Fabric luck!

This week I have absolutely been counting my blessings, and those of you that follow me on Instagram will already know why. After seeing a darling fabric on the internets that would make the perfect addition to my Morrell quilt, it was devastating to learn that this fabric I coveted was several years old, and wildly popular when it was released. So tracking some down was going to prove difficult. After several days of sporadic google searching, I found a source, and I'm thrilled to say it arrived in my hot little hands this past week:

This is Regency Zarafa by Christopher Wilson Tate, and I found my piece at Chitter Chatter Fabrics in Canada. I'm sorry to tell you that I purchased the last of their yardage, but they may still have some fat quarters if you feel it's something you must have too. I can absolutely see this incorporated into some of the broderie perse blocks.

I've had some other deliveries this week too, but I've been slow to wield the camera, so I'll get back to you with those. Also stitching time has been very limited as I've been painting so many bead heads to send out. Thank you so much to all the sweet folks for trusting me with their crafty needs.

Tomorrow is my nephew's first birthday party and also his christening, and my sweet brother asked me if I could make a cake. Of course! Forgive this hasty picture, as it was an in progress shot, and the cake is boxed up now so I can't take a better one:

I battled with the buttercream icing as it was cold today, hopefully it will still taste good!

Next week I have much fewer commitments, so I'll take some extra photos for you, and also share what I'm able to work on in the sewing room. Chatter soon! xox

Quickie Post

Just a quickie post tonight as I'm all inspired and working at the sewing machine. I'm making scrappy blocks for some kids quilts, and also the tiny nine patches in an effort to catch up.

I grabbed my 2.5" squares box, and some fabrics that my darling friend Jean donated, and I've been pairing up squares to make blocks, and then framing them with cute fabrics. While I'm inspired I'm just going to keep on piecing and get as much as I can done.

The tiny nine patches, I've caught up a little, I think I have three weeks worth left to do, and then this weeks blocks too. It's not so hard to do, and fun to use up little scraps ... but on that note, I'm going to catch up on a couple of emails, and get back to the machine. Perhaps I'll check back in at the end of the weekend. Chatter soon!

It's April already!

Are you like me and thinking time is dashing by faster and faster? I just can't believe a week has disappeared already, but here we are at Friday evening. I had to think a little to remember what I achieved this week, so let's see what I can recall ...

Because of the positive reaction to Mushroom Chu-Chu's baby quilt, I did end up writing the pattern to put in my Etsy store, thank you to those of you who asked about it:

You can click on the picture to take you to my store, or any of the links in the sidebar. 

I also mentioned last week that I'd made some more of the tiny nine patches but hadn't taken a picture yet, so I can share that with you today. My photo isn't great, photography has never been one of my super powers lol ...

It was so much fun to work with lots of different fabrics somewhat like those from the challenge. Certainly more time consuming than making them all the same (or mostly the same) as I'd done up to now. I haven't made any more toward this week's allocation, or caught up on some of the past weeks - there hasn't been much free time for the sewing room, so maybe that's a job for this coming weekend.

Something I did tackle over the Easter break was picking back up on the Morrell quilt, and one of the tricker blocks beckoned:

This is Block 48 - Triple Irish Chain, and the block is 10in finished size, so they are approx 1/2in finished pieces. Yes, you read that right approx 1/2in finished. This block fought me the whole way, following the directions had me with a strip set that was about an inch larger than it needed to be, so I had to make a new plan and do whatever I could to get the block made. It took three days to get the block together which may be a new record for me - and I didn't love the process. But now that it's made I just love it, and I'm super glad I perservered.

Would you like to see the back of the block? It's pretty much all seam allowances:

To reduce the bulk somewhat I decided to do the last press with seam allowances open, and the block is pretty stiff with starch. And a fun thing is that I'll be able to use some of the leftovers toward the tiny nine patch blocks. Win-win!

