Motivation

 Hello, I'm back!

It's amazing what a break filled with sea, sunshine and 

total relaxation does for one's mojo.

Before I went on my little road trip...... 

 

I made some progress on my "Le Finestre" quilt.....

I celebrated a birthday recently 

and my special friend Elizabeth sent me some lovely 

fabric and a sweet pair of scissors!

Who wouldn't be motivated?

Some of these fat quarters were $2.50!

I also purchased some new fabric to add to another 

project I started just before I left.

It is the "Checkered Garden" tutorial  

by "Film in the Fridge", available here 

It comes together so well!

I've now made four....

They finish at 14" square, so I am aiming for a 

3 by 3 arrangement 

to give a baby quilt of 42" square.

I love how they look together

And looking forward to making five more soon!

I hope I remember how to use my sewing machine......🤔

Happy days!

SUZ

And on it goes...

 Summer that is!

I got my "Shuffle" quilt together...

It's now awaiting motivation by me to baste it and get 

started on the quilting...

Maybe tomorrow?😃

I've begun a sew-along being run by 

Elizabeth at OccasionalPiece Quilt

Taken from Elizabeth's blog

It is a relaxed project where she is releasing one free 

pattern for the next few months.

The first one is this pretty paper pieced block....

yes, even the back is pretty!

And the front is lovely too!

If you would like to join in the Hearts Garden sew-along

all the details can be found HERE

I've supplemented my fabric options for this project

with some stash enhancement....

Aren't those safety pins the cutest?

I was very disappointed to find that one fabric store 

now only cuts 25cm minimums. 

As if the price of quilting is not expensive enough?

I found this amazing piece of Amy Butler "Lark" fabric in 

an op shop- 2 metres of furnishing weight for $4!

I need to decide how I will use it?

Maybe cover a chair, make aprons, or bags?

I also found a vintage sheet for $3, and a metre of  

Jennifer Sampou "Sweet Dreams" for $1!

For the first time in many, many years we are growing 

herbs and a few vegetables....

I can't wait to see what we produce!

My eldest grandson started school....

and he loves it!

I need to get started on a library bag for him.

But in the meantime, this shopping bag says it all....

Happy days!

SUZ

Building Blocks

I had a comment from Kit Kat on my last blogpost,

wondering if I had any hints about making my scrappy 

rainbow blocks.

So I thought I would share my process with you.

Firstly I find all my small pieces, either squarish or 

rectangular. 

Notice that they are not perfectly straight.

I start chain piecing three or four 'units'.

I don't press or trim at this early stage, preferring to 

give a good finger press while I build my block.

I'm aiming for a block that is about 9" square,

so I use the ruler on my machine table to keep things 

on track.

Time to press and trim!

Not everything will fit together perfectly, but trimming

doesn't worry me.... 

they are scraps, after all!

As I knew the block was wide enough, I just kept 

piecing to make another 9" wide unit.

I just needed one last narrow unit to get the block up to 

size.

I try to keep the small pieces in the middle of the block.

I don't want them trimmed off to make my block the 

correct size. 

Or lost in a seam allowance once it is pieced with its 

rainbow neighbour.

(If you still have questions, please leave me a comment, but make sure you are not a 'no-reply commenter', or leave your email address in the comment.)

I'm still making scraps, trimming up fabric from my 

Bessie Creek Rd quilt....

Most are larger and may be stored separately, for 

foundation paper piecing or a Scrappy Sandwiches quilt 

perhaps?

I've celebrated my scrap organisation by treating myself 

to some new fabric,

including some new Monika Forsberg!

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Missing in Action

 well.....missing in Tassie, actually!

My sister and I have been on a road trip around 

Tasmania.

I took my latest quilt finish with me.

"Worries In My Pocket" had a little holiday too!

I quilted all the lines with my walking foot, even the 

curvy ones!

I love how it looks on the back too!

I am gifting this to a very special person who made my 

retirement a reality!

He has long admired my quilts and my Instagram 

following...

He thinks having 2000+ followers is a big deal! 😄

I hope he likes purple!

While we were away we rummaged through op shops

 (thrift stores to my Northern Hemisphere readers)

for doilies, vintage sheets, and even clothes!

And of course, some patchwork fabrics and wool came 

home with me too!

Now it's time to make some plans for all this lot!

Happy days!

SUZ