The Delivery

Delivery of 'Muriel' took place in mid July.  Ideally you would take delivery of your new machine and you know, probably spend a couple of months getting used to it but as I had procrastinated so long in the beginning when I actually ordered my machine there were none left in Oz and I had to wait a couple of months for the next delivery from the states.

 My friends opened their shop in  July and so the arrival quilts began.  It certainly was the best way to learn.  I made plenty of mistakes but I always learnt from them.  I was proud of myself for working so much out but at times I certainly found it stressful.  These machines and and the software are so clever but the only downfall is not enough training in Australia.  They have great training in the states though and I'm sure there is so much more to learn yet.

 

 

 

 

 

The amount of boxes was crazy.  There is certainly a lot to this machine!

 

 

My Journey into Longarm Quilting

The last nine months have been a whirlwind.  I have always been intrigued by the quilting process that follows our careful piecing of fabrics into stunning projects.  Early this year I was on a day out with my husband in a regional shopping centre a couple of hours away and happened to spot a beautiful and large Bernina sitting on a frame for quilting in one of the shops.   As we left there I had my 'light bulb' moment and said to my husband 'that is what I could do'.   I had friends that were opening a shop in town with giftware and fabric so it was an ideal time to do this.  From there I investigated the variety of longarm quilting machines and decided on the Handi Quilter Fusion 24 on the large 12 foot frame with Pro Stitcher software.  I called their head office and they directed me to one of their dealers and from there I was fascinated by this huge machine and what it could do and there started my journey into longarm quilting.

The First Six Months of Longarm Quilting

What a whirlwind these last six months have been.  I have just finished the last of my customer quilts and sooooo looking forward to a break.  I have seen so many beautiful quilts and it is so inspiring.  It really does inspire you to want to set up a spot at the sewing machine. ( If only there was time).
I have been very lucky to have the benefits of such a good start to my new venture with both the shop and the clients who have trusted me with their quilts.



I have worked solidly these past months, sometimes continuously over the weekends as well as many evenings but I am grateful to have had the chance and I am having a lovely break until the end of January however and will be caravannning at the beach for a few weeks and I cannot wait.  Although the thought has crossed my mind to take the sewing machine along.  Now there are only four days until Christmas and I still need to finish some shopping.  I also plan on getting my blog started for The Quilting House.  It has already taken me six months. 

Throughout Janary I will be posting pics of all the lovely quilts I have had the pleasure of working on.  Here is just a sneak preview.

A Sigh of Relief for the school holidays

Well thank goodness we made it through term one.  It has been a really hectic term around here as it is in any home with children so a well earned rest is planned for the next couple of weeks (without getting too lazy).  I really think there should be some time for sewing too. It's been a few weeks again since being able to sit at the machine and accomplish something.  But, that I did.  I made a dress for Isla that I was quite pleased with and I would love to do some more although I have been thinking about quilting too.  I also used this pattern to make a top in red gingham but didn't get it finished yet.  Maybe thats a plan for this weekend.  Let's hope we all have a safe and happy school holidays with just enough sewing to keep us sane.

Ladder transformed

Just thought I would put a pic up of this old ladder I picked up some years ago.  It really has been laying around in the shed waiting for some attention for a few years now.  It must have been used for a bit of painting over the years as it had splashes of all colour all over it, so I decided it would be easiest to simply paint it.  Now that it is all painted it looks great with some quilts displayed on it.



 

 



There goes January

The holidays have now come to an end but I think we all need to get back to a routine.  We had a great break, the kids were off for just under eight weeks so we are in need of a reality check.  We managed to get to Brisbane and Gold Coast before Christmas and we had a couple of weeks at Umina in January so we've got plenty to be thankful for.

There was even some sewing done.  I sewed some PJ Pants for Isla and a friend and I really wanted to get the binding finished on the dresden plate quilt.  It seems to take so long to slip stitch so I spent a while searching blogs and tutorials on attaching binding by machine.  I decided to go with Rita's guide on Red Pepper Quilts. I found it challenging but I guess with practise it gets easier.  It's a little untidy but it is on and in not much time.  I would like to practise some more anyway.

 

 

 

This is one of the better looking sections of binding

 

 

 

And the finished product

 

 

 

 

I have also started work on my office/sewing room.  Although most of the time I find it easier to spread out on the dining table or kitchen table.  It is coming together slowly with a couple more shelves etc. from Ikea. 

 

 

 



Looks like I need to deal with the messy cords below the desk.  Basically all the sewing gear is behind the bi-fold doors and I will reveal that when it has been organised (you can't expect too much in one year).

 

All these rainy days were a help to get some inside jobs done.  While QLD was suffering with the floods we were benefiting from some much needed rain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



Isla's stitching

There is one good thing about the man of the house being on night work.  You can usually get some sewing done.  It means quiet activities so some progress has been made in the sewing department, although my binding took longer than planned it is now attached and ready for to be hand stitched.  Isla decided she wanted to do some stitching so she used threads from her new craft kit bag she received from her aunty for christmas.  I drew a heart for her and penciled 'Laloopsy' on some fabric for her. She took to it instantly and loved it.  Needless to say every time I got started on my own sewing I had to re-thread, tie off etc but it was worth it.  By the end she was doing it all and it looks surprisingly good for an eight (nearly nine) year old.  We then decided to put the stitchery on the ready made craft bag.  I appliqued it on with the sewing machine (roughly) so it was done in no time.  I really enjoyed our peaceful day and yes there were two other kids at home who made good use of the time (tv, computer)while I was ignoring them.  Very pleased with our results, lets see if we can do some more tomorrow.

