Imagine

I finally got my butt into gear and finished this quilt; the top had been sitting by my machine for a few too many months.

I used backing leftover from Catch a Falling Star and stippled the centre and the outer border, leaving the inner border unquilted. I also managed to use binding leftover from the larger quilt; I just cut the fabric a bit narrower than usual to get the length needed!

My step-mum is having a big birthday tomorrow, so I thought this would make a nice gift, and it matches a table runner I gave her for christmas 2008 which I know she really likes. She has been out of action since she and my sister were in a bad car accident last year (not their fault), so a lap quilt is something that will get used a lot.

A bit of garden news (for Jodie!); my girl pumpkins are finally flowering. The first few fell off before flowering but it looks like they are finally making progress!

And I'd better get back into the kitchen; I'm making a Cookies and Cream cheesecake for the birthday lunch.

Australia Day

Happy Australia Day to all my fellow Aussies; I hope you are enjoying your day no matter how you celebrate. In my house today is about watching the tennis and eating some freshly baked pumpkin scones.

They taste pretty good smeared with homemade raspberry jam and a dollop of cream!

How are you spending your day?

A New Apron

Tired of wearing my old, worn-out apron, I whipped myself up a pretty new one. The neck strap on my old one was held together with string, and the ties were so tattered I got tangled up trying to undo them.

I used inexpensive decorator-weight fabric from lincraft, traced around my old apron and added an inch. Then I folded the hem over twice, and top-stitched it down. Added a neck strap (I like my apron up high cos Im a grub) and two ties, and an hour later had myself a cute new apron. Plus I've got enough fabric left to either make a second apron, or some cute cushion covers.

As a post-script to yesterday's post, I ummed and ahhhed about the border on Red Velvet and decided I really wasn't happy (I'm a virgo, and therefore something of a perfectionist). I had a bit of border left with the pattern in the right position but it was a touch too short. Fortunately I could tack a little on the end that matched the pattern on the side border, and I'm happy with how it looks now. I'll take an extra seam over a mismatched pattern any day!

BOM8 and a bit of Red Velvet

FQS Mystery BOM block 8 received, cut and stitched in record time!

Red Velvet flimsy all pieced and ready for quilting; I finished it a few days ago but it's either been pouring with rain or windy as anything. Finally today it's a comfortable 20 degrees with little wind and no rain. The top border is bugging me a bit; it's the only bit where the pattern on the fabric doesn't match well...

The bountiful homegrown produce continues; I've been gradually picking all the onions (used some in a lovely paella last night), more little tomatoes, some sneaky potatoes that were growing in the compost, and white nectarines. The nectarine tree is only little (shorter than me), but has had way more fruit than we could possibly get through, especially as it's been quite hot so it all ripened at once. Some made its way into a lovely tart though.

A Little Progress

In the midst of another heatwave, its been a bit difficult to get much done the last few days; we were over 40 degrees yesterday, and our overnight minimum was 31!

So between sprawling on the couch and sitting in front of a desk fan, I've managed to get only a bit of sewing done; I've been working on the gorgeous Red Velvet.

The main blocks are done, as are the X blocks. All I need to do is the border blocks, then it'll be ready to assemble!

A couple of weeks ago (yup, things are a bit behind...), I had a bit of a scribble and fiddle, and managed to sew up a handbag hanger. The pic isn't great, but the idea it to hand it up, and there are tabs so that you can hang your gorgeous handbags/evening bags up in an orderly fashion (rather than piling them all onto two coat hooks on the back of your door like I do!)

Some garden progress; I harvested my first onion! The rest are also ready, but due to the heat I've been eating salads; nothing I need onions for so I've left them in the ground for now.

In other news, making progress with the shop idea; got tax advice and started to get prices, and looks like this could work...I'm very excited!!

BOM 7

I'm all caught up now! A stunning block to look at, and really easy to put together.

I was also a bit of a naughty girl...I bought the "Frosted Windowpanes" kit from the FQS last week, but in my defense, it was on sale! It will mean two large quilts in Glace, but they are very different so I think I can justify it :-)

Growth

It seems the last few months of hot weather followed by pouring rain is doing the garden good. I'm in harvest mode!

My zucchini plant, the one I planted as a back-up in case my "main" plants didn't do well, has got huge! So much so that I have to be careful not to run over it when I back out of the driveway. There are about 4 zucchini on there waiting to be picked.

My corn has its first ears.

The pumpkin plants have baby pumpkins.

And the broad beans that I chopped off at the ground have taken on a second life, and even have a few pods happening...

My onions are almost ready for harvest, just waiting for the tops to die off.

And last but not least, my tomato plants are so tall they've reached the top of my neighbours garage! One plant seems to be dying off for some unknown reason, but the rest are doing ok.

I've been picking the tomatoes early to beat the birds, and have a lovely row of them ripening on the kitchen windowsill.

Thanks for the comments so far on my last post, much appreciated! Still looking for feedback from anyone who has an opinion :-) Still putting ideas together, but hopefully I can get this off the ground. Will keep you posted!

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Having recently become unemployed, and finding that jobs in my field are few and far between, I've spent a lot of time recently thinking about what I want to do with my life. I love science, but you spend so much time wondering where the next bit of funding is going to come from; as a result, there is little job security.

My other big passion is obviously quilting. I'm always spotting new fabrics that I'd like, or new patterns that I want to sew. But like a lot of Aussies, it isn't always easy to get your hands on particular items. Often the cost is prohibitive too. So what I've been thinking about a lot lately is starting up my own business; an online store to sell the fabrics that I like to use. Often for me, that's Moda fabric and the fantastic range of pre-cuts they produce.

So what I'm interested in is some feedback, particularly from the Aussies. What fabrics would you like to see stocked? Would you like full ranges of fabric, or a selection from each of a number of ranges? Fat quarter bundles, jelly rolls, or charm square? Some of everything? Whose patterns would you like stocked? And anything else you'd like to see? Please share with me all of your thoughts, I'd love to hear them, as I know what I'd like to be able to purchase, but I'm curious about everybody else.