Don't look now!

Joseph's Coat - Drafting your block, creating a placement guide & template shape

Drafting the block...

Go make yourself a cup of tea or a glass of wine, get comfortable and take some deep calming breaths ... this part of the project is going to involve a little geometry .....

You are going to need a sheet of paper about 22" square ... join together some smaller sheets if you have to. I suggested using A3 sized paper ... for those of you who aren't familiar with A3 paper ... it is twice the size of an A4 sheet of paper ... does that help? ;) Which ever way you manage to come up with your big piece of paper to draft your pattern onto is really irrelevant .... providing you can some how protect it as you will need to refer to this sheet throughout the entire project.

Place your sheet of paper on a flat surface, collect your compass, ruler & eraser ... although I'm sure we wont make any mistakes so we wont need the eraser anyway!

Lock your compass at 5 1/2" which will ultimately give you an 11" block.

 
In the centre of your sheet of paper draw out a circle.

Place the point of your compass on any point around the circumference of the circle and draw another circle. This circle's cicircumference should intersect the centre of your original circle.

 
Now place the point of your compass on one of the points where the second circle intersects the original circle's circumference - draw out another circle. The circumference of this 3rd circle should intersect the centre points of the first and second circles.

Now place the point of your compass on the point where the 3rd circle intersects the first circle's circumference - draw out the 4th circle. The circumference of the fourth circle should intersect the centre points of the first and 3rd circles.

Continue in this manner until you have drawn out a total of 7 circles where circles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 all intersect at the centre point of the first circle.

 
 
You should now see the makings of the center of your block - being that of the 6 petal shapes that converge at the centre of the circle. We now need to draft a further 6 petal shapes to frame the block.

Place the point of the compass at the point where the circumferences of the 7th & the 2nd circles intersect. Draw an arc that intersects the centre points of the 2nd & 7th circles.

Place the point of the compass at the point where the circumferences of the 2nd & the 3rd circles intersect. Draw an arc that intersects the centre points of the 2nd & 3rd circles.

Continue in this manner until all of the 6 petal shapes have been drafted to frame the original circle block.

 
 
You now have a placement guide to help you with positioning your applique shapes on your block. You will need to refer to this placement guide throughout the project so it's a good idea to laminate it to preserve it's integrity because if you are anything like me it will be dragged all over the place with you!

 
Creating the petal template ...

At this point you will need to make yourself a template of a petal shape that you will use throughout the project to draft out all of the petal shapes in the quilt and trust me there a whole hell of a lot of them!!!

Use a little tape to secure your template plastic over one of the petals you have created. Locate the centre points of the two intersecting circles that have created this petal. Using your compass carefully re-draw the arcs to transpose the petal shape accurately onto your template plastic.

Using a small sharp pair of scissors cut out the petal shape on the line you have drawn .. if you cut out either side of the marked line of your template it's size will be either slightly smaller or slightly larger than what you ultimately want it to be.

 
Check the template for accuracy by positioning it over the original petal. It is important that this template is accurate as you will be using it to create all of the petals in the quilt and they all need to fit together snugly ... a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.

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That's it for today ... not very exciting so far is it? Setting up is always a little tedious ... but very important all the same to make sure the project comes together nicely.

I'll be back on Tuesday with the next steps which will be much more fun and a whole lot more colourful!!!

Great to see some of the blogless girls joining in with their newly created Flickr pages .... which reminds me .... I will establish a Flickr Group this week so that we can share our progress once we start putting together our blocks. I figure that this will be a great place to share our progress, be inspired by each others colours choices and chat.

I appreciate everyone's goodwill in relation to this project. Please do not use this pattern for profit in any way ... the pattern & directions are given in good faith and is intended for your personal use only and not to be reproduced in anyway. Lets keep it nice!

Kellie

A weekend in Hettie's Patch!

But first the giveaway winners ...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

191	62	107	179	164



Timestamp: 2009-10-26 14:59:48 UTC

So these are the names that go with the numbers .....

Sylvia from Sylvia Stitch (62)

Jeannet from Serendipidy Designs (107)

Blogless Dianne left the 164th comment

Blogless Lyn Smith left the 179th comment

& Blogless Lisa left the 191st comment

Oh so frustrating ... so what to do about the other two parts of the giveaway? ..... I collected the emails that were sent to me telling me of their link to the ppost and pulled out ....

Cass from Cass's craft room who linked to the giveaway post. I will be sending Cass the Wish you were here cushion. Thanks Cass for going to the trouble of linking!

Likewise, I did the same for those who notified me of a pattern purchase and ......

Blogless Amanda who had bought both of the new patterns last week has now desided to also collect Oh Christmas Tree.

Both of these two extras winners will also recieve the 2 giveaway patterns. Thank you so very much everyone for joining in!

Now, as I was saying .... the weekend before that I spent in Adelaide really was a spectactular weekend! Lorraine together with her wonderful staff really put together a weekend with the lot for those who came along for the ride!

