Mini quilts

 Hi there, so sorry for my long absence. July flew by within a blink of an eye and then it was August. I have been busy doing lots of sewing but most of it has been for magazine publications so I can't share any of it yet. So I'm here today to show you a cute little mini quilt I made for a friend in the USA,

 We did a little quilt swap together, this mini was so much fun to make but boy it took ages to get together. Of course I left it to the last minute deciding what to make so I was rather rushed but I love  how it has come together. Both my friend and I love fig tree so we agreed our minis for each other had to be in our favourite fabric.

  The pattern I used is called Picking Petals by another friend of mine. You can see her blog here. She has lots of pretty things to look at.

 This is the beautiful mini quilt I received from Stacy. Its so pretty and right now it is on my coffee table. I love the softness of this quilt.

 And stars are always perfect don't you think.

 I was a bit spoilt by Stacy, she made me 2 mini quilts. How lucky am I.. Look at this beautiful patriotic USA heart. I just love it so much. the colours are my favourite. For those of you who read my blog you know much I love red, white and blue fabrics. So this quilt is extra special.

We are counting down the weeks now until we go on our big USA adventure.
I'm thinking this will be our last big family holiday together, the boys are older now and I can't see them wanting to travel with us much in the future.  Plus I'm also looking foreward to travelling with just my husband. The last holiday we took alone together was on our honeymoon. Lol

Thankyou for stopping by, wishing you all a wonderful week. I hope you find some sewing time.

Saturday Sewing Session

 Hi there, do you ever have those weeks where you feel as though you haven't accomplished much? I have had one of those weeks and I don't like it at all. Working full time for the week really threw a spanner into my sewing routine. Usually I get to sew for 2 hours each morning before work but because I was working all day there was no time.

 One important job I did make time to do was get my newest design off to the magazine for publication in a couple of months, so that was a big relief.
Today the weather was so bleak and miserable I thought it was the perfect opportunity to sew and get a few things finished, I love pumpkins and have a made a few pincushion ones but never took the time to finish them properly, so today I did that. Isn't it cute with the button on top. I also sewed the binding down on my newest mini quilt. This is about a 10 inch square.

 I made a tree for a block swap I am in, need to make the house to go beside it next. Got to love those Fig tree greens.

 I also sorted my smitten blocks as I'm almost to the end and I want to make sure my colours are even so I can get a few new ones ready for hand sewing in the evening.

I really like this star block.

Hopefully my routine and work days will return to normal next week and I can cross a few other projects off my list.

Enjoy your weekend.

Some finishes

 Hi there, a few weeks ago my friend Leonie from Essence of cloth in Hobart  asked me if I would be interested in sewing with her new range of fabric called "Callington" well of course I was thrilled that she asked me, I mean its not everyday a fabric designer asks me if I would like a bundle of their fabric for my very own to sew whatever I choose.

 I was given a lovely bunch of fat quarters, I decided firstly I would like to make a bag of some kind and since I go to stitching days, quilt retreats and stitching at my friends house I knew I wanted a bag I could pack my goodies up in to carry around.

 So this is what I came up with, trying to use a little bit of each fabric. I'm very happy the way it turned out. I still have fabric left over so I think a matching zippy pouch might be in order and perhaps a nice table runner.

 My local patchwork shop is running a 12 month block swap which I am partaking in, this is the block I had to make for July. The owner of this quilt wanted red and grey fabrics.

 I was really happy with this block. Wonder what next month will bring.

 Also at the patchwork shop Sarah is having a cushion competition, we had to purchase the white polka dot fat quarter and incorporate some of it in our design. This is what I came up with. I love how it turned out. I just made it up and now I have had people ask me to write the pattern as they want to make one to. I'm thinking a tutorial on here might be the way to go.

 I love those browns and they match my new lounge suite perfectly.

 My Nantucket quilt is coming along nicely, I have 4 star blocks left to make, I had made 16 then decided to make it another row wider to fit my bed.

 I have loved making this quilt so much, playing with all my scraps and finding fabrics i had forgotten about.

 I bought some new fabric last week and have started to make a new project, I'm loving this so far. I'll share more with you next week.

Have a wonderful week and thankyou for stopping by. xx

Butterfly

 Winter is here in full swing and its only the 3rd of June, its been a very cold  week and I know it will only get colder so I am enjoying some time sewing up a storm in my little sewing room. Recently I bought some pretty artificial poppies to brighten up my room, they are so real looking. Good old ebay, some times you can find some lovely things on there.

