Jelly Breakfast

At the start of the holidays I decided to try and finish some of the quilt tops I started last year. This one is Jelly Breakfast designed by  Joanna Figueroa of Figtree Quilts. 

  

The fabrics are Whimsy (also by Figtree Quilts) and Figtree cream.

As it is quite big, I hung it on the clothesline to take these pictures. 

With a gentle breeze blowing, it was tricky trying to snap at just the right time!

Oliver (aka Mr Sticky Beak) was, of course, close by.

Now to find some backing fabric.

Now I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment of the Figtree Club ... this time we receive a kit in the new Buttercup fabric range.

A Day Out and State Fair

Yesterday I spent the day with some of the girls from Friends in Stitching. Pauline at Calico Crossroads in Exeter very kindly allowed us to meet in her lovely store. We did lots of talking and eating and (in my case at least), a little stitching. This is the only decent photo I managed to take. From the left is Sarah, Alex and Cathy. Pauline and Sarah both have more pictures if you're interested in taking a look.

I've done as much as I can on my State Fair Schnibble.

I decided to make the borders wider which means I'll need to purchase another charm pack of Oasis before I can finish it.

Of course, it has been thoroughly 'cat-scanned' by Oliver ...

and Molly even had a good look!

In fact, Oliver was quite a pain ... I was lucky to get any photos without him in them!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Yesterday I put my 2010 Friends in Stitching BOM together ... rather pleased with how it's looking ... photos coming soon. Today I had band practice. After a three year break I've started playing the trombone again ... I have until Easter to get back into form for the Australian Brass Band Championships in Adelaide.

Christmas Tablerunner

Last year Mum told me she'd like a tablerunner in Christmas fabrics. Okay I thought, I'll make it for her birthday in September. Didn't happen! So I thought I'd give it to her for Christmas ... didn't happen! Anyway she finally got it this week. This photo was taken on her dining table.

Using fabrics from 3 Christmas ranges by 3 Sisters, I adapted a quilt design from the Moda Bake Shop. Most of the tumbler shapes are Peace on Earth...

with a bit of Glace to add variety.

 The white and red border is Roman Holiday.

The backing and binding are a gorgeous red floral from  Peace on Earth.

  
Very simple straight(ish!) line quilting holds it all together.

Today I worked on my State Fair blocks and prepared the stitchery blocks for

Tis the Season, Natalie Bird's new Christmas quilt.

New Projects

I have been 'really good' and mostly worked on UFOs since Christmas. Today, though, it felt like time to start something new. I recently purchased two Oasis charm packs from Sarah with the intention of making a Schnibbles quilt.

I have always loved 3 Sisters fabric and Oasis could easily become my new favourite.

Isn't it pretty.

It didn't take long to cut all the required pieces ...

and pop them in a tub ready to start sewing. As you can see, I'm making State Fair. I really enjoyed seeing all the Schnibbles quilts in blogland last year so this year hope to make a few of my own.

 Yesterday the first block of The Night Before Christmas arrived from The Fat Quarter Shop.  

 

I've been a fan of Bunny Hill Designs for a long time ... hope I'll be able to manage all the needleturn applique. The fabrics are La Petite Ecole from French General.
 

Today I finished all the piecing for block one ... now on to tackle the applique.

Jolly Pinwheels

While on holidays I've been on a bit of a mission to finish some of the quilt tops I 

started last year. One which is now ready for quilting is this pinwheel quilt. 

The bright Christmas fabric is Mary Engelbreit's Isn't Christmas Jolly so I'm calling this one Jolly Pinwheels.

 I used 3 charm packs to make this quilt ... could have used 2 but I wanted more red in it (Rather partial to red if you hadn't noticed!)

 

I used the method explained in this video to construct the pinwheels. 

 

 Basically you put a charm square and a plain square wrong sides together, sew around the four sides then cut into 4 triangles ... easy peasy!

Giveaway Winner

 Thanks to all who entered my giveaway.

Lots of people guessed correctly that the prizes were ...

Tis the Season by Natalie Bird,

 Hot Cross  ( a Schnibbles pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co)

 

   and 3 fat quarters of fabric ...

 

from Lynette Anderson's  Stitches range.

 

  

 The True Random Number Generator selected comment 78 which means the winner of all three prizes is pinsandneedles. Please email me your postal address so I can post the prizes to you.

Like most Australians,  I've spent a lot of time this week watching the horrible events of the  Queensland flood crisis. It's hard to comprehend the devastation that has occurred over such a large area. 


Toni from Make it Perfect is coordinating a series of auctions to help raise funds for the flood victims ... there are around 300 individual auctions of handmade items and craft materials, most of which start tomorrow.  


Similarly, Retromummy is organising Quilts for Queensland and needs donations of 12" finished blocks and backing fabric. Please visit their blogs for more information on how you can help.

Zipping Along!

Ok, this might not look very exciting BUT these are the first zips I've ever sewn. On Friday I had a fun sewing day with Sarah and Vicki. We all worked on a purse designed by Natalie Bird of The Birdhouse.

 Here is one I prepared earlier made from Rural Jardin by French General. I did a lot of preparation before Friday ... there are lots of fiddly bits and pieces in this design.

If you are reading this, then I'm sure you can relate to the words on the stitchery.

 

On Friday, all I managed to do was needle turn 2 more stitcheries onto fabric 

I had previously quilted. The time went very quickly ... we were so busy talking, eating and shopping in Sarah's online store.

 On Thursday Oliver had made sure each piece had  been thoroughly 'cat scanned.'

I"m not sure why he feels the need to lie on every piece of fabric in the house. I guess it's 

just a 'cat thing.'

Anyway today I am working on a few UFOs. I am trying really hard to not start too many new things while on holidays although it is so tempting. Bye.

 

Rouenneries Blocks

I've been busy making the last 5 blocks for Friends in Stitching's (online stitching group) Block of the Month. The Rouenneries fabric is so lovely to work with ... it feels as beautiful as it looks.

  Teresa's Pinwheel

 

No Name Block

Virginia

 Card Trick

 Down on the Farm with Kezza 

(an original block designed by Kerry Swain.)

Now I need to decide how to put them all together. Was thinking red sashing but not totally convinced on that option. Will have to have a little play.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. There's still plenty of time to enter the giveaway if you haven't done so already.  A few people have guessed correctly and lots of others are very close.

Yesterday I had a fun sewing day with Vicki and Sarah .. will show you what we made very soon.