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.

4OT

Finally, after months of waiting, I can reveal the finished 4OT quilt that I made way back at the start of the year. I made it for my sister's 21st birthday, which was yesterday, and the quilt has been happily received. Therefore, no need for me to keep it hidden!

Some of the quilting detail:

A peek at the back; I ended up using a cream thread on the front and a blue on the back, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

I also whipped up a couple of cushions out of the left over squares and strips, and used the left-over backing fabric for the backs...

On another note, tomorrow is the deadline for my lighting giveaway, so if you are an Aussie and would like a $100 voucher to buy the lighting of your choice, check out this post.

The Great Batting Shortage

Ok, so maybe not "great", but it certainly was harder to get my hands on my favourite batting this week! I've had one of those months where all the bills due are way more than my income, so I'd been putting off quilting Jelly Girl. I finally had a spare bit of cash, and everyone was sold out!

In the mean time, I stitched together a few offcuts from my last two quilts (4OT and Falling Star), and quilted Picnic. It's turned out really well!

I also dug into my stash and started on "Sassafras", a Thimble Blossoms pattern using Cotton Blossoms. I love this fabric so it'll be nice to have a second quilt from it.

Don't you just love unwrapping a new jelly roll? Bella certainly does!

I did finally manage to get my hands on some batting; not my usual (wool/polyester blend), but one I'm told is just as good, but gives a better "drape". Works for me. Now to baste it and get started!

Hints of Spring

Firstly, apologies for the delay between posts. I meant to post earlier in the week, but I've had camera troubles. You see, I wanted to post lots of pretty pictures of all the blossoms that are just starting to appear; the first hints of spring. But the macro function wasn't coming to the party, so no pretty pictures. You'll just have to take my word for it that all the cherry blossoms look amazing.

I did however get a nice pic of my broad beans; check out all those flowers! By the time I'm finished with the two crops, I'm probably never going to want to see another broad bean again...

Not a lot of sewing over the last week or so; I've been piecing basket blocks for ""Picnic", a Miss Rosie pattern.

And I did finish Catch a Falling Star a few weeks back, but its so big that to take a good photo I need to spread it out on the front lawn. Winter isn't so conducive to that, so this will have to do (and as usual, there is an animal in the photo!)

And I got myself a new toy! Absolutely love it, but having issues getting a screen protector on without lint under it... (er, yes, that is just the box...)

Craft and Quilt Fair Wrap-Up

The craft and quilt fair finally made it to Melbourne, and I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon browsing the many stalls looking for inspiration. I was quite suprised to find a greater range than at the AQC earlier in the year, and many stores I hadn't come across before. The only downside I found was that a lot of the charm packs, layer cakes and jelly rolls were not only more expensive than previously (layer cakes were up to $77!), many had been over-handled and were looking a bit tatty...

I set myself a budget for the day, and I think I did pretty well! I essentially avoided buying any precuts given I'll be in the US in a couple of months...

I picked up a Fig Tree Quilts pattern book with lovely quilts based on Patisserie Turnovers, as well as two Schnibbles patterns from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. I've already got plans for one of these! (sorry about the flash, its a cold winters evening)

Some Alexander Henry fat quarters; Starling in both pink and white:

A couple of Saffron Craig pieces:

A handfull of fat quarters from a new range I'd not heard of before:

And a Simple Abundance charm pack...can't wait to be able to get more fabric from this range!

I also spotted quite a few fabrics I'll be on the look out for when I hit the US later in the year, including Aster Manor and Mill House Inn! Still looking for suggestions on where to shop, particularly around LA and NY :-)

Oh, and some new baby news; my friend at work had a gorgeous baby boy, Jasper on Tuesday!

Madness and Mayhem

It's been a crazy 24 hours here in Melbourne. I got home from work yesterday to find one of my two dogs, Jack, missing. Poor Millie was sitting by the back door wimpering. A frantic dash outside and a bit of yelling for Jack, and my neighbour stuck his head over the fence to say that Jack was with them. He'd dug three holes, got out of the backyard, and was found wandering around the street by the neighbour, so they'd taken him in for the day. This is the third escape this year! At least he is home safe, and I spent some time today filling and and blocking up a lot of holes!

After that was all sorted, I headed to my physio appointment...and got taped up again! I've been forced into good posture, so I can't slump at the moment. It's not going to stop me doing any sewing though. It does stop me from sleeping on my side though, which I'm not too happy about.

Then last night I decided to end the week with a bit of a girls night in; some TV, pizza, a bottle of wine, and the company of a Canadian friend. So, we'd finished eating, and were chilling on the couches, when my chair moved and the door behind be banged. I figured it was just Bella being silly, until the couch continued to shake, then the cabinet next to me (and the glass lamp on top) began to rattle like crazy. My friend and I just looked at each other, both clinging to the arms of our couches, thinking "It's not just me, is it?". It stopped after about 10 seconds, after which we dashed next door to find out if it was something, rather than just a glass of wine too many.

Turns out that it was a proper earthquake (my first), measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale, and was felt about 100km from the epicentre down in Gippsland (yep, near where they've had fires). No damage here, just a minor fright, followed by a bit of excitement. There have apparently been a few after-shocks, but minor (I think I noticed the one during the night...).

And...I finished piecing "Catch a Falling Star" this afternoon. It's too big to hang on the line for a photo, so I've had to drape is across the front lawn. The dappled sunlight makes it a bit hard to see, but you get the idea.

Whoops.

I spent the weekend working on the blocks for the falling star quilt, and by last night had all 68 economy blocks pieced and trimmed. Now they just need to be sashed, and they will be ready to assemble, though 12 will be turned into stars.

