What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I am well behind with reading posts and leaving comments, and that will be the case until the New Year. That will be my catch up time. We have our US side of the family here for the Christmas break. This is a rarity because of the school dates and difficulty with leave. So for the first time in 20 years we will all be together for Christmas. You can imagine how excited I am!

Before all of this started happening I did get organised with my cards and some little felt tags.

I kept to the red and green ...

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I sometimes think that when October begins we have a starter calling out Ready, Set, Go!. Everything gets busy all of a sudden. Lots of things are happening and there is always something to do.

The obvious one for us is Daylight Saving coming in. And Spring seems to have found its feet and the garden is booming. I really enjoy seeing the trees blossom.

The ground always looks like we have confetti everywhere.

With all that is happening it is easier to work on small items as well as UFOs.

This is a small embroidery of a flowering gum ...

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I often wonder if the Winter weather makes me take on projects that take a while to finish. Do I choose ones that are going to keep me inside where it is warm? Maybe I sub-consciously do.

I have been keeping the needles working in the evenings to finish this jumper for Miss 10yo. She has already seen the yarn and very much approved of the colour.

The yarn is machine washable wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills. It is from the Prism range and the shade is Fairy Tale.

This is a closer look at the colour gradations.

It is ...

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I think that is the name of the fabric in this quilt. I know I bought it quite some time ago, maybe 10 years?

Not totally sure.

I found a pattern designed for layer cakes, but also altered for charm packs. That was what I had in my pile and thankfully there was enough to make this quilt. It ended up at 40 X 54 inches.

The pattern is a free one from The Fat Quarter Shop and is called Layer Cake Crepe. Sometimes I have pre cut fabrics that I am not sure how to use, so this might ...

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Hello There,

Thank you for stopping in!  This week was wonderfully filled visits from my grandkids, a merging of redo of mine and Daddy's non-fiction libraries with brand new wall-to-wall bookshelves!  And, yes, these book are organized using the Dewey Decimal system.  Last summer my granddaughter labeled all of Daddy's 400+ books and I did my own some time ago.  Both Daddy and I had different books, but now the "holes" of information are mostly filled in.  I'm happy when I see them as it has become a beautiful collaboration between father and daughter.  

My husband and ...

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I had set aside several projects prior to Christmas, but now I have decided they need finishing.

First up, I completed the 4th, 5th and 6th of the Christmas decorations from Fig’n’Berry Creations.

They are a delightful set. Here they are together.

Next up, I need to move on with the centre block from my Sue Spargo quilt, Homegrown. I have managed to complete the inner section and have attached the applique pieces to the border. Now for the embroidery.

I have only completed one of the five flowers, so still a fair bit to go.

And this ...

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We are nearly ready for the New Year. But there is still a little Christmas to catch up on first. In fact, we haven’t celebrated Christmas with our family yet. Our granddaughter was unwell on Christmas eve, so we had to put off our visit. We will instead catch up in a couple of days. The grandchildren are fine with that because they say it sounds like having two Christmases. That is a good attitude to have.

I made lots of cards at the start of December.

And I made lots of these tags for gifts.

I also admired ...

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I have had some family requests for Christmas quilts using particular fabrics. But I only had bits and pieces of each one left. So I had to play around a bit with a simple design so I could use what I had. The end result was two similar, but not the same, throw quilts.

There are three different fabrics in the range that I have used – framed snowmen, tossed snowmen and stripes of snowmen.

Once I had put them them together I had to find a suitable backing for each one.

I found fabric with ornaments.

And Christmas themed rows ...

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After the quilt marathon it has been good to get back to some smaller projects.

I have managed to complete another four of the houses from Homegrown.

Mine are not always true to the original design. I have added different colours and fabrics, sometimes different stitches and even a ribbon or two. But the essential design is still there.

I have also made some progress on my giraffe embroidery. Slow and steady with this one.

Obviously still a long way to go.

Spring is a delightful time in the garden when the sun is shining.

The dark coloured orchids bloomed ...

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Two identical quilts! Almost.

These quilts are single bed size and are part of a donation quilt marathon I am working on. I wanted to get a few quilts made so they can be given as Christmas gifts. I have been helped out by a few people with donations of wadding. I have plenty of fabrics to make tops and backing, but not a lot of wadding, so that was a bonus. I did, however, get given some panels, so started on those first. I only had to add the two blue and one white border to get to the ...