 My sewing group and I decided to do a little mini quilt shop with each other, you may remember the baking mini I made for my partner, well this butterfly quilt is what I received from mine, Isn't it absolutely beautiful. My friend Katharine made it in my favourite Fig tree fabrics. I'm a very lucky girl to receive such an amazing quilt.

 I've dug out the winter quilts and changed them around in my house, all our beds look so snuggly now.

What I love most about cold evenings is lighting a few candles to make the room look cosy.

Do you like winter?

Have a wonderful week and thankyou for stopping by.

A few of my favourite things.....

 This past week I have been cutting, cutting cutting. That's after I got my little wall hanging mini quilt hung in my sewing room. I have 2 big windows in my room so not a lot of wall space so I found room  for this sweet quilt near the door. I love to look at it when I'm coming and going.

 So what have I been cutting you ask..... lots and lots of strips to make my 9 patch blocks for this quilt, Yesterday I got a few more bigger blocks sewn together, now I need to make more  smaller blocks.

 All cut, sewn and ready to piece together.

 In the evenings I have been working on my Smitten quilt, 2 more finished. Yay!!!!

I think this new red one is my favourite, the light blue paisley  print is from Minick & Simpsons new line called Snowfall, its so pretty.

What wonderful things have you been creating  lately?

Fun Sewing for friends

 I have had a fun time going through my patterns and fabrics to make some gifts for my friends. Tomorrow my sewing group is having a fun sewing day and we decided to make a mini quilt for a swap, this is what I chose for my partner. I hope she likes it. Its a Lori Holt pattern, just for fun I decided to make a mini mini quilt to go with the mini quilt, lol. It can be used a mug rug or just as a pot holder.

 I can't wait to give it to her.

 Another friend who is coming to our sewing day  is here visiting Tassie so I decided to make her a present. I have made my sewing machine cover that I designed for a magazine last year. I love these fabrics I chose for her.

And while I have been sewing gifts I have also been sewing just for me. I'm using all my Minick & Simpson fabrics. So far I am absolutely loving working on this project. Those 9 patch blocks are really fun to make, The best thing is all these beautiful fabrics came from my stash. I'm so pleased to finally be using them.

Do you have  favourite fabrics in your cupboard that you are saving for that  "special project"  I'd love to hear about it.

Happy Easter

 Happy easter to you all, I have had a very relaxing easter break, Good Friday my husband and I went to a wedding, we had a wonderful time. Its not very often we get to go out together. Shift work always gets in the way.

 Today I have had a busy time in my sewing room, I'm working on a few things and just for fun I started a new project. I put the last stitches in another smitten block. I really enjoy english paper piecing. I have another one prepped and ready for tonight,

 My new project involves these pretty blue stars,

 and lots of 9 patch blocks, I have made about 50 so far.

 My friend is having a birthday soon so I'm making something for her with my Lori Holt fabrics, these are so bright and cheery.

Then to finish off I made a tree to go with my birthday block swaps. It really was a very productive day. Can't wait to sew some more tomorrow, I love having extra long weekends.


Hope you have had a good Easter break and you have been sewing to. xx

Autumn Garden - My New Design

 I am very happy to share with you my newest design that was just published in Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine, it was the first time I have had a design published with this magazine and I'm just a wee bit excited.

 The theme for this issue was Hand piecing so I grabbed my sketchbook and my trusty old hexagons and my design was born.

 For those of you who know me well and read my blog you all know how much I love to do stitchery and how much I love my garden. My design was based on my garden and some of the flowers I grow,

 My beautiful fig tree fabrics that I love to use came together so well in this design. I tried to keep it fairly scrappy but I made the flowers pop by using darker more dominant print, I want those sweet stitcheries to shine.

 I now have it displayed in the corner of my lounge. It looks so pretty there on my ladder.

 The photography looks wonderful, my project is displayed so well on this buttery coloured table, Now i want one that colour to.

 The only tiny thing I  was disappointed with was they forgot to include my name with my project. Oh well its too late now. I know its mine and now you do to,

 There are not many pretty flowers left in my real Autumn garden now, a few roses are still blooming and I have some dahlias but thats all, theses Zinnias I pulled out just last week, they gave such a beautiful display. Soon I'll be panting some new bulbs.

Have a wonderful week and thankyou for stopping by.