Bloggers Quilt Festival Quilt! "Hydrangea"

Thank you Amy for another Blogger's Quilt Festival, I really enjoy this linky party and appreciate all your planning and time in organising it each time. 

Hydrangea
Wallhanging, 18 x22"

This is a simple but favourite wall hanging of mine, I keep it in our main corridor to our bedroom so that I can enjoy it all the time. I created it freehand from a photo I had of hydrangeas in our garden. My quilts are usually large or wall hanging size, it just seems to turn out that way.

When I made this quilt, I knew I wasn't finished and that I would like more floral quilts around my home. This inspired my current Free Bom 'Forget Me Not' which is a floral wall hanging applique quilt, and, you know, flowers!!... I'm loving every moment of it.

Thank you for viewing my Quilt Festival Quilt!

Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder

This is a block from Part 4 of my free 2012 Mystery BOM Forget Me Not

raw edge applique

Outlined petal details

Because this was the part 4 block of my dark background quilt, I went with vivid colours that can take the dark background. If your own background is light, you can opt for subtle shades.

Have you decided which block you are making this month?

This is a block from Part 4 of my free 2012 Mystery BOM Forget Me Not

You can download this month's block via my website or my Yahoo Bom Group

Wild Rose & Lilac Details

Wild Rose & Lilac

This is a block from Part 4 of my free 2012 Mystery BOM Forget Me Not

turn edge applique petals for the wild roses

raw edge applique lilacs

turn edge leaves

some pencil detailing on the petals

Like the previous blocks, I will be embellishing these blocks with decorative stitches at the end, when I plan my quilting. With the lilacs in this block, I am looking for tiny beads to stitch in amongst the applique so that the lilacs 'shimmer' in their cluster. How much or how little extra embellishment will vary block by block. You can keep it simple or really enjoy embellishing all the areas of small and fine detail.

Fabric selection next to my sketch and alongside my background fabric

Lilacs in deep to light hues of blue pink. Make sure that you check which side is fusible, to avoid sticking your little lilacs to your iron, this is too easy to do!

I use fusible release paper when raw edge applique cutting out.

It's great because you can re-use this paper 5 times before discarding.

I use Wonder Under brand.

This is the lilac 'shadow', it's raw edge and again, so simple. Creating the lilac backrground means that I don't have to cut so many little lilac shapes out. I was also toying with the idea of embroidering the lilacs on top of the 'shadow' fabric and if you have an embroidery machine, this is definitely an option for you. (I tried on my domestic and it didn't look effective). So I went ahead with my lilac applique.

These are my leaves waiting to be cut out

How is your Forget Me Not Block looking?

This is a block from Part 4 of my free 2012 Mystery BOM Forget Me Not

You can download this month's block via my website or my Yahoo Bom Group 

WOW: Finding Forgotten WIPs

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Has this ever happened to you?

I have found a new WIP stash!

I'd completely forgotten about it.

I found it in a cupboard I thought I'd cleared out. 

The top is finished, and I even began quilting it before it was packed away....

I think it will have to be next on my WIP to do list, as it's so nearly done, I may as well finally finish it!



Forget Me Not: Part 4 is Launched

This month you have the option of

Wild Rose & Lilac

Jacob's Ladder

Here are the pattern sketches. Remember, colour in your patterns before commiting to fabrics.

Stay tuned as detailed block images and working pics will be posted after WOW this week.

Also, remember to check out the Yahoo Group to see what we are all talking about over there!

Forget Me Not is my 2012 Mystery BOM

Anyone can take part.

Each monthly block is available for download via my

website and Yahoo BOM Group only.

To learn more about my BOMs, click here.



Any Excuse for Roses

Yesterday was Mother's Day,

and whilst I'm a mother every day of the year,

it's a nice excuse for roses!

I definitely didn't need an excuse for cake... and will be resisting today.

My DH will have to finish it off!

Today I also realised that it's time for Part 4 this week!

How are you going with your Forget Me Not?

WOW: What the Judges Thought

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Hearts Desire arrived home late yesterday afternoon. Well, the box did. I've only just found time to unpack it this morning, give HD a good shake and re-fold and take a look at what the judges thought of my quilt during assessment.

Best Feature:

"effective border frame, variety of scale in fabrics"

Areas to Improve:

" machine tension problems in quilting"

Well, I'd have to agree with that! I think it's time I had a serious re-think about my sewing machine options  as my 1950's Elna just can't keep up with my domestic quilting demands and of course, I don't have a stitch regulator.

Still, it's nice to have this quilt home, it reminds me how much I can do in a few months. Because at the moment, I have a lot of WIPs to get through and I'd really like the satisfaction of seeing them finished.

WOW: a Paducah mention!

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Well I am delighted to have received a mention at Paducah this year! Thanks to everyone who sent through congratulations. And thanks as well to those of you who let me know in the first place, because I had no idea until you all contacted me. For some reason I haven't seen the full list of awards and winners yet (am I looking in the wrong place???). It's also been such a busy week that everything seems to have taken up my usual blogging time!

This is a quilt that really needs to be seen up close to be fully appreciated and obviously it's such an honour to take part in Paducah, let alone receive a mention too.

