Summer at Aster Manor

Also known as Summer Wind; quilted, bound and already in use. The new name reflects both the pattern name and the fabric line.

Bella helped out with a marathon hand-stitching session, and I got it finished up last night. The pink backing can be seen in this pic.

But after several days of beautiful weather, I woke up to rain this morning. So instead of a nice lying-on-the-lawn photo, the best I can offer is a couch-drape-with-bad-lighting photo.

Next up, I need to quilt Port-de-France before I start another new project...the funny thing is, I can't actually think of what quilt I want to do next, which is just odd!

Owls and Bunnies

I finished quilting Summer Wind yesterday, which gave me the opportunity to play around a little more with some softies. Leaving the bunny aside for the time being, I tried my hand at a little Owl (or Wol as Pooh would call it).

Its just a simple outline, but I added a seam in the back to minimise how noticeable the stuffing hole would be. The face is also a little rustic, but it has a bit of character. I think next time I'll have a go appliqueing some wings on just to add a little more interest to it, as it seems to be missing "something". I also thought these would be great with a squeaker in them for little ones to play with, though I might have to rethink the eyes/beak a little.

I got the binding machined onto Summer Wind this morning, and since then have been playing around with the bunny (Wabbit?) again. I've imroved the proportions of the lower body, and cut one out ready to go.

I've never done any sort of stitchery, but found the Melly and Me tutorial really good, and have stitched what I think is a pretty good practice eye, so bunny should have a face soon.

Lastly, thank you for all the good messages Friday; it's nice to be able to share my good news with everyone.

Getting There...

I've made it to the bottom edge of Summer Wind, and I'm estimating I have about five rows of the pattern to quilt at the top end to finish it. At this point I'm looking forward to it being done, as I've been quilting the same pattern over and over for the last 2 1/2 weeks! It will still take me about another week and a half to finish, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm also getting close to having a website for Bella's Patchwork; after being stuffed around for months, I ditched the web developer and found a new one. I was clear from the beginning that I wanted to launch at the start of May, and here we are in the middle of June! Fortunately this new one has a policy of 28 days or less, so fingers crossed I have it by the end of the month. I'm hanging out to have a launch giveaway! Meanwhile stock is available in my eBay store (link to the right); there has been a slow trickle of sales which I'm hoping will pick up with a proper website.

And after two years (two!) I decided that Phoebe might like her ears and blanket attached; I had trouble with the ears last time so I'd been putting it off. The "bits" had been sitting in my sewing tub for quite a while, and somehow one ear has ended up with a small bloodstain on it...mystery! She still needs eyes, but what's a few more days...

I'm off to Beechworth for the long weekend, so I'll see you all next week.

Hide & Seek With Miss Bella

Bella has a tendency to go "missing" in our house; she finds a nice place to curl up and go to sleep, and being deaf, no amount of calling is going to help you find her. However, stomping your feet works if she is under a bed, but usually we have to go around the house checking her usual spots; under the dining room table (on a chair or the floor), inside the couch (yes, inside!), curled up in a casserole dish under my bed, or tucked under mum's bed.

While checking out blogs a little earlier, I realised I hadn't seen her in a while, and went on the hunt. She turned up sound asleep on my quilt where it was bunched up behind the sewing machine....

A little nudge and she was awake and keeping an eye on my progress...

And for those that asked, a little peek at the quilting of Summer Wind; just a simple feather motif that I'm hopng will fill the space reasonably quickly.

Port-de-France and a Little Progress

Despite a few initial hiccups with the first block, I did eventually get this quilt pieced. Unfortunately the colours don't lend themselves well to photographs, especially in the autumn light....

Summer wind is basted up and in the machine...with a little help from Bella of course (we only just fit on the loungeroom floor).



And all three of my fur-babies are enjoying the sunshine streaming through the front door, even though it's not that warm out. Bella is at the top, Jack in the middle, and Millie (who has a really bad cold at the moment) is at the bottom.

BOM 12!

Finally, here we are at the last block. Has it been 12 months already?!

Now to assemble the quilt; I've got all the 'bits' ready to go, but I've found one minor problem....some of my blocks are a tad smaller than they should be. Most are only a fraction but block 2 is about 3/4" too small. It means a fair bit of 'easing' but hopefully any little wobbles in the sashing eases out by the time its quilted. You can see the puckered sashing in the top row, near the legs of the coffee table...

(not enough room on my lounge room floor, so all the blocks are a bit squashed up)

Which won't be for a little while as I still need to quilt Summer Wind, and finish Port-de-France. So much for my old method of only ever having one project on the go at a time! The main reason I keep putting off the quilting is that I hate spending money on batting...silly, I know.

I made my first fabric sale yesterday. It's safe to admit there was a bit of squealing and jumping going on in my house. I expect business to start slowly, but each little bit of progress is so exciting.

Summerwind

A day spent hunched over the sewing machine, and the final two borders added to Summerwind (or more correctly, Summer Wind).

Pattern: Summer Wind by Miss Rosies Quilt Co

Fabric: Aster Manor by 3 Sisters for Moda

Not the best photos due to fading light; the unfortunate downside to this time of year!

Off to AQC tomorrow, a good chance to see what new fabrics are around, and get a good idea of what prices are about.

Snippets

An end of the week wrap-up...no major achievements, just lots of little ones...

Summerwind now has it's fourth border on.

I'm hand stitching the binding onto Wild Thing.

I'm admiring my new quilt kit, Port-de-France from the Fat Quarter Shop. Love the Martinique fabrics, and this kit seemed perfect.

Mini Jelly Filled now has a new name: Sweet Treats.

I'm annoyed that I managed to get a paper cut under my pinky fingernail, and that Bella is trailing me around the house and grooming like a cat possessed.

How has your week been?

I Love Fridays

It's the end of the working week, and I've been busy today making the most of a day off.

Summerwind now has the first two borders on, and is looking pretty good! It was a little tricky getting all those non-abutting triangle seams together but we made it.

It's also been a good day to spend in the kitchen, though the weather is warmer than I was expecting. I've continued on my bread odyssey, making pumpkin bread using my first pumpkin (left), and a wholemeal loaf (right).

The pumpkin bread recipe was found on this blog, while the wholemeal loaf is an adaptation of this recipe.

Now I'm off to work on the FQS Mystery BOM block 10 before I head out for an evening of ice skating at the new centre in Docklands.

A Little Reveal

Because I know you are all dying to know the name of my quilt shop, I can finally reveal the name! After a minor hiccup requiring a second preference, we are going to be called....

Bella's Patchwork!

Logo is being fixed up to incorporate the slight change; we were going to be Bella's Quilt Cottage, but there is already a store in Melbourne called Bella's Quilts and Things (they sell doonas....). Finally making progress anyway. Have an appointment tomorrow to organise a web page, then I just need to get it running and get my stock in!

In the meantime, I'm being a quilting procrastinator. I'm piecing quilts, then adding them to a to-do pile, and moving on to piecing the next quilt. This is not how I normally work, and it's not going to be pretty when I have to start quilting the pile. The only reason I'm putting it off is because I can't be bothered to go and buy batting. Pathetic, isn't it?

Anyway, I've started on Summerwind, a Miss Rosie pattern that seems to be quite popular lately. Both Camille and Nicole have done Wuthering Heights versions, and they look great! I'm doing mine in the divine Aster Manor. I found the cutting instructions a bit of a nightmare, but I've now pieced the centre medallion, so I'm on my way!

And because no post that mentions Bella would be complete without a cute photo...we got a "cat cube" the other day, and she has taken to it like a duck to water. This cat does not like being cold!