Lovely Quilts

I've been pretty quiet, haven't I?! I am sorry about that, but it truly has been a busy month, and then last week we all had the flu - again - honestly, twice in 6 weeks is a bit much, don't you think? Thankfully we're getting better again and this week I am able to do some things around the house that I've been wanting to for soooo long...

Just a few days ago my eldest son Daniel turned 17.... where has the time gone? Years, not just days... but it is fun watching them grow up.

I have been busy with teaching classes, and also doing some sewing for others. School is on a break for two weeks, but unfortunately I spent almost the whole first week in bed with the flu! Still, it is nice not to worry about correcting and supervising school for a fortnight.

The highlight of this month was the Annual General Meeting of the Riyadh International Quilt Guild! A few days before the meeting I was privileged to be one of the judges of the challenge quilts for this year. Oh, it was a hard job! All the quilts were lovely, each special in their own way. Thankfully I was not the only judge and between us we managed to come up with some winners :)

Feast your eyes on these:










All the challenge quilts had to have at least one Log Cabin block in them, so you can see how everyone has incorporated that into their quilts.

The next one is the winner of the Beginners Category. This lady has been quilting for about 6 months and came up with this creative quilt, using many different embellishments:


The other category was for those who had been quilting for more than a year, and third prize went to this stunning quilt:


Second prize was this gorgeous one, love the colors and design!


And first prize was this amazing kaleidescipe of colors, just beautiful:


The evening was lots of fun and I'm so glad I didn't get sick until the day after!!! I would have been so disappointed to miss it...

That's all for today.. it is bedtime and I have to get up early tomorrow. Must sew, must sew...! Actually I need to pin some tops and QUILT! I have way too many tops done that need finishing... so more photos soon... night night... xxx

April Finishing Stitches Winner!

And the winner for last month is.................

............................................ Narelle from Nell's Notions!!!

Congrats Narelle!!!

Now for news of May..... Alice and I have decided to have a break from Finishing Stitches this month... we both have a hectic month aheaad of us and need time to catch up with other things. Alice also needs time to send the last charm packs.... she has been busy with so many things that she needs a break too!

BUT, that doesn't mean you should stop finishing things!!! I like what Bonnie has done on her sidebar - she has a list of all her finishes and block finishes, so even if you are not part of a challenge, this is a great idea for motivation.

So, keep sewing and finishing things ladies!!!

Why oh why????

Why did I not finish my two blocks for the stitch-a-long this month?
Why did I buy two rolls of batting?
Why have I been cutting and folding dozens of fat quarters?
Why have I been repackaging 5 inch squares into nice little bags?
Why have I been bossing the boys around and telling them to move this cupboard here, and that bookshelf there, and that table here?
Why has Elizabeth been putting together nice little fat quarter packs and tying them with a ribbon?
Why oh why has all this been happening at my house??????

Remember my word for the year is CHANGE. This is a year of changes for us for sure... first moving to Arabia, and settling in to all the changes here. Then this week..... starting up a little quilt shop in my house :) Yes, we all dream of that don't we?! And now I am blessed to have the opportunity to start one of my own... very small right now, but if it is small, it can only get bigger, right?!

Yesterday a dozen ladies came around and we celebrated the opening of my little shop with lots of tea, coffee and snacks! Before they came, when it was almost tidy (lol!) I took some photos:




The shop is in our front lounge room. It is the only room on the bottom floor that has natural light, since the rest of the windows are under the shadow of the high wall that surrounds our house. I may need to start using a few other rooms if I get too much stock ... but for now this is really good. I have big tables for classes which work really well.

So, most of the month I have been working behind the scenes to get this set up. I was also doing lots of blocks for sample quilts to hang up... and didn't manage to finish any of the tops, lol!!! I decided in the end it was better to organize and package the stock and worry about samples later.

I managed to finish 16 blocks for a sample of the next quilt we are doing in class, so I was able to show that to the ladies. Today I finished the other 8, and this is what it looks like laid out on the floor:


I kind of like it, don't you? I got the pattern from here, so you don't need to come to my class, but if you want to drop by for a cuppa, please do :)

I want to do applique in the middle of the white blocks, which is a bit different from the original pattern. But because I used white, it is a little boring like this. Alice is also making this quilt and she has fussy cut some pretty fabric as these center squares. I can't wait to see hers!

So now you know why I have been busy and what I have been doing in April :) I get a feeling that May is going to be a busy month as well.... but then these days, isn't life just constantly busy? At least I am never bored :)