Swanky Circles are done!

Getting things done!!

I had fun with this quilt. Curved piecing and great fabric.

This is a new quilt design for me. Bubbles. It took a bit of getting used to, but in the end it was fun.

I had this great stripe in my stash. It goes perfect with this little quilt.

Happy Quilting

Leanne

Newcastle Craft Fair

I went to the Fair on the weekend ( Friday & Saturday ) and came away with a stash of goodies.
I met alot of like mided people at their stalls. I networked like a crazy lady.  There were a lot of stallholders that I have met at previous shows and some that we do business with. On the Friday I had Ethan with me and I left early because he was being a typical boy. Huffing every time I stopped to look at something.
So I went back on Saturday and it was much better. I found a few bargins and had time to look at everything that interested me.

This is my booty.

4 jelly rolls, a layer cake, 7 fat quarters, 2 mtrs fabric,a crochet book and some patterns and a couple of specialised patchwork rulers.

Not bad for a few hours work!

Happy Quilting

Leanne

Busy Busy Busy

I am not doing dancewear anymore as it takes up too much time and brain power than it's worth. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I look foward to being in my sew space and not feeling guilty if I sew a quilt instead of costumes. Yay!!
I have been sewing like a crazy woman. I've finished a couple of quilt tops, bound a quilt and been designing my own patterns and printing them up to sell in the shop . This is an exciting venture. It's something I've been wanting to do for ages. At work I design quilts for people all the time. They come to class with a piece of fabric and ask "What can I do with this?". And off I go. I design a pattern on the spot and then help them with extra fabric choices. It's what I do and I love it!!!

I have a pink and green thing going at the moment. I think it's due to the lack of females in the house.(It's just me and 4 males) Anyhow here's some of them

I'm going to enter this one in the local show. My points are pretty good, although I have to go in the professional section due to my teaching the subject. We are all critical of our own work and I don't feel worthy of being called a professional.

It was made with a jelly roll and a couple of yards of background fabric. It took longer than expected. When I started it we were living with my parents and I couldn't just sew when I felt like it. I love this quilt!!

This is the nine patch quilt-a long by Amanda Jean that I started last year. The top is done and it is in the quilting queue in a box under my quilting machine. ( with the other 7 to do, better get on to that )

I used a green/white spot as the sashing instead of the white because there is a lot of white in the 9 patches.

Best get back to it. I am working on a top from another jelly roll and layer cake. It's almost done so pics will follow soon.

Happy Quilting

Leanne

My Big Boy

This has been a big week for my eldest boy, Ethan. On Wednesday he was inducted into the Student Representitve Council at his school and on Saturday he turned 13. I can't believe the tiny little boy we brought home from the hospital is 13. He got a motorbike for his bithday. I don't know if maybe I was crazy to let this happen. Motorbikes scare me a little. I know a couple of people who have had really bad accidents on them and here we are getting one for our child.
The first time he road it though, made me feel proud of my boy. He was very sensible. I don't think I need to worry to much about him. His brothers might be another story though!
On Saturday we had a family celebration for Ethans birthday. It was the first time at the farm for a couple of the relos. The kids really enjoyed it and everyone stayed longer than I expected because it's just so lovely here.(that's what I'm telling myself anyway) They had fun walking over the farm to the gully and the giant swing was a hit. It was a hot day and the air con was a great relief while cutting the cake.

Signing the induction book

Year 8 SRC members

OH NO!!

 (he does have a helmet, he wasn't riding it yet)

Happy Birthday to you.....

All the cousins here to celebrate their big cousin Ethan's 13th birthday

Cheers

Leanne

Modern Quilt Guild & Stuff

I have been so busy!!
The Boys are back at school and the morning routine has started again. It has taken two weeks to get settled again.
I have been getting loads of sewing done. I have about 7 quilt tops ready for quilting. I know, that's terrible. I'm just a little obsessed. Most have their backing ready to go. I have had a couple of quilts to do for other people so they are priority over my own. Got to have an income to feed my fabric habit.
I am also back at work my 2 days a week. It's been great to get back into it. Not all my ladies are back yet and a couple have gone on holidays in the low season ( not school holidays ), so it's been a bit of a slow start but I'm sure it will take off soon.
The girls and I at the shop have signed on for the Modern Quilt Guild. We are called Central Coast Modern Quilt Guild. We are just finalising a couple of details and we will be having our first meeting.

Check back for details
Happy quilting
Leanne

Swanky Circles

This is an update of this post. I finished all the blocks and assembled the quilt top. I LOVE IT.

Happy Quilting

Leanne

3 Boys @ School

This week whipped by so quickly. We had a long weekend at the start of the week and then Oscar started school on Thursday and Ethan & Archer started Friday ( yeh, weird, I know). Archer went well on his first day of kindergarten and he is looking forward to a full week ( well, I am anyway : ) )

Cheers

Leanne

Power Out & Lightning Storm

Thursday was a very humid day, so the chance of a storm was high. We could hear and feel the thunder, so we knew it was getting close. It was amazing. Lightning was all around us. Then came the wind and rain. Living in the country the power goes out real easy when there is a storm. When it's out we have no water and can't use the bathroom. We were lucky this time, it was only out for about an hour. So out come the candles and we just waited. I tried to take some photos of the lightning but it's a bit quick.

Cheers

Leanne

Latest Projects

I started this zig zag quilt as a sample for my classes. I really like it and it was quite simple. It is all 3 inch strips. No triangles. It didn't take very long to finish a quilt top.