I can't wait to see the judges comments which I will share here when it arrives in the next few weeks.

Can you believe it, MAY already??? 

RIP Mooshy

UPDATE:

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and words in the comments, our pets really have a way of touching our hearts, don't they?

Our little cat Mooshy has died. She was a beautiful and gentle cat. She had lunge cancer, which I didn't realise could happen to cats. She was very ill and had to be euthanized.

In December she started losing weight very rapidly but had her normal appetite. We took her to two different vets and run tests, but both times nothing was detected. Both put her weight loss down to her getting old. Then, this last week, she had grown thinner and stopped eating altogether and looked so unhappy, so we took her back to see the vet, expecting him to say the same thing, that she was just getting old. Unexpectedly, after another morning of tests, he told us how very unwell she was. She was only clinging to life and in a lot of pain. We didn't know she wouldnt be coming home with us when we took her in, so it was a suprise. It's always sad to lose a much loved pet, especially when they have been in the family for 15 years.

She was always napping in my fabric stash or guarding the ironing board (which gave me a good reason to put the ironing off for later), and she loved watching me quilt and tapping at the sewing machine whilst I worked. I will miss my little companion whenever I sew or read, she was always by my side and gave all of us so much love and pleasure. She will be much missed in our house.

A little bit of fresh air...

Winter has a beauty all it's own, so when my DH had some time to spare yesterday, we decided to go for a drive and take in some fresh air. Yes, I have a long list of things to do, but sometimes you just have to stop and appreciate the trees...and I'd rather admire tree moss than do the ironing!

I love toadstools and mushrooms of all kinds too, especially the poisonous ones, they seem to be the most picturesque!

On the drive home, this rainbow was 'following' us. We couldn't stop as we were on a freeway, and this picture is through the car window... but it really made my day to see such a radiant rainbow streaming colours through the gloomy rainclouds.

It's really the simple things that are so wonderful.

WOW: Winter Cooking

WOW = WIPS On Wednesdays

Winter has really arrived down my way: the heating is on, it's raining outside and it's time for some serious slow cooking. I love cooking in my crock pot, I think slow cooking is a quilter's best friend. It means I can mix everything together, forget about it for 8 hours and then return after a days quilting to serve dinner.

This morning I have prepared my ingredients, mixed it all together and now I've got a day of sewing to look forward to. I feel productive already...and it's not even 9am!

How's Your Wednesday?

Hopefully this week I will be able to leave a comment when I stop by your blog, I've been having ongoing troubles with commenting on other blogs for a while now, this problem comes and goes. I just want you to know I visit each and every WOW, it's my wednesday / thursday ritual!



WOW: Learning Curves

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Remember when I asked your opinion about whether or not to get a Kindle? You overwhelmingly thought it was a great idea, most of you recommended it and many of you told me how much you loved yours. I knew nothing would ever replace books for me, but I also knew I was tired of carrying multiple books around when travelling.

Well, I have wanted a Kindle for a while now, but with one thing and another, hadn't given it much thought since that post last year...well not until DH bought home a tablet for us each last week.

Excited? Not really, at first I thought it was just another piece of technology 'I was going to have to adapt to'...and I was right, it has been a learning curve! However I have since realised the advantage of a tablet for me is browsing the web, checking emails and reading without the need of a 3.5kg laptop- which can get cumbersome when travelling. I'm still getting used to my new gadget, but am growing very keen on it already. I would never have wanted one before I got used to mine, but now I am starting to really love pulling out a slim journal sized 'access portal', wherever and whenever I want.

With the new tablet in the house, I decided to get savvier all round and have also enrolled in a Step On Pins online class and am working though my lessons...and I have to say, I am starting to get the hang of it! 5 years ago I would never have thought that my quilting interest would become so technically based, I had no intention of doing 'computer related things' and now I find that so much revolves around technology, I don't know how we lived without it!

Today I am working through a Step On Pins online Class...and I'm actually looking forward to it!

How's your wednesday?

Cosmos Block

Details from my Cosmos Block from Part 3 of my Mystery BOM: Forget Me Not.

What a fun block this was to make. As I am making 2x quilts, each month I have to consider which block will best suit my dark quilt background and which block will suit my yellow background?

So far it's been really easy to decide. These cosmos pinks just sing out against the black whereas the Calla Lily white against my yellow background really suited. Of course, another consideration is that almost each listed flower option can have it's colouring changed. The colours I select are exactly that - the colours that speak to me, but you might yet change them to suit your own quilt background. I love the pink peony of last month's block, but I can assure it looks just as good in cream. And that's another advantage of the Yahoo Group - seeing what everyone else is up to with the same pattern.

Take the pattern and colour it in before commiting with fabric, it gives you an instant visual on the look you are creating.

Select the right tone of pinks that work with your backgroud. My background is dark, so it was easy for me to use bright, vivid pinks.

I used raw edge applique for this block

and, I added petal lines with my Prisma pencils in assorted pink shades

I added a small amount of wadding for the centre yellow circle

of the flower for some dimension. 

...simple but lovely, just like a Cosmos flower!

How will you make yours?

 

 

‘Forget Me Not’ is my current free BOM

Blocks are available via my Yahoo BOM Group or Website only.