Possum Blossom Patchwork

New Stock - Hello Luscious and Domestic Bliss Hexagons - and a finished project

2012-03-02T02:07:00.000+11:00

I've made something for me and something for you.

This is for me ...

You can't really tell from the picture but it ended up about 140 cm by 140 cm (because that's all the fabric I had in that range). The curves were surprisingly easy to machine-piece and of course I die-cut all the fabric so it was quick too. I've used a thin wool batting in the middle because I find it's just the right temperature for me.

And I've made these for you ...

Hexagon Charm Packs and Hexagon Multi Packs in the brand new Domestic Bliss and Hello Luscious ranges.

I've only made limited stock so far but if you need more packs just email me and I will make you more. And I definitely have to make LOTS more of the Hello Luscious Charm Packs because I'm tempted to make a queen-size quilt from it, now that I've got the hang of machine-piecing the hexagons.

I love the soft colours of my new apple-core quilt and I like the mid-weight colours in the Hello Luscious, much better than that stronger bolder colours I've been using lately, e.g. for my Rose Star Quilt.

The new Charm Packs and Multi Packs are now in my store. And don't forget the Free Offer is still on for a few more days - a free pack of paper or card 1" hexagons with each Hexagon Multi Pack purchased.

Back to the drawing board - Rose Star quilt

2012-02-24T21:26:00.002+11:00

It's back to the drawing board for me to rethink my Rose Star quilt. I've pieced 8 blocks so far and I love them all. Here are my favourites ...

Each block looks great on it's own (perfect for cushions) but when you put them together there is just too much going on. Too much colour, too much pattern, and not enough space in between to give your eyes a rest.

It's missing ... I don't know ... balance, cohesion, identity. What are the words I'm looking for ... it just doesn't make sense. So it's back to square one with this quilt to find a way to bring it all together. I do have an idea about how I might make this happen, but I want to try it out before I tell you about it.

It all comes down to how to use colour. I don't think I've found my feet with it yet. I look back at the quilts I've made over the years, and they've mostly ended up quite blahh because I've been unadventurous with colour.

But last year, when I found Lily's Quilts blog and joined in her Hexalong doing the Candied Hexagons quilt, I went colour-mad and decided to go bright and bold with each block. It did not work. It definitely did not look like this GORGEOUS quilt by Lizzie Broderie.

My Candied Hexagons are still in pieces. Same problem as with the Rose Star quilt, I jump into making the blocks without a clear idea of where I'm going and what the whole quilt will look like when completed.

So it's back to the drawing board to find the right balance between not enough colour (blahh) and too much (aarrgh). And I think I need to include some more plain fabrics in my mix. I'm going to start by looking again at some great tutorials by Lily's quilts all about colour ...

http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/interested-in-dead-simple-qal.html
http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/resistance-is-futile.html
http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/choosing-fabrics-qal-guest-post.html

And if you can suggest any great tutorials for me to look at, I'd love to hear from you. Help me find my quilting style, my colour, my quilting mojo!

Stock update - More die-cut fabric hexagons in store

2012-02-20T22:47:00.003+11:00

Hello! Yes I'm still here. I'm sorry I haven't been blogging lately. Something's been on my mind and I've been tossing back and forth about what to do. I guess the best thing is just to tell you about it.

It's about my fabric hexagon packs, you know the packs containing the inchy-sized fabric hexagons. Surprisingly, when I started making them from Moda's ranges last year, it's turned out to be more economical to make them from Layer Cakes than from yardage.

An added advantage is that my customers know exactly what they're getting in these packs, i.e. enough hexagons to make a standard inchy-sized flower out of each of layer of the Layer Cake. I've been putting 7 hexagons from each layer in each pack. That's enough for 6 petals for each flower (42 flowers per pack) plus a spare from each layer.

However, I've found that if the Moda Layer Cake is even just a millimetre too small, there's not enough fabric to die-cut the spares. Even though the spare ones end up just a millimetre short on one side - which doesn't really matter if you're hand-stitching them - it really bothers me that they are not absolutely perfect!

So from now on, each inchy-sized Hexagon Multi Pack will have 6 hexagons from each layer. That's 252 hexagons per pack and exactly enough petals for 42 flowers, but not the spares.

I've been busy die-cutting more of these packs for you and have just restocked these 2011 favourites:

Circa 1934, Curio, Etchings, Giddy, Good Fortune, Hometown, Reunion, Rounneries Deux, Strawberry Fields and Terrain.

2011 Favourite - Hometown

And here's a sneak peek of the next job on my To Do list: making some pre-cut packs from these brand-new 2012 ranges: Papillon, Petite Odile, California Girls and Vintage Modern. (I love them all!)

2012 - California Girl

You are welcome to pre-order them by emailing me. Just let me know which ones you want me to die-cut and I will put them to the top of my To Do list and make them within 24 hours.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, the Free Offer is back on in my store until 6 March. With any purchase of a Hexagon Multi Pack, you'll get a free pack of 100 paper or card hexagons (or 50 of each if you prefer).

