Traffic Light…stop…go…

Hi all,

I wanted to squeeze in a last finish for January…this was actually finished a couple of weeks ago but I was waiting for it to be put up!

It still needs some finishing – the rail needs to be trimmed. But that is a minor detail, the main thing is that it is up on the wall!

This is from the book Stop.Go.Quilt.Sew! by Angela Yosten and you can actually get this book for 40% off this week – you do not want to miss this if you have boys in your life!

As always I changed it a bit – Just the background fabric…I used one big piece of fabric, it is a tone on tone cream with darker spots from my stash. The pattern calls for a jelly roll of white but I didn’t want to buy anything, cheap I know but really who wants to wait – it would have taken me at least a week longer to make just waiting for the JR to arrive and I was ready to sew now!

I straight line quilted it which was a nightmare…straight lines and I are not friends!

All the fabric came from my stash so I am happy and No.1 son picked this pattern and loves it in his room so everyone is happy!

Next on the list for his room is the No Parking quilt from the same book, but as it is summer so I am not in a hurry to get this done yet!

Here is a quick peek at what I am working on at the moment -

I am putting the top together for the Marti Michell American Beauty BOM. Hope to have a finished top to share soon!

Crazy Times!

Hi all,

Well, isn’t Australia having some crazy times just lately?!

If it isn’t fires, which are apparently still burning in Victoria. It is flooding rains…Personally we haven’t been really affected by the rain and wind other than not being able to get into town because of water over roads, until this morning when we lost power. Fortunately we have a good generator set up which provides us with enough power to run the household almost as normal!

We have our own little waterfall when we get heavy rain! At one stage our driveway was completely covered in water, this photo was taken after the rain had eased off a lot. We went from having empty tanks to over-flowing in a couple of days!

Although I am very grateful for the rain because it has saved us from having to buy water, I really feel for all the people who are getting flooded again so soon after the 2011 floods. I hope all my bloggy friends are keeping dry.

This is the finished quilt I made for the Tassie Quilt Appeal which is organised by Jess. With the constant rain for a couple of days I was able to get a lot done!

I love this Rocket Launch Club print from the Children at Play by Sarah Jane range…And the orange chevrons go perfectly! I quilted it on my SIL’s short arm quilting machine in a freehand stipple pattern.

I thought I would just put a simple label on this quilt so I sewed a twill tape label onto one corner.

A great quilt for a boy I think!

In the background you might be able to see that the bank has collapsed onto the driveway….this happens every time we get heavy rain. Now we just need to wait for the driveway to dry up a bit so hubby can get the bobcat out and clean up the mess!

What’s happening Wednesday!

Hi all,

I have been working on a couple of things this week and dreaming about many more! Do all quilters do that?

Anyway, this is the January block for the And Sew On BOM at Quiet Play.

I have been hoarding these fabrics for a very loooong time so it is really nice to be using them! I messed with the pattern a little to make my twill tape measure fit perfectly and I love it!

This is a quilt I am working on for the quilt appeal for Tasmania. I started with a kit that my mum got on sale….

But I changed it! I decided the yellow didn’t work perfectly with the border spots so I added in the rocket boys and then I decided the green didn’t work any more so I changed it for the orange chevron. And now I like it a lot more – it looks more modern and boyish!

The other thing you might be interested in if you love text fabric as much as I do is a text fabric fat quarter swap called Text Me. So excited about this one! Check out the flickr group for more info if you are interested.

HFWYG? QAL Wrap up and Winners

Hi all,

Well what a crazy time we have had with the QAL! It was very full on for Jess and myself getting the tutorials out each week as well as making each others blocks too but we made it and so did you! Give yourselves a pat on the back!

Lets have a look at the twin size quilts that have been finished -

Sharon from Vroomans Quilts made this gorgeous quilt.

Nessa made this bold and beautiful quilt.

Ella from Throw a Wench in the Works made this one and even hand quilted it!

Angela from Sewing With Squeak made this really lovely quilt.

We also have a couple of Throw quilts finished too -

Nectarine from Reines des reinettes (sorry I can’t translate french!) made this beautiful throw quilt.

Jen from Quilter in the Closet made this gorgeous blue and white throw quilt. The quilting is amazing!

We also have a couple of Small Quilted Items -

Vreni from Oops Lah made this pretty and useful sewing machine cover.

