Men's shirts and boys' gymnastics

Remember those lovely striped men's shirts I showed you the other day? I started cutting them up and decided to go - again - with half-square triangles. It's funny, when I started quilting I was afraid of triangles (yes, really!) and never used them in my quilts, and now I can't get enough of them! There are so many patterns you can make with them:



I haven't decided yet which pattern I will use in the quilt I am going to make - I'm still cutting up more shirts and looking at the patterns that emerge.



Some of you asked if my husband knows that I am using his shirts - yes, he does! He actually gave me a few shirts that had become too worn at the cuffs and collar to wear. When I bought some more at the op shop he snatched a few that he really liked!



For those of you wondering how my eldest son did in his first competition last Friday - here's the answer! He won a gold medal on pommel horse, his best apparatus. I am so proud :-)

Wordless Wednesday

Nautical Chevron Bag

A while ago I showed you some pieced chevrons - actually, that was five months ago! How time flies! Well, I can finally reveal the finished item: this Nautical Chevron Bag!



It appears as a project in issue 163 of Down Under Quilts, which went on sale today. We did the photography for this issue at the Queensland Maritime Museum - the perfect location!



I am really happy with how this bag turned out and had planned to take it with me to the Stitches and Craft Show here in Brisbane today. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling well so decided to stay home and get some rest instead. Hubby is in Kuala Lumpur this week (will I be glad when he arrives home safely tomorrow!) so it's a busy week. Eldest son, the gymnast, has his first competition of the year on Sunday - his training schedule has been manic these last months (five 3.5 hour sessions per week plus one 1.5 hour early morning training) and I am almost as nervous as he is... Bring on Sunday!

Lilac and Lavender Baby Quilt

Today I finished the lilac half-square triangle baby quilt. It took me two weeks to make it, just piecing an hour here and quilting an hour there. I enjoyed it enormously.



Sadly there are no baby girls expected in our family anytime soon, so I have added the quilt to my Etsy shop. You can find it here.

The fabrics for my next quilt

I am still piecing the lilac baby quilt, but here are the fabrics for my next quilt!
As you know, I love upcycling. A few of these shirts are my husband's, the others are from the op shop. I love the colours and can't wait to get started! (but I will finish the baby quilt first!)

Wordless Wednesday

Half-square triangles

I've started a new baby quilt, made up of half-square triangles. No babies expected in our family or among our friends (as far as I know) - I just like making these small, sweet quilts. I am using scraps from the fabrics from the quilts I made for our nieces Saskia and Josien - soft purple tones, very girly. I tried out some darker purple fabrics as well, but I'm not sure if I want them in...



So pieceful, making a baby quilt! ;-)

Upcycled Argyle

This blog doesn't get updated as often as I would like, because I can't show most projects I have recently finished yet. Very frustrating! However, I can show some sneak peeks... such as this denim project. I cut strips from discarded blue jeans in different shades of blue from my sons, my husband and myself, sewed them together to create diamonds and then added some decorative stitching. And voila:



Argyle! I was so pleased with this effect that I have started another upcycled argyle project; this time with diamonds cut from felted sweaters:



This is going to be a table runner. I will keep you posted!

Moo

Remember the cow fabric I bought in Holland in 2012? I finally used it - to re-upholster an ottoman I bought at the op shop a while ago.



We have just redecorated the boys' room - I used blackboard paint for the new but boring white wardrobe, and the cow ottoman (or Minecraft cow) goes very well with it:



The antique sewing machine I bought last year now has a good spot under the MAGnificence quilt. My antique quilts are showcased on the table.

Dutch Baby Quilt

A while ago I was asked to make a quilt with a Dutch theme for Creative Expressions, the sister magazine of Down Under Quilts. Of course I was happy to make one! It has pinwheel blocks in the colours of the Dutch flag (red, white and blue), with one orange square for the Dutch Royal House of Orange. I used some typical Dutch 'farmers handkerchiefs' that my mother-in-law and my BFF Hylkia (the Apple Tart Queen) had sent me. (If you would like to get some you can find them here)



I especially like this one, with drawings of Friesian cities and a traditional Friesian sailing ship:



I am thrilled that this quilt was chosen to be on the cover of the magazine!