Rose Star Quilt - die-cut papers now available

2012-02-05T17:40:00.002+11:00

All my plans for the weekend flew out the window as soon as I picked up my latest custom-made die a few days ago. This one will die-cut all the little kites and hats for the Rose Start quilt (my latest hand-piecing obsession).

I wanted to get some packs of kites/hats/hexs cut up for you this weekend, but of course I first had to do a proper scientific test to see if the papers turned out fine. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.) Here's the first block I made ...

... and my second, just to make sure the results of my first test were accurate LOL. (They look a little skewed, but that's because I'm missing the photography gene.)

I've just listed the die-cut papers in my store in a mixed pack called the Rose Star Pack. You can choose from paper or card and choose from a pack of 350 pieces (175 kites, 175 hats and 25 hexagons) or 800 pieces (350 kites, 350 hats and 100 hexagons).

The centre hexagons have 2" sides and the finished blocks are 12" wide by 10" high.The product descriptions will give you more info about measurements and quantities.

I would love to pre-cut the fabric for you as well but I definitely think fussy-cutting is essential for the Rose Star quilt. The fabric range I am using for mine is Prince Charming by Tula Pink for Free Spirit.

P.S. Thanks to CG who first told me about this block. I was instantly smitten. There's a tutorial about the "Rose Star" block here and more inspiration in the Flickr group here. I've just found out it has also been published as the Jazz Hands block in Material Obsessions 2, although that one is completely pieced with the little kites. (Thanks Suz for the info.)

Hexagon Flower Swap

2012-01-31T00:01:00.001+11:00

I calculated today that I die-cut 5,032 hexagons over my four-day long weekend. Phew! No wonder I didn't feel like doing much tonight.

I made a couple of hexagon flowers for my January swap partner though. (Just squeezed in by the end of the month again.)

Two of these were received from her last week (thanks Deb, they're great!) and two will be posted tomorrow ... also to her. I hope she likes them.

Another productive weekend

2012-01-29T18:01:00.001+11:00

My extra-long long weekend was super-productive. I made over 200 packs for my store! Here's a preview of some new products.

First up are some Hexagon Charm Packs in plain colours. As you can see, I made this batch from red, purple, aqua and white, and some packs have just one colour, some have two or three. All have 42 large hexs per pack.

These match the large Hexagon Charm Packs already available for both machine-sewing and hand-piecing. The red/white pack goes with A Walk in the Woods, the red/aqua pack works well with both Little Apples and Ruby, and the purple/aqua pack goes with Good Fortune.

Next up we have some packs of smaller hexagons, also made from Moda's Bella Solids range. This 1&1/2" size is to match your inchy hexagons - perfect for the centres of your hexie flowers.

These Bella Solids packs contain 20 hexagons, 2 each of 10 fabrics. Choose from a Darks pack, a Warms pack, or the pretty 1930s colours. The Neutrals pack has 4 each of 5 fabrics.

The following packs made from Marbles by Moda also have 2 each of 10 fabrics. Choose from Marble Warms or Marble Brights. And last but not least, shown here are my Bella Solids Favourites, containing 1 each of 20 different fabrics.

Sorry about the fuzzy photos, I'll have better images and more details when I list these in my store later this week. But now, it's time for a night off. Ciao!

Four whole days!

2012-01-25T18:45:00.003+11:00

Four whole days! I have four whole days off work and all to myself! I have soooo much that I want to get done (die-cut, sew, sleep, repeat, die-cut, sew, sleep, repeat).

But first I absolutely MUST fix the error in this quilt. The blue in the bottom right hand corner sticks out like a sore thumb.

Oh no, I just spotted another mistake! Top left corner. I better get cracking and fix it asap ... Bye!

A productive weekend

2012-01-22T23:00:00.000+11:00

2012 has brought with it some great new quilt projects, hasn't it! Swoon has swept the blog world and although I was tempted, I've decided not for now. I decided to try the Rose Star block instead.

As you know, I like hand-piecing, so that meant a big tick on the side of Rose Star vs Swoon. And I have to admit something here to further explain my decision - I've never actually machine-pieced a quilt from a pattern before. Seriously! I haven't!

But the start of a fresh new year is a good time to learn something new, so last week I started one. I've had my eye on the Stepping Stones pattern for a while. You can download Moda's pattern here.

I think I spent longer figuring out the pattern than actually sewing, but now that I've done it it seems easy. (Why did I wait so long!) I made it using the summery new California Girl range. My rotary-cutting and machine-sewing both leave a lot to be desired, but the point is, I gave it a go.

Once I'd done this much, I decided to do more. I was going to spend the weekend turning this 16-block quilt into a queen-size quilt (36 blocks!) but life had other plans. A friend mentioned she needed to make her wedding invitations asap, so that's what we did yesterday.

I was glad to have an excuse to bring out the Vagabond I bought a little while ago. (It's a motorised die-cutter, see the YouTube video here). My friend had a good idea of what she wanted and we made a quick dash to the wedding stationery shop in the nick of time before it closed.

Actually it was me, her and her fiance making the invitations. They took care of the die-cutting and I assembled the cards. It turned out to be quite a late night, but they were very happy with the results. (They must have been, because they came back today and we made some Thank You cards in a similar design.)

