Monday 3 November 2014

November successes and spring colour

It is Monday,  November 3rd. I don't know about you but I adore spring. But I suspect most people do . The start of warmer weather , swimming in the pool, comfortable temperature at the  evenings making sleeping easy and then there is the Jacarander tree...

The Jacarander tree is my absolute favourite tree of all time. I adore the fact that it glows lavender and then drops a carpet of colour on the ground. The green grass against the purple is dynamic, along with the grey/brown of the trunk of the tree is stunning. You cant but help notice the spectacular aura  of this tree as your sitting in the car or on a train here in Sydney. It catches the eye. Wants to be noticed.
My favourite movie of all time   is The Colour Purple with Oprah Winfrey , Whoopi Goldberg   and Danny Glover and there is a scene where Miss Ceily and Shug Avery and walking through a field of purple cosmos flowers. It is my favourite scene, so serene,  quiet,  flowers swaying and the dialog goes..... Don't you think it pisses God off , if you walk past the colour purple and don't notice......    





Enjoy your spring.....




The past month has been so spectacular, quilts are coming to an end for some students and some ladies are working tirelessly on others. Wonderful achievements , especially some of the very new to quilting ladies, what a thrill for them to be completing their first quilt.  All made by their own hands from start to finish.


Above the the lovely Jenny.  Who attends Hobby Sew Kings Park shop on once a month Fridays. A terrific group of fun ladies. We have a ball , lots of laughs... I so enjoy the class....
Jenny has hung in there with me , she has worked so hard , with at times doubting the final result, but WOW ....... Spectacular Jenny, I am so proud of you. YOU ROCK..... Big time girl..... From a bag of Bali fabrics with no quilt in mind. to this original work....



Same class this is Ali"s latest work. The Daisy path quilt, which is so pretty Ali. Wonderful work.         Ali does beautiful work and the most delightful person. Now to  machine quilting which Ali will do an amazing job of .

Next group of quilts is from Pegs Pieces Kirrawee . Here is Kay's  version of  Daisy Paths.
 Stunning black border all around . Kay has decorative stitched the circles on the border and I know Kay is quilting happily  away. Looks Stunning ....


Here is Sharon with a big grin on her face after the  reveal of her latest quilt. Sharon is new to my class and she also attends Michelle Marvig 's class at Pegs. This log cabin Sharon pieced with Michelle and I gave Sharon guidance on how to quilt it. Well, she was thrilled ,,,, all done with her domestic machine using the walking foot. The orange logs and borders have a 6 line cable which details the gorgeous pattern of the diamond. The repeat worked our beautifully. So using a stencil ,Sharon lightly marked the design and after stabilising the quilt with ditching , went to work on the cables..Woo Hoo ...... SUCESS


The Kings Park Thursday group of lovely girls  have been busy all quilting away happily on the day. Here Sue is pebbling on her Chevron quilt. Later on in the day working on the first row of feathers.



And below is Deb putting the borders on her  Hearts  and Lollipops quilt . She is so excited , being a new quilter and being able to complete the whole quilt herself, terrific to watch your skills grow every month Deb.The quilt is so pretty. Deb has a big Brother machine which has some stunning decorative stitches and has used them so well on her hearts. In the background is Diane and Learne also quilting away happily. Great job everyone...




Here is Jans Baltimore from Pegs Fridays class. Jan is going the extra , no cant say mile, its much more dedication to the quilt than that.It is that extra amount of work that sometimes just asks to be applied. Jan is adding more appliqué into the sashing. What a feat too , as the whole quilt was completed and I just  said what about .......... 
Quilts do talk to us. That is the quilters instincts I think. Such a powerful voice to listen to.  The quilt asked me to add just a little more .The borders are absolutely stunning. They are in full bloom, and the blocks are delightful. The sash just needed a little extra oomph... I  whispered gently  ,suggesting to Jan maybe a flower , vine and leaves  in the sash.... and off she went .. No doubt about her  a TRUELY DEDICATED TALENTED QUILTER..
 
Thank you Ladies so much more wonderful work being produced that I would like to share next month.
Also I truly understand that sometimes our personel life gets ahead of our quilting.  Families, grandchildren, trave, well in my classes thats fine. Do only as you can manage .. PLEASE always remember .... Quilting is our JOY..... something that no one can take away fron you and its a passion that is always there for us whenever we need it .. Please Enjoy 

I have been working pretty solidly on my next appliqué quilt for the once a month classes.
Im calling it a secret garden.... Coming along nicely. As all quilts plans change and this  has had its fair share of changes to the original plan , but that again,  is listening to the quilts voice or my instincts.


I have had some lovely few weeks at home recently sewing  away and coming up with new ideas and techniques. Im really enjoying sharing them with the classes. More later....

I have tried out the new Bernina 1/4 inch foot .. # 97. It is 1/4 inch on the right hand side and 1/2 inch on the left side. Thhis  aids the feeding of the fabric on the 7 and 8 series machines . Also I recommend the  97 D for the dual feed option. Its very nice. It comes with a guide that screws into the plate to guide the fabric into the foot. I use the staright stitch plate when straight stitching, along with the new foot and perfect straight stitching.


Also I have been given to try out the #34D foot. It is recommended for Reverse feeding applique stitching. Particually stitching that has a centre staright line and feeds off left and right . Works really well.... I like it .


We have had a wonderful family wedding recently and my Niece and new Husband are really happy with their chevron quilt called THE LINDA E after their boat. Lovely to know they will enjoy the quilt with their sea journeys on the beautiful Sydney Harbour and Beyond. 



 Thank you for Listening 
happy Quilting
X DEB 





4 comments:

Pip said...

I have a Bernina 750 and bought the #97D foot and straight stitch plate recently and I think it has made a difference to my piecing, the fabric feeds through much more evenly now, I wasn't sure about the guide but given that my eyesight isn't the best, the guide makes it a lot easier to keep the fabric on track.

Lee B said...

Wonderful inspiration from you and you students Deb. I love the chevron quits and the detailed quilting is beautiful. How lovely to name the quilt.
Your new appliqué quilt is looking amazing. Well done and thanks again for the inspiration

Katrina Hadjimichael said...

Congratulations to all your clever students. Their quilts look amazing. But then they have the best teacher. Love you, Katrina xxx

Lesley said...

Deb, can you please advise where the ladies bought the LED lights to stick onto the sewing machine that would help me enormously with my piecing. I read Pip's comment and also intend to try the 97D.
Lesleycoleman6@gmail.com