Hannah's 21st Birthday Quilt

How scary, it's well over a year since I last posted something on my blog.  I thought I would just add a photo of the Quilt I made for my daughter's 21st Birthday on 9th August.  It was a pattern from Leeanne Beasley's book "Living the Dream" called Ruth's quilt.  I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

Fionamarie's Christmas Swap

How exciting, I can't believe its that time again for the Christmas Swap.  Last year we had so much fun doing it.  I have just been given the name of my swap partner so have contacted her and looking forward to a reply.  I have been through my patterns and have decided what I am going to make, can't wait to get started.

Last night we went to another Open night visiting high schools.  I can't believe my baby is going to be a highschool boy next year.  It was a great catch-up meeting up with people I haven't seen for awhile, especially quilting ladies. 

The weather doesn't look that great today - it's wet here at the moment but I'm hopeful the sun will come out as I have lots to do outside - and it will involve the use of a sledge hammer.  It will be a nice surprise (I hope) when my husband arrives home.  Lots of plants to put in as well so I had better get moving.

It was a friends birthday (my boss as well) on Wednesday.  She has just bought a sewing machine and is keen to get into quilting.  I made her a little drawstring bag (which I forgot to take a photo of) and popped a pincushion and tape measure and scissors inside. I which I had taken a photo of the bag - I was really pleased with it.  I handstitched the front of it with a cute picture of an old teapot with sewing accessories sitting in it.  I made it in pretty pink pastels with a blue lining.  Here is a photo of the pincushion which isn't that exciting.  The bag matched the pincushion.

August

Oh boy, I can't believe it's August and I haven't posted very much. I have had a very busy week - Hannah by eldest turned 20 - that makes me feel very old. She had a wonderful day - apart from her car being broken into on the weekend, luckily whoever did it didn't find anything much to take.

Anway this week I have been busy stitching every night, I have started something new for Christmas - 9 blocks which I'm not sure will end up as a quilt or possibly 2 tablerunners. I like to make something new every year for Christmas. I have to quilt my Redwork Xmas this year so I can hung that up, I finished the top last year.

We moved house in May and we have been busy most weekend ripping the garden apart. We had 2 huge palm trees at the front which have moved to their new home in the country. I am loving being back into the garden again so at the moment I'm torn between gardening and stitching. One good thing being winter and having lots of rain I get to stitch then.

Well better go, lots to do and again I'm wasting time on the computer. I will try and update my blog more and will add some photos of what I have been stitching.

This photo was taken nearing the end of our weekend at the Retreat. Left to right: Jill from Cottageflair, Rosalie, Katherine from the Clothshop, and Leeanne giving us a wave from up on the balcony.

Rosalie is giving my friends a demonstration on needleturn.

Here are the wonderful teachers for the weekend - Rosalie Quinlan and Leeanne Beasley.

We met a new friend Ann. Lucky for us she came on her own and sat with us for the weekend. We had lots of laughs together. Leeanne is pictured here as well.

This was one of the projects I started on the weekend. A lovely bag to put my stitching in. We were learning the technique of needleturn. I hope my finished bag looks as lovely as this.

Look at this wonderful view that greeted us when we pulled back the curtains on Saturday morning as the sun was just rising.

I haven't posted for ages, and it's now July. I have just got back from a great weekend away with my friends at "Christmas in July Stitching Retreat" at Oreti Resort in Pukawa Bay, Lake Taupo.

We had such a great weekend. Rosalie Quinlan and Leanne Beasley, Australian designers, were the highlight of the retreat. They are both such lovely ladies and went out of their way to help us in any way they could. I got lots of photos and they autographed 3 of my quilts that they had designed.

I took lots of photos so I will try and add some over the next week. Watch this space!!!! You will be so envious if you didn't go. xxx

It's May already

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I can't believe it - it's May. Life is far too busy at the moment, I've hardly had time to stitch and my poor blog is lucky to get updated at all. Today I received a complimentary copy from Homespun with all the photos of quilts people made for Breast of Friends block of the month 2009. How cool to see all the different colours and variations in the quilts people made.

I haven't added any photos for ages of my latest stitching accomplishments - there are a few blocks of different quilts I have finished but they will have to wait until next month to appear on my blog. This month is basically written off as far as stitching goes. We have sold our house after 9 days on the market and have to be moved out by May 28th. We are busy packing and having a good clean-out of nearly 10yrs of unwanted bits and pieces in cupboards. This weekend there will be several visits to the dump no doubt. It does feel good to get rid of all unwanted junk though.

Poor me will miss out on my 2nd Quilting Retreat of the year - I'm not even going to think about that or I will be sulking big time - that is the weekend we are moving.

