The last of the mug rugs for now.

 I think I'm over my Rug Mug phase for now.

This was a little left over patchwork from another project which I added a butterfly too.

I played with my machine and put in some fancy stitches.

We all spent the afternoon walking around town looking for geocaches. 

Managed to find one. The other eluded us.

Will have to have another try later.

I have been trying to spin but Heather is determined to stop me by pulling off my drive band.

She's also taken to climbing up onto the kitchen table, via the chairs.

Yes, it's another Mug Rug!

 When I get into a project I can get a little obsessive.

Pete want's this one for his computer desk.

I finished the binding by machine, would of looked nicer if I'd used a fancy stitch.

I think I have an addictive personality.

Lucky ( or is that unluckily) I tend to get tired of things pretty quickly.

So most addictions wane of their own accord.

My BIG project is progressing well and I'm well into the zone with it.

Yet Another Mug Rug

 A very Aussie Mug Rug this time.

I lived 16 years in the Territory.

I moved to the Territory straight after University to take up my very first teaching job.

I only intended to go for a year or two.

 I worked In Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and on an Aboriginal Community.

I found my life partner and birthed 5 of my 7 children in the Territory. 

Made some wonderful life long friendships

And I started my quilting journey too.
(I've even eaten a Honey Ant!)

The Territory will always be a special place to me.

After seeing the Todd River flow, more than 3 times, I'm sure I'll return one day.

Pete still works in the Territory.

He travels up on a semi- regular basis and works at home in between trips.

And some times he pops into Polka Dot Fabrics in Alice Springs and brings me back a treat!

Another day, Another Mug Rug

 Another Mug Rug.

I'm joining Erin on her Mug Rug Madness.

Go check out Erin's Blog, she has giveaways and tutorials!

 I tried something new and scalloped the edge.

Some raw edge applique and a fussy cut flower.

The perfect little project to try out a few new to you techniques.

Mug Rug Madness

 

 Erin over at two more seconds is hosting

Mug Rug Madness

This is my effort.

I haven't done much quilting for awhile.

Thought I'd have a go at making some of these tiny quilts.

May inspire me to get back into some quilt making.

I'm still working on my BIG project, it's coming along slowly.

I'm hopeful I'll finish in time for Christmas this year.

Some Days are Hexagons....

Today I broke my no buying fabric ban. 

Any quilter would of. 

Today I found a treasure too wonderful to pass by.

Here it is, doesn't look that interesting does it?

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And this is what spilled out of that bag.

Piles of hexagons basted to paper. (167 of them)

Three hexagon pieced flowers

Two metal hexagon templates for cutting the papers, one small and one big.

The markings from the compass which drew the hexagons onto the metal are still there.

A small wooden cotton reel.

A rusted needle  pinned into a scrap of red velvet.

Some scraps of fabric.

And.....

A letter! See the date? 1977.

I was so excited! 

The fabrics must all be older than 1977.

I have the name of the lady these hexagons belong to.

Maybe one day I'll complete her quilt and send her a letter?

I wonder if she still lives at the address on the letter?

How did her hexagons arrive in Gladstone, South Australia?

But that's not all I'm excited about.....

See these hexagon flowers?

Notice anything a little different about them?

I think a quilter will see...

Yes, they are backed with another hand pieced flower!

I've never seen this before.

It's a Quilt as You Go method for hexagons.

Can you see how the flowers are joined?

They have a thin batting between them.

Do I dare unpick a little of that overcast stitching to find out what was used?

After each flower was made the quilt maker would of then joined all her flowers together to make a reversible quilt.

I'm planning on piecing together the paper basted hexagons and completing the flowers.

Now would any quilter really pass this treasure by??

Some days are diamonds hexagons!

Sweet Treat Bag

Pete and I took a trip to Pirie and I discovered a new quilt shop!

I bought a little treat a  Moda Bake Shop box with two mini Honey Rolls.

There was a free pattern in the box for a Sweet Treat bag.

I managed to find a free PDF version on the net if you'd like to make this little bag too.

The PDF pattern comes from http://www.unitednotions.com

It was very quick to make up and the construction is a little different.

Fern took the photo of the bag for me.

John Wayne has left the building...

The John Wayne quilt went off to it's new home today.
I'm not a country type of Girl so this isn't my taste in fabrics or themes for a quilt.
It's HUGE Pete and Pa are standing on chairs behind the quilt to hang it for the photo.
The reciever was very happy with their new quilt.

Sometimes we need to make things that aren't to our taste but suit the person we are giving it too.

Peter did the scanning and printing onto the fabric of the photos.
He's a whiz at photoshop, very handy to have around.
I've made two queen sized quilts in the last month.
And I'm really over quilting.
I'm now making a public vow never to make another queen sized quilt as long as I live!
They are just too big to go through a domestic machine in comfort and being 9 months pregnant didn't add to the joy of the experience!
I ended up tying this quilt and just quilting around the photo blocks.
My shoulders and neck are paying the price.
I can't show you the other as the person who is getting it reads the blog ;) so It will stay hidden until xmas!

Quilt Finished

Commissioned Quilt Finished
My last one before xmas.
60 inches square
Quilter's cotton top and back. Polyester batting
Quilted with a verrigated rayon thread in the top and a cream polyester in the bobbin.


You can see the quilting better from the back.
I quilted it in the ditch around the blocks using my walking foot. The blocks are quilted with a butterfly design using my machines darning foot and I freemotion quilted the border with a mix of hearts, butterflies and flowers.



It does look better in the flesh. In the photo it looks pulled but it's not.
I need to learn to use my camera better and to use photoshop!

