Oops! What happened?

Uh oh... I've been neglecting this blog.

There are reasons.

We've just had a parade of tradesmen doing this and that. A new balcony for the second floor, painting about 1/4 of the interior, new bamboo floor in the kitchen, new carpet in the loungeroom, stairs and entire second floor. We're not completely done, as now I need to paint the balcony and the exterior windows on the north side of the house - and so on.

So, well, I've just been busy.

And now here comes Christmas barreling down on me. I'm not ready! Not remotely ready. EEK!

And so... hm...

I need to see where I am with all my various projects - and whether I can come up with anything worthwhile to post here. Should be able to. I just have to find my misplaced discipline.

Stay tuned...

Quilt 21: Thanksgiving Charm Squares Tablecloth

When I went shopping for the fabric to use in the borders on Quilt 20, I made the fatal mistake of glancing at the layercake/charm squares table. Yup..there they were... the cutest little charm square packs. Thanksgiving prints! I adore Thanksgiving. It's my favorite American holiday, and one I make a point of celebrating each year (although I do it in July when it's cold here in Australia - November it's too warm here to want a big turkey dinner). I just loved these and thought "OOOoOO! Small, quick project!"

Here's a closeup of some of the squares.  It's the autumn colours here, plus the handful of squares with the words "Thankfulness" and "Gratitude" that make me think of Thanksgiving:

I decided to go with a simple design - 8 squares x 8 squares, sewn together without lattice - then add a couple of solid borders to get a square large enough to be a table cloth for our small dining room table.

Simple, really, but it did take a little while to decide which blocks to put next to each other:

And - in a FLASH! - the center was all stitched together and pressed. Here it is, just about 1 square yard:

Now I'll dig through my UFO closet and see what I've got to use as borders on this. I'm thinking all I need is three 2" borders to get this to the perfect size for my table.

Quilts for Orphans

There's a unique quilting group in Monbulk, not far from where I live. "Quilts for Orphans" has been around for about 6 years. It began as a response to hearing that orphans in India sleep on the floor - and a deeply-felt desire to do something about it. Group members volunteer their time and talent to make quilts which are sent to orphaned children in India, China, Indonesia, and other places where they are needed.

I've been hearing about this group for a while, but didn't really know a lot about them. But then a woman attending a meditation group I joined a few months ago brought advertising fliers for their upcoming sale and exhibition.

The sale is coming up this Saturday and Sunday - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The entry fee is $5 and proceeds from the sales will be used to purchase batting for more quilts for children.

For more information, here's the group's website: http://www.quiltsfororphans.org/
(You can also find them on Facebook)

And here's a short TV news story about them and the work they do:

Quilt 20: Christmas Charm Squares - Progress

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the Christmas charm squares I bought in Florida last June - and the bedspread I decided to make with them. Here, again, is the design for the top:

Over 600 pieces, not including the borders.  But you know what?!?!... it came together in a FLASH, really! Here's the top - all pieced together and ready to "sandwich".

 

You may have noticed that I added another border - the outer red one. I did that because after getting it done, I decided I wanted just a tad more length. I think I've got enough of the green for the binding, although I'm going to discuss this with quilting guru Pauline, as a Christmas print with a mix of colours might actually be a better choice for the binding.  We'll see what she thinks. 

Here's a closeup of a few of the blocks. The print in the lattice is actually the same - just different colours (golden yellow for the rectangles, golden coffee brown for the squares). You can't see it in the photo, but all the prints have sparkly gold in them - so that coffee brown might sound "wrong" but it actually works.

I've only been quilting 3.5 years, but I've already got some silly traditions I observe. My favorite is taking a photo of the project draped over the stair rail.  And here it is!:

I'm pretty sure I've got a package of batting in the UFO closet - and I probably have enough unbleached muslin for the backing. The handquilting will be done with a golden yellow thread - perfect for these prints! And will this be done in time for Christmas? Oh, cummon... get REAL!!! I'm still working on that other Christmas quilt: Quilt 4