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Pinwheels Mystery Quilt Progress

Over a year ago I started a quilt that will actually, one day, be for me! I started it at a Pick-A-Case mystery retreat with Judy in Bordertown. Which I attended at the invitation and insistence of my at-the-time-unmet internet blogger friend, Joy (of Days Filled with Joy blogging fame).

But once I was home from that retreat, the quilt dropped like a stone in the priority queue and stalled. I’m sure many of you will be familiar with the troubles associated with finishing a project for oneself over all the other important and urgent ...

Before we head down the Drunkard’s Path, let’s talk colours

Today’s colours are brought to you by Northcott. These are the fabrics for one of my upcoming projects, and all but the brown Shadow Play (by Maywood Studio) are silky cotton fabrics by Deborah Edwards, Northcott Studio. The red, dark green, blue and purple Bold Beautiful Basics have been supplied to me specifically for the project, which is a quilt block for Marian’s Once Upon A Story Row Along at Seams to be Sew. This hop is coming up soon in September.

I love the feel ...

This month I am getting into my Island Batik Ambassador challenge really early. What a Star!

If you think that the enthusiasm is caused by new supplies, you’d be spot on! A new box of goodies from Island Batik always gets the creative juices flowing. The Island Batik Ambassador Challenge for me for August is to make a project featuring a star block of my choosing. I have long wanted to do something with wonky stars, so now is the time.

I’ve already finished my August flimsy, and I didn’t even change my mind about what I ...

Shall I tell you a tall story….?

Sure! Once upon a time, there were two slightly naughty, spotted goats who lived with their grandma in a thatched cottage in a small village. Their names were Girome and Giraldeen, and they were non-identical twins. Girome had already grown a little larger than Giraldeen, and a little bit naughtier too.

One day Girome said to Giraldeen, “I spy a new lolly jar! Let’s raid it”. And Giraldeen replied “I like your thinking, but we’re banned from climbing the shelves. Remember?”

“Ahhh…..” said Girome, “But Nan didn’t ban us from ...

Always Choose Tropical

I am slowly working through a huge backlog of blog-relevant news and quilty happenings! I can’t believe July has been such a huge month, it certainly wasn’t forecast that way. Or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention! Anyway, we’re halfway in, and I still need to post two Love with a Twist patterns (aiming for one on Friday), an unboxing post for Island Batik (next week), and a number of other smaller things I’m messing around with.

But before all that, I really want to give you the lowdown on the Chameleon ...

Rubber Duckie You’re the One…… You make bathtime lots of fun!….

Rubber Duckie, I’m awfully fond of yooooooo-ooooou!

Sorry, couldn’t help it…. I’ve been working on the next block for our Love with a Twist quilt along. No prizes for guessing that it’s a duck. And that I have done my appliqué in yellow and orange ...

Crazed: characterized by a network of fine cracks….

I’m naming my latest Island Batik challenge quilt “Crazed Diamonds”. I think that speaks well to both the crazy quilt heritage and the modern outcome of this quilt design. And possibly my wider quilting life too… read more

Dippy Balloon Dog is the second of our appliqué blocks for the Love with a Twist quilt along. He is a loveable, friendly character with adorable big floppy ears. Awwwww.

There are two downloads in this post – make sure you get them both

In this post you will find a downloadable pdf for the shapes and layout to make this charming balloon dog. And a short pictorial on how the parts go together too.

There is also a second downloadable for people wanting to make the dog for the twin size version of the Love with a Twist quilt. For ...

Balloon Animal Block 1A – Pretty Poodle

Finally, it’s here – the first appliqué for the Love with a Twist quilt along! You will find the free downloadable balloon poodle appliqué pattern within this post. And a short pictorial on how to put it together too.

You know how I have always had every intention of this quilt along being a little relaxed and random in its delivery?…. Well, that is still so. But I didn’t really intend for it to be quite this long between the throw-size quilt construction instructions and the release of Block 1A. Apologies! But with ...

Wild Thing(s), You Make My Heart Sing!

Ok, so that line’s been done before… Even for this exact fabric collection, by at least one other Island Batik Ambassador. But my quilt is covered in Whimsical Wild Things and this project does truly make me happy. So I’m subjecting to you to the obvious earworm  anyway!