The gold die-cut on the black card looks really striking. I's softened by a pale green ribbon and pale green inserts. And my friend's lovely calligraphy is so elegant!

Oh, P.S., I got my sewing done as well. I had already pieced the extra blocks and I just needed to joing them together. The next challenge is to quilt it. Something else that's new to learn!

What a productive weekend. I'm very happy.

Tempted? - Rose Star Quilt block party

2012-01-18T19:47:00.000+11:00

Has anyone come across the Rose Star Quilt block party? I am soooo tempted to join. (Thanks to Carey for telling me about it.)

It's english paper piecing (EPP) and at first sight it looks complicated but it's not really. It actually only uses three shapes: hexagons, kites, and some 5-sided shapes that I'm going to call squashed pentagons.

Start with a 1 1/2" hexagon in the centre, add a row squashed pentagons, add a row of kites, then another row of each. The white in-between blocks are just a hexagon and three squashed pentagons. Each rose star ends up at roughly 8 inches by 8 inches. (This one by Summerfete is a mini quilt.)

Good colour-choice and fabric-choice will be absolutely essential for this quilt so I'm going to wait until inspiration strikes me. But in the meantime, I think I'm going to get some dies custom-made so that I can die-cut all the papers. (Yes, they'll end up in my store too.)

You can find Summerfete's Rose Star tutorial here and the Flickr group here. (Looks like over 100 people have joined already.) Anyone tempted?

P.S. This quilt block somehow took me to another great tutorial on how to do EPP without stitching through your papers. There's a photo for every single step of the process. For those of you who haven't tried EPP before, you'll find the tutorial here.

Stash and Treasure Market - post-market report

2012-01-15T17:20:00.002+11:00

The first Stash and Treasure Market at Marrickville was a great success for all involved. All the sellers walked away with lots less stuff than they brought, the shoppers walked away with some new treasures, and on top of that nearly $500 was raised for the Miracle Babies Foundation.

I did end up doing a last-minute destash on Friday night and I rocked up on Saturday with 9 containers of stuff to sell. I strongly resisted the urge to look at what else was available because I didn't want to go home with more stuff than I came with. I could see across the way from me that someone was selling Kona Solids fat quarter bundles at a huge discount. It was hard to pass that up, but I stayed strong, and I went home with 6 empty containers.

I have to say that the market organisers Cherie and Justine did an amazing job preparing for the market. They thought of everything and it went so smoothly on the day. (I'm sure below the surface their feet were paddling away as fast as they could go, but above water everything looked so calm.) And it was such a pleasant venue - indoors in the main hall of the historic Marrickville Town Hall. (I forgot to take photos!)

Best of all, I got to meet some local bloggers - I popped by Badskirt's table to say hello, and I also got to meet the lovely Quilary from Take a peek over the fence and her friend from Marisew. Thanks Quilary for all your encouragement.

For me, the best thing about the day was being in a room full of creative people with interests similar to mine. It was so cool to see the inspiration in people's eyes as they picked up fabric, rummaged through buttons, and spotted vintage treasures. It really was the most pleasant market I've ever been to and I sure hope they put it on again.

So now that's done, what's next? I've been meaning to make you some new hexie packs for ages, this time in plain colours. I want to make some Bella Solid small hexie packs for the centres of your inchy flowers. Plus I really want to make some large hexagon charm packs in a few different combinations e.g. red/white, red/aqua/white, red/purple/aqua, purple/aqua/white which will coordinate well with the Ruby, Walk in the Woods, Good Fortune etc hexagon charm packs.

I thought if I mentioned it here and put it on the record, then it might make me get it done more quickly! Because I am always getting side-tracked into starting other things ... and I am excited about introducing a new product in a couple of weeks ... but I really must make sure I get these done for you first!

Separation anxiety

2012-01-09T21:08:00.001+11:00

As soon as I heard that a new market - an Arts and Crafts recycling market - was starting in my local area, I just knew I had to get a table there and do a destash. I have a big sort out and tidy up each Christmas holidays, so this market on 14 January seemed like perfect timing.

Just one problem ... I'm having trouble destashing! I'm accused of being a hoarder from time to time and I always vehemently deny it. "I'm not a hoarder, I'm a creative recycler ... and proud of it". But yes I have to admit I've got a lot of stuff.

So my rule of thumb is, if it will fit neatly into the allotted spot on the allotted shelf in the allotted cupboard, then I can keep it. If it's cluttering up the floor, or I have to keep moving it to get to something else, then it has to go.

This time around, when i did my annual cleanup, I found room for everything. So technically speaking, I'm allowed to keep everything and don't need to do a destash. On the other hand, it might be useful to create some empty space in my cupboards. Oh I can't decide what to do!

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked, I didn't mean to rave on about my destashing dilemma. I actually just wanted to tell you about the market.

It's called the Stash & Treasure Recycler's Market and it's the perfect opportunity for artists, crafters, quilters, scrapbookers etc to clear out their cupboards and say farewell to their no-longer-needed supplies, unfinished projects, and all those little treasures we can't say no to like vintage lace and fabric, books and patterns, etc.

