Yoo-hoo!!!

Yes, it's me!

This is what has kept me busy...

Margaret Court Arena

No, not playing tennis but acting as patron services 

for the Australian Open.

I have seen very little of Miss Juki these last few 

days....

She has had her yearly holiday service,

and helped me put this together-

The five siggy blocks from my

MCM Bee buddies have 

formed part of the backing for my 

Modern Amish quilt.

I intend to write the names of the other 

block makers

in lighter coloured sections of the star block.

I'll be back on the weekend with my first 

"Four-in-Art" mini quilt.

Have I bitten off more than I can chew?

SUZ

I.B.B.B

that stands for Itty Bitty Block Book!

About 3 years ago I belonged to a Flick'r group 

where we made and traded 3.5" 'themed' blocks....

"Pirate" theme

This week I decided it was time to make something 

with them!

I initially thought I'd make mini quilts, but really 

I have enough of these....

Polaroid Calendars

Four years ago I made a fabric "Colour" book for a 

friend's little girl...

So that's what I have made this time!

I bordered sets of four blocks with an inch of fabric,

sandwiched them with some batting,

made a patchwork cover...

And voila!

An Itty Bitty Block Book!

The detail in some of these blocks is amazing.

Here are some of the "Black and White" set 

and "Pirates",  

 and "Bird Houses"....

With a fabric square to make up the numbers!

I don't have a recipient in mind for this.

It is so pretty, I might just have to keep it myself!

Happy sewing!

SUZ

First flimsy of 2015!

Well, I think my Modern Amish is finished...

I may still add some black borders?

I had intended to make a 24" Feathered Star 

for the centre.

I had some of the paper pieced pattern, 

and a photo from one I had made previously,

but no instructions!

Luckily I had templates for a 15" block-

thanks to Meredithe who blogs over at

Pomegranate and Chintz!

The block came together relatively painlessly...

I did though make half square triangles of my own,

cutting them down to size, 

rather than using the teeny tiny template provided...

All those pieces in a (nearly)  6" block

(No, not a bear paw block at all!)

with just a few missing points!

I did set it on-point before adding corner triangles 

and a red border,

Oh, there's a lost 'point'!

bringing it up to size.

I think I might put this one aside for a while-

All the black trimmings are very messy!

Happy sewing!

SUZ

First finish of 2015!

I bought a copy of "Love Patchwork and Quilting" 

magazine while I was in England, back in July.

That's where the pattern, by Jo Avery, for this 

cushion came from.

I first chose the centre fabric then picked out some 

co-ordinating colours from my stash.

The fabric is 'flores de coyoacan' by Alexander Henry

I love making Dresden plates!

This one is 15" across!

I rummaged through my stash for the backing.

And who doesn't love a pompom trim?

I had a real problem finding an insert- 

nothing round, nothing big enough!  

This cushion from "Kas" (above) was not what is 

pretended to be! 

No insert, no zipper (even though it looked like it!) 

no good!

It looks pretty on my new Buttons rug from Ikea!

I managed to make do- 

At least the cushion is finished!

I'd love to make another one, but not until I find 

the perfect insert!

Happy sewing!

SUZ

2014 and beyond!

Eight completed quilts,

Five gifted, three kept.

Not a record, but I savoured every stitch!

Some of my small makes...

I was proud to be published in Homespun magazine in 2014.

and the rest!

I am still hatching my plans for 2015, but this one is 

on my immediate radar-

I am entering year three of my 

Mid-Century Modern Bee, 

               participating in the "Four-In-Art" challenge-

(more details on our Flickr page!)

and planning something with these-

But first I need to finish this-

What plans do you have for this year?

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Under Southern Skies!

I managed to put the last stitch in the binding

of my last quilt for the year,

 a few hours before midnight.

Yes, I lead an exciting social life!

 (It is still 2014 

in some parts of the world, after all!)

I started this back in October by making 

12" 'stars within star' blocks...

but something seemed to be missing...

So I decided on some smaller six inch blocks....

After an email discussion with a blogging friend I decided to mix up the star design a bit, and make some 'reverse' blocks with more white stars than blue 

 This certainly gave the quilt more visual interest, 

something that is very important 

in a two-colour quilt, I think.

Then came the quilting-

I practised my pebble quilting in many of the 

squares,

made all the more difficult because the Aurifil thread 

was such a close colour match!

And finished with some hand quilting with a Finca 

perle thread...

adding further visual interest in those white spaces.

The quilt finishes at 48" X 60"

and being gifted very soon!

I have decided to put a tutorial for this quilt. It is a separate page on the header of this blog and under the tutorials tab too!

Happy New Year!

SUZ