A quiet week on the sewing front at this house.  Went to Hanazono workshop last weekend, am going to another quilt class tomorrow, shopped a little (bought me some Mary :D), but mostly went to work.

I didn't write down names and have Patrick draw them out of a chocolate box this week (he's still in bed).  So, according to the random number generator the winner of Stitched Verse is #7, Sandra from Portugal.

Congratulations, Sandra.  Please email me with your details and I will get the book out to you.

Sandra has a lovely blog and posts in both Portugese and English, so pop on over for a visit.

I have quite a few things to mail out at the moment so if you're waiting for something from me, it will go out tomorrow morning.

Thank you all for stopping by and entering my giveaway.  It's been fun to read so many new-to-me blogs, and also to drop by some more familiar ones.

Fabulous shabby chic style tablecloth made for a friend's newly paved outdoor room. Fabrics were based around the feature fabric of blue chintz pots of flowers. Muted shades of sage green and musky pink florals with tea dyed florals and various satins and jacquards in toning shades. The tablecloth was a gigantic three metres by two metres and was finished off by hand stitching the 10cm wide peach rose spattered border fabric to the calico backing. It looks soft and shabbily pretty and the man of the house was reported as saying "you can't use that as a tablecloth with food on it, its too beautiful to ruin"
High praise indeed, but then he also adored the Mandarin Robe ballroom setting I made them as well.

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Bath was one of the places on my must-see list. Due to the price of accommodation I only stayed one night and thus had to fit both museums into one day, which isn't easy since the opening times are skewed towards the afternoon.

The Fashion Museum was said to open at 11am on the guide I got at the hotel, but luckily when I found it after having a walk around town at shortly before 10:30, it said on the door that it would be open by 10:30. That's half an hour saved already! The museum concentrates on fashion in different contexts, thus not giving a strictly historical account but mixing things up, setting i.e. evening dresses or swim-wear from different periods next to each other. I had the feeling that the older exhibits got lost on occasion in the middle of the 20th century stuff. But there was a big room showing dresses from the Elizabethan, Regency, and Victorian periods sorted by period as well, which I really enjoyed.

But the grand prize definitely goes to a rather small exhibition of 17th century gloves currently on display. The gloves on display have richly embroidered gauntlets and were surely not worn in everyday life. They were used as representative presents, and for example worn when getting one's portrait painted. The embroidery is exquisite, and one of the souvenirs I brought home is a set of postcards from this exhibition.

It was lunchtime when I finished there, and then I was off to go find my way to the American Museum. I enjoyed the whole museum very much, there were a few highlights for textile lovers. The American Heritage Exhibition on the lower level has quite a few craft objects made by the native peoples. The Period Rooms are of course having quilts in all the places where they would have been in the real houses. And the Textile Room is ingeniously set up in a way that allows as many quilts as possible to be shown in a rather small space. Let me see if I can explain this: There are two half-round columns installed at opposite walls, and on each of those are numerous wooden frames fixed like book pages, each with a quilt or rug mounted under a protective cover on both sides. So you can just flip through the quilts like book pages, and have a close look at a lot of them. Just great!

So, the day was a big success in terms of the museums. Time to move on. My next stop was to meet a friend in Cardiff, and then it was off to London! Lots of things to see there, and I'll probably need more than one post to cover it all.

Plate and ginger jar found in a charity shop. The plate is by Furstenburg of West Germany, that gives an idea of its age, and was $5 and was rattling around with the junk ....really lucky the hand painted finish did not get too scratched. The tiny ginger jar was also $5 while the evening bag was $4....so all told $14 which is a really good price I feel.

ca. 20x30cm, Bw gem. weiss-gold +Rüschen

35x30cm, Taft rot-schwarz, schwarzes Häkelmotiv + Samthenkel

45x25cm, lila Bw.satin +silber bestickter Tüll +Eisenringe

28x20cm, Jeans+ Satinrüschen

38x30cm, Bw creme+ Rosen

38x20cm, Leinen (+Reißverschluß)

40x30cm, Bw hellblau + Rosen, Bambusringe groß

45x30cm, Bw, Patchwork, Bambusringe groß

35x30cm, Bw +Rosen, Bambushenkel

40x35cm rot+ cremefarbene Spitze und Satinband

20x20x20cm, Tischtuchfolie

45x30cm Garn gestrickt, Bambusringe groß

Queridos Amigos:

Neste ano, vocês que me acompanham sabem, cantei com o Milton Nascimento e o Fernando Brant, das Marias..., de ser Maria, de ter garra, ter força, gana, raça, manha, de ter sonho sempre, de ter fé na vida.

