WIP Wednesday

I've got lots of bits and pieces to share with you this Wednesday.  First up are these two blocks I made for the guild block of the month.  The request was for Oriental type fabrics so I was able to pull these gold-highlighted japanese fabrics out of my stash - I think they do the job nicely.

 

 

Next up are wonky crosses for Amira, made as part of the Simply Solids bee.  Comments on these blocks have been funny - one friend thought they were not wonky enough, whereas my Dad was worried I'd made a mistake!

 

 

This cute little New Zealand block is heading off to represent me in a quilt far away.  I think the blue and white print from Sarah Jane's Out to Sea collection makes a perfect background, and I managed to get the square out of an offcut from a quilt back - bonus!  Of course the Flea Market Fancy print is just the right green, as always.

 

 

A sewing day with friends on Sunday gave me time to cut strips of lots of different blue and green fabrics and start making these scrappy log cabin blocks with fussy cut centres.  I've actually finished the quilt top which is made out of 9 of these blocks - I love super quick projects like this!

 

 

I've spent a bit more time on the couch than usual over the last couple of weeks, but the break has done me good and I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time at my sewing machine!  Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

Stash Matching

Today I'm delighted to be participating in the fun Stash Match game over at Ali's blog a.squared.w.  

You know I don't need any excuse to put a bundle of fabrics together, especially when the inspiration is this lovely Anna Maria Horner print.

 

It's also really interesting to see the different bundles people put together starting from the same inspiration.  That said, I've found it devilishly hard to work out whose bundle is whose, so I thought I would give you a little hint... 

At least 6 of the fabrics in my bundle have already featured in past projects of mine.  This pillow even features two of the fabrics in my bundle.

I hope that helps - and good luck if you are playing the Stash Match game this month!

My class sample quilts

I wanted to share a few more details about the sample quilts I made for my modern baby quilt class at Stitchbird Fabrics.  

The inspiration for this quilt came from this totally adorable Kokka "mustaherukka" fabric featuring quirky woodland creatures and little line drawn trees and plants.  Some lovely mustard yellow, olives (both black and green), and a bit of cool silvery blue for a breath of fresh air give this quilt a nice calm, outdoorsy feel.

 

I think the back of a quilt should look as nice as the front, and for me this blue fabric does this trick. It reminds me of frogs eggs, which somehow fits perfectly with the front.

 

At first I quilted this quilt in a simple diagonal cross-hatch running through the centre of each square. Then I felt it needed a little more quilting, so I marked lines touching the corner of each inner square with my trusty hera marker and quilted away.  I'm thrilled with the pattern the quilting makes - it wasn't what I expected when I started quilting and that's half the fun!

The other quilt is anything but calm!  I have long admired the awesome bright Echino fabric that Lyndy stocks, but hadn't managed to use it in a quilt yet.  Happily, this quilt bumped it up my to do list!

I don't often fussy cut fabrics, but this little birdie was too cute not to feature.

The backing fabric is an Echino extra wide fabric that I love.  It's a cotton linen blend like the other Echino fabrics, but the proportion of cotton to linen is much higher so it's light and soft, not unlike a quilting cotton.  I would use this for another quilt back in a heartbeat (and the fact that it's 54" wide doesn't hurt either!).

I quilted lines 1/4" off the seam - it makes for a lovely simple quilting design but is deceptively tricky to get looking nice.  I had to un-pick several quilting lines and you know how much I hate un-sewing! I take my hat off to those quilters who have mastered this technique.

Isn't it nice when a quilt co-ordinates with both your couch and your cat?  Ivy couldn't resist photobombing my photo session.

Both these quilts are now hanging out at Stitchbird, so you'll see them if you pop in to visit.  If you are interested in learning to make your own version of this quilt, you can find all the details for my class here.  Places are filling up already so please do contact Lyndy if you want to sign up.

Linking up with:

    

and finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

Also, the bright baby quilt is the second of my third quarter goals that I've finished - yay!  I'll be linking up with Leanne at she can quilt at the end of September as part of the 2013 Finish Along.



Saturday Cat Words of Wisdom #30

"You might think you're good at hide and seek. You could be wrong. But you are still the best at something, probably." Ivy

If you would like to see your pet featured on Caturdays (other pets are also welcome!), flick an email to adrianneonthewindyside at gmail dot com.  Have a great weekend! Enjoy a game of hide and seek!

Teaching at Stitchbird!

One of my favourite local quilt shops has to be Stitchbird Fabrics. 



This gorgeous little shop is absolutely full to the brim with a wonderful selection of beautiful modern fabrics.

 

Yardage is available, as well as lovely pre-cut fat quarters.  Stitchbird has a particularly good selection of fabrics from Japanese manufacturers like Lecien, Kokka and Echino, as well as a nice range of solid fabrics to complement all the prints, including my favourite Essex cotton/linen blends.

Owner Lyndy is a fellow fabric-a-holic and quilter, and often makes cute little sewn goodies for the shop.  She seems to have a running inventory of fabric in stock in her head and it's always worth asking her advice if you're looking for something in particular.

There's plenty to take your fancy even if you're not looking for fabric, with lovely trinkets, jewellery, ceramics and other handmade pieces just waiting to come home with you.

 

Keep an eye out for cute ribbon and other trims, all attractively displayed on these big wooden spools.

 

Stitchbird is located at Shop 19, Kilbirnie Plaza, in Kilbirnie, Wellington (quite handy to the airport if you're visiting!).  If you're not in Wellington, you can order online, and Lyndy will ship your fabric to wherever in the world you may be.  There is free shipping within New Zealand for all fabric orders over $50.

 

I've been working with Lyndy on a rather special project for the last little while, and I'm delighted to announce that I will be teaching a modern baby quilt class through Stitchbird very soon! I'll be sharing a few more photos of the sample quilts for the class in the next few days, but I wanted to give you a look at the quilt I'll be teaching in class.

 

 

I designed the quilt to be simple enough to complete over the two day-long classes so that participants come away with all the skills needed to make a quilt from start to finish.  Since the design is so simple, there's a lot of opportunity for fabric play - my favourite part!  Both these samples are made up using the same pattern but different fabrics from Stitchbird, and I love how different they look.

You can find all the class details, including dates and prices, here.  If you're in Wellington and interested in learning how to make a fun modern baby quilt, I hope you'll join me!