Concentration



 

Work in progress

 

Laloopsies are in at the moment

(not sure about the plural spelling for Laloopsy)

 

 

The finished project

 

 

Very pleased with herself

 

 

Finally ready for slip stitching

 

 

 

 

 

time to complete some UFO's

Here I have a picture of just three of my UFO's.  I need to get something finished and I figured I should try shaming myself and putting the pictures up for all to see.  That way I will feel like I should get something done.

Well, the decision isn't too hard as I don't have enough of the red and white vine fabrice that I ordered specifically for the backing of the quilt done in Vintage Modern fabrics.  I'm really not sure how I did that, but anyway.  As for the swanky fabrics with chenille border I don't have any wadding so that's out too.  This just leaves the dresden plate quilt to be trimmed and bound.  So watch this space for a completed quilt in the near future. 

Christmas Dress for Isla

If definitely must be Isla's week.  First the pants, now a christmas dress.  Thank goodness Mikayla thinks she's too old for a christmas dress.  Not much more than a month and she will officially be a teenager. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And another day, another dress.  I had this fabric that I used for a top for Mikayla a couple of years ago and you don't need much fabric to make something fo Isla.  Instead of doing the ribbon or fabric tie this time i just used bias binding for the top at the front and back and then continued the binding around the arm holes to make the ties.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



 



Grey Linen Pants for Isla

I finally got around to making some matching pants for Isla's grey linen pillowcase top.  I could only just get enough of the linen for the pants so I have found another linen in grey to make for our niece who's mum liked the first top.  So I had better get started so it will be ready for her birthday.

sewing up a storm

Last time I posted was the day before my birthday and that seems like ages ago already.  I've had a lovely time the last couple of weeks sneaking a bit of sewing in.  Doesn't it always feel good to get some sewing done.  A lot of the time I don't even bother starting because you know you're only going to have to stop to go to football training or something like that.  I find it funny how you can get one or two days  of good sewing in and then nothing, zilch, zero, nada, nought! 

I have made some nice little pillowslip tops instead of dresses (only because the first one I didn't have enough material for the dress).  I really like the double layered linen top I made for Isla and I'm hoping to get more of the linen so I can make her some matching pants.  I also made a couple of little pinnies that were a bit on the small side but I was pleased with them.  I hadn't tried the double yoke before and it looks lovely.  And a skirt as well.

                                                    

one dresden plate quilt finished

I have finally finished my Dresden Plate Quilt and I'm really pleased with it.  I used the Moda fabric 'Sophie' by Chez Moi.  I love the colours in this range.  I used a pattern from the Moda Bakeshop that is a table topper but just made it larger.  The Dresden plates are not really that hard, just time consuming.  The pattern for the table topper is called Flowers in the Park and can be found here
http://www.modabakeshop.com/2011/02/flowers-in-park-table-topper.html


                       

Making Progress

I am slowly making progress with my Dresden Plate quilt.  I now have eight dresden plates appliqued onto their background with only 4 to go.   After that I will have to do the circles (flower centres).  In the beginning I wasn't sure which would be the best applique technique to use.  Needle turn would be lovely but very time consuming and I suck at it(there's just no other way to put it).  Even a hand blanket stitch would take a while.  I decided to use zig zag on the machine and used white in the bobbin with clear thread on top.  They're looking really good and I'm hoping to finish them tomorrow.

Dresden Plate appliqued on to background



School Holidays

We had a great trip to Queensland during the holidays.  Hooked up to our new van we visited Glass House Mountains and from there we visited Australia Zoo and really enjoyed our day.  We headed back to Brisbane and the Gold Coast where we visited friends as well as Movieworld and Seaworld. We really enjoyed our new caravan and had a ball.  In fact the children were really quite bearable.  But back to reality Monday with school.  Gosh I hope I can get out of bed in time, better still I hope the kids do.  The older two just do not want to get up any more.

                             At Glasshouse Mountains Campground

This little guy decided to climb down his tree and just walk across in front of us like we weren't even there.

Three happy kids at Australia Zoo.  A really good day out.

I think the girls are starting to get worried here.  Yes, I am the only member of the family standing on the ground.

Poor Mikayla, she freaked when we got in the building and spent the next hour and a half outside waiting for us.  She did conquer the ride later though and then you couldn't stop her.



Mother's Day was quite hectic here as we had a big weekend of activities.  There was the School Fete (early start) all day Saturday and then the rodeo to attend on Saturday night.  On Sunday we were up and at it early again with the day out at Pony Club.  We  used this chance to pack a picnic lunch and have my mum and dad and my aunty to join us for the day. We had a lovely day even though the weather wasn't as perfect as it had been.

I did enjoy my handmade gifts from the children but I did make sure I was well looked after and organised my own little 'surprise' of these lovely books.  Maybe one day I will get a chance to really sit down and enjoy them.  I have made some PJ pants already for Isla but I do still have an unfinished quilt on my loungeroom floor.

And this was Isla's 'cowgirl' hair one day last week.  Everything relates to horses with Isla.