Também emprestei de Fernando Pessoa a vontade de me renovar, a certeza de estar sempre recomeçando, fazendo da queda um passo de dança, do medo uma escada e do sonho uma ponte.

Da Clarice Lispector tomei as asas para voar e sonhar com aquilo que quero ser, e tornar concreto o sonho embalado.

Vocês sabem o quanto foi difícil sentir quando o vento repentinamente inflou as velas de meu barco, no início deste ano, e desamarrou minhas amarras do porto que com tanto amor havia construído, e julgava seguro. Me lancei ao desconhecido, à procura de mim mesma, a procura de novos rumos, de um outro porto.

Não deixei de lado meu sonho de ter um cantinho que pudesse ser partilhado por outras mulheres, a vontade de dividir cargas e conhecimento, e de compartilhar uma xícara de café.

Me recolhi, mas dividi com vocês meus anseios, e fui muito bem acolhida, confortada, e minhas forças se renovaram. Aos poucos conseguir re-arrumar minhas linhas e minhas idéias, organizar meus tecidos e meu espaço, retomar a costura dos panos e dos relacionamentos, a quiltar e a preencher a vida de alegria.

(Como um bônus extra consegui retomar minha pintura de aquarela sobre papel, e conforme contei em outra carta, estou participando novamente de uma exposição de artes plásticas, que terá o vernissage dia 8 de Agosto, às 20hs, na FASM, r. Dr. Emílio Ribas, 86 – Perdizes. Todos estão convidados!!!.)

Construí também meu novo porto, onde pretendo dar aulas e receber minhas amigas. Planejei o espaço, escolhi com cuidado os móveis, costurei retalho por retalho as cortinas, arrumei a casa!

         Por isso é com muita alegria que venho convidar vocês a estarem comigo na inauguração de meu Ateliê.

Será sábado, dia 9 de agosto das 10 às 16 horas. Fica na Rua Cotoxó 303, conjunto 98, Perdizes SP.

Ficarei muito feliz com a sua presença!!!!

Um beijo,

Selma Dias

The following describes my favorite way to make multiple HST units, 8 at a time.  Using this method, one avoids handling stretchy bias edges that can sometimes distort patchwork.

Measurements

Using the above colors as an example, I'd start by cutting 2 large squares, one of the purple fabric and one of the gold.  In this example, let's say we wanted the HST unit to finish in the patchwork at 2" square.  That means we'd need it unfinished at 2 1/2" square to include a 1/4" seam allowance on all sides.  In order to yield eight 2 1/2" units, we'd need to start with both large squares measuring 6 1/2" x 6 1/2".

Here's a reference chart:

Marking

On the back of the lighter (in this case gold) fabric, mark an "X" by drawing a line from corner to corner in each direction.  Like so:

Sewing

Pair the large 6 1/2" yellow square (with markings) and 6 1/2" purple square, right sides together and all edges aligned.  Sew 1/4" away from both sides of both drawn lines.

Cutting

Make a series of cuts using a rotary mat, cutter and ruler.  Once you place the fabric on the mat, try not to move it between cuts. 

First cut: use a rotary ruler to align a center cut vertically through the square.  Again working with the above example, align the 3 1/4" mark of a rotary ruler with the left hand edge of the square and cut along the ruler - this should intersect the drawn X through the center.

Second cut: again, without moving the fabric - align the ruler to intersect the square horizontally, and make one cut through the center.

Third & forth cuts: cut along each drawn line using a rotary ruler as a guide.

There will be 8 HST units.

Pressing

I almost always press the seam allowance toward the darker fabric.  Again, using the above example,  I would position the unit on my pressing surface with the (darker) purple fabric up, press the iron down on the seam (this is called setting the seam) and then open the unit, pressing the seam allowance toward the purple fabric.

Trimming

All units will be oversized and need to be trimmed to the exact dimensions.  This step is a bit tedious, but is also what ensures accuracy.  Use a rotary ruler with a 45 degree line and align the 45 degree line of the ruler with the seam in the unit.  For the first cuts, I trim very little fabric along the right and top of the unit, I don't pay too much attention to the measurements at this time as long as the 45 degree line is aligned.  I just make sure I'm not trimming too much so that the unit will be less than 2 1/2" square.  Then I rotate the unit so that the untrimmed sides are now along the right and top edges.  Now, I align the 2 1/2" mark on my rotary ruler with the trimmed (left and bottom) edges AND make sure the 45 degree line is still aligned with the seam.  Then I make the final 2 cuts, one along the right and one along the top. 

