I'm so excited !!!

 I just booked all my classes for the Australian Machine Quilting Festival in Adelaide in October. I got all the classes I wanted and flights and accommodation are booked.

So while I'm waiting for this awesome event to arrive I have to do some real work. I machine quilt most days, because its my job, and sometimes a quilt comes along that stretches my creativity. 

Then along came this quilt. It is made from shot silk and has fabulous machine embroidery on it.

I outline quilted all the embroidery and stitched in all the ditches. That took me 2 days to do. Then came all the fill designs. There was a lot of fullness in the centre of the quilt so an all over swirl was perfect to take up the extra fabric.

Using  a curved template, I stitched a double line using the outer embroidery as my inspiration. I then used this line as the spine for the feathers. Pebbling finished off the centre panel.  It took just as long to pebble as it did to do the feathers....

Next was the borders. I marked in a curve for the feathers. This is my favourite part of this quilt.

I did the same feathers in the large outer border, just larger of course.


In the light coloured borders I did simple diamonds with a straight ruler.







This quilt took 28 hours to quilt. It was totally worth it though, I think it turned out fab. The owner absolutely loves it.

Happy Quilting
Leanne xo

March Already.....

Well, I have been getting myself organised....

Unfortunately I haven't been able to fit in computer time until now. The good thing is part of my getting organised was to make time for myself and get fit and healthy. I can report that I am succeeding better than I expected. I signed up for the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation and in 6 weeks I have lost 7.5kg and a whole dress size....yippee !!!! I am in it for the long haul. I have about 25kg more to lose. I have made a life change for myself and my family. We all have tons more energy and we are happy....

 

Quilting has become more enjoyable too. Because I am stronger, my back doesn't ache as much and I am able to stand all day with no problem. So last week I made this cute quilt. a jelly roll race quilt with giant applique flowers. I topped it of with custom quilting to enhance the quilt....

 

 

 

 

 

My niece Annalee came to visit with us for a couple of days last week. What else would you do when visiting your crazy quilt obsessed Aunt....make a quilt of course. She is so clever. This is the first time she has ever sewn. I'm so proud. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Quilting

Leanne xo

 

Organised I will be....

I am really excited about getting things in order around our place.

As we live in a barn we are lacking in storage, but this year I am going to change that.

We are extending another room into the roof space at one end of upstairs for our biggest boy. The other two are having a custom built-in double size bunk bed in their room which will free up some space upstairs for a tv and study area.

 

So today I got a start on my organisation...In a shipping container we have for storage I found some old baskets that we had saved when the frames they went in were broken....perfect for the boys clothes cupboard....

 

It is so good to purge out stuff that is cluttering up our space. Like a breath of fresh air.

 

While I was on my cleaning high, I cleaned the cupboard under the kitchen sink...ah that's better.

 

My inspiration for organising this year is from The Organised Housewife. Her website and facebook page are great and really help to keep me motivated.

 

Back to quilting soon...

 

Leanne xo

 

 

 

 



Being Present.....

.....that is what I have been for my family for the last two months of no blogging. In fact, I have hardly even turned my computer on.

 I was incredibly busy quilting customer quilts coming up to Christmas so I made a conscious decision to do only the things that are important to me and my family. When not quilting I have had a heap of social events that got me out of my lonesome workplace and spending time with friends and family...

I am feeling extremely relaxed after taking three weeks off. We have been enjoying the summer at our little patch of paradise....swimming in the pool, playing pool and air hockey on our new table, having family and friends over and just relaxing in general.

 

I am looking forward to all that 2014 brings. I have chosen a word to help me through the next 12 months.

*ORGANISED*

 

So here goes.....bring on 2014, I'm ready.... 

 

 

Friday Showcase....

Last Friday I headed to Sydney on the train with my friend Jan to attend the Friday Showcase at the NSW Quilters Guild.

Who was the guest quilter I hear you ask ???

It was ME !!!!

 

Suitcases packed full of my creations, Jan and I chatted all the way to the big smoke. I haven't been on a train for about 13 years. It was a good experience and I would definitely do it again.

 

 

Once we arrived in Sydney I was really glad to have Jan with me. I was totally turned around and had no clue where I was. I followed along and we emerged onto Pitt St. I do love the city....

