Wombat Wonderland Blog Tour

Living in Sydney I sometimes bump into Saffron Craig - Saffron is incredibly approachable and full of enthusiasm for what she does.

I was lucky enough to have a peak at the new range Wombat Wonderland earlier in the year and loved it straight away - the pattern/ shapes and colours are wonderful (Wonderful-Wombat Wonderland!)

Anyway I'm honoured to be part of the Blog Tour & hope you like what I came up with

Xx

I'm the last stop on the 

Wombat Wonderland Blog Tour!

so far I have really enjoyed everyones projects.

Friday the 31st of August Katia of Plushka

made some incredibly cute softies

Friday the 7th of September Toni Coward of Make it Perfect

made a gorgeous children's bean bag pod & Cute summer dress

Friday the 14th of September Amy Gunson of Badskirt

made an amazing little baby outfit

Friday the 21st of September Katy of I'm a Ginger Monkey

made some very chic scalloped bunting & a cushion worth stealing

 and Now it seems its my turn

Friday the 28th of September Siobhan Rogers of 

Bespoke Quilts

I had the Wombat Wonderland fabrics sitting in my studio for a while - I like to look at fabrics and imagine what they can be.

I like making quilts with large piecing - its a nice way to show off great fabrics.

Above is the range of fabrics I had

I wanted to add in some solid coloured fabrics and make it into a large single bed quilt.

 My youngest Ms 6 has fallen in love with the Wombats and requested they go onto her bed.

This is the mix I ended up with 

To start with I framed some squares, randomly placing the solid colours and Wombat Wonderland prints.

I made 20 squares all up

It looked fine - But I wanted to mix up the colours again and decided to use a pattern I did a little while back called Eton Mess 

& Voila!

one finished large single bed quilt top

Its currently at the long arm machine quilters having the lovely final touches done.

I'll keep Saffron posted about the finished product - I cant wait to see it quilted and on Ms 6's bed.

I'm eyeing of the Blue Sunrays fabric or the garden stripes as the binding - maybe even both? 

Hope you enjoyed everyones creations & Thank you to Saffron!

Xx Siobhan 

Boys.........

I am so surprised at how many of my fabrics have pink in them, it isn't until I go out to specifically make a boy quilt that I notice.

I know boys can have a bit of pink - my older boy actually likes pink.

Its just when its a new born baby - I'm always conscious of "boy" colours and "girl" colours.

Its a little awkward when some one takes a peak in the pram and says "oh isn't she a beautiful girl, look at those eyes" and its a boy. I speak from experience. 

Anyway needless to say my new born baby quilts are always very stereo typical in gender colour selection.

Fabric choices have improved substantially - even over the last year. Maybe its a trend thing?  thankfully there are lots of great graphic prints out that are perfect "Boy" quilting fabrics. The text print I used is one of my own available on Spoonflower

Xx Siobhan 

Sydney Spring time

Just a quickie :)

I couldn't resist snapping a few (or alot) of pics today. The Sydney sun is out and the weather is warming up.....

and productivity is at an all time high - thankfully after a few hick-ups with jet lag last week.

I have a few projects that need designing/ finishing.....

on the wall of the shed at the moment is a quilt I'm making for Saffron Craig's new range Wombat Wonderland - my turn on the blog hop is the 29th September. I'm a bit worried because I'm the last in the blog hop! and everyone else has done a fantastic job :-/

anyway - I'm off. 

I need to pack my basket for teaching at Hobby Sew (Top Ryde - Sydney) tomorrow and fill the ladies in on my NYC adventures!

Fingers Crossed the weather keeps up

Xx Siobhan 

NYC - Train trip to CT to see Denyse Schmidt

 

 I'm HOME !

I've been home for 4 days..........

The jet lag hit me pretty hard - I taught on day 2 of being home, I'm not sure I was coherent...  My students put up with me - which I am very very thankful for :)

I saw so much on my quick trip to the US - my mind is still buzzing

One of the more interesting & exciting things was catching the train up to Bridgeport CT and seeing Denyse Schmidts studio. 

I meet up with Julie - who is extra lovely - she showed me some of Denyse's lovely quilts and around the studio.

Its truly amazing to see everything in the flesh!

The Quilts looked beautiful in real life, its amazing to be able to see things that I have looked at a million times in books.

