'Australis' by Valerie Giles

Talk about swooning! I'm all in a flutter over how Valerie Giles has created her very own 'Australis'. Not only is Valerie's the first to be made, but she's gone ahead and improved the pattern with a background that simply inspires. Look at the details in her leaves. I just love the dappled nature of her background selection and frankly couldn't have done it better myself. I should mention too that my pattern 'Australis' is for the creation of the bird. This incredible background is all down to Valerie's own flair and style, I had nothing to do with it! So far this image is of the project sewn together, ready to be layered and quilted. I can't wait to see the 'final' result as this wall hanging is already perfect in my eyes!

It makes my day when quilters as talented as Valerie make my patterns and I'm doubly lucky when they share their work over in my Group. It's truly an inspiration to us all and a huge motivation for anyone looking on and learning. 

'Australis' is one of two bonus projects I'm releasing to paid members of my BOM 2018 program. It's an art quilt project and I know many members were pleasantly surprised when it was released because it is so different to the usual 'bonus' offerings. I love trying new things and experimenting with techniques, so to see Valerie create the pattern and then take it one step further with a stunning background is just my jam. I'm over the moon, can you tell?

Thank you for allowing me to share your work with readers beyond our Group,Valerie.

Morning Glory: Making Part 9

Yes, we really are up to Part 9 and isn't this quilt coming together beautifully?! We're well on the home stretch now and the finished top is very nearly in sight. This month it's time to create the setting triangle blocks according to the quilt layout in your pattern. You'll make all 4 sides and add in the applique petal pieces put aside earlier. When you sew in the triangles, take care not to stretch the fabric which is tempting to do as it's on the bias and will give easily.

These previously set aside blocks come alive when they're set in with the triangles, I am really loving the dark blue background of my own colour scheme. Usually by this stage of construction I think about what other fabrics I could have used, but this range has been gorgeous from the get go. And, somehow, it keeps growing on me. It was love at first sight and I still love it now. This is a new fabric experience for me!

And now I'm stitching the left and right sides of each of the four sides. I can't wait to move past this step. This quilt top is quickly nearing completion and I can hardly believe it..

BOM 2018, My Biggest Year Ever! 

Morning Glory is my current paid BOM. It's an applique and pieced quilt. 

You can start this BOM today! 

Simply click the quilt image to learn more.

To see some of the breathtaking examples that are taking shape, simply visit my Free BOM Group on Facebook where progress images are being shown all the time. It's a massive inspiration and I warn you, it's addictive!

WOW: Running Out Of Walls!

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

I love Wednesdays because I have the whole day set aside just to work on WIPs and make some progress on those designs I know I want to see finished... err, in my lifetime. I used to have a 'schedule' but I'm over that now. I find I get so much more done when I work on what I feel like doing rather than what I should be doing, so although I don't have any finishes to show for my Wednesdays yet, I am plodding along nicely across several projects.

Today I'm working on some new designs I'm keeping under wraps, so I thought I would show you to view from my sewing room. Above is my design wall with Morning Glory blocks sitting around patiently waiting for me. Outside my room, I have started spreading to the corridor walls as I'm out of space for hanging up my designs. My family can't understand why I need to keep spreading my creativity through the house like this, but little do they know, I haven't even started! Today I intend to take over the whole dining room table with my Brother Scan n Cut machine... I don't need another sewing studio, I need a whole other house!

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

WOW: Making Clamshells for Shelly!

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

I've fallen into a nice new routine. Each Tuesday I take a Tai Chi class and afterwards I drive to a fabric store right around the corner. I first popped in to find a button one week, but then I started making it a somewhat regular thing to browse the new fabric arrivals and now I find myself in there every single Tuesday without fail. Then, once I've made my purchase, I pop into a cafe across the road for a post fabric coffee. Suffice to say, I love Tuesdays.
My only 'rule' is that I'm only allowed to buy fabric for an active WIP project. As I dedicate each Wednesday to WIPs, this is actually working really well. Yesterday I went in looking for fabrics to finish my Shelly quilt top. I really love my Shelly quilt and am making my own up in a colour scheme very similar to the one below. This was my first colour arrangement and it has just 'stuck' with me. I have used up all the black and white prints from my stash, so I am actively collecting minimum cuts of black and white print fabrics as and when I see them. Yesterday I picked up 12 new prints and I think I might nearly have enough now.