I was home today with the whole family, Paul has the day off because of the public holiday tomorrow, and I was looking for something to do that was different to what I've been doing. And voila!

 I had a layer cake of Swanky by Chez Moi and had been tossing up what to do with it. I was searching through some of my boxes the other day and came across an 8" template set for Drunkards Path. The inside piece was perfect for the layer cake.  I love curved piecing. It is something I did quite a lot of as a dressmaker on bridal gowns, etc. The blocks are a 9 " finish square. I still don't know how the finished quilt will look. I guess you'll have to stay tuned for that one.

Happy Quilting

Leanne

Little Pig

Archie was so cute. He was eating an apple and all of a sudden he layed on the floor and announced that he was a pig on the dinner table with an apple in it's mouth. Hilarious!!!

Cheers
Leanne

Something Different

My boys wanted me to make their pencil cases for school this year. They looked in my stash for their favourite fabric for me to use.

I had some plastic to cover the outside so they will last the year and I used a ripstop lining on the inside to stop the fabric from being marked by pencils, etc. I had chunky zips that are great for kids stuff.

Last week I cleaned out my stash. I have alot of fabric to give to the ladies in my classes and I sorted the rest into some sort of order. I got these containers from the Reject Shop. They are perfect for fat 1/4's. This is my favourite looking assortment. Yummy, aren't they??

I have started a new sample for my classes. It is a zig zag quilt. I'll have photos soon so stay tuned.

Happy Quilting

Leanne

It's Done!!!

Licorice Fancy, that's what I've called it. It looks like a giant licorice allsort.

It is a large single size. I haven't measured it yet, but it's a great size.

Happy Quilting

Leanne

A Busy Week

The last week has flown by. I have been busy organising projects for my classes that start the first week in Feb. I saw some of my Ladies today and they are excited that we have some projects to do this year.

I got some of them from other blogs, eg. Film in the Fridge & Crazy Mom Quilts.. I am also doing one of the Quilt-a-Long's from Crazy Mom Quilts with my classes. I hope they like it as much as me.

I have finished my Flea Market Fancy Quilt and will post some photos tomorrow when I can get them in the daylight. Yippee!!

Market Bag

String Piecing

Sun Hat

These are the samples so far. I have many more yet to do. Should keep me out of trouble.

Dancewear is also on the agenda. I have uniforms to do for a dance school in Sydney. The orders should start arriving in the next couple of weeks. Not my favorite thing to do but it helps me afford my fabric habit.

On the family front, I have finished school shopping and now I'm just waiting for school to go back. The boys have been good these holidays. I guess it's all the space they have around them. The happier they are the happier the Mumma is!!

Happy Quilting

Leanne

Flea Market Fancy Quilt

I couldn't wait until it is bound. I have to show you a couple of pics before it is finished.
I think it is my favourite quilt so far. It is because of the fabrics. They are 12 fat 1/4s of Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt. You can't get them anymore. I wanted to make a quilt that was mostly about the fabric rather than the blocks. A few of my ladies in class had done this easy pattern from Better Homes & Gardens magazine and I thought it would be perfect for this fabric. I teamed it with a licorice allsort stripe for the sashings and I think it looks great. I just finish quilting it with an all over large stipple ( my favorite at the moment) and I just have to bind it today.

I love it soooo much !!

Happy Quilting

Leanne

Fun In The Sun.

Today was rather hot. We decided to take the kids for a drive to the beautiful Port Stephens. We had cousin Charlotte with us. We found one of the many lovely spot for a swim. The kids would have stayed all day but Paul and I wanted to check the place out. We would love to come back here to stay for a long weekend. Shoal Bay was were my family stayed a couple of times when I was young. It hasn't changed that much, Just more people.

Cheers

Leanne

Visitors

My sister arrived with her boys to stay for a few days. It is always nice spending time with my sister. The boys all play well together and Oscar always looks after little Remi. He is 20 mths old and is on the go all the time. They had fun riding the skateboard and ripstick. The most fun was on our giant swing. Everyone loves the giant swing.

My sister Monique laughing her head off on the giant swing.

We've all had a great time but we are exhausted.

Cheers

Leanne

Crafting Kids & Flea Market Fancy Quilt

Yesterday I was sorting out my fabric scrap box. I don't think I have ever done it in 10 years. The fabric was squished in there good and propper. As I was sorting I was throwing some bits I didn't want to keep in the bin. It didn't take long for the boys to find the scraps and get "making". I love that my boys like doing the things I like as well. They are all really creative.

Sorting Scraps

Oscar glueing fabric before he stitches it together. He is making an arty cushion cover.

 

Ethan looks right at home at a sewing machine. Lucky their father is open minded.

I have just started quilting this top. The blocks are made from Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt. I will do a post with more detail about this when it is finished.

Happy Quilting

Leanne

Boys and Their Toys

Paul got a mini bike for free the other day. It is soooo cute. The boys were so excited it was here. Archie thinks his is some great dirt bike superstar. He even dressed the part.

The poor little thing almost disappears under Ethan. I think we had better get him a bigger one.

Cheers Leanne

WIP getting done

This is a quilt I started a while ago. I was following the Quilt-a-long with Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts. It is a simple nine patch with sashings and a pieced border. I used one Soiree jelly roll and green polka dot yardage from my stash. The top is almost together.

This is my trusty Singer XL1000. It is an embroidery machine as well. I bought it second hand to see if I would use an embroidery machine and as it turns out I only really use it for lables on my quilts. I use it every day as a straight sewer.

Happy Quilting

Leanne