Marg Low Designs

a little bit about me

The Love and Hugs from Australia designers are taking it in turns to tell you a little about themselves. Yesterday it was my turn and the following was posted on the Love & Hugs from Australia Stitch-a-Long group.  If you've followed my blog since it started, around thirteen years  ago, you quite possibly know most of this!

 

Hi Everyone

Almost twenty years ago I discovered the joy of patchwork starting with cloth dolls, soon followed by stitcheries. Forward to today and here I am part of the Love & Hugs from Australia Stitch-a-Long. Excited when Nat first suggested the idea, followed by uncertainty – what would I design, then pleased to have something positive to focus on.

Your response to the Stitch-a-Long has been amazing. I’ve loved seeing how you interpreted each block, the beautiful stitches, the colours, the techniques and the speed some of you showed in finishing them. Apart from my posts disappearing, I’ve enjoyed every minute and hope you have too.

I’m addicted to the buzz I get anytime I start a new project. My designs are mostly small achievable projects. Little projects made from scraps of fabric, felt, a few stitches, a piece of trim or button. Many of them have been made for gifts, especially the Christmas decorations.

Little also extends to quilts. Yes, I do make big ones, check out Sarah’s Sampler (1855) and Spotlight on the Stars, but my preference is for mini as they allow me to play with different fabric combinations, blocks and layouts, without investing large quantities of time and materials. See my post ‘I had an idea’.

The Postcard Quilt combines all my loves, a mini red and white scrappy quilt combining felt appliqué, stitcheries, fussy cutting, paper and machine piecing. It started as the Postcard Club, five postcard patterns including a project for each postcard. Inspired, I made a start on a red & white set, the goal, to make a quilt before the club finished. That didn’t happen, other projects were designed, made, patterns written; every so often I’d take the blocks out arrange them, study them for a while then pack them away again. Almost twelve months later the blocks came out, I made another and from there it just flowed. Somethings cannot be rushed!

When I look back at my designs, I can see the shifts reflecting where I was in my life. More Christmas in the early years, followed by a red & white period, small quick projects designed for half day classes with lots of the detail I love stripped out and now the freedom to go where ever my creative heart takes me. I’m very excited about this phase!

Stay safe, stay well and do whatever makes you happy!

Follow me on Facebook: Marg Low Designs and/or Instagram: marglowdesigns

Email me if you'd like to receive my newsletter.

To Shop: www.marglowdesigns.bigcartel.com

I do post overseas, however due to the cancellation of international flights and government restrictions I’ve decided to suspend posting patterns and kits overseas. As soon as Australia Post indicates a return to business as usual, I’ll start again. Let’s hope it won’t be too long.

 

it's finished, almost

I've been in my happy creative place these past few weeks working on my Postcard quilt.

 

It's easy to recognize the Bunny, Birdie, Blooms and Hexagon quilt postcards. The appliquéd heart, birdie stitchery and folded flowers are from Go Crazy. I've used three more of the postcard quilts omitting the final borders as fillers, fussy cut a couple of my favourite fabrics and introduced new stitchery and felt appliqué blocks.

 

 

It's red & white, it's scrappy, I've stitched, appliquéd and embellished with wool and cotton threads, I've made hexagons, fussy cut and incorporated trims,

There’s nothing I don't love about it!

 

pop-up shop

Some of the goodies you'll find at my pop-up shop.

Open Wednesday 12 September 10am - 4pm

Mirambeena Community Centre,

Lavington NSW

Pretty displays.

  

Kits

Pictured: Thread Roll

Fabrics by Cotton & Steel plus others.

 

Felt pieces in a wide range of gorgeous colours.

 

The Christmas Stitching Day is on next Saturday, 15 September.

It's not too late to book your spot.

Christmas Stitching Day

 

Candy Canes

Yes this is my Friday Christmas challenge project and no it's not Friday, so don't panic. It occurred to me I could blog early and start my Christmas break sooner and that's what I'm doing.

I start tomorrow and return on 16 January.

Yes it is an unusually long break for me and I'm very excited about all the possibilities! There's a club to plan, samples to make, a pile of books to read and a garden to potter around in.

You can still place orders online but nothing will be posted over the break.

This week's project is a simple stitchery called Candy Canes.

