July was secret sewing month

I only finished 2 projects in July and they are secret laundry bags for Aussie Hero Quilts, so I can't share them in their entirety at this stage.

 Back view # 1

Back View #2

You'll see the fronts once they are delivered.  :)

I've also started 2 Aussie Hero Quilts & another secret project... so some progress going on but not much to show for it.

Catch you all soon.

Debra

An Unexpected Project

Sometimes projects just happen.

My youngest child has a banana pillow and every time we wash it it makes me gag.  No matter what I do it won't come clean. (No, I have no idea why we purchased a white pillow case).

So Saturday saw me digging out some long forgotten fabrics to create a couple of pillow cases that I can live with.

The old pillow case made the perfect pattern

 and we now have bright balloons

 and colourful crayons.

 These are fabrics that I'm not even sure why I had them.  I'm very glad they are now in a project.

 

So 2 more finishes for May OPAM and no feral pillowcase to have to look at.

Catch you soon.

Debra ~ Outback Crafter

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Major May Finish

Last week I posted about February's False Starts and Flimsies  well, the quilt in question was going to be my second finish for the Roma Show.

I had 3 days until the deadline and all that I needed to do was quilt and bind.

WRONG... this quilt did not have a backing, so I needed to make one (it was also Sunday and the shops were closed).  Thankfully I had a bolt of white fabric that I picked up on an amazing sale so I could create the right look. (Finished photo at the bottom of the post)

O-me was having a big week and she didn't let me down.  The quilting went very smoothly, thank goodness.

As the quilt is a star, I quilted swirls & stars as an all over design.

 I love the feeling of the last stitches.

Then I created a red binding from assorted red fabrics in my stash and bound while watching more evening drama & crime shows.  

I present "Exploding Star"  60" x 60".  

(Photo is a little dark as it was almost midnight when I took the photo)

 and the back of "Exploding Star"

I am so very proud of this quilt.  I am so excited I was able to design something that worked.  A few tweaks along the way, but that is an important part of the design process.

My boys inform me this is my best quilt yet - but they are also fairly sure they will not be permitted to use it.

So this is OPAM # 2 for May and entry 2 for Roma Show.

See you again soon.

Debra ~ Outback Crafter

May Makings

 To begin May makings we have to go back to October 2016.  Everyone close your eyes and go back a few months..... a few more... yep, that's it... October 2016.

Roma Patchwork & Crafters Inc hosted a Mystery Quilt Workshop with Sue Pukallus from Bymount Qld.  The lovely Janeene of Fabric Patch to come to Roma with a Pop up shop.  We were going to be spoilt and we had no idea what we were going to make.

 Janeene's shop was full of many treasures and yummy fabrics.

 My workshop fabrics were shopped from my stash.  12 fabrics and a background.

 We got to work.  Busy Bees were we.

 My quilt in progress

 

 As the quilt tops came together they were varied and all so beautiful.

Gaye's autumn tones.

 Proof I was actually there, obviously someone else had a camera.

Liz's bright bandanna quilt.

 Leanne's pastel beauty.

 Gayle's black and yellow striking quilt.

 Kim's black, white & red. Wow.

 Sue's (our lovely tutor) pastels.

 Olivia's modern brights.

 Kelly's autumn

 All of us together with our quilt.

In usual Debra fashion, I cam home from the workshop, showed the family my quilt and popped it in the sewing room to finish later.

Later finally came on the 5th May.  I had two looming deadlines and needed to finish the quilt.

Onto O-me for some quilting.

 After dealing with some bobbin issues, I realised a simple arrow on my bobbin case might solve the backwards threading issue in the future.  (fingers crossed)

 and back to O-me. Once I dealt with the bobbin issues, it was quite an easy sew thankfully.

 Deadline one "THE ROMA SHOW" was not overly far away, so a finish was needed.

Deadline two had passed in October, but this baby was going to be gifted as a very belated 40th birthday gift after the show.... So onto binding.  Thanks to some late night dramas, binding was completed in record time.

Front "Red, Red Ribbons"

 And the custom made backing from the left over fabrics.  

(I promise they are the same colour, just a trick of the light).

So it was finished with 3 days to spare, leaving time to finish a second entry for the show.

OPAM 1 for May complete. 

Yes I am deadline motivated.  

No I did not get to bed before midnight for a week. :)

Thanks to the always attentive Chooky.  I have found the original pattern "Ribbon Boxes"

See you again soon.

Debra ~ Outback Crafter

April Aussie Hero Quilt

April saw me complete a bright orange & black Aussie Hero Quilt for a sailor on HMAS Arunta. 

 The star blocks above were made by Aussie Hero Sewers from across Australia and sent to me to be put toether.  It was a fun quilt to sew & I loved quilting it in orange thread.

 The finished quilt was so happy.  The embroidery panel in the middle was sent from another sewer too, it was a very detailed crest.

 The front.

 The back.

Hopefully the recipient has received it by now and it brings him some joy and knowledge that someone in Australia cares about what he is doing for our country.

See you soon.

Debra ~ Outback Crafter

UFO finished.

We all have UFOs. Some are because we lost the pattern, or ran out of fabric, or fell out of love with the project or we just couldn't work out how to finish it. Well this project was the latter. I couldn't work out how to finish my pillow cases, so they've sat for at least 2 years.

When APQ released  the 2017 UFO challenge these became my January project.  So proud to say they are finished ... not perfect, just finished.

I'm sure I had many plans for these but I decided to hem them and be done. 

Maybe not as pretty as they could have been but now they'll get used.

 

So that's a second OPAM for January and one item off the list.

Catch you again soon.

 

When colouring in becomes sewing

This little sewing project was finished out of necessity.

My youngest son needed a bag for his clarinet music. He has been colouring this piece of Pokemon material on and off for a few months and decided it would make a good bag.

It is fully lined it with a great flame fabric, so if we need to or want to it is fully reversible.
Now E just needs to finish colouring. 

This is OPAM 8 for December.

See you soon.
Debra

Aussie Hero is October Finish #1

I am so excited.  My 1st October finish was finished on 3rd October.

The Aussie Hero Quilt is going to a soldier somewhere in the world.

He wanted a quilt that was 'darkish colours with the convict broad arrow symbol'.

(The broad arrow is the symbol of his unit)

 

Since I started sewing to AHQ, I have sewn words or messages into the quilts.  These are the  messages sewn into this one.  Can you tell what they say? (The quilting is is variegated thread, so it sort of occasionally dissapears)

 This quilt is super simple in design, but I really like how the colours came together.

I hope he likes it, but more importantly he knows that someone in Australia appreciates what he is doing for our country.

Till next time...