It's also the perfect opportunity for artists, crafters, quilters, scrapbookers etc to find some wonderful new treasures to take home!!! So if you're in the inner Sydney area next Saturday 14 January, pop in to the Marrickville Town Hall. I'm not sure whether I'll be there doing a destash or just browsing and picking up some new treasures (naughty me), but I hear that it's shaping up to be a great market.

Follow the Stash & Treasure blog here and Facebook page here.

My niece's first sewing project

2012-01-07T19:45:00.000+11:00

I was so excited to hear that niece number 2 received a sewing machine for Christmas. She's just turned 11 and clearly has inherited my family's creative streak.

So I popped back home to the Northern Beaches this morning and spent a lovely couple of hours with her. She's a smart little cookie and I'm thrilled to say that she completed her first sewing project - this very huggable cushion.

Did I mention that this was the first time she ever used a sewing machine!

I pre-cut the fabric to save time but made about 4 times what was needed to give her lots of choices. Do you like the colours she chose?

Here are the measurements to make a 50 cm x 50 cm cushion (using a 1 cm seam allowance).

Cut 1 piece = 52 cm x 52 cm (for the back of the cushion)
Cut 2 pieces = 17 cm x 52 cm (for the left and right sides)
Cut 3 pieces = 12 cm x 22 cm (the thick centre strips)
Cut 4 pieces = 7 cm x 22 cm (the thin centre strips)
You will also need a Size 20 cushion insert.

Join the centre strips in any order you like. (We alternated thin and thick.) Press the seams.
Join the left, centre and right strips. Press.
Sew the front to the back (with right sides together), leaving an opening.

Turn right side out and put in the cushion insert.
Hand-sew the opening closed.

Except for the hand-sewing, my niece made the whole cushion herself! She is clearly a problem-solver and likes to work things out for herself. I am so pleased.

Giveaway Winners - Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T22:37:00.001+11:00

Oh my, I almost forgot to draw the giveaway! I've had such a lovely day in the fresh air and sunshine (stitching hexie flowers on my balcony) that I hardly even looked at my computer.

So here are the results ...

1. (International winner) Natasha from Nova Scotia, Canada
2. (Australian winner) Elaine T from the Blue Mountains, NSW.

Congratulations to you both! I'll contact you to find out which Hexagon Charm Pack you would like. And don't forget to tell me which pack you would like me to send to your "Secret Santa" friend.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that all your creative endeavours this year are a great success.

Giveaway - More Hexagon Charm Packs

2011-12-29T00:32:00.000+11:00

The New Year inches closer and closer but it's not too late to enter the giveaway for my brand new Hexagon Charm Packs.

I've made lots more pre-cut hexagons for you to chose from. These are large hexagons, the same size as Moda's regular square charm packs. This batch includes Good Fortune, Sassy, Little Apples and others, plus the not yet released California Girl. You can find more details in the pbpatch store.

There'll be an Australian winner and an International winner. To enter, just read my previous post and leave a comment there before 2011 runs out. (If Blogger doesn't let you leave a comment, send me an email and I'll enter one for you.)

Good luck everyone!

Now available - Hexagon Charm Packs

2011-12-18T13:44:00.006+11:00

Another busy week has flown by - busy in my day-job and busy at night making new products.

The new hexagon-shaped charm packs that I previewed the other day are now listed in my store. I have decided to sell them for around the same as the Australian retail price of the regular square charm packs from Moda.

Yes, that's right - a charm pack of pre-cut hexagons for the same price as the squares! (My local store sells the square ones for $17.95 and some eBay stores sell them for $15 so my hexagon ones are in between.) Ready for you to machine-sew or hand-sew without any further preparation.

I couldn't resist using another pack myself. Here's my latest charm quilt, using A Walk in the Woods by Aneela Hoey for Moda. I need lots more practice at free-motion quilting!

You might have noticed in my store that I often only have 2 or 3 packs available for each range of fabric hexagons at any one time. That doesn't mean that more aren't available, it just means I haven't made it for you yet!

I'm not a store so I don't have a lot of stock sitting on the shelves. I generally just custom-make my products when anyone orders them. If something is 'out of stock', that just means that I will custom-make it for you, so please do not hesitate to email me your requests. If the fabric is available, I'll make it for you within 24 hours.

I am determined that from the New Year on, I am going to spend a full day each weekend at my cutting table, making LOTS of stock so I can do LOTS of markets in 2012. I enjoyed getting out of Sydney so much in November to go to the Braidwood quilt event, so I want to do lots more of that.

Do you have a favourite market? I'd love to hear about it, so how about we make that the theme of a new giveaway.

This giveaway is to launch my new Hexagon Charm Packs. An Australian winner and an International winner will each receive a Hexagon Charm Pack of their choice. You can see what's available now here, but I will add more Moda ranges over the coming weeks.

Plus, each winner can nominate a friend to receive a surprise present. Keep it a secret for now, don't mention any names in your comment, just let me know their details when you win and I will send them whichever Hexagon Charm Pack you think they'd like.

