Last but not least

These are all from the last class this year at Cottage Quiltworks at Warriewood. I am lucky enough to have been asked back for next year so there'll be more eye candy from these talented girls.
I won't be around for a couple of weeks while we relax "beside the seaside" so have a lovely xmas and stay safe over the holiday period.
See you all again next year!

19 more sleeps!

til xmas that is. It's hard for me to get in the mood - it just seems we are forced to buy presents for people who don't need them, which they probably won't like anyway. I've already gone the "I've bought you a goat" or "here's your composting toilet" idea so it's back to presents. Oh well - that's xmas.
Anyway one thing that's lifted the mood is this from Di at Snippets and Scraps - scroll down to the video and take the time to watch it please.

How's this for a lust-after bag. All the girls in the class wanted it but Jeff has made it for his cousin for xmas. The pattern came from his NZ holiday and the result is to die for don't you think.

Cathie planned this in EQ to be surrounded by lots of storm at sea blocks.

Tho she is new to the program it is worth the effort I think.

Bev might need her sunnies when this is on the wall. She's a head down, pedal-to-the-metal kind of girl and has done a fantastic job on these 6" NYB blocks! She's now started on a bigger version.

Nancy's beautiful Mariners Madness

Pam's start to a NYB quilt with that wow factor.

Looking for some holiday sewing? Sewmamasew has a grocery bag challenge going on and there are lots of patterns for making cloth bags. Use up some of that stash maybe?

Classes are winding down for the year with xmas parties happening all over the place. Hope you're enjoying some too.

We just need 2 weeks of hot sunny weather for our holiday on the Central Coast - here's hoping.

Spare a thought for the people of the Central West with all those flood waters for the second time this year.

Kind deed

To start the day here's a link to lots and lots of tutorials for quilts and related projects. You could spend quite a while just browsing and I'm sure you'd come up with something new.
Now for the eye-candy:

Coral from Hobbysew

Barbara from Hobbysew

The start of Daphne's lovely quilt for her grand-daughter

Lovely Lurley in paradise

For our Cotton Reel Quilters Xmas party we had to bring a block that starts with the first letter of our name - here's my Circular saw block - groovy! 24" across - I found it in a book of 5000 blocks and drew it up in EQ. Easy piecing too.

Have you seen Barbara Brackman's blog? Always interesting with lots of quilt history and links to antique quilts. WELL! Her latest post talks about a quilt block that goes by various names - Botch Handle is one of them. I just happened to have made a quilt for my son using the same block - mine was called Devils Claw. I sent Barbara a pic and she's put it in her post with a very kind link back to me! What a lovely lady - thanks Barbara. It is an easy block to sew - 16" so nice big pieces and looks so graphic.

More class pics

2 posts in one day only because I couldn't get all the pics in the one post for some reason. These are all versions of my Noodle Box quilt from Sunday's Berrima class. The noodle boxes will be more evident when their tops are are trimmed of course. The 1st one we thought we'd rename the Honey Pot quilt. Those bears in the middle will be doing high-5's when the other blocks are added.
Beautiful work from a lovely group of really happy campers.

Class pics

Check out the bulldogs on motorbikes!

Kay's beautiful, soft medallion - all those hexagons.

Jennifer won the race at Berrima this weekend with a great finish

Love the colour contrast in Dianne's WIP

Soft and pretty

This and the following pic are both from Sandra - put your sunnies on!

Lots of variety from the Birds in Paradise class which finished at Berrima this weekend.

I'm not back there til February next year starting with the circle sampler AKA "Lots of Dots".

If the truth be known I'm still writing the patterns for the 26 blocks in the quilt - as Tam said yesterday That's Ok I only need to be a day ahead of my students!

Killer

 

He looks so cute doesn't he? But in reality he is a vicious predator who has killed and dismembered seven of our chooks. They died a horrible death and we set a trap - who would have thought we'd get a spotted quoll. One down from Tasmanian devils in the ferocity stakes. He's gone to a wildlife park and no relatives have shown themselves so it's time to get some more girls.

This is Sue's quilt from August's quilt camp - the centre is perfect and will soon be repeated in a

wide border. Just beautiful.

How could such an ugly plant produce such beautiful flowers. It is virtually growing in cement and hardly gets watered and there were 13 blooms on it. They don't last long but are perfumed and so lovely.

This stunner belongs to Sonia from Bathurst. It has been an exercise in challenging herself to get out of the "pink and green" comfort zone. And tho it's taken a while to complete - the girl has kids and also goes to work - you must agree it's  sensational - so graphic. Just needs a final small black border and she's sweet!

I have been flat out lately writing patterns for four up-coming magazine projects and quilting my Lots of Dots quilt in readiness for January's classes. It's hard to stay inside on a day

like today when it's such beautiful weather.

Remember this quilt? Here's the email I received from Dawn in NZ:

"Hi Chris I completed my quilt earlier this year and you have placed it on your blog...WELL....just to let you know that I entered my version of Pickled Lillies into the Auckland Calico Christmas Show for this weekend and have won 3rd prize in the small bed quilt section. I am over the moon as this is only the second time I have entered quilts. Thank you so much for your design and challenge."