Well I had better go and pack a few more boxes, the house already looks empty after taking all my quilts off the walls tonight.

Homespun Magazine

How exciting - I just got an email from Homespun Magazine to say my quilt I made will be featured in their issue Vol 11 No.5. The quilt was a Block of the Month they ran last year called "Breast of Friends".

I have decided to make this year's Block of the Month from Homespun called "Life is a Celebration". They are really fun to make, and it's exciting waiting each month to see what the next pattern will be.

It's too nice to be sitting inside so I will grab my stitching and head back out to the sun.

Beautiful Sunny Day

It's a beautiful sunny day here, lovely sitting on the deck enjoying the sun - AND grrrrrrrrrr still trying to recover from a cold I've had for a week now. Feeling alot better today so I shouldn't moan. Here are some cool photos of our dog Uno, taken by Hannah. He found a Monarch butterfly and spent ages just staring at it trying to work out what it was. The Monarch eventually flew away leaving Uno completely puzzled.

I can't believe how quickly the days are flying by. We are half way through February and I haven't done much blogging at all for 2010.

I have just started a new Block of the Month called "Truly Scrumptious". I am loving it. The fabric I received in the mail for the block borders is so so so gorgeous I could eat it.

I am also going to make the latest project in Homespun magazine - another Block of the Month. I got my second copy for the year with the first 2 blocks it in. It looks so cool. I will have to sit down and plan what colours I will do. I like to use a different range of fabrics than the magazine, just to put my own touch on it.

I did last year's project in Homespun called Breast of Friends. That was so much fun. I was so proud of myself to get it completely finished before Christmas - even quilted, how I managed to do it I don't know. It has been quilted and since last Friday is now hanging on the wall in our hallway. I can see if from the kitchen and dining-room. I am very pleased with it. Lucky I have an old house and high ceilings as it is a huge quilt to hang. After doing all that work on it I can now see if every day.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year 2010. I can feel it in my bones it's going to be a great year filled with lots of stitching and fun.

Hopefully I might do alot more blogging. Unfortunately December was very quiet on my blog.

Girls Christmas Party

Well I have finally finished the Girls Christmas Party. I machine quilted it today. I just need to put the binding on (so I can't quite say it's finished) but tomorrow it will be. I stippled the middle picture of the Christmas tree, then quilted in the ditch around all the other blocks. The side borders I just stitched lines.

As usual I had to be naughty and alter the pattern slightly. There were suppose to be lots of little squares on the borders but I decided just to do plain strips and stitch the lines down each of the 4 sides. I am really happy with the way it has turned out.

I have just finished Block No. 9 of the Redwork Xmas also. I will sew that last row together tomorrow night. Yahoo 2 more quilts to hang this Christmas.

Saturday Sampler

Yesterday we went to Palmerston North and got our last block for Saturday Sampler. I have been busy sewing this afternoon and finished the last 2 blocks. We have one more trip to go this year and we will get to see what settings they will be doing.

This quilt should be so quick to put tgether as we have been quilting the blocks as we go. I can't wait to see what the finished result wil be like.

Saturday Sampler

Saturday Sampler is done through the Clothshop in Palmerston North. This year I chose the black and white with a twist (red). They decided to try something new this year and we are quilting it as we go. Very exciting to see how this one will come together. I'm just cutting out Block 8 now but I couldn't resist taking a quick photo to add to my blog.

I better go and sew Block 8. Next Saturday we are off to collect Block 9 and then one more trip after that for the setting pattern and we've finished another year. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I can remember clearly our first trip down in February!!!!!!

Redwork Christmas

This is the first 8 blocks in my Redwork Christmas. It is a BOM I started in February. I have managed to keep up-to-date with this and it is coming together nicely. Next week I will receive Block 9. I will get that stitched straight away and then I am ready to sandwich and quilt it. It will be hanging this Christmas.

This is Block 8 ......

And this is Block 7.....

Living the Dream

This quilt was made especially for me by me. I wanted a pretty, girly quilt that was just for me. It was made from the pattern called Ruth's quilt out of the book Living the Dream by Leeanne Beasley. I used soft pastel pinks and greens. There are approx 32 panels with handstitched tags with little sayings on each one. I have put the name of my children - Hannah, Joel, Christian on one tag, and my name and the year I made the quilt on another tag. This is my favourite quilt. I keep it on the end of the couch and everyone in the family knows not to touch it. There is a basket full of quilts that they can choose from, but don't touch mine.

Sports Quilt

This quilt features different sports. I did this as a Block of the Month through the Clothshop. This quilt was made for my son Christian who is mad on Soccer and Skateboarding.

Country Throw

This quilt/throw was made about 7 years ago. I made it out of left-over fabric from another quilt. It is very country looking. Great for the kids when they're watching tv. Another one that has been washed many times and still looks good.

