Red is the colour of today's post

Wow Wee - these are my 30 - yes 30!!!  blocks made by very clever and generous members of my Flickr bee AusMod Bee

It was super hard to get a good photo - so you have to excuse the weird and wonderful photography :)

A big cyberhug for all the people who went above and beyond what was asked for - which was everyone, by the way!

Now, what to do???  I think a thin sashing and border is needed, and THEN, how to quilt it?  Simple large quilting all over to not clash with the complexity of the blocks?  Basic crosshatch? Giant loops? Or Individual quilting custom for each block?  I so want to do this justice :)

Cat from Cat & Vee - who, by the way, is a most delightful person, (and has Really Nice stuff in her shop, so everyone has to buy from it, promo over) has chosen Word Block for her month of August for AusMod Bee.  Great Choice!!!  We could choose anything we like...uh oh.....

I am HOOKED!  I bought a book Word Play  from her, just cos, and her lovely package of Book, fabric scraps of red and a background fabric of text, PLUS a puppy was very exciting!

Puppy?

Yes, that's right.

You know Whippet Good likes puppies.

Okay......

Cat is very clever you know.

She has puppies and birds

and foxes and pandas

and cats

and she also now has...

my Word Block!!

Geronimo (if you really can't work it out) is the catchcry of the 11th Doctor Who - a yell of adventure, taking a leap, going into the unknown.  I knew instantly that I wanted to make this word.  Don't know why...it just came into my head and there it stayed, never swaying - of course I had to have an exclaimation mark on the end - wouldn't be right without it.  My Whovian daughter LOVED it and I have promise to make it again - methinks a Word quilt is in the pipeworks!!!

Cat has also just told me that her daughter loves Geronimo Stilton - a fantastic and popular series of primary school-age books about a mouse on adventures!  Score on two accounts!!  I am really looking forward to what everyone else comes up with...so far there is Quilt..and Create...



Image belongs to Cat & Vee - My puppy!!  Pipsqueak (which is actually a pet name of our Pippi - huh? pet name of your pet?? of course...then there is Pip-o-licious, Pipstar, Pippi Longstocking (which is her full name but only gets that on special occasions....)

EEEK!!  Hold The Phone...

****Just found a Youtube clip on TOP 10 Catchphrases for 11th Doctor ****

This is so going to get made!!

What Whippys are up to this week.

Ahhh....school holidays...do you love them? do you dislike them?

We do love them in our house - our girls go flat out each long term, so school hols are times of sleeping, lazying, telly watching and cooking! Lots of cooking lately, so the kitchen is in permanent state of mess.  The dishwasher never works so hard than in school hols lol!

DD1's stuffed capsicum - she said it was so full of good stuff, but I can't remember what - she gobbled it right up!

A spontaneous request for knitting lessons by DD2!

some nice big and chunky bamboo needles, some nice big chunky wool in a gorgeous teal colour (that is my go to colour, my 2013 colour ha!)

AND some sewing for me to do!  AusMod Bee gal Julie of Narioka wanted stars and using her very pretty selection of lots of Art Gallery fabrics (Love!) I chose these:


Ribbon Star: link 12"

Constellation (from Block Tool app) 6"  This was a nightmare block, just quietly - Julie may want to throw this one away....

Eccentric Star: link 6"

April Star: link 6"

Forgot to mention a big (for me) cos it is so long time coming (breath) reveal...

tomorrow

Buzzy Bee Blocks

AusMod Bee - Kirsten from Gemini Stitches chose May as her month - sending us all the fabulous collecton of Chicopee - 'acidic' comes to mind to describe these fabric colours - not in a negative sense - not at all - but the yellows, greens even oranges and pinks have some kind of quality that makes me think of the sweet tartness of lemons - is that weird???

 We got to make AMH's Feather block again - wow - making them a second time was a breeze! Though bias edges causing warping is a Devil!!

MY month for the Bee was April and I have received The Most Fabulous Blocks!!

I realised that I have a HUGE collection of red and aqua, with quite a bit of teal thrown in as well - it is obviously what I gravitate towards when fabric surfing online and in shops and really, it was getting ridiculous, so this is what I chose for my colour theme (with a little bit of soft orange in for good luck)

I chose the block theme as anything the Bee members liked from the Summer Sampler Series, by Fresh Lemon Quilts  - and some other fave blocks I posted about.  I think that it can be difficult to be given carte blanche on the block that you have to produce - but it also may challenge people to try a block they have been thinking of for awhile, or can give them a needed break by choosing something simple - simple or not, I was happy with what ever was chosen.  Even multiple blocks of the same pattern was not an issue - everyone got a fairly unique package of fabric to choose from.

I have 20 blocks so far - just waiting on 8 more - they are truly Fantastic!!!

