Multi Purpose Pyramids

A little side project had me making a detour away from my plans. On my Facebook page I like to share free projects and ideas I find along with other stuff. So if you haven't seen or liked my page I recommend you pop over and have a look. You will find the link for this little project, Little pyramids.  I am think they would be good to hold down the table clothes at the Laura Folk Fair as it is an outdoor event. Then my friend Maureen suggested I use shell grit in them and I could double their usage as pin cushions when I don't need them for table cloth weights. I thought this was a brilliant idea. So on my way home on Friday I stopped into my favourite pet shop and picked up a bag. I'm glad they didn't ask any questions but I do wonder if I am going to get text message specials on fish stuff, like I do with the cat stuff I normally buy from them. We will see. No chance of having a fish tank in our house with our cats. It would be a recipe for disaster.

Here is the link to the project  if you want to make some. I recommend them, they are easy to make and I can see a number of uses for them. Table Cloth weights, Paperweights, Pattern weights, Pin cushions, decorative objects on a shelf displaying your favourite fabrics and I am sure they would be more uses for them. Just thought of another one Cat toy fill it with catnip.

With 2kg of shell grit I can make plenty more if I like. 4 table weights will only do 1 of my tables for the fair so I will need to make at least 4 more.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

I need more TIME.

Where did the week go? I don't feel I achieve as much as I would of liked but isn't that always the way. April will be here next week and I am not ready. It will be flat out so I better get the schedule sorted or I may be running around like a crazy woman. My LSH (long suffering Husband) thinks I run around like a crazy woman most of the time now lol.
I have the Angaston Craft Fair on at the Angaston Town Hall on the 4th April followed by the Laura Folk Fair on the 11th-12th April in Laura. They are listed on the events page if you want more details. I need to finish a number of jobs this weekend so I am ready.
 If you saw my last post on the strip quilts I have been working on, I can happily say the tractor and the fairy quilts are completed with my new Cynthia's Ark quilt label on them. Let me tell you I love them.
 The Furry Friends quilt has been quilted and I just have to finish the binding. So I think they are under control.

I have been working on a little strip pieced table mat design to go with some little 2 1/2 inch strip packs I am putting together so I need to sew that together. I have written the pattern so that is good for me. Normally I do it the other way around. Doing it this way may mean I don't drag my feet on getting it completed, hopefully. Fingers crossed. I will share some pictures once I start sewing.
Plus a new shipment of fabric has arrived. I must say I am a little disappointed that I didn't get all the Tula Pink Elizabeth fabrics I ordered so I will chase them up with the supplier on Monday.

Also I got some of the Spice Palette by The Quilted Crow. They are a lovely ranges of neutrals and  you can never have enough neutrals in your stash.

Finally the last thing in the shipment was some new fabrics to make a new Kids Strip Quilt for our ongoing range of Kids Strip Quilt Kits. This is a little girls one.  So I need to sew up the sample pretty quickly in time for the fairs.

You will find these fabrics in the Cynthia's Ark webshop shortly. Now I better get my act together and get stuck in to it.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Project Links #1

I have had some emails on where I found some of the patterns for projects I have been working on over the last few months. So I have decided every so often I will do a link post on where the projects came from. Some of them are patterns available in my shop and are available to purchase and some are free patterns available on the internet.

Free Pattern Links.

Patterns & Tutorials www.cynthiasark.blogspot.com.au

Fig Soft toy pattern http://www.sewmamasew.com/2015/03/fig-the-mouse-free-pattern/

Elephant soft toy pattern http://www.sewmamasew.com/2015/03/free-trunk-up-elephant-pattern/

Lozenge quilt is a Quiltville freebie http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/2014-leader-ender-challenge-lozenges.html 

Disappearing Hourglass Tutorial is a Missouri Star Quilt Co Youtube Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXggafOP230&list=PLD5EF21A981F69C28&index=33

Patterns available at Cynthia's Ark
Scrappy Roads Quilt Pattern (Cynthia's Ark)
Baby Bunnies (Melly & Me)

Oliver Hoot (Melly & Me)

If there is a project that you see me working on and you want more information on it please leave a note on the comments box of the post or you can email me at cynthiasark@gmail.com  I am always happy to help a fellow crafter.

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

What I am working on today!

Today is pinning and quilting day here I need to pin these baby quilts  and quilt them ready for the Laura Folk Fair in a few weeks time and my Castle Wall quilt has been waiting a while for quilting, all ready to go.

 These 3 quilts are folded in half.

Even with all my good intentions, the day was a bust. I thought I would send an email off that needed to be done and I would be free. NO. I spend over half the day working on the computer. So in the end I got the tractor quilt almost finished (just need to finish the turning over of the binding) and the fairy quilt pinned.  Oh well. That is life isn't it.

