Oma's Blues Part 5 is Launched

Whoops! Sorry everyone, the 15th just flew by me this month! I think I must have the world's best Moderators over in our Yahoo Group because Glenda sent me an email this morning wondering where the 15th had got to? Good question!

Since returning from my workshop in Queensland, I've been busy working away on the next BOM. As they say, time just flies when you're in the 'zone'...

So here we are: Part 5. It's more charms again this month. Personally, I just love these charm plates and I'm curious to see how everyone decides to position their own arrangements (or insert some new designs all their own?) in the border blocks here. I've arranged these blocks to make sense and mean something special to me, but like all my quilts I know that those of you making it will add something of yourselves as you create the blocks that reflect your own lives.

Oma's Blues is my current free BOM: it's not too late to start as all parts including this month are still available for free over in my Yahoo Bom Group.

WOW: My Favourite Pin Cushion

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

This is Pinny-Sue. She's a 15 year old patchwork square pin cushion with an elastic band back that is stitched to stay in position on my machine. I think I made her up but I can't be sure as I do have some vague recollection of possibly adapting a pattern back in my doll and bear making days. Hmmm, I really don't remember much about making her even though she is now a mainstay in my sewing routine. I keep meaning to make her some new friends for my other machines but simply haven't got around to it.

She's definitely my favourite pin cushion. In fact, when my youngest DD started sewing one of her first projects was to make a pin cushion and when she brought it home she loudly complained that it wasn't a 'proper' pin cushion because 'it didn't have a face!' She's lasted through our beloved cat chewing her Mary-Jane shoes and being sat in the direct glare of a daylight lamp at all hours of the day and night...and she's doing just fine.

Today I'm in Queensland teaching a 2 day workshop. 

It's forecast to be 25c which should feel nice again after the cold snap that's hit back home.

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

WOW: Another Cup!

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Do you remember how I was making a cup sampler last week for my beginners sewing circle? Well, my first DD caught sight of it and certainly felt that she had to have one. Right away. In pink. So I made her this one, a bit higher than my original sample and again without the puff - as requested. Last night my younger DD set eyes on it and now SHE wants one too. 

 I must be missing something here as I don't understand the allure of the fabric cup...

If you'd like to make your own - with or without the highly debatable puff- you can find a link to the original free pattern here. There's also a tutorial over on the site which is easy to follow.

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

Look! Another Love Enwtined (Kirsten Kreutzfeldt's)

I really love my Yahoo BOM Group as there's always images up there that are downright inspiring. I'm honestly awed by the passion and creativity of my online quilting community - to say nothing of our generous Moderators and this all means that I get to see my quilts being made from all over the world all the time. Its a wonderful feeling and I'm so blessed to experience it so often that its almost routine now.

Each and every one is a marvel, they are so beautiful. The truth is, I've run out of words to even express how different, styled and unique they each are. I'm left with saying things like 'it's beautiful' over and over which sounds so glib but the fact is, I don't know what else I can say. THEY'RE ALL SO BEAUTIFUL.

My quilting group is over in Yahoo and this blog is over in Google and somehow, these two worlds just aren't connected enough for my liking.  For one thing, blog readers miss out on just how jaw dropping-ly good these quilts look during their creation. And many comments stay over there where people are viewing images so there's a kind of gulf between the two that I wish I could bring together in one creative place. There's so much advice, info and sharing that happens over there that I often wish Google would create a useful group or that Yahoo would create a useful blog so that we could hang out in one place...it still staggers me in this day and age that such technology often feels disjointed like this.

Anyway, as much as I love my group (and I do), there's something extra special about seeing a project in real life and with Love Entwined that is especially so. There is so much to visually take in you just want to hold and look. And look. And look.

I was delighted to meet Kirsten Kreutzfeldt and see her centre of Love Entwined progress.This is her quilt so far. Kirsten has very generously allowed me permission to photograph her quilt and put it up here on my blog to show everyone. Thanks so much  Kirsten, I just love how you are making this quilt uniquely yours!

What a great compass. I love how the gold is shining from behind, this centre is alive. 

I love the fabrics and I love the zig zag - what a great choice Kirsten.

Also, have you noticed her use of broderie perse? Its sitting so well with the pattern. I know that those of you familiar with Love Entwined can see where she can gone ahead and used artistic license to make it all her own and I think its gorgeous! You have to make what speaks to your own heart and when you do, the result just shines. 

Love the dove (?) too Kirsten, what a character!

 thanks for sharing it with us all...

When I realised how many LE's were being made, and how different they all were, it dawned on me that we needed a not for profit coffee table book to publish, share and enjoy between ourselves. This is something I am working on (you know, its on the list). I haven't felt a hurry for it because I know it will be a few more years before enough quilts are finished, but just seeing so many of them progressing so much faster than I ever expected makes me excited all over again.

Love Entwined, what a legacy. 

My Tea Cup

Well, I made it. This is my sample and its a bit rough looking but I managed it without the puff and I think it's OK. I think I prefer the original with the puffiness and I think the cup is a bit low and flat but, I don't know...it's kind of cute I guess? The original as shown in the video is much better and I think the puff adds a whole world of cuteness. I think I might persuade my group to return to the puff as it does lose some charm when its flat like this.