Back row (left to right); Sandra, Glenda, Andrea, Emma, Kris, Kate

Middle row(left to right): Leslie, Lorraine, Lorraine, Margaret, Dawn, Amanda, Debbie, Viv, Di

Front (left to right): Me, Gillian, Judith & Natalie

I desgned this little cushion top called Wish you were here to use as practice to get the raw edge technique right before jumping headlong into the class project which of course was Willow.

Each of the girls recieved a Goodies bag....

.... & a spectacular name badge .... (eat your heart out Linda & Sue!!!!!) .... these were all expertly made by Leanne ... she has also kindly put together a tutorial so that you can make your very own!!!!!

Thank you so much guys for a brilliant time and for working so hard! You all achieved a great deal!! Make sure you pop around and visit all of the girls blogs to see their finished projects and their works in progress! ...and guys don't forget to add your pictures to the Flickr album!

This amazing quilt top is being lovingly put together BY HAND!!!!!!! The most beautiful Karen, who played 'runner' for the Hettie's Patch weekend, is finishing the edges of her version of Meg's Garden using a blanket stitch!

... an amazing effort and absolutely beautiful work. You are my hero Karen!!!

I also have another version of Meg's garden to show you all ...

 
... this quilt was made by Roma, who attended the Ballarat Patchwork class earlier in  the year! I love this quilt with my favorite coloured background! The class project Sweet Little Garden pillow is also sitting there on the bed! Well done Roma!

Jacob's Coat Quilt Along ...

Thank you to everyone for bearing with me and filling out the Mr Linky thingy ... you have saved me hours and hours of work!!!! At the time of posting this entry there were 164 people signed up! I also appreciate everyones understanding regarding the incorrect naming of the Floriani stabliser!

I have had a few questions that I am sure there are more than a hand full of you wondering about ... so I have started a Frequently Asked Questions page - there is a link to this page on the main quilt along page ... hopefully Typepad doesn't have a limit on pages!!! I have also included an option for those of you, and there are a LOT of you, that want to join in and don't have a blog.

*****************************************************************

This year Homespun has run a spectular block of the month program that I am sure you will all be famillar with. THis quilt has been donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation to raise much needed funds for this amazing organisation. Please take a peek at the Homespun Blog to see how you can also help. Homespun will be running another block of the month program next year ... I have a block that is going to be included ... I can't wait to see how the quilt looks as I am among some pretty amazing designers!!

OK I'm off to bed as I have managed to pick up a bug that is making me feel totally crap ... but I will be back on Sunday with the first tutorial for the Quilt Along!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Kellie

PS. Thanks to all of you who attended the workshop who allowed me to use your photos in this post! Much appreciated guys!

Bugger.....

In my haste to list the requirements list for the quilt along, so that you would all have ample time to get prepared, I have managed to list the incorrect Floriani product ..... the product you need is actually ....

Stitch & Wash Fusible

I am so sorry about this! Honestly you could not be more pissed off with me as I am with myself right now!

  I have now corrected this in the requirements list.

I'll be back on Wednesday with the winners of the giveaway.

   Kellie

Willow & Lilly Pilly .... among other things!

Willow ...

& Lilly Pilly ..

 
were launched at Hettie's Patchover the weekend corresponding with the workshop that was an absolute pleasure to be a part of ...

thanks for the photo Leanne!

...but more on that next post as there is too much to get through already for one post!

... so as I was saying ... Lilly Pilly & Willow patterns are now available ... no preorders this time they are all packed and ready to go!!! With new patterns obviously we need have to have a giveaway .... because we just don't have enough giveaways around here!

Leave a comment on this post between now and 12 MN Australian Eastern Standard time on Monday the 26th of October and this is what you may end up finding something 'Don't Look Now' in your letter box ....

I will randomly select five people who commented and they will each receive a How does your garden grow & Love Grows Free Pattern.

In addition to this if any of these five people have linked to this post (you must email me and let me know that you have done this BEFORE the draw! Label your email Giveaway link please) ... they will go into a further draw and one person will receive this little cushion...

I have called this little cutie Wish you were here!

Finally, if any of these five people have purchased one of the two new patternsfrom myself or any of my retailers ... they will go into a third & final draw and will receive their choice of any one of my other older patterns ..... (for this to work you will need to email me and let me know if you have bought one of the patterns & where you purchased .... label your email New Pattern Purchase - you will need proof of purchase if you win! You must let me know before the draw!)

The new patterns are currently in stock in my shop, Hetties Patch, Patchwork Angel, Twiddletails & Buttonberry ... or any of my other retailers ... just ask!

Wish you were here!... was the practice project that we used to muck around on at Hetties Patch on the weekend. At this stage this project will only be available as part of a workshop and will not be available for individual sale.

Jacob's Coat Quilt Along update ....