Until next time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

My Leaders and Enders Lozenge Update.

I have finally finished making lozenge block from last year Quiltville Leaders and Ender Challenge. This is the last 10 blocks made to round off the rows to the right numbers.

Here they are laid out and ready to be sewn together.

Oh boy lots of pins are going to be needed when I join the rows together. All those matching points I am going to deal with. I will share my progress on join them together over the next month. I am trying to prepare a number of projects ready for sewing as time will be short over the next 2 months and I really want to squeeze in some sewing time and if I am not prepared I may not get any sewing done. That will make me sad and we can't have that.

There is a new Cynthia's Ark bulletin on what is new in store under the bulletin tab at the top of the blog if you want to have a look.

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

My Disappearing Hourglass Quilt.

Now that I have the top completed I am up to the quilting stage. This is where I sometimes struggle with ideas for quilting. While I pin basted the three layers together I was thinking maybe just some diagonally lines through the whole quilt along the star points using Aurifil #2315 40 wt to blend with the cream marble. Of course now I am wondering if that is too simple or predictable for the quilting. Should I push the boundaries a bit and think a bit harder.

 Also I have used a new batting/wadding product for me. It is Vilene Quiltlite which is a super lightweight batting. I wanted to make a summer quilt for our hot Aussie summers. Some times at night during summer with the fan running I get a little cool and just want something light over me. My LSH(long suffering husband) needs the fan more than me. I would like to use my quilts all year round so I ordered a roll and thought I would try it out. It will be available in our shop shortly if you are interested.

 At first glance I thought it was too thin and really is there any point to using it so I teamed it up with some flannel for the backing. The first things I notice about Quiltlite is how nicely it drapes and softness of the product. It should help soften the batik fabrics I have used in the quilt top.  In the end I did some slightly wavy lines for the quilting and just had some fun, nothing too hard as the quilt has been a breeze to piece. For the binding I picked out a multi coloured batik that was in the quilt. Easy. So it is all done.

This is a Missouri Star Quilt Co tutorial so pop over to their site for more details on making this block. It was a breeze to make. Time for the next one I want to try.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Rainbow Scrap Challenge #4

One of the jobs on my sewing list was to catch up on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for March. The colour this month is Yellow, not one of my favourite colours but I am happy to work with it in small amounts.
The first block we had was Air Castles which is similar to the Card trick block so that made it easier to do. I like the star effect you get with this block.

The second block was a monkey wrench block. I have limited yellows in my stash so I used the same yellow for my star points this time.

This is it so far for this project and I have linked my post up with the linky party so pop over and have a look at what the others have been working on.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

My Journey into the World of Softies

Have you seen Sew Mama Sew blog recently? They are currently running Six Weeks of Love for Softies series with lots of interest softies with their designers. I have followed Sew Mama Sew blog for a while not sure how long but it was one of the early blogs I started following. Now if they have done this last year or even in January this year I may have given it a brief look but I'm not that interested in making softies. It is March 2015 and I view softies in a totally different light after making my first one Oliver Hoot at a Melly and Me workshop. See my cute little friend.

It was like I had a light bulb moment when the light turned on and I can make these softies and  I can bring the animals back to my business Cynthia's Ark. My machine sewing has been limited to piecing quilts, quilting and the occasionally mending job. I have never been a big machine sewer and never really giving sewing anything else much of a chance. I can tell you things have changed. So far there has been 2 free patterns included in the blog posts. I want to try them both so I am giving Pauline's  Funky Friends Factory elephant softie a go first as she states it is suitable for a beginner.
The fabrics I have picked out are from Riley Blake Designs Unforgettable  range Grey petal and Blue Hexies for this project and you can find the range in my webshop if you want some for your stash..
Next the tracing and cutting all rather simple to trace and cut the pieces needed. Then I was ready for sewing. All straight forward and ready to turn through before I knew it. Even at this stage I think it is looking like an elephant don't you think?

Stuffing was a little more challenging, trying to stuff the trunk with little bits of wadding. I think he could of done with a little more stuffing but I think it is too bad. All that was left to do was to hand stitch his ears in to place and stitch his eyes.
Here he is all done

Now it is time to try Jodie's mouse Fig from Ric rac. Another free pattern on the Sew mama Sew blog.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Vacation time- Block of the Month #3

Sewing time has been very lean over the last couple of weeks. So I was very happy to sit at the machine and do a little bit. It may not have made a dent in my list of sewing jobs I need to get done but you have to start somewhere. So I decided to tackle this month block for our Vacation Time quilt.

For March we have the Surf's Up block to make.

