Jindi's Cottage: 2014

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

A Finish or Nine...From August!...

Yes, that's right...from August...but I wasn't able to reveal as all the reciepients hadn't yet reciepiented...then I wrote the post and forgot about it...so before the year is out...

Mid-year a class/group of almost 10 years was discontinued by the shop where it was held, with advice that our August evening would be our last one. At our last-for-the-year evening last year everyone was very generous in exchanging Christmas gifts - except I was so flat out just trying to survive work/study/sleep it didn't even occur to me and I arrived empty handed. I was determined not to be found wanting this year. When the news of finishing up arrived it was time to get my act together. I wanted something that was useful and settled on a large square pincushion and, as it was a friendship gift, incorporated my favourite star - the Friendship Star block...Two friends couldn't make it to the last night unfortunately and their gift bags languished in the fabric emporium....of course they are two that read my blog!...but they finally made it to their destinations about three months later so now I can show...

Nine Friendship Star pincushions...

The photo colours are really really bad but it was winter, no decent light...

I tried to use colours for each that I thought they'd like...they ended up being a few different sizes as I kept forgetting what size squares I was using to make the star block and each time I made one just went with what I thought on the day.

Hopefully the friends have found them useful...

Happy Stitching...

Monday, 29 December 2014

The Sleigh Landed - The Main Present...

During the stalk of Tonje's blog I found a kindred spirit...Dr Who! Combined with her love of mug rugs that sent me scurrying into the sewing room to create her very own...

TARDIS!

The background/backing fabric reminded me of flying about in space/time

It was SO. Much. Fun. building a TARDIS...I just may need one for myself...guess I've just outed myself there (says the person streaming Dr Who on iView while writing the blog post!) *LOL*

Having started with an "extra" and with the ornament made that left the main present...what to make what to make...

Then I remembered a bag pattern from Jodie Carleton at a Daylesford Craft Experience event. The pattern stitchery detail wasn't matching the picture in my head...To The World Wide InterWebs and a Google image search!!!!...turning up the perfect embroidery design here. A rummage through the surprise filled "uncategorised could be anything" embroidery floss box unearthed a purple variegated, no label, could be cottage garden, threadworx or anything of that ilk, floss that yelled out rather loudly that it wanted to play along...

I kept the Work In Progress words and just replaced the pattern stitchery with the work basket design...

Work in Progress bag...I used stiff bag batting as Tonje does a bit of knitting and I wanted it to stand up so she could leave her yarn ball in the bag and knit away...and a black background with little squares of colours fabric for the lining for more interest than a flat black or solid colour fabric...

The whole parcel...I added a 2015 Calendar of Australian wildflowers...

I really enjoyed making these projects, I hope Tonje enjoys using them.

Now to wait for SSCS 2015! No pressure there Chooky! *LOL*

Happy Stitching

Sunday, 28 December 2014

The Sleigh Landed...The Ornament Edition...

As Santa's SSCS sleigh flew north homewards to Lappland it was a slight detour to Norway to drop off the package at Tonje's house...After a good stalk of Tonje's blog to make a list of favourite colours, likes, interests, etc there an immediate flurry of activity on one idea that was neither the main present or the hanging ornament - but it was fun and it did get the ball rolling...then while catching up on blogs I spied in the "you might also like" bit on Hanne's blog this stuffed heart that ticked boxes for the hanging ornament so without delay printed off the stitchery sketch so kindly shared. Thank you Hanne for sharing your creativity.

Using a snowflakey/starry type print cream on cream background fabric, the thread palette decided by Tonje's favourite colours listed as black, blue, purple and brown...and her love of rats and mice...

Cute little mouse...

blue backing fabric continuing the snowflakey/starry theme...

And it can double as a pincushion!

Happy Stitching...

Friday, 26 December 2014

SSCS Unwrapped...

I was soooo good and didn't poke a hole in the very tempting SSCS squishy big pressie from Michell....

Until ~~this~~ yesterday morning when all bets were off (well it was the appointed day)...

A gorgeous Gail Pan stitchery with fun Lynette Anderson fabrics in a wall hanging...lovely variegated thread...

Continuing the theme of the Lynette Anderson fabrics...teamed with hexies!...

But that was not all...a cute owl kitchen towel, aren't they fun owls and lovely new fabric in a charm pack and mini charm pack (because I can't remember what the correct Moda terminology is for the wee 2.5" squares) to add to the stash...mmmm new projects !!

