Make Modern (and a wrap up of the show)

The Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show was a whirlwind of craft and quilts and meeting people and learning lots and .... pure exhaustion!!

I've been told I look a little tired in this shot :P

Thank you to everyone who came and chatted with us and attended my demonstrations about the YouPatch website. We loved meeting you all and hearing your crafty stories!

But now the show is over and we are looking towards the next wonderful YouPatch projects and collaborations .... which brings me to Make Modern.

Have you heard about Make Modern yet? It's a new online Australian magazine all about modern quilting. Gotta love that!!!!

Issue 2 was released on Saturday and we are delighted to have a pattern in this issue as well as a great business review. Go check it out (here)!!!

Our pattern is a pixelated pink skull cushion (perfect for Halloween!!)

Please go and have a look at this great new offering and support a group of dedicated crafters (like you and me) making a splash in the world of crafty publishing!!

I think Make Modern is absolutely packed with value!! Great projects and articles. Everything I'm looking for in a quilty magazine! If you do buy the magazine, let me know what you think?

Happy stitching to you!

Andi xx

Art on my couch

My friend Matthew Broughton (www.mattbroughtondesign.com) is a graphic designer and a wonderful artist. One of his favorite techniques is lino cutting and he has recently produced a number of stunning lino cut prints with an Australian theme.

Unfortunately, we have almost no wall space left in our house so I felt unable to buy any of his prints as I had nowhere to display them. So you can imagine how excited I was when he revealed that he would be printing his designs onto fabric to make into cushions.

We have new couches at our place that have been screaming out for some new cushions. Everything fell perfectly into place.

We're not afraid of color at our place ;-)

Australian fauna - a black cockatoo

Australian flora - A banksia branch

Our Luna Park

An iconic Melbourne tram

Such a gorgeous collection!

These cushions were printed at local bespoke fabric printers Frankie & Swiss and are beautiful quality.

Check out Matthew's website to find out all about his work and to buy yourself some gorgeous artwork!!

You know you want to.
Andi xx

A rather huge finish ... and a birthday boy!!

Many months ago I was on Craft Camp with my crafty besties and Lisa was doing a new craft ... needlepoint! This is a craft I have often thought of as very Nanna-ish but ...knowing what I know about quilting ... how it is perceived and how funky it can actually be .... I knew not to let my preconceptions spoil a perfectly good crafting opportunity.

Sure enough, Lisa was making a cushion cover with a very funky pop-art-ish image of a favourite comedian and it was going to be AWESOME!!

"I can do that", I thought. Next thing I was sending images to Lisa to pixelate for me (this was pre-YouPatch) and buying my supplies. I thought it would be an easy and quick project. I was so wrong!! It was indeed challenging .... and took a VERY long time. The background was particularly tedious as it was highly repetitive and BORING!!!

But I persisted and managed to finish in time for my Jake's 10th birthday. Here 'tis ...

46,656 stitches later ..... I'm very pleased with it but delighted that it is finished and I can focus on other crafts for a while.

In the meantime, happiest of birthdays to my ten-year-old, happy, smart, inquisitive, caring, delicious boy. We love you very much. xxxx

Happy stitchin'
Andi xx

More cushions ... but this time not for me

Its a busy time of the year for us. Jewish New Year begins tomorrow night and we are hosting a dinner for 26 people. Among those 26 are my niece and nephew who each have birthdays this week.

For my niece, who is turning 40, I asked her to chose a colour scheme and she chose "dark red and burnt orange".

 

I couldn't resist throwing in a touch of pink. (I just can't help myself). 

 

 

 

And for her 'little' brother who is taller than both of us ... 

 

He's just moved into his own place for the first time and is rather car crazy (to put it mildly). 

"Shana Tova"  to those of you celebrating this week. And a happy new year to all! 

May the coming year be sweet, healthy and peaceful.

Andi xx

More patchwork on the bed!!

My ever-patient-and-indulgent husband!!!
We now have a patchworked artwork above the bed, a quilt on the wall, a quilt on the bed (of course) and now patchworked cushions too!

 

He must love me, that one  ;-)

Thanks to Malka for the hand made charm squares. Can't wait to see your new fabrics up close and personal.

Andi x

Tidy!

Once my sewing room gets tidied, I get seriously productive.

This week, a dear friend told us he was getting married in January.
Plenty of lead in time I know but I had an idea that needed to 'get out'.

So I raided my red scraps bin and some beautiful linen, and made them some cushions for their couch.

Patch-worked fronts and backs.

And quilted on both sides.

I inserted invisible zips using this excellent tutorial.
I wonder if I'll be able to wait until January before I give them!!

Also sewn in the last 24 hours:

• Patches on a small friend's jeans where he had worn through the knees
• Beehive blocks for Belinda
• Completed the last 6 blocks on this quilt
• A little more hand stitching on this quilt
• Binding on a baby quilt that I haven't shown you yet.

