I've been BAD

This quilt is the Signature squares from the Scquilters retreat in Canberra 2006. I have called it 'Not flying but Galloping Geese'. I discovered I suck big time and making points match up on triangles, but thankfully, it will probably only be seen here on the net! LOL so I think I am safe.


Oh dear.. I just worked out what I spent on Fabric this month AND quilting (I send my tops off for a quilty holiday)... boy, was that a scary number! I wont publish the amount here as I like living! but might have to pull the reins in this month. I have been flat out getting hexagons togethre for my granny's flower garden quilt. To say this is an epic is an understatement! I am about half way, but I have been working on it for um 3 years, so I am thinking this is along the lines of anothers scquilters quilt, the 2010 quilt! LOL I am ever hopeful that I'll have the top together by christmas, of course I dont know which Christmas, but it will get done!

Went to Sydney yesterday to visit a quilt shop that was having a sale.. shame the sale started May 1st and not April 29th! I am known for being punctual, but that was ridiculous! Found some 30's fabrics I didn't have so I was pretty happy with that. Speaking of 30's quilts. This is a quilt I made form swap blocks with scquilters (fancy that??) It is a block called 'cobblestones'.. when the blocks come home (they are all 30's fabrics) I thought I'll add another round around each block. My maths sucks, cause I forgot that you add 2" to BOTH sides, so my lap quilt is suddenly a queen size topper! oh well, you can't have too many large quilts can you??? I just 1930's fabrics, I know a lot of people hate them, but I just like the fact that they all seem to go together and therefore its a no brainer putting them together.

This little quilt was a kit I purchased at my first retreat ever, 2003 Melbourne Retreat. I made the top and then it was left in the UFO box (which really now I need a shipping container for the UFO's) for all these years. I bit the bullet and just stippled in micro stippling the black bits.. it looks great.. I also discovered that black fabric and white cats are not a great combination. The cat thinks any quilt is for him to sleep on, he slept on this and it looks like it was the lint thing out of the dryer, so will have to give it a clean up and HANG it before the cat finds it again. I liked this miniature so much, I have made another one for a gift and I have enough buttons to make a couple more for friends. Well thats it from me. 'Til next time.. ciao bella!

Boy am I stuffed!

g'day possums

to say I am pooped is an understatement! I have been flat out like a centipede skipping, going off like a frog in a sock, well you get the drift.

April seems to of been the month of finishing things. I finished three large quilts (bigger than 70" square) two lap quilts, a miniature, two bags, and I think that is it! Guess what? I finished the BOM that I had been working on since the dawn of time.

It is off to be quilted. I'll post it to the quilter this afternoon after work. I changed it a little as Ididn't like a few bits of it, but that gives it the 'lissa touch'.. which sometimes is more like the kiss of death! I am so glad I finished it. I did add a further float to it after I took this pic (please ignore the child in her glamour flannelette PJ's) just a little more of the cream that you can just see before the scrappy floral border. This quilt pattern didn't really have a name, it was by "Leanne's House" pattern, but I have called it "Lissa's Lodgings as viewed from afar" :O) I look at it now, and think yep, you can tell I pieced it in an afternoon.. now I would unpick a lot of it and redo it as a few seams dont match up, but hey.. its ALMOST DONE! Can't wait to see what it looks like after my friend WOO does her magic wand thing with it!

I am almost recovered from my trip away to Bendigo Victoria. there were 209 quilters this year, and I made a few new friends and renewed friendships with a few old and not so old friends. I am still recovering from the late nights, the drinking and the lack of sleep! Was it worth it? YES!!! there is no retreat planned for next year, but that wont stop me, I might just surprise a few people and turn up at a quilt show in some faraway land *W* so consider yourself warned!

I started a new quilt last night, it is in the latest homespun magazine, on the cover. I love blackbird designs patterns and this one is great, has enough applique to tip me over the edge, but I'll only get better with practice. I also have a few other things to finish. I am in a Queen of the UFO challenge. The point of the challenge is to NOT be crowned queen. It's amazing, the thread of a 'cyber coronation' has spurned me on to finish lots of things.. things that I wouldn't normally finish but I do NOT want to get to the top of that list! :O)

Well thats enough from me, will post some more pics when I find them on the camera! and I'll try and not leave it so long between posts on this blog, I keep forgetting I have it!