There are different ways to trim.  Some quilters will trim before the unit is opened up and pressed, aligning the 45 degree line of a ruler along the seam and trimming through the two layers before pressing open.  Some people will trim after pressing but instead will trim to their desired measurement with the first cuts and then go back to trim the excess fabric (sometimes called dog ears) from the corners. 

Find the method you can live with and go for it!

Howdy all :)

Thanks for all of your help with the quilting question. I googled it as well and I found a page that says to make a small knot (at the back) a little way out from the back of the quilt and then you sew it into the batting. Hmm, I think I'll post the link - go here for a better explanation! - cause that just didn't make sense, even to me!

I am making progress on it but I've started in soooo many places I just want to sit down for a week and finish it now! Funny thing is is that I started doing this so I would have something to take with me to when I go to TAFE and also when I visit my Nanna.

I've hand quilted around the shapes and then I've also started to quilt a grid 2' apart which you can see in this photo.

The grid is turning up better than the quilting around the shapes which I'm finding a bit disappointing but I guess it will all turn out in the end :) And if it turns out too terrible I'll just give it away and make myself another one!

And that's about it from me today. I'm off to finish watching the Farmer wants a Wife and drink my Milo (yum!).

Mindless facts for the day:

• someone found my blog by searching for ginger > cute bum (I know :roll: right?????)
• a 200g bag of crispy M&Ms has 980 calories :!:

This is a quilt for my Grandma's 83rd birthday, which is today. She of the teaching-tiny-me-to-sew. Happy birthday, Grandma!

But first, an admission.  You all know how little I use the sewing machine, especially when it comes to patchwork and quilting.  I only started using it again when I started playing with vintage clothing patterns.  Well, maybe I was hasty.  You see -- and wow, this is embarrassing when I think of how many of your quilty blogs I read, o crafty readers -- I didn't actually know that a person could quilt properly on a domestic machine.  Oh, sure, I'd quilted on mine, mostly straight line ditch quilting on low-stakes blankets for myself, but it was always a bit of a mess, and I thought that to avoid that, one had to pay a professional long-armer to do the job.  Not having too many hundreds of dollars just lying about, and enjoying hand-quilting anyway, I chose to do everything by hand.  Needless to say, quilts took years not days.

Well.  During an editing session for Vic Quilter, my co-editor Jan had much to say on the subject! So, I dutifully went out and bought a darning foot. The arrival of this marvellous new toy coincided with a delivery - of fifty gorgeous fat quarters of vintage sheet fabric from Oh! Fransson's swap.  They had such pretty patterns, it would have been a shame to do anything much more complicated than cut them into large squares.  In less than a weekend, I had them pieced together, quilted, bound and delivered.  Oh, the bliss of scribbling waves of quilting stitches all over pretty patchwork!

Some more photos, if it interests you -- Mum and I binding:

The quilt itself:

And the Masculine Quilt Advisor getting comfy while he has the chance:

I didn't get a shot of Grandma's room in full, because the sun was all wrong, but she has a big window onto the garden where she's living, and I'm really pleased with the way this quilt brings the garden inside.

Only problem - Mum's just put in an order for two more, so I have to find some more pink and green sheets from somewhere! Still, when Mum and Dad keep welcoming us home with this kind of thing, I have no real issue:

Na tej właśnie chęci stworzenia self-image'u bazuje popularność portali typu "myspace", "fotka.pl" czy innych tam weblogów. Wirus autokreacji dopadł także naszą starą, dobrą naszą-klasę. Może właśnie powinnam napisać inaczej- na owym portalu "lansik" nabiera nowej głębi, gdyż przekrój wiekowy użytkowników jest bardzo szeroki. O ile portale społecznościowe typu "grono" są odwiedzane głównie przez młode osoby, o tyle nasza-klasa staje się także dla osób w wieku mniej i bardziej średnim okazją do pochwalenia się wczasami w Grecji, wnukiem czy wyremontowanym domem. Szczególnie sprzyja temu funkcja powiadomień- dzięki niej mamy pewność, że mało kto przegapi aktualizację naszej galerii.