UPDATE 2016: The pattern for this quilt is now for sale in my Etsy pattern store.

Presents for little nieces

With the boys still at home (it's summer holidays Down Under) and some work deadlines coming up, I haven't been able to sew much since we came back from our holidays, but I did make this balloon ball as a first birthday present for our little niece in Holland.



I used this pattern - it's a quick make and a good way to use up some scraps. Many years ago my boys got a balloon ball as a present and they still play with it. It's a great gift for littlies.



Here is the birthday girl, one year old now, with the Aussie Baby Quilt I made for her last year:



In August last year another niece was born in Holland - the daughter of DH's youngest sister (we have four nieces now! The boys are outnumbered). For her I also made an Aussie Baby Quilt, as I still had a lot of Aboriginal fabrics and I really liked the design:



This time I quilted it in a different way, with gum leaves in the squares. It looks very nice on the back:



I pieced the back together using some Australian fabrics:



The quilt can be found as a project in the Australian issue of Down Under Quilts, now on sale:



And here is the adorable recipient!

Merry Christmas

This year I purchased a quilt in the SAQA Benefit Auction for the first time; Poinsettia by Canadian artist Anna Davison. I love it and it's hanging in our living room at the moment, next to the Christmas tree.

It's the perfect image for my last posting of the year as we are getting ready for our summer holiday at the beach. I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas (or happy holidays, if you prefer) and a happy, healthy, colourful and creative New Year. Thank you for visiting my blog, I hope to see you back in 2014!

Take care,
Linda

Poinciana Seed Pod

Yesterday was a productive day: I played tennis, finished a book (Watching You by Michael Robotham - have read all his books in the last few weeks and loved them) and made this small quilt, my submission for the SAQA 2014 Anniversary Trunk Show (and all this while it's school holidays!).
I have used a Poinciana seed pod as a stamp before, to make fabric cards, and have wanted to use it in an art quilt ever since.



Here's a detail pic. I like the combination of the organic shape of the seed pod and the straight background quilting. What do you think?

Handprinted Schoolhouse Fabric and Postcard Giveaway

Ever since I made my hand-stamped Dutch Houses fabric I have been thinking about other designs to print on fabric. A while ago, it suddenly struck me that it would be fun to create a stamp of one of my favourite traditional quilt blocks; the Schoolhouse. And yesterday I finally found time to do it:



I started stamping, and really liked it:



Here is the first fat quarter of Little Red Schoolhouse fabric - now for sale in my Etsy shop:



I also made a fabric postcard (10 x 15 cm / 4 x 6 inch). Because it's almost Christmas I am giving it away to one reader of this blog. If you would like to win it, leave a comment here and let me know which quilt block you think I should make into a stamp next. I'll pick a winner on 5 January 2014, as we are going away to our caravan in Wooyung Beach this weekend for two weeks. Good luck!

Wordless Wednesday

Snakes and Ladders Quilt

Suddenly realised that I hadn't shown this quilt here yet! I made it for the kids' issue of Down Under Quilts. Of course my boys had to try it out first:



They approved of it, and it ended up on the cover, with their bears and tiger! The boys are very proud :-).



(Isn't that pink Kombi Van adorable??)

The quilt now lives in Kenya, where the boys' little cousins are having lots of fun with it. That's what we do it for, isn't it?

St Martin's Church (Martinitoren)

Lately the Wordless Wednesday photos are all there is on this blog... I'm busy making lots of stuff but can't show it here yet - so frustrating! Well, I'll just show you something someone else made. Ali made this gorgeous lino print for me - it's inspired by a 1950s photo of Groningen, the city in the Netherlands where I went to university and where I lived for 12 years.



Ali blogged about the process of turning this photo into a linocut here and about playing with the lino prints here and here.

Thanks again for this precious print Ali, I will treasure it!