Thank you Michell for the lovely gifts and Chooky for once again putting in the hard work so that we can all enjoy SSCS.

I've not heard from the blogger I sent to so I really hope Santa didn't get lost and the parcel actually did arrive in time for Christmas.

Hope your Boxing Day involves lots of stitchy time...

Happy Stitching...

Wednesday, 10 December 2014

On The Doorstep....

When I got home from work yesterday...my SSCS Parcel....wahoo!...from Michell, across the pond from New Zealand...

Inside the little parcel...

Two pinwheel ornaments...

Now, where to hide the big parcel from me so I don't get tempted before the Day of Opening...it's soft and squishy and I wanna know what's inside!!!

Thank you Michell...

Happy Stitching...

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

On The Sleigh...

Santa's SSCS14 sleigh swung by and picked up my parcel for delivery to...oh darn I've forgotten, good thing I labelled the post bag before I misplaced the address!...

How long till the sleigh drops it off????

Happy Stitching...

Monday, 27 October 2014

One Block Hexie...

Added triangles to the One Block Wonder strips to make a giant hexie...

A thin frame of the gold and a border of dark green...

An outer border of the main fabric...

Ready for the quilting pile...once I've pieced up a backing...eventually...

Happy Stitching...

Tuesday, 7 October 2014

Pinwheeling Stars...

...pegged to an apple tree...

...as you do...in the Saga of the Purple Disappearing Pinwheels...

This was a whole lot of fun to make...go here to see the Missouri Star Quilt Company video...while the tutorial uses a layer cake I, of course, ignored that bit and cut my own 10" squares from my chosen three main and one background fabrics. I only used 10" as that was the layer cake size and for the first turn that was close to following the instructions for me.

I'm thinking the fabric I have left will make up a nice scrappy binding. The backing is just plain purple homespun, nothing exciting there, and if there isn't enough of the top fabrics left to make the required length of binding I can put some of that in to stretch it out. There won't be any bordering going on - not enough fabric left to make it 5 x 5 instead of 4 x 5 let alone for borders and, although I only bought the fabric less than a month ago, the shop is 2kms from a work site that I no longer work at and it is 120kms up the highway one way so no, I'm not going for a quick shop - I'm just living with going with what I have and be done with it.

Now to set up the "big" machine on the kitchen table (the machine is too heavy for the sewing table), suck it up and get it quilted...oh the horror!!!

See you on the other side of what will no doubt be some kind of grand quilting fiasco!

Happy Stitching...

Monday, 6 October 2014

Oh There They Are...

Found the pinwheels...

They turned into Stars...

Happy Stitching...

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Lost In...

A pile of triangles and rectangles...

Now where did I put those pinwheels????....

Happy Stitching...

Thursday, 2 October 2014

Honey, I've Shrunk...

the Purple Pinwheels...

Oops!

Happy Stitching...

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Pinwheeling...

Of the Giant Purple kind...

Will they stay in this form? Mmmm....what fate awaits them?...

Happy Stitching...

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

One Block...It's A Wonder...

A couple of weeks or so ago local quilt group held a workshop where two members (mother and daughter) showed us the technique to make the blocks featured in the book One Block Wonder. I don't usually play at the workshops for a variety of reasons but when I saw the quilt that one of the ladies had made from the book my interest was piqued and I put my name down. On the day I dutifully followed along but wasn't all that thrilled with my blocks...I'd bought two fabrics and it turned out there wasn't enough of the one I thought was more interesting. I figured no loss, I'd learnt what I set out to learn (the technique) and as I'd only cut and stitched the minumum I'd just use them somehow. At home I pinned them on the design wall...my opinion changed....now I liked them and they were more interesting than first thought...I purchased co-ordinating fabrics (walked in to the shop and there they were, the perfect ones, it was meant to be!)...and there on the wall they still sat (too much work and not enough time)...still felt that the blocks I'd made already would be enough but I knew how I was going to set them...THEN....on the weekend just gone...I went to play at annual stitchy retreat with Monday group ladies....one of my friends put her blocks together into a top the same way I had planned...ooohhhh oooohhhh I wanna do mine....So, came home from retreat yesterday afternoon and got straight to making up the remaining strip of fabric into the extra blocks...