My whoops was a bit of an accident I had on Thursday; I misjudged my entry into my car, slipped and slammed my back into the door frame. Ive got a lovely bruise on my leg, and a very sore back, to the point where using my arms too much is very painful; mostly through the shouldblade area.

So it took me four days to put all those blocks together, working a little bit at a time. I'm off to the physio tomorrow, so hopefully they can get that sorted, as I use my arms alot for my job. I work in a lab, and there is a lot of repetitive hand work. I'm also hoping to get the Sheep quilt fully quilted Wednesday, so I'll need to be able to use my arms!

Till next time!

Bossed around...by an iron?

Does anyone else own a bossy iron? Or is everyone reading this thinking I must be crazy? We bought a new iron recently, and if I leave it alone for too long, it beeps at me. And beeps some more, and some more. It beeps until I come and do my ironing. Bossy thing.

Anyway, I've finished off all the Winter blocks for the Boxed In quilt. The pic is of a handful of the blocks; I need to play around with them to work out how to arrange them before I sew them all together.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts regarding the backing/binding of 4OT. I finally made a decision, blue for the backing, red for the binding.

I've started on my next big project. "Catch a Falling Star", which is a kit put together by The Fat Quarter Shop using Moda's Peace on Earth and Miss Rosie's Simple City pattern. I've had the kit since about April last year, and have been hanging out to work on it, but keep getting distracted by other (smaller) quilts. This afternoon (my day off), I've been cutting out the background fabric...I think I'm up to about 200 squares so far!

I always wonder if Bella gets bored when she is home alone....and I figure she would make the most of me being home for a day, but apparently not, as this is where she spent today, on my bed....

And something that might creep out the non-Aussies....I had a visitor in my room the other night; I was getting ready for bed, and had pulled my doona back as it was a warm night. I went to the kitchen for a glass of water, and when I came back there was a huge huntsman spider sitting right in the middle of my bed, enjoying the breeze from my fan. He was promptly liberated into the front yard.

First Finish of the Year?

OK, so maybe not quite, but the top is finished. I had the house to myself last night, and again today for my day off, and I've been sewing like crazy. And finally, I present 4OT:

It is so big that it almost touched the ground when I hung it on the line. And yes, it's very sunny out, hence the glowy appearance.

I found the quilt fairly easy to put together; my only problem was that the small star blocks were a tad smaller than the alternate blocks, which meant a bit of a rejig of the "1/4" inch seams. All the points and intersections have worked out perfectly though. My only worry is the star points along the border; some might disappear once I bind the quilt...

What I need now is an opinion; what colour backing should I go for? I'd like to quilt it with a neutral coloured thread, but I'm not sure if that should influence the backing. Basically it needs to be one of the fabrics from the front, but which one?

Oh My!

When I decided to make the 4OT quilt, I didn't realise just how many pieces I was going to have to cut out! So many that it's taken me several hours over two days, and resulted in a very sore shoulder from holding the ruler down.

Ive got big squares, bigger squares, little squares and even smaller squares, anda few rectangles just for good measure!

But most of the cutting is done now, and I've started piecing the flying geese. It's a different method from what I've used before, but so much easier!

Today I got a special package in the mail; a giveaway that I won on Bec's blog just before Christmas! I've never done a stitchery before, so this will be a good chance to learn.

Thanks Bec!

Three days to go...

Is anyone else mildly freaked out that Christmas in only three days away? At least the weather is finally looking more like summer than winter (34 here today!).

I handed in my thesis today; thats one less thing to worry about. Plus I finished quilting Wallflower...just have the binding to go.

And I had some new jelly rolls arrive in the post. The Fat Quarter Shop has been having a fantastic Christmas sale, with 50% off different selected items each day, and I managed to snag the two jellies for $15 each!

Recess:

American Primer:

And Miss Rosie's 4OT quilt pattern which I plan to make next year (among a million other things!)

Now, I recently added a visitor counter to my blog, and I know I'm getting up to 40 hits a day, but very few comments. So to all you lurkers out there, please say hello; I like to know who is visiting here so that I can in turn visit your blog. Plus I'm just greedy, I like getting lots of comments, it makes me feel loved!

Summer!

It's oficially the first day of summer today! The weather has been a bit on and off the last few weeks, but today seems to be ok; warm without being hot.

The fabric for my tablerunner backing only arrived today, so I haven't got them finished yet, sorry. Hopefully in a few days if I've had a bit of time at home. However, I haven't been completely slack! I've been working on a Dilbert for a 3 year old boy I know, who will be getting it for Christmas. I've got all the spikes done too, just need to sew the body together, then finish off...

I've also picked up another Liberty fabric that I need for the Pappilion quilt. I don't plan on making this quilt anytime soon, but I'd like to have all the fabrics for when I do. One more to go!

And I bought a Portobello Market fat 1/4 bundle. My sister turns 21 next year, and I'm already planning on what quilt to make for her. I've chosen the 4OT pattern from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. (Bad photo sorry, all the fat 1/4s are loose in a box).

The lovely weather we've been having has bought a few new visitors to my garden. We have a family of Magpies in the street which like to come to the front door for a feed. One in particular is quite happy to take food from my hand, so it gets more than all the others....

Also, out Feijoa tree is covered in flowers, which is feeding about 6 gorgeous parrots.

Imagine and Other Giveaways

I got an actual pressie in the mail today; an "Imagine" quilt kit and a couple of other goodies from Carrie of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. Carrie was nice enough to give away goodies to everyone who commented for her blog giveaway, and I was one of the lucky ones!

The bundle also included a pouch to keep my project in, a ruler, and some Miss Rosie ribbon.

On the topic of giveaways, Camille of Simplify and Thimble Blossoms is having a fabulous giveaway on her blog; go and check it out!

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).