Another Christmas Present complete - Yay!!

One of my closest girls friends has two favourite things - purple and horses.  She is my Kris Kringle Recipient in our small group (we call ourselves the Sisterhood) and I was. for at time, trying to work out how i could combine both.  Then I searched on www.equilter.com  and found the perfect fabric - purple bali batik with horses all over.  There were only about 2 meters left so I snapped them up.  Once the fabric arrived i set about finding a way to use as much of the fabric as possible to make her quilt.  Once I had settled on the pattern I dragged a quilting buddy of mine to our local Quilt Shop, www.countrypickins.com.au and together we chose a fabulous fabric that goes from deep teal, thru royal blue to deep navy.

Then it was time to cut out.  I worked out the best size square to cut across the fabric so that I had little more waste than the selvage and then started cutting.  As I cut I laid all the blocks out and added numbers.  Next I started cutting the variegated fabric.  I cut a strip, then cross cut it and as each piece was cut i placed it in its correct place working across the quilt so that the variegation would not get messed up.  once all the pieces were in place I pinned them all then brought them to my sewing machine and started to sew.  once all the cutting and pinning was done the rest was fairly quick.

I chose the variegated fabric for the borders and then for the binding, trying to get the blue part on the teal and vice versa.  I have to say that i am pretty happy with the end result.   

I quilted this with a variegated thread in pinks and purples (couldn't find one in pinks and teals or blues) on the diagonal in line with the stars and I am so pleased with how it turned out. I think the dark backing would have been quite stark without the coloured lines to lift it.

Not sure if you can read the label but it says "Fate made us friends, love made us sisters" and that just about says it all and I can't wait to give it to her.

I had just enough material left to make two matching potholders and they are the next thing sitting on my sewing machine - tomorrow's job, hopefully, along with guitar practice (much needed) and a little gardening and normal household chores!

Hurray!  Another project finished - this is my Kris Kringle present for a sweet girl from my Quilt Group.  She loves Kaffe Fasset fabrics so 90% of this is his fabric.  I love to do iron on applique.  You can just about paint pictures with it and it can be so much fun.  This pattern is from the Garden Song Book by the Art to Heart Group.  Love their books!

Karen's Potholders

Potholders for Karen

At last something recently made, finished just hours ago actually.   I made these cute potholders to give to a sweet girlfriend to say thankyou for having my son to stay last weekend.  She breeds Miniature Fox Terriers so the picture is particularly relevant to her.  I have made so many potholders over the recent years.  Everyone just loves to receive them as everyone needs them and they really like to use something that is made just for them.

It is a great day today.  I went to the dentist (no that is not why it is a great day).  He is a lovely guy.  Last year his four daughters were the recipients of four quilts from "Quilts for Keeps", a charity based at the major children's hopsital in Sydney, to donate quilts to children who are diagnosed with serious illness and their siblings.  He found out that my quilt group and I make and donate quilts for "Quilts for Keeps" and I flippantly said if at any time he felt like donating some cash to the cause we wouldbe happy to spend it on batting or fabric and today he told me he would  be writing a cheque for $500 for us!  Yahoo!!!  That is a lot of batting!  We need to have a couple of working bees to make another batch of quilts so we will be on a roll now! Yippee!!!!

Where are they all?

Wow! Posting all the photos of the quilts that I have photos for just makes me realise how many quilts I haven't kept a record of.  Probably nobody cares but me.... but Gee!!!!  I would like to know how many quilts I have made over the years and I would like to be able to look back over some of them.

From now on I will have to make a point of photographing anything I complete.  That is part of the reason for this blog; to remind me to  record my work.

Quilts from the past Part 7

These quilts were made for the Irwin family after the death of Steve.  I had wanted to honour Steve and wanted to show them in the only way I could.

For Robert Irwin



for Bindi Irwin

Back of Bindi's quilt

For Terri Irwin

Quilts from the past Pt 6

Mary Engelbreit fabric front (for me) 

Back of quilt

For my wonderful husband - incorporates an old Hawaiin shirt, satelite fabric, racing cars and jet aircraft - all the things he loves 

I call this "Girly Geese" and love it - also love the really cute dog - Maisy - my most constant companion

underwater fun

One of the first quilts I ever made

Quilts from the Past Pt 5

Quilts made for family and friends

Made for my Nephew's 21st birthday

For my sister's 50th Birthday





My Parents-In-Law asked me to make this for them

A thankyou for my Mother's friend

The back of the quilt above

Made for my wonderful Mother

Another thankyou for one of my Mum's friends

Especially for my gorgeous God-Daughter - this was a block of the month from Honey Suckle Cottage

For my lovely God-daughter's sister





Quilts from the past Pt 4

Raffle Quilt for School made using blocks left over from another quilt.



Made for Quilts for Keeps by a clever quilt group friend using triangles (centre) cut from another project.




