enJOY the journey & a new work space . . .

Ok I'll admit it . . . I am terrible at finishing
that last 2% of a project!
Craziness . . . I get most of a quilt completed,
hand quilted & all
and you know I'm already onto . . .
not the next quilt, the one after that!
Its because I
"ENJOY THE JOURNEY" maybe too much!

So on the weekend
I didn't allow myself to start something new
until I had bound one of my then
18 un-bound quilts! Yes I said "18"!
Now I only have 17 . . .
but I need to add to this admission
that they are mostly small quilts . . .
that really should make it all the faster to complete!
Hmmm ... yeah right!Does anyone else out there feel they too need
to make an admission such as this??
Surely I'm not the only one!
Its ok . . . you can say . . .
I haven't even counted the
not complete quilt tops
or
the finished yet un-quilted tops!!

Anyway . . .
Photo above top:
Finally bound Quilt made out of my
scrap box way back earlier this year
(at least I can say 2009!)
Photo above:
Close up of my chunky hand quilting
of which I love the texture
of these little stitches
as I run my finger tips over the top!
Photo below:
When I sandwiched this quilt together I found I had this panel & it worked with the colours on the front . . . I didn't "love" it then but now I really do . . . funny how things can grow on you when you spend some time with them!
I really like the acid green with aqua & then the rusty oranges!
&
Over the last few days . . .
I've been working on setting up a
different space for my sewing art work . . .
My new machine "dictated"
that it needed a different space than previously allocated!
What joy . . .
Newly hemmed curtains,
covered pin board,
a sorted wardrobe with re-worked storage . . . organised!
Hopefully I can keep it like this!

Hey that's me!

"Care" from Obsessively Stitching . . .
is hosting the "i Spy" swap I've sent my squares to . . .
She's linked in my photo I emailed her!
& check out the other fabrics she's starting to receive!
I'm hoping to have most letters
of the alphabet represented as well . . .
we'll see . . .
I might need to compliment what arrives in the 200!

Retro Red Apples for Levi . . .

Hey I can post about this now
as the new owner is now in possession!
Little Levi is now about 17 days old
& is too cute!

Do you like the subtle additions???
Look closely!
Kylie's idea!
A play on his name!Thankyou for the cuddles little one!
& for a lovely time today . . .
K&B . . . E,A,G&L
N&H too!

Red thread hand stitched of course!
&
some binding actually completed!

More Black & White for my little boy . . .

A wonky star quilt top for Oscar
when he's in a bigger bed one day!
Stars & Spots . . . all fun!

I've been moving furniture around
so my new sewing toy can have its own space!

Swaps . . . ready to go!

Butterflies & Lady Bugs
Pirate Ships
Birdies
Strawberries & Daisies
Snails, Trees & Houses
Pandas
Apples
Bananas
Black Cats
Planes
Above:
My "I Spy Swap" 4" Blocks
all cut
(x20 squares of x10 fabrics)
= 200 different blocks Yay!
They are now ready
to wing their way to Utah!
Can't wait to get these back!
Will become a quilt to play with Oscar!
He will love it!
Mum & I might do some embroidery
stitched alphabet letters
to mix among all the little pictures as well . . .
P for Panda etc
&
Below: are my fabrics for the
"Cracker & Barrel"
Great 1930's reproduction fabrics!
Sweet . . . very different
to what I usually make so it is
good to be pushed outside my comfort zone!
Ready to be sewn!
When? Hmmm
Maybe tonight when Oscar is in bed?
I'm making x3 sets of 8 blocks
so my quilt will be half the size of
the eg Liz has made!enJOY your journey!!

Some Figgy Pudding this Christmas . . . ?

So I've gone from this (above): to this (below):

I had never used "Turnovers" before!
What instant results . . .
All made before the half time siren last night!
I sewed random turnover triangles together
&
then cut these in half . . .
then sewn together with another
random half block to make a new one!
I have some more winging their way here
so will update my
Figgy Pudding Christmas quilt at some point!
Fabrics by Moda & I love their colour ways!

Disapearing 9 Patch Block Swap

Very excited . . . I love a red & aqua combo
So I've joined Jane's Swap . . .

All I need to do now is give myself the chance to go shopping!
How exciting!
& Sam is going to join in too!
Thanks Jane . . . & since I'm planning with my
Block Swap group to do swaps in the same colours
I will end up with lovely
coordinating quilts for our cabin! Yay!

Layers . . . onions have layers . . .

My little boy!
Applique top . . . one of my new projects
that I have been working on . . .
will go into my etsy shop one of these days!
Made for little people!

Our 5th Block Swap was on Sunday night
More variations yet again!
How wonderful . . .
all these blocks,
same fabric choices & not one the same!
Awesome!
We missed you Louey, Lisa, Nicole & Katherine!
We're not far off finished the swapping
. . . then comes the construction part
. . . what fun!

Goings on . . .

A few months ago I joined in a Patchwork swap
with a very energetic lady from Kansas, USA
Marcel from www.auntpittypats.blogspot.com
I made 40 Disappearing 9 Patch Blocks
. . . blogged about earlier . . .
I sent my 40 off to Marcel
& she did all the swapping on our behalf . . .
So not so long ago I received
in the mail 40 different blocks!
Yay!
Thanks again Marcel!
It was a great way to create an interesting effect
in a really simple way!
My friend Lizzie had a go too . . . with her own fabrics!
Hey Lizzie - maybe I can get a photo to show?

So here are my results!
Above: All laid out under construction
(I decided not to use all 40
as not all the colours worked together)

& Below: The finished top all sewn together.
I had made a few extra of my own so they are the repeats
& I added in some extra strips on the sides . . . all balanced!
I of course haven't progressed any further than this!
Great fun!Not sure - Do you think it needs a border?

Why?

hearty

harty
arty
creative
hands
hand made
pieces
peaces
peace
balance
contentment
little peaces
little stitches
tactile
texture

How do you stop that puckering?

Trees

One of my favourite artistic subjects is the tree!
This is a painting I did not so long ago . . .
I need to paint some more . . .
It is hanging at our front door!

Amazing quilts designed by Kellie over at
"Don't Look Now"

Kellie has a special gift giveaway for her
100th blog post Celebration
. . . these things in life must be celebrated!
Unbelievably
she is going to give this quilt
to some very lucky person!
I hope it's me!!!!
It would be so treasured . . .
I'm really inspired . . .
We have lots of hot Aussie talent you know!
Check it out!

What's in the Scrap Box?

Hey so what did you say?
Toys?? . . . ah nah . . .
Mummy's little fabric pieces
are so much more fun!
&
she actually let me
play with these ones!
In the box . . . out . . . back in . . . out!