So today I am making clamshells. So easy, so satisfying and the best bit is, I'll end up with this gorgeous quilt for my efforts. It's going to be a fabulous day!

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

Book of the Week: Cat Lady Embroidery

I'm making plans to get back into the practice of regular hand embroidery in 2019. It's something I've neglected for over 20 years and I'm itching to enjoy the satisfaction of slow 'thread painting' in the winter months. As part of my preparation plans, I'm thinking about what skills I want to focus in on for the years ahead. And in my world, this means more books.

I know, I know, I just spent 5 years clearing out over 400 titles from my huge collection. And I must say, those books I parted with served me very well. But each had served it's time. It wasn't required anymore for I already knew everything in it or had exceeded what it offered. In a very real sense, I outgrew most of my craft and DIY books. And that's a good thing. So now I'm re-gathering my creative interests to move into areas as yet uncharted. And again, this means more books. Books that challenge me, inspire me and take me somewhere new.

So as I shop my new library, I'll be sharing what I've chosen in case you're looking for a new adventure too.

My first new book is this Cat Lady Embroidery. How gorgeous are these feline faces? I think I'm going to have to make ALL of them! It seems a good ease back into hand stitching and lots of fun too. These will be super cute badges that I'm already planning to turn into magnets for my fridge. And why not?

Now, for some thread shopping..

'Secret Garden' by Rohini Pellizzon

What a riot of colour! This applique masterpiece is made by Rohini Pellizzon and the details are mesmerizing! From the yellow roses to the romantic red blooms hiding a ginger cat, every inch of this quilt is superb and the eye dances around these colour combinations in total joy. 

I love it!  The punchy pink takes this design to another level and it's a pleasure to just sit back and drink it all in. I love the magenta and blue used to anchor the bright yellow roses and balance the violet hued blooms. What a stunner.

I wasn't as happy with my own Secret Garden quilt top as I should have been, mainly because I picked a dull green background which I now regret. So for me to see other Secret Garden quilts is a real motivation to get mine 'fixed'. With my own quilt, I'm going to have to quilt it with bright white thread to 'lift' the background colour, but for now, I'll just enjoy all the drop stitch gorgeous Secret Garden's that come my way. 

If you'd like to read more about Secret Garden, you can check out the Secret Garden post archive right here on this blog by clicking the image below.

'Secret Garden' 

Read more about this quilt by clicking here now

--------------------------- Open Quilt Gallery--------------------------- 

Thanks to Rohini Pellizzon for sharing her finished quilt with us all to take inspiration from. If you'd like to see more finished quilts made from any of my patterns, visit my Open Gallery. It's a place for all quilters who make any of my quilts to show off their creations in a central online gallery. It's new and I hope you'll join us by adding your own quilt there. Submitting your quilt pics is easily done via an upload screen directly on my website. Click here now if you'd like to submit your own quilt.

WOW: Sewing Up

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Today I've decided to spend my WOW time finishing up my Stash Busting Stars quilt top. I've changed this pattern since releasing it because I wanted to make it bigger and use up even more fabric. Basically I've added sashing between the blocks. I actually had this Moda roll in my stash that matched the existing star blocks so perfectly that I felt I had to use it up. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered changing a thing, I really love the look of the original pattern. But the whole point is stash busting after all and it was too good an opportunity to miss. This will be a 'useful' quilt and I want it to be versatile, so the bigger the better.

I'm stitching the sashing in between rows. I have a print out of the picture I showed last time I blogged about this quilt - it's sitting there to remind me what order I want to star blocks in. I can't actually remember without my photo 'guide'. Although it's patchy and purposefully mismatched, there is an art to balancing the 'mismatch' and I fiddled around quite a bit with the blocks until they were arranged 'just so'. Anyhow, I'm really pleased to be seriously underway with a WOW today and can't wait to show you more progress as and when I get there.

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up