To enter, leave a comment telling me about your favourite market, whether that's in Australia or overseas, a quilters market, flea market or whatever. I'll draw the winners on New Year's Day. Good luck!

First quilt made from a Hexagon Charm Pack

2011-12-11T13:20:00.008+11:00

Here's my first attempt at doing machine-pieced hexagons. I wasn't sure how I'd go with the set-in corners but they turned out to be quite easy. I think that was because of the larger size of the hexagons.

Construction was fairly easy. I joined the columns of hexs together to make vertical strips, just like you do with square charms, then I sewed the strips together. (I think I must have turned one or two strips the wrong way though, as all the florals are now clumped together.) There's a little trick to sewing the strips together. I'll tell you more about that later.

Initially I was going to add some red hexs, but I ended up trimming the sides to make the quilt square. I used just one hexagon charm pack (Ruby by Bonnie and Camille) and it ended up at around 55cm x 55cm. I used all 42 hexs in the pack, so there was absolutely no wastage.

My first attempt at free motion quilting was a little rough, as you would expect, but I'm so proud of myself for giving it a go. I think I did too many squiggles too close together so it looks a little tight and over-quilted. I think they key is to not try so hard.

Everything I needed to know about free-motion quilting I found in RetroMummy's video tutorial here. (Well, almost everything. It took me an hour to figure out how to drop my feed dogs!) I looked at quite a few other YouTube videos as well, but all the presenters just talked about FMQ, no-one actually demonstrated it.

My stitch length varied a lot as I tried to figure out the perfect speed to go at but I know this will improve with practice. I definitely need to buy some gloves like RetroMummy's, as it was hard to manouver the fabric smoothly without them.

All in all, I am VERY pleased with the fruits of this weekend's labour. I am very very tempted to start another little quilt tonight, I'm thinking of using Walk in the Woods. The large hexagons will show off the fabrics wonderfully.

New Products - Notice something different?

2011-12-10T13:47:00.007+11:00

I am so excited, I have a new product line for you. Notice anything different about these Moda charm packs?

That's right, they're hexagonal! They are the same size as the regular square charm packs (these are 5 inches from point to point), but they are already die-cut into hexagons (with 2 1/2 inch sides).

Now before you rush off to your local patchwork store looking for them, I have to tell you that they are ONLY available here at Possum Blossom Patchwork because they are all die-cut by ME.

They're not listed in my store just yet as I've only just finished cutting this batch, but I will list them over the next week. (If you can't wait, or if you want me to cut any other Moda ranges, send me an email.)

But first, I'm going to crack open one (or two) of these charm packs and spend the rest of the day sewing. I've never machine-sewn hexagons before. Is there a trick to it? I will find out and report back to you.

I am also tempted to try some free-motion quilting, I've never done that before, but I guess I better take it one step at a time and piece the hexagons first.

Anyway, I am very very happy with these hexagon charm packs, and I can't wait for my next fabric delivery to arrive so I can make some more for you.

Escape to the country 2

2011-11-28T21:34:00.007+11:00

It rained and rained and rained, but I had a great weekend at Braidwood. It was lovely to get out into the wide open countryside and to meet lots of friendly quilters.

I was looking forward to the Airing of the Quilts and seeing hundreds of quilts hanging from the historic buildings, but obviously that got cancelled because of the rain. I guess no-one wanted to see the Washing of the Quilts. LOL.

I was lucky enough to find a completely dry spot underneath a balcony to set up my market stall, on the corner of the main street and right outside a cafe. This is the building I sheltered under, although the photo is from a previous year. (I forgot to take my own photos!)

I'm thrilled to say my pre-cut fabric hexagons were a big hit. It makes me so happy to know that I am saving people lots of time and effort. And I think quite a few people will be getting my handmade pendants in their Christmas stockings this year.

My Mum was a fantastic co-stallholder and a wonderful B-and-B host too. Thanks so much Mum! The weekend could not have gone smoother. I'm looking forward to returning next year, and I'll make sure I allow some time to see the exhibitions.

P.S. There's a small problem with my website - I can't seem to update any information e.g. product availability. (I think this happens due to automatic security upgrades. I haven't figured out how to fix it yet.) If you want to order any fabric hexagons, can you send me a quick email at joanne@pbpatch.com.au to check they are available first.

Escape to the country 1

2011-11-22T22:09:00.012+11:00

I'm looking forward to going to the Airing of the Quilts at Braidwood NSW this weekend. I've been meaning to go for years. I hope the rain clears up!

The Airing of the Quilts started in 1995 with a display of just 25 quilts, and now it has around 500 displayed inside and outside all over this heritage-listed town.

I might be breaking copyright by showing this photo from the Braidwood Quilters website so I'll stick to just one photo. Click here for heaps more great images of their past events.

I just know I'm going to fall in love with this place - the absolute opposite of the day-to-day demands of working in Sydney. I'll be staying at my Mum's in Goulburn (thanks Mum!) and we'll be driving down on Saturday morning to set up a market stall.