Almost there...the fabric pinned to the side is for the set-in triangles and borders...

Now to cut the triangles and pin them up...that is tonight's fun and games...

Oh stitchy mojo you appear to have returned home! Must be changes to the income producing working situation I made from the end of last week...wahoo!!

Off to cut and pin...

Happy Stitching...

Sunday, 17 August 2014

OPAM Win....for June!....

I was soooo excited when I saw I was one of the OPAM winners for June...yes I said June, not July and yes I know it is now August...but it has been a journey for Peg just to get the mail delivered to me...Thursday when I picked up the work mail from the general store in another location (had it send elsewhere where it wouldn't get returned to sender a month later!) there it was...a red parcel post satchel just for me!...wahooo!!!!!!!!!!

It has been such a week that it lay on the ~~dumping ground~~ kitchen table until Friday night...and what I found when I opened it was worth the wait...

A lovely Peg journal, so pretty...a Bareroots pincushion stitchery pattern and sweet mini hanger...perfect...sorry the photos are pretty rubbish but it was late so no natural light...

Thank you so much Peg for the lovely goodies and Peg and Kris for OPAM...

Happy Stitching...

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Honour Blocks Update...

There has been some work on the Honour Quilt blocks...

The blocks I've managed so far...looking rather raggedy - some still on the paper, some more trimmed up than others...

I've been wanting to look at the blocks I've done so far in their approximate placement to satisfy myself about a design element (working as I imagined so far, yay!) so while the sun was shining briefly first thing Sunday morning pegged a quilt on the fence and pinned them up...

My friends Liz and Jo have done a whole lot more of the blocks that I have...go visit if you'd like to see more...

Happy Stitching...

Monday, 28 July 2014

Kansas Troubles...

The other post I wrote a couple of weeks ago and then didn't get around to finishing...here goes...

An old UFO prepared for hand piecing on the train to/from work in the City (bear in mind here, haven't done that for coming up 8 years so who knows when it was prepared) was lost in the Overgrown Forest of Projects. It made its way into the light about 12 months ago when, in order to move it from a bag of patches, I changed it to machine pieced. This meant much pinning and stitching line matching but the blocks went together nicely enough at the time and blocks were put together in three out of the four colourways. With the final six blocks in the fourth colourway to be pieced it was then put aside again. A few weekends ago when it was raining and feral and definitely not the weather to put even a big toe of the door into the great outdoors I set to to finish up those final six blocks...and unlike the other blocks they did not co-operate...at all!

So, in the end, after spending an entire day on those errant six blocks, I abandoned the pattern layout, went one row less, so rectangular rather than square, and put the top together...

Kansas Troubles block table centre from Country Patchwork and Crafts magazine (only identified by the page header on the photocopy of the pattern with the patches, who knows from when or who by, so sorry but can't give credit)...

Those blocks weren't called Kansas Troubles for nothing...trouble they certainly did give!

I'm going to use remainder of the border fabric as the backing but as there isn't quite a big enough piece some piecing in of something else is required...when I get around to it.

I ditched one of the unco-operative blocks altogether but couldn't bring myself to throw them all out, they were wrong but still useable so...

Four into a top to become a placemat...

And one a mug mat (coaster)...

A top, a basted sandwich and a finish...so not a bad tally for a wet and windy weekend...

Happy Stitching...

Sunday, 27 July 2014

Miniature Family Complete....

Um, two weeks after writing up a couple of posts...here goes at pushing the Publish button (yeah yeah don't rush me)...

The last of the Miniature Family is done and dusted...

Miniature Log Cabin Quilt 10" square

The whole family...

When I decided to make them four mini's instead of the original whole quilt project I also had a plan of how to hang them ... which is proving a tad more difficult to source than first imagined ... so until I get that sorted they sit and wait (and if Plan A eventually fails there is a Plan B which would be kinda cute).

Happy Stitching...

Sunday, 22 June 2014

Take That Mocking Purse Frame...

Purse frames have been mocking me from the sidelines for many moons...I finally took one on...and won! So flippin' easy I don't know why I let it get away with poking its tongue out at me for so long...take that curved sew-in frame!