Wild Thing! Bah da da da dah! You make my heart sing! Bah da da da dah! You make eeeeverything Grooooooo-veeeey!

But I’m not just here to torture you with old rock tunes. I promised you a progress update and a ...

December at Island Batik is Whimsical and Wonky….. and Wild!

The challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors for this month is Whimsical and Wonky. Well, that pretty much sums up all my quilts…. so would you believe I had the hardest time settling on an idea for this challenge? The hardest time!

But I now have a plan I’m happy with. And I’ve started! I think it should be fun. read more

Have you noticed how an absence of colour can bring out the drama and depth in a picture or design?

And emphasise all the details? I am one of the biggest colour lovers out there, but I also recognise that colour can sometimes be a distraction from the other features of a fantastic design.

Seeing something in black and white really helps to distil the important elements out of a picture, don’t you think? What is it about the subject that makes its form distinctive and recognisable? Where are the contrasts and shadows that give the subject that “wow ...

This Kwiltin’ Koala had a big week and an even bigger weekend!

I know just how she feels! Last week I had the excitement and privilege of submitting my first finished magazine quilt pattern. I can’t wait til it gets to press and I can tell you more. Woo hoo! And then I had a weekend of two Scouting activities with the kids and my brother’s 40th birthday party! So this fuzzy cutey is not the only Australian on the hunt for a comfy place to nap today.

Having said that….. I still managed to finish my log ...

I have a pesky quilt squirrel idea stuck in my head!

That’s probably not a big surprise to you, I know. But it is a persistent little vermin of an idea that keeps reoccurring like heartburn and I don’t have time right now to explore it. Instead, I keep allocating it a dodgy neuron in a bad neighbourhood of my brain in the hope that it will get forgotten.  But to no avail.

Do you ever get creative ideas that just won’t go away?

This picture by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash is the latest in a string ...

Cosy Cabins. Or should that be Crazy Cabins? There’s Cabin Fever at Clever Chameleon this week and the cat is off his nut.

The monthly exercise for the Island Batik Ambassadors this November is “Cosy Cabins – Log Cabin Challenge. Incorporate a log cabin block or log cabin variations into your project“. I was so, so pleased to see this challenge on the list. The log cabin block and its almost endless variations are right on top of my favourites list. And among the fabrics given to me to work with as an Island Batik Ambassador were these. 

Beautiful, beautiful ...

Tuesday and a half ago, I said I was starting on a thanksgiving-themed wall quilt in Blossom Batiks – Splash fabrics. It’s getting there…..

When my samples of Blossom Batiks – Splash fabrics from RJR arrived in the post, the first thing they reminded me of was sweet pea flowers. Probably because my hubby’s Gran used to grow sweet peas every year, in colours not dissimilar to these. Blue-green leaves and two-tone purple flowers.

And as it turns out, this was a very helpful association to have. Because, as well as the October Beary Colourful bears, I had promised RJR ...

Today I have for you a recycled idea and a brand new quilt!

For September, the theme for the Island Batik Ambassador projects is “Starstruck”. This theme immediately and happily put me in mind of a quilt design I conceived for Colour Inspiration Tuesday last November. Finally, I had a reason to put “Aurora Star” at the top of the ideas-to-play-with priority queue. Then, noticing that it’s now Bloggers’ Quilt Festival Week,  I found the extra motivation I needed to get a quilt finish on the table asap. Literally. Ha! There’s a filthy big clue to what I ...

Today is the fourth day of the Fabulous Freebies blog hop. Isn’t that Great!?! 

This is the hop where we get to tell you about our favourite online quilting freebies….. resources we have found or written in the past and still love now. And there are plenty of new freebies going around too! This generous hop is hosted by the very interesting, funny and talented Joan of Moosestash Quilting. If you are not already a regular at Joan’s you are missing out, not just on fun quilting banter, but her unique garden and her adorable kittens too. Do ...

Gifts from Nepal

At times my husband travels overseas for work. One of the conditions of him being granted domestic leave to do so is that he brings back something interesting from the country(s) he’s visited. read more

I love whole cloth quilts, but I doubt that I have the patience to make one.

Doesn’t mean I have to stop designing them though!