Houses, Hearts and Stars

This was the first single bed-size quilt I made. I thought I was very clever at the time. It was on my daughters bed when it was finished but that was a few years ago now. She has a new quilt so this one is used as a picnic rug. It has been washed many times but still looks great. I used lots of scrap pieces for the top. It is quite country-looking, not what I would choose now, but I still love it.

Tall Houses

This quilt features 9 tall houses. It is made in flannels. This is a great quilt to take to our Quilting Retreats in the winter time to put on my bed. I love flannels, but it is quite hard to find them now. Maybe I need to start another collection of fat quarters and make another one.

Grandma's Flannel Throw

I made this throw out of flannels for my Grandmother. She was 90 when I made the quilt. She got to enjoy it until she passed away just before her 91st birthday. After she died the quilt went missing for a few months, then one day unexpectedly it arrived in the mail. I was so excited and it was lovely to have it returned, and of course it is so special to me now.

Jelly Roll Quilt

This quilt was made using a jelly roll and extra fabric for the accent colours. My friends and I had a sleepover and did this quilt through the Cloth Shop in Palmerston North. We started on a Friday night at about 6pm and then every hour we got a clue on the Cloth Shops website to carry on the next step of the quilt. The final clue came at 1am on Saturday morning, but as we had be having such a good time we got a bit behind. We had planned on staying for the whole weekend and we managed to get the top finished. It was so much fun and I'm really pleased with the finished quilt.

The Girls

I have added a photo of this block from "Breast of Friends" before, but I really love this block - this could be us off to Palmy for our Saturday Sampler - oops there should be 4 girls then, maybe one of us is in the boot, bags it's not me, it was my turn to drive that day.

Here are photos of one of my Christmas projects. This is called "Girls Christmas Party" and is another great project out of Homespun Magazine. There are 4 stitchery blocks like these 2. A Christmas tree stitchery in the centre, and then on each corner 4 Santa's. This will definitely be finished in time for Christmas. I am hoping to finish these this week and start piecing the quilt together.

Breast of Friends

Here is the photo of all 14 blocks from Homespuns "Breast of Friends" block of the month. I have added the borders to all the blocks. I have received Homespun magazine with the setting for this quilt. I can't wait to get it finished but I think maybe early next year would be more realistic as I have so many Christmas projects I want finished well before Christmas.

I am quite pleased at the way my blocks have turned out. Now I just need to decide on what colours I would like between each block.

Next year Homespun are doing another Block of the Month, can't wait to start that one. The fabric range they will be using looks so nice.

Of course we have to have a photo of the coolest little dog in the whole wide world. This is Uno. He is a real softy and loves everybody. Unfortunately Oscar, below, couldn't stand him and Uno knew the Oscar was the boss. Now that Oscar is gone, Uno is rather pleased he has the humans to himself.

And here he is - TheGingerkat - the inspiration behind my blog name. He was the coolest cat ever with a personality to match. RIP Oscar - Oct 1997-May 2009.

He looks so gentle and cute lying there but just when you least expected it he would suddenly chase you and wrap his claws and teeth around your ankles. He had a loving, cuddly side to him as well. You never knew what to expect from Oscar, he was a wonderful pet. Go Oscar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's wonderful going back through my old photos and finding photos of things I have made in the past.

These 3 stockings were made from flannel prints. They were so easy to make and I love hanging them on the fireplace at Christmas. One each for my 3 children - Hannah, Joel and Christian. I haven't stitched their names on them - Hannah is the Angel, Joel is the Snowman, and Christian is Santa. Christian always tries to claim the Snowman each year because he said Santa doesn't exist, but he can't change a family tradition now. Santa is his no matter what!!!!

This is not a very good shot of this quilt. I had this hanging in my hallway. This quilt was called "All Around the Town". It featured different style houses with a road running right around the quilt, and little cars driving around the edges. I did this as a block of the month.

How cute are these little fellas.

This is a wallhanging I made in 2004. It was from a New Zealand designer called "House on the Hill." The writing says "Life's a Journey .... "Take time to smell the Roses along the Way."

It is made in mainly plaids, that is back when I was a country coloured girl. My tastes have changed along the way. I still like country colours but I'm going through a pretty pastel stage at the moment.

This is my favourite bag for storing my stitching. My friend and I both made a bag each. It has a divider pocket in the middle which is zipped, one smaller insert pocket, and a pocket at the front and back and each side. It was quite a mission to do the binding on the bag but worth the effort. It is the same design as the bag below which I sold.