I'm really happy to receive pics of finished quilts made from a pattern of mine and it's so exciting when one wins a prize. Well done Dawn.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment on my blog. It's lovely to hear from everyone especially the newbies who have finally taken the plunge - you know who you are! And thanks to all the "lurkers" as well.
Check out my op-shop find of the week - a quilt. Someone said it was just what I need!
In our little strip of shops we have three op-shops - what does that say about our area I wonder. As well as some really good linen pants and a top I scored this blue and white quilt. I hope Lonza, whose name was on it with the date 1997 will know it has gone to a good home. The piecing is perfect and the colours divine.

The latest quilt show meeting was at my house last Thursday evening and Petal bought the finished quilt along. Isn't it amazing. Check out the blog for the show in the coming days for more news.

We have several followers already and one of them is from Norway! How exciting is that. Hope they can come over for the show in April 2011.

 This pic is the start of five Noodle Box quilts from my Berrima class. They are all different but will come together beautifully - top right is Xmas-themed and you can see the violin in the centre. Bottom left is Tamsin's from the shop and she's using Clarice Cliff fabric in the quilt for her mum.

I'm off to Orange again this weekend for two days of NYB classes. Hope it's a bit warmer than last time!

And have a look at my class schedule on the sidebar for new classes coming up next year - maybe I'll see you sometime.

We have a result!

No it's not The Bill (alas may it RIP). The random number generator chose comment number 7 from the list posted by Helenclare. Please send me your address so I can post the cushion cover. Hope it suits your decor.
And thanks to all who left a comment. More tomorrow with some pics.

It's contagious

Rachael is having a give-away so I thought I might do the same to celebrate the fact I have had 10,000 visitors to my blog! I find that amazing when there is so much to look at on the web. Thanks everyone who has visited.
The prize is the cushion cover featured as a project for Australian Country Craft and Decorating earlier this year.

It's made from the first French General range and is 20" square. It has a fold-over back using a beautiful linen toile from the range.

Just leave me a comment and you'll go in the draw  for Sunday afternoon.

Overseas entries are welcomed.

Class pics

These are from classes last week. Clever girls aren't they!

Hop on over to Racheal's blog Blue Mountain Daisy as she's having her first give-away.
And the prize is one of my patterns. What a lovely girl she is.
And thanks to all those who voted for my Noughts and Crosses quilt.
I didn't win but it was a bit of fun. The winner looks a bit like a Sue Cody quilt.

New patterns

I've just added three new patterns to my on-line shop

Chris Quilts. This one is called French Circle and is a 30" wide table topper that could also become the centre of a medallion quilt. It uses the 10 deg wedge ruler. 

This quilt is called Friendship Circle and ends up 50" square.

Again it uses the 10 deg wedge ruler and a dresden ruler for the borders

tho the dresden ruler is not essential as there is a template in the pattern.

 

This is my Birds in Paradise quilt which was a prize-winner at the 2010 Sydney Quilt Show.

It is 60" square and foundation-pieced using those fabulous New York Beauty blocks.

Tho not difficult it's not for the faint-hearted either and needs a good degree of accuracy

for the best result. All these patterns are available now here.

Now for the fun bit. Have a look at the Quilting Gallery and this weeks contest for scrap quilts.

I have posted my Noughts and Crosses quilt and feel free to vote for it at the end of all the entries.

There are some real scrap-busters featured.

In the post today was the current issue of Quilters Newsletter and who should have a project featured but our own Kathy Doughty from Material Obsession. Well done Kathy.

Did I tell you I slept in the same room as Kathy when I was at Quilt Week in Toowoomba!!

Pity she'd already gone home by then.

Class on fire

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better,

to paint a picture or write a letter,

bake a cake or plant a seed,

ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,

with rivers to swim and mountains to climb,

music to hear and books to read, friends to

cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there

With the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair,

A flutter of snow, a shower of rain.

This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,

old age will come and it's not kind.

And when you go - and go you must -

You, yourself, will make more dust

Don't you just love that - it's from an old song apparently and how true it is - could be my motto!

Here's a quilt made from suffolk puffs - 1/2" ones. It was given to Gail by her husband's family after they found it in the back of a cupboard. It meausre 36" square. Amazing!

I found this in a folder recently - for our sewing group Xmas party a couple of years ago we were to bring along a self portrait. Only two of us were brave enough to rise to the challenge and this is mine. It says it all.

Here are some pics from class yesterday at The Vintage Patch. What a laugh we have in that class - it's hardly work for me and the girls all get on so well. They all came in with heaps of show and tell - they've all been really productive lately and demanding a new project for next time - no pressure!

Another mammoth effort - 400 miniscule suffolk puffs!! Sue made this for a friend - can I be your friend Sue?

Lorraine's Deauville quilt top - and how much does she love handpiecing - not much.

This is "suffolk puff sue" with her Lollipop trees BOM from Material Obsession. I didn't realise the blocks were so big. She's doing them quilt-as-you-go and they look great

Rachael's Fat Quarterly quilt-a-long is finished and it's huge. A real eye-spy quilt.

Lorraine's table centre from the last camp project - try and ignore the cot quilt background.

Rachael and Janice being silly as usual but don't their centres look amazing.

Don't forget to look at the Springwood Quilt Show blog to see the latest on our raffle quilt. Rachael has an interview with Petal Davies the designer of the quilt. There's a link on my sidebar or click here.