DONNA'S BLOCKS

When I took up sewing again a few years back, I was so lucky to be included in a sewing group that meets every second Monday night to chat and catch up on each others sewing projects. 


I have made some wonderful new friends who inspire me every day and today I am so excited to show you some beautiful blocks that my sewing friend, Donna has made for her latest quilt 'Every Loving Deed' by Blue Willow Cottage.   You can find the pattern here.

The blocks are a combination of applique, embroidery and patchwork and each one has an inspirational quote or message of some kind.

Just love the little bees on this one.

Look at the embroidered climbing roses on this one - just exquisite!

Even the snowman looks happy.

How true are all the little messages.

Gorgeous quilt hanging out to dry

Another beautiful message, 

There is even a lovely lace cloth on this one.

Finally a summary of the lovely messages sewn in this one block.

The nine blocks will come together with borders that are embroidered with garlands of leaves and flowers (Donna is still working on these, as you can imagine, they take quite a long time).

I just love the  colors that she has chosen and her work is just beautifully done.  I could look at each block for hours and marvel at it.


Hope you liked her achievements as much as I did,  and I can't wait to see the finished quilt.

GARDEN PARTY - FnWF

How remiss of me,  I signed up for FnWF and completely forgot to blog post my work....oops 

I took mum with me to Gail B's patchwork shop a few days ago, and she has selected her 80th birthday present....... a cute quilt by Teddlywinks called Garden Party.

I have a few months up my sleeve before I need it finished but I really wanted to get the bulk of it done before our holiday later this month.

Its a combination of patchwork, applique and embroidery....

Here's a sneek peak at the first two blocks.

Block 1 

Block 2

I'm using a layer cake called Country Orchard by Blackbird Designs.  It has a lovely mix of greens, blues and pinks.  

I'm finding that I have three parts to each block

1)     Trace designs, select colors, iron onto block.

2)     Machine applique using blanket stitch

3)     Hand embroider finishing touches.

I am laying out all the finished blocks and will then piece together with 3" x 3" squares.  Its just a matter of getting a good spread of each colour so the quilt looks balanced.  

RULER BAG

On our girls last road-trip, I purchased a Teddlywinks pattern for my long cutting ruler and small cutting mat.   It has three ties along the top to secure the contents plus a pocket on the back for anything else you can fit in.  I'm sure it will be very useful on our girls sewing retreats.

I also picked up a bundle of fabric (on sale of course!) in lovely green and lemon tones.  Match this with the Country Threads for the embroidery, and viola........

FRONT OF BAG

REAR OF BAG

BUMBLE BEE PANEL

BUTTERFLY PANEL

LADYBIRD PANEL ON REAR POCKET.

This also gave me a chance to practice some quilting.  Using my walking foot you can see the pattern I did inside each front small square (sorry don't know the official name of this pattern).

I even managed to find a ladybird print in green for the inside lining...very lucky.

I will let you in on a secret...... originally I was making this for a gift on our sewing retreat but I loved it so much, I'm keeping it for myself.

GAIL PAN SEW-ALONG 2015

Its so good to be back doing another Gail Pan Sew-Along.   Thanks to Martina for organizing it.  Check out all the others projects here Sunshinequilting.

 I enjoy sitting down at night and relaxing doing a bit of embroidery, and her projects are all so useful.  Again from the book Patchwork Loves Embroidery,  I have made the Secrets and Dreams Wallet.

It needs just the right button on the front and it will be finished.  It opens up to reveal one large pocket on the RHS and four smaller pockets on the LHS.

I did cheat a little, rather than the hand quilting on the borders, I chose different machine stitches instead so I could save time as I seem to have so many things on the go !!

See you next month for the next project........

GROW YOUR BLOG

Hello and welcome,

If you enjoy patchwork, embroidery, felt work and quilting, then you might like to visit my blog.....

My name is Dawn and I live in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia......

Its a long way from the rest of the world, but with the wonderful world of blogging, you can visit me anytime.

The Australian Open Tennis is in town at the moment, so hubby and I popped along to enjoy the sights.

