fullquiltview

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

One of the best parts of my quilt class is being able to use the design wall and wealth of knowledge of the teacher.

I was struggling with the last row of this quilt trying to make it “fit” on the bottom. It just wasn’t working no matter what I was trying. I took my quilt in with the pieces made and the teacher suggested putting the last row on the top instead of the bottom. Why did I not think of that? Such an easy fix to a major design problem I was having!

The quilt top is together and now I need to pick out some borders and a backing fabric next class. Over the summer I am going to have plenty of hand quilting to finish the girl version of this quilt and this one.

The move went as well as could be expected. We are in the new house which is about 80% done. We are so close, but so far too. Hoping to see some major progress over the next few weeks before Christmas creeps up.

I just ordered my Christmas cards. Can you believe it is coming up so soon? I need to get cracking on some sewing!

quiltlayout

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

Here is sneak peak on what I am working on. I have the girl version ready for hand quilting and now working on this boy quilt top. The design is from a quilt is courtesy of Kathy at Material Obsession in Hunters Hill. It has been a lot more work than I intended, but I am loving how it is coming together.

We move into our new house in two weeks. It has taken over a year for us to get to this point. A lot of blood, sweat and tears has gone into our labor of love.

There have been a lot of bumps in the road along the way and sewing, craft and blogging have all suffered this year from lack of time with the house project. I am so grateful I have accomplished the few projects I have this year.

Can’t wait to share some photos of the new house when we get there. I am sure I will be the one to break / scratch something first!

It will probably continue to be quiet in this space for a few more weeks I fear.

dog

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

A few more blocks on the wish list for the boy’s quilt: bus, train and a car almost finished.

We have a big birthday tomorrow….someone is six! Hopefully I can control 15 boys for two hours?

Have a great weekend!

I always used to look at quilts with perfect circles and wonder how they achieved the perfect symmetry and accuracy with their circles.

At my sewing class I learned a little trick of the trade for sewing circles. Cut a cardboard template the size you want the finished circle. Cut a piece of fabric larger than the template to include the seam allowance.

Cover the cardboard template with the fabric and cover with a piece of tin foil over the fabric and template and iron. This creates the perfect circle seams so you can then applique down circular seams. Who knew? Apparently a lot of people but not me!

Check out my moon!

boyblocks

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

Here is a sneak peak at the new quilt in the works. The pattern is another Material Obsession quilt. I bought the kit two years ago at Darling Harbour and had no idea where to start. It looks easy on the surface, but a there is no real set pattern so there is a lot of working it out on your own. I am really enjoying it and can’t wait to put it all together.

I just finished the girl version and will post some photos soon I promise! Today kicked off the hand quilting marathon to put it all together. A good slow burn project for me.

Hope you get some time to sew as I am finding it hard at the moment to squeeze in.

Off to wine and cheese taste tonight with girlfriends. Just hanging out to get there!

fathersdayfeast

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

Breakfast fit for the best Dad in the world. A day off from the kids this afternoon so he can test out his new garden tools. Hopefully a great day for him.

What did you do to celebrate?

Happy Father’s Day to all those great Dads out there.

placemats

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

We are on the home stretch of our building project. So much of my time has been devoted to the decisions so the Blog has been on the back burner. Sorry for the horrible photo quality of the placemats that are in progress. I just need to sew up the sides and I am making another three so everyone in the family can have one. I picked these up at Darling Harbour at the Be Be Japanese stand. I was seriously in love with their stand this year.

I also have a big post coming up on the quilt I have been working on for Sloan. I love it and can’t wait to share. I am still taking my class at Material Obsession and can’t believe how much I have learned this year from one class. If you have always wanted to take a class and haven’t like me, do yourself a favor and sign up! Inspiring!

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

What every girls needs right? A horse purse. Well, if you are a girl obsessed with horses this is the purse to make.

I bought this craft kit at the Darling Harbour show from Central Park Patchwork in Victoria. It was extremely easy to make and a huge hit with Sloan. The materials supplied are beautiful quality and the finished product is exactly like the photos.  The kit is from the UK and here is a link to the Sparrowkids website.  They have some gorgeous projects for kids. 

I am working away at the new quilt. You can get a sneak preview here.

003

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

I have seen this project before on the net and have always wanted to make some for Sloan. Somehow these look so much more fun to play with than the numerous plastic accessories scattered throughout the house for her play kitchen.   The link I used for inspiration can be found here.

Some advice if you attempt to sew them, I made my first knife too small and it was very difficult to turn out to stuff. I wanted a very quick sewing project so the smaller you make them the more labor intensive the stuffing becomes.  I also stuffed my spoon too much and couldn’t sew any grooves into it like I did on the fork.

She loves them and they also double as drum sticks for my son.

cats

Originally uploaded by Sew Sydney

The kids had a great day crafting yesterday. We checked out “The Crafty Art Book” by DK and Jane Bull and found this adorable pirate pattern idea that can also be made into a ghost or a cat.

My kids latched onto the cat theme and took it from there. One of the little friends we had over is footy mad and we made his into his football hero. Big hit with him.

We used some cotton fabric and Crayola fabric pens to draw the designs and I sewed them with helpers on the machine. A very fun and fast project that kept them busy. They book suggests stuffing it with lentils or rice, so I guess you could make them as rice pillows too for the winter.