 Tomorrow I have no 'proper' work to do and no kids in the house. I'll be stitchin' up a storm.
What's your plan?

Andi xx

Not my usual pallette

2 matching cushions for my niece and her husband (who each had birthdays in recent weeks).

Their house is decorated mostly in neutrals.
I used a newspaper print for the backs.

And I couldn't resist a touch of red!!!!

Happy birthday Kim and Stu!!

Andi xx

Super cushion!!!!!

What to do when your son's favourite Superman comic book falls apart?

Take some of the fallen pages .... scan 'em ...... print 'em ..... stitch 'em .... and voila ....

Instant bed-time reading!!

Andi x

Stitching, stitching, stitching!!

A couple of commissions finished this week.

A small quilt for a baby boy called Nathan.
It was a commission from his adult sister who wanted soft blues as the primary colour, and to have Nathan's name appliqued in both English and Hebrew.

The second commission was another custom cushion donation to a local school's annual fundraiser.

With a very professional looking zipper opening thanks to this wonderful tutorial!

Wishing you all a happy and fun weekend!

Andi x

Cushions and a question

For our school's annual fundraiser, I donated a customised cushion item for the silent auction.
I offered a cushion that included an appliqued name, a photo, etc.

The family that won the prize have 3 daughters and the winning mum was unsure how to handle the prize.
So I suggested 3 smaller cushions, each with a single initial.

Each cushion unique, but clearly part of the set.

With pretty pink Patch Andi labels on the backs.

They will be given as Christmas gifts so the girls haven't seen them yet, but Mum is pretty pleased with them.
I am too!

And now for my question ....

Yesterday I used bamboo batting for the first time.
It is lovely and soft and was a dream to quilt through.
However, I have been left with a quilt covered in bamboo fluff and there is fluffy stuff all over my house.
Has this happened to you?
Would it be worth pre-washing the batting?
I need to know as I have just bought an entire bolt of the stuff and can't face the fluff!!!!
HELP!! PLEASE!!!!

Andi x

Feeling much better thanks!

Taking a couple of weeks to sort out my calendar, straighten up my house, spend some time with my family and get some serious stitching done has done no end of good for my mental health.

Thanks so much to everyone who got in touch to make sure I was OK. I really am! Totally and incredibly OK!!

In the past few weeks I have achieved a huge amount craft-wise. I probably have about 10 different posts to put together to show off my projects.

But I thought I'd start by showing off some crafting my kids have been doing ...

I'm a proud and happy mumma!

Back soon with some of my own crafting.

Have a great day.

Andi x

The Craft Room

I had such a lovely morning teaching my first class for the Craft Room today.

I was so chuffed that Lynne asked her husband to attend the class as her birthday gift!
Just look at the gorgeous quilted cushion cover she made for her little neice ...

Beautiful work Lynne.
(And a big Happy Birthday for tomorrow!!)

More places available for my class (and others) here.

We'd love to see you!!

Andi :-)

Another sample for class

This time, the actual size students will be making.

Thought I'd make it work on my couches at home so it can be loved after the classes have finished.

 Have a stitchin' day.

Andi :-)

Second time's a charm

Kate thought Jazzy might like something a little less busy than this:

.... so here's my second attempt:

Apparently this one is MUCH more her style. (Phew!! I don't know anyone else called Jazzy)

Both cushions made using the 'quilt-as-you-go' method and will be samples for my upcoming Craft Room classes.

Hope you are having a relaxing weekend.
Andi :-)

2 birds - 1 stone

As I have mentioned before, I  will be teaching a "quilt-as-you-go scrappy log-cabin cushion class" as part of Notebook Magazine's: The Craft Room.

I need to make some samples showing the technique and I thought I'd do a wonky improvised version to show a second option to students.

This mosaic shows the progression from a single patch to a completed cushion.
The front of the cushion is made from my extremely pink stash and the back uses some vintage reclaimed terry toweling and some giant pink ric-rac.

Why "2 birds - 1 stone"?

Well, I am doing a swap with this fabulous crafter and thought this cushion might also make a good swap offering for her daughter's birthday gift.

Kate, if this looks a bit too scrappy / wonky, there will be a second, much more traditional looking version coming up and you can chose which one you like best.

(I hope you don't mind that I'm also using these as samples for my class. I can always make another one especially for Miss J if you like).

Andi :-)

A cushion for baby Gretchen

My parents decided to give this quilt as a gift for my cousin's new baby girl.

My in-laws also wanted to give a gift for the same baby so I have made her a cushion using the same fabric selections.

It's a quilt-as-you-go style cushion top which I really enjoyed doing.

As part of Notebook Magazine's craft room series in Melbourne, I'll be teaching a class to create cushions just like this one.

Interested? Stay tuned for details.

Andi :-)