100mm Curved Frame Puff Purse by the awesome Nicole Mallalieu

Of course being a Nicole Mallalieu Design pattern it went together like a charm, the purse body only took a couple of hours from go to whoa - the chocolate strip choose itself by conveniently presenting a scrap of the perfect size and orientation, what to put with it, yeah that took a while...stitched up and halt! a roadblock...the frame is glued before stitching...the glue had turned solid (don't use it often)...so a week later, after finally remembering to get another bottle of glue, last night I set about tackling that frame...I choose the "with seed beads" method as I didn't fancy the way the thread is on the outside with the "beads optional" method for my first attempt...did I mention so flippin' easy?...glued and stitched in the frame while the veggies were taking their spa treatment for tea...

Without the benefit of knowing how difficult it was to attach the frame, I didn't want to create any bulk so used patchwork cotton for both the outer and lining with the interfacing supplied with the pattern (a sort of kit with interfacing and frame in the pattern packet) and didn't add any batting but there is plenty of space in there and a light batting wouldn't go astray and/or a thicker fabric would be fine as well - next time with this type of frame...

The glue & squeeze frames are re-thinking their mocking behaviour now fearing they may be next!

Happy Stitching...

Penultimate Miniature Family Member...

Three down...one to go! Yay!

Miniature Flying Geese Quilt - 10" square

Happy Stitching...

Monday, 9 June 2014

Here's One I Prepared Earlier...

When I posted my miniature Grandmother's Braid quilt there was a short conversation with Susan from her comment that it would work as a full sized quilt...a top of which I just happen to have living with its friends in The Quilt Top Cupboard...the weather this morning nice enough for an outing to the backyard to hang on the fence for a photo shoot...so...for Susan...as requested...

Grandma's Braid with Goldie's Twist (Strictly Goldie)

Yes I see the two that are upside down, I'm choosing to ignore that

Started in a class in Williamstown some time in the distant past with Goldie of Strictly Goldie (I don't think she operates as a designer anymore, she mainly designed cloth dolls & bears) I found some photos (not blogworthy) dated Anzac Day 2007 so that must be when I finished it.

Mmm, I said it had been in the cupboard for about 10 years (although that could be when it was started, can't remember), it's only 7! Whew, that takes the pressure off actually quilting it, still aged in a single digit!!! *LOL*

Happy Stitching...

Wednesday, 4 June 2014

Two Down...

The second member of the Miniature Family is quilted and bound...

Grandmother's Braid - 10"

All this finishing is starting me make me queasy....think I need to take a wander through the land of new possibilities and spend some time with the fabric in the stash boxes to retain my equilibrium...

Happy Stitching...

Monday, 2 June 2014

The Other Finish for May...

My other finish for May...now it is dried from its bath...

Rainforest Flowers - 20" square

The colour has come up way too yellow but the grey rainy day was most unhelpful in the decent light for a photo department...

The Small Quilt Talk yahoo group challenge for May was to use a flower block (based on the snowball block) by Kathleen Tracy (it is her group) any way you liked. Being an American based group most of the members were chatting about it being Spring and Spring flowers. I pulled out the stash boxes but nothing was right, no inspiration at all...until I spied the little box that holds Australiana pieces...the frog fabric I used for the border reminds me of rainforest (not that I live anywhere near the rainforest) so it's now called "Rainforest Flowers". I wasn't very creative when it came to the setting. I did go way outside my usual "I"m very good at straight lines" machine quilting, going through my quilting design books and using a spiral centered sunburst one for each flower block and a cable design on the border with a variegated dull green Signature thread.

Onwards to the June Challenge - well, once it is announced. (*Edit - it's been announced and the scrap bins went wahoo! I love using scraps!!)

Happy Stitching...

Sunday, 1 June 2014

A Day with Friends Results in a Finish...

Had a great day yesterday with friends over to play and after attending to a mending job - it was quilt related, repairing broken stitching on a section of binding so not evil mending - I moved on to finishing an in-progress quilt by stitching down the binding...

First finish of the Miniature Family - Stars - 10" square

What? You expected something larger for a day's work! *LOL*...

Would love to report the finishing continued but that was it really...I did move on to the next miniature to finish off the hand quilting but failed miserably...what I learnt was I don't do hand quilting well distracted by good company!...so after a few reverses admitted defeat...

I've actually two finishes for OPAM for May but the other quilt is drying after finally been persuaded to take its bath, the photo session is booked for later in the day...

The weather here is so woeful I'm thinking it's a great day to hibernate in the sewing room with Chookyblue and join in her Chookshed birthday celebrations...

