2012 January

G’day USA

January 31, 2012 by Margaret

G’day USA, I’m coming over in April

American Quilt c 1880 and a little research

I’ll be travelling with good friend & quilt designer

and our trip will see us visiting 11 States over 23 days starting in San Antonio, Texas and ending in Boston, Massachusetts.

As I write that I think Yikes, can that be right?

but it is and it will require a bit of stamina.

I better start on the multi-vitamins today.

We will be at the AQS show at Paducah and the priority now is to finalise which classes to do and get that sent away.

high, medium and low priority...I don't know any other way of doing it.

How on earth do you decide what to do! This is massive, I’ve never seen a class list in Australia with this much to offer.

So I decided to highlight all the classes, lectures and events according to how relevant they are to me.

Pink for essential, a major reason for being there in fact,

Green for those things which I would also benefit from and to fit it in I am prepared to forgo ~~shopping~~ something else,

and Yellow for those which I think would still be interesting if time allowed.

Of course if I don’t hurry my choices may be made for me.

til soon

Margaret

17 Comments

Filed Under: Antique Quilts, Travel

A little more applique

January 24, 2012 by Margaret

I’m happy to have made some progress on the applique cradle quilt which I started back in October.

It’s inspired by an 1826 Cradle Quilt from New Jersey in the collection of the Michigan State University.

I know it was October because I wrote the date in the book.

A very good habit to get in to.

See where I’ve written ‘started with 75cm’ of the Windham True Madder.

mmmmm… it’s not really very much is it.

In my defence I often start quilts in this way, I just want to get going and worry about minor details

like having enough fabric!

later on, if and when it becomes a ~~problem~~ hurdle.

Anyway once the quilt got to look like this

Cradle Quilt centre block

I started thinking I’d like to try and get some more of that madder if possible.

The range is a few years old now and I haven’t seen any on the local shelves for a long time,

but Laptop quilts in the US came up trumps with the last piece, possibly.in.the.world, just shy of a yard.

Had to make the postage worth it of course so I also grabbed 4 yards of another oldie but goodie.

Colonies Vintage Browns #16841 and True Madder #20327

Phew, just in time for Christmas.

While waiting for my fabric to arrive I had ummed and aahed about what to applique in the setting triangles.

From the start I had planned to do something different to the three tulips which are placed in each corner of the original quilt. I had some ideas which were discarded then replaced with other ideas, which were also discarded.

Then I got to thinking there would be a reason the maker had put tulips in her quilt, don’t know what it was of course but I’m sure she had one. Maybe she had several reasons.

And I hadn’t come up with a better option so one night about two weeks ago, with an hour and a half before a movie I wanted to see started, I came over to the studio on a mission.

Paper-cut a tulip and see if I like it as nothing else is coming to mind that I can settle on. And it’s only paper…nothing lost.

I had to paper-cut two tulips to get one I was happy with

Trialling tulips

Yep, that’s good… a single tulip in each corner.

I had time to prep one tulip and baste it to the background in readiness for watching my movie,

Vicki, Christina, Barcelona

but the picture shows a couple of days later with two tulips sewn

I prefer to applique the pieces on to a square to avoid stretching the bias.

I’ve finished that part of the applique now and they are ready to be cut apart and sewn to the centre block.

So it’s coming along nicely.

til soon,

Margaret

PS Jenn has darkened the dark grey text to almost black here, and knows the yellowy colour and the deep red need work, we may even change the colour completely. Please continue to bear with us, it takes a bit of diary negotiating to fit in the time neeeded to do it.

6 Comments

Filed Under: 1800s Reproduction Fabrics, Applique, Cradle Quilt 1826, Design, Reproduction Quilts

Quiltmania

January 19, 2012 by Margaret

My copy of Quiltmania arrived today.

“Relieved”

I was starting to get a little edgy but my local Post Mistress assured me that the mail hasn’t really caught up from Christmas.

This edition #87

couldn’t arrive quick enough ‘cos one of my quilts is in it and I’m really chuffed about it.