What I've Been Up To

I thought I'd better post a pic of Bailey the WonderDog. I am the mother of two furry critters; Bailey the WonderDog and the bastard Cat Cosmo.. We bought this cat house for the cat, but the cat hates it. I am unsure if it is because 1. Cats dont like cat houses, OR 2. the dog sleeps inside??? I wonder! LOL

I think every pet should have its own quilt. My theory backfired cause now my pets think EVERY quilt in the house is their's! Bailey has an 'accidental purchase' from ebay to sleep on... When it arrived I thought 'oh my lordy what was I thinking???' the kids have trashed it to death it has a few holes but Bailey loves it and to be honest, when it 'dies' I wont be sad to see it go. Cosmo prefers chenille or flannel quilts, and can be often found snoozing on a raggy quilt I made some time ago. This quilt has been washed to death and it still looks great...

This pic is of a quilt I have been working on what seems 'forever'. It is a Leanne's House BOM that I started in 2005? I dunno. Seems longer than that to be honest! LOL I do love it, but the embroidery is a bit daunting and me, being me, cannot stand BOM's, so I put the top together in a day and have been working on it and hiding it for the past two years! LOL I will finish it. It will look great when its done, I used the 'HOLY STASH' of my Robyn Pandolphs I have been using over the years. There are 9 x 16" blocks and they are all as busy as this one! It is booked into be custom quilted in April (yes april THIS year) and I am only about 60% done.. so that means, yikes 2 weeks to finish it! LOL not going to happen but lucky the quilter is running late herself! LOL

It's 32 sleeps till I get to catch up with my online friends! We meet up once a year and to say I can't wait is an understatement! I need a quilty kick up the bum and the retreat seems to do that for me each year (that and the quilt show at Darling Harbour!)

Mushrooms in the lawn?

I finished the bag in my UFO challenge. Our bastard cat went missing, and I walked past the bag, it was hanging on one of our french doors. The bag moved and hey presto! there's the cat! I think he likes it, how he got in it, I am unsure (maybe child intervention perhaps???) but anyways I had to wrestle to get him out, but had to take a pic first!



we have been so lucky in Newcastle that we have escaped the drought that the rest of the country is in. We laid a new lawn about hmmm 4 weeks ago and when I got up this morning to check out the rain we had had, there were mushrooms everywhere in the lawn! We have watered this lawn maybe twice since it was laid, so that shows you how much rain we have had. I am not skiting, but its a shame the rain doesn't go where its needed....





I have been busy working on some gifts for quilty friends, can't show you a pic at the moment as they are a 'surprise' but I'll post a pic after they have been received!





It is now 35 sleeps till our annual quilting retreat. I have done the signature squares, and will drag out the suitcase over the weekend, so I'll start putting bits in as I remember them! This year we are off to Bendigo, I have never been to Bendigo, so it should be fun!

Well I am off to start my day! wish me luck, as today is HOUSEWORK DAY! EWWWW!!!!

Busy Busy Busy

One of the internet groups I am in (Quilting Down Under) has had a Queen of the UFO challenge. The idea of the challenge is to finish and keep finishing UFO's so your name moves down the list. Problem is, everyone is trying hard to finish UFO's!

This miniature quilt I started when I first started quilting. I bought it as a kit in 2000 or 2001.. not sure, but it sat for that long without quilting cause I didn't know how to quilt it! I bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago and stippled the centre in small stipple and the outside in larger stipple. I cringe at it a little as my patchwork skills have improved in leaps and bounds since I started this, but I left the wonky bits as a reminder on how far I have come! The cat thinks its a mat for him to sleep on, so its safely tucked away from el pussy cat!




I have been so flat out lately, flat out like a centipede skipping... I am off to the scquilters (an online internet group for quilters) in a months time, and have a million things to do before I am allowed to skip town.

I have been busy making curtains and as I am halfway through I have decided I HATE MAKING curtains. Our darn cat thinks the curtains are a play centre for him, so I also spend a great deal of time removing him from them or squirting him with water! Darn CAT!
We have been busy getting work done around the yard, have had a few hiccups.... Like the stupid builder/pavers not laying them low enough so of course when it rains, our room gets flooded. Brand new carpet has stained from the water damage, NOT HAPPY JAN!

