Snowflake Swirl

 is the name of my latest, and possibly my greatest 

finish!

Why my greatest, I hear you say?

This is the biggest quilt I have ever machine quilted 

before!

It is nearly 80", or 200cm square,

And it took me nearly a fortnight to quilt it!

My trusty Juki in action

I did no other sewing during this time.

The swirls seemed like a good idea at the beginning,

and, boy, I got pretty good at them by the time I'd 

finished.

I did some straight line quilting in the white section too. 

I lost count of how many bobbins I wound, 

Or how many different reels of thread I used!

It is by no means perfect, but I can live with 

the imperfections.

I hope the buyer can!

Yes, this is a commission quilt, one I committed to 

some time ago!

The original Snowflake pattern is made from an 

off-centre

 snowflake, but the buyer wanted all eight dendrites!

So that took extra calculations and fabric of course!

Maybe I should make one in black and white?

                           No, maybe not!

Quilt #2 for 2021

Lifetime quilt 131

80" by 84"

Happy sewing-

SUZ

Wish Upon A Star

 .....that is the name I have given to my latest

 and last finish for 2020.

I finished it last Monday, 

making it quilt #10 for last year.

I couldn't get any decent photos of it until my sister 

kindly obliged with some 'quilt holding' duties 

yesterday.

We were thrilled to find such great backdrops to use in 

the background.

I quilted it in a simple straight line pattern echoing the 

squares of the design.

The backing is a sweet baby print in similar colour 

tones.

This baby quilt will be gifted to a friend in the 

near future, once the little one has arrived.

Lifetime quilt #129

Quilt #10 for 2020

Dimensions- 40" square

Happy sewing!

SUZ

As promised..

 A finish...

I began this back in October.

The fabric had been in my stash for way too long!

I initially thought to just make it a simple patchwork

These squares are cut at 3 and a half inches

but then came across this method for 

making pinwheel 

blocks..

by making a four patch first...

sewing around the outside edge of two 

blocks facing 

right side together and cutting them in 

four on the diagonal....

Then playing around with their 

placement.

Each block finishes at 5 and a half inches

I hand quilted it, with black Perle thread, 

while I was away in Bright...

So that was the name I've given it.

The batting is Vilene Cottonlite,  

a soft woven fabric similar to a loosely woven flannel 

fabric, perfect for summer quilts.

 And given how well it fits in with this filing cabinet...

It's certainly bright!

Lifetime quilt #128

Quilt #9 for 2020

Finished size 50" by 45"

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Catching Up

Time for a little catch-up!

These cute puppies have been in my stash for too long!

I saw what a friend had done with hers and just 

                        had to copy it!

It's not a big one, but I am sure it will make someone                                       smile!

And some stash enhancement!

I'm thinking of making a boxy top with the bottom 

one- an 'out-of-print' Kaffe Fassett.

One of the leftover panels has become a weebraw bag!

I decided to brush up on my embroidery skills, with 

this 

Christmas decoration.

And I have nearly finished the hand quilting my voile 

AMH Summer quilt....

 I'll need to get something to bind it with and then 

some photos....stay tuned!

Happy days!

SUZ

Where have I been?

 Now that we are out of lockdown and with that 

dreaded illness 

virtually eliminated from my beautiful country,

Taken on a recent walk, just 10km from the city of Melbourne!

life is back to covid-normal (masks inside, social 

distancing etc) and my days are full!

Finishing up a 42-year teaching career may have had 

something to do with it.

Some of the beautiful cards etc I received on my semi-retirement

And spending lots of time with my gorgeous grandsons 

is definitely another!

But I have been knitting,

sewing...

a dress for my sister-

the very versatile Eme dress from Stylearc!

Pretty fabric from Spotlight

And a starry quilt top (flimsy) for a friend....

And some planning for these beauties!

I'm thinking something with big and bold blocks!

Just maybe not all of them in the one quilt!

Any suggestions on a pattern???

I'll certainly have more time for all the fun things of life!

Happy days!

SUZ

Happy finishes!

 I have two finishes to share with you today!

Firstly, the Whittaker pinafore I made for my sister, 

Helen was gifted to her yesterday!

We had a lovely time together getting some photos!

The denim was heavier than I was expecting when I 

ordered it online and I was worried about how I would 

manage it!

However, my Juki powered through every multi-layer.

(I may need to make a pair of jeans now!)

The green topstitching is just perfect, isn't it?

Secondly is my "Halo" quilt, which I am calling

 "Double Donuts".

My Melbourne friends will know this refers to an 

impressive COVID figure.....

Today is the 16th day we Victorians have achieved zero 

new cases, zero deaths! 

And today, we have NO cases of COVID at all in our 

wonderful State!

 All that lockdown pain deserves a celebration quilt, 

don't you think?!

I hand quilted this over the course of about 6 weeks, 

powering through not one but more than two spools of 

thread- a Superior Threads reel of 12wt in Cerulean,

A WonderFil Eleganza reel of 8wt in a variegated aqua, 

and 

some of the other Superior Threads in Pansy.

We were lucky to find not one, but two bridges 

to throw it over. 

Neither of us was tall enough to hold it up without it 

trailing on the ground!

And a tree branch came in handy too!

The backing was bought before our first lockdown back 

in March, 

When Darn Cheap had all patchwork fabric for $5 a 

metre!

It really suits Helen's lounge room,

but, no, it came home with me!

Quilt #8 for 2020

Lifetime quilt #126

Finished size: 84" by 74"

My version of the "Halo" quilt

Happy sewing!

SUZ