The fabric is doing all the work!

This is my latest flimsy. I started it the week before Halloween last year, but put it aside to get the Eclipse quilt finished. (I really am a 'one at a time' quilter).

This quilt has such great fabric that the design doesn't need to be complicated. Isn't this graveyard by moonlight fabric a hoot?

The Peanuts fabric is so cute! I have had the panel a few years, having bought it on the internet.  Of course, I couldn't resist -my childhood memories of Peanuts cartoons won me over.  I think this story of Linus waiting for the 'Great Pumpkin" to give him presents, is one of those inspired funny-but-sad stories which make cartoons great. The story features Snoopy appearing in the pumpkin patch at night -he is always pushing Linus along- and Linus's bossy sister actually comes through with some compassion as she takes him back to bed. 

Over the years, I collected pumpkin and graveyard by moonlight fabric, and added some cats! The blue background of the cat fabric picks up the blue in the main peanuts sky, and so I then added blue fabric for a border, with little yellow stars. 

I have made this a large lap size so it can be hung up if need be, or could make a cute snuggle quilt or child's bed size. 

I added the black cat borders top and bottom to make it rectangular, and because the fabric is too nice not to use.

The next step is to make the back. 

Water tank replaced just as the rain arrives!

This is a replacement water tank. We had to go back to the manufacturer when the old one failed for a second time, releasing all of our precious 3000 litres of water. 

The manufacturers were great, no questions asked.

Today a couple of friends arrived to help us move the tank into position, just as unseasonable rain arrived to start to fill it. Yippee!

10 reasons to make your own kitchen stay-put hand towels

1. You need some more.
CHECK. I threw my old ones out last week because they were stained and daggy.

2. You like pretty things
CHECK. Why not? I like to have things that are both useful and beautiful.

3. You don't want to mix up teatowels for drying dishes with hand towels
CHECK. In this house the hand towels need to be significantly different to 'stay as hand towels" otherwise someone will dry the dishes with them

 4.  You found an easy tutorial from pinterest. 
CHECK. So many different options but I went with this one:
https://kleiosbelly.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/christmas-prezzies-6-1-for-you/

5.  You are 'between projects' at the moment.
CHECK. I have finished the cushions and not ready to start the halloween quilt.

6.  It only takes about half an hour each.
CHECK. That is, unless you spend 30 minutes unpicking something you did last night because you got slack and didn't pin it properly.

7.  You have a bunch of left over fabrics from your last project which are still on the sewing bench.
CHECK. I haven't put them away yet so if I can use some of it- I won't have to put it away! LOL

8. There is nothing you would rather do right now than play with your sewing machine.
CHECK. I love being creative. The sound of my vintage machine is very soothing!

 9. You want a sense of achievement that just going to the shop and buying something, can never give you. 
CHECK. Call it independence, call it self-sufficiency, call it competence, I like the buzz of making it myself.

10. You can share pictures of it on your blog when it is done.
DUH!

Two faced cushions

Happy to have finished the cushions today. The inserts were about $8 each, and the fabric all came from my stash. I used the zips I have been collecting from op shops at $1 a piece and scraps of my quilter's batting. There is a very ugly piece of fabric behind the batting as a liner for the cushions.

In most cases I used both the old insert and the new one in the cushion -to bulk it up.  I am only 5'1" tall so I often need a cushion on a chair which is deeper in the seat than I would prefer.

I realised after I tried to attach a zip between the two quilted panels front and back of the first cushion, that this was not going to work with the width of a walking foot, so I made a placket for each of the zips and then attached the placket to the cushion covers with my walking foot. The result is that each side is pretty!

Cushion covers

These are the first two fronts of the cushion covers for the lounge room. Today I cut out the linings for all five. I cut the batting too. The theme will be black, white and red. 

Eclipse is finished

This quilt used a fabric collection from Moda that I had owned for a number of years, but couldn't think of a way of using it. The teal didn't play well with anything else in the stash, and I loved it but couldn't imagine it on its own in a quilt.

The idea of adding the collection of dark batiks was the start of this quilt. These fabrics were also ones I hadn't used, as they were "too good" or too beautiful to use! 

My dear daughter DD gave me a ruler for making circles, so I wanted to make a quilt with circles in it. I tried a number of methods but came back to raw edge applique, which I then edged with a stitch on my modern Bernina sewing machine. That machine had to come into play when Nina my Singer 306K got a bit stuck and had to go to the repair shop. 

Nina was back in time to put on the binding, though, using one of my new cams. I was very pleased with the result! I like bindings to be scrappy and use up bits of the fabric from the quilt itself.

All in all I am really happy with this quilt.

Thanks for everything Tassie

Cataract Gorge in Launceston

My son, daughter in law and grandchildren spent two years in northern Tasmania. Next week they move to country Victoria. We recently spent ten days visiting and enjoying the family and the scenery. 

Devonport lighthouse

Looking out from the east coast towards the Freycinet peninsula.

Hobart with Mt Wellington in the background. 

One of the sights in the lovely historical town of Oatlands. Don't know when we will get back to Tassie, but we have loved our visits.