Moda Fabric Sale!!

Yes, it's that time of the month again - SALE time online!! And it's Moda fabric, excluding pre-cuts, at 23% off, finishing Wednesday 25th April. So shop the Quiltopia!Design online store for your favourite Moda pieces….Don't wait too long or someone else will snaffle your watched item from right under your nose! Happens all the time...

The ever popular Grunge basics by Basic Grey 

Custom Bundle selected online.

This sale follows hard on the heels of our Bali Batik Sale. I decided to split the sale, because it's just getting too hectic and difficult to keep up with the full store sale, all by myself.
You could make a Batik quilt like the one I made earlier. I actually had a disaster with that quilt. When I washed it, just one of the brown Batiks ran! I tried to rectify it, and after spending lots of time and money on solutions, it's finally ended up on my daughter's bed, rather than my sister's. But that's another story…
Have a lovely day,
Ann.

Hello Luscious Layer Cake "Framed" Quilt Finish

This is my little Dolly cat trying out the finished Layer Cake "Framed" Quilt which I blogged in a tutorial here. Doesn't it look Luscious? Just like the name of the Layer Cake I used, Hello Luscious by Basic Grey. Their latest collection is Little Black Dress, and I've kept a Jelly Roll in that to make something with…. I think this quilt would look so stylish in the black, cream, grey and taupe of a Little Black Dress Layer Cake.

 These quilts go together so easily! I used a funky Hunky Dory pink swirly backing on the quilt and bound it using a machine binding technique. For this, you cut your binding strips 2 3/4 inches wide. make the binding in the usual way, then attach it to the back of the quilt. Later, you bring it over to the top and machine sew it close to the edge. It makes a very neat finish to the quilt and is done in a fraction of the time it takes to hand sew. The binding fabric was a pink Grunge Basic from The Hello Luscious Range.

 I machine quilted with my Janome, using the square blocks as a guide, alternating vertical and horizontal lines. This was done with the darning foot attachment so I could freely move up and down and side to side. I was happy with the effect - plenty of quilting, a nice crinkly texture and cream thread all blended the quilt together well.

Any Layer Cake will work with this pattern, and the quilt itself is a manageable size to machine quilt at home on your regular sewing machine - always rewarding! You could also use your own fabrics of choice, cut into 10 inch squares to start with.

Moda Layer Cakes 

 Here's Dolly again, right in the middle of the quilt of course. This is one of the photos I used to update my blog and Facebook page. I'm also planning a website update soon too! Don't forget, if you make one  of these quilts, I'd love to see it - either shared on Facebook, Pinterest or you could even send me a photo to share for you.
Happy stitching,
Ann.

This quilt is FOR SALE @$165.00 

SOLD

Happy Halloween!
I know everyone is getting very busy, at just about this time, with all those handmade gifts and fabrics for our stitchy friends and family as the year winds up to Christmas, so I've decided to make it easier for you…
Quiltopia!Design is having a Spooky Sale in our little online store. Fabrics are reduced by 30% and Moda Precuts are reduced by 5% + free postage!
Sale ends 3/11/12! Be lucky and grab some beautiful bargains for your Christmas projects and gifts.
Here are some of our items on special:

Oriental Traditions

Kasuri Layer Cakes, Charm Squares and fabric

Saffron Craig Wombat Wonderland panels

Australian independent designer, Buddies Corner, Maxin

Vintage Modern fabric collection by Bonnie and Camille

Those are just a few of our delicious fabric treats!

Have fun sewing, and I hope you can find something just right for you.
Ann ♥

Spring Cleaning - SALE

Spring has sprung in the Antipodes!

The sun's shining in the blue, blue sky, birds are singing, strawberries and cream for breakfast, and there's a new bounce in your step. You want to open the windows, brush out the cobwebs, shake the carpets and get fresh air into everything with a big spring clean… 

and it's time to start fresh projects too, with brighter, lighter fabrics and new ideas. 

The same goes for me in my shop and I'm having a Spring Clean Sale online for the whole first week of September.

It's out with the old and in with the new!

So if you want to freshen up that stash with some new colour,

Bali Batik

 Start a new project for someone new in your life (don't forget it's spring - lots of new babies about)

Bungle Jungle

 or just find one of Moda's new and delicious Layer Cakes or Jelly Rolls and make something fun and springy

Moda New and Future Range precuts

You'll be able to find something fantastic in our Sale!

Lovely Moda fabrics and more

 Hope to see you there,
Ann.

Saffron Craig Large Field Quilt.

Here is the full, finished Large Field Quilt I made out of the Saffron Craig birds and trees fabrics and blogged about in the last post.

Close up, you can see the quilting and a bit of the back - love this 2 inch black and white stripe, and it shows up the quilting a treat!

I made up a couple of kits for the quilt - one using exactly the fabrics in the one I made, and the other with the Magical Lands collection.

Both will make up beautiful quilts. (Contact me if you would like to get one for the lovely price of $112!)

I used Leesa Chandler's pattern, Southern Jewels, thinking that the large fields of fabric would work well for Saffron's fabrics too.

Here it is in Leesa's Under the Australian Sun Fabrics that it was originally designed for. this quilt was made by Juliet and was one of the quilts hung in the Maleny Quota Quilt Show a couple of weekends ago.

I had a retail stand at the quilt show and it was really nice saying hello to everyone and looking at the quilts. There were some beauties there.

I want to share a few pics of finished quilts from some of the classes I've blogged about. It's so nice to see the end product of a workshop!The first ones were made in the Stained Glass Stack and Slash workshop

Christine's

Zita's

Val's

Jenny's - this was her first go at machine quilting, and what a star she turned out to be!

