Creative stretch

It's actually been a creative few months, but unfortunately I don't have the photos to prove it. My friend Wilma and I had a challenge - buy each other an ugly fat quarter at the Canberra Quilt Show in August, and produce it as 'something' by the November Canberra Quilters' committee meeting. She made me a little quilt, intricately woven and beaded and appliqued. I made her a very functional tote bag and totally broke all the rules, while also doing things I have never done before. The bag was very closely quilted and had positive/negative applique - and now I am keen to stretch the boundaries even more.



I've also had a hate-hate relationship with my brand new sewing machine. FINALLY after much heartache and a river of tears, it was fixed, and has worked like a dream (well almost) ever since. So I took it upon myself to machine quilt a large quilt for the charity component of Canberra Quilters. Now, you have to know 2 things! The first is that I don't quilt anything bigger than a wall hanging. Because. I. Suck. At. It. And secondly, my machine was still being an unknown creature, and it had the potential to die at any second



Well, I did it! And I am now brave enough to tackle larger quilts, and test the machine ever more (it has a 5 year warranty - may as well push it to the limit, right?



Beside the Canberra quilt show quilts, I also made a lap quilt for my friend Helen, who had her 50th birthday in August . It took me 2 evenings to put the quilt top together, 2 days at the show hand basting it, and a week to hand quilt it sashiko-style.





The next 6 months I have deemed to be my "Finish the bloody thing already" period of life. I have UFOs - too many UFOs! Photos as soon as they are finished! I promise!