My news, though a little late ...

This past week has been entirely wonderful - I learned on Tuesday that 'Mrs Billings meets a French General' had won an award at the Quilters Guild of South Australia's Festival of Quilts. Of course, I couldn't find out until Thursday what I had won, and had to spend a couple of days chewing at my fingernails in anticipation ...

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to learn that I had placed first in my category (Open Traditional) and that I had also won the 'Retaining the Tradition' award.

I am such a lucky girl, and I can't wait to put my new ribbons on the pin-board. Happy days!! And a hearty congratulations to all entrants and prize winners - this years show was of such a high standard. We have a lot of very talented quilters in our guild. Be sure to check out our guild's webpage to see pictures of all the prize winning quilts.

Monday Catch-Up

I've been using my sewing machine this past week (and a little more). Seams are being sewn, and that thrills me! Perhaps my passion for all things quilting is returning to me slowly :-)

So what have I been working on?

I put together a small quilt to help out my dear friend Lizzy. It was using this jelly roll:

I've had it sitting around for quite a while, so it was nice to put it to use. You can see by it's messy state that I'd unrolled it and rolled it up again - never sure what I would make with it. The pattern Lizzy selected was from the Moda Bake Shop, and it's called the Cross Terrain Quilt.

Our cousin Lucy has recently had a baby, and thinking this quilt would be perfect for her sweet baby girl, I decided to make it half size for a cot. Here is an 'over the ironing board in my shadow' work in progress shot:

And then finally, the finished top:

I did end up making the border a little differently to the original pattern, I just didn't have the stamina to cut up SO MANY tiny pieces, but I'm still happy with the end result. Lizzy has kindly offered to quilt it up for me, so I'll be thrilled to hand this one off to its new owner soon :-)

And just this morning I finally finished putting all the rows together for the Rail Fence Variation quilt top that Linda, Donna and I exchanged blocks for. I really like this top - it worked out a little larger than I realised, so I'm not sure at the moment if I'll add borders or not.

Between the three of us, we don't even seem to have too many fabric repeats in the blocks which is a lovely surprise. When I decide on the borders, I think I'd like to hand quilt this one - but of course I'm prone to changing my mind.

And last of all for today (and those of you who are my friends on Facebook will have already seen it), here is the result of my biannual trip to Ikea:

It's always such a dangerous place for me - all those things I didn't know I couldn't live without until I got there. I'm really looking forward to making dimensional gingerbread trees with those cutters - they'll look fabbo with the gingerbread house at Xmas time. Bring it on!!

Chatter soon friends xox

Hi friends!

Hi there everyone, have you missed me? Actually, you don't have to answer that, I've had questions and emails from all over the place asking me when I'll be blogging again, and it's so nice that you've all cared so much. The truth is, along with my sewing mojo, my blogging mojo disappeared too. I don't think I've ever neglected my blog for so long.

And just an aside, a big HI to any new readers visiting from the lovely shout out I received in Down Under Quilts magazine, I'm glad you've stopped by :-)

So, what have I been doing? Well, let me see what I've managed to capture on my phone-camera ...

I made this little table mat for my Nanna on her birthday last month from a couple of left-over applique blocks I had on hand. It was a fun little project, and I really hope she uses it on her table. Nanna is a bit of a bandit for putting her 'best' things away in the cupboard. I'll have my eye on her :-)

I learned how to make Anzac biscuits. My sweet friend Norma shared her recipe and assured me they're sooo easy. It wasn't hard to convince myself to bake some, they're my hubby's absolute favourites, and I've made four batches since getting the recipe. These are going in the regular rotation for sure!

My sweet friends Vicki, Wendy, Gail and I went on a mini-break weekend down to Middleton. We stayed in Vicki's sister's house which was so lovely - this is the view from the front window. We did bring our quilty pleasures along, but didn't really stitch a thing. We were very much diverted by shopping, and spent a good deal of time gazing out the window, glass in hand.

And why would we be gazing out the window? Because we were able to spend simply ages just gazing on the whales in the water right out front. Now, I'm no photographer, and there's only so much I can do with my iPhone, but let me assure you, we had spectacular views of many little groups of whales, and we were in the box seat. It was so special!

And last of all, it's entirely possible that a little of my sewing mojo has returned. I've begun putting Camo's aviation themed quilt together. After Mrs Billings, working with such big pieces feels like working with bed-sheets. But at least I know it'll go together quickly - and Camo is really looking forward to this one.

Well, that's it from me for now - I promise I won't leave it best part of a month before checking in with you again ... trust me!! xox

Scrapping ...

So that I can track down my missing sewing mojo, I decided to just piece away on something mindless, but also fun. My little box of scrappy stars came out to play:

They're always fun to mess around with, and I love to reminisce over favourite fabrics. Soon it's going to be necessary to raid the scrap boxes for more bits and pieces - let's not have too much repetition.

And when my mojo strikes with force, I've got the fabrics and pattern ready for Camo's aviation themed quilt. I'll share when I'm busy cutting.

Chatter soon :-)

More pictures ...

I've had so many friends send me pictures now, it's just wonderful A big thank you to my sweet friend Roz for taking these pictures. Isn't it just thrilling??!!??

I just can't wait for Friday when I can visit with them myself! Chatter soon :-)

First picture ...

Hi there friends, I've been a slacker this week - seriously - can't settle to anything properly. But I do have something I want to share ...

I finally have a picture of my quilt with her ribbons!!

My little brother and his family visited with my quilt and got a happy snap. Thank you Timmy! The pic is a bit grainy, but isn't it fun to see? :-) I know some of my other friends have been and taken some pictures too, but I don't have them yet - I'll share when I can.

I plan to go to the show on Friday with Camo and I'll be able to get my own pictures then. His school has the day off for the show. It will probably be super chaotic, but totally worth it!

Chatter soon! xox

Great news!!

You've seen this picture before, but I'll share it again, because I have the best news!! ...

My Mrs Billings quilt placed first in it's category at the Royal Adelaide Show! And it also won Best in Section!! I'm just so happy - beyond thrilled actually!! Thank you all for your kind words while I've been working on it, so much appreciated :-)

I'm not sure if I remembered to share what I actually named my quilt ... its called: Mrs Billings meets a French General.

Almost sounds racy doesn't it? :-)

A new beginning ...

Last night I got my act together and decided to try sewing something. I'm really winging it here, but I've started on a cover for my sewing machine.

My machine comes with a cover of sorts - it's more for travelling. But because I have the machine lowered in the sewing cabinet all the time - and I don't ever close the cabinet - the cover is kind of too tall (and also not very pretty).

I don't know if this little project will work out as I imagine it - I'm making it up as I go along, but it's looking quite pretty at the moment. My inspiration is here - a project by CJ Tinkle. I had pinned an entirely different cover by the same lady on Pinterest, but the pin leads me to a forum rather than her website, so I don't think there is a tutorial. However, you can click here to see my pin.

So, it's safe to assume that if you don't see my sewing machine with her new cover in the next month or so, I probably haven't been happy with how the cover came out. I will persevere though, because I really want one!

Chatter soon xox