I made a mini quilt top ...

First up, thank you for the kind messages regarding family issues. I know I was vague about what's going on - and I promise I'll fill you in when it's appropriate. Please don't worry though, we are fine in this house. The circle of life can be a tough thing, and we all have to ride these emotional roller coasters at some time. But still, thank you for the support.

But to the title of this post ... I'm sure my lovely readers are also reading Wendy Caton Reed's blog - she is a beautiful and generous person, and I just love her. Wendy hosts/participates in a monthly mini quilt collective, and I thought it would be fun to participate.

So this week I pulled a few fabrics and got ready to cut out some pieces:

I absolutely love that Judie Rothermel border print so I made it my starting point. I'm not certain, but I may have that border fabric in blue too - but possibly only a fat quarter. When I was looking at the colours I selected for coordinates, they all looked oddly familiar. And then I realised ... they were very similar (and one exact match) for the fabrics/colours I used in my Farmers Wife Quilt. I am not very original! But I do like the combination :-)

And here is the little quilt I put together:

Isn't it fun? Honestly, that border print does all the hard work and really makes it special. I do love fussy cutting, especially when it gives such a wonderful result. The pattern is quite an old one by Jo Morton, and I've made it before with Jane Austen prints. I may even make it one more time with sweet girly prints, as it's a lovely size for a doll quilt for little Mary.

If I can I'd like to have it quilted by the end of the weekend - after all I had made myself a promise that I'd finish a bunch of things before I started anything new, so I broke my promise really - and to make amends I'm not going to let it become a UFO. Once it's done, I'll get right back to the 'have to do' stuff.

Last week I mentioned that we were heading to the Barossa Valley on an errand - Marty was looking to get more Port for his barrel. He particularly loves an aged one from Seppeltsfield, so we visited again. Seppeltsfield is just the most beautiful place so I took a couple of happy snaps for you:

And while we were in the neighbourhood, we did stop at a very curious second hand store and I found a picture frame that I may be able to use for the "work of art" I've been splodging paint on. I neglected to take a picture before my quilting friends and I took it to pieces, and it's outside right now, so if I remember, I'll show you what it's like in my next post. It definitely needs some TLC and fixing up here and there, but it was a bargain, and I'm pretty sure it'll look lovely!

Well, that's it from me for tonight, I hope you've all had a great week, and I'll check in with you again soon! xox