Happy Stitching...

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

A Tale Completed...

When last we left an incomplete tale of a quilt, (yes it was a while ago, last year in fact, but in my defence...OK I have no defence, moving on...) perle threads had auditioned and were nervously awaiting the maker's decision...

The contenders for thread colour narrowed to pastel blue or green...but given the maker had failed in her quest for backing fabric having discovered the intended had been used something else and only scraps remained and, having the attention span of a goldfish, she promptly moved on to something else (or maybe a dozen other something else's but let's not go down that track shall we)…

Then from a magic fabric warehouse in another location came fabric for the backing…

The fabric looked for in vain was green with white daisies, which was unbeknown to the elf who lives in the magic warehouse, so the offer from the elf for the puppies to play in daisies was serendipitous indeed…thread basting took place and ditches were quilted to provide stability...finally the quilting began...

Big stitch perle echo quilting around each puppy shape…

Bones in the white space...

...and then what? So it sat for a while as further options were considered and discarded...even started and nope, that is not going to work...what to do? what to do?...P-faff beckoned...come here little quilt and let me stitch on you some more...and so the quilt acquiesced and let P-faff play with the borders, quilting contoured lines through the border shapes...

And for the binding?...the backing fabric waved so hard to be chosen it almost did itself an injury and with that much enthusiasm for the job it won...

A combination of some fun favs...30's repros...puppies...apple core (or as it is known between me and the magic elf - dog bone) shapes...scallopy edges...happy :)

Happy Stitching...

Monday, 28 April 2014

Prairie Point Doll Quilt Progress...

To wind down after the hectic bus trip shopping day on Saturday I prepped the prairie points for the Prairie Point Doll Quilt (that is the quilt pattern name in the book)...very origami and zen...take square, fold, press, fold again, press again, take next square, repeat...which meant that yesterday it was a simple case of stitch them on, put on the borders and tah dah!...the quilt top is done!!...

The next challenge of course was backing...I thought at first to just go with either the red or another colourway of the stripe fabric that I have so much of, but looking at the rest of the scraps of the fabric range on the table decided instead to make a scrappy binding and then square up the rest of the scraps and start piecing a randomly scrappy piece for backing...pretty much use it all up as much as possible...

I bought a lovely variegated YLI hand quilting cotton for this quilt on Saturday...won't be totally finished before month end and the release of the group's May Challenge but it's a whole lot further down the road than the March challenge which isn't even started so I'm counting that as a plus...

Right, gotta get out of here and on the road, that work stuff is yelling loudly at me (sniff, sniff, wanna sew)...

Happy Stitching...

Saturday, 26 April 2014

With So Many UFOs...Start Something New!...

The Small Quilt Talk (Kathleen Tracy's yahoo group) challenge for the month of April comes from Kathy's "Remembering Adelia" book.

So far I've managed to get the centre together...

Those three seemingly random pieces of fabric hanging off the sides were auditioning for the part of the border. The red (at the top) has won the role. Why the stripes? Because I have bolts of those three fabrics (seriously, not exaggerating for once, I bought bolt ends when I needed borders for the quilt the fabrics were originally used in) and not enough left of any of the others to make borders from, plus I need the bigger pieces of those other fabrics to make the element I was most excited about - prairie points, something that has been on my "get around to" list for a long time. This range is old, its the original Rocky Mountains Quilt Museum range by Judy Rothermel (well most of it, I didn't have pieces of all of it left).

It won't be finished today though because I'm off to play annual Bus Trip with the Monday group I used to be able to go to. We aren't venturing too far this time, just up the road to Bendigo/Maldon/Castlemaine, so all our day won't be taken up with travelling leaving more time for shopping! Wahoo!!!!

Happy Stitching...

Pages

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Monday, 29 December 2014

Sunday, 28 December 2014

Friday, 26 December 2014

Wednesday, 10 December 2014

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

Monday, 27 October 2014

Tuesday, 7 October 2014

Monday, 6 October 2014

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Thursday, 2 October 2014

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Sunday, 17 August 2014

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Monday, 28 July 2014

Sunday, 27 July 2014

Sunday, 22 June 2014

Monday, 9 June 2014

Wednesday, 4 June 2014

Monday, 2 June 2014

Sunday, 1 June 2014

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

Monday, 28 April 2014

Saturday, 26 April 2014