Sunday Stash - For the Love of Liberty

We had a little family winter break in the lovely city of Melbourne last week.

I was lucky enough to be staying in an apartment almost diagonally across from L'uccello, and if you're reading this dear husband, that little fact was totally not planned ... promise!.  

It would have been rude not to visit said paradise when I was staying so close, right?

So what did I buy?

A whole Lotta-Liberty-Love! *warning, awesomeness to follow*

I've already started playing with the fabric ... and a new glue pen ... and a new skill ... hello hexies!

I've made a little something with these ... but that deserves it's own post :)

Happy Sunday everyone!

Serena x
Linking up with Sunday Stash

WIP - Possum Magic - Round 1

Much indecision, much trepidation and maybe an ulcer has been happening around these parts ... 

I'm not good at working on other people's work ... it scares me ... what if, what if, what if?  But finally I sewed.

Possum Magic Round 1

Let me step you through my thoughts when I first saw Jo of Riddle and {Whimsy}'s centre block:

Jo's block

"Omigoodness its beautiful, so very cool" ... then ... "oh crap, it's a rectangle! What does an engineering draftsperson (read OCD, everything must be balanced and equal, freak) do with a rectangle?!"

Then a pep talk to myself "OK, calm down, have a cup of tea and maybe a biscuit" ... freak out again ... repeat tea and biscuit.  So I've gained a few pounds, but I think my nervous energy should burn those off!

I started trawling Pinterest and created a 'mood mosaic' ... Feathers? No, too soon.  Delectable mountains? Hmm, maybe.  Chevrons or herringbone mimicking the feathers on the arrow? No, this rectangle is really bothering me! 

Clockwise: Herringbone wallpaper, delectable mountain block, paper pieced feathers, arrow fabric

Finally I decided that I was going to have to square this baby up.  It meant only adding two borders, but it also meant that I could move on. 

I sketched up an idea ...

Only the best sketching equipment used here ...

Then I found this arrow pattern and chose my fabric ... Wood-grain for the arrow stems and some lovely Shimmer fabric for the arrow heads.

A little while ago Jo kindly gave me some of her AMH scraps and now I'm gifting them back!  That's how it works, right?

I didn't have the same background fabric as Jo used for her arrow and I kind of wanted to use a different one anyway to define the border.  It's a subtle difference, granted, but enough I think and I know that Jo likes this fabric from the Littlest Range by Art Gallery Fabrics

Metallic arrow head

AMH feathers

So there you have it!

Zipping off to Carla next to work her magic

I've sent a "this isn't good enough I need more time!" panic email to Carla of Granny Maud's Girl - who will be adding the 2nd border. I've threatened to unpick the lot ... but thought I would write this post and sleep on it go on holiday to Melbourne first ... so if you're reading this post, then I was happy upon returning from holiday (thanks mum).  

Indecision is such a killer!  If anything this Possum Magic Round Robin is forcing me kicking and screaming teaching me to be more decisive ...

... maybe.

Serena xx
Linking up with:  Let's Be Social and WIP Wednesday.  See you there!

Little Finish

It may be a little finish, but I'm rather proud of this one.  

We had a Secret Santa - Christmas in July swap at Perth Modern Quilt Guild and my partner said they wanted a pin cushion.  

So my teeny, tiny piecing experiment became quite useful!

Now don't faint, but I actually used *cough* SCRAPS *cough* to make this ... those that know me here at SewGiving will know of my chronic allergic reaction caused by keeping scraps ... but this little project could be bringing me around.

All the little geese are made from the trimmings of joining binding strips.  The grey Aneela Hoey is leftover from making bee blocks .... the AH Posy strip fabric is left over from making this diary cover ... the Moda ribbon (??) is off a jelly roll bundle, and the grey linen fabric?  Yup! That's my old maternity pants making another appearance!  So, honourable members of the scraps society, are you proud of me?

