Vintage Modern Hopscotch

What can I say except, finished!

I've lost track of just how long I've plodded away on this quilt for, but I know it was quite a few months. Hopefully I'll be a little more productive in 2013.

Fabric is Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille for Moda
Pattern is Hopscotch by Thimble Blossoms (ie. Camille)

Definitely one of my favourites ever.

Hope everyone has awesome plans for NYE, all the best for 2013!

Merry Christmas

Well the big day is here...Merry Christmas to everyone! It's a fairly quiet one here; we all took lunch in to eat in the hospital with my grandma. I've never seen her eat a meal so quickly!

I've had a few present disasters here; an online store wrapped and sent the wrong item, so poor mum opened her gift to find not what she expected. Won't be able to get that fixed till mid-January either unfortunately.

Did a little last minute baking; love homemade shortbread!

I use this recipe; but make sure you only bake them for 15-20 minutes, the 45 minutes in the recipe will give you charcoal!

Whoops!

I was being such a good blogger, then I got busy and my blog got neglected, sorry! My grandma had surgery just over a week ago, and things have been very up and down since then. I'd never realised how tiring it was being so stressed for so long, but all I've done this weekend is sleep. When I visited her this morning they had her up on her feet, and she was sounding quite cheerful, so I'm feeling very pleased!

Safe to say though that there hasn't been much craftiness happening here. I did get the binding on my Hopscotch quilt, but I'll be taking it with me on holidays to hand-stitch it down.

My Christmas tree is up and looking a little sparse (Miss Bella is a fan of the crash-tackle so we keep it minimal), but I've done almost all my shopping so it does look a little like we have the Christmas spirit around here.

I also had my Christmas party this week at the Langham Hotel...very swish!

I received a surprise delivery of Fig Tree's Avalon this week, and should have some more Cluck Cluck Sew patterns arriving soon...but I'm definitely looking forward to a break once Christmas is done, so I'll be shutting the shop for a week and a bit.

Can You Believe It?

I almost can't...but Hopscotch is done!

I finally managed to finish that last little bit of quilting over the weekend in between a hectic schedule. My grandma is in hospital at the moment so there hasn't been much spare time over the last couple of weeks.

I've chosen the blue with the small floral buds for the binding; it's one of my favourites! Hopefully I'll get that done soon, then I'll probably take the quilt away with me over christmas to sew on in the evenings.



Thinking Ahead

I know I haven't finished Hopscotch yet (almost, I promise!), but I've already got my next project picked out. As soon as Cuzco arrived, I knew I had to make a quilt. The blues and purples in this range make my heart sing.

I put the word out on Facebook and got a few suggestions, then settled on this quilt pattern. Nice and simple, and it should show off the prints nicely.

These are the fabrics I've picked. The top one is for the corner stones, the middle for the border, and the bottom one for the backing. I think that last one might be my favourite and I wish I'd got more of it in the photo. But trust me, it's awesome. I forgot to buy binding but I'll sort that out a bit later.

For more pics like these, you can find me on Instagram as blackcat20.

BOM Block 6

Half way already!

Block 6 is Town Square by Kate Spain.

 
It looks a little rumpled as the centre 9-square block seems a touch small. Should sort itself out once assembled.

Market Mash-Up

The weekend just gone was a hot-bed of market activity. I think I've finally recovered enough to talk about it!

First up I made a quick visit to AQM on Saturday to see all the new fabrics coming out in the next few months. I only had an hour to whip around the room, but I think I did a pretty good job.

I have some awesome new goodies instore. From Moda we have Lario Layer Cakes, Ticklish Mini Charms, and a Chateau Rouge Fat 1/8 bundle from French General.

Then I joined the mayhem at the Riley Blake booth, where it was a bit of bun fight to get hands on the lovely Chevron fabrics that are the flavour of the month. I've already sold a bit, so all I've got left are one Rolie Polie, one Stacker, and one FQB. First in, best dressed!

