I dyed at my mothers house today!!

WOW! I didn't know dyeing was so much fun!! I wanted to try something new, so when my mother told me one of our dear friends Loretta was visiting her today, I decided to join in the fun. After we did our usual show and tell (as all quilters do) we decided to do some dyeing. I have never tried it before, so I was keen to give it a go. I just LOVE all of our pieces we produced, don't you? How pretty are these colours.

This is my mothers pretty piece.

This is my friend Loretta's pretty piece.

And this is my first attempt of dyeing and I will most certainly try it again some day soon. We tried to do some sun dyeing too, but we only managed to produce slight shadows, so next time we will try a different method.

Portable Pressing Pads (AKA PPP's)

How handy are these? I use a pressing pad next to my machine while doing piecing etc. It's great to give my work a quick press (with my little travel iron pictured here) to save jumping up off my chair every 2 minutes. I do however make sure I get up and stretch every 45 minutes or so just to make sure the poor old body keeps going. I make these pressing pads myself and I give them to friends or sell them on trading tables at various quilting groups or meetings. They are only 12 inches long so therefore they can be popped into your tote bag to take off to your quilting group or lessons and I have added a non slip sheet on the back to stop it sliding away while being used. If you ever find a small travel iron, (I got mine from ALDI) they are compact enough to carry to classes also and are perfect for next to the machine at home.

More Bags I have made as gifts

I made these bags as gifts for friends and family. I am not the best bag maker, but they are ok for first time ones. My next bag I want to make is the Stable Bag. I am trying to find a pattern for one and if not, I will draft one myself if I have not forgotten what I was taught in drafting at high school....so many moons ago that was.

Other Quilts I have made

I have been doing some searching through my photos trying to find something when I ran across these photos of other quilts I have made. Some were for friends or family, but all are my early 'learning' quilts and practise on piecing and applique.

WOW we have a OHP

My mother and I bought a OHP (over head projector) last week, so that we can project our favorite images onto a paper covered wall and trace them super size ready to make patterns for applique etc. It will come in REAL handy for one of my next projects which will be a wall hanging. I have not made a wall hanging before, only quilts. We are looking forward to being very creative with our new OHP.

I have been naughty....I bought some Black's & White's for a new project I am hatching

I have been busy designing one of my next projects. It might have to wait until next year now, but at least I have the fabric for when I get the momentum and time to start it.

Miss Chelsea

Miss Chelsea is my sons daughter and I think it is safe to say she is a lot like her daddy. Her cute chubby cheeks amaze me and she has the cutest laugh. Her daddy can make her laugh every time she gets a bit sad by playing zibbits on her little chubby neck.

Princess Mia

This is Mia, my daughters little angel. This little angel just sits and waits for her food, she knows what it means when you put her in the high chair. Her legs and arms flap around in excitement when she sees you with a bowl of food in your hand, it's like feeding time at the zoo...

She loves her swing too. She just sits there and waits for someone to push her then smiles from ear to ear but I never get the smiley ones as they come out blurred since the swing is swinging.

From Little Things, Big Things Grow....

I felt the need to introduce you all to my 'Sewing Nookette'. It's so small, that it is in fact a nookette as opposed to a nook which I am sure is much larger than this space. Other than my folding Horn sewing cabinet and my folding cutting/prep table, I have a handy dandy bookshelf/wine rack thingy that is used to store my quilting mags and books along with my fabric that is packed into project form in zip lock bags. The rest of my stash lives in 4 large plastic storage containers in the corner of the lounge room covered with a pretty cloth to hide it's whereabouts. Pinned to the curtains are the latest brainstorming ideas for blocks or quilt designs and my design wall is actually my bed providing I make it each day. Storage bags hang off what ever wall space is spare at the time and from hooks slung over the curtain rod.

The floor space in my nookette is just a tad over 1 metre square, which is just enough space for my sewing chair to run in and out from the machine when I have to get up to the cutting table or take half a step to the ironing board that houses my portable pressing pad. My sewing nookette is located in a corner of my bedroom (I have no hubby to worry about stepping on the pins that have been dropped). YES thats right girls...I can sew all day and night and just fall into bed when I'm done! Cheers to all the nookette's of the world. I just LOVE mine & would be lost without it.

UFO's, WIP's or whatever you call them?

This week I want to tie up some loose ends. I started this quilt around May 2006? It has been a UFO/WIP ever since. I decided this week I would get to it and finish it off. I have had it hanging on my hallway wall (AKA design wall) for the last week. Every time I have walked past it, it catches my eye, so I am putting in the time this week to finish off the top at least and put it in my bag of quilt tops waiting to be quilted. Once finished, it will head south to live in Port Macquarie with it's owner.

Out of Egypt

In 2005, I traveled to 77 cities in 13 countries. I decided to make a Quilt for each country I visited.
Nearing completion is my Egyptian quilt. I am in the middle of making the last border.

Stripping Cats and Desk Top Tidies

Everyone always has the use for yet another bag. I have had the 'Cats at the Louvre' fabric in my stash for some time and decided it would make a nice bag rather than cut it up thus losing the design of the fabric. The strip bag is just made from my many many left over strips of the many many quilts I have made since I started quilt making just over 18 months ago.

Don't you just LOVE the desk tidy? I was sick and tired of never being able to put my hands on the utensil/tool I was looking for. So one day while I was grocery shopping, I came across this cutlery drainer and decided it looked like a good enough desk tidy for all my bits n pieces. Don't you agree it's a beaut idea?

It's a windy Sunday here today in Brisbane, so I am off to sit at the machine for a while and finish off my Egyptian quilt.

Fyling Geese for DUMMIES

This is the easiest, no waste, method of making the popular FLYING GEESE quilt block.

At the end of this tutorial, I give you the cutting sizes for both of the squares so that you can make flying geese in many sizes. If you need to view these photos larger, just click on them and they will open up big, then just click on the back button on your browser to get back to the tutorial.

Step 1.
Cut one (1) large square of the fabric that will become the 'geese' part of the block. Cut four (4) small squares of the fabric that will become the background fabric part of the block, as shown below.

Step 2.
Draw a diagonal line on each of the four small squares, as shown below.

Step 3.
Take two of the small squares and align them in opposing corners, face down, so that the diagonal lines form one continuous line across the large square. Pin into place to stop them shifting, as shown below.

Step 4.
Sew 1/4" on each side of the diagonal lines, going from one corner of the square to the other, as shown below.

Step 5.
With your rotary cutter, cut on the diagonal line, so that you end up with two units as shown below.

Step 6.
Open out and press each unit as shown below. Place these units face up on your cutting board.

Step 7.
Now take the remaining two small squares and align one on each of the large squares in the corner (which you already have facing up), and place the small squares with right side facing down and pin into place as shown below.

Step 8.
Sew 1/4" on each side of the diagonal line, as shown below.

Step 9.
Cut apart on the diagonal line, giving you now four units as shown below.

Step 10.
Press each of the four flying geese blocks open as shown below and cut off the little 'dog ears' to neaten them up.

CONGRATULATIONS !! You have made 4 flying geese blocks in a matter of minutes.

Squares On a Square Method Flying Geese
Finished Size	Cut 4 squares	Cut 1 square
1/2 x 1	1 3/8	2 1/4
3/4 x 1 1/2	1 3/4	3 3/4
1 x 2	1 7/8	3 1/4
1 1/2 x 3	2 3/8	4 1/4
2 x 4	2 7/8	5 1/4
2 1/2 x 5	3 3/8	6 1/4
3 x 6	3 7/8	7 1/4
4 x 8	4 7/8	9 1/4