More flying geese blocks to make and I am getting a lot of practise this year at making them. So I had this one made up in no time and that is one job I can cross off my list.

Here it is.

The one thing I noticed cutting the fabric up for this block was the green fabric in the corners has made it into 3 projects so far this year. Is this fabric going to be my go to fabric for 2015 like the beige floral neutral fabric featured in 2014. We will just see how many times it turns up. I will keep a tally.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Look who has arrived.

The first lot of animals have arrived with Oliver guidance. Let me introduce them to you.
These cuties have come from Melly and Me beautiful range of soft toys (softies) and I can see more coming in the near future. Plus some from other designers that have been recommended.
 Now lets start with Oliver Hoot because he came home  with me from Cotton Carnivale 2015 and is Melly and Me latest design.

Next we have Kiki the cat

Followed by Pebbles the puppy

and Moo Moo

and Piper and Pete

and Five Little Ducks

and just in time for Easter Baby Bunnies

 All of these patterns are now available in my webshop under the Pattern Tab in the Melly and Me category. There will be more to come so if there is an animal you would like to make let me know and I will see if I can get it.

They are lots of fun to make so have a go today. If I can make Oliver they can't be too hard. I may have discovered a new craft to love Softies.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Scrappy Roads Quilt

I have finished my Scrappy Roads quilt. It is a simply quilt designed to used up your scrap stash. I have used the Oh Susanna block for this design. All you need is two main fabric 1 light and 1 dark and large of variety of colours for the rest of the block.

 I have done some simple free motion wave quilting using Aurifil #3817 variegated cotton for this quilt and added a multi coloured stripe binding to finish it off.

 There is a pattern and a batik kit available at www.cynthiasark.com.au if you are interested. Also I have designed this pattern around our Batik Mystery Sampler packs so you could order the pattern and 2 of our BMS packs and used your stash for the 2 main fabrics and binding. 

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching 

Cynthia

What has been happening?

No sewing happening here this week. I'm have spent a lot of time on the computer add new products to the webshop and re aligning some of the categories on the shop so they are easier to find. Patterns and Pre cut Bundles now have their own categories on the main page instead of being inside the patchwork and fabric categories. New fabrics and patterns have been uploaded this week with Melly and Me patterns arriving new week still to be added. The new products are featured in the new Product section on the homepage of the shop if you want to have a look what is new.

With all this computer work happening I have manage a little fabric time in the sense of fabric cutting bundles and kits. I revamped some of my kit packaging so I hope they will be more enticing to the customers. I have cut some Furry Friends Baby Strip Quilt Kits from the Furry Friends range of fabric. Limited stock so be quick if you want one. Our Kids Strip Quilts have been really popular over the last 12 months so there is a few more new ones in the works.

Hopefully today is the day I get behind the sewing machine and do some sewing. I have a number of projects in hold mode that I need to catch up on.

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

The Animals are returning to Cynthia's Ark

As a lot of you know I was in Noosa Queensland over the weekend. I spent a great weekend with Sue Daley, Riley Blake Designs Cindy and Gina and a whole bunch of great women all out to learn new things and network.
 I learnt lots of things over the weekend and you will see a number of changes over the next few months as I work through my list of improvements. The first new thing to Cynthia's Ark is we are now on Instagram so I am learning how to use it. So pop over and follow our daily feed on what may or may not happen.
There has been a change on the website with a couple of more to follow once I iron out some details. If you are looking for pattern now  they have their own category rather being under the patchwork banner and it is section into subcategories by designer.
The second big thing to come from the weekend is The animals are returning to Cynthia's Ark. If you don't know my story I started Cynthia's Ark with decorating china and porcelain ware with animals on them, mainly cats and dogs but all animals. I have had a number of animal themed patterns and fabrics in store after I moved on but I have decided I need to return the animals so we are going to stock Melly and Me patterns.

  I met Melanie at Cotton Carnival where she gave a very interesting talk on social media and photography and also ran a workshop where we each made her latest pattern Oliver Hoots, which will be in stock shortly with a number of her other animal patterns. Stay tuned for their arrival.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Cotton Carnivale 2015

If you follow my Goggle + page or my Facebook page you would know I am in Noosa Queensland with my quilting family. What a fantastic 4 days it has been. It has been full of workshops to help us to improve our businesses. All by Sue Daley and Riley Blake Designs. We have learnt heaps, talked and laughed a lot, eaten lots of good food and meet new friends. I can tell you I was pushed out of my comfort zone a number of times in workshops sewing new samples.
So when I return there is a lot of work to do. There is a lot of new products coming in over the next month. If you have been on the website in the last couple of days the patterns have moved to their own category as some of the new patterns will not fit under the patchwork category. We are branching out into a new area. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia