Tuesday 25 November 2014

Bunting quilt

After completing all the cutting out, and there was lots of it, I sewed all my bunting blocks together and then placed them on the design wall.


First placed in pairs, then mixed them up a bit.


After deciding on my placement I sewed all my blocks together into rows. I followed the simple, but effective quilting of straight lines... I was going to add more photos here, but my computer is having a small meltdown. Perhaps tomorrow :)

Sunday 2 November 2014

I spy top completed

With the borders now on the top is complete. I ideally wanted hexagon corners, but after several attempts I couldn't get the measurements right so gave up and took the easy option. It still looks OK, very green, but hey, this is my favourite colour and it is for me to get cosy with on the couch.



My quilt includes piggies, 50's children, foxes, abstract apples & pears, handbags, birds on trees, rabbits, retro trucks and much more! I spy with my little eye something beginning with F.... FUN!!!!

Sunday 5 October 2014

Bunting quilt by Deborah OHare

This latest project was a birthday gift for a friend which I did on the spur of the moment with only three weeks to get it done, nothing like a bit of pressure. Added pressure when I found out it was a foundation pieced quilt, something I have never done and am ashamed to say never did the paper piecing as required, went a bit freelance.

Stitch fabrics
I selected all the fabrics in a lunch break at Stitch, Colombo Street, so bit of rush, but they had all I required - black, purple and electric blue (as requested by my bestie!).

Mock up of block

Because I wasn't going to follow the exact foundation piecing that the quilt instructed (I didn't have the time to learn the techniques, next time perhaps) I decided to sew up a mock block for starters to make sure I was heading in the right direction, luckily I was. 

Block bits are ready for sewing
The cutting up took forever. I managed to get flat feet in the process! Cutting up is my least favourite thing to do, but with these blocks the pieces had to be exactly right cos otherwise I knew they wouldn't line up.

Bit by bit getting their wings

Slowly but surely the pieces came together

What a marathon...

To be continued...

Thursday 2 October 2014

I Spy quilt

My first and most likely last I Spy quilt began in August and is almost finished, well the top at least. I started with cutting out the hexagons and triangles with scissors (shopping list: smaller rotor cuter!).


Next came placement, putting this with that, and that with this. The lime green triangles really made the quilt zing! Probably not for everybody's taste, but I have always loved the colour green.


These cloths for placing your fabrics are excellent eh! I have mine pinned in the hallway, not the most ideal place, but one wall that was under utilised!

These funny half triangles had to go at the top and bottom and get chopped to shape the quilt into a rectangle. This is where following the pattern comes in handy...


The majority of my novelty fabrics were brought when I was building my stash. They looked pretty at the time, but I had no idea what the dang I was going to use them for. Luckily this pattern came along!

This pic show how I was planning my blocks....
it took forever before they all fell into place.
At last I planned how all my blocks would go. I selected each row at a time, walking back and forth to my sewing room before placing them back on the wall, just in case I got the configuration all wrong. Luckily they were all sewed up OK.


Wednesday 1 October 2014

Purple bag

This is the purple bag I made some time ago, but the straps needed to be shortened. My friends said "just tie a knot in each strap"....... Heavens to Betsy, like I would ever do that!!!

The bag had to have the lining unpicked, turned inside out, more unpicking to get to get to the straps and then they were altered and sewn back into place. Seams sewn back in, turned right way in, and lining hand stitched back in place. A lot of fiddling, but I strive for perfection. I would rather turn out something that looks great than looking good. I imagine every other quilter feels the same way when they make gifts for family or friends.

The photos don't do the bag justice, but the purple bag really is purple and not blue!!! In case you are asking the pattern can be brought at Quilters Quarters and a few of the sewing group did them at our classes. It is called "Spice of Life" by Monica Poole.

Inside out before I sewed the seams
The finished lining with zipped pocket
The finished bag with my made up latch
Close up of chalky black fabric which I love

Straps at the desired length, not too long and not too short!

Thursday 21 August 2014

Sunlight harvesting

I have a huge project on the horizon.

I work in a biology department where beautiful wonders are everywhere. The latest quilt inspiration has come from an academic's poster outside his office, a vision from an oil painting by Glynn Gorick (Sunlight harvesting). It all starts with tiny photons of sunlight entering the food producing region and ending with the earth's atmosphere. When the academic heard about my desire to make a quilt from his poster he gave me a couple of biology books to perfect my quilting styles of algae!


I know this will be a huge challenge and one I will not take lightly. It will involve a lot of insight and forward planning. I have never done a landscape quilt before. I probably shouldn't start with such a huge project in mind, but hey, life is too short to just chose the easy ones! I will no doubt be searching the web on tutorials on "how to" and inspiration from my fellow sewing group. Sometimes if you dream it, it will come true :)

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Paisley purchases

I love paisley fabrics. I think it stems from my paternal grandmother and seeing her wear paisley dresses and anything she made with paisley fabrics. I love their unique patterns. I love the colours, I just love, love, love them! Here are two of my latest purchases I obtained from Cottonfields on Merrin Street, Avonhead. 


My blogs have been short and to the point lately cos I have busy sewing, who hasn't. Sometimes it's hard to find the right words to go with your projects, but hopefully I explain myself properly when I do. At the end of the day this is all so that I can look back and see what I have done visually, my own record of keeping my unpicker at the ready!