In other stolen moments I've done a little hand quilting here and there, but there's been little other action in the sewing room. This weekend is Amy's baby shower, and also a family birthday party, but I'm sure I'll be able to get some quilt therapy here and there. I'll be sure to let you know! Chatter soon xox

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to my friends who celebrate, I hope you have a lovely weekend. Because of the extended long weekend, I forgot what day it is and here I am posting on a Saturday ... better late than never!

I managed to get quite a bit of sewing done this week, I quilted and bound the cot quilt for Mushroom Chu-Chu, and I'm thrilled with the results:

I used the serpentyle style quilting stitch that I'd used on some placemats earlier in the year and it was so speedy. After I marked all the lines and basted the quilt, it only took about 90 minutes to get the quilting done. Colour me happy! In fact I'm so pleased with this quilt that I'm contemplating writing it up as a pattern. It's just perfect for prints you don't want to cut up too much.

And in piecing news, I'm making moves toward catching up on the reproduction mini 9 patches - I made these ones during the week:

I'm calling these week 11, though they bear little resemblance to the originals. They're not very scrappy and quite blendy too TBH. At the time I made these, I still had weeks 5 through to 10 to catch up on - but yesterday I worked on week 5 though I haven't taken a picture yet.

This afternoon I'm contemplating breaking out the Morrell quilt project and potentially putting a block together. I'm not sure if I've made any blocks toward that project this year? It got put aside when things got busy for me and other projects bullied their way to the front of the queue. My version of the Rajah quilt also met the same fate. It's waiting on me to open that project box and finish it up. I don't think there it a lot to go, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, that has been my week in the quilting room/ladies lounge, how has your week been? Chatter soon xox

Decision made ...

Whew, this week thankfully saw a return to something like normality. Though I'm still a little low on energy, I could spend the day with sweet little Mary, get some work done, and catch up with my sweet quilting friends.

And also, I was able to make a decision which had been eluding me for a little while. Mary's little sister (who she has named Mushroom Chu-Chu) will be arriving in the not too distant future, and though I'd purchased some pretty fabrics, I had no clue what I wanted to make with them. That is no longer the case! Here are some pictures of the completed top - I just finished it this afternoon:

I had originally drawn up this pattern and made the quilt about ten years ago - I'm not sure what I did with the original quilt, but it's a really nice one for a print you don't want to cut up too much. I really like the sweet little possum print, and I may go back to the store and find some more.

If I get really enthusiastic, I'll get the quilt basted this weekend and maybe start quilting. I'm not sure what quilting style I'll use, but I've been toying with using the serpentile quilting stitches like I did with a couple of the placemats recently. 

In other news, it was lovely catching up with some of the Chookshed quilters on Zoom last weekend. Next time I must remember to have my laptop charger with me, I always get low batteries much faster than I think I'm going to. The ladies I've met are all lovely, and it's so fun to hear all the chatter.

That's all I have to share for the moment, fingers crossed I have a bunch more to share with you next week! *hugs*

This past month ...

Whew! I didn't mean to let almost a whole month pass by before I posted here, but that's what happened! The first two weeks are easily explainable, my parents and I travelled to New Zealand on a RC cruise. It was just lovely, and I'll share some pictures:

We flew to Sydney the day before, so we were able to explore. There was a ship in port, but it wasn't our ride, this one was pretty fancy:

We always stay in The Rocks, so on the day we simply have to drag our bags across the road to the overseas passenger terminal. This means that there's always lots to see, and the view from the roof of our hotel is pretty spectacular:

On Wednesday 21st, was our day to board, and this is our chariot. Though this picture was taken in NZ (I think Wellington) as I forgot to take one on boarding day.

We've travelled on the Ovation before, and always love it <3

This was my room, a balcony cabin on deck 8, my parents had the room next door, so we had the balcony opened up between them, and also the adjoining door unlocked, it always makes it feel more spacious.

Day two at sea and a lovely lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian - a tradition now, we always enjoy it so much!

I'll share a sprinkling of my many many photos, and try to recall where I took them ...