For those of you who missed my WOW post, you can find the video and pattern relating to this pattern on this link - the pattern is up for free download on the site. I don't speak Spanish but I think the tutorial is straight forward enough just by watching. This is not my pattern - I have nothing to do with it, I'm simply making it.

Hmmm, it's growing on me I must admit...

WOW: How About A Cup Of ?

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

I volunteer teach in a women's sewing circle. Each week I show them techniques on getting basic sewing things done and how to use different sewing machines, and feet and stitches and that kind of thing. Lately they've started giving me requests on things they'd like to make. For these young women, that mostly means Pinterest. I find this so interesting and it gives me a fresh insight into what inspires and gives younger sewers the desire to create with fabric. The latest thing they'd like me to teach them is making a fabric tea cup. Why would anyone want one of these? I have no idea. But I do like a challenge.

They gave me the blog 'www.pinheiro.com' which is what they're working from although there is no pattern. So I was unsure about the Copyright issues in that so I went looking and found the original source here and they have it up for free on the side as a kind of pattern image. So you can head over there if you're interested in making a cup yourself.

My task to to create the cup without the puffiness so I'll let you know how I get on.

I think its really great when people share their enthusiasm over on the internet for free, its very generous. This tea cup has really inspired so many people and now I find myself showing others how to make it too - it feels so nice to be linked in like that. I wonder how many fabric cups there are being made around the world right now?

What do you think? Does a fabric cup appeal?

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

A Trip to Castlemaine

Phew! I'm finally back on my feet and not a minute too soon. There's so much I want to share with you all and I will...just as soon as I've caught up on my emails and caught my breath! Thank you to everyone who emailed me whilst I was sick; you sent me your favorite chicken soup recipes ( I have three now) as well as your much tested ginger and thyme tea ideas and honestly, they all helped. It's so nice to get so much love and encouragement from quilters out there, it really made a difference. I have eaten so much chicken soup that it was really getting boring for a while there so your ideas (anise in one and sesame seeds in another) really perked me up just when I needed it. Thank you for thinking of me when I was unwell. I think I must have the best blog readers out there - in fact, I'm sure of it.

On Friday my DD took a day off work and came to visit me to cook and help me out around the house as nothing much has got done lately. Although I was still feeling a bit under the weather I was determined to get to Castlemaine to satisfy a very particular fabric craving. There's a fabric shop there which, based on many recommendations, I was sure would have just what I needed.

Now, I know what you must be thinking - more fabric? aren't you trying to sell your stash? do you really need MORE? And the truth is no, I don't need any more fabric and yes, I am still selling and giving away my stash (mostly giving it away each week as I volunteer in a sewing circle). But I do have one allowance - and that is finding quilt specific fabric in a limited amount for a specific thing.

Specific is the word I have to keep in mind when browsing through gorgeous fabrics. You see, both my Love Entwined projects have reached a point where they need a very specific kind of fabric - which I haven't been able to find anywhere. And I was certain I would find it there. Castlemaine is 2 hour drive from where I live. So we ended up having a mini day trip, all in aid of my fabric craving.

The shop is full of beautiful fabrics and has a good range in there, I must say. And if I wasn't living by my self imposed rule of limited my fabric purchases to actual projects, I would have walked out with many metres of ideas. But that is just my problem. My stash is full of potential ideas...and not enough quilts. So I stuck to my resolve. And if I'm honest, my DD constantly reminding me about my excess fabric stash at home helped too!

You know when you really want to buy something...but you cant find anything suitable? That's how I felt. I really tried to pick up the fabric I needed, but there was nothing that worked for either of my LE's. What a shame!

I feel in love with this fabric but unfortunately it just didn't work with my red and white LE. I tried looking at it every which way - but finally had to admit that it was all wrong for my white background quilt! How I yearned to buy the whole bolt! But I stopped myself, I have plenty of reds at home. I even tried 'buffering' its overly dramatic impact with another fabric first - but neither worked. I had to walk away from this wonderful print and accept that it wasn't for me.

Hard but true. This whole shelf here was calling my name and I wanted a few metres of each one. But neither suited my LE.

After realizing that my red and white LE was too difficult to match, I pulled out my first heirloom LE as I also need some more fabrics for that quilt, and again - there were so many beautiful fabrics but nothing just right for my quilt. I tried and looked and re-tried but nothing zinged. Here I was, in the middle of Castlemaine and not a single fabric to buy. It seemed unbelievable to me. But then I had to remind myself that if I can't use it immediately I probably won't use it (as my stash has proven). So I had to walk away.

Being a historic old town which I hadn't visited in a while, I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon looking through all the shops and stopping for lunch with my DD. It was a really enjoyable outing but not a productive one. Using a white fabric background definitely poses its own challenges. For one thing, many era style fabrics have beiged backgrounds that look too dull or just out of place with my quilt so far so I have to be careful in matching up tones so that the whole quilt is complimentary.

It's a challenge but I'm fairly sure that if I had opted for a light warm background, everything around now would be printed on a white, so it might just be the luck of the draw...or maybe I'm ahead of the trend (?!) We'll see.

Technically I keep telling myself that I have plenty of time,and I might just have to wait until white backgrounds come into trend again. There's no use buying beautiful fabrics if they don't zing, I'll have have to keep an eye out until I spot the right fabric for the project.

I'm impatient and want to progress on both these projects so I hope that's soon!