Vintage Modern Hopscotch

What can I say except, finished!

I've lost track of just how long I've plodded away on this quilt for, but I know it was quite a few months. Hopefully I'll be a little more productive in 2013.

Fabric is Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille for Moda
Pattern is Hopscotch by Thimble Blossoms (ie. Camille)

Definitely one of my favourites ever.

Hope everyone has awesome plans for NYE, all the best for 2013!

Whoops!

I was being such a good blogger, then I got busy and my blog got neglected, sorry! My grandma had surgery just over a week ago, and things have been very up and down since then. I'd never realised how tiring it was being so stressed for so long, but all I've done this weekend is sleep. When I visited her this morning they had her up on her feet, and she was sounding quite cheerful, so I'm feeling very pleased!

Safe to say though that there hasn't been much craftiness happening here. I did get the binding on my Hopscotch quilt, but I'll be taking it with me on holidays to hand-stitch it down.

My Christmas tree is up and looking a little sparse (Miss Bella is a fan of the crash-tackle so we keep it minimal), but I've done almost all my shopping so it does look a little like we have the Christmas spirit around here.

I also had my Christmas party this week at the Langham Hotel...very swish!

I received a surprise delivery of Fig Tree's Avalon this week, and should have some more Cluck Cluck Sew patterns arriving soon...but I'm definitely looking forward to a break once Christmas is done, so I'll be shutting the shop for a week and a bit.

Can You Believe It?

I almost can't...but Hopscotch is done!

I finally managed to finish that last little bit of quilting over the weekend in between a hectic schedule. My grandma is in hospital at the moment so there hasn't been much spare time over the last couple of weeks.

I've chosen the blue with the small floral buds for the binding; it's one of my favourites! Hopefully I'll get that done soon, then I'll probably take the quilt away with me over christmas to sew on in the evenings.



Thinking Ahead

I know I haven't finished Hopscotch yet (almost, I promise!), but I've already got my next project picked out. As soon as Cuzco arrived, I knew I had to make a quilt. The blues and purples in this range make my heart sing.

I put the word out on Facebook and got a few suggestions, then settled on this quilt pattern. Nice and simple, and it should show off the prints nicely.

These are the fabrics I've picked. The top one is for the corner stones, the middle for the border, and the bottom one for the backing. I think that last one might be my favourite and I wish I'd got more of it in the photo. But trust me, it's awesome. I forgot to buy binding but I'll sort that out a bit later.

For more pics like these, you can find me on Instagram as blackcat20.

Half Way!

There's been so much going on at my place that Hopscotch has taken a bit of a back seat, but I'm finally half way through the quilting. Our new carport is almost done (no roof yet), and we've had a couple of large trees removed this morning.

As tedious as this quilting is, I really love how it's looking.

I've also been clearing out the Bella's Patchwork cupboard...I'm running out of room! If you haven't seen my posts on the Facebook page, I'm clearing out the last of Hunky Dory by Chez Moi, a Moda range from a few years ago. I'm pretty much willing to take any reasonable offer on what's left, plus the cost of postage ($2 for 1m, $6.20 for up to 3m, $10.55 thereafter).

From top left: Blue Bud 2.2m, Blue Fantasy Floral 1.75m, Blue Tonal 2.5m, Yellow Garden 4.1m, Pink vines 3.2m and Pink Tonal 3.2m. I also have 2.4m of the Yellow Tonal. If interested leave a comment or email at kate(at)bellaspatchwork(dot)com(dot)au.

Nine-Patch Pin Cushions

I felt like I needed a little break from the endless straight-line quilting, so I dug out my bag of Central Park scraps from when I made Swoon and started cutting out lots of little squares. A bit of shuffling and I've got myself a cute little pile of 9-patch pin cushions.

I have another market coming up so I think these will make a welcome addition to my table. If only it wasn't so tempting to keep them all!

I'm slowly making progress on Hopscotch, but this quilt takes a serious number of lines!

I got an early delivery of Honey Honey and Noteworthy pre-cuts today; these lovelies weren't due until January.

 Now I think it might be time to go and bake a banana cake....

Gone!

Last week I had a very wonky carport...

This week I don't!

After four weeks insurance and the builders finally got themselves sorted and removed it yesterday. Just in time too, it took on a bit more of a lean during last weekends windy weather. The new ones goes in next week! Looks like we have a bit of pruning to do...

When we had a carport, the dogs were kept down the back of the yard, away from the fence so they couldn't bark. Now that it's gone, they get a little more lawn and sun time. Millie is really making the most of it.

I'll admit that this week hasn't been my finest, hence the lack of posts. I had a revolting day at work on Monday that left me wondering if it was worth it. I actually started looking for a new job. I had hoped my yoga class would calm me down but it really didn't have the desired effect. Then I capped it off by whinging at the man, which made me feel worse...

I'm excited that I made a little progress on Hopscotch; those lines take forever! I've done two rows of blocks, so just six to go.

  

I also finally picked up one of my birthday pressies; a little sapphire ring from Tiffany. So really the week wasn't all bad, but it certainly didn't get off to the best start.