Każda grupa wiekowa chwali się czymś innym. Zauważyłam ostatnio wśród osób w wieku ok. 17-23 tendencję do "chwalenia się" cudzymi dziećmi. "To ja i córka siostry", "To ja i moja chrześnica", "To ja i syn sąsiadów". Biedne noworodki, a może jeszcze biedniejsi ich rodzice- zdjęcie niewinne, ale cel już bardziej diabelski: Jeśli zobaczę w "niedawno dodanych zdjęciach" dawno niewidzianą znajomą z noworodkiem na rękach, na pewno przejrzę jej galerię, bo będzie mnie gryzła ciekawość, czy to jej pociecha, czy może nie. Nie widzę innej możliwej przyczyny fotografowania się z cudzymi dziećmi- może mam małą wyobraźnię, a może zbyt sarkastyczne podejście do społeczeństwa.

Często też widuję zdjęcia znajomych należące do ich portfolio. Im dziewczyna w podstawówce była mniej lubiana i brzydsza, tym odważniejsze zdjęcia wrzuca do internetu. Oczywiście, każda fotka przedstawiająca dziewczynę w bikini musi być ozdobiona wielkim napisem studia fotograficznego, gdzie zdjęcie zostało wykonane. To tak po prostu, żeby nikt nie miał wątpliwości, jak wielką modelką przez ostatnie lata się stała, oraz że fotograf potrafi obsługiwać Photoshopa. Szczerze powiedziawszy, nie rozumiem tego już całkowicie. Nie widzę powodu, by chwalić się zdjęciem w bieliźnie na portalu, którego celem jest odnawianie kontaktów z dawno nie widzianymi ludźmi.

Próżnością grzeszą nie tylko dziewczęta, ale i chłopcy. 16-letnie pannice dodają sobie w polu zatytułowanym "nazwisko rodowe" nazwisko swego chłopaka z zaznaczeniem, że w przyszłości zostaną jego żoną. W ten sposób powstaje nowa nomenklatura: Karolina Nowak (przyszła Kowalska), Monika Maciejewicz (wkrótce Krawczyk). [podane imiona i nazwiska są moim własnym wytworem, bo nie o to chodzi, by konkretne przypadki reklamować na moim blogu]. Panowie natomiast robią sobie zdjęcia za kierownicą samochodu. Ba, żeby jeszcze było co fotografować! A tu pospolitość skrzeczy, chciałoby się powiedzieć: Pan Karol i jego polonez, pan Marian i wysłużona Skoda. Nie te czasy, panowie, żeby dziewczęta na czterodrzwiowe sedany podrywać!

Co ja mogę jeszcze dodać? Sama nie wpisuję się w nurt "lansu", ale lubię czytać opisy na gg. Komunikator, można by powiedzieć, od dłuższego czasu żyje już własnym życiem. Tu to dopiero ciekawostek można się doczytać!

"Turcja- wycieczka:D"

"Norwegia z Agatą, wracam 04.08 i chuj"

"O 5.00 wracam z pracy- hmm...spać czy iść do kościoła?"

Oczywiście, lansem obowiązkowym jest znajomość angielskiego. Opisy w języku nie-ojczystym są szczególnie w cenie. Zatem, podsumowując, moi mili, dam Wam jedną radę na przyszłość: jeśli jedziecie do Holandii, co zauważyłam stało się ostatnio bardzo modne, nie piszcie " Holland!!! w opisie gg. Taki kraj nie istnieje. Holandia to po angielsku The Netherlands, gwarantuję Wam to jako studentka tłumaczeniówki.

I've started hand quilting Berries for Breakfast and am slowly realising that it is going to take me days months years more time than I thought it would.  I seems that sewing machines have been invented for a reason! :)

Anyways, so back to the question.  I know how to start it off, how do I finish it?

I have a few loose threads around cause I don't know how to finish them properly.

Any help would be much appreciated :D

Most of these cotton fabrics date from the last quarter of the 19th century.

None of the fabrics were in used condition, so most were still crisp and unfaded.

There are stripes, shirtings, plaids, and a wonderful selection of prints to study on this quilt top.

So life has been just a bit crazy over here at casa di Ginger!

There's been the normal work gym stuff happening and lately as well I've had to learn my tracks for RPM so that I can learn how to teach them.

I think I'm due for a holiday soon :)

However, I did manage to take time out yesterday and go to quilt class with Tazzie. I was excited as I hadn't been for ages and have been missing the quilt shop lately.

