Activity mat

I was so impressed with this activity mat from a new customer who claimed she is not a quilter or even a seamstress.  I would have never guessed it after seeing this.

She just wanted the 3 layers stitched together and I honestly didn’t think it through when I offered to it.  Getting those thick 3-D applique shapes through my moving and split idler rail was a mission.

For example, when the ladybug (rather thick) went through the idler rail, that part of the quilt would be nice and flat but to the side of it, the fabric made puckers.

Initially, I wanted to do motifs in each block to match the theme (flowers, circles, water, etc.) but my machine foot constantly got stuck on the applique, so I had no other choice than to do meandering.  With it, I could manage to avoid certain areas that became problematic.

The owner is however happy and that is satisfaction enough.

As for the move, I’ve started packing up my sewing room, taking cupboards and the TV from the walls, then hubby had to fill up the holes and redo the paint.  A messy lot but it has to be done.

Circles for a sister

Now, this quilt came with a terribly sad story.  This quilter’s (also the owner of Stella, the dog) sister was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer in January.  A large part of the tumour was removed but doctors could not remove it all for fear of causing more damage.  Then the awful treatment started and those who know someone will also realise how terrible the chemo and radiation make one feel.

She selected the circles as her sister’s life is full of holes at this stage and the burgundy is symbolic of the blood of Jesus as that is the one and only great physician with something this serious.

We decided to go with the old but trusted soft meandering to finish up this fleece-backed quilt.

Felt applique quilt

Not sure how much fun everyone else had on Valentine’s Day but when I received this quilt early morning on Monday, it was my idea of a perfect way to spend the day.  Honestly speaking, I only realised mid-day that it actually was Valentine’s Day when I had to check a date for an appointment.

This quilt was not only beautiful with all the felt applique but a real brain teaser as to what to do where, seeing the quilter asked me to not stitch over the applique and I fully agree,

Initially, I thought to only quilt echo lines all around the applique but once I echoed twice around the shapes, I realised it may just become rather dull.  Luckily this quilter does not mind intense or dense quilting, so I simply let loose and went with the flow.

So no, we had no chocolates, red wine, flowers or dining out but I had my kind of fun.

A quilt for Stella

Stella is a little dog, noticed by quilters while on vacation in the Transkei and they decided to adopt her and bring her back to Bloemfontein.

The quilter decided she needs her own fleece-backed quilt while watching TV with her new dad during winter.  Can’t help thinking this one is going to turn out one spoiled little girl.

Circle play

I don’t really know the name of this quilt so simply came up with my own name.  This quilter is a huge fan of Kaffe Fasset fabric, so receiving this one from her was a surprise but what is not to love about all these pretty fabrics?

Autumn coloured quilt

A quilt from another quilter I enjoy working for and what amazes me is that she, when I inform her when done, transfers her money without even having seen the quilt in real life.

This quilt too had plenty of fun borders to play on.

As for the house hunting, we found what we think will be suitable.  The house is just as big as our current house but with a garden half the size and fewer outdoor entertainment areas.

The moving company is scheduled for 30 and 31 March but I’ve started packing stuff that I preferred to pack myself.  The fact that I already have 50 boxes packed and apart from the tiny towel closet, not another single cupboard empty, stresses me somewhat.

Then hubby and I differ in our thinking.  I wanted to get rid of as much as possible before the move but he reckons we should move with everything and once there, decided what can be tossed.

Now we are just nervously counting down the time.

Beatrix Potter panel

As said many a time before, I LOVE doing a panel as it gives your creativity all the freedom you wish for and especially from this quilter.  Having made this for a school fundraiser I thought she’d want the quilting minimal and as cheap as possible but when she said “just have fun and play with it”, it was music to my ears.  And fun I had!

This shows the detail in the clouds.

Then even more and different detail in the borders, trees and grass.

As usual, when I reached the end, it was almost depressing having finished it.  I would have loved going on some more.