A Rainy Afternoon ...

Rain fell most of yesterday afternoon - I started slicing up border material, a bit of sewing and "Vintage Valentine" top is together. Terrible photo. The blocks are laid out differently to the pattern because of the background fabric colours - found I had too many pale fabrics together as well as too many large heart blocks side-by-side. Plus all my blocks are mirror image to the original as I didn't reverse the designs prior to tracing for vliesofix/blanket stitch applique.


I havent been too keen on this quilt while stitching the last few blocks but now that it's together I like it a lot more.

A Few Finishes

At lunchtime today the last stitch was put in the final "Vintage Valentine" block. Maybe I'll have some time over the weekend to cut out the borders.

Sharon and I each started making "Prim Olde Santa" from Homspun No 62 last October - he was finished tonight - my Christmas finish for February. Not a big fan of prim but some things are very cute (like the little raggy doll) Santa is holding.

One of the Christmas presents I received last year from Sharon and Gary was a kit for "My Angel Garden". Threads were included in the kit and if I make it again I'll choose a different blue and yellow (I think they're a touch too pale). This is a very pretty table topper.

Something else that was finished off this week is "Mary's Floral Medallion" from Australian Country Craft and Decorating a few years ago.

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All that needed to be done was quilt around the vase and flowers and that was finished on Tuesday.

Utter Devastation

Hard to believe these scenes are real but they are:

I am unable to acknowledge the source of these photos - they (and many others) were sent to my work email today.

Bushfire Fundraising

Please visit the following sites to find out about fundraising for the Bushfire Appeal:

http://mrsmartinsquiltshop.typepad.com/mrs_martins_quilt_shop/
http://mellyandme.typepad.com/melly_me/
http://wildcraftfarm.typepad.com/wildcraft_farm/
http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm

Sharon's Roses

In January 2003 I had the brilliant idea to make a quilt for my dear friend Sharon for her 50th birthday in February 2004. I decided to make a quilt featuring Rose of Sharon blocks and during my searching for patterns came across "Rose Sampler Supreme", a quilt designed by Rosemary Markhan. I can't believe that I had the audacity to start this quilt being such a novice - must have been a case of ignorance is bliss.

My needleturn applique is atrocious and after trying a block or two, I decided to blanketstitch the applique. The quilt top was finished in time for Sharon's 50th birthday and it stayed at her place for well over a year before coming back to our place to sit in my sewing room for a long time while I thought about how to quilt it and then worked up the nerve to start. The quilt was pin basted last April and then all the blocks, sashings, swags, borders were ditch-stitched.


I free-motion quilted around all the applique and used machine embroidery "Rose of Sharon" designs between the swags with a machine embroidery "S" in each corner (it's called "Redwork S" but looks a bit like Superman's 'S').

Yesterday I made a machine embroidered label and the last stitches were put in the quilt.

Sharon and I met when we were 21 and have been friends ever since. Our families have a great deal in common and John and I are very fortunate to have both Sharon and Gary in our lives. This photo was taken last Tuesday night at Sharon's birthday dinner.

We are seeing Sharon and Gary next Saturday night, so we'll give her quilt then.

I want to say something about the awful bushfires and loss of life but I'm pretty much speechless - it's just heartbreaking - and then at the other end of our country people are fighting enormous floods.

No photos to show today. Was going great guns with Sharon's Roses then last Wednesday the hoop arm of the embroidery machine became loose. John took the machine in for repair on Thursday and it was ready for pick up on Friday but I couldn't collect it until Monday as our car was having a few bits and pieces fixed for rego.

Sharon, Gary, John and I went to Berrima on Saturday to see the "Airing of the Quilts" at Berrima Patchwork - the class projects for the coming year as well as students' quilts from last year were on display and all fabric was reduced 20%. I showed great restraint and only bought 4 x 20cm strips of fabric for one of the quilts I would like to start this year. Tuesday was Sharon's birthday and we joined her family for dinner in Shellharbour - was a lovely evening. I'm so glad I hadn't been relying on finishing the quilt for Tuesday.

Embroidery machine is working well - embroidered a design on a tea-towel last night to test it out - so might do some more on Sharon's Roses tonight.

Stitching away on Vintage Valentine some lunchtimes and "My Garden Angel" at home - now up to the little garden in the centre of the table topper. I'm hoping to do some more of Prim Olde Santa on the weekend - it's time he was finished, but that might depend on the weather (we are expecting a few very hot days).

Vintage Valentines

Blocks 9 and 10 finished and two to go. Am so looking forward to this quilt being finished; it's been on the go for so long. Am determined to have the top together by the time I go to a quilting retreat in Qld in June.

This is the Rose of Sharon machine embroidery quarter block. I've darkened the photo so that the stitching will show up.

There's a lot of leftover Sharon's Roses fabric in "Vintage Valentines" - will be very happy to start something new with different fabrics.