There were also a couple of French Braids:

Zita's

and let's finish with understated elegance,

Sue's.

Plenty more happening and ready to be blogged about.

Have a good week and happy stitching,

Ann ♥

(PS. 25% Mothers' Day Sale in my eBay Store ends Friday morning!)

Spring Sale

Just a quick note to let you know that I am having a SPRING SALE in my eBay Store, quiltopia!design, to celebrate Spring and to do a little Spring Cleaning in my shop. The Jelly Rolls are piling up and I just got a new delivery today.
New items not yet listed and just arrived are: La Petite Ecole, Sugar Pop (watch out for a cute new cushion I've just made from that one), Wee Woodland, and more!
For the next week, nearly everything is 10% off so don't miss out on Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes for the amazingly low price of $41.85 and Charm Packs for $15.30.
Good Luck - Hope you grab a bargain ,

xo xo Ann.

Miscellaneous

Here is the photo of my quilt, Wuthering Heights, which you will see in August/September issue of Down Under Quilts. The digital version is out now and the real magazines will be in the shops next week... I think. DUQ has started a Facebook page, so you can keep up with them there. I just checked it out, and it looks pretty good.

I really like the quilt hanging on the line with those weathered boards in the background.

The other day I lashed out on some Colin James ice cream. How good it looks on on our blue African tablecloth. The flavours are cherry, vanilla, blood orange and chocolate and it tasted delicious.

As I was sneaking a quick spoonful before stashing it in the freezer for later, I looked out the kitchen window -

an echidna (spiny anteater) was bumbling along fossicking in the earth for ants. They are the cutest, funniest little creatures with their long leathery snout, just right for sticking into the ground, and slow waddle. I decided to get a bit closer to photograph him, but he wasn't having any of that! He hid so effectively with his head in the grass and his spiky back to me. I've tried to touch them before and those spikes do protect them very well!

Patsy dropped into the shop with her finished French Collection Quilt. She stitched all the blocks, then set them in an attic windows style with a background of French map fabric (Moda's Patisserie by Fig Tree Quilts) which was perfect for the theme. These quilts are truly an achievement in effort, concept and skill.

Finally, at the bottom of this grab bag of a post, is my Rose quilt called. I started collecting fabrics for this when I went to Barcaldine with some beautiful ones from Sandy at The Silver Thimble. I used a huge range of rose print fabrics from Kaffe, and Philip Jacobs to some of the very first patchwork cottons I bought at Spotlight when I started quilting. I threw in a cute pack of coloured dupione silks by Moda from a new pre-cut range called Crazy Cuts. I wanted to see how they would go, and I quite liked the effect... they make a nice scrumply sound too. So, with the roses and silks and swish, I called the quilt "Gypsy".
Does anyone know how to get one of those little Facebook thingies on their blog? (Not the big badge, but the little one with an f on it. I've been spending a bit of time on my eBay Store, quiltopia!design, where I sell all sorts of Moda pre-cuts and I want to get more savvy with all the little code things and badges so I can be better at networking.)
Happy sewing, till next time -

xo xo Ann.

Show and Tell

I was looking through my photos yesterday and there were so many I realized I have not yet blogged about. So many activities, projects and ideas... so little time.
I felt I really must show you some recent work of friends and students. Firstly, here's Jill with her finished Lilly Pilly. I showed you some other photos of this one here. I love the aquas, greens and raspberries in this one and her individual border, too.

Jill hand quilted her quilt all over with leaves to echo the applique pieces. It looks wonderful - what a labour of love. Her daughter in England is a very lucky woman.

Yii Mei has been learning patchwork with me. She recently moved to the area and decided to take up the hobby and I think I'd be right in saying, it's become an obsession! This is her first quilt top completed. She's now learning how to machine quilt and doing a fantastic job. It's great welcoming new patch workers and quilters into the fold.

Finally, Sharon joined my French Braid class and brought in her finished quilt recently. She chose to use all Bali Batiks in these unusual autumn tones, and was rewarded with a beautiful result. She also hand quilted her quilt and it looks absolutely stunning and warm.

As for me, I've attended three local quilt shows as a stall holder last month, so most of my energy has gone into preparing for, and being at, them. I have started a couple of new quilts and I joined the Process Pledge - you'll see the button on my side bar. So I've got a few projects and ideas up my sleeve...
I've also upgraded my blog to a new blog design. I'm working on the pages feature, but time is always at a premium.
As the end of the financial year approaches, I've scheduled a 20% OFF SALE in my eBay Store, quiltopia!design. It starts around 5 PM today and finishes at 11:59PM Wednesday 30th June. (You can also visit quiltopia!design by clicking the button in my side bar.)
Why don't you drop by and grab a bargain if there's anything you fancy.
Happy stitching, dreaming, and shopping,

xo xo Ann.

Baby Shower

We went to a Baby Shower today. Can you tell what the baby's going to be?

Big-sister-to-be, Caitlyn, invited everyone and organised the whole event- including food, decorations, and games. As you can see, the food was excellent. And the games were...different!

Prepare for grossness!

One of them involved different melted chocolate bars squished into nappies! We had to open the nappies, smell the chocolate and guess what type of bar had been used. The girls relished the task but it was a bit off-putting.

Mum-to-be, Chris was calm and considering when her turn came. Perhaps she was anticipating future events!

Now for something quilty: Christine is a keen quilter and look at the sweet little quilts she's made in preparation for the new arrival. The look so lovely with this gorgeous rocking bassinet she picked up for a song from eBay!

It really was a lot of fun! Thanks Caitlyn and Chris.
xo xo Ann.