Red Brolly

A BUSY WEEK!

I've been flat out designing and stitching for the new B.O.M. this week - with all those gorgeous Robyn Pandolph fabrics I showed you before.  As fast as I can draw- my sister-in-law (S.J.V.H.), seen with Mother in previous posts, and I have been madly stitching.  If you remember - the quilt was supposed to be finished by the end of February. THAT"S TODAY!

  Here's the pile of finished stitcheries I've been photographing for promotions.

As you can see- a floral quilt this time- with stitchery and applique. (Lots of lovely Stitching!)

  See the little Pincushion design? I got the idea from the Baboushka Shop in Melbourne-

  You remember- I was there for Australian Quilt Market.

 They have a whole shop of Baboushkas from ones on the end of pencils to really large ones!

 Can you guess where I was last Saturday!! It's been a BUSY week!

  Yep!  You guessed right! The Newcastle Show.  Flew up and back in the one day.  This is me flying Pelican Airways to Newcastle!!  I actually had to sit like that as the plane was so tiny. I could see everything going on on the ground as we flew so low. (You're quite right- I did forget to take the camera- hence the hasty drawing).

  Hi to Candy and Mick-the new owners of  A Quilters Hive. Who invited me to come to the Show to meet everyone.

  Hi also to Debbie who was the previous owner, and to her sister - and to Judith ( one of our Blog friends) and Hazel and the Girls from Port Macquarie and Country areas- and the Newcastle girls who all came to say "Hi".

   It was such a fun day.  I took the Gingham Girls Quilt and the new Animal Crackers Quilt ...

 And Candy made some bags from the new Sweet Project Bag Pattern ...

  I finally met the lovely Sonia from Giggle Buttons who will be bringing out a stack of new button designs shortly.  Something to look forward to!

                                  A NEW VISITOR!

My Family were staying last week- and left their cat for me to look after-

  Here he is, Smudge- the Norwegian Forest Cat.  He's very loving- loves attention. Notice the long hairs in his ears!

 

    Which reminds me- Tomorrow is THE BIG DAY!

             Have your needles and Chocolate ready!!

  For the second Design in the Great Catalicious Quilt Stitch-In.

DI's FINISHED!

  GUESS WHAT?
 Di's finished the first stitchery in the GREAT CATALICIOUS QUILT STITCH- IN! Pop over and have a look at Quilting is Blissful. Note the variegated threads! Great stuff, Di!

 

THE GREAT CATALICIOUS QUILT STITCH-IN!

 Remember if you have any questions or need help in any way with the stitcheries- just put your questions on the Blog or e-mail me direct at: thebronwyn_hayes@hotmail.com. You will definitely get an answer. 

  Just a reminder: from one of the questions I received- The size of the stitchery is 7-1/4" x 7-1/4". 

 Always trace your stitchery onto fabric that is at least 1-1/2" larger all around than the stitchery design. After tracing onto the fabric- I always back the stitchery with lightweight, woven, fusible interfacing.  Makes it easier to stitch.  If you don't do this- it's a good idea to use a hoop as this keeps the stitching fabric taught and even.

  Also, when you finish stitching- press from the back into a soft towel- keeps the stitching from going flat (if you press from the front).

  You'll also need to leave 1/4" all around for the seam allowance.

I've done an applique design...... but I'm not sure which background to use.  Can you tell me which one you prefer? The applique is on a blue background, but the fabric behind that should be either white, pink or blue- not sure which.  I think... I like ... the blue... but then again ...

  This is the applique on white-

 On Blue.......

  And on pink ......

 Hmm.. mm ..m the pink does look pretty!

 
   WHAT AM I READING AT THE MOMENT?

Well- when I get the chance- magazines are the best option for me as I rarely get more than a few minutes at a time. Here's a selection-

 The one open with the cute bags and stuffed animals- is the latest Marie Claire Idees!

 This is a great book.  Lovely ideas-

  And a close- up of those cutesy little bags-

YES! You guessed right!  Fabric tied in special ways to create different shaped bags- no sewing.  What a great idea!

  And look what arrived the other day.

 This is one of the articles inside.  All about the woman who started E-Quilter.

 AND... this also arrived on the same day!!!!

 With these inside- do you recognise them?
YES!!  It's our good friend- THE SUCKY PUFF! And look how it's being used- in scrapbooking layouts.  I bet you NEVER thought of that!

  Remember I mentioned the Sucky before, in relation to Helen of Patches of Heaven's Bag?

  Well here it is. See the tiny Suckies on the hat? What a great idea! Instead of applique flowers- why not use Suckies?

 

   

  There's more to come on Suckies!

 Here are the wonderful ladies  at Christmas in July 2009.  We had a great time- Helen organised all these wonderful lunches culminating in the GREAT CHRISTMAS DINNER on the final evening.  The Temora ladies all love Suckies!!

 That reminds me. The fabric for the next big Christmas in July at Temora arrived on Friday. Here it is.  I bet you can guess who the fabric designer is.

