A Long, Long List and a Finish!

All my WIPs are now listed on my sidebar.  I don't know why I named my blog LisaJan Loves to Quilt when it seems LisaJan just loves to piece!  I can't believe how many quilts I have made all (or almost all) of the blocks for that I haven't sewn together into a top, and also all those quilt tops waiting to be finished!  It's true that sashing is my least favorite part of making a quilt, and the actual quilting does take me a while to do, although I enjoy it once I start.  I really want to get some of these WIPs off that list though so I must channel my inner quilter!  

I do have a finish to share though.  This quilt is called 'Step by Step' and was a pattern in Homespun magazine which I wrote about here.  It's a great pattern and I love this quilt.

I quilted it using a repeating flower design and I can say that I have never had to sew in so many threads, it was a design with lots of stops and starts.  I would have to work out a better way of linking the flowers more before I tried this one again, it really tested my patience!  My niece Evie took these photos on our holiday to Port MacDonnell and she did a beautiful job.  She has a talent for taking photos.  It seemed appropriate that the fabrics are 'Salty Aire' and the quilt was finished and photographed while we were there.

I've been sorting my scraps into colours and sizes so I can cut out some more spool blocks to have ready for in between chain piecing.  Not sure what I will work on next, but with my list made at least I can keep an eye on what needs to be done!  Looks like I'll be quilting for a while at least!

Slow Spoolin'

I'm back from a few days holiday by the beach!  It was lovely to rest and recharge and I feel ready to tackle my monster list of WIPS.

One project that I am happy to go slowly on is my leaders and enders challenge.  I only work on these blocks when I am chain piecing other fabric.  It's starting to grow but I've worked out that I'll need about 300 of these 4 1/2" finished blocks to make a quilt for my couch. 

Here's my little pile of blocks.  I love the newspaper print backgrounds.  I've decided to use the same background print on all my blocks so I've been to Spotlight and bought a couple of metres of it.  I'm using scraps for the spools, and I've decided to make only one or two of every different print.  I think that might give a hint at how huge my scrap basket is!

I love the scrappy look of these blocks.  I've got 32 blocks here so still heaps to make.

Check out Sue's blocks, she's done quite a few more than me but as hers are smaller than mine I will need less.  I need to cut out a few more sets ready to sew.  It's tricky trying to ensure I don't use the same fabric more than twice.  I've got a few that I need to unpick and re-sew too, my seam was not quite right and with blocks this small it's hard to fudge the seams.  They are easy to unpick though so it will be worth it!

2013!

A new year!  I love the idea of a fresh look at where I am and where I'm going, in life and with my patchwork.  I resolved last year to finish some of my wips and whilst there is still a very long list I did manage to finish quite a few.  I also wanted to take more (and better) photos of my sewing, and blog more regularly. I am happy that my photos are improving, and I blogged more regularly than the previous year (!) but I still would like to improve in that area!

I had a huge clean up in my sewing room, and made an exhaustive list of my wips.  Ouch.  I aim to make a list in my side bar to 'keep me honest'.  I am definitely the kind of sewist who likes to have lots on the go at once, but I need to be more mindful of projects I have started.  I don't have a need to finish everything I start, I look at some projects as 'skill builders', and with this in mind I did throw out a few old and stale wips.

Going through lots of older projects was fun though.  I rediscovered some gorgeous projects that I am keen to finish.  I even found two projects that I have finished all the blocks for but not put together!  I want to do a monthly list of what I hope to achieve this year, maybe this will help me to make a dent in the list.
 

  

For January, I've been working on Improv by the Sea, (which I am making for Mum) again, and I've got two  other tops pin basted and ready to quilt.  I've nearly run out of fabric to do much more with the Sea quilt and I need to visit a city quilting shop to match colours up so I hope to get started on quilting the other two quilts soon, and get them bound.  I also need to re-arrange the furniture in my sewing room to make it work better.  I have started and finished another quilt already this year, which I will blog about soon.  I also want to make some key fobs which I've bought the hardware for.  I had better add to this list that I need to type the list of wips for my blog too!

So that's my January plan!

