Somehow I have lost my slide show on my Flickr gadget.  Does anyone know how I can get it back.  The quilts are still on the Flickr site. 
For everyone who celebrates the festive season I wish you all a very merry christmas and safe and quilty 2010.

Here are my first six blocks for my Sylvias Bridal Sampler. As you can see I have decided to do it scrappy and similar colours to the front of the book, however I am using shades of aubergine instead of brown, lots of different background fabrics as I have lots of these.

This past year my quilting group exchanged 10inch charm squares as well as patterns each month. My original intention was to have the members fabric as the centre square surrounds of my ohio stars. Unfortunately this wasn't a success as a few of the fabrics did not blend with my own fabric of choice for the points. To overcome this I used some of them but others were used in nine patches which divided the stars. The result is left and I am quite pleased with the result. It never pays to have a definite plan in mind when exchanging fabric.

I have always admired clever quilting ladies 'Dear Jane' 'Dear Hannah' and 'Dutch Blue' quilts, knowing that I would not even attempt any of them.
However I have decided to undertake 'Sylvias Bridal Sampler' from the Elm Tree Books. I'm not sure whether it is the colours on the front cover of the book which captured my attention or just the challenge and it will certainly be a challenge to do some of the blocks. My decision about fabric has been very serious but have decided to go scrappy as really my true love of quilts is 'scrappy'. Perhaps you might like to come back in a month and see where my journey is taking me.

This is my 'Seattle Strets' Quilt. It the second one I have done and I love the technique. All credit must go to Lauria Beithan for posting this on the internet. Her instructions are excellent and you can find it via 'Stashbusters'. A really great way to use up left over strips of fabric. As you can see from the photographs uploaded today I am no photographer but I have been busy at the sewing machine. Now to get my sampler quilts finished. They along with the above will be given to our local Hostel. All residents get a quilt of their choice, so a few ladies are continually sewing to keep up the supply as we like to have at least 6 all the time so they have got a decent choice.

This is one of the quilts I have been busy sewing. It is for my granddaughter. She chose the fabrics from my stash but I had to buy the greens as it is not a colour I would choose to work with, especially not this bright lime green. She just loves it. It really makes it worth while when you see the pleasure the recipients get. This is also the first quilt I have freemotion quilted myself. Some spots won't pass the quilt police but who cares

These are the latest two of my own design in 6 inch blocks. I'm a bit sorry I haven't been doing them in cream backgrounds as I have decided to do Sylvias Bridal Sampler and I could have used these.

This is the latest one. Only one more to go but I will need to do some extras to make my quilt. I will get it done over the weekend hopefully.

Here is my latest block for my friendship group swap. I have been very slack with this blog lately. I have been busy sewing instead.

Another couple of my little 6 inch sampler blocks to add to my collection

I have finally uploaded my friendship blocks after borrowing a camera.

Unfortunately I put them on my design wall which is white so one has to imagine the

corners etc on the blocks

This block is called Little Boys Britches, look at the corners.

Some months we get two patterns for our friendship blocks

Another month has gone by. I haven't been slacking, I have been sewing my friendship swap blocks, finished another Seattle Streets Quilt for local hostel and pieced a very bright top for my granddaughter. As well as all this I have had a week in Western Australia, visiting my son. My very big problem at the moment is that my camera has finally died. Bills, bills and more bills mean that a new one will have to wait for a while so no pictures can be posted unless I can borrow my daughters for a while and get some photos up.
As a member of Stashbusters I am trying to make my quilts without purchasing too much fabric. Most of the time this is okay but for my granddaughters latest, she wanted lots of green and orange and as I'm definitely not a green person a trip to the stores was in order!!! I've decided to do it 'quilt as you go' so I don't have to wrestle with it on my machine.
I've been doing some reading of other quilters blogs and wow are there some very talented ladies out there, both with their sewing and their blogs.

Wow where does the time go. I have been busy though so haven't had time to post here, anyway I belong to the BWO, so it doesn't matter. I am off on a weekend retreat, nothing but sewing all weekend and no cooking, housework etc. Can't wait. I might just get my second 'Seattle Streets' quilt finished and be able to post a photo. Its been a really fun quilt, that's why I have made two.

Here are a few photos of quilts sent to Melinda.

I have just had word from Melinda that she is thrilled with the quilts we sent for the bushfire victims. I thought she would be as there was some lovely quilts.

Back to my own quilting now. I am currently doing 'Laurie Beithan's "Seattle Streets" design' which can be found via the Stashbusters website. It is great fun and even better I am getting to use up all my hand dyed fabrics. At present I am just doing the strips. When I have put together some blocks I'll put them up.

