopefully) have some serious progress! Basting starts MONDAY!

What am I doing??

Ok, it's no secret that I adore stencilling. What's not to like? You get to use all your skills and end up with something entirely original. And although its mostly forgotten nowadays, stencilling is very traditional too, so its a great technique all round.

So why is my latest quilt needle turn applique??

Well, I bought a roll of Floriani on some good advice from a friend. Its the new way to do things apparently, and trusting her advice (afterall she is an award winning quilter and I love her work) I decided to launch in. I wanted to challenge myself ( I may be regretting this already) in finishing an original applique quilt in the time it would take me to complete a stencil quilt. I can state already that that was wishful thinking! Now I'm trying to create edges as crisp as stencilling.....and points as sharp as stencilling....well I'm getting there, but its definitley a lot of hard work.....and I'm really missing my paintbrush!

My brain has already decided that my next quilt will be a full fledged return to stencilling. Oh those vases are just to die for! (as are the peonies I'm envisioning....)

Better go now and do some hard hours....

Full Speed Ahead!

4 days to to needle turn applique 360 leaves. My entire house is looking like an extension of my sewing studio...and yesterday I gave up cooking, cleaning and shopping until I'm on my way to Sydney!

Decisions ..decisions... still deciding on the centre circle design....

tomorrow is another day.....

Quilting in Geelong

What a perfect day for a quilt gathering! Saturday was grey and rainy as four of us drove in to Geelong together....to Vic Quilter's Autumn Gathering. As we arrived, there was a coffee van cleverly parked right in front of the entrance so we were all able to enjoy a real coffee before going in...in fact we were so keen to get inside and start mingling that we left the lights on in the car. When it was time to go home, the battery was flat. So like all good quilters, we happily sat and stitched while we waited for the RACV to arrive and give us a jump start. Who cares about car trouble when you have quilting friend's for company? Thank you Judith, Grace and Liz for a lovely day....

Yum...Inspiration Strikes !

Well, who needs an excuse? The cake was delicious....it's just a beautiful coincidence that my Mother's Day cake looks awfully familiar..... maybe all this quilting is rubbing off on my family.....

Full Speed Ahead!

After my third attempt, I'm finally happy with my centre...well almost.... I'm still deciding about the middle. Oh well, this quilt has a mind of its own. After a careful selection of fabric and my first draw up of what I envisioned....it just didnt work - so on I went, changing fabrics and one by one discarding all my lovely newly bought fabric and raiding my stash. Yes, all the fabrics I actually needed were already on my shelf. Nevermind the weeks of colour matching specific hues of gold, black and marble and beige....they will just have to wait for their turn....and another quilt design.

I wonder of every quilter goes through this moment, where you design something specific in mind, and it just takes on a life of its own?!

I have 280 leaves left to needleturn applique this week, so I am hoping the changes are finally done! As well as running out of time, I'm posting my progress to keep this quilt on track....