It's Back!

My quilting mojo, that is. It's been a little absent lately, so I've been piecing quilts then adding them to a pile to quilt "later". It doesn't help that my sewing machine is being a little uncooperative; when I stipple it gets "stuck" and I have to cut the threads and start again. And it's developed a bit of a rattle. Due for a service I'd say!

Anyway, I've set aside this morning to quilt Mini Jelly Filled before I head in to work. Just a sneak-peak for now. The weather is terrible too, so the photo is darker than usual.

I'm also in the process of "doing up" a filing cabinet; grey really doesn't suit me so I'm painting it pink. I've only done the drawers so far, but I promise there will be photos soon; when I say pink, I mean pink!

Everything is moving along well with Bella's Patchwork. The plan is to launch at the start of May, which I'm sure will be here before I know it. I'm in the process of setting up accounts with distributors and ordering patterns from my favourite designers which is very exciting. I'm planning a little giveaway for when I launch, to thank all of you for your support, advice and suggestions, so keep an eye out!

BOM 10

Can you belive we are up to block 10 already! If I don't get a wriggle on and quilt the few quilts I've got sitting around, I'm going to end up having one long quilt-fest once this one is done. This one is quite a cute block, designed by Joanna of Fig Tree Quilts.

I Love Fridays

It's the end of the working week, and I've been busy today making the most of a day off.

Summerwind now has the first two borders on, and is looking pretty good! It was a little tricky getting all those non-abutting triangle seams together but we made it.

It's also been a good day to spend in the kitchen, though the weather is warmer than I was expecting. I've continued on my bread odyssey, making pumpkin bread using my first pumpkin (left), and a wholemeal loaf (right).

The pumpkin bread recipe was found on this blog, while the wholemeal loaf is an adaptation of this recipe.

Now I'm off to work on the FQS Mystery BOM block 10 before I head out for an evening of ice skating at the new centre in Docklands.

The Last Song

I was lucky enough to score tickets to the Australian premiere of The Last Song in Melbourne last night. I took along my best friend Christine, and we went for an early dinner before gathering amongst a lot of teenage girls near the red carpet, awaiting the arrival of Liam Hemsworth, the male lead in the film.

When he finally arrived, he spent ages signing autographs and having his photo taken with all the girls. We took a few photos then handed over our ticket and wandered up the red carpet (no one took our photo!). Then we made our way into the cinema where we discovered free popcorn and drinks.

After waiting for quite a while, Liam finally entered the cinema, said a few words, and then the screening began. I found it a really good film; a bit of a chick-flick, and definitely one you need to take tissues to.

When the film finished, everyone clapped (very appropriate given the presence of the star, as well as all his friends and family). And in what I thought was a lovely move, Liam continue to sign, have photos taken, and even hugged a few of his fans.

Red Velvet

Sunday night while watching Bones, I finally finished the binding on this quilt. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out, and I've caught my mum giving it a few longing glances...

Thank you for all the super-positive comments on my last post; I'm so excited that you love the name!

A Little Reveal

Because I know you are all dying to know the name of my quilt shop, I can finally reveal the name! After a minor hiccup requiring a second preference, we are going to be called....

Bella's Patchwork!

Logo is being fixed up to incorporate the slight change; we were going to be Bella's Quilt Cottage, but there is already a store in Melbourne called Bella's Quilts and Things (they sell doonas....). Finally making progress anyway. Have an appointment tomorrow to organise a web page, then I just need to get it running and get my stock in!

In the meantime, I'm being a quilting procrastinator. I'm piecing quilts, then adding them to a to-do pile, and moving on to piecing the next quilt. This is not how I normally work, and it's not going to be pretty when I have to start quilting the pile. The only reason I'm putting it off is because I can't be bothered to go and buy batting. Pathetic, isn't it?

Anyway, I've started on Summerwind, a Miss Rosie pattern that seems to be quite popular lately. Both Camille and Nicole have done Wuthering Heights versions, and they look great! I'm doing mine in the divine Aster Manor. I found the cutting instructions a bit of a nightmare, but I've now pieced the centre medallion, so I'm on my way!

And because no post that mentions Bella would be complete without a cute photo...we got a "cat cube" the other day, and she has taken to it like a duck to water. This cat does not like being cold!

Wild Thing

Finally found a break in the weather for a quick photo...

And this little munchkin keeps stealing my seat when I'm not looking!

Rain Delay

I had hoped to post of Wild Thing with her borders on today; however, Melbourne's lovely weather had other ideas! We had one of the biggest storms in ages, the weather bureau said it was the worst kind of storm cell you can have.

I was at a local shopping centre when the storm hit; the sound of the hail on the glass roof was deafening. We dashed down an escalator under this glass roof, with the warning "watch out for hail stones"! Then out in the main part of the shopping centre we saw a huge crowd gathered. Being curious, we moved closer, only to see a huge volume of water wash into the centre. We were on the upper level, but downstairs we could see water flowing in as well. People were taking their shoes off to get past the flooding, and several people were landing on their backsides. Many of the stores were flooded. And that water was cold!

The hailstones were huge, almost the size of golfballs. Many people have hail damage to their cars (we had ours under cover fortunately), there are leaves and branches everywhere, my zucchini plants have been flattened and the tops of my tomato plants were "decapitated".

A few photos from a facebook group that's been set up:

Hopefully I can get you a quilt picture soon; in the meantime I'm starting a quilt with Aster Manor.

Fabulous Friday

I've had a full 12 hours to myself today which has given me time to finally make some progress in the sewing department, as well as the kitchen.

I finished quilting Red Velvet and got the binding on; now I just need to hand stitch the binding to the back. I also assembled Wild Thing, it just needs a border to be considered "done". Just a little sneek-peek until then.

I've also been doing a bit of bread baking; a white loaf and a fruit/nut loaf. Pics a bit blurry sorry. But the fruit bread tastes fab toasted and smeared with homemade strawberry jam!

A Linen Cabinet and a Little Progress

I'm a sucker for a bargain. I love getting something I've wanted for ages on sale. Who doesn't? Ikea have a clearance sale on at the moment, and mum and I decided to brave the madness over the weekend, and I'm glad we did! I managed to snap up a cute linen cabinet that will be perfect for storing quilts in. However, it will remain in its box until I move into my own place, but it's something to look forward to.

Quilting/sewing progress has been a little slow this week. I've only got two sides of Red Velvet border left to quilt, but I've been procrastinating and working with Verna instead. I've sliced and diced all my charm squares and stitched them to the background fabric. Now to trim and assemble the blocks!