The bug quilt - made to comfort my cousin's foster son - a joint effort with the Gumnuts



I Spy - made to comfort the sister and also foster child - another Gumnuts quilt

Teacher Gift

teacher gift for the other son's teacher

Made to be raffled by Angel Flight in Western Australia - yet again a Gumnuts Quilt

Quilts from the past pt 3

These were made for the daughters of a close friend.  Here was I, mother of two sons, thinking "oh goodie - I am can make two girly Pink quilts!!!" but reality hit and I was asked to make one african quilt and one underwater quilt.  Oh well.  at least the girls loved them!

Quilts from my past Pt 2

Please bear with me as I want to include in my blog all the quilts that I have made and which I have taken photos of.  I am going to try and add a few every day till I have caught up as well as adding my current works.

 I loved working on these quilts.  The students in my sons' year three classes painted their hand prints and then I was given the squares  to turn into quilts.  they are so bright and happy looking.  Great memories, especially as my boys are now in Year 9!

Quilts from my past Pt1

 This was made for my sons' school to raffle in 2007

 My quilt group, the Gumnut Quilts and I made this for Quilts for keeps in about 2007 from a pack of Moda Squares that were given to us.   Love it and have bought another pack the same to make one for myself  .....one day

 My quilting friend, Alyce Stotsky, who I met on a Country Heritage Quilt Tour (years ago) sent me the centre panel and the result is a quilt for Quilts for Keeps.

This is another quilt made by the Gumnut Quilts - I love it!!!  Sadly most of them didn't as it is a bit too "out there" for most of their tastes.  We donated it to the local Bush Fire Brigade to raffle.  Pretty appropriate huh!

The Mermaid Quilt

This is the Mermaid Quilt.  Not a very imaginative name I know but I haven't been suitably inspired by any other name at the moment.  My quilt group made this over a number of meetings as a group effort.  It is so unlike what we usually make.  I love these colours but most of the group prefer a more subdued pallette.  Every time I saw the quilt I couldn't help but say how much I loved it.  Colour has a really physical effect on me and the colours in this quilt just make me so happy.   When we finish a quilt top as a group we either have it ear-marked as a charity give away or we "raffle" it amongst ourselves.  With this quilt we decided to raffle it amongsth oursleves as we have no charities "waiting" for quilts.  When the time came to Raffle it the other girls decided that although they liked the quilt none of them could live with it and they knew I loved it.  So they gave it to me and I LOVE IT.  I would rather have this one quilt that all the other quilts we have made put together.

It now hangs on the wall of my family room and I can see it all the time.  The photos do not do it justice. It just sings with colour!  I am going to have to repaint the table to compliement it though.......  needs a paint anyway....

what is to come

I have lots of plans for Cherry Red Quilter but I just need time.  Firstly, when my husband bought me a new laptop everything but my photos was transfered to the new one and I am still waiting for the photos.  Hence i cannot put them on the blog but that will come.  In the mean time I will photograph some the the recent projects.  This week my two sons have been away on school camp  - oh the luxury of the extra time,  I have finished a quilt for one of my besties for her Kris Kringle present and I have also all-but-finished an appliqued apron and matching pot holders made from Kaffe Fasset facbric for my Kris Kringle recipient in my Quilt Group. 

I have spent tonight sewing the binding on the quilt but oh my aching hands - the joys of arthritus which has made its presence felt just last year.  Because the the blased arthritus I am finshing off as many UFO's, particularly any involving hand sewing, as soon as I can - just in case I can't in the future.  I won't be starting any new hand work if I can help it.

Current projects include a 1930's hexagon flower quilt, a dresden flower quilt with 1930's dresden flowers to be sewn on Kaffe Fasset's solids and a 6' x 8' quilt called "Chanticleer and Company" which is basically a 28 block quilt - each block a different appliqued chicken - thank goodness I decided to go with iron on applique when I started it about TEN years ago.

Hopefully tomorrow my husband will put all my photos onto a USB and I will finally be able to put them on this computer.  Till then, happy sewing blog buddies (yes I know there are none of you yet but I am sure there will be one day and until then I will just talk to myself!)

Just call me technically challenged!

It has taken me three hours to work out how to get back to my blog to add another post.  Next I have to work out how to add photos - looks like I did it.  This is my happy quilt.   It makes me smile every time I look at it.  I like th colours and the quirkiness.  You know what- I am going to nail this blogging thing without asking my kids or my husband to help me - afterall - how hard can it be!!!  Teenagers aren't the only smart people in this world! 

Where to start.......

Why not start a blog?  I want to see how it all works and it wouldbe good to be able to share what I am doing with like minded people too.  I am a quilter and when I can I will be uploading all my projects to share and to keep a record of what I have done and am doing.  Probably wont be too exciting to start with but I promise it will get better.  I have been making quilts for more than twenty years so it is about time I started to record what I have done.  This is exciting.  My kids would think this was a riot - their apparently, according to them, technically challenged Mum!!!