Adrianne from On the Windy Side made this beautiful cushion.

And lastly I have a finished flimsy to share -

Rosa from Rosa Patch has finished this pretty quilt top ready to be quilted.

Everyone has done a great job and the quilts and projects are beautiful! Thank you all for joining us on our adventure!

Now for some winners – how does the song go? “everyone’s a winner baby”!

A huge thank you to the Fat Quarter Shop for sponsoring our QAL, enjoy your vouchers ladies!

Full Twin Quilt category:

First $50 voucher goes to #1 Sharon - Vrooman's quilts

Second $50 voucher goes to #3 Ella – Throw a Wench in the Works

$25 voucher goes to #2 Nessa

Plus Jess and I will be awarding a mystery prize to entry #4 - Angela from our stash.

Throw Quilt category:

$50 voucher goes to #2 – Jen – Quilter in the Closet

$25 voucher goes to #1 - Nectarine

Small items category:

Vreni and Adrianne - both entries are awarded a $25 voucher

Quilt top category:

Rosa wins a mystery prize from one of our stashes.

Not to blab on about it LOL but really the QAL would have been a big flop without you guys quilting along with us! I hope you love your quilts and projects as much as I love my quilt!

And a last huge thanks to Jess for letting me co-host the QAL with her! It has been a blast!

Coaster Set

Hi all,

These are a great quick and easy project, perfect for gifts on the run!

I made these for Jess as a thank you for co-hosting the QAL with me. I wanted to share them because they are so easy to make…if you have only made one 10” block from the QAL then you could make these.

I used a 10” block from the QAL and cut it into quarters. If you layer it with your wadding on the bottom, backing fabric right side up and then top fabric right side down. Stitch around the edge leaving a small gap on one side. Turn it right sides out through the opening, and press. Then top stitch close to the edge you have a set of coasters! See, quick and easy!

These are cool because they fit together like a puzzle but still look good individually! I am thinking about doing something similar with a 20” block I have left over and making a set of potholders.

If you whip up a set of these you still have time to link them up to the QAL Linky Post and possibly win a gift voucher for the Fat Quarter Shop!

There are 2 days left to link up your quilts for the QAL, I have been checking Jess’ blog every day to see if there are any new entries! I get super excited when I see a new one up there!

While you are over at Jess’ blog check out the Quilt Appeal she is running for the people in Tassie that have lost everything in the fires.

Sweat shop sewing

Hiya!

I may be crazy but I have been doing some sewing this weekend….in my very own little sweat shop! It is so hot, I know it is heaps hotter elsewhere but I am more of a winter girl.

Hubby took this photo while I was pretending to strike poses – sorry for the no chin look LOL

This top is Simplicity 1884 view B, without the tie. I used a satiny material, which is not very good in this heat but should be nice when it cools down a bit.

I am hoping it will look nice with a black skirt but I really think it would look great with aqua capri pants, not that I own any!

Next I am cutting out this dress, I am making the long version with short sleeves and using a lightweight cotton fabric from Spotlight.

I also have a couple of finishes to share but I will spread them out over the next week or so!

I hope everyone is surviving the heat and the fires, my thoughts are with all my bloggy friends who are being affected.

Here are my tips for surviving the heat – keep a damp face washer in the fridge and rub it all over your face every now and then. And eat your Paddle Pops fast!

QAL linky party has started!

Hiya!

Just wanted to let all you girls who are frantically finishing off your quilts LOL that the linky party has started!

Yay! So, head over to Jess’ blog to link up.

The linky will be open for a week and then the winners will be chosen randomly. I will share the entries for each of the 3 categories when we announce the winners!

In your words blog hop

Hiya!

Today is my day in the blog hop….

 

Before I show you my project I would like to thank Mdm Samm and Linda for all their hard work organising the hop!

And here is the list of the bloggers who will be posting today in the hop -

Life in the Scrapatch (Pat B.)
Just Sew Sue (Sue B.)
Nati's Little Things (Nati)
Amy's Crafty Shenanigans (Amy)
Pig Tales and Quilts (Thearica)
Scrappy 'n Happy – you are here! 
Little Mushroom Cap (Amira A.)
Moosestash Quilting (Joan K.)
Sowing Stitches (Beulah aka. Carol)
Just Quilt It  (Kathy G.)

Go and check out some ways to use words and be inspired! Some are having giveaways too!

Now the rule for this is to use a word or words that reveal who we are or more about us.

This is might reveal more about me and what I am trying to bring into my life this year. I have a feeling it might be a year with some interesting challenges so this is what I am doing -

I decided to make a Reflection notebook. At the end of each day, just before bed I sit down and try to think of the positive things that happened during the day. And also things that I am grateful for.

Last year I started doing this verbally with the boys each night at bedtime, no.1 son tends to dwell on the negatives so I am trying to get them to think about the positive things that happened and it has made a difference. No.2 son reminds me when I forget, he says “I haven’t told you my favourite part yet”!

I used one of my current favourite fabric ranges – Noteworthy by Sweetwater as the feature fabric. And embroidered the outline of the letters using Cottage Garden Thread in Cherry Blossom.

On the inside I put a pocket to hold my pen. These fabrics are from Feather n Stitch. You might see the pen is a Paper Mate ‘Ink Joy’…I thought that was cool. Bringing the joy in with the pen too!

I even did a little basic scrapbooking…I thought this would be a good reminder of what I am trying to do each time I open the notebook.

I looked up the words on a online dictionary and printed them out, glued them to some pretty scrapbook card and fortunately the finished size fit the book perfectly!

Here is a little peak at the first page. I am just keeping it short and sweet.

So this year I am going to reflect on the things I am grateful for and the positive things that happen each day!

Binding your QAL quilt

Hiya,

Tonight Jess has shared some pictures of some of the quilts that have been made as part of the QAL, as well as her tutorial for binding quilts.

You can check it out here.

The quilts are amazing! And Jess’ tute for binding is really good too! I couldn’t improve on it as it is basically how I do it too. Although I do have a nifty way to join the ends together at the end (I will see if I can find a tute for you or make one up myself) and I prefer to hand sew the binding down on the back of the quilt.

The link up will start next week on the 11th and will be open for a week. I think this will be done on Jess’ blog. And then the winners will be drawn randomly from each category.

I have to admit I have been slack today and that is why I am linking you to Jess’ blog rather than doing a binding post as well….but there has been a little bit of drama here today.

My youngest little fella, who is 4, had a run in with a stanley knife and required a trip to hospital for a couple of stitches. The perils of renovating with kids around. He was a brave little guy and handled it well. The pain fuelled “I hate you” that I was getting lots of in the waiting room quickly turned into “I love mummy and daddy and my brother” with a bit of happy gas.

Anyway, all is quiet at the moment. Which is bliss!

Plans for 2013

Hiya!

I thought I would share a few of my plans for the next 12 months…well, maybe I should say the next few months because my creative goals/focus change quite a lot, with the wind really LOL

First up for this year I am participating in the “In your words” blog hop.

My day is the 10th so stay tuned to see what I have made! And I will also share links for the other blogs that are joining in!

There are a couple of quilts that I want to get finished fairly soon -

This is a peek at a wall hanging I am making for No.1 sons room, it is a lot further along than this picture now…just a little bit more quilting and then binding.

I also want to finish the Marti Michell American Beauty BOM quilt. I thought I had some pictures of some of the blocks but I can’t find them, anyway hopefully I will have the top finished in the next month and then I am going to give it to Jane for quilting. It is a huge quilt so I will send this one away. Then I am going to start a Double Wedding Ring quilt in my ‘night off’ class. I have always wanted to do a DWR so I am very excited about this one!

And there is also Hooterville, which I have started to work on again. The Jamestown Landing quilt which I really should dig out (both mentioned here)….If I go any further into my UFO’s I might have a fit so I think I will stop there LOL

There are also lots of new things I would love to start – I have the pattern for Aunt Millie’s Garden calling my name and I am getting the pattern for Afternoon Delight which looks beautiful!

All of the things I have mentioned are very time intensive quilts, so I hope I don’t get too boring for you!

Although I am sure I will be making small things too, already I have planned to make No.1 son a pencil case for school…and no doubt the list will grow. Not to mention the dress and top’s I want to make…okay now I am scaring myself!

Better stop now before I dig myself into a hole! I hope you have lots of fun creative projects planned for 2013!

Let’s see where the wind blows us!