Karma repaid immediately when I received my Secret Santa gift from the lovely Gina of @happygolizzie on Instagram.  Just look at this Gorgeous zipper pouch and scissor case to keep my Farmer's Wife Blocks safe in when I'm out and about.

Life's great in 'Little Finish' Town!

Pin Cushion Stats:

Size = 4"x4"
Fabric = See my proud proclamation of scrap useage
Stuffing = Poly fibre from Spotlight
Flying Geese Pattern = "Juisey Goosey" by Jeli Quilts
I found this ladder stitch tutorial really handy too!

Serena x
I'll be linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.  See you there!

WIP - Teeny, Tiny Piecing

I've discovered a whole new world out there!  Teeny, tiny, quilt block piecing!

It has me absolutely mesmerized ... seriously, I've started a Pinterest Board!

It seems this has been going on for some time now.  I may be a little late to the party, but I just had to give it a go.

2.5" square ... it's a 1/4 of the Pattern "Juicy Goosey" by Jeli Quilts

Granted, this is a paper pieced pattern, so it's easier to control the fabric through the machine, but hey, it's my first go at trying something this insane ah-maz-ing!

I did suggest to the Possum Magic girls that we should try a Micro Quilt Round Robin next ... it was kiboshed pretty quickly - ha!  In my defence, I am suffering from sleep deprivation due to myself and the whole clan having a shocker of a head cold ... but through all that snot-haze (sorry)... could it just ... maybe ... be a good idea?

Serena xx

I'll be linking up with:

Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday

Let's Be Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Welcome! 2014 New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop

Welcome Blog Hoppers to the 2014 Plum and June New Blogger's Blog Hop (try saying that 10 times in a row after a glass of vino!).  It's the last week and we (the remaining bloggers) have been waiting patiently to meet you!

I'm Serena of SewGiving - former Tomboy who now embraces pink and sewing thanks to my girls and ever patient husband - I'm also an avid over user of "..."  You'll get used to it ...

This is our little family ... Fine English Fellow meets Mining Town Metal-Head ... two miss pinks later, he's finally scrubbing me up "good and proper-like".  Ha!  I may, or may not, have the odd Metallica t-shirt still lurking in my wardrobe ...

I think my eldest (bottom-right) was still saying "cheese" when this photo was taken!

... this is Master Monty.  He's absolutely no help around the house, but we love him dearly.  Can you believe we got him from the pound?  Who would give up this white ball of fluff??

Every cat sleeps like this right?

We live in the lovely city of Perth, Western Australia, famous for: Black Swans, being the most isolated city in the world and the second sunniest city in the world.  Who's the first you ask?  Honolulu, but they're just showing off.

City skyline, black swans, map of where Perth is, my favourite Perth Beach called Cottesloe

Like a lot of quilters, I started quilting not long after the arrival of our first daughter.  I liked the idea of quilting being a "useful" hobby (justification clause!).  Also, one that I can exercise my grey matter with on both sides - maths - form and order, colour - creativity.

Here's some of my recent finishes ...

"I Heart "

"Rainbow Dolls Quilt"

Echo Beach

"Deer Pillow"

All of my recent finishes can be found by clicking on the Sew Given tab at the top.

As you can see from the Deer Pillow I love a bit of paper piecing.  I recently used a paper pieced block for a Round Robin I've joined through meeting other bloggers on this Hop.  We've formed a small group called Possum Magic and have each made a centre for our quilts-to-be. We will all take turns adding a border to each others quilts.

My Possum Magic centre block

It will take a year to get my quilt back ... but it will be oh. so. worth. it!  There's a tab at the top for Possum Magic too!

Here are the projects I have coming up ...

Drift Quilt ... seems the current favourite WIP

Frog-tastic Quilt for my youngest daughter

Almost ready to put this Houndstooth Quilt together!  promises, promises ...

And of course my Farmer's Wife is a major work in progress.  I'm hand piecing all 111 blocks ...