I took this photo of some blocks I hand pieced another lifetime ago. This will give you an idea of how the blocks come together but we wont be making ours this way.

I never really had any idea of how many of you might be interested in this quilt along!!!!!!! I thought maybe half a dozen or if I was lucky maybe 20 or so ... but at last count there are well over 150 people .... this means that I will need to manage things a little differently to what I had envisaged. Anyway, I have made a page specifically for the  quilt along which we will use as the navigation page so this will be where you will find all of the information about the project and the links to everyone that is joining in. I'm excited, thrilled and totally overwhelmed that so many of you want to play along!! If you plan to join in pop over here and find out more of the details including the project requirements list. I will post the first tutorial on the 1st of November.

Last up for today I want to share with you the goings on from the last Patchwork House workshop! Mind you, it's been a couple of weeks now ... sorry girls!!!! I so enjoyed the company of this little group ... although they all worked really hard there was quite a lot of chatting & laughing that went on in the back room of Patchwork House!

Megan worked really hard and mastered the Raw Edge technique!!! Can't get much better than this Megan!!! Well done!

 

 

Vicky  mastered her machine and produced some great free motion work!

Keep your eyes open as you will be seeing more of the sweet Vicky!!

 

Take a look at Julie's work (left) .... check out the first practice piece which was pretty good in itself! Then take a look at the second photo .... this woman worked particularly hard to perfect her skills!!!! ;)

 

 

 

 

Tanya used her artistic flare and created her own little garden and worked hard practicing her stitching while keeping us all amused!

 

 

Nancy managed to come to some agreement with her sewing machine and made this beautiful pillow top ... she even managed to squeeze in time to learn how to master that elusive 'zip with a flap'!

 

Sue made a very beautiful pillow top!

I can't wait to tell you all more about what Sue has been doing in her spare time ... but you will have to wait for that!

 

 

 

Annette got right into the free motion stitching! And really did a great job!

 

Thank you for making the two days such a pleasure girls!!!

 

 

Now I know that I had said that that was going to be it for this post ... well I nearly forgot to mention a couple of other things .....sorry!

The Waverly Quilters Guildare having their Annual General Meeting next monday night at 8pm ... and I am going to be their guest speaker ... obviously the NOTY girls were very kind to me!!!!! I believe that is is quite a large group so if you are a member please come along and introduce yourself .... I would love to meet you!

  

Some of you will be familiar with Sewjourn& the gorgeous Jan that runs this wonderful retreat based in Lancfield here in Victoria. On the of February next year I will be holding a Weekend Workshop thingy! Would you like to come???? It will only be a small group and Jan has actually already announced this so if you are interested let her know as soon as possible.

OK ... to that really is it this time!!!!

Enjoy your week ... I am loving this beautiful long awaited sunshine!!!!

Kellie   

PS. This photo is for my Miss Jessie ....

The kids had their biannual whole school concert in the first week back after the school holidays ... this is Jessie's costume ... all little girls love a twirly skirt don't they?!! 

I've been thinking about a quilt along ...

... not the traditional quilt along that I've seen around the traps but more of a social come, get off your arse and finish that quilt sort of quilt along .... what do you think? This is not to say that there wont be plenty of explanation and support with the project ... I will write posts for each stage including the basting, machine quilting & binding of the quilt .... we can even cover labeling the quilt.

My plan is to make an Orange Peel quilt. I first fell in love with this traditional pattern after seeing one made by Trish Harper at Amitie a few years ago (Trish doesn't have a website that I am aware of, however you can contact her through Amitie). Sadly, a disgusting person felt the need to steal this quilt. I have done a couple of Google searches trying to find an image of a similar quilt to the one I plan to make. I found many that had 4 petals in a square block and then I discovered that it is actually called Joseph's Coat. 

Each individual block is a circle shape with 6 petals meeting at the centre point with a further 6 petals framing the block. Once the blocks are all connected together each point where the petals converge creates a centre point of a circle.Hopefully you will be able to imagine what this finished quilt will look like from the few blocks I have made. It really is a very effective and beautiful quilt.

Traditionally this quilt is hand pieced and not really a project for a beginner .... but I have a far more fiendish plan! We are going to put this quilt top together using hand applique, which will make the project very portable ... perfect for watching the kids at sport or where ever else they may be or where ever else you may be for that matter. Now before you all bork at the notion of turned edge applique the method I will be using even a chimp could master!!!! I plan to make a reasonable sized quilt with 49 blocks that will make a lovely sized single bed quilt. I want to make finishing this quilt achievable and be able to still be finished even when you have another one or 4 projects on the go at the same time!!! Initially I think we should aim for 1 1/2 blocks per week. Have you done the math yet? .... This is going to be a long term project!