It is going to make a huge quilt - but I LOVE huge quilts-  hmmm sashing or no sashing?; mini corner blocks or not?

Once I have them all in, I will give you a proper expo of all the individual blocks and their makers

Buzzing like a bee

The MMQG's Bee Bold Bee:

MJ's super easy, super simple half circle raw edge applique - 'snickerdoodles!!'

Catherine's super easy, super simple block of red and aqua (I think I've seen that combo around here before....;)

AusMod Bee through Flickr

Jane's not so easy and definititely not simple

paper pieced block.

64 pieces per block people!

Well, once the shock for this one time only paper piecer was over, it did come together relatively easily.  There were quite a few seams of unpicking, a little bit of fudging, the lines don't all line up I'm afraid, hundreds of bias edges may be the reason??

I am glad it is over...BUT I am glad I had to do it!

It has actually inspired me to to do more paper piecing!!!

The next in-my-head project is to make this with Twiddletails' Geese in the Forest pattern.

Who is with me??

We can curse and rip together!!

Somaly Mam quilt

I feel rather honoured that I have in my house the quilt made through Amitie's fundraiser for 

Somaly Mam Foundation.

This foundation's cause - to abolish human trafficing, in particular Cambodia's children sold for sexual slavery - it sickens me even to write that line - spoke deeply to me - it still does and hope for a very long time to come.

 Somaly Mam - a survivor and fantastic example of strength and hope against such evil, needs support financially for the foundation.

Too easy, I thought.

Emailed the silent auction's organiser to place a bid for me on the night (couldn't get there cos of work) - a pay packet's worth is nothing compared to what they need.

Very very happy I won!

A young girl's face is what it is all about - a cherished life, a loved life, a life of hope and happiness.

This is what this quilt means to me.

Thank you Amitie for organising this to be made, thank you to all the people who put a little bit of love and hope into their star(s) and for all those who played a part in putting it together, quilting it, binding and getting to the organisers.

Thank you to Melinda Gillon (Reynolds) from Project Futures who has been lovely in contacting me and sending me the quilt.

Thank you to Somaly Mam and all her difficult work

It is a very uncomfortable topic to think of, let alone talk about or act on, but donating money to help people is just too easy, just too easy!!

Think about giving up a pay packet for one donation;

can you do it ?

The help it could give is a million times the value.

Cartwheeling all over the place

IMG_7617, a photo by Whippet Good on Flickr.

For my Down Under Doll Quilt Swap 3 partner ....always difficult to choose the right thing...inspiration is either overloaded, or nothing at all...

BUT as soon as I saw this post, it had me!

http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/doing-cartwheels-free-block-pattern-for.html

Thank you Lee!

BUT it was foundation paperpiecing! Oh my, did I put my self in a pickle! I took on the challenge, cos that's what it should be (I think), bought some Carol Doak foundation paper and after 3 tries, unpicking and just a little bit of choice words, I got the hang of it!

Just not entirely sure it is for me....
BUT...I like this result - hubbie does too and always tells me to keep my swap thingy...I won't - the pressure to make something else is too hard on the ol ticker.

22" by 22" using Robert Kaufman Chambray for the background and a mix of some of my faves.

I wanted the quilting to give it more movement - cartwheeling is such fun!

Backing and binding is Pop Garden - does anyone else forget (like me) how to put on the binding, espesh the end bit, cos it has been eons since the last quilt made and bound, and it stuffs up again and again...

BUT all good now.

Goodbye my colourful sweet swirling thing, you.  I think I will miss you.

Amitie Charity Star (3)

Amitie Charity Star (3), a photo by Whippet Good on Flickr.

Made for Somaly Mam Foundation in Cambodia
to go into Amitie's quilt: amitietextiles.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/a-charitable-act.html

Pattern is from here: www.quilterscache.com/V/VOS_CarolynsStarBlock.html

I Love it! Love love love pink and coral orange - I hope this is going to help just a smidgen to help this cause.
Read the Amitie post - it will make your heart break, especially if you have girls yourself.

I plan to go to the Somaly Mam Foundation launch party to support them further - I may even come home with a quilt!

Wintery Sunshine

 This is where we were for half of the Winter School Holidays - and yes, it was cold, bleak, dark and oh so well wintery.  We love it!

This photo gives me the eerie sense that the boathouses are just holding their heads above water

The family including Nanna with her snow bunny beret - and a shot of Ruby! yay!!!

Bits and pieces of sewing is happening around these parts - mainly at MMQG - I am diligently working on my DWR quilt, though not so much recently - there is proof though - check out recent photos taken at last meeting - I'm holding up my 'melons' (blush blush). Got lots of new info from friends for next steps in my DWR so no bl**dy excuse!


This is 'I just had to do it' block:  Japanese + and x quilt-along  - Badskirt Amy wrote the tute inspired by a Japanese original.

(I think I have a new addiction)