I’ve subscribed to Quiltmania for awhile now and usually make a cuppa when it arrives, so I can just sit and really enjoy it.

I make a pot so I can keep topping up my cup, I’m not going to rush something as important as the pleasure of a beautiful magazine.

There’s been lots of Aussie Quilt designers featured in the pages lately because Quiltmania visited Down Under last year.

I’m really thrilled to be in those pages too.

It’s the Mid 19th Century Star Quilt pattern featured in this issue, it will run over more than one instalment as it’s a fairly involved quilt.

There’s a terrific mix of quilts to make from designers all over the globe, articles and exhibitions in this issue.

The Secret Sewing Sisters are there too, they are an extremely talented bunch of women.

If you don’t already read Quiltmania, grab a copy.

You won’t be dissappointed.

Now I’m off to read mine again

’til soon

Margaret

Thanks also for the feedback about the new look Quilt Station. The text colour is the next thing to change as I agree that it’s hard to read. It will have to be next week tho as it’s a job for Jennifer. All that has to be changed in what I call ‘the scary place’ on the computer. I keep right out of there in case I wreck something. So please stay tuned, M

5 Comments

Filed Under: Design

A real post at last

January 17, 2012 by Margaret

Thank you all very much for bearing with me yesterday, and with Jennifer more importantly, as we gave Quilt Station a much needed new operating framework.

It was quite an overhaul and, even though the changes may look only cosmetic, what I have now is a website that will grow with me.

I’m so pleased and relieved about that.

It was a busy day and a half, but we both worked late into the night and I’m not ready to tally up what it really took, suffice to say we’re both a little tired.

There is still some tweaking to do, some of it minor ~ some of it more time consuming, but I think we have done all the things that were up the top of the priority list.

I really want to apologise wholeheartedly to those of you who were flooded ~ monsooned even, with emails about posts, pages, pings and goodness knows what else, I’m very embarrassed. We were so sure we had disabled notifications on all the pages. And thank you to everyone who wrote to let me know that things were amiss and where it wasn’t working.

It’s good to have the feedback so promptly, Jennifer was straight on to it where possible.

I don't mind if you sit on my quilts

I’m very grateful to all of you who subscribe to the posts, it’s really rewarding to know that you follow along and stay long enough to look at what I’m working on. Jenn has asked me to tell you though that if you’ve saved your emails with notifications for posts that look like this

http://www.quiltstation.com.au/1658

with numbers after the /

they won’t go anywhere anymore, you’ll get an error page.

If everything works the way it should when I hit publish, your email notifications will have for instance

http://www.quiltstation.com.au/red-white-pine-trees-quilt

or whatever the title of the post is.

Beautiful roses, David Austin's Tradescant, outside my studio.

There’s a reason I’m plopping in pretty photo’s and it’s this.

I’m trying to sweeten you up because I’ve got something I’d like you to do for me.

If you are one of those fabulous bloggers or websites who link to me, and I know there are lots of you…

… I would be really grateful if you could change the link to me from http://www.quiltstation.com.au/

http://www.quiltstation.com.au/mewsings

That way the link will send visitors to this, the blog page, and not just the home page.

Not that I’m not proud of the home page, I love it.

But visitors might get bored after the first couple of times.

I haven’t become bored with the Home page yet, I keep gazing at that slide show of quilts and thinking, “by golly we’re clever”. LOL

Jenn and I tore around yesterday afternoon for an impromptu photo shoot, up ladders (me) and wiping tables (Jenn). We’re pretty chuffed with the results.

Getting back to Mewsings, it’s a play on my name I’ve tried to use for a while now, you might remember it in my blog title by-line way back. I never could get it in a sentence the way I wanted but I’m hoping it’s going to work here.

La Gare and more roses.

My intention for Mewsings this year is that I will post more often, but less long.

And what do I do! Start with an enormously long post ~ but this one is an exception I think.

I’m going to try to stick to only one topic or quilt per post.