I hope it's a sunny Saturday for the Braidwood Markets because I've been clearing out my cupboards and have got boxes full of my handmade pendants and rings (made from Japanese paper), badges and brooches (made from vintage kimonos and saris) and other stuff to sell (all at special market prices). I have also been busy die-cutting more packs of fabric hexagons and paper and card templates.

The markets and the Airing of the Quilts are only happening on the Saturday (26 November) but there are other events on as well. According to the website, there's also:
- an official opening on Friday night
- a major two-day quilt exhibition and competition (indoors!) on Sat/Sun
- various open gardens under the Open Garden Scheme
- a textile exhibition of West Timorese traditional weaving, and
- a collection of vintage wedding gowns.

Wow! I'm starting to hope it will rain this weekend, so that I have an excuse not to have my market stall so that I can visit all the displays instead. Only kidding, I can't wait to see all the quilts hanging up outside on all the verandahs of all the heritage buildings. (Mum, I think we'll have to go back on Sunday to do the other things!)

There are many other craft things going on at Braidwood this weekend, not just quilting, and you can read all about them here.

I'd love to hear if you're planning on going, or if you've been before. Feel free to comment and tell us all about it. Maybe I'll even see you there!

Other things I make - and other things I am

2011-11-15T23:28:00.010+11:00

What makes a good blog?

A funny anecdote? A structured well-written storyline? Great photos? I'm sure I'm not the first person to fall into the trap of wanting to do all these things well, then finding that their blogging has slowed down as a result.

To be honest, I didn't really intend to start blogging, although it had crossed my mind a few times. But on the spur of the moment I thought I'd give it a go, share a few of my crafty creations, and maybe get in touch with some crafters out there in the big wide world.

And what I've learnt is, a good blog is all about sponteneity, openness, generosity of spirit, and humanness. And real life.

So here's what's real for me ...

I went to a seminar on the weekend about living with Aspergers Syndrome. I figured out about two years ago that I have it, but I haven't really come to terms with it yet. I realised on the weekend that I've been telling myself "I'm only a little bit Aspergers, so if I make an effort, I will grow out of it". It doesn't really work like that, does it. There's really no such thing as just a little bit Aspergers.

It's time for some self-acceptance don't you think? Time to accept the fact that I think differently than most people, I feel differently, I even see, hear and smell things differently. I process information differently, I make sense of the world differently ... and I have my own unique contribution to make to the world.

So maybe you'll hear a bit more about AS on this blog. And you are welcome to email me if you need to talk about it.

I apologise in advance if I inadvertently over-share. Just ignore it and come back for the next post, because I guarantee you that this blog will stay 95% about craft. OK, maybe 90% about craft and 10% about me. I'm definitely not dropping below 85% craft LOL.

I'll finish off this post talking about my life-long obsession with "making something out of nothing". I previously told you about the retro-cool pencil cups that I made from floppy disks that were thrown away at work. (They were more popular than I expected and I ended up making about five dozen!)

Well here's what I made last week from some used manila folders that were thrown away at work. Die-cut Christmas decorations!
I made heaps and heaps in a quite a few diffferent colours, but I really love the folk-art simplicity of these red-and-white garlands.

The loose die-cuts are a big hit with my colleagues. The pot plants are getting baubled (paper clips do the trick) and the windows are getting snowflaked. Makes a welcome change from the tatty tinsel that we usually drag out each year.

(In keeping with the spirit of self-acceptance, I won't apologise for my poor photos.)

Here's the window next to my desk. (The dust is on the outside not the inside!) A nice contrast with the brick wall behind the window LOL!

That's all from me for tonight. It's way past my bedtime!

Giveaway 4 winners, and birthday yumminess

2011-11-05T21:15:00.009+11:00

I've had a yummy yummy birthday. Out to lunch at a favourite cafe on the bay (crispy-skinned barramundi drizzled with chilli oil - yummmm), phone calls from my family and friends, and a sweet sweet e-card from a lovely online friend.

To top it off, I have a piece of chocolate gateau waiting patiently to be eaten. I'm still too full from lunch! And I just splurged on a present for myself, I ordered some yummy yummy caramels from one of my favourite Etsy sellers, Fusion Sweets. (They're in the US but ship internationally.)

Their caramels taste as good as they sound. (This is starting to sound like a sponsored post, but I swear it's not!) I am trying Pumpkin Pie Butter caramels and Apple Butter caramels for the first time, and have reordered the delicate Rose Orange Vanilla caramels. (I'm not into hot stuff so I'm giving the Thai Habanero Butter Caramels a miss.)

I have also ordered my favourite favourite favourite ones - French Sea Salt caramels and French Sea Salt & Lavender caramels.

Speaking of lovely French things, it's time to draw the winners of my French-themed giveaway. I'll go and draw them right now. I'll be back in a minute ...

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Hi, I'm back. Before I announce the winners selected by Random.org, I want to say a big Merci Beaucoup to everyone who participated. I have really enjoyed learning all the new words (parapluie and portmanteau = umbrella and bag, thanks Manda and Gemma) and new sayings (Journée ensoleillée = a day with sunshine sounds good. Thanks Anette J, that's beautiful).

