Easy Peasy Geese!

I decided I wanted to border some of my Modern Sampler blocks with some 

flying geese blocks.

And I found a fabulous pattern here!

Apart from some 'tricky' calculations involving seven eighths of an inch....

The method was straightforward and surprisingly economical on fabric!

You start with one large coloured square and four smaller squares....

Ooops!  That's a little blurry!

and with some sewing, cutting and ironing we go from this...

to this.....

to this....

to four of these!

Now, how am I going to use these?

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Quilting this...

A very old UFO!

by machine....

And quilting this....

by hand!

What are you working on at the moment?

I'd love to know!

Linking here....

Happy sewing!

SUZ

From the Vault!

 I'd like to share another quilt I made nearly 10 years ago!


(I posted this a couple of days ago but somehow when I went looking for it, it wasn't there!!! Spooky!)

I didn't know much about chain piecing when I made my Flying Nine Patch!

I gathered fabrics from all over to make this quilt!

The colours are quite dull but I still love how it looks-

After repeated washings!

Lots of chain piecing of flying geese and nine patch blocks...

Make up this large 75" X 65" quilt.

I had it professionally machine quilted..

My name for it- "Mullum Mullum Autumn" -came from the place where we were 

living at the time....

Mullum Mullum is an aboriginal word for 'place of many big birds'!

Kind of appropriate for a flying geese quilt, don't you think!

Happy days!

SUZ

OUT- Mod Mosaic...

IN..... Traditional Mosaic!

I was a little sad to say goodbye to this block....

for my Modern Sampler!

But it just wasn't doing it for me!

So while looking for inspiration I found Lee's Summer Sampler Series, over at 


Freshly Pieced...

which included a Mosaic block!

(I have followed Lee's lovely blog since she was sent me a beautiful quilt as part 


of DQS10!)

So this is what I have made!

Lee's directions were spot on!

She even advises the best way to iron the seams, resulting in a VERY neat block!

Sometimes the seams were ironed opened, sometimes one way!

Even the back is pretty!

So all blocks for the Modern Sampler are now complete.

I have now set about making some blocks all the same size.....

and adding some flying geese....

But that's a story for another day!

Happy sewing!

SUZ 

It's Not Just White!

I decided not to go with white sashing for my Embroider-Bee blocks!

So off I went, without the blocks (duh!), to my LQS to choose a soft dusty 

blue.....

And some multi-coloured spot in red, pink, blue and green for corner stones!

I really like how it has come together...

showcasing some of my favourite things!

I think these two blocks, in the top right hand corner of the quilt are my 

favourites!

No surprise that they both include the Eiffel Tower!

I'm going to hand quilt this - I think it deserves it!

Happy Sewing!

SUZ

PS- Did you get my little joke in the title of this post?

Words or Pictures

When you are following a pattern, do you use the pictures...

Or the written instructions?

I am mainly a visual learner, so why I persisted in focusing so much on the 

written word this time, I am at a loss to say!

Anyway.....

The written instructions were WRONG!

UGH!

Anyway, I would love to honestly know, from you, my friends, whether these 

incorrectly pieced blocks, which should be a wonky half log cabin, look a confused mess...

Or are they redeemable and worth persisting with??

Happy sewing!

(Just not for me!)

SUZ

Embroider-Bee 2

I participated in my second round of the "Embroider-Bee" Swap over on 

Flick'r!

I even took one of my blocks to finish and posted it from France!

And all my blocks were waiting for me when I returned home from my holiday!

Individually, here they are.....

(I do love owls!)

Not just one Eiffel Tower...

but 2!

Aren't they pretty?

They will be added to some I received from the last round of swaps and some I 

made myself....

I have been playing around with their placement...

Any ideas on this or sashing -


( I was thinking white with maybe some coloured 

corner blocks?) 


would be gratefully received and considered!

This is the closest I have come to sewing...


still trying to get back into some sort of routine!

Happy days!

SUZ

Paris by Night!

Safely back on Aussie soil...

Jet lagged and noticeably colder!

The highlight of Paris for me was seeing it at night!

The Pont Neuf

That meant walking the streets until after 11pm...

A touch of the Impressionists, don't you think?

and catching the Metro home!

The classic architecture contrasting with the modern artwork!

We found a good vantage point to see the Eiffel Tower aglow...

and then watch it sparkle, on the hour, for about five minutes!

which was pretty special!

Quite a contrast to the weather on our last day...

As can be forecast here...

 It rained ALL day, and I didn't get a chance to take one photo!!

Which about takes us full circle...

Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment on my 'travelogue'!

We had a fabulous time, didn't we?

Maybe tomorrow I might do some sewing!

Happy days!

SUZ

On the Road again!

Today we leave Paris...

But photos are going to have to wait, I'm afraid!

The internet is VERY slow this morning!

I have tried for half an hour just to upload ONE photo, and still it didn't work!

Sorry!

We are packing up, checking out and having one last dash around before heading to the airport this afternoon!

The weather is wet and dull!

Ugh!

If you are interested, the Tour de France hits St Paul Trois Chateaux today!

That's where we cycled our 75km last week!

See you back in Melbourne soon!

SUZ

Murs

For the last three days we have been staying outside the tiny village of Murs,  


high above the Luberon Valley....

at this pretty little bed and breakfast....

where the only sound is the summer cicadas chirping!

We spent a wonderful Bastille Day in Avignon..

with its half bridge that goes nowhere...

and the amazing square with the Palace of the Popes

where all Popes resided until the about 14th century, I believe.

There was an arts festival in the town with buskers and performers everywhere!

Yesterday we travelled to Aix-en-Provence where we met up with Kirsty of "You 

had me at Bonjour", a great blog with amazing photographs!

Baby No. 4 due any day !

We spent a very happy couple of hours together sharing stories and having a 


coffee!


And can you believe, even though she is not strictly from my home town, she 


was born in the hospital about 3km from where I lived!!


It is indeed a small world!

Aix-en-Provence is a pretty town....

with yet another market!


Today we went on our last bike ride, before we return home on Tuesday!


We rode to, among other places, Rousillon...

renowned for its rich deposits of red ochre pigments found in the clay!

All the houses are made from it!

The nearby town of Gordes is also quite amazing!

And because this blog is about craft and fabric, here is what I bought in Aix...

Although it is a little more mauve than blue!

And this I bought in Orange!

And I haven't even told you about that town!!

Off to Paris tomorrow..

Until then...

Happy days!

SUZ