Pull me up if I start getting off track won’t you.

til soon

Margaret

6 Comments

Filed Under: Musings

Maltaville Matters

January 17, 2012 by Margaret

A few of you have let me know I have a quilt in the lastest Quiltmania magazine

I was thinking this post would be about that but, alas the mail delivery to my little country area of Victoria is a weeny bit tardy so I’m hoping it will be there when I go the Post Office tomorrow.

Cos I’m busting to see it!!

To keep myself from going insane with excitement and anticipation I’ve been busying myself in the studio.

I’m not sure what to show you first, maybe I will have to do a couple of consecutive posts so it doesn’t all end up a jumbled mess.

Maybe a little bit of Maltaville news first.

I finished this block at Quilting last Wednesday night so I’m happy about that

Block F6

Then I prepped another, and finished it.

Block B4

I also took copious photo’s of this one in progress because I have been using a product which Jennifer recently got me on to.

It’s called Appli-Kay Wonder by Floriani, and I felt a tutorial for the Maltaville Blog was in order, so that will appear soon on the

Maltaville Album Quilt Blog tutorials

In the original quilt the block bears the verse

The only amaranthine flower on earth is virtue

the only lasting treasure, truth

So this sent me on a trip around the web which lasted several hours,

to learn more about the author of these words, English poet and hymnodist William Cowper 1731-1800.

William Cowper, oil painting by Lemuel Francis Abbot in 1792. This painting is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London

This verse is taken from his work The Task: A Poem, in Six Books published in 1785.

The only amaranthine flower on earth is virtue

The only lasting treasure, truth

But what is truth? ‘Twas Pilate’s question put

sorry, I just had to add it again, this time with the last line from that verse.

The maker of the block was a Mary something long starting with W, Water…y?

I’m hoping Fiona has better luck as she’s been great with the deciphering of names on this quilt.

Then of course I went off on another search for the Amaranth flower,

well there’s a few varieties to choose from but I just chose this because I like the look of it

Amaranth flowers

Amaranth are long lasting, so it seems a fitting flower to appear in verse, which it does… many times.

Today I prepped this block to sew tonight

Block H5

and I’m happy to be working again on a quilt that’s been on the back burner for a few months and I’ll share that with you soon.

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be enjoying that Quiltmania magazine,

see you soon

1 Comment

Filed Under: 1800s Reproduction Fabrics, Applique, Design, Maltaville Album Quilt 1847, Smithsonian Fabrics

oooops

January 16, 2012 by Margaret

Please disregard all the new post notifications flooding in to your inbox, sorry about that.

Ignore it all for the next 24 hours (hopefully)

the next real post will have a proper title.

‘things’ aren’t behaving like they’re s’posed to, quelle surprise

Making Changes

January 16, 2012 by Margaret

The New Year is time for an updated look,

I’ve been thinking about it for a while and plan

(all things going well)

that it will be viewable soon,

we’re working as you read and pages and things will be updated through the day, so don’t be alarmed

4 Comments

Filed Under: Design

Red & White Pine Trees Quilt

January 11, 2012 by Margaret

I’ve got quilting tonight, it’s my LQG’s first one for the year and I’m looking forward to catching up with all my quilting buds.

I’ve got heaps of Show and Tell of course because I can take the two finished quilts from the previous post

and

this quilt top…

Pine Trees quilt

You might remember I had run out of puff a little while ago with this quilt.

Truth be known, I had made two and a bit blocks several months ago,

and the ‘bit’ of a block is because I got some of the units turned the wrong way

(isn’t that what always happens when sewing late at night)

I could use those units in another block, but I guess that was enough to get out of sync with it.

So on Monday I got the Ikea tub out (all my projects are in Ikea tubs) and decided to just get on with it.

ooodles of half square triangles

First things first,

coffee,

then sew.

So many half square triangles, I quickly dubbed the day Mundane Monday.

I sewed them in chains of twenty as that is how many are required for each block.

I had to make 260 of these for starters

(I had already made 60, luckily)

But I got on with it because I didn’t want to still be making those the next day or it would be tedious Tuesday

Down to the last few

By the end of the day I had all the blocks done.

Tuesday morning I was set to get this knocked over in the day.