Then on Sunday I headed to Caulfield Racecourse at early-o'clock to set up for Mathilda's and Boutique Markets. What a crazy day! The crowds were non-stop and my fabric just flew off the table. Vintage Modern and Marmalade seemed to be the flavour of the day and by then end of it I was looking forward to a cuppa and a bit of a rest.

But all in all a succesfull weekend. It's always great to meet lots of new people, and even encourage newbies to take the first steps into quilting. Just one more market for the year!

Coquette Cot Quilt Again

One charm pack, a little white fabric (minus the disaster of running out half way), and a little backing and we have a cot quilt for this weekends market.

Very easy to make; just cut each charm in half, sash (mine are 2.5"), then add border (mine is a bit over 3"). And I used the backing offcuts for binding.

Lots of New Goodies

I love when lots of new fabric arrives all at once; my dining room table is currently covered in piles of Jelly Rolls and Charm Packs. It's like a little pile of heaven.

New in this week is Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille...

The gorgeous Cuzco by Kate Spain.

I came to the realisation last night that I have to make a quilt from this fabric.

And last but not least, Simply Color by V&Co.

So much yummyness! I'll have all this fabric at the Melbourne Boutique/Mathilda's Market on November 25.

Coquette Cot Quilt

Melbourne turned on its best impression of a wet spring day today, so sewing it is!

One charm pack of Coquette by Chez Moi and a little white fabric and I have a cot quilt for Boutique/Mathilda's Market coming up at the end of November.

Had a minor panic when I realised the two bolts of white Moda Bella Solids weren't the same colour despite being the same colour code; I had to dig through my scrap box to find enough for the borders otherwise they would have been a slightly different white to the sashing.

Now she just needs to be quilted!

Long Weekend

Only half way though my long weekend, but I think I've managed to make the most of it so far. If I'd thought about it earlier I might have organised to go away, but no one has as much time off as me, so there wasn't much point.

I've managed to get all my cubes turned and stuffed; they just need to be stitched closed now. Fabric is Oh Deer by MoMo.

I did a little bit of sneaky shopping yesterday, and picked up some cute new shoes for summer. Now I just need to find an excuse to wear them!

 

 

Today was such a lovely day that I just had to go to the beach, so I headed to St Kilda for a wander along the sand. I love dipping my toes in the chilly water and feeling so refreshed. Just a tad too cold for swimming though. A lovely afternoon finished off with ice-cream before I headed home...

I've still got three days to fill. I think there might be a bit of quilting to be done, and a little pottering around in the garden. I'm also keen to start organising myself for christmas, and I have a few birthday presents to buy, as my bestest, longest friend is turning 30 soon. After this month I feel like it will be big downhill run into christmas, then the new year will be upon us!

Market Madness

With Christmas coming, market season is in full swing and it starts to get a little hectic around here. My basket of rattle cubes was cleaned out at last weekend's market by one person, so I've had to dig in a make a heap more. They aren't too difficult to make, just a little tedious, so I avoid them when I can...

I've used Oh Dear by MoMo for this lot, as there is a good mix of colours for both boys and girls.

They still need to be trimmed, turned and stuffed...and I've run out of bells to put in the middle so there is a trip to the shops required before I can finish them. As you can see, Hopscotch is still in the sewing machine...

I also whipped up a cushion for a KK present last week...the new owner was very happy so I might need to make a few more. I'm also contemplating a cot quilt from Kate Spain's Honey Honey before the upcoming Boutique/Mathilda's Market.

Fortunately it's not all work and no play around here...Bella got a little bit of outside time last weekend so she could enjoy that bit of sunshine we had been having (and yes, that's me!).

Now to make the most of this six-day weekend I've managed to score...

2012 BOM Block Five

Block Five of the Fat Quarter Shop's Mystery BOM, also known as Cherry Sundae.

The flying geese points were a bit difficult due to the bulk of the seams, but otherwise a pretty easy block to put together.

