Merry Month of May

May Finishes

This month has seen me:

• learn the art of handquilting. Makes for a lovely finish.
• cut into my stash of Katie Jump Rope - twice.
• continue to enjoy the projects in the Zakka Sew-Along. And make some new blog friends through it.
• almost finish my second ever bag.
• fall in love with linen.
• finally finish the 'Fussy Fairytales' Quilt.
• Give the QCA Bee#1 Scrappy Log Cabin quilt to a deserved mum.
• Start hosting my own linky called 'Sunday Stash' where folks can exhibit their latest stash additions.
• Learn how to make my own 'button'.
• Hit 100 followers - and have a small give-away to say thank you.

Viewing - 'Titanic - the mini-series', 'Downton Abbey Series 2, Game of Thrones Season 1, The Voice Australia and Silent Witness.

Reading - The Third Reich Day by Day- Christopher Ailsby, Revolutionary Parenting - George Barna and The Hungry Ocean - Linda Greenlaw.

1. 'Fussy Fairytales' - finished 30/5    2. 'Fussy Fairytales' - back    3. 'FF' block and hand-quilting detail 
4. 'FF' - binding detail    5. 'FF' hand-quilting detail    6. 'FF' hand-quilting detail
7. Zakka Style Sew- Along - Raincloud Mug Rug - finished 14/5  8. ZSSA - RMR hand-stitching detail   9. ZSSA - RMR back
10. ZSSA  Itty Bitty Magnets in charcoal - finished 8/5  11. ZSSA - IBM in natural - finished   12. Katie Jump Kites - 56 blocks sewn 30/5
13. KJK block detail   14. ZSSA Patchwork Pencil Case (back)  - finished 1/5   15. KJK PPC front detail
16. Scrappy Log Cabin - binding 4/5  17. SLC - finished 4/5    18. SLC (back)

19. Craftsy May BOM - finished 4/5   20. QCA Bee#1 Disappearing 9 Patch 4/5  21. Five long-sleeved t-shirts - 22/5

So how did you go in May? Are you also linking up with...

Astor Manor D9P is finished!

Although I finished the front of the quilt more than a week ago, the back was finished only tonight. Normally a quilt back involves calculating an extra 4 inches to each of the front measurements and then buying a wide back fabric with those dimensions. Sometimes you can piece together normal sized fabric to achieve a similar effect. But in general, the back of the quilt is usually one fabric and plain.


Modern quilts have turned quilt backs into their own art form. I have been so impressed with some of the quilt backs on other blogs and sites...so much so that the back is almost as good as the front! At the very least they offer a different interpretation of the original fabrics.


When my mother handed me her Astor Manor scraps...there was certainly enough to make another quilt front, but also nearly enough for a quilt back. 

I had managed to find two floral prints yardage at Easter time when the gorgeous 'Ribbons and Rainbows' at Blackheath was having its closing down sale. 


Moda also produced 3 wideback fabrics for their 'Astor Manor' range. One was a cream, another brown/stone and the last a burgundy. After looking on their website, I rang the lovely Brenda from 'Widebacks Australia' and she happened to have some of the stone in her end of the bolt sale section. She also gave me 20% off the cream as well and delivered it from Western Australia within 2 days! 

But then I had so many scraps and yards and half yards that it made it MORE difficult to decide what to use and how to use it. I kind of agonised over it and there was more than one incarnation. I'd do a bit and then I'd have to leave it to ponder some more...hoping that some time and distance would help the process...sort of evolve into something beautiful.


But it didn't.

So I left it some more. 


Did some scrapbooking and regular sewing and sorting of Lego (it was school holidays afterall).

And then it started to come together.

Piece by piece...

until it was beautiful.

And it is HUGE...a whopping 94" x 76". 

Astor Manor Reprise

My mum, Audrey (the Grandma of Grandma Macs Quilts) came down to look after my boys last week so that I could attend a 3 day course run by Aspect. In the evenings we got a chance to sew and cut. It was lovely to spend time chatting whilst hand sewing bindings on the same quilt, cutting from both sides of the cutting board and having someone else iron the seams as I sewed. 


Audrey had already made a stunning quilt out of the Astor Manor range of prints for her friend's 80th birthday. I secretly coveted that quilt, So when she offered me the leftovers I was more than happy to receive them. 

As we were going through them we both discovered  that she had already sewn 60 squares (she had forgotten)using the Disappearing 9 Patch pattern.  I was gob-smacked. Quilt blocks just begging to be sewn up. This range of fabrics is just divine when you lay them all out.

So after my mum returned home after 3 days, I set about assembling the blocks to sew. I found that I needed to make 3 more D9P blocks to balance it out into 3 rows of 7. If I am wise with the leftovers I will hopefully make it into a stunning queen-sized quilt. 

Next I cut 2.5" strips from my wide back brown fabric (GASP! I know....but I have plan to use more of the scraps to piece my back together) and sashed the rows into equal thirds and completed the first border. I am very happy with that decision. I find the D9P a bit overwhelming all together...plus I need the length and width to bump this out to a queen size.

I actually find sashing and borders a bit of a challenge to be honest. I have miscalculated a few times and come up short and had to piece the border. It takes away the charm and passion for the quilt if you have to cover up your mistakes. This time I made sure that I was over on both ends (as you can see in the photo above).

Now because I am fortunate to have some strips from a jellyroll, I am able to trial a new border for Border #2. It comes from a pattern I found in a library copy of Australian 'Patchwork and Stitching'. Here it is using a white base for the border and the white pieces from the Moda 'Spring Fever' collection.

So I have made my own version.

(I was trying to be cheeky with the bottom row...)


Then after pressing the seams I cut them into 2.5" strips.

But NOW I AM STUCK!


Problem #1 - I was hoping to put a lighter fabric in each corner but that makes the first brown border look like it continues into the pieced border.


Problem #2 - the second border does not a perfect match measurement make. That means I am going to have to fudge the sequence of 2.5" somewhere along the way in order to line up the seams.

So I had to walk away from it last night, unsure of how to solve either. I have put out a mayday to my online quilt buddies at 'Quilt Club Australia'. I had one of my son's classmates come for a playdate today so I am hoping to have the issues resolved tomorrow when the boys are at 'Active Kidz' vacation care and my daughter at Family Day Care ( I so need vacation care for my own sanity as these holidays are 3 weeks for my 2 boys at an Anglican school).