I have always been a little crafty and love to sew and embroider but with the hectic rigors of raising a family, I have only recently found my way back onto the circuit again and I am loving it.  Now that we are empty nesters, my sons room has been converted into my sewing retreat and its where all these goodies are created.

 

I joined a local patchwork group and we have terrific fun, we meet each week to chat and sew and we have the occasional weekend away or day trip to stock up on supplies.

I enjoy visiting other blog sites and keeping in touch and I've made some lovely friends both locally and around the world.  I will always try to answer your comments and keep up with your blog 

Its such fun to join a SAL or a Swap and see the lovely work others do and the buzz that you get when someone comments....well, it keeps me happy for days.  

Bloggers are such generous people, they offer their knowledge free of charge and let you into their world of ideas without any expectations.  See,  even my blog background was offered free by VintageMade For You, and of course,  a big thank you to Vicki at 2 Bags Full, for organising this Grow Your Blog post.

I wont go on any more, but please keep scrolling and take a look at my blog and if you like what you see, please join up and I'll do likewise.  

Bye for now.....Dawn 

HANNAH'S GARDEN

Happy New Year to all my lovely blogger friends......

Another exciting year full of sewing expectations and ideas.  I was so lucky that Santa left me a beautiful kit called Hannah's Garden by Melissa Grant over at One Day in May.  Secretly, I had bought this for myself and told hubby he could give it to me so it was a win win for both of us :)

Photo taken from One Day in May website

My colours aren't exactly the same as above,  but the material they have chosen for me is just as nice.  The kit has seven (7) parts to it and each one comes beautifully presented in its own folder.

I decided to start with Pattern 2 -

 Anemone Patchwork block 

Embroidery Heart Block

Over the New Year, my sewing buddies, Christine, Donna and I,  took a road trip down to The Patchwork Teahouse where this quilt/wall hanging was on display.  I had the chance to look at her applique technique and it was perfect!!  It puts mine to shame, I need lots more practice.

I tried needleturn applique on the Anemone Blocks and am reasonably happy but I think I will try the freezer paper method for my next pattern.  

The Patchwork Teahouse was an absolutely  lovely shop and we had lunch there too.  I have also joined up for the monthly Cottage Garden Thread Club as I just love their multi-coloured embroidery threads.  I will get four (4) different threads each month plus an embroidery pattern..... very exciting.  Here are just some of what I purchased .....

CHRISTMAS WREATH

Ho Ho Ho..... A very Merry Christmas to every blogger and their family

I finally finished my Felt Christmas Wreath and it is now hanging on the front door to welcome everyone and put a smile on their face.

Step 1

Start with a plain green felt wreath, stuff it with stuffing and sew on lots of light green and dark green holly leaves which have been embroidered and sequined.

Step 2

From felt, make a Jolly Santa and a Happy Snowman and add embroidery and sequins to brighten

Step 3

Add toys of all sorts, drums for boys and skates for girls with balls of fun for everyone

Step 4

Boxes of gifts with bows on top....

 Step 5

Candy canes and snowflakes to fill in the gaps

Step 6

Put them all together and what do you get...............

  

MERRY CHRISTMAS STITCHERY

Well isn't Christmas the most busiest of times,  I am frantically trying to finish my Christmas Wreath to get it up before the festive seasons ends.... hopefully have a post soon.

In the meantime, here is a lovely Rosalie Quinlan stitchery that I finished and put on a canvas frame for  hanging.  I attended a class with Rosalie a couple of months ago and haven't made it back there yet but I hope to do another in the new year.

The thread is a Cottage Garden called Snapdragon and I love the way the red and green blend together.

I have also managed to finish my Crazy Quilt Beginners Class and here is the finished block.  All the silk ribbon work and beading is done and I popped on some charms and lace motifs to finish it off.

Very very happy with this class by Kathy, I would highly recommend you keeping an eye out in the New Year for the next Beginners Class and I am waiting to sign up for the Intermediate Class now.



Beads and sequins added.

 See the difference a few embroidery stitches and beading makes........




Finished Block :)

Bare Block