It's free pattern available to download through my newsletter. If you're not on my list and would like to be, it's easy, just email me.

 

Last year I missed out making a red & white quilt. (You'll know it's a Christmas tradition of mine, making one each year.) When I heard about the Log Cabin challenge Shelley and Jan were organising it was just the motivation I needed.

It looks like summer.

 

My guilty secret is I still don't have all my Christmas decorations up. This is a picture of something I've done in the past. It looks festive and takes very little time to do.

 

 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas

& Happy New Year!

 

red & white sewing

Something I haven't done in what feels like ages is make a red & quilt.

It's a small version of  my Picnic Quilt for the Christmas in July workshop at Avonleigh next month. Made last weekend, quilted during the week, with plans to snuggle under it and stitch the binding on this weekend. It is a beautiful sunny day here, but oh so cold!

 

new fabrics

Just when I think I might be over red fabrics these lovely new ones arrive.

Fat Quarters $6.50 each. Order them by emailing me or come along to the Albury Community Market tomorrow.

 

Wilson Street Carpark, Central Albury

9.00am - 12.00pm

Space - G11 on the 2nd level.

 

wish I had time to sew

I so wish I had time to sew with these fabrics, but the next two days will be spent cutting and folding, kitting and deciding what to take to the -

Albury Wodonga Doll, Bear & Hobby Show

Mirambeena Community Centre,

19 Martha Mews, Lavington

Saturday 28 November 10.00 am - 4.00 pm

Sunday 29 November 10.00am - 3.00 pm

Collectors Gallery in Red

Gracious Skies

 

I will be taking precut Fat Eights & 30cm pieces. Let me know if you'd like to order a different cut and I'll bring it to the show.

Email me if you can't make it but need to buy a piece/s.

I will be taking lots of other tempting goodies!

Hope to see you there.

 

journal cover ??

Two weeks has gone by and no new journal cover! If you've followed this blog from the start you'll know the first project I make each year is a new cover for my diary. It's always made within the first few days. I have been doing everything else but that, until last night. There's a sense of relief it's finally started. 

 

 

What have I been doing? Working on cushion club.

 

 

Yes, I will have a matching cushion and journal cover. This is my favourite fabric and felt combination right now.

 

Remember the red & white quilt started Christmas Eve, the top is finished. By happy chance it is the just the right size for the bench seat at the front door.

 

When I couldn't decide on a backing fabric I thought I'd try this.

 

The 12 inch Drunkards Path templates may have remained wrapped forever in their packaging if I hadn't decided to use them here. It's been on my wish list to make a quilt with the Drunkard's Path block using only two fabrics. I'm satisfied now, even if it will be on the back.

 

happy holidays

Finally I have realised why things become hectic this time of the year. It's not the Christmas shopping, decorating, makings gifts or extra baking, no it's my decision to cram in all the things I thought I might have liked to do over the past 12 months into the week before Christmas.

Like last Sunday going to the markets to look for tea cups to pot succulents in.

 

 

And deciding yesterday to make new hand towels for the kitchen plus extras as gifts for my girls.

 

 

So keeping with the theme of thinking I can fit everything in, the decison was made to start a new quilt. I'd convinced myself I would break with tradition and not make a red & white quilt this year but changed my mind late last night. Choosing the block was easy. The drunkards path block is my favourite. Minimal cutting and few seams. Just what I need Christmas Eve.

 

 

Before you start thinking, wow it's almost finished, what you see is what is made. I'm happy as the basics have been worked out, now it's just a matter of cutting and sewing.

Now if I can just get the presents wrapped, the baking and house work done there may be time to make more blocks - sounds a little too optimistic even for me!

 

 

Have a lovely Christmas

 

Marg

 

something tells me

Everyone needs a standby project; something to pick up and work on when there is simply nothing else prepared for hand-sewing.  Yo-yos are my thing. They were started with nothing in mind other than having something to do. The first fabrics I grabbed were my reds and that's the colour I've stuck with. I still love the idea of having a collection of red & white quilts and think a Yo-yo quilt will fit in beautifully.

As you know I make a new red & white quilt each year. Something tells me this quilt won't be finished in time for this Christmas or the next or even the one after that. My deadline is Christmas 2019 – yes that’s right 2019. This is a long term project and besides, I only get to work on it when there is nothing else to do and that rarely happens.