I think that a good time to kick off would be on the first of November. I will post the requirements a week before this so you can all get organised. I haven't bought any new fabric specifically for this project ... well not the coloured fabric anyway! The quilt is predominantly a scrappy quilt so it wont cost you a whole paycheck to join in ... still buying new fabric is always a very good thing!!

If you would like to join in leave a comment on this post. I will place a list of everyones blogs (or names if you don't have a blog) in my side bar once we get started ... please make sure I have a way to contact you. Once we have made a few blocks perhaps we could set up a Flickery page so that we can check out how we are all progressing .... I'm happy to hear suggestions how we could work this.

Edit ... as there has been such a huge responce to this Quilt Along I have set up a specific page with a Mr Linky thingy so that your details can be listed automatically .... you can find the page here ... the Requirements List has also been listed now and you can navigate there from the main quilt along page. Thanks Kellie

I am in Adelaide at the moment for the long anticipated Hettie's Patch workshop! Lorraine has really out done herself and put together a fabulous event ... but more on this next week! I have been very slack with my posting this past few weeks and still haven't blogged about the last Patchwork House class either yet ... which was a terrific class and a great group of women! This will all have to wait until my next post now ... which will be another giveaway as Lilly Pilly & Willow are due for release on Monday ....

  

Enjoy what's left of your weekend!

Kellie

Spaced out ...

Have you missed us? The past couple of weeks have just flown and unfortunately blogging has come in last on my list of things to do ... so what have we been doing?

We had a fabulous time in Sydney ...

 

We trawled all the usual haunts ....

and relished in all of the family time!

Miss Jessie finally lost her first tooth!!!!

We managed to experience the dust storm ...

 

Image courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald.

... quite amazing really ... I'm very pleased that I never had to clean up the mess afterward!!!

 
My bag full of fabric managed to find it's way back to me!!! And I managed to add to it's contents courtesy of Quiltsmith!

I also managed to catch up with Catherine Sanchez Editor of Homespun. It was lovely to finally meet you Catherine after so many very late night emails!

On our return to Melbourne we took in an aged house guest ....

 
... who has broken her foot and needs a little extra help for a little while .... she is making herself quite useful though as there has been quite a few patterns needing folding of late!!

Joshua turned five in Sydney and even though we tried to convince him that he had, had his birthday it wasn't until we celebrated it with his birthday party on Saturday that he finally conceded that he had indeed turned 5!

.... my boy likes the girls!

The kids Play Room was transformed into the cockpit of starship and Joshua captained their journey throughout our Solar System! Thanks to NASA, Space School, Utube & our big screen TV they watched themselves blasting off into our outer atmosphere. They then traveled past our sun & the planets in our solar system stopping for various away missions such as ... 

 Solar System Relay...

Balloon Rocket Races ....

Moon rock dash ... 

 Musical Planets & lots more ... before we returned to earth for astronaut refueling!!!! 

Happy Birthday my littlest big boy!!!

There hasn't been alot of creating going on around here in amongst all of these family commitments I'm afraid. Too much going on to start work on something new ... so instead I pulled out my Orange Peel that I have been thinking about for quite some time now ....

I have rejigged this difficult favorite of mine and come up with a plan that will hopefully mean that I will actually manage to finish this quilt sometime this ....

...century!

I am very excited that Don't Look Now patterns are now available online from a New Zealand retailer ...

   

FionaMarie.com that specialises in designs from Australian & New Zealand designers. I would love to give away one of the promo patterns to the first person who contacts me after purchasing one of my patterns from Fiona ... so once you've bought one drop me an email and I'll send it off to you.

   

Do you all remember a few weeks back when Tweedletails, an online storebased in the US, started stocking Don't Look Now patterns? Well they sold out in 4 hours flat ... but I am very happy to let you all know that they are back in stock and just waiting to find a  good home!

As as for me ... what am I up to this week? Monday I hunted the kiddos off to school again for the last term of the school year! I am still going to be watching over my 'aged house guest with her broken foot'!  On Thursday I will be at Patchwork House finishing off the 2nd day of a workshop that started last month. (The February dates for my next class at Patchwork House booked out after only one day so we have scheduled another class so give Kylie a ring if you are interested!) Yesterday I spent a little time in The Cloth Shop in East Ivanhoe here in Melbourne and picked up some absolutely beautiful wool ...

 
I think that this will become the background for a quilt that I plan to make for my self!!!! Who would have thought of ever making a quilt for one's self???

 
.... and I'm going to start packing for Adelaide next week .... woooo hooooo!!!!

Enjoy your week!

Kellie

PS. I was looking at these two partners in crime ... watching over Joshua's party frivolities on Saturday ...

how they have both grown!

 

I love you so much my, not so little, twins!!!

On a whim ...

Mr DLN and I are not your typical spontaneous sort of people ... we are more the over planing, extended list making, drawn-out contemplating kind of people. Well this past week we have stepped outside our comfort zone a little!

Monday morning the phone rings....