  Yes.  You're right.  FRENCH GENERAL - their new Christmas range. How lovely is that! 

Roses... and a little cats.

 How is everyone going with the first CATALICIOUS stitchery?  Don't forget- if there's any questions- just ask on the Blog and we'll give you an answer.  Or you can email me privately at thebronwyn_hayes@hotmail.com.  I know some of you are having problems with the download- so just email me and I'll send the design as an e-mail attachment. 

  I thought you might like to see the back of the Medium Carryall  with - the Cat and Mouse Pocket!!  Ha, ha.  I've seen some of the Gorgeous Bags you've made with this pattern.

 This is Helen's (Patches of Heaven-Temora) bag front. See the tiny Suckies on the hat?  What a cute idea! And more on those shortly!

No- it's not your eyes, I think I moved the camera.

I've been madly trying to come up with some new designs.  I have to have a quilt made by the end of February. Ahem ... yes- I know .... Well- yesterday I gathered some ideas for the quilt.

 I thought a Floral theme.  But the garden is fairly empty of flowers. I like to draw from real life first- then turn it into a stitchery or applique design. Well, the Agapanthus are flowering.

  And Lookit this! A bee- getting right in there. Think I'll do a design called "Bee in the Agapanthus".  How do you feel about stitching Agapanthus?

  Then there's the roses. Or should I say Rose- only one left.....

 So I plucked it.....

 
And here it is sitting on my desk waiting for me to draw it.  Mmmmm- it smells divine! Sort of Apple-y.

  So yesterday and today I spent drawing.

This is the first design for the new quilt. If I get it drawn in ink today, and the colours chosen, Ill get it in the mail to my sister-in-law (Hi S.J.V.H) who doesn't know it yet- but can stitch it while I draw up some more. Tonight I'll finish the first applique. We're going well- how many days in February??

These are the threads I'm using! Aren't they gorgeous!! Cottage Garden they're called. All Australian  variegated. I can see that design already stitched with these! I'll have a give-away of these threads when I finish the new quilt- bit of a celebration!

  and I'm not really supposed to show you the fabric I'm using for the quilt- but here are some- just to whet your appetite. Aren't they beautiful?

CATALICIOUS QUILT.

if there's anyone having problems downloading the first Cat design for the Catalicious Quilt- please send me an e-mail at :                     thebronwyn_hayes@hotmail.com and I'll send the design as an attachment to the e-mail.

RITA'S GREAT IDEA!

 RITA MADE A BEAUTIFUL QUILT FOR HER DAUGHTER USING ALL THE RED-BROLLY CATS SHE HAD IN BOOKS AND MAGAZINES.  HERE IT IS....

 ISN'T THIS A BEAUTIFUL QUILT?

 WELL, I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO MAKE YOUR OWN CAT QUILT. SO- EACH MONTH I WILL PUT A CAT DESIGN FOR YOU TO STITCH ON THE BLOG. YOU CAN MAKE THE DESIGNS INTO CUSHIONS, QUILT OR A SMALL QUILT FOR YOUR CAT. I'M HOPING YOU WON'T NEED A QUILT LAYOUT, BUT CAN MAKE IT TO YOUR OWN DESIGN.  IF YOU DO NEED A LAYOUT- LET ME KNOW.

                    THE FIRST DESIGN IS FROM MY SECOND RED BROLLY BOOK.

 

  HERE'S THE STITCHED DESIGN ...

     AND HERE'S THE DESIGN.  CLICK ON IT TO DOWNLOAD -IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS- LET ME KNOW.

 
  

                                                  HAPPY STITCHING. 

RITA'S GOT A GREAT IDEA!

                   BUT I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT IT IN A MINUTE!

  LOOK AT ALL THE VALUABLE FEEDBACK YOU ALL GAVE ME !  I'M FILING IT ALL IN A REFERENCE FOLDER- THANK-YOU!  EVERYONE THAT LEFT A COMMENT WENT INTO THE HAT. (YES, EVEN THE GIRLS FROM BRAZIL AND NEW ZEALAND).  I WAS CUTTING UP EVERYONE'S NAME TAGS FOR AGES! COULD THE WINNERS PLEASE SEND THEIR ADDRESSES IN AN EMAIL TO: thebronwyn_hayes@hotmail.com?  AND I'LL POST OUT YOUR PATTERNS. IF YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR ANY OF THE FOUR PATTERNS FEATURED AS THE PRIZES- TELL ME IN THE E-MAIL.

  NOW FOR RITA'S BRILLIANT IDEA... HERE'S A HINT...

 IT'S NOT EXACTLY A GIVE-AWAY.. BUT - OH NO!! I'VE GOT TO GET TO THE MAIL BEFORE IT CLOSES, SO I'LL HAVE TO TELL YOU TOMORROW.  SORRY, BUT I JUST REALISED WHAT THE TIME WAS!!  MORE ON RITA'S GREAT IDEA TOMORROW.