August 12

Heavens, it has been almost exactly one month since I posted here. It genuinely doesn't seem like that long!

I've been in a bit of a sewing slump since my big win at the show, and it's not the first time that's happened. It always goes away, and I'm already feeling more motivated, but there hasn't really been anything of note created.

I did manage to put a little something together to celebrate Christmas in July before that month disappeared completely:

This fabric stood out to me while shopping before Christmas last year:

I can't remember the name of the range, but I think I've since seen it around, and I thought it would look good combined with my Halloween Table Topper pattern. I'm super happy with how it came together, and will definitely use it when the season comes around.

Also recently, my lovely friend Norma has been teaching me how to crochet. I kind of knew how to crochet already, but I didn't know how to follow a pattern, so I've been working in stolen moments on this zig zag blanket:

My photo isn't great, so you can't really tell that the yarn is a pretty purple in addition to the soft pink and cream. I only seem to workk on this when I'm keeping Marty company while he watches on F1 races/practice etc. They're on hiatus at the moment, so I probably won't pick it up again for a couple of weeks.

And for the last picture which is somewhat quilt related - one of my prizes from the quilt show was a voucher from lovely Jeanie at Kookaburra Quilts. I had a lovely time shopping on her site, and here is what I bought:

Very useful things, and lovely fabric - I think all from Devonstone collections. Thank you Jeanie for your incredible generosity!

This weekend just gone, Camo wanted to check out a somewhat new Lego store that had opened nearby. I wanted to see it too, so I was absolutely happy to go. I loved their little photo corner - Camo flatly refused to have his picture taken there. My how times have changed!

And this collage on the wall was so impressive - the store attendant showed me where a piece was missing, not stolen but it fell out and was lost when it was installed. I don't think I could find the spot again if I was asked, and I'm certain you won't see it in the picture! But here goes:

I've loved Lego since I was a kid, and it's always tempting to buy a kit here and there. There may or may not be a few pieces in my sewing room ... can't prove anything :-)

Well, that's it for me friends, not a quilt heavy post, but hopefully I'll have something more exciting to share soon! xox

July 13th

Well, this has been the most exciting of weeks! As you know I finished my Lily Rosenberry quilt recently - I was working really hard to have it ready for our guild show. Tuesday was the day to hand the quilt off to guild committee, and I spent an anxious evening wondering if I'd remembered to trim away any stray threads, had I missed any dog hair etc. You know, stuff that you can't do a darn thing about ...

On Wednesday evening I got a call to ask if I was coming to presentation night as my quilt had won a prize. Ohhh my goodness I was so thrilled, and still kind of anxious. On Thursday to help with all that nervous energy I made myself a cute skirt to wear to presentation night - mostly to keep my mind busy. I sent a picture to my sister-in-law as she's getting into sewing ... here's what I made:

I love the big houndstooth, and I've got extra for some fun cigarette pants. You see Rowley there bottom right - he really wanted to get in on the picture too:

Sweet boy, he always wants to be in on the action. He's bugging at me to go for a walk right now ... it's late, and we'll drag him out shortly.

Anyway, I won't keep you in suspense any longer:

I was gobsmacked when I learned that my quilt had won 1st in Professional Applique, Best Hand Quilting, and the Retaining the Tradition award. And then I was rendered absolutely speechless when it was announced that my quilt had won Best of Show. Ohhh my goodness, I feel so lucky!

I spent Friday and Sunday at the show standing with my quilt chatting with old friends, making new friends and generally having a lovely time with the folks at the show. What a great weekend!

The major sponsor for our show was Bernina Australia, they're always incredibly supportive, and my prize for Best of Show was this darling Bernina 570QE machine.

Thank you Bernina Australia!

And the cherry on my sundae was learning that my dear friend and quilting twin Zara Zannettino had won runner up to Best of Show. I was so thrilled to share the stage with such a wonderful person and huge quilting talent.

Last of all for this week, I managed to get another Morrell quilt block made in the evenings as I was winding down. I had this block about one third pieced on the machine, and I was just so unhappy with how it was going together - with so many Y seams, points weren't meeting as well as I'd like them to, and it was just looking a mess:

So I pulled the block apart entirely, and used all the pieces to hand stitch it together. I'm so much happier with how it looks now:

So, that has been my news over this past week. Honestly, I feel like I'm floating on cloud nine. I'll check back in again soon, though I'm sure I won't have any news to beat this in a good long time!

June 30th

Hello friends, I was hoping to get a post in again in June, and here I am on the last day. Whew! It has been a busy month, and I can share many of the things I've been working on in the sewing room:

Recently I shared the little applique piece I found when I was cleaning up the sewing room. I formulated a plan (which included using some of the little Ohio Star blocks I made) and created this little top:

I was super happy with how it came together - I had salvaged a forgotten project, and used a bunch of scraps up in the process. I'm still going to make more 4.5in Ohio Star blocks - I just love them!

