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!

Modern Winding Ways is finished. 

Quilted, faced (invisibly bound) and hung. read more

Time to show you how my Island Batik challenge quilt for June is coming along. 

Remember earlier in the week I had some fabrics chosen and a plan for a modern take on Winding Ways? Well, as of last night I have a finished modern Winding Ways quilt top.  Come on over and take a peek! read more

If you promise to show me yours, I’ll show you mine…..

I am in the planning and design phase of my next quilt project for Island Batik and I’m looking for the sweet spot where the available fabric, the design brief and my personal preferences intersect. The Island Batik theme for June is “Modern Batik” and the fabrics I have chosen are some of the fat eighths sent me from the Island Batik Elementz range. These fabrics were given to me for use in my role as an Island Batik Ambassador.

For my colour palette, I have ...

Another project for the fabric scrap lovers…..

Are you a hardcore fabric scrap hoarder? I mean, do you keep all your scraps, even All the Little Bits? I’ll admit, I am and I do. I have them in large tubs, sorted roughly into colour groups. But, in my defence, I also know a technique that makes good use of those small fabric scraps. So that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it. read more

The Island Batik Ambassador Challenge for April is “Looking Back: Vintage Quilts Inspiring New Creations”.

And I am having a ball. The only trouble with looking back as you’re moving forward, is that you can get tripped up…… and end up down a rabbit hole……..

So, where to begin?

I can’t possibly tell you everything I have explored under the topic “Vintage Inspired Quilts” lately, but it is fair to say that I wasn’t really sure where to start with this challenge. “Vintage” is a category of quilt that I thought I didn’t like very much ...

Vintage Inspiration from an Adventure Day to Historic Port Adelaide

On the weekend, our Joey Scouts (6-8yo) had a transport-themed adventure day. We went on a bus, then a tram, then a train, then a boat. Then we went to the Aviation Museum to look at planes, and finally took two more trains back. I don’t know about the kids, but by the time we got home, I was exhausted!

The major destinations of our day were located in historic Port Adelaide, one of the oldest parts of our city. Since the Island Batik Ambasador challenge for April is ...

I am positively excited that it is time to meet the Beary Colourful Orange Bear!

April 1st. But no fools here…. just us coloured bears! And it is time to welcome another teddy to our growing family…. the Orange Bear of Positive Attitude. Also known as Thumbs Up Bear!

The fourth bear in the Beary Colourful Quilt BOM series is cheerful like his yellow cousin, but it is his enthusiasm that sets him apart. Know anyone who thinks that “Everything is AWESOME, I want to experience it all!!”? Orange bear is just like them. Positively positive!

Come on over and ...