Stawell Quilters Fat Quarter Christmas Present Swap...Made and Given...

Again this year I played in the Stawell Quilters fat quarter swap for the Christmas dinner.  A fat quarter is given in a brown paper bag with your name on earlier in the year, the bags are put in a basket and randomly distributed to each player and a present is made for the person whose name is on the brown paper bag with/incorporating their contributed fat quarter.  I got someone I didn't know "HS" who had put in an interesting piece of fabric and was relying on my friend's knowledge of her likes.  Then I met her briefly at the Quilt Show and took particular notice of the quilts she had hanging (and her challenge piece).  My first thought at the start was to make a block keeper and I wavered back and forth and mucked about with patterns and ideas and in the end came back to my original - and made a block keeper.  I had found a watercolour type fabric in Spotlight not long after the paper bags were distributed which had exactly the right colours in it but I struggled with how to re-imagine the given fabric...which I really liked by the way...

Then inspiration struck and I came up with a dresden plate...

(I had to pinch a picture from the Group as I forgot to take one of it finished)

I was happy with how it turned out...not so much the project pocket that was to go with it that we won't discuss (it is still on the sewing table thinking about its bad behaviour!)...and HS said she didn't have a block keeper and was happy with it...she likes circles which I'd forgotten about from the Club challenge but which must have been there in the sub-conscious!!

While a little stressful thinking what to make I do like this swap and hope the Group continues with it...if you are on the BookFace and search Stawell Quilters Inc all the lovelies that were made from the fat quarters are on the Christmas Dinner post, I have no idea how to link to that particular post and BookFace is tiresome so I'm not going to even try.

Happy Stitching...

Embroiders Guild Christmas Challenge...

Guild had a challenge for those attending our Christmas lunch...one of the Committee members made up packs from her sewing room (she wanted to have a bit of a clean out) and the challenge was to make an item, any item, utilising what was in your pack...and no two packs were the same except for just about all containing floss skeins of yellow/gold hues, she had a lot of yellow/gold floss from a previous goldwork project she wanted gone and the challenge packs offered a perfect opportunity.  This was my pack...

For some reason when I saw the fabric I thought of sunflowers - seriously my imagination is weird sometimes - and a pincushion.  Well, the sunflower stuck but as it morphed from a stitchery to a wool felt arrangement the block size increased and a pincushion the size of a small ottoman morphed into a small block keeper, then I decided to "frame" the block so it went from 8" to 10"... I called a halt to any further "improvements".  I used an old Leanne's House pattern as the basis and construction method.

It was fun to play with the wool felt and I'm rather impressed with the bullion stitch bumble bee as I managed it first time without any pulling out and restitching - even if the wings are a bit vampire bat-like!...I was going to do french knots for the stamens but after doing a few decided it looked ridiculous so used black seed beads stitched on with the yellow floss instead, much happier. 

Had fun and it's useful.

Happy Stitching...

SSCS 2011 - The Big Reveal...What I Sent...

Finally, finally all can be revealed...the agony of waiting is over, parcels are opened, paper and ribbon cleared away and tah dah! What I made for Nancy who lives in a place far far away across the seas near Philadelphia...

Stalking of Nancy's blog revealed she is a William Morris and civil war fabrics girl so I combined the two and came up with my slant on William Morris mets civil war Aussie style...appliqueing civil war fabrics (hand blanket stitch) in a William Morris bird design from Michele Hill's book "William Morris in Applique"...with a pattern by Leanne Beasley of Leanne's House...thereby incorporating two Aussie designers into the mix...to create...

A block keeper

A few little parcels went in the stocking ornament with instructions they weren't to be opened until Christmas Day...a piece of civil war fabric I came upon when buying the ribbon for the block keeper ties (which I seriously contemplated keeping for me but was strong and didn't)...some Victorian-made Aussie chocolates...a little triangle pouch in the same fabric as the block keeper for hiding those little things like a thimble or a reel of thread that we need to tote along sometimes but don't want to take the whole sewing bag shebang - or hiding some sneaky chocolate treats...and a pocket sized Birds of Australian 2012 calendar so Nancy is never without her stitchy dates to hand...but which her husband has decided I sent for HIM! so Nancy is being very good and going to share by hanging it in the house (she is good to him, hope he appreciates the sharing!!)...

I hope you enjoy what I made for you Nancy as much as I enjoyed creating them for you.

Thank you Chookyblue for once again hosting this most awesome of swaps.

Happy Stitching...and Merry Christmas!