Mr DLN: Do you feel like packing the kids up and fling to Sydney for 5 days?

Me:What about Rosh Hahanah and Joshua's birthday party?

Mr DLN: You can fix it!

(long silence)

Me: OK but only if you organise the fights and the accommodation ... because if it doesn't pan-out I just can't loose the time that it would take to sort it.

Mr DLN: No problem!

So here we are in this most beautiful city!

Lots of lovely family activities planed, plus some fabric shopping (fingers crossed) & I also hope to finally meet up with someone who I have gotten to know over the past 12 months. I love school holidays!!!!

We had a fabulous time today ... although poor Benjamin suffered through the Butterfly enclosure! Who doesn't like butterflies????

Only one small hiccup ... after the debacle with our luggage on route to Fiji I decided to carry all of my fabric and sewing in my hand luggage ... this time I managed to leave it on the shuttle bus! Dam it!!!! ... Sadly I doubt that I will ever see my beautiful fabrics again ... the shuttle company have been the opposite of helpful I'm afraid. Luckily the projects that I had planned to work on were in another bag!

Thank you to those of you that came up with all of the terrific suggestions for what I should add to my signature on my patterns .... many were a great source of laughter over this past week! It turns out though that I should have just ran it by my dear friend Louise as she came up with the suggestion that I liked the most ...

Willow is such a pretty name for a very pretty design. You are prolific and now just a little bit famous too - ha ha told you so!! I think maybe you could do a quick flower pic or little tree like your stunning trademark applique designs as a signature!
Lucinda has had the same problem as Jessica and had to have hers pulled as the dentist wouldn't leave it there. Those tooth fairies are crafty little things aren't they! Hope to see you soon! xxxx

Posted by: Louise| September 13, 2009 at 05:18 PM

.... thanks Louise! Perhaps you might prefer lunch on me rather than the pattern though!

I know that I'm a little late but ... L'shana tova, tikatevu!

Catch you all again later in the week when we get home!

Kellie

PS.... oh and by the way ... guess who ended up organising the trip???????

Teeth in ... teeth out ... and lots of other stuff too!

I have had the most wonderful week ... dear Anna who won the Lilly Pilly quilt has just delighted me time and time again with the most wonderful emails this past week ,,, I get the feeling that she is generally quite pleased with her win! I have enjoyed it so much that I would actually highly recommend that you go right now and make something ... anything and gift it to Anna you wont regret it I promise!

I also found my ... oops ... Anna's quilt over here this past week ... thank you guys! And here too!

Apart from all of this excitement we have also had some excitement in our house ... little people generated excitement that is so delicious that it is contagious!!!

Our Benjamin lost his first top tooth ....

...now he looks like a dero!!! Apparently, according to Megan, there is a rumour going around the playground at school that the Tooth Fairy isn't actually real ... apparently some of Megan's friends think that it is actually their Mums and Dads who take the teeth and leave the money .... my little people thought that they would test this theory and hide Ben's tooth ... the hypothesis being that if the tooth wasn't gone and no money was left then it would definitely be the the parents as the Tooth Fairy would obviously know where the tooth was, even when it was hidden! Luckily our Tooth Fairy is a Super Sleuth!!!! Ben's tooth was gone in the morning and his nett worth was increased by $5!

Little Miss sweetie-pie Jessica ... is yet to loose a tooth. Poor Jessie has sat by and watched as her twin brother has lost 5 teeth and has added to his money box time and time again. Not even a hint of a loose tooth I'm afraid ... no instead Jessie has decided to do things a little different to the normal population ...

...she has decided to keep her baby teeth .... puts a whole new slant on hoarding doesn't it????

So other than these things what have I been doing? I have finished my little project that I showed you a peek of last week ...

This is Willow!

Willow is the project that we will be working on over here next month! I have bigger plans for Willow ... but you will need to wait a little bit for more on that. By the way Lorraine ... Joshua would like to know who Hettie is?

I also finished a little pillow ... a variation on Just for me ... from Pretty 'n Pink.

Poor Kitty has been waiting on this one for way too long now! It will be in the post on Monday Kitty!

I met a terrific group of girls on Thursday for day one of my second Patchwork House workshop.

 I thoroughly enjoyed the day! I am really having fun with the workshops! 

Now that I am doing things that finish past school pick up time the kids have have had to go to After School Care a few times ... they have been mostly very excited about this and have even asked if they could go on days when I'm home!!! However I think that the novelty has worn off for my Miss Jessie as she packed up, collected her backpack, donned her hat and sat waiting for me 1/2 an hour before I collected them this week ... mmm nothing like a little Mummy guilt!

And just to reek havoc with my girl's psyche I have taken on new teaching dates at Patchwork House for term one next year ...which will be on the 11th & the 25th of Feburary. The waiting list is almost big enough to fill the class so if you are interested make sure you give Kylie a ring! Garden Party, Love Birds & My Sweetheart are visiting Patchwork Hose for the next couple of weeks if you would like to take a peek and do some shopping at the same time :)!