I made this bag using picture panels on each side of the bag. I only have this photo of one side. I sold this bag as I already had another bag similar which I preferred, and of course didn't need 2. I must have a photo somewhere of the front and back, if I do find it I will add it another time.

Oh what a beautiful bag. I made the quilt "Living the Dream" by Leeanne Beasley and had plenty of fabric left over, so I decided to make this bag which was in the pattern book too. It was really lovely but rather enormous so I ended up selling it on Trademe. I just found the photo of it so thought I may as well add it to my blog so that I can look back on the things I have made and sold.

This is one of my latest projects which I've mentioned before in my blog - The Gingham Girls by Bronwyn Hayes. I love her patterns so much. This quilt has applique and handstitching which I really enjoy doing. I have only done 3 blocks on this so far. I love stitching the girls faces. I have traced 3 more of the blocks so I need to get a move on.

Some nights I sit down to pick up my stitching and don't know which one to do. I think the trick is to finish everything I've got before I buy and start anything new.

Good advice for myself!!! - last week I received the first block of another new block of the month I ordered - Truely Scrumptious by Natalie Lymer from Cindberry Stitches. I have been good so far and I am going to try and not start my new one until I have finished some of these other quilts.

Last year I did finish and quilt 7 quilts, so it can be done. I wish there were a few more hours in the day.

Christmas Belles is another favourite. This was another Block of the Month I did. Each block had a mixture of applique and handstitching. It doesn't look overly Christmas so I have it hanging all year round. I love the little Christmas puddings at the top, they look so real.

I made this quilt for myself. The pattern was called Ruth's Quilt out of Leeanne Beasley's book called "Living the Dream". I wanted a pretty, girly quilt to take to camp and to use at home just for me. I chose soft pastel pinks and greens. There are approximately 32 labels with handstitched sayings on them. It is a single bed size.

Yesterday 3 of us travelled to Palmerston North for our monthly trip to do Saturday Sampler. We take our block that we made last month and get the next block. This quilt I think will be my most favourite and will be for me. This year we are doing quilt as you go, which I have never done before so the whole quilt will just about be finished after we receive the last block. The colour choice we picked is called "Black and White with a splash of lime" but of course we always have to be different and chose red. It looks so cool, I am really pleased with it.

It was my turn to drive yesterday. We had lots of laughs along the way. Did lots of shopping, and of course went out for lunch as well. Yahoo for Arthur Toyes fabric shop, that had a huge range of quilting fabrics. I bought enough fabric to complete the top on my "Girls Christmas" quilt. I chose a red and a very soft lime, a bit different for Christmas but will look so cool.

The girls at the Cloth Shop were pretty busy for a Friday. We usually go on Saturday but as I have a busy day with Soccer today and David was flying out we decided to go on Friday instead. I took my camera so I could take some shots of Rae and Avril on our trip to add to my blog and guess what - I forgot to even take 1 photo. I am so annoyed with myself.

Anyway if you live in New Zealand and have never been to the Cloth Shop, check out their website http://clothshop.co.nz/ They have a blog also, so you can link to that from their website.

And of course if you live overseas and happen to be reading this you too can see what a cool shop it is. Katherine and the girls are so nice and friendly and always have coffee and biscuits waiting for us after our trip. Usually on Saturday Colin (Katherine's husband) hands out our blocks to us. We were disappointed we didn't see him BUT lucky us as we were sitting having lunch who should walk in but Colin. Rae called him over and we had a good catch up. What a nice man he is.

Anyway enough writing I need to head over to Hastings for Christian's rep game. It is a horrible wet day here so I will be shivering and shaky under my umbrella for the day. I am going to take my Christmas stitchery so between games I can sit in the car and stitch.

Go Hawkes Bay 12th grade Soccer Reps. Hope we manage to beat Gisborne again.

Sorry no photos today - BECAUSE SOMEBODY DIDN'T TAKE ANY!!!!!!!

AND ONE MORE THING BEFORE I GO - Hi Rae, hope you are enjoying your little bag that you got in Palmy. Hope the stitching doesn't come undone on it, not that I'm jealous or anything. Have a great day (with your bag).

Wow, I was just going through my photo albums and found this quilt I made for my daughter, Hannah. This was another Saturday Sampler done through the Cloth Shop in Palmerston North, in fact this was the very first year we did the trip. This was called Black and Brights. I think I made a pretty good job of it if I do say so myself. Hannah still has it on her bed but it has had a few washes and doesn't quite look as good as this photo. It is still in pretty good condition considering.

It's funny when I look back and some of my very first attempts at quilting. I made this quilt with a group of friends. I hand quilted it (not very well either). The binding is a bit too big and full of air. I could redo it but it's a nice reminder of how far I've come. It's large enough for a lap quilt but I have it hanging on the wall in our hallway.