Its been a while since I have posted. All the bushfire quilts have gone off to Melinda and Pam in Alexandra, I'm sure they will be happy with them. I'm not sure of the exact number, I think about 18 plus 4 or 5 tops. For a small group I think we did pretty well.
I can now get down to catching up with my blocks for my friendship groups pattern and fabric swaps. I made a mistake in my calculations and haven't got quite enough fabric for the design I have decided on for the fabric swap. Have been able to get some more but is a much lighter dye lot. Presently I am trying to darken it with coffee dye which isn't too bad. I know I could change the whole design but truthfully I don't want to so will use a bit of creative license and use the coffee dyed fabric even though it is not strictly the same.
Our pattern this month is one called 'Little boys britches' and is it a difficult pattern to do my machine. I'm sure it was designed to do by hand. Not one I will be doing again.

And another, our group is made up of a wonderful bunch of ladies

And another.

Another lovely quilt made by one of the group members.

And some more wonderful ladies working hard

Here we all are last month with machines and fabric everywhere making quilts to send to Alexandra for distribution to bushfire victims.

Another great day with my friendship group yesterday. We had another group visit, which is always fun. Show and tell was inspiring. Most had their 'bushfire quilts' with them some finished some still being worked on but they looked great, I'm sure the people who receive them will be delighted. I didn't get photos yesterday but next month they will all be brought along finished so they can be bundled up to go to Alexandra at Easter so I will take photos then and post here. I also received another bag of FQs and some batting pieces yesterday so I had best get started on another.

Here is my latest offering to the bushfire relief. It is an I Spy type and probably geared more for a boy with dinasaurs etc. Tomorrow is my friendship group's normal monthly meeting and I am hopeful that members will have quite a few finished items which were started last month at our 'working bee' for bushfire quilts for want of a better term. We will be visited by another group from 'over the water' tomorrow and they always have a lot of show and tell so hopefully my ladies will keep up with them this time. They are a wonderful bunch of ladies and we enjoy visits to and from yearly. I am hopeful Melinda from Alexandra will be the recipient of quite a few really nice quilts and tops for her groups effort of delivering quilts to a few of the smaller towns effected by the bushfires.

I have been working diligently on another quilt for the bushfire relief. This time an I Spy type probably suitable for a young boy. I decided to use Keryn's method of Quilt As You Go which is shown as a tutorial on her blog www. quiltingtwin.blogspot.com. Her instructions are excellent and I find the method, although a bit more sewing than Jan Macs way, very neat. The only thing I did different was omit the part where she joins the two blocks together with a zig zag stitch. I found my machine tended to distort the blocks and really they all went together very well without doing this. All up to the individual, like most things with patchwork. With a bit of luck I will get it finished today and be able to put a picture up during the week.

What with the fires and also extreme flooding up north, and another cyclone approaching, I think we will need to keep at the machines. So many in need at the moment in this vast land of ours, and from one extreme to the other.

Here is the pastel colored version.

This is the latest of my monthly blocks ' Perpetual Motion' contributed by one of the members of the group.

This is my first finished quilt to go to an unfortunate person who lost their belongings in the recent fires here in Victoria. I have another on the go and hope to finish it soon. I know of lots of people who are making these Quilt As You Go type quilts but I'm sure it will be a long time before we have made enough. As well Northern Australia has been experiencing devestating floods and at the moment they tend to have been forgotten because of the fires but they are also in need of our help. Back to the machine

Friday is forecast to be another very bad fire day. I am hoping it is no where near as bad as 'Black Saturday' as it is now being called. I learned today that a quilter friend's brother was killed in the fires. It really makes you feel helpless as there is absolutely nothing you can do or say except let them know that you care. I guess the message is we never know whats around the corner so let everyone you care about know it now!!!

Today is a national day of mourning here in Australia. I know it was televised Australia wide but not sure about elsewhere. It was a very moving ceremony. Tears were never far away throughout the ceremony. It just really hit home just how devestating the tragic fires of two weeks ago were. In know we are all trying to do our little bit eg. making quilts, getting together small stashes and kits for those who have lost theirs, but it seemed just so incidental today, the magnitude of the loss of unbelievable. But in true Aussie spirit many are already beginning to get on with their lives and rebuilt bits and pieces of their communities, sports club etc. I wish them well. I spent today once again working on what we now term bush fire quilts, I wish I had another term as this seems so inadequate, and I don't want to call them victims as most them were 'fighters' not victims and survivers portrays a meaning which I don't want to face just yet. My prayers are with them all.

Wednesday and today were once again spent sewing for the bushfire quilts. A few are just about finished now and they are looking really nice. The quilt as you go method is definitely the way to go when wanting to do quilts in a hurry, in fact one of the group says she only intends to use this method from now on as it is the quilting which gets to her (me to). Hand sewing is now finished except for the binding so back onto the machine tomorrow to put the finishing touches then the binding, my least preferred part of quilting.

These are the latest additions to my second sampler quilt using the small 6 inch blocks. I have just got a new pattern but haven't got around to doing it yet, concentrating on blocks for the bushfire quiltt at the moment