The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt Sew Along - February

Following on from my last brief post, here are my Farmer's Wife blocks from February 2016:

02 February - Block 61 - May

04 February - Block 37 - Georgia

09 February - Block 69 - Mrs. Keller

11 February - Block 23 - Charlotte

16 February - Block 11 - Bea

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had a break in the sew along until the 1st of March.  This was a great opportunity to catch up. I must admit I am enjoying this sew along but it does take up a lot of time. 

The Cat's Pyjamas

It's not often that I totally squeal with delight when I see a new fabric range being released, but when Jodie Carleton posted a photo of her new fabric range - The Cat's Pyjamas - I was hysterically happy!!  I *KNEW* I had to buy this range and I *KNEW* that those green kitties would make a lovely pair of pyjamas for me.

"The Cat's Pyjamas" by Jodie Carleton for Ella Blue Fabrics.  

I have only been sewing for a few years and I have never made any items of clothing - this was going to be my big debut onto the fashion scene. Queue nerves! Although my mother is a dressmaker by trade, I was determined that I was going to make these myself so I bought a "Simplicity" pattern from Spotlight (I knew that Simplicity have a good reputation for easy to follow patterns).  

Simplicity 2116

My Mum insisted that I brought the pattern and the fabric over to her house (where she has more room) so that she could supervise me cutting it out and to make sure that I didn't stuff it up.  She also explained to me how to do "French Seams" because I wasn't willing to try to thread her overlocker (one of them has 4 needles, the other one has 6 and I have never sewn with an overlocker before).  Once the pattern was all cut out I took it home with me to sew together at my leisure.

It was much easier and quicker to sew together than I imagined.  I even made my own cord for the waistline out of a matching solid green fabric (forgot to buy elastic DOH!).

I purchased a cheap white t-shirt from Target (it was only AUD$4.00) to go with the pyjama pants.  I added some matching ribbon to the sleeves and fussy cut a pocket to sit above the left breast.

Drumroll please...

Close up of the pocket of the t-shirt
(and some shameless publicity for Cotton Factory Ballarat where I bought my fabric).

Close up of the top - the sleeves have matching ribbon sewn on the edges.

My new pyjamas

And this message from Jodie absolutely made my day!

http://www.ellabluefabrics.com/collections/the-cats-pyjamas/

I have more of this fabric range waiting to be played with.  Jodie has since released a free pattern which is now in my "To Do" pile to be made.  The following photograph is copyright & courtesy of Jodie Carleton.  Please click on the link below to access her FREE pattern.

http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com.au/2016/04/free-quilt-pattern-i-blame-iron.html

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt Sew Along - January

I've really fallen behind with my blog posts this year as I have been madly scrambling to keep up with all of my sewing commitments whilst battling bad health.  I'll be honest, I have not had time to read the stories in the book that accompany each of these blocks, but here are my Farmer's Wife Blocks for January 2016:

05 January - Block 47 - Joy

07 January - Block 51 - Lily

12 January - Block 71 - Mrs. Morgan

14 January - Block 53 - Lucy

14 January - Block 67 - Mrs. Brown

19 January - Block 40 - Grandmother

21 January - Block 42 - Heather

26 January - Block 28 - Dolly

Threadbear Patchwork and Quilting - Castlemaine

Threadbear Patchwork and Quilting's favourite fabrics are those reproduced from quilts of the 1800s, so they specialise in collections from that era. They also design quilts in the style of the nineteenth century so many of their original designs are unique to Threadbear.

They are located in Castlemaine
1-hour 40-minutes drive from Melbourne / 40-minutes drive from Bendigo.