We (well its the royal we, more like my hubby) also laid 100m'2 of turf.. he did this the day he had a 40th birthday party.. so to say he was pooped at his party was an understatement. Why he organised this for the same day isn't making sense with me, sometimes I am sure he was sent here to test me! LOL And I do not think I am passing this test with flying colours let me tell you!

mumblings of a cranky possum

This is a picture of the 'new addition' to the family. Cosmopolitan the Birman cat. Now he is just too gorgeous for his own good, and never owning a cat before, I did not know what I was in for. Cosmopolitan is named after a vodka/cranberry cocktail. And Bailey the wonder dog is named after Baileys Irish Cream funnily enough. Cats sleep so much.. he doesn't eat enough to keep a sparrow, but I guess when you are only awake for 3hrs a day, well how much food do you need??

I had crap day at work today... so I decided to come home and FINISH something to cheer myself up.. now for all that know me, this is a MIRACLE! Not one piece of backing fabric was right, so I had to scrap piece a backing, it looks so-so. of course I pressed this and thought ah-ha, I need wadding.. of course there wasn't a bit of wadding big enough in the house either, after muttering away, and going thru more plastic tubs than I care to count (ok its 12) I found a bit.. woohoo!

of course its EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE AS THE TOP.. so its too small.. so I have dredged up all the scrappy bits you should throw away and found enough to add a piece to the other bit.. but now its too bloomin late to be crawling around on the floor trying to baste the sucker, so I am off to find another UFO in the pile that I can't jump over. Wish me luck, cause I know I am going to make a bigger mess.

We have a HUGE mess out in the yard, we have been waiting for so long to get our backyard landscaped. I had a nasty fall on Saturday, twisted my ankle and lucky for me, Lara was carrying the cat in his 'pet taxi' We had to take Cosmo the wonder cat for a needle.. Lara was very worried, as I couldn't get up and the cat was so lucky I'd just handed him to Lara. He would of been traumatised for life, MORE traumatised cause I am sure living here is enough to send you to the nut hut!

So tomorrow the excavator arrives, the builder will be here and my retaining walls will be built. We used to have a large yard, but with the renovations we have done (we have added a family room, bedroom and a large sunroom) as well as a double garage, the yard has downsized to 10ms between us and the shed. I am convinced my DH hates mowing so he keeps building on!

Well Finally Bit the Bullet

g'day my name is Lissa, and I am a reformed fabricologist! I am very passionate about patchwork and quilting, and of course, my long suffering husband (I dont need a sewing room, I have a sewing house), my three darlings DS Darcy, DS Morgan and DD Miss Lara, and my furry daughter Bailey the wonder dog (Beagle). I am a memeber of SCQuilters and QDU both Australian Online Quilt Groups, and I enjoy the get togethers SCQuilters has each year. I am looking foreward to next years retreat which is in Bendigo Vic.

I live in Sunny Australia in a small town about 1.5hrs north of Sydney... and I have a small confession to make, I LIKE BUYING FABRIC quicker than I can use it! But lately, I have been working too much (four part time jobs) so I have less time to shop! (my husband is very happy about this)..

My favourite fabrics are reproduction fabrics such as 1930's or civil war, but to be honest I am happy to adopt any orphan fabric (quilts, tops and blocks are also gratefully accepted!).

This quilt I started a few years ago now, it is now finished, I started it to use up some leftover scraps of 30's fabrics I had, and got a little carried away. I also learnt the hard way that seam allowance even on small quilts is important. I had to stab quilt this sucker and boy did I hate doing that!

This quilt is now finished as well. My daughter asked for a quilt for her birthday with 'dollies' on it (she was 4 at the time). So again came out the 30's fabrics and I put this together. It was my first attempt at applique when I first started patchwork and I look at it now and 'cringe' at my bumpy curves I hope I have improved over the years. It is 5 years since I have become addicted to this hobby.

This is a minature 30's log cabin block. Each block is 3" finished. I again used the scraps I had in my stash. It was the first attempt at paper piecing and didn't take long to make at all. It hangs in our bedroom. My husband said that wont keep you too warm when I was done! hmmm...

I like working with 30's fabrics as they are a no-brainer, cause they all tend to go together without too much thinking! I truly believe I must be one of australia's laziest patchworker!

My current project is a Grandmothers flower garden quilt (I bet you can guess what fabrics I am using), its my 'stolen' quilt.. well I call it that, cause I am making it in 'stolen time'. While I am waiting for Miss Lara at tap, jazz or ballet, or picking up my boys from their adventures I steal time to put the hexagons together. I am making it Queen Bed size and the hexagons are 1" on the sides, it isn't an overnight project thats for sure!