Some of the finished blocks

Yes, I could be a little crazy.  The Farmer's Wife tab will show you just how crazy!

This could take a while ...

So, if you're happy to take advice from a crazy lady fellow quilter/blogger ... here's mine ...

Blogging Tip - Be a joiner-in-er-er (that's a word).  Put your hand up for some pattern testing.  I have, and I've learned a lot from it AND met some really lovely quilters/bloggers/designers from doing so!

Pattern Testing the Hanami Top for Straighgrain

Pattern Testing for Quiet Play

Pattern Testing for The Elven Garden ... soon to be released Block Flower Quilt

Quilting Tip - Read up on the difference between pressing and ironing, it will make a big difference to your finished block  ... I found this post helpful.

Random facts about me ... well ...

Dislikes - Jelly!  The way it wobbles in my mouth throws me off balance.

Likes - Dad jokes ... you know ... "a dyslexic man walks into a bra" ... ha, ha, keep them coming!  What's your favourite Dad joke?

I hope to see you around here soon or on Instagram, I'm @sewgiving ... but in the meantime, please pop over and visit my fellow New Quilter Bloggers ... go on, you're on the home stretch!

Elli @ Lovelli Quilts

Marcie @ Marcie's Quilt Therapy

Sharon @ Motherdragon's Musings

Cynthia @ Cynthia's Creating Ark

Jane @ Jersey Jane Quilts

Sally @ Wonky Patchwork

Bee @ Pink Almond Quilt

Debbie @ Quilting Makes My Heart Sing

Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

Karen @  Capitola Quilter

Serena xx

I Heart Aneela Hoey

Here's my latest finish! I made the quilt top before I started blogging (so just over a year ago).  Pixel heart quilts were everywhere and I really liked the effect of the heart combined with a low volume background.  I had a layer cake of Posy and a friend had recently had a baby girl, so this quilt was born (you know how it is).

But when I finished piecing the top, I stood back, took a look at it, and ... well ... didn't like it.

I didn't think that the heart stood out enough.  The pinks and purples, were not deep enough, or the low volume wasn't 'low' enough.  So I scrunched it up and put it in a dark forgotten corner of the wardrobe in the spare room ... banished much?

With the recent announcement of Aneela's ill news, I started feeling guilty about my treatment of this talented lady's fabrics.  It's not the fabric's fault that the quilt top didn't work out ... it was my bad, or inexperienced, placement of the fabric.  

If I had my time again, I would have still used the same rage of fabrics but I would have graduated the colours a little better.  Starting with the darkest pink to clearly outline the heart and then graduate to the lighter colours towards the centre of the heart.

That being said.  I do like this quilt now.  Especially as I've finished it.  There's something magical that happens when you quilt a top, even simply quilted as I have done.

With my more (than then) experienced eye looking at this quilt.  I decided to keep the binding quite neutral to help the heart stand out more.  

I had originally picked a pink and white stripy fabric (which is now a piece on the back) to bind this quilt with.  But I think that the pink would have competed for attention with the heart.  So I chose something more low volume and I love the result.

I heart Aneela Hoey's fabrics and now I heart this quilt :)

Quilt Stats

Size - 60" Square

Pattern - None, I just made a pixel heart out of 5" squares

Fabrics Top - Aneela Hoey's Posy Range and Spotlight randoms

Fabrics Back - Bird fabric is Cloud 9 and Spotlight pink/white stripe

Quilting - Diagonal cross-hatch design on my domestic machine

Serena xx

I'll be linking up with: TGIFF and Crazy Mom's Quilts

WIP - New Wave, New Quilt

Hello new quilt to be ... 

I've been having a great time watching you grow ...

You're made from this pattern and these fabrics ...

and it seems the kids like you, so I must be doing something right!

Now to finish you ...

Serena xx

Linking up with WIP at Freshly Pieced