This is the first quilt I have sewn the binding down completely with the machine.
I prefer it hand done, but machine is quicker and looks almost as good from the front.

Four seasons Quilt Swap

I can't wait to get started!! This is my first time.
I'm so impressed by all the quilts produced in the previous swaps.
I'm looking forward to challenging myself to produce something equally as stunning.

The swap places are limited. To get the sign up details and rules visit HERE.

Weaving and quilting

Another dishcloth warped up and being woven on my Ashfords Knitter's Loom

The loom folds up when I'm not working on it.

The quilt top is together and I've pin basted the quilt sandwich ready for machine quilting.

I used some excess fabric to make the little stitchery into a quilt block.
I was thinking of making it into a bag.

The Quilt is on the go

I finally started on the quilt. I decided to go with a simple 12" block. I did a couple of tester blocks to check how the colour will move through the quilt. I'm pretty happy with the combination.

While busy in the shed sewing my blocks, Lambchop the lamb kept Baaing loudly, she knew I was in the shed and wasn't happy. I had to open the shed door so she could see me and she finally stopped baaing. Then she kept coming into the shed, I put a crate of toys at the door to keep her out. Sheep aren't house trained!

I went shopping today..

Aren't these pretty? I have a "thing" for pink and green.
I bought 1.5 meters of the center bottom fabric. I plan on using it as the border fabric.
There are 50cm of each of the others. Altogether there is 4 meters here.
That should be enough for a 1.5 meter square quilt.
I still have no idea of the design, I'm waiting for inspiration to come.

I'm thinking a medallion quilt.. maybe using this:

A stitchery which has been a UFO for a long time.
It's not my design, I think it came from a Handmade magazine?
I can't remember why I stitched it or what it was to be used for.
The more I clean, the more UFO's I find. A couple only need binding added.

Surprise Mail - Thank you Moggie's mum

'Jane' AKA Moggie's Mum
on her blog "five Minutes Of Fame" had a giveaway for her 300th post.
Jane was very generous and gave all who commented a gift!
I left a comment saying I would make Lilly a skirt if I was lucky enough to win a charm pack.
The charm pack arrived this morning and off to the shed I headed.

Patchwork Skirt
waist 23 inch and length 18 inches

Lilly modeling her new skirt.

Dolly Quilt - Busy Scrap Strings

Busy Scrap Strings
20 inch x 16 inches
blocks string pieced on calico
top cotton, bamboo batting and old pillowcase backing
freemotion quilted.

I thought I would only do three doll quilts for my three girls. But Liam wants a Teddy Quilt, so I still need to make three more. The other Teddys should have one too.

Dolly Quilt - Busy and Bright

Busy and Bright
100% cotton top, old pillowcase as backing, bamboo batting
A mix of novelty prints from a scrap bag bought from Patchwork Products.
Machine pieced and quilted
15.5 x 20 inches

Freemotion quilted.
The lady who runs the quilt shop here was showing me this easy quilt design.
Achieved by quilting wavy lines across the seams of the block.

This one is for Lilly's doll. Lilly helped lots and was very eager to get her dolly quilt. With helpful comments like ..Mummy hurry up! ... can I have it now? ..... is it finished yet? The wonkyness of the quilting I can attribute to Lilly! *** Insert Cheeky Wink ****

Dolly Quilt - Flower Garden

Flower Garden
16 x 20 inches
machine pieced and quilted
100% cotton fabrics and bamboo batting
Embellished with fabric yo-yo's and buttons

I really can't say I did this all on my own. Ollie Cat assisted. He insisted on putting his paws in all the wrong places. He's got a fascination with rotary cutters and sewing machine needles. I spent as much time shooing him away as I did sewing the quilt. He kept jumping up onto my cutting table and then onto the sewing cabinet. He even had to investigate the ironing board and the VERY hot iron. So If you can see a point that doesn't match that was Ollies contribution!

Ride 'em Cowboy!

Ride 'em Cowboy
top pieced and waiting for borders

He's such a happy little cowboy.

Pete's home! I abandoned my children and headed into my shed for a few hours of piecing bliss. This is a commission piece and is destined to be a cot quilt. The next step will be a black border, only 1 1/2 inches. Then I will jazzy things up with a little applique. No specific idea yet but, something cowboyish.

I'm going to applique and quilt at the same time. I have a nice piece of bamboo batting in the shed, just perfect for this quilt.

A quilty post - the quilts from the store

A trip around the world. Large Cot Quilt - $150

Bassinet Quilt - $40

Gumnuts Large cot size $150

Froggy stars - Large cot $150

We're going on a bear hunt- Large cot. - $150

These are the quilts I had listed in the store. I cleared the store out a few weeks back to start afresh. I had someone ask me if I still made quilts for sale. I realised I didn't have any photos of these quilts I'd lost the files when my old Laptop died. So if anyone is interested in them email me at tracy at desertrosedesigns dot com dot au. Prices include postage. I'm still working on getting the store up again. Yep I'm a gunna ..I know.

Miniature Quilts

Puss In The Corner
Machine pieced and hand quilted
10.5 inches square
Block size: 1.5 inches finished

My Flower Garden Fence
12" x 10.5"
Machine pieced
block size: 2"

Woodlands Fence
8" square
Block size 1.5"
Machine pieced

Pretty pansy four patch
8.5" square
machine pieced
block size:1 inch

Blue Chain
8" x 11"
machine pieced
Block size 1.5"

Tiny Logs
Hand pieced
1 1/8 inch blocks
6 1/4 inch completed
Made from a kit from ( need to find the site)

Another Chain quilt
machine pieced Hand quilted
8" square
1 and 1/8 inc blocks