Way back at the start I had cut all the setting triangles and plain squares,

the border strips and even the binding, as I was worried about having enough of the Smithsonian Red.

"I can feel an empty tub coming on..."

There’s no other way to do it is there?

Is this what you do too, just lay it all out on the floor and start sewing…

Nearly there

I realise now I didn’t take a photo of the borders, which I sewed as four sets of complete strips

(Red, White, Red, White)

then added them with mitred corners.

I think if I had done them as four separate rounds I’d still be at it.

The inspiration for this quilt,

apart from Linda Collin’s Exhibition later this year

and apart from having enough, with only a little to spare, of Red Smithsonian Fabric,

was an 1875 – 1900 Pennsylvanian quilt in the American Museum in Britain (Bath) collection.

The original quilt is quilted with Feather Wreaths in the plain squares and Clamshells in the pieced blocks.

If I decide to do that it will keep me out of mischief for a while LOL.

I’ve got to join a back before I get up to that bit.

In the meantime, I’ve got this to work on tonight at quilting

Block F6

The whole block is stuck done and ready to go sew, time for a quick cuppa then I’m off.

Til soon…

14 Comments

Filed Under: 1800s Reproduction Fabrics, Maltaville Album Quilt 1847, Pine Trees Quilt 1875-1900, Reproduction Quilts, Smithsonian Fabrics

2012, i think it’s gonna be a good one.

January 8, 2012 by Margaret

It’s certainly started off well anyway,

Friends, quite literally, wandered in on a whim about 8pm New Year’s eve to see what we were doing…

Max and Benson,

…which wasn’t a lot, but we soon had something celebratory happening.

And it was 2012 when they left.

We have had very hot weather here during the first week of January, several days of temps around 36 to 40 degrees C (97 – 104F) so it was way too hot to be over in the cottage/studio.

Instead I decided to work in the house and get a couple of my own quilts quilted.

A quilt of many names and inspirations

Quilting this quilt top was on my Summer hol’s to do list after I finally embroidered the three pairs of legs and four eyes required to complete the quilt about a month ago.

I started this quilt back in 2008, it’s a Nonie Fisher pattern from a quilt she started in 1998 which she called ‘As Time Goes By’ after the (fabulous) British TV series of the same name starring Dame Judy Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. I’ve known Nonie for many years and she told me the quilt was based on the one which was always on the bed in this show, but you only ever saw the sides (masses of pinwheels) and not the top of it so we never knew what the whole quilt looked like.

So Nonie drew up the centre from the 1818 Ann Daggs quilt and placed that in the centre of her pinwheel quilt.

Fast forward to 2008 when I was doing a class with Nonie, and she very kindly gave me the pattern sheet for the centre of this quilt and a photo of her quilt for reference.

My quilt then evolved just a little bit more as I took out two of the birds from the Ann Daggs quilt and replaced them with the Peacock and Elephant from the 1858-1863 Bird of Paradise quilt top in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum. I had been in Rajasthan, India in 2008 and was looking to have a reminder of that. The Peacock is the State symbol of Rajasthan and, well the Elephant needs no explanation, I saw plenty of those on the roads.

So at last my quilt is done, after I’ve stitched the binding down!!

Name…? it’s working title has been The Rajasthan Quilt but I’m not sure that now feels right. I’ll ponder it a while.

Next on the list was this…

Le Rouvray's house quilt

…which I talked about back here

Quilting in progress

I had fun quilting this, randomly choosing between bricks for the houses and trailing vines

Le Rouvray House quilt

Today it’s a bit cooler so, after lunch, I am heading off to the cottage/studio to complete the two half drafted Maltaville Blocks which are lying in wait for me.

Look at this though…I have made sure I’ve remembered to “slow down, smell the coffee“

Coffee, Central Victoria style

4 Comments

Filed Under: 1800s Reproduction Fabrics, Applique, Machine Quilting, Reproduction Quilts

G’day USA

A little more applique

Quiltmania

A real post at last

Margaret

Maltaville Matters

oooops

Making Changes

Red & White Pine Trees Quilt

2012, i think it’s gonna be a good one.

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