Forties Retro

Does anyone remember the fabric that was designed by Sharon Yenter called Forties Retro that was around in 2004? Have you made anything with it?

I made this simple 9 patch large lap size quilt with it and still love it, 5 years later.

It was such a sweetly designed fabric range with flowers, cherries and teacups, as well as a lady doing her washing and ironing. How cute. I love the stripe which made a fun binding.

I learnt how to do mitred corners for the first time. Still not sure if I did it the right way, but at least they looked ok.

Here's another pic of the lady on wash day...I couldn't resist it! (my photo's don't do her justice, sorry).

For this quilt I purchased 25cm (10inch) of each fabric, and extra for the borders and binding. Once the squares for the front of the quilt are cut up and the quilt top is made, anything left over can then go into making the back of the quilt. This way, most of the fabric bought is used up.

Aren't we so fortunate with the AMAZING ranges of fabric out there these days.... just waiting for us to find them, buy them, cut them up and sew them into a wonderful quilt!! What fun.

Wallpapered Goodness

As you know from my last post, I wanted to make a simple quilt with some of the gorgeous Westminster fabrics that I love. Anna kindly suggested a quilt from Material Obsessions first book called Avalon (Thanks Anna, I really appreciated your input). I have made Avalon before and it IS so easy and would be perfect to showcase the large florals. However I have decided to go even easier, and simply cut the fabrics into long strips. I pulled together more of the fabrics with the large, delicious flowers all over them, and picked up a few fabrics with smaller prints such as dots or stars or damask. The larger florals I then cut into 7 inch strips and the smaller prints into 2 inch strips. It took an afternoon to cut the strips and arrange them to my liking, and about 45 minutes to sew it all together. Very quick, very easy and I'm very happy with the result.

I think it shows off the large, repeated florals beautifully. It reminds me of oldfashioned wallpaper so I'm thinking of calling it Wallpapered Goodness (or something like that?!).

I have ordered some fabric for the back of the quilt from Quilternity's shop, Terri has Kaffe fabrics at a fabulous price. Then I will need to think about how to quilt it. I usually leave my new quilt tops hanging over a lounge chair for a couple of days and hope that inspiration will come to me as I walk past it. Again, something simple I think.

This quilt makes me feel happy....a quick and easy, fun and cheery quilt to make as we are coming into winter here in Melbourne. Once it's quilted I think it will live on the back of one of my lounge chairs to brighten up the place through the cold season.

Have a lovely weekend xo

Mmmm what to make?

When Kaffe Fassett's new fabric line came out a little while ago with this sumptuous fabric called 'Russian Rose', I just knew I had to make something with it.

It's such an unusual colour grouping, with the vivid orange background, the brown, red and tan roses and the brilliant aqua and raspberry leaves. I couldn't resist it. And then Brandon Mably had his first fabric collection (congrats Brandon, great job) and I fell in love with his spotty fabric called 'Dapple'. I thought I might use these two fabrics together in my next quilt.

I'm also thinking of using one of my all time favourite fabrics from Philip Jacobs called 'Banded Poppy'. This is an older range now and I love each colourway in this range, but especially love it in the sage.

But what to make with them? I'm thinking it will have to be something simple and quick, to offset all the hexagons and needleturn applique I am doing (so time consuming). Sometimes you just want to get results fast, don't you agree?! Hopefully I will have something to show in a few days.

I am on the edge of my seat at the moment waiting with anticipation for the new fabric lines coming out from our Westminster friends next month. You can go here to see that Kaffe, Brandon and Philip have come up with some beauties, and there are some cute bag patterns from Amy.

I'm off to play with my fabrics!!

Most helpful thingy

I thought I would show you something that I have found to be very useful in my stitching endeavours over the years. Something simple, something easy to make....it's my rubbish bin/pin holder thingy!!

I got this idea from somewhere years ago, and decided I needed to make one. It has been so handy. You start with a small cylinder of 'Pringles' chips.

First, you eat the chips!!! Then, wipe out the crumbs and cut a small hole in the lid. Place lid on the cylinder and 'voila' you have your own rubbish bin/pin holder thingy!!!

I take this little bin with me wherever I take my stitching, on holidays, to a friends house, at the doctors....and I will always have some spare pins, needles, and a place to put my stitching rubbish.

On another note I am currently trying to design a hexagon quilt at the moment, which is why I haven't been doing much sewing lately. You can read about it here....I made a bit of a mess of it, but I think of on the right track now!

Also, I don't really want to tell you, because I want to win it, but I will be nice and share....if you hop over to Aneela's blog you may still have the chance to enter her competition. She is giving away a QUILT!! for her 100th post. How generous, and a beautiful quilt it is, so go check it out.

Don't forget, if you want the chance to win 25cm each of these fabrics, leave your comment here.

Framed Fabrics

I went through a stage where I wanted to show off some of the beautiful Kaffe fabrics I was getting in the mail (bought online!), without having to spend the time making the quilt first. I went to a couple of local op shops and found some cheap frames which I painted antique white.

I fussy cut the fabric I wanted to show off, backed it with some of the small pieces of wadding you find you have lying around, and stretched it over the frame, sticking it down with packing tape.

I am quite happy with the results. And if I get sick of looking at the fabric I have chosen, I can easily pull it off and replace it with a new piece.

A simple, cheap project with nice results.

Material Obsession & Sewn Giveaway

A while ago I purchased this beautiful book from the talented ladies from Material Obsession, Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke. It's a stunning book with 23 contemporary quilts, a couple of which I have really enjoyed making already.

So of course when I heard they had published a second book, I just had to have it! It arrived a couple of days ago, and I haven't been able to put it down since. The girls have outdone themselves with another incredible book and another 21 wonderful quilt patterns.

I think the thing that appeals most to me about this one is the shared inspiration...Kathy and Sarah have started with the same fabric, or the same block template etc, and come up with two very different quilts.

It's fun to see where their individual thought processes took them. The quilts are all beautifully photographed by Kathy's husband John Doughty. John has photographed these amazing quilts in various beautiful locations, as well as provided a large flat shot of each quilt.

Well done girls, and thanks for such inspiration, not to mention absolute eye candy!

Since this second book was published, Sarah Fielke has left the Material Obsession team to become creative director of a new site called SEWN. Sarah is having a launch party and I have decided to join the fun.


The website will have just about everything you can think of that you would want online as a sewer. There are forums, online advice from industry experts, conversion charts, colour wheels, free patterns and class listings.

There will be interviews with all your favourite designers, quilters, patterns makers and authors. There will be tutorials with me and with other sewers from here and overseas, podcasts and coverage from shows and articles about all maner of exciting things....run over to Sarah's site to join the competition and read a lot more about this groovy site.

Bloggers are encouraged to join in the fun with their own giveaway so I will be giving away 25cms each of these 3 gorgeous fabrics. Simply leave a comment on this post and I will announce the winner on the Sewn launch day - Monday 8th June. Open to international readers too!

And as for Material Obsession...Kathy Doughty is still at the helm of this amazing shop in Sydney. Check out her incredibly inspiring blog where you will see what she and her lovely customers and friends are creating.

Don't forget to leave your comment.....good luck xo