Market Season

I've been away from my blog for a while.  I only participate in markets at Christmas time because they seem to take over all my spare time and energy.  I love them, and I do make a few dollars for Christmas from them, but most other things get put on hold until I finish them.

Quilts for sale.

This was at the Art Show market, I had a great time with the other stall holders.

A few pouches and Santas.

Everything is cuter with a bird!

The pillow didn't sell, I'm going to gift it to my daughter.

These came home with me but I sold some at another market.  I'm always tempted to 'reinvest' the money in more fabric, but I've been good this time!

Happy Swapper!

How happy was I to receive my Mouthy Stitches 2 tote!  It is so me, my partner did a wonderful job!

I was able to get outside and take some photos this morning.  You can't really tell from the photos (I'm afraid it was a very bright day so photos are a bit ordinary) but the pink background is actually a gorgeous upholstery weight fabric, it gives the bag fabulous texture.  The actual postage stamp patchwork is so cute, it includes a sweet Heather Ross mermaid and a green Kerchief girl (one of the colours I haven't got!).  

The lining is this adorable spotty fabric and my partner has even sewn in one of her own labels.  Ceri, or Mish Mash Mama put so much work into my tote, I am so happy with it and I've been using it already!

We also included a key fob, and have a look at this.  It's a little macaroon purse with a clip for keys!  It's too cute for me to attach to my keys, I'm sure I'd wreck it so I'm going to attach it to something else when I've stopped picking it up and admiring it every few hours!

Thanks so much Ceri!

Mouthy Stitches 2 Flickr Swap

I have loved being part of the Mouthy Stitches 2 swap over on Flickr!  We all had to make the same simple tote bag but piece/applique/quilt at least one panel to our partner's tastes.  

According to my partner's lovely mosaic, she liked scrappy and 'quilt as you go'.  So this is what I made.

I tried to take an arty photo with my extremely non arty clothes line in the background.

The reverse of the tote.

The pattern is for a reversible tote, so I chose this gorgeous Prince Charming Spotlight drill for the lining.  I've also made my daughter a pair of pj pants out of this print.

I received an email today to say that Ceri (Inspired By Felix) has received her tote and that she loves it!  I am so pleased!  We also made a key ring but I forgot to take a photo of it.

I've received my fabulous tote, and as soon as I get some nice weather I'll take some photos.  I really love it!  So glad I signed up for this wonderful swap.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy's inspiring Blogger's Quilt Festival is happening again!

Great timing for me because my fabulously creative niece Evie, who is 12 years old, and her friend Maya took some really nice photos of my Tangerine and Lime Wonky Cross Quilt.  We were all at the local Art Show last weekend where Maya's mum Tina and I both had booths in the Maker's Market.

They took off with my quilt and got busy.  These two photos are on the stairs leading to the stage.  They show off the wonky cross blocks and the bright colours of the quilt in such a great way.  When I started this quilt it was orange, grey and had a little bit of black in it - the Denyse Schmidt Greenfield Hill fabrics.  These colours looked fine but I thought it was lacking something.  My quilty friends recommended adding either aqua or lime.  I loved both of these suggestions but ultimately decided on lime - probably because I knew I had some nice lime fabrics in my stash!

This picture is my quilt hanging over the handrail of the stairs.  As well as some solids, there's some more Denyse Schmidt (some of her Spotlight/Joanne's patterns), some Aneela Hoey Sherbet Pips puppies, Patty Young's gorgeous bees from her line Flora and Fauna, and crabs from Going Coastal by Emily Herricks, as well as various fabrics from my stash.  I also made a pieced backing using some of the solids, an orange Denyse Schmidt print and the Going Coastal fabric.

This is a close up of a few of the blocks taken by me back home, showing the simple stipple quilting I sewed all over the quilt.

I love wonky cross quilts so much!  This is my third, and I think there's at least one more in my future.

I had to include one of Wombat on the quilt.  He's so cuddly and loves to bask on any quilt he can find.

Details of the quilt are:

Size is 60" x 60"
Quilted by me on my Husqvarna
Best categories are Favourite Quilt Photographer (for Evie and Maya's lovely photos) and Favourite Throw Quilt.