I am also going to be visiting the Sunshine Coast in March of next year for a two day workshop at Patchwork Angel. I can't tell you how excited I am about this! If you are interested in coming along then please give Penny a ring! Also if you find yourself at the Patchwork Angel over the next month you will find Meg's Garden & Oh Christmas Tree visiting the store ...

  

... make sure you say hello!

Peggy& Bev's Place in Emerald which is in central Queensland, 3 hours west of Rockhampton have now started selling my patterns in their shop. They have a terrific blog so make sure you take a peek ... looks like lots of fun way out there in the middle of no where! If you happen to be reading this after purchasing a pattern at Peggy's & Bev's place make sure you be the first one to let me know and I will send you a free pattern.

 

Last but by all means not least I can now tell you all that Anina over at Twiddletails is now stocking my patterns!!! Wooo Hoooo!!! So there you go ... all of you US peeps that have asked so many times if I have a retailer in the US ... well yes I do!!!! Go now and get yourself one  ... and then pop back here and be the first one to tell me that you have bought a Don't look Now!pattern from Twiddletails and I will send you one of the giveaway pillow patterns ... you will need proof of purchase! 

There has been lots of finished projects added to the Flickr group since it started a couple of weeks ago so make sure you take a peek! Thank you everyone who has joined in I am really loving seeing your creations!

So that's it ... I now only have 6 days to finish off the space suits and build a space shuttle ... may the force be with me ... or should that be live long and prosper or ... maybe make it so number one! Or should I be looking for some help from the Ancients this week? ...Oh God someone stop me!!!!

Have a great week guys!

Kellie

PS. Before you all go ... I was asked on Thursday to sign a copy of one of my patterns and a copy of the Homespun Magazine that featured Love Birds... and I had no clever little quip to add to my scribble. Apparently there are other designers that have very clever little ditties that they add when they sign their patterns. Help me out guys because I have now totally over thought this and I have NOTHING! Whoever comes up with an original, catchy, relevant, short comment for my to use in these situations will not only get my eternal gratitude and a big cyber hug ... but I will also send them the very first copy of Lilly Pilly once it is released next month!!! You've got until I next post ... so no pressure! :)

Winners, Book Week & new beginings ....

The response to the giveaway was fantastic! Thank you all for getting involved and particularly to those of you that took the time to post about & link to the giveaway. My emails have run hot this past week!!! Once I had deleted the few double up comments & included all of the extra entries, there were a total of 783 entries.

I am so pleased that you all like the quilt ... as I have said, I just love it! With every comment I received telling me how crazy I was to be giving it away the more I thought ... what the hell am I doing?? And you know it looks pretty good hanging in my family room ... but I made this quilt with the intention of giving it away ... and I am happy to be doing so as you all have given me so much encouragement over the last year and a half that I am happy to be giving something back!! Some of you who know me will understand when I say that this little place here in cyber space has been a healthy distraction during what has been a very difficult time for me and my family. 

So who won my Lilly Pilly ...

I am very pleased to say that my quilt is going to live with Anna from Thimbleanna ...

... who actually won a pattern last post as well ... no better a home could Miss Jessie have picked out! Anna has commented on most everyone of my posts since she found me over a year ago. She always has an enthusiastic, encouraging ... and often hilarious comment to share with me. Thank you Anna you are a sweetheart! 

The 10 winners that will receive a copy of the How Does Your Garden Grow pattern are ....

Anna from Quilt Mom's Journey

Blogless Michele

Lynn from Soukies

Patricia from Con Aguja de Plata

Blogless Marie Leduc

and ....

Blogless Barb

Blogless Adrianne

Blogless Jennifer

Blogless Kylie

Blogless Jemima ... I am pretty sure you have a copy of this pattern Jemima so I would be more than happy to send you Love Grows Free if you would like it ... just let me know :)

 

The winners of the Love Grows Free pattern are;

Vicki from Tozzs Corner ... Vicki won with one of her extra entries because she blogged about & linked to the giveaway

My dear sweet friend Andi from Patch Andi 

Blogless Chiss Jasper

Vreni from Oops La

Blogless Wendylou

The blogless certainly did well this time round!!

Congratulations everyone! Thank you all again for taking part! For those of you who asked ... yes Lilly Pilly will be released as a pattern ... probably in October ... I hope!

This past week has been a busy one ... not only with sorting giveaway entries! Last Thursday the little people celebrated book week at school with the annual parade which meant crazed late night costume creating ...

 

Benjamin went as Tashi from the spectacular Tashi series.

Miss Jessie went as Angela Throgmorton who is eternal mother figure to the very naughty Old Tom from the hilarious Old Tom series

and of course Miss Megan went as Meg from the classic Meg & Mog picture books

I made a start on a new small project ...

