A long time between posts...2 Finishes

Due to a combination of starting a new full time job and a pesky elbow, quilting progress has been somewhat slow of late.... Hopefully I will get back into the swing of things soon.

However the last two weeks the machine has seen a little action ....

Bluebird Park Tumbler Cot Quilt

As March fast approached and the arrival of my nieces baby boy was getting closer, I knew I had to get on with this little quilt. I used nuwool wadding and a really speedy echo quilting to retain the softness. It came together in a flash and is now ready (all bar the quilt label which I will personalize with baby's name and DOB etc once that is revealed).

Next up is my Tube Top quilt (a Cozy Quilts pattern), beautifully quilted by Maggie from Maggie's Quilting Treasures. I originally made this as a raffle quilt to raise funds for National Breast Cancer Foundation and my Trek for a Cure, however as always I underestimated what I could actually achieve in 24 hours a day and with other fundraising events taking up time, this idea got shelved. 15 months after the Trek it is now finished. I think I will have to keep it now, it has taken on a whole different meaning for me now. Love the waving quilting and despite a brain freeze whilst cutting my binding ( I cut it 1 3/4 inches wide - I normally cut 2 inches which made stitching down rather tight) I love the finished quilt.

Think I will call it - Peaks and Troughs

Love the quilting

Made entirely of batiks

So I am feeling a little more motivated and have enjoyed having binding to stitch down at nights .... will have to get another one ready for binding - should have enough time this afternoon to do a bit of quilting - happy days!

Here's my list - Finish Along 2016

 A selection of projects to be quilted in the 1st quarter of the 2016 Finish Along. Check out the rest of the list and projects here . I have linked up with Archiethewonderdog

It is wonderful seeing everyone WIP's - I look forward to seeing them finished.

Finish Along

I have joined the 2016 Finish Along with Archie the Wonderdog.....I have scoured my cupboards and found some projects that have been waiting all too long for some attention ( and some I can ashamedly say have been waiting for over 10 years), compiled a list and are ready for the challenge.
So far my list includes 3 WIP's and 9 finished tops in various stages of quilting.
Here is a snippet of what's to be finished in my first quarter

Aussie Beauty - partially hand quilted

Made from beautiful Reece Scannell shot cotton and feature Aussie flora prints, I started this back in 2012 after purchasing the fabrics at the Queensland Quilt Show October of that year. I didn't use a pattern I just worked around using the prints to their fullest. Where this project that started relatively quickly came unstuck was the on set of summer weather. I am hand quilting this one with pearle 8 cotton so having a quilt over me in the Queensland summer heat just wasn't going to happen. Poor thing has been in the cupboard ever since. Still this one will have to wait till the end of the quarter for some more attention unless we get a cold snap, but it is out of the cupboard and in the pile of to dos.

New York Beauty - Karen Stone's Pattern

I started this at the end of 2006 - yes 10 years ago! Again my quilting has been my down fall. Love the quilt and all the work I put into it but I chose the wrong batting (way too thin) and have been disappointed with the result. However, finished is better than perfect and this year I will finish this one and move on.

Peppermint Candy Canes 

This one was only found about 2 weeks ago, and what I found was heaps of strips of reds and creams, the feature sashing fabric and piles of other fabrics that I had pulled together to complete this quilt.I had just watched scrap extraordinaire Bonnie Hunter in action on the Quilt Show and inspiration took hold. I had completed about 1/2 metre of one cream braid but having the strips ready to go was just what I needed. Being that Christmas was fast approaching and that I had just finished the little red and white Christmas tree table runner, I think the red and  cream quilt seemed appropriate to work on.

After a sewing day with Maggie earlier this week and a few more hours yesterday, this one has now moved from box of fabric and not even a 1/3 complete to in the quilting pile ...yay! I know this one was started out over 10 years ago, I don't know why it was lost for so long....

Feeling positive that 2016 will be the year of finishing, but hopefully time for a few new projects too.