Mint Julep

Block 2 of the Fat Quarter Shop's 2012 Designer Mystery Block of the Month is Mint Julep by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.

I used the Folded Corner Clipper to cut all the flying geese units ... love this tool.

 

 I am having some computer issues at the moment ...grr. It is also the Devonport Eisteddfod this week so I may be MIA for a while. 

Shopping

I've been too tired after work this week to do any stitching at all so today I thought I'd share my purchases from the Burnie Friendship Day. These adorable red scissors in a cute little red pouch came from Sarah at Patchworks Plus. I'd seen them on Sarah's website and they were even cuter in real life.

 Other purchases from Sarah were a Vintage Modern jelly roll ... a bargain at just $30 and ...

a few more pieces for my Tilda collection.

 I also chose a few fat quarters, from Julie on the Wells stand, to add to  my grey stash.

Hoping to get into the sewing room tomorrow and work on a few UFOS. Bye.

Roundabout

For this month's Schnibble I chose Roundabout from Another Bite of Schnibbles.

I used the Pom Pom de Paris fabric range by French General.

 
While I LOVE these fabrics, I'm not sure they were the best choice for this pattern. The 'roundaboutness' kind of got lost because of the low contrast between the background and block fabrics. I really wanted to use the plain pearl French General fabric but didn't have enough in my stash.

Regardless, it was an easy pattern to put together and I'd love to make another using the layer cake option.
 
While making Roundabout I tried out my Folded Corner Clipper ruler. It does away with the tedious job of having to draw lines when adding a triangle to a corner. 

 
As it says on the packaging, 'by trimming the corner first, you identify the sewing line and trim in one step.'

There are also no little 'ears' to clip off after you press back the triangle. I found it very accurate and will definitely be using this tool again. I purchased mine here.

 Finally, here's Oliver having a wash on my cutting mat. He seems to do this every time I get it out! Weirdo!

Scandinavian Rose

Have you seen Rosalie Quinlan's new BOM Scandinavian Rose. As soon as I saw a picture of the finished quilt on Rosalie's blog I knew I wanted to make it. 

Sarah had the patterns for sale on her stall at the Burnie Friendship Day. Throughout the day I kept picking them up and looking at them longingly. By the end of the day (and with 'encouragement' from Cathy) they were mine.

Each block is preprinted onto white hanky linen and as soon as I got home I started stitching.

I am using a pinky red DMC thread - no 3831.

I am thinking of using some of my Tilda fabrics for this quilt. Fabrics by a Norwegian designer in a quilt called Scandinavian Rose seems quite apt. 

Feeling a bit better today .. thanks to everyone who sent well wishes ... they seem to be working.

A Work in Progress

February's Schnibble, which I didn't have time to make at the time, was I.S.T.H. (Insert Snappy Title Here).

At the end of each month if I have finished that month's Schnibble top I've tried to work on I.S.T.H until the  pattern for the next month is announced.

I'm using Rural Jardin, one of the earlier French General lines, which has lots of lovely blues and reds.

 

 I really love the fabric in the setting triangles. Here's a closer look ... yummy.

I've spent the last couple of days at home with a scratchy throat and yucky cough .. no fun. The good part is that I've had time for some hand stitching on another new project. Pictures will follow soon.

Burnie Friendship Day

Today I went to the Burnie Friendship Day organised by the Material Girls and Burnie Piecemakers. It had a Christmas in July theme and was a great day. The best bit was spending time with blogging friends I don't see as often as I'd like. 

I took lots of photos most of which were really horrible. Some people might never speak to me again if they were posted so I will be kind! These are the best of a really 'crappy' lot!

There was lots of yummy food,

 a display of Christmas quilts ...

 

 

and lots of cute Santas. 

There was Show and Tell,

presents ... 
 

and reindeer. 

There were decorations,

 

a name tag competition (isn't Sarah's awesome)

  

and more gorgeous Santas. 

  

I love this one. 

And of course there was an array of traders to tempt us with their wares. 

Sarah from Patchworks Plus and her mum Gail made these pretty Vintage Modern quilts and ...

had lots of lovely Tilda fabrics and kits on their stand.

There were also lots of lovely goodies on sale from Wells and the Fabric Cupboard.

 I may have been a bit naughty in the spending department, but that will have to wait for another post. Bye.

 

Leap Year Top

I have added borders to my Leap Year Schnibble quilt and it is now ready to be quilted.

Looking at these pictures, I kind of wish I'd made the blue border wider as I really LOVE that print. 

These Vintage Modern fabrics are so pretty. I will definitely be making a bigger quilt with them sometime in the future.

This month is free choice for those joining in Another Year of Schnibbles.. we get to choose our own Schnibble pattern. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Decision making is not a strength of mine! but I have narrowed it down to two patterns. Now to choose the fabric ... decisions, decisions.

 

Still Here!

Hi all. Well it happened again ... one of those unplanned blog breaks I seem to have every now and then! Thanks to those who commented or emailed to check I was ok or to say they missed me in blogland. You're the best.

This term has been very busy at school. At the moment I'm in the middle of writing music reports for over 300 primary school children so the sewing has been very much on the back burner. 

One thing I have managed to do (I have to do a bit of sewing to stay sane!) is the first block of the new Fat Quarter Shop 2012 Designer Mystery Block of the Month. (What a mouthful!) Block One is by one of my favourite designers, Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs. It is called Laundry Days and the fabrics are of course, Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille.

I had hoped to have last years top completed before starting this new one have but unfortunately block 12 got lost in the post. Thankfully the wonderful Fat Quarter Shop have mailed me another one which should arrive any day now.

When I was in Sydney, I started working on my hexies again. I got 3 done while away and have completed 7 more since. It is over a year since I started this project and thankfully I still love the colours and fabrics.

Sydney was fabulous and I promise to post about it really soon but for now it's back to those b..... reports!

Leap Year

Leap Year is the name of the Schnibble quilt for June. Thank you to Carrie for the pattern which she kindly gave to participants in the last Schnibble parade.

 I decided to make a very scrappy version using Vintage Modern and Ruby by Bonnie and Camille.

   

The two ranges go together beautifully ... love the aquas, reds and greys. I'm so looking forward to getting my hands on some of their new range Marmalade when it becomes available.

The dotty sashing strips are Vintage Modern and the little floral squares at the intersections are Ruby. I added the squares to help me get the blocks in each row to line up. It bugs me that sometimes when I use a single strip the blocks don't line up perfectly.

 Now to add some borders.

 

On Thursday I fly to Sydney to spend the weekend at the Craft and Quilt Fair with some stitching friends. A couple I know very well but it will be the first time I have met most of the Friends in Stitching girls. I have to admit to being excited as well as a bit nervous ... new people, new places etc ... but I'm sure we will have a fabulous time. Must remember the camera!