A bit of an update

Two weeks from when I started, I finally made it out to my first corner - starting from the centre of the quilt and focusing on the bottom right hand corner.  I was amazed it was taking so long, but the corner just seemed to keep getting further and further away and I just kept quilting and quilting and quilting.  Something was going on here.  A bit of a breather, pause and reflection - I realised that because the quilt blocks are set on point, the natural inclination was to continue quilting along the block lines, in a general diagonal direction.  So while I may have only just finished my first corner - I managed to quilt practically half the quilt in the meantime! 

I also started the hand quilting that I wanted to add... loving it!  As it is a secret project I can't reveal too much - but this should give you a hint.

My rustic hand quilting is neither straight nor even... but I love the definition it gives.  I have been using an Aurifil 12wt cotton thread which suits this chunky quilting style.

My good friend who attended Quilt Symposium in January treated me to a quilty tea towel souvenir.
Little quilty quips... although being white it won't last long in my kitchen, but looks quite at home hanging on my design wall at present.

 Some a bit closer up... makes me think we are a bit of a smutty lot... "quilters do it with a walking foot" just sounds like we have some sort of fetish... but then again, we probably do.  "Quilters do it in the Car" has me rather stumped.  What do we do in the car?  Am I missing something obvious?  Any ideas???

And while we're on the subject of funny little phrases... this is the sign I recently bought for our littlest room.  Although I might need to add "and put the old roll into the bin" to make it a perfect world.

With the colder weather creeping up, it was finally time to sneak a second quilt on the bed.  I just knew that it was finally time for Bluebirds and Berries to get its time in the sun.

I think you can tell that the border size was chosen to cover this size bed!  It is a perfect fit.

And you can also see the dimension from the quilting... although the outer applique border is quilted with a tone on tone thread, it really shows up wonderfully in this light.

And repeat until finished

I've been really good with my quilting this past week, scheduling in an hours worth of FMQ each afternoon.  By Friday and with five hours under my belt, I still was not quite 1/4 finished on the background.  Progress did mean that I didn't feel too guilty spending a bit of time planning for the Mystery Medallion centre block, when it was my turn to host the Saturday patchwork ladies.

Out came the books and the fabrics... lots of ideas... you'll have to wait to see what it all looks like, but it is definitely coming together.

I received in the post the latest Down Under Quilts magazine...

With a wee feature of my Robot quilt in their kids quilts article.

Not too shabby... although I do wish I had a decent hanging space to ensure better photography.  Sometimes it's not what you know but who you know... and a big thank you to that enabling person... you know who you are!

Plans for this week... you guessed it... more FMQ.

Sparking the Imagination

I've realised that part of my mojo issue is that I'm not truly excited by any of the projects I have underway.  Yes, I still love them all... but they have all reached that point of being somewhat Blah.  I feel like I have been committed to projects since halfway through last year, and now that the last of the baby quilts have been finished, and I've decided to pass Imogen's quilt on to someone else for some serious straight line quilting (which is beyond my skill level) I'm starting to feel like I can enjoy a bit more of what I want to do.  I still have the magazine submission quilt to finish, and now that I am fully equipped with quilting pins and thread, I've made a start on the quilting.  It's still pretty top secret, but I'm sure a little sneak won't hurt - stippling in the background, while not incredibly creative, is going to give this quilt so much texture and help to link the various beige and cream fabrics I have used.

To help revamp my creative spirits, I signed up for a Mystery Medallion project with my favourite shop, The Country Yard.  The label says it all... 

Well, really the label and the instructions inside.  Each month you receive a set of guidelines, which you must follow.  But you also get to put your own spin on things as you are using your own fabrics and design.  However, the fabric provided with the first month must be included in each round. 

I'm busy pulling fabrics and dreaming up designs.