 

A good number of ladies came to see my showcase of quilts. I was really nervous to speak at first but once I got started you couldn't stop me. In case you don't know, I like to chat a little ...lol

 

I spent the next one and a half hours talking about my quilting journey, including all my ups and downs. It was quite therapeutic... Lots of questions were asked and everyone was very interested in my quilts and different techniques.

 

You will notice in the photos below that I not only love to talk but I also talk with my hands a lot...lol

 

 

 

 

I got to meet lots of new people and I caught up with the lovely Chris Jurd who had some very nice things to say about me over on her blog.

 

After the showcase we headed over to the Queen Victoria Building (with suitcases in tow) for lunch....it was YUM ! and felt a bit posh for this country girl.

 

I had the best day. Thanks Jan for convincing me to do the showcase. I feel like it's opened up a whole new world to me....

 

Happy Quilting

Leanne xo

 

 

So Lucky.....

I'm very lucky to work in a job that I love to do.

 Machine quilting, quilt designing and teaching patchwork are my passion and I get to share it all with you....

I have been extremely busy lately quilting and designing and have neglected my blogging terribly. I check in with you all at your blogs everyday and I get loads of inspiration from all you've been up to.

 

Anyway, here's a little of what I've been doing...

 

I have a little somethin' somethin' in the latest Quilts from Precuts.... in stores now..hehe

There's my name on the front cover and apparently I'm an "Artisan".... lol

 

 

 

 

This is "Lucy" (in the sky with diamonds)

I just took this photo. You can see the smoke from the horrid bushfires that are raging around our area at the moment. Very scary and sad stuff :( That little pink dot in the sky is the sun !!

 

A paddock shot...

 

A while back I started a couple of quilts to get me out of my design slump. I used two patterns from Sew Kind of Wonderful and Jenny's awesome quick curve ruler.

 

This is Metro Medallion

This is Metro Hoops

 

I LOVE them both so much !!! I won't get to quilt them until January when I take the month off and get to quilt my quilts....

This little number below came back to me like a boomerang...I basted it for the owner for her to quilt it herself and, well you can see the size of it, she chose to bring it back for me to custom quilt it.

It took me 3 full days to quilt. Lots of stitch in the ditch...

 

And lots of pretty swirls and feathers....

 

 

Happy Quilting

Leanne xo

 

A show, a sew and lots of laughs....

 

Last week I spent 5 days at the Newcastle Stitches & Craft Fair. I was there representing the Central Coast Modern Quilt Guild. We were asked by the show organisers if we would like to exhibit some of our quilts and have an area to sew....

We had so much fun. It was great meeting new people and sharing our love of quilting. My fellow guild members joined me each day to sew and chat and sew and chat and shop of course...

 

This is our stand area...it was huge !!

 

 

 These are the blocks we made over 4 days....

 

 

This is how we are finishing the blocks off.... I love them !!! They will be 2 charity quilts...

 

And I was surprised by a visit from a blogging friend Cardygirl. This is the first time we have met outside the blogosphere. We live so close to one another I'm sure we will be catching up again very soon...

 

 

I have my sewjo back big time now. I have been sewing heaps and of course I quilt every day cause that's my job...It's great having a job doing something I love to do...I feel very lucky :)

 

Happy Quilting

 

Leanne xo



a quilt along.....

Today I started the "Metro Medallion" quilt along with Jenny at Sew Kind of Wonderful.

I have had my "quick curve" ruler for quite a while now so it's great to be using it on such a fun quilt.

Below are the fabrics I am using. Mostly Lou Lou Thi from Anna Maria Horner with some Hope Valley mixed in there.

 

 

 

This is my first block !!! I am addicted... I love it so much. The original pattern is 16 blocks but in true Leanne form I have bumped it up to 36 !!! No point making a quilt if I can't use it on a bed, right? :) That's for all of you who know me and know that I never make small quilts.

 

That's the forth quilt I have cut out in 4 days. I have another one of Jenny's underway as well. With the fabrics in my previous post. I'll get a bit more done on it and I'll be back with pics...

 

Happy Quilting

'Cause I am :)

Leanne xo



I found it .....

.....my mojo that is !!!
Look at these lovelies I pulled from my stash this morning. They are going to be a quilt.  "Metro Hoops" by Jenny from Sew Kind of Wonderful.  I decided that if I don't feel like designing then I'll make a quilt from a pattern that I love. At least if I'm sewing it will keep me inspired ....