I've also enjoyed being reminded of some great memories, like seeing Les Miserables on stage, and learning to play Debussy on the piano.

OK on with the draw ....

The winner of the pack of pre-cut fabric hexagons is Gill from the UK. (Sacre bleu!) Gill, you can choose from the Rounneries Deux pack or the Fa la la la la pack, or any other pack from here.

Lindi from the Hunter Valley, Australia, has won the Paris Flea Market fat quarters and Sue from Elderslie, Australia, has won a handmade pendant. I will contact you all to find out your choices.

I'm getting hungry now so I'm going to say goodbye now and go and have my chocolate cake.

Thanks again to everyone for participating. It has been a lot of fun.

In progress - Rough Terrain

2011-10-31T20:14:00.006+11:00

I don't have much to say at the best of times, but when my job gets hectic (that is, even more hectic than usual) I do tend to shut down. My Forum friends will agree with that, they haven't heard from me for ages. Sorry!

And some sad memories have been on my mind lately, I've been missing what could have been. But let's not talk about that, I do appreciate that I'm very fortunate in many parts of my life. I'm single so I can indulge my need for a lot of quiet time, and I get a good paycheck so I can indulge my craft addiction.

So here's a peak at what I've been doing with all my time over the past couple of weeks. I tried and tried to resist starting another quilt (because I am so close to the end of piecing this quilt) but I obviously didn't resist hard enough.

I gave in to temptation the Tuesday before last and cracked open a pack of pre-cut hexagons. I couldn't resist the Terrain. It was like opening a little gift box of mixed chocolates! You're not quite sure what's in there, but it's fun finding out.

I glue-penned the pre-cuts to my templates in no time at all. Here's a picture of some of them ready to stitch.

I have since stitched up all the hexie-flowers and am half-way through piecing them together. I'm not entirely convinced that white is a good in-betweener, but the deep purple centres are absolutely perfect.

Here's where I'm up to. I'm pleased to say that it looks fantastic in real life. I'm so thrilled with it.

I am racing through this project as fast as I can (because I have a feeling that once I've put these hexie-flowers together, I might be tempted to crack open another pack and turn this small quilt into a large one).

So bye for now, I've got to get stuck into Row 5.

P.S. There's still time to enter the giveaway below. Did I mention that I'm drawing it on my birthday, Saturday 5 November?

Giveaway 4 - Ooh la la!

2011-10-22T22:01:00.006+11:00

I promised another giveaway over a week ago, and here it is.

This giveaway is open to all Australian and International visitors, and there are three prizes altogether. Or should I say trois prix, as this is a French-themed giveaway.

The first winner pulled out of my chapeau can choose a pack of pre-cut fabric hexagons from either the Fa la la la la range or the Rounneries Deux range by Moda.

Rounneries Deux

Each pack contains close to 300 pre-cut fabric hexagons from close to 40 different fabrics.

Fa la la la la

The second winner will receive these pieces from my stash. They are from one of my first favourite fabric ranges, the lovely Paris Flea Market by Moda. They came out quite a few years ago, but who can forget the Paris city street map in ballet slipper pink.

The third winner might like to choose one of these pendants I made last year. They are made from genuine vintage Republique Francaise postage stamps set behind glass tiles, and measure 1 inch high by 3/4 inch wide. A thin silver chain will be included. (Sorry about the photographie terrible.)

This giveaway is open to all, and is open until 9.00 pm 5 November, Sydney Australia time. To enter, leave one comment below telling us your favourite French word/s. (I'm guessing that chocolat will popular.) If you can't leave a comment, you are welcome to email me. The winners will be randomly drawn.

P.S. I said the winner could choose from either Fa la la la la or Rounneries Deux, but actually you are welcome to select any pack of pre-cuts from my store. I have to confess that I opened one of the Terrain packs for myself last Tuesday night.

P.P.S. I'll extend my October free offer to coincide with the end of the giveaway. Buy any pack of pre-cut fabric hexagons from any of the Moda ranges between now and 5 November and receive a free pack of paper or card 1" hexagons.

* * * * * * * *

Hi Everyone, I'm really enjoying all your comments. Tres amusement! Thank you all so much.

Now available - October free offer

2011-10-17T23:47:00.008+11:00

I worked like a wild thing all weekend to add LOTS of new items to my store. I now have packs of pre-cut fabric hexagons available in 18 (yes 18!) different Moda fabric ranges.

The latest additions include Fa la la la la, Rounneries Deux, Collections for a Cause - Hope and Collections for a Cause - Comfort. If you prefer bright fresh moderns, I've added Giddy, Sassy and Ruby and Reunion.

Plus, a brand new favourite, Good Fortune.

I should perhaps mention that when you see 'thumbnails' like this in my store, click on them and you will see a close-up all the fabrics in that range, like this ...

I've also added an extra item called "Free Offer". I'm sure it's not hard to guess what it is.

Buy any pack of pre-cut fabric hexagons from the Moda range and get a pack of 1" hexagons for free. Free pack can be either 100 paper, 100 card, or 50 paper/50 card hexagons.

