Bunting!

Isn't this gorgeous fabric? "Snap Pop" by Sandy Gervais, for Moda.  It actually called out to me by name (well, figuratively speaking), at last weekend's Australian Quilt Convention - my only fabric purchase.

I've never been tempted to make Bunting before, popular as it is, but this has changed my mind. Love those Oranges, Pinks, Yellows, Greens & Blues - a bit like the acrylic colours I use in the laser-cutter.  So cheerful & bright!

Enjoy this sunny, breezy, Melbourne Autumn day!

Cheers, Lisa

Steam Punk Templates - 2

Doesn't the "Orange" look terrific? It's my favourite.

This continues to be a busy week, with local & interstate orders posted today.  Tonight I'm working on the U.S. orders - at only $10 postage (plus $15 for 5 templates in the set) it's a popular purchase.

I'm really enjoying connecting with other enthusiastic quilters from the other side of the world.  Remember, it's easy for me to personalise your templates, by etching your name or initials on each piece.  Patterns can be purchased from "Jen Kingwell Designs" or through "Amitie.

Last weekend I managed to squeeze in a visit to the historic Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building, to see the Australian Quilt Convention. Saw some amazing quilts, intriguing gadgets and quite a few old friends.

As for next weekend,  I'm well and truly looking forward to our Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild sewing day - seems I can't get enough of anything "quilt-related" - just love it!

Cheers for now, Lisa

Steam Punk Templates

These templates have proven very popular this week, mainly thanks to the Flickr Group Quilt-Along forum, and the kind comments by Kristy from HandMadeRetro, who is also a member of our Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild.

The Steam Punk Quilt Pattern by Jen Kingwell Designs is available from Amitie, in Gardenvale Vic, and other stockists in Australia & overseas.

Once you've bought this pattern, I'd be happy to supply the matching templates, with the 1/4 inch seam allowance, for $15 +
$3 postage (in Australia). Turnaround time is about 3-4 days from payment. See my website www.SunsetSeams.com. Choose your own colour (from our range), and we can etch your name on each piece, at no charge.

Thanks to all those ladies who've ordered this week - I hope you enjoy using the templates in the Quilt-Along!  

Chevron Shore - Quick Quilt

This is a quilt-top I've been designing recently, based on a classic shape which has been around for hundreds of years - dating way back to 1775.  I decided to enlarge it, to make a super-quick machine-pieced quilt suitable for someone with limited time.  The rectangular block measures 10.5 inches by 24.5 inches (a finished size of 10x24) - so 4 blocks makes about a cot-quilt size.

  

This section shows 4 rectangular blocks.  The print is a piece of firm cotton fabric bought in Noumea, during our South Pacific Cruise last year.  It's in multi-colours of vibrant mid-blue, light-blue, cool aqua, navy and tracery of pale gold. The solid navy is a fine cotton corduroy from my stash, which works surprisingly well.

To simplify the cutting, I created these Acrylic Templates.  They have etched seam allowances & pencil holes at the seam intersections. The proportions are perfect for using with standard 43 inch wide fabric (110cm), with little or no wastage.  Fold the fabric lengthwise selvedge to selvedge, and then fold lengthwise again, folded edge to selvedge (4 layers). 

The templates fit neatly in the fabric space, and cutting it this way gives you the right number of "positives" and "negatives", without worrying about turning the templates over.  When the plain and print pieces are joined, and the blocks are sewn together, they make the hills and valleys of the chevron shape.   

Here is the navy corduroy laid out, with enough pieces for 4 blocks.  

And below, is one of the earlier finished blocks.  As I progressed, my pinning became more accurate (after I changed to glass-head fine pins), and consequently the side edges became neater.    In the end, the pieces are so large that there's enough "wriggle room" in case you want to trim the blocks, without it being noticeable.  No Quilt Police here!   :)

Although I love working on my current (on-going) multi-piece quilt projects (hexagons, octagons, 30's style four-patch & Autumn Quilt which is ready for hand-quilting),  I found it quite exciting to see this Chevron Shore quilt  grow so quickly!  I believe it will be a winner for quilters at all levels, as well as those who enjoy working with strong, multi-coloured prints.  Plus... you only need to choose two fabrics!  How easy is that?

To purchase a set of the templates, head on over to my on-line store at www.SunsetSeams.com  Only $25 (including Postage Australia-wide, and my Pattern with fabric requirements for all size quilts).  

(The name "Chevron Shore" came to me this weekend as I was contemplating this colour-scheme - though I'm not a huge fan of stripes in general, these reminded me of waves on the shore).  I'm hoping it will grow up to be a Queen-Sized Quilt..... and I'll post photos soon.

It's been a very productive Easter!  Hope you and your family & friends enjoyed your break.

Cheers, Lisa.