Whilst I was there I worked on another baby quilt, another doll quilt - I take 5 things as I never know what I'll want to work on. I also took Berries for Breakfast.

The girls at quilt class absolutely loved it and 3 even bought the magazine cause they saw me working on it! 1 also bought the fabric to make it. I told Tazzie I should get commission (joking :P)

So after quilt class I took a quick pit stop to Spotlight to buy some white beads for the butterflies eye and then came home and worked at it all night until all the applique was done. Then whilst I was waiting for my Mum to arrive I started cutting up the squares for the border.

Then, this afternoon I sewed them all together and then put the borders onto the main bit. I was a bit long on the border for the top and bottom so I trimmed those squares which you can see on the left hand side but I don't think anyone is going to notice unless I point it out!

Now I need to work out how I'm going to quilt it. I think I'll machine sew around the white bit in a ditch with the machine and the outside of the border as well and then practice my handquilting and hand quilt around the shapes and in the squares. I'm also thinking of hand quilting a lattice like pattern in the background.

Can't wait to find time to do this. Perhaps Sunday????

Wolle: Gründl Cotton Fun Schulgarn Farbe 17 und 22
Verbrauch: ca. 200g
Nadeln: 6mm Harmony Wood

2

R$119,00
 

Gostou? Você pode adquirir pela Internet através do email contato@carolnasser.com.br ou pelo telefone: (21) 8559-0888.

The antique quilt top I've loaded on the Gammill measures 63" x 72". The entire top was hand pieced and the maker remains unknown to me.

The quilt top is made with a simple four patch block that most quilters recognize as Broken Dishes.

Each patchwork block measures 5" square, and each block is made with different fabric combinations. This scrappy quilt top has about 50 different fabrics that date from the last quarter of the 19th century.

Two of the corners of this top have sixteen patch blocks. And two sides have a 2.5" sawtooth border of scrappy triangles. I appreciate the variety of fabrics used in this quilt top.

This quilt top was made with alternating bars and patchwork. The vertical bars measure 5.5" wide and the rows of Broken Dishes with setting strips in between, measure 5" wide. There are five vertical bars and five vertical strips of the Broken Dishes, giving ample area for quilting.

I decided to use my longarm for this antique top, and since I wanted some type of feathered design, I chose to use the Willow Leaf pantograph called Plumage.

I've only quilted about a third of this top so far, but I love this pantograph! The quilting is very curvy and the design pattern is "tight", meaning every area on this quilt top is quilted.

In my next blog entry, I'll share some of the close-up photos of the individual blocks for those who enjoy antique cotton fabrics.

This week's giveaway is "Stitched Verse" by Christine Book.  Another Aussie designer whose work I love, but won't get around to doing.

The book is as new, except for the sticker that says it's mine :) and it has been signed by Christine.

Christine has a lovely, vintage style of work.  In this book most projects are in 1930's or country prints, but I think the designs are ideally suited to the lovely retro fabrics that are being done so well at the moment (think anything by Moda).

Projects are:

• Friendship Verse Wall Quilt
• Christine's Friendship Bag
• Friendship Verse Mini Quilt
• Mizpah Framed Stitchery
• Love One Another Cushion
• Love One Another Angel
• Faith, Hope, Love and Family Cushion
• Doiley Cusions
  • Fragrant Flowers
  • Gather the Roses
  • Simple Pleasures
  • Bee Happy
• All Things Grow in Love Wall Quilt
• Hanging Folk Heart or Pincushion
• Folk Heart Scissors Case
• 1930s Stitcher's Bag
• Country Stitcher's Bag
• Criss-Cross Scrap Quilt

This one will run for a week (I got a bit sidetracked this week).  So leave a comment before midnight, Thursday, 7 August 2008, Australian EST and I'll do the draw and announce the winner Friday morning.

Good luck!

This block is the centre of my 4SQS Summer quilt.  It will be set on point and finished as of this evening.  It is meant to be mailed today (sorry) but as I work in an industrial estate Saturday will be my first opportunity to post.

Fabrics are Ginger Blossom and block is modified Pansy Park Block 1 from Thimbleberries.

I do hope my swapper likes it, though  I have to admit I am so impressed with this combination I am going to make a bed sized quilt for myself (or at least buy the fabrics to make the quilt, possibly to keep in the cupboard of sacred fabrics).  :D

怎么样？你们有看上什么吗？

Have you seen anything you like?