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September is strange. The trees are in blossom and the hail is falling. That’s Spring in Melbourne.

No such problems with the Sue Spargo houses. Sunshine all the way there. Here is the next installment of eight blocks.

I am pleased to be making progress on these as they have been waiting far too long.

Another finish made with lovely wools are these tag decorations.

Couldn’t resist when I saw this pattern at the recent craft show. I bought them through Winterwood Felt and Craft Supplies. I think a few more sets of these will be required.

I ...

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Our weather continues to cause a lot of problems. I think the only thing we have missed out on is snow, though we did have hail. But in the middle of it all, we had a gorgeous rainbow. And a gorgeous blue sky. We spotted this when out driving.

I have been finishing off a few little embroideries. I am never quite sure what to do them sometimes. I don’t necessarily want to make a quilt, so an easy solution is to turn them into hooped decorations. I have a spot above the sliding glass doors that is the ...

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As a crafter, have you ever gotten an idea and been unable to let go of it? No matter how hard you tried? Well, this needle felting adventure is one of those ideas. I don't know why, but I had the idea to make some wool dryer balls. Can I buy wool dryer balls? Absolutely (link at the bottom of the post). But where is the fun in that?
Because I wanted to make dryer balls, I grabbed a box of roving. I estimated I could make several with this box.
I wanted some colors so I added in ...

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It has been a hectic time, but I am determined to do at least one December post!

Lots of shopping has happened, including these gorgeous biscuit tins. Love the way the bauble has been incorporated into the tin. And, yes, it spins!

The colour and the design on the tin could have easily fitted into my quilt. This is another panel being used and completed.

I have kept it simple with just a few borders added. Each of the squares have delightful images.

I found a lovely piece in my stash to use on the back.

The binding was a ...

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It seems to be so far away, but I know from past experience that Christmas creeps up really quickly.

I am trying to get ahead, but I know it will still be a mad rush in the end.

I started with one of these decorations from a Bareroots pattern, Everything Nice Christmas Ornaments.

And then added a couple more.

They are a lovely collection. There are six in the set, so I have a few more to make.

The same design is on the front and back panel. The other two sides each have holly leaves.

Just to also explain ...

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A few little bits and pieces have been finished. And all have been worked in felt.

I made a box/cube using four Sue Spargo designs.

Each of the designs was stitched onto a felt square.

At first I was a bit stumped as to how to use the pieces. I think they were originally in a wall hanging. But the size made me think about a cube box.

Each piece was backed with more felt and had plastic inserted like a sleeve to stabilize the sides. Looks like it has worked okay.

The sides are about 10 inches square ...

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I have this collection of blue yarn perfect for felting. 
I used the LK150 and a video tutorial to make some more slippers
I finished them what seems like ages ago but I didn't wash them to felt them up until recently. Here is how they compare to my earlier experiments. Felting is not very precise and more of an experiment each time I do it. 
They came out great! I still have yarn that will felt so expect to see more of these. 

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I am still working on lots of little things and achieving some finishes.

My Party Penguin is complete and now in its hoop ready to hang. This is a design from Bustle And Sew.

Next in line were a few felt decorations from The Wooly Thread Co. I think I purchased one of the patterns a few years back. Good to finally get them done.

And finally a little peacock pin cushion. I know I bought this as a kit many years ago, but unfortunately I don’t have the designer details.

I have also been working on bigger projects ...

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After the last pair of felted slippers turned out too small I decided to give it another try. I modified my notes to make the slipper wider and longer. 
I knit up the pair on the LK150. 
And sewed them up. I so enjoy the color blocking on this design. It's something you can't do easily while knitting in the round. 
Here is what that unfelted (top) slipper looks like next to the felted slipper I made (bottom). 
Here is how it felted up. Sadly, it is still too small for me. I figure the size is around ...

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I decided to give felted slippers another chance. This was my second attempt. I make major changes to the design I was using and I'm much happier with this style. Yarn is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. It felts up so nicely. 
These are knit flat on the LK150 knitting machine and then the sides are seamed by hand. The color changes are partially a style choice and partially to assist with lining up that hand seaming. 
This time the felting was just awesome! Unfortunately, I didn't knit them big enough so these are really a child ...

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