The First* of May and a Giveaway!

Edited: This Giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all for Entering!

Modern Scallop - Pillow

Get ready to get excited everyone because this month I have finished something! And not just one thing but two.  Oh yes, two things. First up is my scallop pillow. I adore this pillow and now I finally get to use it.  I thought it would be a simple matter to just add a backing with a hidden zipper.






Scallop Pillow - Back

Well it might have been except that I chose a fabric that my machine hated more than anything in the world, but just for the top-stitching, you know, the part that everyone can see! Oh and I carefully sewed down the flap covering the zipper before sewing the back and front together and then forgot to leave the zip open a bit for turning. That was a fun 15 minutes...



Modern Scallop Pillow - Finished

Despite all that it now happily resides on the couch in my craft room/guest room/. Along with that blue scarf which is waiting to have the ends sewn in.  It's a bit long, I measured when I was sitting down and then added a bit extra for luck and now it touches the ground when I put it around my neck :(  I might have to make it into a pillow too.

I've also finished my binary code. All 104 numbers aligned as well as I could. The numbers finish at 1.5" x 2.5"  and the centre panel is 15.75" x 40.75".

I'm not that happy with it.  Maybe the making stage took too long? It was started over a year ago. I kind of wish I'd chosen softer colours. Grey maybe? I always planned to put it on a canvas to hang in my home(yes, I am that nerdy) but now that its on there I'm really not sure about it.  The border seems too wide and it definitely needs a edge/binding to break up all the black. I did make the borders wide on purpose so I had enough to staple and so if I wanted to turn it into a quilted wall-hanging later I could.  I might. I'm just not sure. Any suggestions are welcome. For now its just hanging out on my dresser until I decide what to do. Obviously I removed all my junk treasured memorabilia before I took this photo ☺ Not sure why both the dresser and the panel look bent? I blame the photographer.

Binary Code Pieced Quilt Panel

I made a binary code panel for a friend a few years ago(just one word) and loved it.  I'd been searching for a word or a phrase for a while and this quilt seemed to have just the right one. For anyone who'd like to know what it says you can go to a translator here and type in all the numbers or just have a look at the link above.

Lastly(thanks for hanging in there) a GIVEAWAY!


Down Under Quilts Magazine, Issue 157, 2013.

To celebrate that I've reached over 50 Followers(!), to thank you all for being patient and sticking around during the post-drought and to happy-dance that this quilt got a little mention in the latest Down Under Quilts magazine I'm having a giveaway!

I'm giving away a copy of this magazine, a charm pack of the fabric I used and a little Dresden related surprise! To enter please be a follower and leave a comment telling me your two favourite colours. This giveaway is open worldwide! Please make sure you are not a no-reply blogger or leave your email in the comments so I can contact you to find where to send your prize! Giveaway will close at the end of May.


I'm linking up to Lily's quilts for Fresh Sewing Day.



*(For any calendar police, I know this is posted on the 2nd of May.  It's just that my computer hates me and did not want to cooperate in editing and uploading photos, no matter how much I tried to encourage it by swearing and promising untimely demises.)

Happy Birthday! Surprise - Secret Squirrel is Finished!



Dresden Plate Quilt- Quilting

Ok it's time I confessed and let the cat out of the bag, or rather, the squirrel! Confused? Well, do you remember the Secret Squirrel Quilt?  I actually finished it way back in October, had it quilted in November, popped the binding on a couple of weeks ago and posted it last week! 

It has made its way to a very nice lady. She is very important to our family, she is caring, giving, generous, always there for us and we love her very much. Happy Birthday Faye! 

Now I did take a few photos before I posted it but the only place I had high enough was under the old verandah and the sun was playing peekaboo with the clouds. So between that, the wind and my photography skills....  and yes it is straight and square, its just the wonky old curtain rod I hung it on that has issues.




Dresden Plate Finished Quilt Front

You'll have to excuse the circles, those centres have names of people in our family embroidered on them. Even though those hourglass blocks drove me crazy I'm really glad I kept them in and the pieced binding worked really well, its just enough colour to bring the centre out.



Dresden Plate Finished Quilt Back

I quite like the back, very minimalist with just a pop of colour. and yes, another of those annoying circles :)



Dresden Plate with Embroidered Centre

The other centres(the annoying circle ones) are embroidered circularish(is that even a word?!) like this one above.




Quilting Close Up -  Quilted By Desley Maisano

In this photo you can see some of the lovely quilting feather work done by Desley Maisano at Addicted to Quilts. You can see more of her work here.

Dresden Quilt Label

When I sewed the label on, I tried to fit it nicely inside the quilted outline from the front so as not to spoil the back.

Quilt Stats:   Finished size 75" x 87"
                     Quilt Number 5
                     Pattern - Based on the Moda Bake Shop - Plates for Your Table
                     Fabric - Colours - Plates and Binding - Simple Abundance by Bonnie and Camille
                                   for Moda
                                   Cream Spot - Mill House Inn by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda
                                   Backing - a wideback that didn't have details on the selvedge - sorry
                     Pieced - By Me!
                     Quilted by Desley Maisano at Addicted to Quilts

            
I am so happy to finally be able to share this finish, I've been feeling guilty misleading you by posting work I did ages ago.  I'm also happy to be able to give this to Faye. A fabulous quilter herself who whilst she makes many quilts for others and quilts a lot of tops through her business, has never( I don't think?) had one given to her. So even though I couldn't give it to her personally on her Birthday I'm very relieved that Australia Post didn't lose it and it got there on time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SECRET SQUIRREL!