Santa Bags.
Posted on December 10, 2012 | 14 Comments
I have recently completed two little Santa Bags. Not unusual for this time of year except that I have only learnt to crochet in the last month and this is the first thing I have made.
These are a lovely size for young children.

The Christmas cards are finally made and now being prepared to post. I do like the colours for these.

Hope your Christmas preparations are going well.
Owls, Again.
Posted on December 1, 2012 | 17 Comments
Lots of owls in the garden, today. Daytime ones. I have a group of friends who get together just before Christmas and we all bring little gifts to swap. These hot pads are the start of my little collection of gifts to give. They come from a pattern named Hot Who and it’s from Susie C Shore Designs.

I found this little owl friend for the Christmas tree.

I have been trying to keep up with some of my quilting and have so far sandwiched 4 quilts.
The bow tie blocks are also ready to be sewn together and hopefully sandwiched, too.

Good luck with all the Christmas shopping that has to be done …. and wrapped. Hope you get to do a little of your own sewing, too.
2012 Christmas Quilt Show.
Posted on November 27, 2012 | 47 Comments
I have only just realised that the 2012 Christmas Quilt Show has started. This year it is being organised by Michele at Quilting Tutorials. Hop on over to have a look at the lovely Christmas inspiration.
I have chosen one of my favourites as my entry for this year. It is titled Reindeer Mischief and is a pattern from Keryn Beischer. ( Unfortunately many of her patterns are no longer available.)
It is a small wall hanging that I like to display every year, because it has a humorous approach to the festive season.

My quilt definitely belongs in the Christmas section of the quilt show.
And just to keep the mood going, here is a Santa from my collection.

Head on over to see all the lovely quilts on show.
In The Middle.
Posted on November 17, 2012 | 12 Comments
I seem to be in the middle of so many projects at the moment. That’s fine as long as it all leads to finishes. I am about to have a basting weekend. I have several small quilts that need to be sandwiched ready for quilting, so my trestle table is out and ready for work.
I have been making these 3D Bow Tie blocks using charm packs from Deb Strain‘s Fresh range. I can remember buying these packs a while back because of the lovely fresh colours, so the name is appropriate.

I have nearly completed all the blocks to this stage and am looking forward to playing with the layout.
I have also pieced a very simple mini quilt. I am going to have a go at hand quilting this one using a lovely variegated thread from Cottage Garden Threads. Now those who know me well will be rolling around laughing at this stage because I have never done any quilting by hand. All I can say is I am starting sensibly as the mini only measures 50 X 50 cm. So maybe I do have a chance of finishing it!

When I was in Spotlight recently I saw this very cute Summer Christmas fabric. I only bought a fat quarter of each so had to really juggle how to use it. I have made it into a table cloth to use outside. I will trim and tidy it up and then add the backing. I am thinking of not putting any wadding in it so will have to see how it looks before sewing it together.

I thought this could look lovely outside on a table in the garden.
Well, that’s my weekend planned out. Hope you have some stitching time, too.
Tags And Hour Glasses.
Posted on November 8, 2012 | 12 Comments
The hour glass blocks have been completed and put together. Simple borders have been added and the result is a completed quilt top.

I had to battle with the grape vine for position on the fence. As well as using fabrics from the Sleepytime range, I added some solids in matching pastels. It needs to wait to be quilted until I buy some white, rather than natural, coloured batting.
I have also completed a couple of smaller items, both for our Grandson. He loves playing with the tags on his toys, so these are perfect for him.

The giraffe pattern is from Craftin”It and can be found at this link.
The little square with all the tags is from Flying Blind On A Rocket Cycle and can be found at this link.
Both are super easy to make and are great little gifts.
A Busy Week.
Posted on November 3, 2012 | 17 Comments
November has arrived with a rush. Lots of busy things to do when the weather warms up here. We are starting to have a taste of the Summer to come.
Some time has been set aside for sewing in amongst all the other goings on.
Block 2 of Lynette Anderson’s Fernhill has been completed. Here it is without its little decorative button.

I have also completed the quilting and binding on the Aussie red work quilt.

I am really pleased with the way this has turned out and once again want to thank Pauline for her gorgeous embroideries.
Here’s the back and the binding.

My plan for the weekend to have at least a little time to look through more of the entries in the Blogger’s Quilt Festival.
Then of course we have a holiday on Monday for the Melbourne Cup!! I will have to choose a horse to back!
Blogger’s Quilt Festival.
Posted on October 26, 2012 | 57 Comments










Weekend Cards.
Posted on October 22, 2012 | 14 Comments
I spent some lovely time over the weekend with friends at a workshop to make some cards for Christmas. (It really is going to sneak up on us!)
Chris is the lovely lady who ran the workshop. You can find her on Facebook at The Art Room. (I will find the link for that.)
We started off with this cute one with snowies.

This one is 3D.

And some yummy goodies went into this one.

Last of all we made this gorgeous stocking.

This was good inspiration to get me started on some cards for Christmas.
Starting a BOM.
Posted on October 18, 2012 | 11 Comments
I had seen several posts from people who were stitching Lynette Anderson’s mystery BOM, Fernhill. The first couple of blocks looked lovely so I decided to track it down and join in. Although 7 of the 9 blocks have already arrived, I am just finishing the first block which is the centre-piece.

As usual, I have not stayed with the colour scheme suggested. Instead I have used a range of variegated threads from several different makers.
Thankfully the next 4 blocks which border this one are a lot smaller and should, hopefully, be quicker.
Each block comes with a button. This one is a bird for the tree. I will not add that until the quilt is stitched.
I am ready for Block #2!
Twisting Away.
Posted on October 13, 2012 | 16 Comments
I have managed a finish on my Twister quilt. It has a bright, summery feel about it and adds a bit of colour to the day.

The fabrics in the quilt are a combination of Going Coastal and Tidbits and Treasures.
Being such a busy quilt it really only needed outline quilting. I secured the blocks with stitch in the ditch and then simply stitched a half inch inside each shape.

I did straight line stitching in the border and completed the quilt with red binding.

And just to keep the seaside and Summer feel, the quilt has a crab backing.

This has definitely been a fun quilt to make and I am sure I will have to make another.