Our first stop - Picton NZ. So pretty, and I may or may not have bought a long necklace of the most lovely pearls from a darling jewellery store here. Can't prove anything ;-)

Two days later in Wellington NZ, we jumped on the gorgeous vintage hop-on hop-off tram and toured around the CBD.

The driver narrated as we travelled around, and we learned all about rebuilding efforts in the city, I have so many picutres if you're interested. And I was fascinated also by the beautiful interior of the tram, which we learned was about 100 years old.

The next day in Dunedin, also such a beautiful place. This is the train station - stunning in person. While in Dunedin, we stumbled across the most darling vintage store - Two Squirrels Vintage. I could have purchased every single thing in the store, but settled on this beautiful vintage apron and sweet little set of beads:

On our way home we travelled through Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound, all simply stunning!

And on the last sea day while heading home, we did a fascinating tour of the kitchens and a yummy brunch. We definitely never went hungry.

Before we knew it, it was time to start heading home - it was a long day travelling and I was really glad to finally be able to sink into bed. The next morning I didn't feel right, and took 'that' test, and sure enough was positive. First time ever for me. Next minute I received a message from Mum having had the same result.

The past two weeks have been spent largely resting, and with very little energy, I'm just now starting to feel like I'm getting back to some normality. In moments with energy, I've been baking - Pantry Mama's Sourdough Discard Loaves, one with rye, and one white:

I've been painting heads for my Etsy store, this is the second lot I painted for orders after I got home:

And for the last picture of the day, a little fabric delivery that arrived while I was away:

Darling fabrics that I'll be able to use in my Morrell quilt when I get back to it. And speaking of quilts, this past month I've done virtually no stitching - the only thing I've really had energy to work on since I've been home is a little hand quilting. I hope to remedy that soon, as I'd love to get a quilt made for the new grandbaby that will be here before we know it!

Well, that's been my month, apologies for the radio silence, here's hoping I have the energy to get back to my posting schedule going forward! Chatter soon xox

Such a week!

Oh my, this has been such a busy week! I'm sure I never mentioned it, but last year I decided on a whim to apply for some part time study, never believing that I would be accepted. Well, as it turns out, I was accepted, and that started this past week. It's super fun so far, and I seem to be doing well. Not sure where I thought I'd find the time, but here we are. 

Additionally, my Etsy store has been going absolutely nuts, specifically with the painted bead heads that people are using with the mmmCrafts felt ornaments. I sent this many out in the mail yesterday:

And I've worked on even more today, and they'll go in the mail on Monday. I posted on Instagram that my two week break from painting beads is imminent, and I think my lovely customers did some panic buying? Of course I'm absolutely thrilled to help people out, I am very blessed.

So, my stitching time has been limited this week, I've only put two blocks together for the OpaSampler project, and they were super fun:

Block 15 - Dutch Windmill

I loved making this block, I used the freezer paper piecing technique, it's so great for holding those bias edges stable.

Block 3 - Loaded Logs

For this block I challenged myself to only use pieces from my tub of 1.5" strips, so I didn't really have the variety that was in the original block. But there are some super oldies in there. Some absolute favourites too. It's amazing how long scraps can hang around in your stash long after the original yardage is gone. 

And because I want to paint some more beads before I head to bed tonight, I'm going to keep this short - I have one last photo to share:

Here's our big boy Rowley, it was his 1st birthday yesterday. He's been in our life for just over nine months, I can't believe how fast it's gone. He has such a big personality, and it's hard to remember life without him.

I'm going to sign off here - I'm not sure if I'll be able to post next week, but I will make every effort to, hopefully I'll have something newsworthy to share. Chatter soon xox

Hand Quilting

Not much going on in Sewing Machine World this past week, but I have been visiting Hand Quilting world late at night, so Lily Rosenberry has some brand new quilting stitches. I believe I may have moved the hoop twice!

I'm out to the border in several areas, so I'm getting there, but there are many stitches still in my future. And because it's such a relaxing pastime, I'm just fine with that.

Chatter soon xox