Sunday Stash #20

My aim for this week's Sunday Stash was to present fabrics with a muted tone.  I am usually instantly attracted to brightly colored fabrics but I also have a soft spot for muted colored fabrics.  These in particular appeal:

They are from left to right:

1. Cosmo Animal Bubble in Cream by Cosmo Textile Co Ltd
2. White dot on Brown - Color Basics - by Lecien
   
3. Grey and White stripe - Color Basics - by Lecien 
   
4. Dotted flowers from the Minnu Muu Collection by Lecien
5. Coriander in Pink from the Belle range by Amy Butler (not so muted!)
   

How sweet is this Japanese animal print!  It is destined for a baby quilt that is already developing in my mind.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

100,000 Visits and a Domain Name

Wow!  Today visitor 100,000 passed through my blogspot!  I can hardly believe how much attention my little blog has drawn, and would love to thank each and every one of you who have made this journey into blogging so rewarding! I have "met" some very talented and creative people, from whom I draw inspiration everyday, and hope to have inspired others who regularly read my blog to pick up their rotary cutter and dig into their stash.

I now have my own domain name:

www.redpepperquilts.com


Please follow me there! 


Please could you update your bookmarks and blog links so that I will not lose you in this process!

I have noticed that I have lost the links to some of my favorite blogs in the side bar and will endeavour to fix this up as soon as possible.  Hopefully no other hiccups will occur!

Oh and whilst I am here, please oh please could you add your name to this worthy petition calling upon the manufacturers of the much loved Flea Market Fancy range of fabrics by Denyse Schmidt to be reprinted. 

Even Denyse has added her name to the petition, so there is hope!

Unfinished Quilts

Here is one I prepared earlier.  Yes, I do have plenty of unfinished quilt tops and work in progress that are demanding some attention. I do not feel burdened by unfinished quilts, but rather re-assured by that fact that there is always something that I can work on. It is better to remain positive about these things hey?  Who doesn't have unfinished quilts?

This quilt top is made using fabrics predominantly from Heather Bailey's Fresh Cut range.  The contrasting solid fabric is Kaufman Kona Cotton in White.  It was machine pieced in February this year before blogging.  It is such a pretty quilt top, and deserves to be finished.  I have pulled out my remaining stash of Fresh Cut fabrics and have started piecing the quilt backing.   Again a really simple quilt which allows the pretty fabrics to speak for themselves.

Spring has sprung in Melbourne, and we are enjoying a gorgeous Spring day with lovely sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures, but it is oh so windy!  This is great for the washing, but not ideal for taking pictures of quilts!

Daisy Chain Quilt

I have finished quilting the Daisy Chain Quilt!  Hooray!  And I feel like the Free Motion Quilting monkey has been lifted off my back somewhat.

 Finished Quilt measures 50 inches x 38.5 inches

I must say I am really pleased with the overall look of the quilt and I feel like I have overcome some of my fear of free motion quilting, although I do realize that only through more practice will I gain confidence and improve my skills.

I think that a major part of my fear stems from needing the quilting to look perfect, but that is not what quilting is all about and I am trying to let go, to go with the flow and stop being stifled by my own expectations.

The back of the quilt features a cotton printed fabric by Anna Maria Horner from the Garden Party Range, the solid fabric is a heavier weight linen/cotton blend in a natural color.  To balance out this slightly more weighty fabric I have used QuiltLite as a batting.  As a result this quilt drapes beautifully.

I have added a burnt orange binding fabric by Joelle Hoverson - Net of Jewels  -  to frame the quilt.  This almost solid colored woven fabric has a textured and somewhat heavier feel about it, but the color is iridescent and adds the finishing touch to this quilt.

 This quilt is now for sale in my Etsy Store.  Be sure to check it out!

Stashing

Take a look at what the man in the little white van dropped off at my house yesterday!

These cotton fabrics are great quality and different to just about anything else out there, and believe me I have been looking!

These were purchased here: Etsy - Wonderfluff.

The designer behind these unique fabrics is Liz from www.lizscott.com, and they are definitely one of a kind designs.  The fabric is digitally printed at Spoonflower on 100% quilter's weight cotton.

My favorite!

Today the postman delivered another package.  This time a complete surprise sent to me by Kate from One Flew Over.  Thank you so much for sharing Kate, I know how hard it is to source these scarce Munki Munki Fabrics, and how much they are loved!

Munki Munki fabric by Heather Ross

Another envelope arrived also today, no surprises there, my credit card statement.  Ho hum bah!

Daisy Inspiration

Last weekend my boys (husband and son) made their way to Adelaide to watch their favorite football team play in a final game.  Much to their dismay their team was annihilated.  However, something good has come from their trip away as it gave me the perfect excuse to fill in time by visiting my local patchwork store. 

One of my closest patchwork stores is Patchwork House, and I like to drop in occasionally just to see and touch what is on the shelves.  This visit I was inspired by and purchased this medium weight fat quarter.

