Di Mill

Meet Percy!

I really enjoy seeing how creative people can be when raising money for charity. If you pop over to Sandy's blog - The Silver Thimble - you will see Percy the Patchabull! He looks fantastic and attracted a lot of attention and he helped raise funds for Angel Flight - an organisation that co-ordinates free non-emergency flights to help country people who are struggling with poor health, financially, and distance. Sandy's shop is in Barcaldine which is in outback Queensland so Angel Flight is a charity that is essential in that area.

Isn't Percy just sooo cute???  I love his eyelashes!

 

 

The quilt below went up for Auction and raised $850! The expressions on the Bulls faces are priceless.

 

images via the silver thimble

 

You can read the story and see more photos of the day over at Sandy's Blog.

 

Take care...Di

 

 

 

First Aid Pouch

As I travel a lot, I am always on the lookout for ideas that help me be a bit more organised and streamlined when packing my bag. I came across this great tutorial for a first aid pouch over at A Spoonful of Sugar. Great idea to hold all of your emergency items such as band aids, creams, bandages, medication etc.

 

image from a spoonful of sugar

 

image from a spoonful of sugar

If you pop over to the spoonful of sugar blog, you will find plenty of photos as well as a great tutorial.  They only take an hour to make and would make a great gift for someone traveling overseas.

Take care...Di

 

Michele's Winning Quilt

While at the Brisbane Craft & Quilt Fair I watched in awe as Michele Hill worked tirelessly away on quilting her quilt. Little did I know that she had to finish it so that she could enter it in the Adelaide Quilt Show. I was so excited to see that Michele won Best of Show! I can't believe she was still quilting it only a couple of weeks before the entries were due. Michele almost didn't enter this quilt - you can read about the reasons here.

 

Michele working on the quilt at the end of October in Brisbane

 

 

The finished quilt.

 

Congratulations Michele. It is a beautiful quilt - well deserving of it's prize.

Take care...Di

 

 

Queensland Quilters Quilt Show

While working at the Brisbane Craft & Quilt Fair, I did manage to race in and see the quilts on display at the Queensland Quilters Quilt Show. It's always a great display and the members of the guild work very hard to get everything ready. I'm sure it has taken Kim and her team many months of preparation and no doubt they will be already organising the next one.

Unfortunately due to time constraints, I wasn't able to write down every quilts name & owner and there was not a catalogue to use as a reference so I apoligise for not being able to label every quilt with it's rightful details.

Best of show "Knotted Logs" was won by the lovely Margot Kitchen:

 

The quilt is beautifully pieced and quilted.

 

 

 

"Country Garden" by Glen Jacklyn-Newham

 

 

 

 

"Chrysanthamum Tiles" by Robyn Ginn

 

"Scottish Dancer" by Joanne Piper

 

 

"Leaves" by Berneice Sayer

 

 

"Le Jardin" by Island Quilters

 

"Nebula" by Sue Duffy

I'll be back tomorrow with more quilts that were in the show.

Take care...Di

Photo Styling

Working in the Patchwork & Quilting Industry, I'm am always on the lookout for "something different" - a different way to display fabric or quilts - a different way to market a product. Finding something different keeps me inspired. I love "Styling" and photography so when the two are bought together and used to create something different - I am in heaven.

Anthropologie is my favourite store in the USA and usually the first store I go to whenever I am lucky enough to visit. While searching their website I came across a perfect example of how styling a quilt in different ways during a photo shoot, creates a different atmosphere:

Below is Anthropoligie's "Oh To Dream" Bedding:

 

The photo above is a photo of the quilt styled in a traditional manner - on a bed.

The photo below is of the same quilt but styled differently  and instantly I like that quilt so much more than in the above photo. I want to be snuggled up under it inside that tent like feature with the books and the thermos. The stylist has created an intimate, cozy, rustic yet modern vision that draws you in to the point where you can imagine yourself being there.

images from Anthropologie   via At Home with Kim Valee

What do you think? Which photo draws you in the most?

Take care...Di

Patchwork Chair

I love a good recycle story and this one is no exception. Jody at Craftnik picked this chair up on the side of the road and decided to give it a makeover. Although she hasn't used traditional patchwork techniques, the end result is stunning:

From this:

 

to this:

 

 
image source via design sponge

 

Pop over to Jody's blog and read her tutorial and see more photos. It's great to see an old once loved chair be given a second chance and with the chevron pattern so popular at the moment, it was a perfect choice to bring a modern touch to this once contemporary design.

Take care....Di

 

 

New Maxi Dress Pattern

Kay from Sew Serendipity is releasing her new maxi dress pattern called "Madeline". Kay's patterns just get better and better and are perfect for using a variety of quilting fabrics.

 
image via Sew Serendipity

I also like how Kay provides images of the outfit in a variety of fabric choices. The black and white colour story below is gorgeous:

 

 
image via sew serendipity

The pattern is still at the printers so will be available shortly. Go to Kay's Blog to read all about it and see more garments made out of this pattern.

Take care...Di

Pinfeathers Dresses

The Pinfeathers range of fabric by Northcott has arrived in Australian Stores and I just had to show you how one retailer has used this range of fabric to make the sweetest girls dresses. Amanda at Dew Drop Inn has used the pillow slip dress pattern to create these cute garments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see a video on how to make the pillowcase dress here or you can find a free tutorial here.

The designer of Pinfeathers....Carine Gardner has made some beautiful outfits out of this range and they are on her blog.

 
image source

The dress above uses the gorgeous stripe: 4547-23 & the lovely pink print: 4549-23

 

 

 
image source

This 3/4 pants & top set uses 4542-62 &  the light bird print: 4543-11 & the soft taupe bird on a wire print: 4548-35

  

Carine also has a digital magazine that is full of great ideas. It is Issue 4 and will delight you.

 

 

Look for Pinfeather in your favourite patchwork store or contact Lloyd Curzon for your nearest stockist.

 

 
image source

Take care...Di

Maxi Dress

Patchwork/quilting fabric is a wonderful cloth to use for clothing as well as for making quilts. There are so many beautiful designs and styles available in the market today, you can really make a statement with your clothing. I found this tutorial for a maxi dress at Sew Much Ado and I have added a couple of fabrics that I thought would suit this garment:

 

 
 

 

I thought the fabrics out of Michele Hill's new range Morris Meadows would be perfect for this project. Morris Meadows is an In The Beginning Fabricrange and their base cloth is divine. It's a beautiful fine soft fabric that has a beautiful drape and will work well in this dress. The fabrics I have chosen are 2MM1 & 3MM1. Morris Meadows will be arriving in Australian Stores in December and is distributed throughout Australia Lloyd Curzon Textiles.

Take care...Di

Vintage Loveliness

Recycling is very dear to my heart at the moment, so I was delighted to see the photo below which it appears is a quilt and cushions made using vintage linen. They bring such a bright and cheerful mood to the room - soooo beautiful! I have a real soft spot for giving fabric or furniture another chance to breathe or to show that they are "not done yet"! Although there has been little sewing done in my house of late, I have been working on projects that I will post shortly...mainly bringing pieces of furniture that were no longer wanted, a new life.

 

 

photo via flickr

Take care....Di