Friday 15 August 2014

I spy quilt

I'm a bit slow off the mark, but I didn't realise an "I spy" quilt meant, "I spy with my little eye..." and that children are usually the receivers of such a gift. But, when my aunty gave me the pattern I thought, hey, I have all these novelty fabrics that I brought and can finally put them to use and make myself a quilt, yes, for me! So far I have cut out all my hexagons and halves. The fabrics are mainly animal themed or cute lil kiddies from an age gone by! I didn't have a small rotary cutter so I ended up cutting my shapes by hand. I hope I don't regret that later on when I go to sew my seams...


Thursday 14 August 2014

Bag editing

After making a very successful bag (my first one) awhile ago I received a request to make two more, but with longer straps. The bags turned out quite good, but I had this uneasy feeling I had made the straps a tad too long. Thus here I am unpicking the seams to get to the straps to lengthen them.... very time consuming, but again my patience makes the end result rewarding.

Inside out and on it goes!

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Teddy Bear Collector - complete

Well Wednesday the 30th of July crept up on me sideways! It was the day of my sister's special birthday and I was determined to get my wall hanging finished on time. Unfortunately that was not to be and I decided I would have it complete at the weekend instead and deliver it in person (she lives 1.5 hrs away).  Out of the blue I received a phone call, saying "come on down tomorrow night for tea and stay the night". Eeekkk.... I had the hanging complete except for the binding and frame sleeve.

After putting down the phone I tackled these last minute additions which turned out to be a nightmare. For the life of me (probably quilt brain freeze) I couldn't work out how to end the binding with that special mitre. And as for the frame sleeve, which I had never done before, I made the first one too narrow and the second was a struggle to turn inside out. Midnight arrived after 3.5 hours and only had the hand binding to do. I decided to call it quits and take the quilt to work the next day and to finish off my binding in the lunch break. What a mission for such a little project. I really did underestimate totally!

Here it is all with a love heart frame ready for hanging. 

Teddy bear collector lives here


Monday 4 August 2014

Bear collector lives here - prep work

I brought this Teddy Bear Collector pattern from Away with the Fairys in Cust a long time ago, but finally I had the occasion to make it, for my sister's 50th birthday and because she is that collector!


The stitching took awhile (count quite a few weeks) cos it's not really my thing, but I got there in the end. The set up below is of my initial choice of placement.


Sunday 3 August 2014

New enrichment for puds

It is very rare that I follow a sewing pattern, but this was for a good cause! Here, my two cats delight in taking turns trying out their new house/igloo. They both charged in, pawed up and down on the soft lining and even did u-turns to ensure they faced the right way!

Bella waiting her turn patiently
Aztec enjoying his time in the house
My turn at last!

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Ready for next project

As quilters we are always focused on getting our projects completed one by one... yeah right! So here I am starting another project, but one that needs to be completed before the 30th July so it turns up for my sister's 50th birthday. Thus it is small and quick to make (I hope). I have to do a bit of hand stitching, which isn't my strongest task. It is a small wall hanging for the bear collector that she is.

Selecting the colour range with my assistant...
He finally made the move to have a bath
All clean waiting for his next move

Tuesday 24 June 2014

Bargello top completed

After 3.5 years I have finally completed my bargello top. The reason for the delay was because of three underlying factors:
1.     I didn't follow my instructions properly.
2.     I ran out of base fabric and had to order via an America site.
3.     Motivation was zip at the end.

So I guess the moral of the story is, read your instructions twice, even three times; measure twice and cut once and for the motivation put on some zippity-do-dah music to crank things up!

On completing I sang (badly) the tune below a couple of times, because quite proudly, I was full of joy :)



  1. Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
    God of glory, Lord of love;
    Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
    Op’ning to the sun above.
    Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
    Drive the dark of doubt away;
    Giver of immortal gladness,
    Fill us with the light of day!







Monday 23 June 2014

First time quilting

So, here is my beginners attempt at quilting. I went to two, three hour classes on the basics of quilting. The teacher was so great, Jan from Culverden. She basically let us loose on our sample 12" squares and let rip. Naturally for starters I began small and very slow, but as the day progressed I got a bit bigger with curls and swirls, but it was hard to let loose. It's only now when I look at a quilt I can actually appreciate the art of the quilting and imagination, flair and talent that goes into completing such masterpieces. I can only admire from afar. Let the good times roll!




Wednesday 18 June 2014

Blog neglect, oops

Sometimes in life you get so busy creating you forget that you also have a blog to write up every now and then.... So here I am watching 'One born every minute' and listening to one of the cats snoring! This is just to let you know I have not stopped my blogging, but need a huge neon coloured pink post-it note saying "blog now!". More soon.

Sunday 30 March 2014

Free motion quilting

I've been patchworking and quilting (I use the word loosely) for just on four years now and I'm ashamed to admit that I had my first go at free motion quilting at my Wednesday classes only two weeks ago....

I had to borrow a friend's free motion foot as I realised my Janome did not come with the required footer. Next stop: Art of Sewing, Riccarton, to put in an order for one! I had no idea what the term "dogs" were until now, duh!

So, for my appliqued chickens on my lap quilt I have ironed on a few, but they will have to wait for my purchased footer. I took up sizing up my scraps at last week's session. You know, that really boring task you know you need to do, but for the life of you, you can't be bothered until it's too late.... and you really need 152 strips of blue or whatever!

Little black hen
Little brown hens, legs yet to be stitched

 My latest fabric purchases

Purchased at Away with the Fairys, Cust
 

Purchased at Cottonfields, Christchurch


The beautiful Hurunui - my home

State Highway 1 leaving Amberley
 

Back of Culverden, Kaiwara Road


Follows a long, winding metal road
Past the Greta Valley
 

Homeward bound through the Waipara vineyards