Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Jelly Roll Block Tutorial - Crosses and Losses


I don’t know about you, but sometimes I buy jelly rolls just because...and I think maybe it’s because they look pretty, all rolled up like that! But there is only so many you can have lying around the house so I decided to bite the bullet and (shock, horror), actually make something with it!! This jelly roll is Half Moon Modern.


I had seen this antique quilt in an Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine and it gave me an idea. Sorry about the shocking scan of the picture...



So I made up this block and thought I’d share it with you (I figure, since I worked out the dimensions and all...)I'm sure I'm probably reinventing the wheel but just in case it helps someone out there!


CROSSES AND LOSSES TUTORIAL
Take two contrasting jelly roll strips (or any 2 ½ inch strips)


Lay them, right sides together, and cut 8 pairs of 2 ½ inch squares.

With each pair still together, lay your ruler with it’s ¼ inch line laying on the diagonal. Then cut.




Using a ¼ inch foot on your sewing machine sew each of these two pieces together. Press the seam towards the darker side. You should now have 8 half square triangle blocks that measure 2 ½ inches.


From the leftover pieces of your original strips cut (8) 2 ½ inch squares from the light strip and (4) 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch rectangles from the darker strip.
Also choose a colour to be the central square from the rest of your jelly roll strips (don’t worry, there will be enough of the rest of the strip to make another block!)


Laying a half square triangle piece next to one of the 2 ½ inch squares as shown in the picture. Sew these together and press towards the triangle. Take care to have the right edges lined up together!


Sew two of these segments together like so..


Pressing the seam open to reduce bulk.


Sew segments and rectangles together in 3 horizontal rows as shown. Press seams towards the darker colour each time.


Then sew these three rows together.



And here is some I prepared earlier!


Be back later (as in a week or so) to show you how I’ve sewn these together!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Not much sewing going on around here. It's school holidays so my days consist of constantly feeding children, constantly telling children to pick up their shoes/towels/toys, breaking up fights and keeping up with the laundry (I'm sure they've taken to wearing three sets of clothes a day!)

It's exciting stuff.

I have also had a serious case of the "blahs" but thankfully, due to deadlines,I have made three things.
Two bee blocks..

"Waves"

Dresden plate for Melinda (this is my second attempt. The first turned out teeny compared to everyone elses...why, I wonder??)
..and one birthday cake.

It's supposed to be a dog...the kid's at Boo's party thought it was a koala...No, I'm not bitter at all... :-)
But in case you're wondering they didn't get the piece with the marshmallows and smarties...


This week (and quite a few weeks previous to this one) I have also been desperately trying to toilet train my three year old so that he can start pre-school next week. You would think that after four children I should have some idea, but he has me beaten. I think I have tried it all..bribery, explaining that he can't start pre-school until he can "go", a bit of crankiness and more bribery. No success.

I am worried if he doesn't get it together then he won't get to start pre-school on time, then he will have to start later than the other kids, they will already have made friends, he will be a social pariah and end up being one of those adults who live in a virtual world online as they have no social skills.

ahhh.. the pressure.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

116th Post Giveaway!


Umm, I didn't quite make good my intention to have a giveaway at my 100th blog post..so here I am running a little late. (anyone who knows me will know that that is pretty typical!)

I bought a fat quarter set of Prospect Park by Kitty Yoshida on sale, and whilst I love the blues, greens and greys, it also came with lots of purples. So I'm hoping there is a purple lover who would love to get their hands on these fat quarters. Feel free to just leave me a comment - no need to jump through hoops - maybe just tell me your favourite quilt block!

I will pick a winnner randomly in a week or so...(make sure you leave me a way to be in contact!)Edited to add: someone told me that they were having problems leaving a comment so you can also send me an email at sewingsister2@hotmail.com and I will enter you in the draw!

Until then take time to smell the roses and admire the trees...

(fig tree on my parent's farm)

Sunday, January 8, 2012

First finish for 2012.

Here's the quilt for Abi, my niece, all finished. The binding was sewn on by machine late last night so that it could be handed over this morning as her family were heading back after a holiday at our place.



(I did manage to incorporate the strip I cut from the side - as it was too wide - into the backing)


..and I love the ladybugs...
Quilted by the Jeanette of Gone Aussie Quilting.

It's been a frantically busy week here with my hubby's 40th birthday. The party was thrown together on the week before and I ended up feeding 50 people last Friday night. Luckily we had no rain on the night as I had no idea where everyone was going to fit in our house!


So hoping for a quiet week this week. Hope it's a good one for you!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Christmas gift..

My Gorgeous Girl gave me this lovely bag (that she made herself!)for Christmas.


The pattern is Amy Butler's Birdie Sling and it's quite big..which is great for me as I'm always lugging half the house with me!

I think she is such a clever duck and I love it!

For Christmas I also got some jewellery from hubby, a banana chair from my brother and other goodies from the kids. A favourite gift was a set of disposable wine glasses from Boo (who's 6) that he bought at the church fete - completely off his own bat with his own money. When his older sister gently said 'but Mum doesn't drink wine', he stated "well, I think she should start!" LOL

Happy New Year! We've had a bit of a traumatic start with the death of three little chickens (out of 6) by a fox, I'm thinking. The older three survived thankfully. They were pets more than anything so the kids are a little devastated. Poor munchkins.

Hope it's not a forecast of the year ahead... ;-)

Have a good week!