...Mt Hotham in August

I was born and lived for more than the first 20 years of my life in Western Australia. It really, very, very rarely snows there and never to the point that it is possible to ski or partake in other snow play activities. Interesting it has snowed twice that I am aware of in the broad area where I lived for the first 11 years of my life, once in November (well into spring, if not the beginning of summer in Australia) a few months after my family and I moved away and once, about 11 years later in about September when I happened to be back for a work training activity. I didn't see it on either occasion. And it well melted before 9am. So needless to say I haven't really lived or played in or around snow, ever. Sure, there was a September trip to New Zealand as a teenager with a 30 minute play in some icy snow on the top of a glacier but we weren't even there long enough to really need jackets.

N, on the other hand, was born and lived the first half of his life in a European country. His parents have a holiday house in the countryside inhabitable in winter, it is apparently hardly accessible and the pipes need to be cleared of water so the water doesn't freeze in them and cause cracking. He skied regularly since he was old enough to stand up on skis.
 

When he moved to Australia skiing was hardly as possible and I think he missed it. So when I moved to Sydney a trip to the Australian ski field was high on his list of things he wanted us to do. I was game. I mean, how hard could siding down the side of a hill be? Small children do it without the pole things.

Let me tell you this first trip was not an auspiciousness start to my snow sport experiences. 

We went for the day. Climbing on a bus with another friend at about 5:30am. As we wound our way south I was full of confidence. We collected our skis and boots and donned the rest of out gear and headed for the slopes. I should have realised there might be an issue when I couldn't seem to carry my skis effortlessly over my shoulders like everyone else seemed to be able to. 

N was chomping at the bit to make up for years of lost ski experience in the few hours we had. I gave me the fundamentals of 'go' and 'stop' and pointed me in the direction of the bunny slope.

What seemed like hours later he was back. I had fallen, stumbled and slid to the bottom of the slope and struggled my way to the top again by a rope pull that my hands kept sliding down. N decided I was ready for the green slope. I wasn't so sure.


In the first 15 minutes I fell more times that I can remember and travelled abut 20 meters. There was shouting, almost tears and very, very little skiing.

I took my skis off and walked to the bottom. Then there was new challenge. The way back to the top (and the train and the way home) was a T-Bar and I still couldn't stay up or another slope that I had no more chance of skiing down that the one I had just walked to the bottom of. I chose the T-Bar.

I fell off. Into a drift of snow there was not way I could climb out of with any dignity and I could'nt get back on the lift.

N went to get the ski patrol. The guy was lovely and helped me back on the T-Bar and I made it to the top - that still amazes me. N went to ski and I want for lunch. If there was a stiff drink option I would have taken it.

Clearly we would not be tackling runs together that day. I doubted we ever would. The day did get a little better - I had another go at the bunny run and could make my way down it without falling and at more than walking speed by the end of the afternoon.

I have not had the urge to strap on skis since then.

A year or two later we took a villa for a week at another ski resort with a couple of friends. I quilted and made the meals. I took some walks and went nowhere near a ski run. It was great.

This year when we went for the weekend I decided that it was time to get out in the snow again. I still wasn't keen on the idea of trying to slide down the side of a hill again so I hired some snow shoes. 

There is no falling and the views are great! 

I am thinking that in future years and trips I might try again with skis, but this time some cross country ones. 

...Tulip Cross Quilt

I saw a picture of a quilt on this post over a year ago and haven't been able to get it out of my mind, it is the one down the bottom of the post. I did consider buying it for a time but I really wanted to make it for myself.

So I searched online and in my two blocks books, Encyclopaedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns and 5500 Quilt Block Designs. No luck.

After a few comment exchanges I got a better idea of how it was constructed. I spent another few night staring at the little picture and trying to work out where the seams were in the original and what formed the blocks.

In the end I got some graph paper, a pencil, a ruler and a compass and drew it out as a finished block. I was pretty happy with the first version and only made a few changes in scale. I cut out the drawn block, traced it onto template plastic and added seam allowance until I had a template set for the block.

And then I got sewing. It isn't an impossible block, but it does require some technical skill - a 'Y' seam and a curved seam.

I ended up deciding to make this quilt for the Quilter's Guild of New South Wales Under 35's Quilt Competition. This year the theme is "How Does Your Garden Grow?"

Complete with tulips, thanks.

Because to the size restrictions in the competition I stopped at 16 blocks - finishing at 95cm (or just over a yard) square but I would love to make a 6x6 layout version as a centre medallion. I think this would show off the crosses better and make the name make a little more sense.  

I posted it off today and will not see it again until sometime in December.

If you happen to be interested in seeing the show (and maybe sending me a picture of my little quilt hanging in the show) all the entries will be on display in the Newington College Gallery, Stanmore Road, Stanmore, Sydney from the 21-23 September from 10am - 4pm daily.

...paper pieced octagons

I can't remember if I have blogged about this quilt before so please forgive me if I am repeating myself.