... that may well become a big project ... but more on that later.

Patchwork Collections a lovely shop in Healesville, here in Victoria, have started stocking my patterns. We are also planning classes for next year ... more on that once the dates are confirmed. 

Several other packages of my patterns are also winging their way to some new retailers ... I am very excited about this because my first US retailer is among them!!!! Woo Hooo!!! I will let you know the details once they arrive!

This coming week I'm off to Hawthorn on Thursday for my second Patchwork House workshop but other than this there is going to be some serious birthday party preparations going on!!! 

That's it for me tonight ... I'm off to make a start on 6 astronaut costumes ... and a space shuttle ...

Oh and I almost forgot ... thank you to everyone who has joined the Don't Look Now! Flickr group! Make sure you take a peak there are some really great projects to look at!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!

Kellie 

PS. Last post I neglected to add that this elusive woman in the red gloves is Lisa ... Lisa has been practicing heaps since the class at Ballarat Patchwork and she tells me that her raw edge is looking pretty good! Send us some pictures Lisa!!!! Sorry for missing you out last post!!!

 

Life's a circus ... and a celebration!

We finally celebrated Ben's 7th birthday on Sunday ... and what a whole lot of exciting fun it was too!

We took Ben and a few of his best friends to the Circus!

There were loads of amazing magic tricks, stacks of scantily clad women who appeared and disappeared from various different boxes,  jaw dropping acrobatic feats, a woman who managed to balance on a over-sized disco ball while dancing with more hula hoops than I have seen in my entire life time and three totally loony motor bike riders that all rode around together, at great speed, in a metal sphere!!!!!  

... and then we had cake!

Happy 7th birthday ... yet again my sweet boy!

While I'm reflecting upon late celebrations there is one more that needs to be addressed ... that elusive 100th post celebration that I have been putting off for the past 7 posts ...

I finally put on my skates and finished my new tree quilt ... that I have called Lilly Pilly.

I just love this quilt ... it has turned out even better than I had hoped that it would ... sorry about the photos it is a little gloomy here today and I didn't want to wait any longer!

One person who leaves a comment to this post will get to take this quilt home with them ... but there is one catch ... if you want to play along you will have to agree to wait a little while before it comes to live with you as I need to have it to display on my stand at the Australian Quilt Market in November of this year....

So do you want to play along ... are you prepared to wait to collect the quilt? Cool!

To enter the giveaway you must leave a comment on this post between now and midnight Australian EST on 2nd of September. As always there are a couple of extra ways that you can rack up extra entries ...

• if you purchased one of my last batch of patterns during the preorder period you will receive an extra 10 entries (please note preorder in your comment)

if you link to this giveaway in a post on your blog then you will collect an extra 3
entries ... if you do this please let me know by emailing me here and noting Giveaway Link in the subject field.

If you have included a picture of something that you have made using one of my patterns on the Don't Look Now - your take on my designs Flickr group page (more on this a little later in this post) then you will rack up an extra 5 entries - let me know by emailing me here and noting Flickr Picture in the subject field. (this includes pictures from my old album that still lives in my side bar - if one of these pictures are yours that I have already downloaded into Flickr please make sure you email me and let me know because I have a feeling that collating these entries is going to be a headache!)

As promised if you have left a comment on any of my last 8 posts and you win the quilt you will receive an extra little something ... these posts have now had the the comments closed during this giveaway period to make sure that the regular commenter's aren't disadvantaged.

In addition to this ... if you have purchased a pattern from me or any of the retailers who stock my patterns and you win the quilt you will also receive an extra little something. The pattern needs to be purchased before the end of this giveaway & you will need proof of purchase. 

Just a word of caution though ... if you happen to claim any of the extra entries and you aren't entitled to them then you wont be able to play along! Fair is fair! I will be checking!

In addition to the Lilly Pilly Quilt I will giveaway another 10 of the How does your garden grow patterns

and 5 of the new Love grows free patterns. 

Other than this bit of excitement I have a heap of other things to share with you all about the past weeks happenings ....

I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon with the NOTY Quilters Guild last Saturday! I loved sharing my quilting experiences with such a receptive and friendly bunch of women! Thank you all so much for making me feel so welcome! Unfortunately I don't have any photos just yet of meeting but I will post them once I do.

This past Saturday I got up supper early ... early for a Saturday that is ... packed the Bernina in into the Mazada and zoom zoom zoomed ...

across Victoria to Ballarat Patchwork... 

... to teach 6 keen women some of my techniques.

 

Poor Pam soldered on despite ill health and did incredibly well considering she could hardly breathe! Have you checked your stash Pam to make sure I didn't make off with piece of fabric you have there!

 

This is Keri and she is a Sewing Machineaholic ... I wont tell you how many sewing machines she has at home just in case I get it wrong ... I wouldn't be surprised if she bought another one on the way home from the class ... no only kidding ... you know I'm just jealous! Keri also picked up the technique incredibly quickly and hopefully you all will get to admire her version of Oh Christmas Tree on the Flickr page very soon! 