Furthermore, this fabric immediately struck a chord.  I knew instantly how I could use this fabric as a feature and practice my free motion quilting on my new sewing machine.  It is 100% cotton fabric embossed with a daisy flower and an overall slightly crinkled texture.

I have really enjoyed finding fabric from my stash to compliment the new purchase and have pieced together a strip of fabrics to feature in the new quilt that I am now free motion quilting.

I have yet to feel comfortable with the whole free motion quilting process, but using the daisies embossed in the fabric as a guide has made it so much easier. It has provided me with insight into my new machine and a better feeling of the motion required to obtain smooth curves and even stitches.

The Daisy Chain Quilt is progressing well.  I am ever so pleased with how the quilting is going, and hope to show a finished product soon. I guess it is all about just doing it, and practicing.

Single Girl Quilt Block

Rachel from Second Avenue Studio  correctly guessed what I was working on last week  to break in the new Bernina!

I absolutely adore the Single Girl Quilt designed by Denyse Schmidt and have been working on a test block for a few days. I am determined to make this quilt, and have tested the pattern with White Kona Cotton as a background.

I do love how the crisp white fabric contrasts so brilliantly with the vividly colored printed fabrics. I am however considering using a grey or beige solid fabric instead and have been perusing the Kona Cotton color charts.

When I received the patterned I was most surprised to find that the arcs are pieced by individual templates rather than a foundation pieced arc. There are four arcs that make up each circle and each of the four arcs are different and require the making of up to 8 templates. Each circle has a total of 32 templates and just copying, cutting and pasting onto colored lightweight cardboard was an effort in itself.

Now I just need to make up my mind about the color for the background fabric and I will be all set to go. I am looking forward to having a more long term project that I can work on as I feel like over the next few months. There are bound to be many distractions though, including some much anticipated school holidays!

Sunday Stash #19

A mish mash of yellow, green and grey colors.

From left to right they are:

"1974" by Urban Chicks for Moda in yellow dots
"Freckles" - Pindots by Freespirit Fabric in Lime
"Rainbow Gardens" - by Prints Charming - Baby Paisley in Grey
"Swell" by Urban chicks for Moda

Again I love how these fabrics all work so well together despite the fact that they are from such diverse fabric designers and various collections. Mixing fabrics and color is one of the keys to great looking quilts. Step outside of the fabric range and be bold and confident when mixing collections and designers. I am slowly getting better at it.

Wishing all the fathers out there a Happy Father's Day!

Ready to Go!

I have a fantastic Horn Sewing Machine Workstation into which I can lower my sewing machine thereby having a very large flat work surface. I received the new plastic custom made insert for the sewing cabinet to fit the Bernina just yesterday, and the whole set up is now ready to go.

Custom made insert surrounds the sewing machine and sits flush with the top of the workstation.

Having this workstation makes quilting just so much easier; I am seriously spoiled. The weight of the quilt is well-supported by the large workspace thereby avoiding most of the tugging and dragging that can result in irregular stitches, uneven quilting and even distortion of the finished quilt.

Here is a view from above my workspace giving a better indication of just how large my work surface is. I have also positioned my sewing machine directly in front of a large window providing much natural light and winter sun.

Spring has arrived though, and I am in the mood for a quilt project that I can immerse myself in. I have chosen a more challenging quilt pattern with each finished block having 32 different templates. I have copied, cut, pasted on to lightweight cardboard, and color coded the templates. A test block is in progress.

More details to follow soon.

Just playing....

You know I absolutely had to play with my new Bernina yesterday, it had been calling me all weekend.

In many ways this machine is very similar to my Janome; the way it is threaded, the location of the buttons and the bobbin winder all function very similarly. It certainly does not feel like a complete stranger to me.

My first project on this machine was always going to be something small. I am still waiting for the custom made plastic insert that will surround the machine so that it can be lowered into my Horn Sewing Cabinet, thereby giving me a large flat workspace.

Confetti Baby Quilt

Quilt measures 24 inches x 24 inches

This little quilt, inspired by this image, was made yesterday. The top was pieced in the morning, and subsequently basted and quilted. It was pieced with the new machine, and after some initial bobbin hiccups it quilted like a dream! Truly, it made a huge difference to the ease of quilting, and the correct stitch definition and length was so much easier to maintain.

Crinkled washed and tumble dried texture.

This picture was taken with the early morning sun shining across the top of the quilt and shows the quilting design quite clearly. I quilted it with a squared off spiral starting in the center of the quilt, but deviating from the spiral just around two of the confetti blocks. I used a walking foot and just normal cotton thread that matches the top of the quilt.

The Confetti Baby Quilt/Stroller Blanket has been added to my Etsy Store together with the Jaffa quilt which I finished earlier this week.

Jaffa Quilt

It seems the Bernina and I are going to get along famously.