The current Schedule for DS Studios is crazy - Denyse is booked up till 2014, with a possible trip to Australia...... Lets hope that one comes to fruition! 

- If your looking to catch up with Denyse or do one of her workshops have a look at DS Quilts for times/ dates.

below are some pictures - I was so over whelmed I didn't take many pictures at all...

I saw lots of quilts one being the Flowering Vine new pattern that has just come out. 

Thank you to Julie for spending the morning with me - talking about quilting and showing me lots of wonderful things in the studio - I felt right at home & it was Lovely to meet and chat with Denyse! truly inspirational business women and I look forward to what DS Quilts come up with next.

Not the most stunning picture of me, but its with Denyse - so I had to post it!

Next post I'll write about my visit to Jersey City to see Windham Fabrics 

Xx Siobhan

New York update

A few more pics from the last few days - I'm on a laptop and its hard to upload pics etc

I've had a few interesting meetings - when I'm home I'll write more about them :)

The weather is stinking HOT!

dont let the grey sky fool you - Thats a steamy haze......

I have one more day in New York before I jet home - Looking forward to seeing my kids & Husband :) 

and getting stuck into lots of WORK

Statue of Liberty

Ground Zero - Workers

Times Square NY

New Jersey

Windham Fabrics - Jersey City

Windham Fabrics - Jersey City

Bridgeport CT

Denyse Schmidt Quilts - Bridgeport CT 

Xx Siobhan

Here I am in NYC

Hot n Sweaty Hazy Day

not many words - absolutely spent after hours of walking.

Xx Siobhan

Bon Voyage

I'm rushing around like a maniac 

 finishing final bits of work and working out how to get them to the editors, sorting the Shed after teaching two classes this week & organising the numerous children's school functions/ activities that have been on this week. Oh! that reminds me I have emails to reply too.......

Next on my list is getting the house ready for my In-laws and Fathers day this coming Sunday - Then I'll think about what I'm packing for my Trip to 

New York!

I jet out on Monday morning......

I'm only in New York for 6 days but I plan on making the most of it and already have meetings organise - Very exciting :-)

Really I shouldn't be on the computer writing this post - but I couldn't help myself!

My father has been working incredibly hard on the Shed make over - I'm so lucky to have an extremely handy dad.

The Shed is pretty much done, a few bits n bobs but looking beautiful. Next will be the gardening.

I have started teaching a small group in the Shed - 3hr fortnightly Beginners Patchwork/ Quilting class. I had a bit of a list of people that had been asking and have started with them.

Term 4 of school I will run more and open it up to others. Look out for a post or email me if your interested in attending with a day/ time that suits you.

For those who don't know - I'm in Sydney Australia & situated on the Inner west/ North side.

I have added a few pics of a quilt that needs finishing, I'll have more info and the finished quilt when I get back - to show you.

and slowly but surely I'm sorting and organising my fabric into shelves and storage - Its all starting to come together

I'm sure I will blog/ twitter/ Instagram a million times during the week I'm in NYC

Take care

Xx Siobhan 

Spring time colours & Liberty Advice

I can feel spring in the air!

I'm a big fan of the in-between seasons.

I usually find that when the weather starts to change so does my fabric buying habit - take for example the linen that was delivered today (pictured below)

Yellow - Pink - Sand

all Linen/Cotton blends

all happy spring time colours

On the subject of Fabric buying

I had an email asking about Liberty of London Fabrics. Liberty of London Tana Lawn is a lovely soft fabric that can be on the $$$ side. I have made a few quilts in the last year or so with Liberty of London fabric - one being a queen bed sized that was in Down Under Quilts Magazine #151.

I had been collecting my fabrics for a really long time - buying 1/2 yards at a time. Some from shops in Paris, London, online from Purl soho and in person from Sydney Shop Calico & Ivy. It is beautiful and does make a lovely quilt. If your using the Tana Lawn Fabrics it can be a little slippery to sew with, I recommend using a spray starch to help make it stable and easy to handle. 

If anyone has a "Go To" shop to buy Liberty of London I'm sure everyone would love to see, leave a link and everyone can have a look.

I hope the weather keeps up in Sydney over the coming week - and the weather in New York City is lovely for my trip next week!

Xx Siobhan