Katrina is the most delightful girl who sells hand made clothing among other things at local markets. She hadn't done any quilting to speak of before the class ... and although she wouldn't admit to it, she worked really hard at getting the hang of this skill and did some fantastic work!

Roma, who is a seasoned quilter and is accomplished at hand applique, took to raw edge like a duck to water!! I am really looking forward to seeing your version of Rainbow Lollipops & Garden Party Roma!!

And for some reason or another, Yvonne you managed to escape the focus of my lens ... I'm so sorry! Please send me a picture Yvonne so that I can share your project with everyone! But for now my sample will sit where your work should be!

 

Thank you so much guys for a lovely day! It was great to get to know you all and to meet some people who found me through other sources other than my blog!

Ballarat Patchwork are also now stocking my patterns if you are over that way make sure you drop in ... it is well worth the trip ... once you peek inside you will understand why I drool over this shop! Just in case you are looking for the Hankie Linen that I use alot in my projects they keep a good range of the colours in stock. They also have a great on-line shop as well for those of  you that a just too far away to drop in.

.. that's my fabric Emma's cutting up! Oh and by the way Jodie I'm still more than a little bit pissed that I didn't get to see you!!!

Creative Quilting a UK based shop in Surrey in the UK has also just started stocking my patterns this past week! Make sure you pop in if you happen to be in the area ... and don't forget to say I sent you!!!! They also have a beautiful on line shop!

As always with new retailers if you happen to be the first person to contact me after purchasing one of my patterns from either Ballarat Patchwork or Creative Quilting then I will send you out a copy of either How does your garden grow or the Love Grows Free pattern ... your choice :)

I also received a lovely comment on my last post from Sarah from Sewn & The last piece on Saturday morning...

Hey Kelly - NOT entering the competition, just letting you know that I am at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, and what did I see today? A stand selling your patterns, with samples made up looking very nice, and lots of ladies poring over the selection! Most exciting for Don't Look Now!

Posted by: Sarah | August 22, 2009 at 03:48 AM

     

... the stand belonged to Dungarees & Daisies you made my day Sarah! Thank you so much for letting me know! I have asked Jen to send me some pictures of her stand to share with you ... apparently she had Kaffe admiring her samples!!!!!

Finally the giveaway winners from my last post ...

Marie Joze from Handmade by Mai left the 5th comment ... Mai has just finished some very nice bags and she is a Bernina girl so well worth a peek ... Mai also won some of my pattern a few weeks ago after leaving my 3000th comment!

Anna from Thimbleanna who left the 8th comment .... I owe you more than a pattern Miss Anna!!! If you don't know Anna then really you can't be a serious blogger! Go take a peak at the life of Anna ... I dream of being Anna's sister, or her daughter or daughter-in-law or even her cat!

Blogless Leanne who left the 63rd comment ....

Mary from Mary on Lake Pulaski left the 75th ... Mary must be on a winning streak as she just won one of Melly & Me Bon Bon bag patterns ... very nice bag Mary!!!!

Lora Lynn from My Art, My so called Life who left the 78th comment ... happy Wedding Anniversary Lora!!!

Larissa from Flutter By Corner left the 80th comment .. Larissa has been working on her free motion stitching skills and things are looking great over her way ... but if you scroll down the page you will see why you must remember to remove your safety pins!!! Close one Larissa!

The gorgeous Sandy Gray from The Silver Thimble left the 95th comment ... Sandy stocks my patterns and is now an expert at inserting zips with a flap!!!

Last but not least blogless Julie Anne who left the 117th comment.

Congrats guys! I will send out each of you a copy of the How does your garden grow pattern as soon as I have your snail mail details.


One more 'final' cool thing from my last post, that I just realised, is that blogless Tammy Spencer left my 4000th comment ... I will send Tammy both of the giveaway patterns to celebrate! Thanks Tammy and to all of you for taking the time visit & to leave a comment! I very much appreciate it!!

Enjoy your week and good luck with the belated 100th post giveaway!
Kellie

PS. Remember I mentioned the Don't Look Now Flickr group page earlier on .... well it is up and running. I have transferred all of the photos from the old album in my side bar to the group page. Make sure you take a peek and make sure you goin the group! If you leave some photos please make sure you let us know which pattern or tutorial you used and any other information you might like to share - such as the fabrics you used, quilting pattern etc. I hope that this place will become a source of great inspiration for us all!

****Edit September 3 ... just after midnight ,,, thank you all for entering this giveaway! What an amazing responce! I am so thilled that you like this quilt as much as I do. The giveaway is now closed & I have closed the comments for now. I am going to need a day or so to sort out all of the entries ... so see you back here Friday or Saturday. Kellie ****