Some time ago I decided that I would use exclusively Heather Ross prints (with a preference for Munki Munki, West Hill and other early or whimsical cotton base cloth collections) to paper piece a quilt of a size that is still to be determined.

I wanted to use 2" Octagon papers with 2" squares in the filling gaps. In addition to the HR prints I planned (and am using) scraps of various white and grey solids.

This is where I got a little stumped. I wanted to use some 'solid' octagons and piece some. I went looking for co-ordinating shapes, first from Patchwork with Busy Fingers where I got my first lot of papers from and then Paper Pieces where I got extras. Unlike for hexagons there seemed to be very few - in fact I used this and this shape from Busy Fingers and could find no more that would work without me cutting some shapes of my own.

So a few weeks ago I emailed Paper Pieces on on the strength of their reply took to a piece of paper with a ruler and a pencil.

These arrived in my mailbox one morning early last week, eight different pieced octagon options finishing with 2" sides and available to order from them should you also want to paper piece 2" octagons from smaller shapes.

I have sewed some together already

Variation 1

Variation 3

Variation 5

Variation 6

Variation 8

There is one more still just basted...

Variation 7

And a couple more cut at and waiting for some stitchable moments...

Variation 2

Variation 4

...on a whim

A couple of weekends ago, on a whim, I bought a 90 degree triangle ruler at Spotlight with a 25% off voucher.

When I got home, on a whim, I got home and used it to cut up a 1/2 yard bundle of spring theme prints I bought ages ago from Sew Fresh Fabrics when I got free shipping.  Cutting them into strips and then cross-cutting with the new ruler.

On a whim, by sewing the triangles into pairs, the squares and trimming to 12.5" I made this quilt top. 

It isn't huge - the blocks are 12" finished - which if my maths is having a good day means that this is 49 x 61" in the current state.

I'll need to wait for another whim to help with finding a backing, basting, quilting and binding but even without all that yet this was a pretty satisfying evening of sewing. 

...a window to summer on the Moda Bakeshop

I had hoped to post this two days ago but some technical difficulties that I have been trying to fix for the last two days prevented me. Frustratingly N fixed it tonight in two minutes. But at least it is fixed.

So this quilt was posted on the Moda Bakeshop - I made it during a really cold week in winter and hand quilted it in another. Taking some inspiration from the fabric line used, Summersville, I called it a window to summer.

This weekend N and I took a trip to the Mt Hotham - a ski resort in the north of the state. And I got to take some extra pictures of the quilt in the snow, and I think it provides a great juxtaposition for the quilt.

The trip was great too - I have some more pictures I will share in the next few days.

The post can be found here on the Moda Baksehop.

...finally finished - A bee Quilt

I have been, at different times in four different bees. One of them is the do. Good Stitches bee and has very clear guidelines in the due dates to finish quilts for which you have been responsible for the design so have finished the three quilts I have been responsible for in that one. 

That leave three bees for me and until earlier this week the total of finished quilts I had for them was zero. To be fair two were in the late quilting stages but had languished in that phase for ages and had been in various stages of construction for nigh on two years. The other is a spring chicken at only about a year old but still at exactly the same form as when the blacks arrived back in my mailbox. 

But thanks in part to the Olympics and the cold nights I have finished off the hand quilting on this one. And in a rare display of some good solid forward planning and because of the placement of the machine quilting I could hand stitch down the binding right away instead of waiting for the interest in getting it done to outweigh the laziness of needing to change to the walking foot because I attached the binding at the time of the machine quilting.

The blocks were completed by the lovely ladies of the Bee Seam Piecing Downunder bee with a theme of 'Circles'. I also asked that each sign a siggy block that I later embroidered and pieced into the back with a couple of blocks that didn't make it back in time to be sewn into the front. 

The sashing and borders took a few different forms before this final version - 2" finished sashing in Kona Coal and scrap 2" finished squares for the border. 

The backing in this Aqua print from Spotlight (with the extra blocks, siggy blocks and some sashing) and the binding in yet more scraps from the feature fabrics. 

Machine quilting in the sashing was with some 12wt Aurifil 1/4" inside each seam and then the border squares each had an X quilted inside with a 40wt Aurifil. An echo or feature circle was hand quilted inside each of the block in DMC Perle 8 in a light grey.

Finishing at about 58" by 71" this one is a little wider and shorter than average but great for the couch at night. 

Thanks to Pam, Bec, Emma, Erin, Kelly, Kelly, Rose, Sue, Liz, Nicole and Abby for the blocks and for a wonderful year of patchwork and an another year of quilting!

...Green Tea and Sweet Beans

So yesterday I went to pick up my pattern and 'starter' pack from Amitie.

I am really really looking forward to starting this one but I am thinking of completing it by hand so I am making myself finish a few things first to free up a project box.

I don't know about starter - there sure is a lot of fabulous fabric in there! 

Can't wait!