The happiest/busiest time of the year

So how did everyone's Christmas go? Was it relaxed? Madness? Still rolling along in eggnog fueled bliss?

As you can probably tell from the lack of posting lately, I've not had a heck of a lot of time to myself. I need to get more organised again. I started off so well this year, but I've let it slip and now I have so many projects on the WIP and To Do lists that I'm starting to loose track of them.

So a quick update on what has been happening.

I have been getting photos back from some of the lovely ladies from the Going Dotty quilt I have been teaching. The first was from just before the course I took at QuiltWorks in Lower Hutt.

Student #1 used all bright novelty prints and played with the layout

 Next is the first of my QuiltWorks ladies to finish. H was a heck of a lot of fun to teach!

Student #2 used her stash of gorgeous butterfly prints

I am confirmed to rerun this course at Quiltworks in February - the start of the new school term. If you are interested, it will run on Monday nights for 4 weeks (7pm - 9pm). For more details, contact the lovely ladies in store.

In other news, I will also be teaching this quilt as a single all day class through the Wellington Quilters Guild in March. That one will be a MUCH bigger class - woohoo!

The shortest critic is now getting to an age where I can play dress-ups now. Busy little bee walking and running around, but still young enough that she will usually put up with what I put her in. She is already showing preferences though. Thankfully for me, she is drawn to bright colours not just girly pink. So it was well past time to make her a party dress. Well done Kelly. First item of clothing you choose to make in years and you pick something that has toddler sized armbands and 19 individual pieces!

Hand artfully covering Mummy's booboo

Have you seen the lovely modern Christmas tree wall hangings? The ones that have a highly stylised tree made of dots or swirls on a plain pale background? I love them. I wanted one, but I wanted one with a bit of a Kiwi flavour. So I made my own.

Kiwi Christmas #1

This one is my first attempt. And yes, I am a geek. I finally found an excuse to play with electrically conductive thread! I took it with me to the December guild meeting and it caused a wee bit of a reaction during show and tell. It was reasonably well appreciated when it was held up for show and tell. I think that my modern without being stark style is quite liked by a number of the ladies. 

I had someone at the back turn the hall lights down for me to show this quilt's secret. Under one of those presents is a little switch that turns the Christmas lights on:

Kiwi Christmas 1 - lights on

The 2nd version of this is almost finished now (I'll take it along to the January meeting). It has twice as many LEDs hidden inside the quilt and a pre-programed chip that makes groups of the LEDs randomly turn on and off so they look more like twinkle lights.

The pattern for that one is going to be fun to write! I'll also have to import more parts in bulk so I can make some kits up. That one is a project for the new year though. 

I have two important projects on the machine at the moment that I can't go into just yet that have to be finished first.

That's me for now, catch you soon

Kelly

What a busy month!

Hi everyone.

I know I have been quite on here lately, but I have definitely been busy behind the scenes. 

The best news for me is I completed my class out at Quiltworks in Lower Hutt.  I ended up with Two lovely ladies L & H in my class who were both real characters.

They haven't quite finished their quilts but are both nearly there and have promised to send me photos to post up here when they are done

I've been looking at the pattern I have been teaching them and have been tossing around ideas using the same technique but for a completely different pattern. One that is completely mine.  No pictures yet but I'm looking at stars!

What I do have pictures for is this:

My new little Christmas wall hanging. That hides a little surprise. Under one of those presents is a teeny little switch. That turns on all the little LED Christmas lights that are hidden inside the quilt.

I'll get a night time photo with all the lights on later tonight and get that posted too.

Post again soon!

Last night...

Last night I fulfilled a long-held dream of becoming a professional (i.e. paid) quilting teacher.

I have a small class running at QuiltWorks (Their facebook page) in Lower Hutt. It is a small group in a small space, but they are lovely ladies and all left smiling, pleased with themselves having already made great progress on their Going Dotty quilt.

Now I have to kick myself into gear to get the three new patterns I've been working on finished and onto Etsy.

No more excuses!

What do you do when it is all packed?

I feel all out of sorts at the moment. All of my sewing and quilting gear is packed away in boxes in preparation for our move. So not only do I not have the results of my creative energy in piles around me, but what do I do in the evenings now until the weekend?

I know it is for the best, and in the new place I will have a DEDICATED SEWING SPACE {swoon} but in the meantime... Giving me free time can be dangerous... But before I packed everything away I took a couple of happy snaps:

 

Table dreaming finished, and ready to quilt

Home is where the heart is - wall hanging, currently being quilted

New idea - RAWRRR!

Wee bit M.I.A.

I know I have been very slack in the last month or two keeping this blog updated - I'm really sorry!

Things have been haywire with lots of big things happening.

Both little things in the house have been sick too which makes getting progress on the big things just that little bit harder too.  So what is news that I can share?

