Wednesday 31 July 2013

Wordless Wednesday

Monday 29 July 2013

Lone Star sandwiched!



I spent a big part of yesterday afternoon on my knees, sandwiching the Lone Star Quilt. Ran out of safety pins after doing about 5/6 of the quilt and after turning the house upside down looking for more I had to go out and buy some! But it is done - now the quilting, not my favourite part of the quiltmaking process...

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday 20 July 2013

Lone Star Top



Today I added the corner squares and the triangles to the star, and voilĂ , it's starting to look like a quilt! I am going to add some white borders because as you can see it's a bit small for our bed... Then it has to wait until I find time to buy batting and backing fabric. I want it to be a fairly light quilt that we can use most of the year, so need to find a thin batting. Any recommendations?

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Oceania Collection Blog Hop



SAQA (Studio Art Quilts Associates) has an online Benefit Auction of 12" x 12" art quilts every year and this year the Oceania members have contributed 32 pieces to the collection.

During July, August and September the members of SAQA Oceania will be sharing the stories behind their Benefit Auction quilts. The Oceania Collection Blog Hop kicks off today and the first member to show how she made her quilt is Sue Dennis.

A full list of all participating artists and a timetable can be found on the SAQA Oceania blog here.

On 13 August it's my turn to tell you something about my quilt Black & White #3:

Saturday 13 July 2013

Star



Yes!



I did it.




I pieced the Lone Star!

It wasn't really difficult at all - says someone who has never made a quilt with triangle pieces because she thought it would be too hard!

So I'm expecting the next step to be really difficult - adding the square and triangle pieces....

I'll keep you posted!

Friday 12 July 2013

Tropical Holiday



Finally - here are some photos of our holiday in Tropical North Queensland. We stayed at Yorkeys Knob, one of the beaches north of Cairns and a popular spot for kite surfers. I showed you the sign at the entrance to the beach on Wednesday!



We arrived on Friday and on Saturday we spent the day in Cairns, where I spotted this gorgeous butterfly on a wall. I thought the garbage bins were very cute:



The kids had a ball at Muddy's playground on the Esplanade. I love the fish-shaped fence:



Of course we had to visit the Botanic Gardens:





On Monday we drove up into the Atherton Tablelands where we visited a coffee plantation and had a lovely lunch in Djungaburra. Such a beautiful area!





Of course we had to visit the Great Barrier Reef, so on Wednesday we took a boat to Green Island.



There we did a little snorkeling and went on short trip with a semisubmersible. The boys loved it! (and so did I)





This is my favourite photo - taken from the pier on Green Island:



On Thursday we took the famous Sky Rail from Cairns to Kuranda. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very good that day:



We had a great day nevertheless. In Kuranda we visited the butterfly garden:



After a lovely lunch we took the train back to Cairns - on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. A great experience!











Finally, on Friday, we flew back to Brisbane.



An unforgettable holiday!

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Wordless Wednesday


Monday 8 July 2013

Antique quilts



The two antique quilts I bought online a while ago both arrived today - very exciting!



This Kite Quilt is so pretty - in a very good condition and so beautifully hand-quilted. My 8-year-old son just admired it and I told him that he can have it when he is grown up and has a baby - it will be a hundred years old then! (he was very impressed)



This one is also very beautiful.



It is machine quilted:



I'm very happy with my purchases and will keep my eye out for other small antique quilts. Have you ever bought an antique quilt?

Sunday 7 July 2013

Yes, it is a Lone Star!



We are back from a lovely holiday in Tropical North Queensland and I will be sharing some pics soon, but first I have to show you this. I have been sewing very hard this weekend (we came back on Friday) and I just finished the 8th block of my new quilt! Yes, it is a Lone Star - also known as Star of Bethlehem, Rising Star, Morning Star and Star of the East. It has always been one of my favourite quilt patterns and I suddenly had an irresistible urge to make one!

One block measures 36in/91 cm from point to point, so I think this quilt will end up on our bed. I know I said at some point I would never make another bed quilt... Never say never, hmmm?