Pizza?

I was meant to go hot air ballooning this morning. but after getting up at 5am, it turned out to be too foggy... so back to bed for a few hours, then up and back into all those things I like to do on a Wednesday.

I finally took a photo of the pinwheel quilt, which I bound up last night. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, plus I enjoyed having all the lovely ladies at Amitie have a good look.

Cute stripey binding, the same as on the last cot quilt.

I made pizza for dinner; margarita, and potato and proscuitto.

And isn't little Noah getting big! I got to spend the day with him and his mum last week...he is at that stage where he is just starting to smile.

So...

...I've been a bit quiet on here, I know...but I have been doing stuff, I promise! I finished the flying geese earlier in the week, and on Wednesday I finished all the large 9-patches.

I'm about to start the smaller 9-patches. And I made labels for two finished quilts; Crabapple and Wallflower. Yes, I did finish Crabapple all the way back in November, but I'm a bit slack when it comes to labels. And I haven't actually put them on yet, but I'll get there!

I've also been down the beach a couple of days, visiting my Grandma. That always keeps me on my toes. Fortunately the dogs got to come with us, so we got to take them walking on the beach. It's funny though; Jack loves swimming, and Millie can't get out of the water fast enough.

Bella is finding new and unusual places to sleep, like on the tv with her nose on the cable (Foxtel) box.... we think she likes the heat from the lamp.

And my big news? I start my new, first-ever proper job on Monday! Ok, so it's in the same lab that I did my PhD, but it's a proper, paying job, and on a completely differerent project. And the good part is I'm working 4 days a week, which leaves an extra day for quilting!

Crabapple and Cake

Finally I can show off the completed Crabapple quilt! It was very hard (impossible) to get the whole quilt in a single photo; I hung it on the washing line, and had to stand in a hedge to get most of it in. Any further back and I would have gone through the fence. But hopefully you get an idea of what it looks like!

Top 2/3 of the quilt:

Close up of centre block to show off the quilting:
Couch-drape photo to fit in whole quilt:

While I was finishing off the binding yesterday, my Mum and I baked a lovely boiled fruit cake; very easy, and very tasty, so if anyone wants the recipe let me know!

Lastly, today is Melbourne Cup Day, which means a public holiday for most people (not me unfortunately). We had a sweep at work, and my horse won! Mostly makes up for having to work while the rest of the state is having a day off...

Bugs, Blogs and Bindings

It turns out that what I thought was going to be a minor common cold is a little bit worse, and I've been feeling pretty miserable the last few days. My mum dragged me off to the doctors this morning, and they were nice enough to fit be in between appointments as they were fully booked. I'm on antibiotics now, so it should clear up in a few days, and I'll be able to get back into the swing of things.

What I do want to mention is the new blog of Carrie of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co, called LaVieEnRosie. Pop across and say hello when you get a chance, and also check out her gorgeous patterns!

I've finally been feeling ok enough this afternoon to get that binding happening; it's only taken me a week! Still got a way to go, but here is a sneak peek.

Another day or two, and I'll be able to do a full "reveal" (hopefully).

Quilt Marking

I finally got around to starting the quilting of my Aunt Bec's 9 Patch (Amitie) quilt today; its taken me a while to sort out what pattern I was going to use. I liked the flowers used on the shop quilt, but hadn't been able to find a matching stencil. In the end, I traced the quilting from the picture in the magazine, scanned it, then printed it out in the size I wanted.

I'm curious about the way other quilters go about marking their quilting designs on their quilts. I refuse to go near my quilts with any sort of marking pen, in fear of it not coming off, and I'm also not too keen on washing a quilt unless it absolutely needs it.

So my way of doing it is to trace my pattern onto tracing paper, then using masking tape to stick the paper to the quilt.

Then I just stitch over the top, and tear away the paper. The stitch lines act as perforations, and it tends to tear away very easily. Stubborn bits can be carefully removed using fine scissors or similar.

The final product looks like this (sorry it's a tad blurry)

And, as always, Bella likes to be involved in the process. When I have the quilt spread out on the floor she likes to burrow under it. And when I'm quilting, she usually likes to walk across it. At least today she is politely sitting next to the quilt.

Success and Recovery

My cocktail party last night went quite successfully, as as my title says, today has been about recovery. To make it a bit more fun for my friends, I set up a cocktail menu, and organised to have my sister and one of her friends as my bartenders. That way, people could "order" whichever drink they wanted...and they all looked fantastic!

Tequila Sunrise and a Fruit Tingle (with my "bar" set up in the background):

Midori Illusion:

Japanese Slipper:

Another Illusion with a Strawberry Daiquiri:

Fortunately, almost all of the food I made was eaten; I was a little worried that I wouldn't have enough, but there were only a few mini pizzas and a couple of spring rolls left, and quite a few cupcakes; I think people were a bit full by then! I also had to cater for one vegetarian, and two pregnant girls, so that made things interesting, and unfortunately my friend C has completely gone off cheese, which of course most finger food is made with!

My cupcake tower:

Today has been mostly about catching up on sleep, and giving my throat a bit of a break; I think I did a bit much talking last night! I also finally got around to assembling the Amitie quilt (properly known as "Aunt Bec's 9 Patch", done in the "Crabapple" colour-scheme), and basting it. I bought some gorgeous metallic pins recently, so I've got to use those for the first time...and being how I am, I arranged all the different coloured pins into rows down the sashing...

The backing is the same fabric range as the sashing (Amy Buttler), just a different pattern:

Life Changes

I got an email yesterday about a job I had applied for, and first thing this morning I was on the phone to the US being interviewed! I'm currently looking for my first "real" job, so this was pretty exciting, and incredibly nerve-wracking at the same time. It seemed to go well, so I guess I just have to wait and see now...

And, just like a well-deserved reward, my postie arrived at the door with another parcel this morning. Inside, two gorgeous jelly rolls that I ordered last week.

Hemming House:

Winter:

I'm not sure yet what to do with either of them, but I'm sure I'll think of something! Any suggestions welcome.

In the meantime, I'm piecing a quilt that I bought a while ago. It's a gorgeous kit from Amitie in Melbourne. I finished the blocks a while ago, as they are simple with large pieces, but I'm in the process of stitching all the sashing on...