(instagram: blackcat20)

Quilting Weather

After such a gorgeous day yesterday, I woke this morning to the sound of pouring rain and thunder. Admittedly it was already 9am but that's what days off are for. Perfect weather for lazing around, and for quilting!

Once I got all of my little jobs out of the way this morning, I hauled Hopscotch into the sewing machine and got started.

I must have been dilusional when I decided to quilt lines that close together; it's going to take ages! I'm doing five lines at a time, then taking a little break to give my shoulders a rest, especially the one I injured a few years ago. 

But I'm loving how it looks! It will give the quilt quite a firm feel, so if you like a softer quilt I'd space the lines a bit further apart. Might be better for your sanity too...

To Market...

Coming up this Sunday (September 23) is the Mulgrave Maker's Market. I haven't been in quite a while so I'm looking forward to being there and seeing everyone again. The market is on from 8am till 1pm at the Body Shop HQ on the corner of Wellington and Jacksons roads in Mulgrave. For more info on stallholders etc pop over here.

I've been prepped and ready for the market for a few weeks, but with all the other disasters going on and working a few different jobs, there hasn't been time for much else. I snuck in a little time today to get Hopscotch basted (after buying the batting two weeks ago!). As always I had my trusty assistant by my side. I'll be following Camille's example and quilting this one with some simple straight lines.



Almost....

I snuck in a little sewing time over the weekend and got those Hopscotch rows stitched together.

It was easier than I thought; most seams butted up nicely, though I needed to flip a few. It seems to depend on the orientation of the first block in each row, after which every block is oriented to fit.

 I'm pretty sure Bella does her best to get in my photos where possible...

Just need to trim it square, then get it basted and quilted!

That Wasn't So Difficult

I don't know why I was so worried about sewing all these blocks together; turns out it was easy!



The way I assembled the blocks meant it was easy to find seams that would butt up against each other neatly, you just need to rotate the block until it works.

All the rows are done now, hopefully tomorrow I can get them pressed and assembled!

What a Week!

When I warned you all last week that the next four weeks would be crazy, I really think I underestimated. My week went something like this: Work, yoga, work, gym, other work, work, physio, other work, collapse in a heap! I've never been so excited to see the weekend.

But after a bit of exercise time this morning I finally cleared off the loungeroom floor and got my Hopscotch blocks spread out.

I've mostly follwowed the layout on the pattern cover, but shuffled a few blocks to separate a few matchy blocks and spread some colours out a bit more. I like it! Just need to find the time (and nerves) to tackle all those points! (If you notice any blocks that need to be shuffled, let me know).

I'm off to try out a newish restaurant tomorrow that I've been hearing about, so hopefully I'll have something good to report back on.

The Last Few Blocks

I finished up the last of the Hopscotch blocks late last week. Now I just need to find time to crawl around on the floor checking that I'm happy with the arrangement; you cannot replicate the cover of the pattern as some prints are duplicated more than is possible using one jelly roll.

I love the houndstooth prints.

The greys...

The circular prints.

And a few odds and ends to get me up the required number of blocks.

  

Hopefully I can start getting is assembled this weekend; from next week I'll be working full time for a month, so there won't be as much free time as usual.

It's Not Easy Being Green

A couple of green Hopscotch blocks...

And a few blue ones too... 

 I really love this little print. These photos really do not do justice to the colour of this fabric.



A Little Bit of Pink

I'm squeezing in a few blocks whenever I get the chance; life seems to get in the way of itself sometimes!

I especially love this block; the dark pink is quite divine.

And do you ever get the feeling that this little Miss might just prefer the attention be focused on her?

Hopscotch Blocks

After spending Friday and Saturday cutting out all the fabric, I finally got to stitch my first Hopscotch blocks yesterday, starting with the red ones (my favourite colour).

I worked out that you can cut all the fabrics without the templates, using the 30 and 60 degree lines on a rectangular ruler. (If anyone needs help with this, let me know). But I did find that the triangles are a bit small (or the trapezoids a bit large) when it comes to piecing the block, even though they are the correct size relative to the drawn templates. Nothing a bit of seam fudging can't fix.

Those points are a little tricky too, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly. And I love the reds in this range!

I took a little time out from the sewing to go looking for a new floor rug for my bedroom (my current rug got eaten by the vacuum cleaner). But while I had no luck locating the perfect rug, I did manage to buy a new purse and top instead....I'm sure that the more you want something, the less likely you are to find it. The little purse is just my style though, and I'd been eyeing her off for a while, so it was a well-timed sale.

1,2,3 Hopscotch

I've been admiring my Vintage Modern Jelly Roll for a while now, and now that I've finished my Circa 1934 quilt (except the label), I've finally unwrapped her.

I love Camille's Hopscotch pattern, so that's what I've chosen to make with this scrumptious roll of fabric.

My only fear are the templates, but I reckon I might be able to work it out using a ruler....fingers crossed! 

If you haven't seen pictures of the actual quilt pop over to Camille's blog, Simplify...it is beautiful!