Free offer available until 31 Oct. Browse here to see all the new pre-cut packs (and the ones that were already there). I hope you see something you like.

Chookyblue, this post is for you!

2011-10-15T01:37:00.015+11:00

Chookyblue, this post is for you! Thanks for your inspired suggestion.

Here's the Rough Terrain layout using a pack of my Hometown Pre-cut Hexagons. I guess I should call it Rough Hometown LOL.

I'm calling them "rough" because the final design details are unfinished. I don't think you can know what a quilt will look like when you just see it on-screen, you have to see it in real life. That way you can balance out the light and dark, the proportions and placement, and experiement with some finishing touches.

I think the Red looks a little overpowering in this one. Maybe it needs a bit more open space between the hexie-flowers. I usually piece my in-between rows, but if you appliqued the hexie-flowers on instead, you could play around with it until you found just the right balance of open space.

I'd like this grey-blue version to go with my Hamptons-style white wooden beach house please, a la Diane Keaton's house in Somthing's Gotta Give. I'd have to make this in king-size don't you think, so there is enough room underneath for one Mr K Reeves as well. (I can dream, can't I!)

But my favourite tonight is this one with a softer gentler yellow colourway. You can only see the hexie-flowers on-screen, but in my mind I can see finished off with a stylised curvy vine design appliqued on the yellow border and lots of swirly quilting all over.

I have a limited number of packs of Hometown Pre-cut Hexagons available here in the 1 1/2" size to go with 1" templates. Larger amounts or larger sizes can be custom-made on request.

In my mailbox today

2011-10-13T20:52:00.005+11:00

Crafters are such a generous bunch!

I keep finding inchy hexie flowers in my letterbox, which are the perfect flowers for me because I am allergic to most others.

They often show up for no reason, not as part of a swap, and it's always a lovely un-hex-pected surprise. (OK OK, that was a really really bad pun I know.) They always seem to show when I really need a pick-me-up (although I have to admit you could pick any weekday and that would apply).

Also in my mailbox today was a couple of metres of a gorgeous deep purple from Bella Solids. I'm sure you know where that will be going ... MUST resist ... MUST resist ....

Now that the purple has arrived it is so tempting to crack open a pack of Terrain fabric hexagons and get started on another new quilt, but I am determined to finish my Faux Wedding Ring first.

And I have a great idea for a giveaway which I really want to make for you this weekend. (That's what I said last weekend.) No hints, except to say "Oo la la, J'adore fabrique". OK, I give in, here's a visual hint too.
And tomorrow is the deadline for this month's swap and I still haven't done mine. I better crack on with that right now.

But before I go I just want to say a big thank you to EllieK for today's sweet flower and also to Mommaduck for her little bunch a while ago (sorry I neglected to thank you earlier) and also Doris and Shannon.

Rough Terrain revised

2011-10-11T20:57:00.005+11:00

Thanks for the tip, Diamant. You're right, it looks much better now.

(I think I'll leave the edges on the coloured ones though.)

Rough Terrain

2011-10-08T22:10:00.010+11:00

I spent last Sunday getting to know the basics of EQuilt. I'm sure you're familiar with it, it's design software especially for quilters. I could so easily get side-tracked for hours playing with the hundreds of different block designs.

But I had a specific task that I wanted to do, so this morning I went back to using the regular graphics program that I was familiar with, and this is what I came up with.

I've always been the first to say that I am not a designer. I have talented hands and a talented brain but not talented eyes. What I mean is, I love making things and I love figuring out how other people make things, but I just don't think that I have fresh new ideas or an eye for colour.

(Thank goodness I can fall back on pre-selected fat quarter bundles and layer cakes. I'm sure you've recognised this is Terrain.)

But I still wanted to give it a go. After all, everything can improve a little with practice, and I'm not planning on being the next great new designer.

I thought my first effort looked crowded. Maybe that's because in the past I have been too timid about using bright bold palettes like this (I think starting the Candied Hexagon quilt cured me of that though) and maybe I'm just not used to the busy-ness.

I am happier with my second effort which has some breathing space in between the flowers.

This layout measures approximately 90cm x 90cm, not including the borders. I guess my next computer task is to set up a larger version, or maybe do one in another fabric range, but I'm itching to do some stitching so that's all going to have to wait. I haven't picked up a needle all week!

Now available - pre-cut Terrain hexagons

2011-10-05T19:04:00.007+11:00

Just a quick post tonight to let you know that I have (finally) made some pre-cut fabric hexagons in the fabulous Terrain by Kate Spain. Sorry I took so long!

I have die-cut these in the 1 1/2" size, perfect for your 1" hexagons. The pack contains 294 fabric hexagons (that's 7 from each layer in this Moda layer cake) for $34.00. You can find the pack here.

I think the bold patterns in this fabric range would also look great in the larger sizes and other shapes too. If you have a particular size and shape in mind, let me know if you'd like me to die-cut some for you.

It is taking all my strength not to break open a pack for myself! I am dreaming of making a large stuffed dinosaur and calling him Terrain-asaurus Hex!