Happy Quilting
Leanne xo

Lost me Mojo :/

I don't know if it's the gloomy weather that has gone on for just too long or whether it's a creative slump that I'm in. Either way it's really annoying. I feel like I've lost my quilt design Mojo.

I have started a couple of new quilts recently only to be disappointed after a couple of blocks.

 

 

 

So, while on the phone to my Sister today, I sent her photo's of the offending blocks and what do you know...once I photographed them they came to life and gave me a glimmer of hope.

 

I also realised that I need to make quilts that I love. If I love them then I will put my heart into it and the end product will be just how I want it. So, back to designing for me and I'm sure you will all like the end result....

 

I've cleaned up my studio and have a plan to get back to my sewing machine. I have hardly sewn anything in about two months. IT'S TIME TO GET BACK TO IT !!!

 

(It's even a gloomy post. I need some sunshine !!!)

 

Back soon with some bright fabrics and a smile on my face :)

 

Happy Quilting

Leanne xo

Tomorrow myself and some friends are off to the Sydney Quilt Show. I'm really looking forward to it this year. I have a bunch of people to catch up with, some workshops to do and of course shopping. Not that I need anything but it's nice to look.

Oh ! and I have a quilt hanging in the quilt display. It's one of 400!! This is the biggest hanging they have ever had in Sydney.

I'm also going back on Saturday just in case I missed something...haha

 

This is my quilt "Loulou". If you see her let me know what you think...

 

 

Below is a close up of the custom quilting I did on her. When I had finished this quilt top I was really disappointed with how bland the grey fabric looked. I was inspired by quilting that I saw at Green Fairy Quilts , and tried something new. Once I had quilted one section of the grey I was in love with it. The quilting brought the fabric to life.  

 

Before I go to the show I needed to get some work done. Below is an all over quilting on Noeline's quilt.

 

 

 

And this Star Wars quilt is Sarah's. It's for her big boy who is turning 9.

 

 

Both quilts were done with the same all over design "Bayside".

 

Today I'm having a break from quilting. I do have the next one loaded up but I have a sore shoulder so I thought it best to give it a couple of days off.

 

I'll be back with a show recap in a couple of days...

 

Happy Quilting

Leanne xo

 

 

 

Phew !!!

Finally a day to sit and have a chat to you. I am sitting on a couch at Ford's service centre waiting for my car to be serviced. That's a bit sad really isn't it ? The only spare time I have is when I am forced to wait somewhere. But I'm not complaining.

 

I have been super busy quilting, quilting, quilting !!!! Which is a good thing seeing as though it's my business :)

 

In the last week and a half I have done 3 custom quilts. I normally only schedule 1 a month but I got behind and then I had a rush one. I have been chained to Dudley (my quilting machine). I'm very lucky to have a great family that understands what I do and just deals with eggs on toast for dinner lol !!!

 

Now to some of the quilts I have recently finished...

 

This is the 5th one of these beautiful quilts I have customed. So I can get through them a bit faster than when I did the first one. This one is Irene's...

 

 

The quilt below is the Cessnock Quilters raffle quilt for next years biannual exhibition. Lots of feathers !!! The front reminds me of blue and white china. The back (below this one) looks amazing. I'm really happy with how this turned out. They should be pleased with it.

 

Feathers, feathers, feathers !!!!!!

 

 

 Next up is Jody's. This bright little quilt is going to Darling Harbour for the Sydney Quilt Show. It will be hanging in the Husqvarna stand at the show. I had to do a super custom on it. My name will be front and centre so it had to be good. Firstly I stitched in the ditch around all the embroidery blocks. Next I did a 1/4 inch border around each block. The background is a simple all over swirl. Each of the embroideries were stitched around and a different custom design was used in each block in a matching colour.

 

This photo isn't very good. I stole it from Jody's facebook page :)

I will put some better one's up in a couple of days.

 

 After all that I am quite enjoying just sitting here on this couch. I have had hot chocolate served to me and they have just taken my lunch order. Just what my weary body needed at the end of week.

 

Now I get to sit and do some hand sewing. Yes they will all think I'm a grandma but who cares, they don't know what they are missing....haha. Love my hexies !!!

 

Happy Quilting

Leanne xo