Orange, Brown and Blue quilt top

A work friend is due in a few days with her fourth baby, she doesn't know the sex of her baby will be (I am leaning towards girl) so I was going to make both a boy and a girl quilt to be prepared. I love this brown and orange combo, but I don't think this quilt is boyish enough, the butterfly print is a tad girly, but it's not really girly girl so it looks like we may have to keep this one!!Fabrics include Heather Ross Lightining Bugs, Denise Schmidt Katie Jump Rope, and Amy Butler Lotus. The Heather Ross fabric was hard to stipple over, the fabric is super soft and it was like my needle couldn't get a good grip.All over stipple quilted in a pale grey thread, quilt measures 42" x 46", have thrown it in the wash and its now in the tumble drier so expect will loose another inch or so.Inspired by this quilt here, I just love it!

Excuse me Muffin,

but I am trying to quilt! Finishing off my strip quilt, we might keep this one, someone likes the fish!

Cate's Notice Board

I think I am quite crafty. I see something in a magazine and think I can do that. Or I see something at the shops and think I could make that cheaper and nicer. But sometimes my creations don't work out (like the button wreath that no one will ever see except Emma and she had to shield her eyes!). Sometimes my craft endeavours work out more expensive. Or sometimes they just cause me so much grief I think why didn't I just buy one!! For example, Cate's new noticeboard.To the non crafty eye it looks great, Cate loves it and she thinks I am super fantastic and "oh so clever".But for me, all I see is the stress it took to get the ribbon to sit right. I pinned it, and stapled it down then it moved or it twisted or just looked naff, then I ran out of ribbon so had to buy more, then the staple gun was pausing before firing and OMG the stress. So I had to get a man to do it. A man. A non crafting, couldn't care less, beard growing man. Humph.There's heaps of free tutorials to make your own, basically you cover an art canvas board with some wadding and top fabric, use a staple gun to secure and then attach ribbon across the board omiting the need for pins. We also added some self covered buttons and glued them to the ribbon and fabric so photos wouldn't slide through.Project cost about $15 to make, and a normal person could proberly complete in a few hours, it took me half a day and a glass of wine! Tutorial available here and here.

WIP Wednesday - 3 on the go projects

Wet and windy here, perfect sewing weather. I am working on a few things at the moment, I can't seem to get stuck into any one project for long enough so I have 3 mini work stations. The kids have been hindering my progress, we've been to the movies, visited friends, had sleepovers, stayed up late watching DVD's and eating popcorn, made copious amounts of jelly, been clothes shopping, cleaned the fish tank...6 more days and there back at school! So some random WIP photos:
Strip baby quilt, sandwiched and ready to be quilted~ A smaller version of my Disapearing 9 Patch with a Twist~ Black, White and Bright Greens Quilt~ I hope to stipple quilt the strip quilt by the weekend and finish the disappearing 9 patch top as well. I still need more greens for the black, white and green quilt but no huge hurry, I am nearly out of wadding and unable to buy untill after the craft fair in May!

Disappearing 9 Patch Quilt - finished!

I finished my Disappearing 9 Patch with a twist, the twist being I never rejoined them to become one big block! Sorry for the bad photos, the light was fading fast and my models were not helping. At our last house we had a great clothesline I could use to hang my quilts, here we have a tiny one on the wall, only good for a few beach towels so I have to rely on helpers.Fabric is Amy Butler Daisy Chain, I had 6 prints, half metre of each, ample fabric left over, as usual I cut to much. To make this quilt I followed the D9P tutorial here. In brief I sewed 9 patches together then cut down the centre, leaving me with 4 blocks. I have added a cream homespun sashing and then bound using the flower print with the most turquoise in it. I like the look of the blocks kept separate, I think it makes the fabric prints stand out more and it came together so quickly, a dedicated quilter could easily sew this from start to finish in a weekend. Each block is 8.5" square with a 3" sashing. Finished quilt 54" square. I pieced the backing using some left over blocks I cut too small and the matching cream homespun. I have quilted all over in a large stipple using 100% cotton, I went through 6 bobbin changes on the stippling alone, and one and a half spools of cream Guterman. Wadding is Matildas Own wool cotton blend, love how it washes. And I am happy to say, everything came from my stash entirely. Kipper gives it 4 paws up! This quilt is for my friend Tonian who recently celebrated her 30th Birthday, sorry it's a few weeks late.