Threadbear Patchwork & Quilting
58 Hargraves Street
Castlemaine, Victoria
Australia 3450
ph: 613 5472 1881

Opening hours:

Weekdays: 10.00am - 5.00pm

Saturdays: 10.00am - 2.00pm 

Sundays: 11.00am - 2.00pm

CLOSED WEDNESDAYS

www.threadbear.com.au

Threadbear Applique Group - Biennial Quilt Exhibition - Castlemaine 2016

I have a confession to make - I've been in a bit of a funk lately.  I was very unwell at the beginning of the year and it has left me feeling very flat. So when my friend Alison (from Melbourne) contacted me one night and asked if I would like to meet her down in Castlemaine the next day for an applique show, I jumped at the chance.

Here are some of the quilts that were on display.  I've taken a few close-ups of the quilting as that is something I am still learning how to do.

Castlemaine Visitor's Information Centre was home to the exhibition.

"Flowers in the Garden" designed by Alma Allen.  Hand appliqued & machine pieced by Dianne Rickard.  Quilted by Carolyn Konig - Wodonga.

"Irish Circles" - designed by Karen Cunningham.  Hand appliqued & machine pieced by Susan Jones.  Quilted by Susan Campbell.

"Irish Circles" close up

"Floral Beauty" - designed by Irene Blanck.  Hand appliqued & hand pieced by Ellen Walters.  Quilted by Desley Maisano.

"A Tribute to Mrs Williams" - designed by Corliss Searcey.  Hand appliqued, hand & machine pieced by Donna Williams.  Quilted by Boutique Quilting and Donna Williams.

"A Tribute to Mrs Williams" close up

"A Tribute to Mrs Williams" close up

"Enduring Hexagons" an original design by Jenny Bacon.  Hand pieced & hand appliqued by Jenny Bacon.  Quilted by Jenny Bacon. 

"Enduring Hexagons" close up

"Chardonnay" an original design by Jenny Bacon.  Machine pieced & hand appliqued by Jenny Bacon.  Quilted by Jenny Bacon.

"1812 Chintz Bouquet" - inspired by "Chintz Quilts from the Poos Collection" by Kay and Lori Lee Triplett and Xenia Cord.  Hand appliqued by Meghan Leslie.  Machine quilted by Helen Hayes.

"English Baskets" - designed by Corliss Searcey.  Hand appliqued and machine pieced by Wendy Blyth.  Quilted by Windermere Quilting. 

"St Barnabas Pearl" - An original design.  hand appliqued & machine pieced by Michelle Yeo.  Quilted by Desley Maisano.  This was my favourite quilt at the exhibition!

"St Barnabas Pearl" close up

"St Barnabas Pearl" close up

"Bird Dance" - designed by Sue Spargo.  hand appliqued & hand pieced by Margaret Brown.  Quilted by Rowdy Flat Quilting.

"Oscillation" - designed by Margaret McDonald.  Machine appliqued & machine pieced by Margaret McDonald.  Quilted by Susan Campbell.

"Oscillation" close up

"Peonies and Plumes" - an original design.  Hand appliqued & machine pieced by Michelle Yeo.  Quilted by Desley Maisano.

"Peonies and Plumes" close up

"Ruby Runes" - designed by Susan Garman.  Hand appliqued & machine pieced by Wendy Blyth.  Quilted by Rowdy Flats Quilting.  

"My Morrel Quilt" - designed by Di Ford.  Hand pieced & hand appliqued by Annie Andrews.  Quilted by Annie Andrews.

"Corliss' Baskets"  - designed by Corliss Searcey.  Hand appliqued & hand pieced by Sharon Ghalayini.  Quilted by Shirley Lokys.  

"The Beamish" - an original design, based on a quilt in the Beamish Museum with their permission.  Hand appliqued & hand pieced by Merri Garton.  Quilted by Katrina Wilson.

"The Beamish" close up

"Miss Matty's Parlour" - designed by Megan Carroll.  Hand appliqued & hand pieced by Carolyn Mellor.  Machine quilted by Simply Quilting - Warrandyte.

 

The exhibition was very inspiring. I had a lovely day out with Alison and was so excited to later discover that she won one of the door prizes!