Na-Na-Na-Na-Na ....

BATMAN!!

I've been having a little fun with a project after taking myself a little too seriously.  Do you ever do that?

I was stressing over a WIP that I started in ... July 2013 ... it was hanging over my head.  The project was a black and white Houndstooth quilt.  One day someone said, quite innocently, that the pattern reminded them of bats.

Now I can't un-see it.  So I decided to embrace the bat!

Time to drop my shoulders and have some fun ...

Original collage source can be found here

See that batman quilt in the middle of the collage above?  That's my quilt!  It wasn't in the original collage ... I just had a bit of fun imagining the type of little boy's nursery room this quilt could live in ... I (badly) overlayed my quilt in the pic (#cheeky).

You see, this little guy is headed off to a children's charity.  I won't ever get to see it in it's new surroundings so I'm having a little play here.

One more?  OK, if I must ...

Orginal collage source can be found here

All in the name of fun ... that's what this is all about right?  Sewing, creating, fun!

I think I like it best in the monochrome collage above ...

Monochrome nurseries are coming back in ... and this little exercise has flooded my brain with black & white nursery quilt ideas ...

 ... and to think that this little project had me so stuck for so long!

I think I'll go easier on myself next time ... you know, when things don't work out as planned.

Sx

Rainbow Half Hexie Quilt

You'll be forgiven for thinking that this quilt belongs to the "little people' of our house ... but no ... this mass of scrappy, rainbow goodness is for my dear husband.

This quilt was "officially" finished in June 2015 ... but I haven't had a chance to photograph it properly because it was put to use before I could even finish stitching the binding down.

As we "start the way we mean to finish" in this house ... the quilt has been used and enjoyed ever since.  No time for photoshoots when you are a well loved quilt!  So this weekend when we took him (rainbows can be boys) for a play at the beach, I took the opportunity to get a few (ahem ... windy) snaps.

OK, lets try photographing with the wind behind us...

I used denim for the backing and binding

Which makes for a heavy quilt ... but the wind picked it up like a feather

Diamond straight line quilting pattern inspected by Mr. Seagull

That's a wrap folks ... its too windy!

Despite the wind ... it is Autumn here after-all ... we enjoyed our afternoon at the beach.

Quilt Info:
#hubbyshalfhexie on IG (for progress shots)
510 half hexies sewn together to make this quilt (17 across x 30 rows)
I made my own template to fit 2.5" wide jellyroll cuts
Fabric is a combination of scraps with Cotton Couture solids from a jelly roll

Photo shoot location:
Port Beach, Fremantle, Western Australia

Linking up to: Sew Cute Tuesday, Let's Be Social and Finish It Up Friday

What I'm Working On - Deer Rose

I recently received a bundle of sample fabric in the form of Lecien's "Princess Rose"

It's beautiful ... very sweet, very pretty, very gentle on the eyes, very garden tea party ... very pretty (did I say that already?)

I'm surprised that I like it given it's not my usual go to colour of saturated rainbow (yes, rainbow is a colour).

BUT .... my youngest daughter ... oh she more than like it, she LOVED it ...

"Look Mum! Roses, just like my name!" ... I couldn't deny her little beaming face, so I started planning a little something for her.

BUT ... if I was going to work with these beautiful, soft, pretty fabrics covered in roses we were going to have to find some common ground.

Ground ... yes, there's a good word.  I needed something to "ground" all this light, airy, prettiness that I had before me.

So I'm doing it with this ...

It's a fabric that I picked up last year from Spotlight ... to make my youngest a top ... well obs that never happened!

I don't like to see a purchase go to waste, so here I am, grounding Spring with a touch of Autumn.

I'm using a simple cross stitch pattern to make my daughter a Deer quilt for her bed ... yes I am.

Each square in 1.5" finished ... here's how far along I am ...

Almost halfway ...

I hope to have this finished before the last Autumn leaf twirls it's final pirouette to the ground below.

Sx

I'm being social over at Sew Fresh Quilts ... hope to see you there!

Anna Maria Horner Mini Quilt Swap

It's me again ... with another mini ... that I wish I was keeping ... but I'm not.

This time it was for the Anna Maria Horner Mini Quilt Swap on Instagram.

I was't sure at first of the direction I wanted to take with this one.  I knew I was moving house and my sewing machine would be going into storage, so I needed something that I could mostly hand piece.

So I started here ...

Then it slowly grew ...

Even though my partner preferred muted tones, I thought it needed more colour so I did this ...

Then I added some spiral quilting using a 12wt, variegated rainbow Aurifil thread #3817.

This is my first time spiral quilting

This has to be my favourite Aurfil thread ... apart from the one I named.

Before I knew it I ended up with a 12-sided object, resembling a do-decagon!

It's 24 inches 'round' and I think it would make a beautiful table topper, if not a mini on the wall.

Good thing really, as my partner is a florist and I bet she has the perfect crystal vase and a bunch of deep red roses that would accompany this mini beautifully.

Here's a little something extra I added in the parcel ...

I used Aurifil #6728 (50wt) in the bobbin for the spiral quilting on the back of the mini

It's a charm square fabric tray ... you can find the tutorial here ... be warned, they're addictive :)

So the mini and extras are on their way to their new home and I'm impatiently patiently awaiting the arrival of my mini.  I wonder what it will look like?

Sx

Twin Quilts

The twin quilts are finished - yay!

You can pop over here to see the work in progress, but basically the brief was full of ice-cream colours ... mainly yellow, pink and mint green in pastel shades) ...

Cute little animals ...

and a minimal design ...

I added some straight line quilting in matching variegated mint and yellow threads, creating 60 degree diamonds (channelling my inner waffle cone) and some stripy binding for extra yum!

They are sweet and simple at 40" x 60" and I can't wait to see them in their new home.  The little twins will be welcomed into our crazy world any time now ... Exciting!

Sx

Quilt Washing Instructions - Feedback

Turns out not everyone lives in the second sunniest city in the world ... Perth, Western Australia ... so they tend to tumble dry their quilts on low heat with no ill results.

Thank you for your feedback on my quilt washing instructions ... in return I've had a new label created and you are most welcome to grab yourself a copy.

To do this:

1. Use your mouse to right-click on the label.
2. Select "Save Image As" from the drop-down box.
3. Save in a handy place on your computer.

This label has been created for you to use as you wish and include with your next donated. gifted or sold quilt.

This is how I will be including the quilt washing instructions label in my "after-gifted/sold/donated" information pack:

I hope you find this label useful and your family, friends and clients will be less fearful of washing the masterpiece you created for them.

Happy washing everyone!

Serena xx

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts