Checking things off that infinitely long list ...

I don't know if anyone can relate, but I love a good list. And when I have huge amounts of things to get through on a list, it never seems to stop me from adding more and more things to the list. Fortunately, I'm not easily stressed, so I just keep plugging along and get to most things EVENTUALLY!

One of the list items was to get this month's mini quilt together - these are a joy to make as they come together so quickly.

This is 14 inches in size, and has a lovely Sue Garman applique block in the centre. It's made entirely from scraps, some of them quite small, so I wasn't able to use the same fabrics all the way through, but I suppose that adds to its charm. I'm yet to quilt it, but that won't take long and will be something fun for this weekend. If you'd like to see the projects from other sweet ladies working on mini quilts, do check out Wendy Caton Reed's blog.

I enjoyed the applique block so much I made another:

The green and yellow fabrics are golden oldies - Smithsonian prints from the late 90's. I just loved those collections so much. The green was in the big box of reproduction fabrics kindly gifted to me by Pam Holland, and the yellow was a gift from lovely Sue Flego in NZ. Quilters are so kind! I'm really enjoying the glue baste applique technique these days, it's hard to imagine I'll return to needle turn any time soon.

Other sewing I did this week was a couple more churn dash blocks, but I neglected to take a photo, I'll have to save that for next week. But on my other churn dash project, I finally settled on a fabric that I will use for the border:

It's a pretty William Morris print, and it seems to go with the rest of the quilt. I'll have to make sure I cut it out so that the grapes are all even across the quilt top or it will drive me crazy! It feels good to have finally made a decision toward finishing this top.

I had a little happy mail again this week, this time in the form of patterns:

I have absolutely loved the Morrell quilt from the very first time I saw it, so I will be super excited to make it. Before I can even consider it, I need to finish some other things, so who knows when I'll begin, but let me tell you, it's all I can do not to rip the pattern open and start sewing right away! The other birdie wreath pattern is just gorgeous also, and though I know it will be in my future sometime, it's not keeping me awake at night planning which fabrics I'll use :-)

And last of all for today, I shopped for a little fabric for Miss Mary, as I've decided I'd like to make a Dresden Play Mat for her. Here are the fabrics I chose:

You can't see in the picture, but the fabric is irresistibly sparkly. I can't wait to cut into it. I often joke with my friends that Amy and Mary have no idea of the tsunami of quilted and crafty items that are heading their way haha!

I feel like there are more things that I should be sharing with you, but I'm feeling flaky and can't think what they might be. So if I remember, I'll check back in on another day. I hope you've all had a great week, and I'll chatter soon! xox

A slow start, but I got a little done ...

This week got a off to a rough start - a nasty gastro bug swept through our extended family, it was violent and persistent, so I had very little energy for a few days. Once the worst was over it was actually nice to lay low for a little bit, but I did miss time in the sewing room.

Before all that happened though, I put together another sweet little Alice Dress for Miss Mary:

I just love the Llama Drama fabric, both it and the lining were from Spotlight. The pattern is an instant download from Rebecca Page, and because goes right up to size 12, I'll be making these for many years to come. It's super easy, and since I'm not really a confident garment maker, I'm learning each time I make one.

During recovery I spent time online ... as you do ... and put a lowball bid on a box of random china bits and pieces at my favourite local auction house. I really didn't expect to win, but I did and here is my loot:

I was only really interested in the Spode Byron pieces, which are the green rimmed dishes at the back there. But the Myott dinnerset in the foreground is just lovely, and as well as the other bits and pieces, there were five pieces of Carltonware in there too!

This was the prettiest of the Carltonware dishes. I've given them all to a sweet friend as she loved them so. And the Myott dinnerset is going to another lovely friend, she's picking it up to grace her new historic home. I'm so pleased to have found some pieces I was looking for, and was also able to bless others with the pieces I don't need!

And then I was able to get quilting on one of the tops I made:

My machine gave me the devil of a time with this quilting project. I broke a needle, bent a needle, and had all kinds of backlash issues. I ended up having to change the tension on the bobbin, hopefully it won't mess anything else up. I did use a new to me batting - a Quilters Dream poly, and also used King Tut thread which I don't usually use, it's just so hard to imagine they could affect the tension so much, but who knows? Anyway, it's finished now, and I'm very happy to call it done! 

This week I have some more churn dash blocks to make, a secret squirrel project, and the binding for the quilt above. I'm sure that will keep me busy and I'll report back soon!

A Churn Dash start ...

Whew! This has been quite a week! Happily though, I still managed to spend some q-time in the sewing room and checked a couple of things off my list:

I got a start on my Churn Dash blocks for the Sewalong that Chookyblue is hosting:

Though a lot of people are making 9 inch blocks (which is the size I was working on recently) I decided to make mine 7.5 inch finished. I'm going to use the blocks to make up some more donation quilts, and the smaller size will work better with their finished quilt size criteria. 

I found the light background hiding in my fabric closet along with the green, and the centre square as well as the blue dot print were from the fabrics donated by lovely Jean. She is so very generous. I've put three tops together so far, and I've some batting for them now, so hopefully I'll get busy quilting them soon.

Also checked off my list ...

I finished binding the tree skirt with the pretty Edyta Sitar Noel Christmas fabrics, added a button and took some pictures. I was able to update the pattern to reflect the new fabric and update my Etsy listing. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, so it felt so great to have this completed!

And last of all, I made a couple more Moda Blockheads blocks:

Block 10 - Autumnal by Chelsi Stratton

Bonus Block 1 - Roundabout

For Block 10, I changed the stem a little, on the small block it looked a little thick, and I'm pleased I altered it. Next on the list was Block 11, but when I looked at it, I just wasn't ready for such tiny pieces, so I'll tackle it another day when I have more energy ;-) Bonus Block 1 got made instead - the red fabric being a leftover from making the tree skirt recently, and the other three fabrics from my 1.5 inch scrap box. 

I have no clue what this week will bring in the sewing room/ladies lounge, but you can be sure I will never run out of things to do in there! Chatter soon friends! xox

Unexpected sewing ...

Hello friends! This week I didn't do any of the sewing I was expecting to do ... in fact it was all unexpected sewing! I had ordered some Edyta Sitar/Laundry Basket Quilts Christmas fabric a little while back with a view to refreshing the Christmas Tree Skirt pattern that is always so popular on my Etsy site. The fabric arrived recently, so rather than let it sit around I got busy making the new skirt. It's my plan to have it on sale for Christmas in July, so why not give it a new look too!

I'm so glad there are scraps of the fabric left, it's so pretty and I can see it playing nicely with so much of my stash.

I also got back to putting some of the Kaffe Fasset tops together - I love how this one is looking:

Lovely Jean donated these fabrics, and did some of the piecing, and we're going to send these quilts on to Cranio Facial Australia. If any of my local quilting friends are looking to make some donation quilts, please do consider their cause. They're also running a quilt competition to coincide with the Royal Adelaide Show - get your entries in friends!

Today I received some happy mail - sweet Karen from Somerset Quilts had an Instagram sale over the weekend, I was able to click quickly and secure some scrap bags. And I ordered some floral fabric at the same time - I'm always looking for things that will work for broderie perse, and this one was lovely:

Whoops! The picture came thru sideways and I'm feeling too lazy to change it! :-)

Last of all for today, here is something I've been forgetting to share for a couple of weeks now:

I bought this Tiffany style lamp to go on the china cabinet in the hallway. When I got it all unpacked and in place it was a little busy, so I've swapped it over for the lamp that was in our bedroom and it's living on the tallboy now. I just love how it looks. It's pretty hard to take pictures of a lamp that's switched on apparently, so please trust me when I tell you how pretty it is!

Anyway, that has been my week, not super exciting, but it feels like it's been a busy one. Thank you to everyone that has stopped by and left a message - it always makes my day! Chatter soon xox

May Monthly Mini

First up, a big thank you to Terry and Gladiquilts for your lovely comments on my last post. Your email address didn't come to me so I wasn't able to reply to you personally, but I very much appreciate you taking the time to connect. <3 <3

I'm feeling good about my accomplishments this week, I had been dithering over what to make for this month's mini quilt - on Monday I just grabbed some blue and a background and went for it. Nine patches to the rescue!

Once I finished the nine patches, it was my plan to use the same background fabric as setting squares. But I was hit with some inspiration and pulled some Dutch chintz fabric out of a scrap drawer. This was the leftover piece from when I made the Mountmellick quilt with all the broderie perse - it looked like a piece of Jarlsberg cheese with all the holes in it - and it still does, but it's a smaller piece now! It's a much busier looking quilt than I had originally planned, but I still love it! At 19" square it's a little larger than my other mini quilts, but it still qualifies as a mini, right?

Here's a bit of a closer look - warts and all! The blue fabric is a favourite of mine, it was purchased on one of my trips to the USA to visit with darling friends. All the yardage is gone now, there are just the leftover bits from the strip piecing and the binding to go in the scrap boxes. While it's sad to see the end of some fabrics, I always get a thrill when I can use something up.

And a little sneaky peek of the back - it's quilted simply with crosshatching and fairly plain feathers. I'm getting low on that check fabric now, and that thrills me too. It's a favourite, but I can't really use it on the front of quilts as it has some poly content. I just can't press it as hot as I'd like - and I learned this the hard way. It does make for nice soft backings though. Only one fat quarter and a few scraps before it's all gone - I'll endeavour to find a good replacement in 100% cotton.

If you're enjoying seeing these monthly mini quilts, do click over to lovely Wendy Caton Reed's blog, you'll find a list there of all the other sweet ladies making mini quilts. They're always beautiful eye candy!

And for Lily Rosenberry, I've prepped block 11 ready for stitching:

It's so much fun playing with a variety of fabrics in this project, it's always fun to find little shards of the colours I need and be able to put them into the quilt.

I've also been getting more little berries ready:

I need about five hundred to complete the rest of the blocks and the border, so I'll keep busy making them, I won't be finished any time soon!

There should be a few hours this weekend I can spend in the sewing room, so it's my hope I'll be able to make up some more of the Moda Blockheads blocks, and get organised for the Churn Dash SAL. Isn't it fun to have plenty to occupy oneself in the sewing room! Chatter soon xoxox

Churn Dash and Catching Up ...

I am super happy with what I managed to achieve this past week in the sewing room. Sometimes free time just presents itself and I was ready to take advantage of it!

The remaining four blocks for the churn dash top were finished, I also made the last sashing strips and put the top together. It's fun to work from stash and see some last remnants of fabric used up!

Now I need to decide what might be a contender for the border. Here are two that are under consideration:

I'm not sure about either of them to be honest. But the one on the left could definitely be a backing. A border stripe would be great, so I'll rummage around in the fabric closet some more.

While I'm in 'churn dash' block mode - Chookyblue is hosting a Sewalong featuring churn dash blocks. I'm thinking I'll participate, it should be really fun. 

And in other news, I managed to get back up to date with the Moda Blockheads 4 blocks. The only ones I haven't made are the bonus blocks, but I'll get on to those soon too.

Block 6 - Spinning Into Spring by Linzee McCray

Block 7 - Game Board by Lisa Bongean

Block 8 - Wild Geese by Kate Spain

Block 9 - Cross my Mind by Zen Chic

If you're interested in the Blockheads 4 project - click on this link for the archive and check back weekly for new block updates. I'm so glad I decided to participate!

Also noteworthy, I added some pink Elf Heads to my Etsy store:

These are for use with the mmmCrafts Twas the Night ornament series. I've seen them made in a cute pink colourway, how cute to have pink hair to match!

Anyway that has been my quilty/crafty progress for this week - I'm super happy to be catching up on things. When I have a bit of free time, I'm going to take stock and write a list of my UFO's - it's fun to check things off a list - while I'm inspired to get things done I'll get some older projects done too.

Hope you've all had a great week - chatter soon! xox

Ten blocks, yay!

I'm so thrilled to have finished my tenth Lily Rosenberry block today, I have six to go to complete the body of the quilt. So, I laid them all out on the family room floor ...

I love the area in the foreground where all the berries come together, it's going to be the centre of the quilt, and I'm sure will really draw the eye. This project will be hand quilted, and that is something I just can't wait to start. It's a while away though - even once the last blocks are finished, the border will be an exercise in patience, it's filled with those darling red berries too. Stamina ... hopefully I have it!

There were three quilt related parcel deliveries today. I ordered some of the beautiful new Edyta Sitar Christmas fabric. I just fell in love with it and it finally arrived:

My plan is to make a tree skirt for a darling friend. And I'll make one for me too ... because of my love for this fabric collection haha

The second item was some books I purchased from a friend who is scaling back a little:

Both of these books are filled with projects I would definitely love to make. And I certainly have the stash to support that ambition.

The last of the deliveries is some fabric that I discovered was an absolute necessity!

Last weekend I thought it might be wise to cut out the border strips, and then the remaining background squares for the Lily Rosenberry quilt. When I purchased the fabric a while back I decided to use a double wide backing piece as I like the way the script is scattered haphazardly on it rather than directional like on the yardage from the range. I worked out how much I needed and placed my order. The store let me know that they only had two smaller pieces that made up the amount I needed and I figured it would be okay. Well ..... as it turned out, it wasn't okay. Each of the pieces almost had enough for an extra row/border (they're the same width) but fell about 2 inches short. So I had two pieces of 15" wide fabric after I'd cut most of what I needed, but needed them to be 17". This fabric has been hard to find for a while, but fortunately I was able to get an additional metre and it got here in record time!

I keep thinking I should order even more and use it for the backing too, but would that be too blah? I am very undecided. But if I dither over it too long the decision will be made for me I guess!

That has been my stitching week - not exciting, but still great. I'm thinking I'll still be obsessing over applique for a bit yet - while I'm inspired I need to run with it, so let's see what I have to share with you next week! Big hugs, and chatter soon! xox

Seeking motivation ...

This week has seen me lacking motivation to sew. I know my mojo will return, so I've been pottering in the sewing room etc and just doing what I feel inspired to do.

I bit the bullet and trimmed four of my Lily Rosenberry blocks so I could commit to sewing them together. When I shared the nine blocks recently I just laid them on the floor all higgledy piggledy, but these ones are set in stone now:

I'll keep them in groups of four until I've made all the blocks, just so I don't back myself into a corner and get forced to have the same fabrics right next to each other. This is always a problem when working on a scrappy quilt!

And I sashed the third row of the Churn Dash quilt, but I haven't stitched that row in place yet:

I'm really enjoying the soft colours in this quilt. It would be nice to make it bigger, but I will be satisfied to use up two of the fabrics that have been hiding in my stash closet. 

In other news - I have kept my promise of taking a bag a week to the op-shop. I have quite a lot of clothing, so it's still hard to see a difference - but the pile of empty hangers definitely looks impressive. My walk-in-closet was getting to the point where hangers were unneccessary - the clothes were quite tightly packed and almost self supporting! I'd like to send about half my garments away ultimately. It's the right thing to do, there are things I haven't worn in years. Last week I also sent about ten pairs of shoes away. None this week, but next week I'll send some more. This feels very freeing!

I don't have much more to share this week, so I'll close off here - thank you for all your kind comments recently, I always love to read them! Chatter soon xox