I'm on holidays

For two glorious weeks!!! Sewing list in no particular order~

• DONE Disapearing 9 Patch - 20% done, need to complete and gift
• Black, White and Teal Quilt - sew binding down, label and gift
• Twiggy - top to be completed
• Glace Stacked Coins - top be be completed
• Hour Glass Quilt - blocks to be completed
• Dance Leotards - 3 trial sizes to be made
• Cushions - for the couches and floor
• Scrapbooking - work on Cate's dance album
• Baby Quilt for Mel

hmmm, this list should keep me busy for a while. The kids will be at school for the second week plus there's a long weekend for Anzac Day. The weathers gotten cooler here, hoping for some more rain. Muffin is enjoying the cooler weather, all that fur he get's hot easily. He likes to sleep sideways on our bed stretched out, but no room for anyone else, so as soon as I am up he's in.So naturally he is the reason I can't make our bed in the morning. Well that's my excuse anyway.

Fabric Buying Ban

For the whole of April, that's right, 31 days, (lucky I had that big stock up on 31 March!) I am committed to not buying any fabric or craft supplies, no new tools or patterns. And, as I am feeling confident, I will also restrain myself from buying any quilt fabric (no mater how much on sale) and anything quilting related until the May craft fair. Dedicated? Crazy? Or feeling poor? Who wants to join me? It will be fun!

I need some greens!

I am short on bright / lime greens! Needed for another project I am working on, does anyone want to swap fabric? Green must match this shade of Flea Market Fancy print. I could also do with some more whites with a black print? Fabric needs to be 2.5" x 4.5" minimum, 2.5" strips would be great. Let me know if you can help out.

WIP Wednesday - Disappearing 9 Patch

Still working on this one, I am committed to finish it asap. All the blocks have been cut out, and I found my cream homespun for the sashing, just sewing them up now, hopefully the top will be completed by the weekend.No time to chat!

Some Easter Break sewing

I never got as much sewing done as I hoped too over the 4 day Easter break, we have been out and about plus I wanted to get the kids rooms cleaned from top of the cupboards to under the beds. I have to go back to work tomorrow, but only a 4 day week then I am on holidays for 2 whole weeks. I wanted to get some of the boring house work stuff out of the way, like reorganising the pantry so things stopped falling on me, and sorting the linen cupboard so again, things stop falling on me.I started making a stacked coins quilt using my Glace Honey Bun, but thought I had better check with the intended recipient, and was told her fave colours were sea green and blue, so I have put away my stacked coins, pulled out my Amy Butler Daisy Chain and have started working on a disappearing 9 patch, with a twist (twist yet to be revealed!)I hope to get the top completed this week, and then start the quilting on the Saturday so I can gift it asap. My first week of holidays will be spent at home with the kids, we have planned a few things like sleepovers, trips to the park, a day in the city and maybe go to the movies. The second week, they will be at school so I am going to sew, sew, sew!!

A beautiful Saturday morning, so we headed down to Pinjarra for a day out that included a trip to a car show. Bob wanted to look at all the cars *groan* so the kids and I went off to check out the free entertainment. Some things were free, like the face painting, but I still baulk at having to pay $5 for 5 minutes on a bouncy castle x 3 kids = 3 Fat Quarters at the craft fair!!Stuart had great fun on the Scouts climbing wallAnd I realised that Oliver is going to be a problem on the roads "in 6 years mum" (he managed to crash no less than 5 times into the inflatable bumper rail). A few hours later we headed over to the park for a picnic next to the Murray River, the kids loved the swaying bridge and floating sticks down the river. On the way out of the town I swear I saw a sign that said Quilts for Sale but Bob said the heat was making me delusional!

Happy Easter

Cate and I made little Easter gifts for the teachers, and office admin lady. (Never forget the office lady, the one who answers all your phone calls, gets you much needed items from the Uniform Shop and adds them to your term fees, helps you with lost notes, missing hats, waives overdue fees... brilliant people are the office workers!) 12 Ferero Rochers tied up in celaphane with lots of decorative ribbon and a handwritten tag by Cate. We made 6 bundles (3 current teachers, principal, office admin and the netball coach!) and she had great fun handing them out.

Textile Traders craft night

Held twice a year, this event is number one in my diary, a big must have for the keen fabric shopper. I was actually debating not going, I had an awful day, starting with spilling a whole cup off coffee over myself at school assembly, then loosing Stuart who was under my nose the whole time, then I lost my Visa Card so had to ring and cancel it ($15 replacement fee!!) and by the time I got home from work at 5.30pm I was over it all. However, knowing that all quilt fabric was $6 a metre for one night only, I knew I had to go. 16 metres later, some of my faves~
Amy Butler Daisy Chain Quilt Flannel to make Cate some winter PJ's Bright Florals and this mini forrest print, some is heading your way Cass I think I might start a self imposed craft buying ban untill the craft fair held in May.