Whimsy Clear Out

Listing my Hunky Dory fabrics on here during the week went better than I expected, so I'm doing it again. This time it's Whimsy by Fig Tree for Moda, released in 2010. I'm listing total meterage available, but happy to sell by the meter, or the whole lot. Looking for around $12 per meter. Postage is $2 for 1m, $6.20 for up to 3m, and $10.55 after that. Either leave a comment here or email me at kate(at)bellaspatchwork(dot)com(dot)au.

From top left we have: Beach Dot 3.5m, Beach Dress 2.8m, Chocolate Dress 2.3m, Red Dress 0.75m, Milk Dress 2.5m, Milk Daisy 4.75m.


And if you are still after some Hunky Dory just pop over here.

Half Way!

There's been so much going on at my place that Hopscotch has taken a bit of a back seat, but I'm finally half way through the quilting. Our new carport is almost done (no roof yet), and we've had a couple of large trees removed this morning.

As tedious as this quilting is, I really love how it's looking.

I've also been clearing out the Bella's Patchwork cupboard...I'm running out of room! If you haven't seen my posts on the Facebook page, I'm clearing out the last of Hunky Dory by Chez Moi, a Moda range from a few years ago. I'm pretty much willing to take any reasonable offer on what's left, plus the cost of postage ($2 for 1m, $6.20 for up to 3m, $10.55 thereafter).

From top left: Blue Bud 2.2m, Blue Fantasy Floral 1.75m, Blue Tonal 2.5m, Yellow Garden 4.1m, Pink vines 3.2m and Pink Tonal 3.2m. I also have 2.4m of the Yellow Tonal. If interested leave a comment or email at kate(at)bellaspatchwork(dot)com(dot)au.

Nine-Patch Pin Cushions

I felt like I needed a little break from the endless straight-line quilting, so I dug out my bag of Central Park scraps from when I made Swoon and started cutting out lots of little squares. A bit of shuffling and I've got myself a cute little pile of 9-patch pin cushions.

I have another market coming up so I think these will make a welcome addition to my table. If only it wasn't so tempting to keep them all!

I'm slowly making progress on Hopscotch, but this quilt takes a serious number of lines!

I got an early delivery of Honey Honey and Noteworthy pre-cuts today; these lovelies weren't due until January.

 Now I think it might be time to go and bake a banana cake....

Gone!

Last week I had a very wonky carport...

This week I don't!

After four weeks insurance and the builders finally got themselves sorted and removed it yesterday. Just in time too, it took on a bit more of a lean during last weekends windy weather. The new ones goes in next week! Looks like we have a bit of pruning to do...

When we had a carport, the dogs were kept down the back of the yard, away from the fence so they couldn't bark. Now that it's gone, they get a little more lawn and sun time. Millie is really making the most of it.

I'll admit that this week hasn't been my finest, hence the lack of posts. I had a revolting day at work on Monday that left me wondering if it was worth it. I actually started looking for a new job. I had hoped my yoga class would calm me down but it really didn't have the desired effect. Then I capped it off by whinging at the man, which made me feel worse...

I'm excited that I made a little progress on Hopscotch; those lines take forever! I've done two rows of blocks, so just six to go.

  

I also finally picked up one of my birthday pressies; a little sapphire ring from Tiffany. So really the week wasn't all bad, but it certainly didn't get off to the best start.

(instagram: blackcat20)

Quilting Weather

After such a gorgeous day yesterday, I woke this morning to the sound of pouring rain and thunder. Admittedly it was already 9am but that's what days off are for. Perfect weather for lazing around, and for quilting!

Once I got all of my little jobs out of the way this morning, I hauled Hopscotch into the sewing machine and got started.

I must have been dilusional when I decided to quilt lines that close together; it's going to take ages! I'm doing five lines at a time, then taking a little break to give my shoulders a rest, especially the one I injured a few years ago. 

But I'm loving how it looks! It will give the quilt quite a firm feel, so if you like a softer quilt I'd space the lines a bit further apart. Might be better for your sanity too...