Well, in a word - LOTS!

One of the most important to me is a project I hoped to start a long time ago. I finally got my clearance to join a fabulous group of ladies that I have respected and admired for a long time. Our mighty leader even appeared in the local rag recently: Stitched-up inmates quilty as charged

I can't wait to get back in there to see what the ladies have managed to achieve since my last visit. I would dearly love to be able to go weekly, but that is not going to happen with a young family and other commitments .

Remember this?

Going Dotty 1 - Now living with her new owner in Auckland

Well it has been the main reason I have been missing in action here.

A new quilt shop opened recently reasonably close by. This is a branch of a gorgeous shop in Levin that I LOVE, so I decided to be a bit cheeky. I have been chatting with the lovely Ms L and now have my first proper paid teaching job. I had to re-create my dotty quilt as a store sample. So next month I will be teaching a 4-week class.

Going Dotty #2, mmmm love Japanese Indigos!

Going Dotty is for confident beginner/intermediate level quilters, Starting Monday 7th October for 4 weeks, held at QuiltWorks in Lower Hutt.

I have now finished my entry for the Wellington Quilting Guild challenge, but still can't show that until after out October meeting, and now that the big project is finished I can get back to doing things for me.

Next time I should have lots of photos of bits and pieces to share, instead of bits and pieces to right after Helper #2 has been at them!

But this is how they belong Mum!

Cheerio!

Progress report for July

I got very little done during June - It is the middle of the coldest wettest windiest winter that Wellington has had in years and you know what that means - Flu season!! Add to that critic #1 breaking their arm and critic #2 having a birthday, I was a busy little housework bunny (BOO HISS).

Not many pictures this month either as a couple of projects are a bit secret squirrel at the moment.

Finishes (3)

Greek Candy Pops Throw. Done. Just stitching down the binding.  I can't post pics of this yet as I need to bind it, then get the pattern finished. It is soooo close to being up for sale and then I can get stuck into the next pattern...

Colour Me Dotty QAYG lap quilt with my stitchy Saturday ladies.  I had a fantastic reaction to this one when I took it to guild.  I had a collective "oooh" from the ladies and was fair mobbed by curious quilters afterwards. A couple would really like me to teach them properly how to make it after symposium which I am quite excited about. Hopefully that will add another little notch to my bow. I am considering trying to convince a local quilt shop to let me at their students to teach it too, just have to check a few wee details first. I can't post a finished picture yet as it will be going to a new home soon. But that does mean I must remake the pattern (like, yesterday) so I can keep one for me - hopefully as a class sample.

2013 Guild challenge. All done and dusted! Weehee I'm ahead of the game for this one, just need to get the entry form filled out and I have a month and a half to do that. Again, shhhh secret squirrel so no final pics yet :(

WIPs (3)
Home is Where the Heart is wall hanging. I'm back with little squares. I have half of this one pieced now. It will be the next pattern for my Etsy store after the throw.

Table dreams. One setting block done, one to go. Then I can get it all pieced together. Can't wait to start quilting this baby.


AQS Competition. Just need to get a good photo of me to send off for the entry form and that one is in the machine, gears turning.

New Projects and ideas (1)

I have been doing lots of doodling and have pulled some back-of-the-mind-percolating ideas out for ideas. The time has come for a few of them to become a reality, and then become a pattern.

To make up for a lack of stitchy photos, have one of opening presents birthday chaos:

Oooooh Shinies!

Papercut Shadows

So, the world ended for me on Saturday - My sewing machine broke.  And my back up sewing machine has a faulty foot pedal. So no sewing this week. Which is kind of a good thing. I've been organising my to do list and writing the patterns for the next patterns to go up on Etsy (hopefully in the next 3 weeks if I get my machine back quick).


I have been following a fantastic romanian quilter by the name of Geta Grama for a while now. She does fantastic shadow trapunto work and handbags.  Last year I was delighted to learn that she put out a book for her shadow trapunto technique and bought my copy as soon as it came out!

Shadow Trapunto Quilts, Geta Grama

For an experienced quilter, her technique is remarkably easy to do and gives such spectacular results! Rather than jump straight in to one of her big projects I decided to make one of my own designs on a smaller scale to practice. I made a paper-cut snowflake and used that for my design.

This is the second one I did:

A bit more complicated and looks gorgeous.

This now has a happy home with S in Auckland.

I love the book, nice and clear instructions, great photography and some stunning quilts to try. It is was first time in a long long time that I was interested in making someone else's design as is. I usually can't bring myself to do more than the general idea of the pattern and adapt to fit my own style. But these are so lovely. I think the next time I'll still do my own design but...I'll also add one of her original designs to the to do list too!

In the meantime I'll just pore over the book a few more times