I quilted and bound it with a favourite purple fabric - followed by a trip through the wash, I just love the crinkle it gives. Tomorrow it's going for a trip in the mail. It's destined for a new home.

Recently Camo had his birthday, and rather than have a cake, he requested that I make an apple pie. I made something like a pie - it's a tart - my first ever apple tart, and delicious!

I've continued hand quilting on the wholecloth - and moved the hoop since this picture was taken too:

And last of all today, I've made another block for the Sarah Morrell quilt - I'm thrilled with this one:

The little floral square was just a bit small for the space I needed it to fill, so I added a little frame, and I'm so happy with how it looks. I've now made 25 blocks for the quilt - there are still so many to go.

I've also been working on some secret squirrell projects, and I'll share those when I can, but for now they'll have to stay under wraps.

That's it for me today - I hope to check back in with you again really soon. Let's see how I go with that!

June 8th

Hello friends! I've had busy fingers in the sewing room these past couple of weeks, and I'm enjoying the freedom of working on whatever project I feel like putting my hands on. One of the first things I did was finish up a dress I had worked on before we headed off on the cruise. It didn't fit well so I put it aside - I've fixed it now but forgot to take a picture. I will genuinely remedy this in my next post.

I've also put together a couple more Sarah Morrell blocks, the first one in these two pictures I just finished up this afternoon:

In the pattern, the block above doesn't have any floral/broderie perse additions in the centre. I decided to add something to tie it in with other blocks nearby. I still struggle with broderie perse, particularly when the fabrics fray. Here's hoping I grow more comfortable with it, as there are so many blocks with broderie perse coming up!

This peacock block is a special one. Longer term readers may remember the funny story about when I nabbed Chris Forster at the airport when she was visiting Adelaide. It was all very innocent and fun, and she knew we would be catching up at some point, as she had a little gift of some fabrics for my Morrell quilt. The two fabrics above were from Chris, and based on an inspiration picture on Pinterest (which I'm not sure who it belongs to) I combined the two fabrics to make the block. I'm super happy with how it came together, and it really was very easy. 

I have additional yardage of the fabric I used for the circular frame, so if I feel like I'd like to do some more of the same, I'll be able to do it. I don't have a lot of fabric with birds though, so I'll most likely use larger scale florals. 

Piecing has also been happening, and I've now made a dozen fun little Ohio star blocks from scraps:

I've been having an enormous clean up in my stash - particularly the scraps that have been building up in my baskets. I've been finding little treasures along the way and making up these blocks - the fussy cutting is so much fun when I find the right fabrics. I'd like to make 200 before the end of the year - a big goal at what is traditionally my busiest time - it will be fun to see what I can come up with.

Another fun thing in my sewing room - my lovely friend Bridget gifted me some wooden cotton reels after her Mother had a clean out, and now the apothecary jar in my sewing room is full to the top:

Let's pretend there isn't any dust on the top shelf there ... haha :-)

I'm working on some secret squirrel projects that I'll share later in the year. But last of all for today, here are some new additions to my Etsy store:

A darling little card craft sewing basket:

Vintage lace and ric rac:

The Etsy listing pictures above are clickable if you'd like to have a closer look at the items. I have many more items to list, so if you're into vintage trims etc, do check back in.

That's it from me for now, thank you for reading all this way, and I'll check back in with you all soon xox

May 25th

Hello friends, I'm watching the Monaco GP with hubby, and tapping away on the computer, so decided to pop in a quick blog post while I can. Since I finished Lily Rosenberry, I've been dabbling with a few different projects at leisure and will share a couple of bits and pieces with you now.

First up, I finished another block toward the Morrell quilt:

Lots of applique and reverse applique in this one. The little arrow shapes are a treasured fabric from deep stash and I only have the tiniest piece left. How I wish I could turn back time and find more of it!

And because the quilting stand looked so lonely in the sewing room, I've put the white wholecloth back in it, and even put a few stitches in here and there.

I used to think that this wholecloth would be gifted to Amy on the occasion of her wedding, but given that she recently had her sixth wedding anniversary, it's no secret how that went. To be honest I don't think it's something she'd use, so I don't need to rush to finish it.

And here's a little project I finished on Friday evening - a decoration put on hold while I made every effort to finish Lily Rosenberry:

I really do love the felt ornaments from mmmCrafts, I am getting ready to make some more very soon.

And the last project for today - a little lost applique piece I found while working on a big clean up in the sewing room:

I'll make a few blocks and turn this little piece into something nice. I don't remember what I had in mind for the applique strip, but it's too pretty to put it aside again.

Last of all for today - I saw some darling fabric on someone's socials, and was determined to make some mine. It's a pretty Jane Austen print:

I have a decent chunk of it now, and will find a lovely project for it sometime ... 

That's it from me - thank you for sticking with me, and chatter soon! xox