Sunday, January 29, 2012

halfway


first set of blocks are finished

just so you know i'm not the only crazy person
making this quilt

there are others














Thursday, January 26, 2012

what was I thinking?



here's a block from my new project


five bias seams means
careful handling and gentle pressing

makes for slow progress

but so worth it


Wednesday, January 25, 2012

herb blossoms



such tiny flowers



the garden is struggling in all the humidity and rain

there's fungus on the rosemary and the hydrangeas have rotted

fickle business



this is my entry for



Sunday, January 22, 2012

swap quilt top



there is quite a sense of achievement when you can tick those tasks of your list

household chores - check


finish swap quilt top - check

clean sewing machine - check

install new blade in rotary cutter - check

 my thanks to katiemayquiltstoo for inspiring me to finish this quilt top

gotta confess that this quilt is incredibly special. thank you to all who contributed and to our cheer squad for their support and encouragement

usually deciding how to quilt a top is a long tortuous process for me but this time i have a pretty clear idea what designs i want.

finished top is 72 inches



Wednesday, January 18, 2012

cape daisy



while nandina is doing all the hard work in pam's garden over at sidewalk shoes

in mine, it's the cape daisy

grows anywhere in any soil
survives on rainwater
doesn't mind the heat
smothers the weeds

almost the perfect plant

this is my entry for


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

under the sea



first finish for 2012

a baby quilt



fabric is odyssea by momo

having some trouble leaving a comment on some posts
just getting a blank page

hopefully it won't last


Thursday, January 12, 2012

scrap busting



with all this talk of scraps and scrap projects it might be time to bust my scrap box
besides there's unpicking to do on the swap quilt

where's the fun in that?!


now it's rather a pathetic collection but that's because...



so 2.5in squares, 3in squares (there's a mistake on the label - remind me to complain to management), 5in squares, 2.5in strips and strings

you know even the ugliest fabric is tolerable as a 3in square

once there is a nice collection then these projects look pretty tempting






or even this one which isn't a scrap quilt but was made with 5in charm squares but it would look fabulous in scraps




got me some cutting to do

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

year of the scraps

never mind year of the dragon - 2012 is definitely the year of the scraps.

here are just a few of the scrap-a-longs out there










planning to use my scraps for either a version of this



or maybe this





Tuesday, January 10, 2012

a rose by any other name


apologies to Will


with all the rain, cold, heat and humidity we've been having here it's a wonder there is a garden at all.

at one stage it was looking like the weeds might be featured

they may still be

this is my entry for




Monday, January 9, 2012

birthday cake...just a slice



a friend has a birthday coming up and i believe you should always have cake to celebrate

since it's after christmas i felt that just a slice would be plenty

this cute pincushion is from quilts & more spring 2009




stitchniche made me one of these and sent the magazine with the pattern

i'm just sharing the love


Thursday, January 5, 2012

the ultimate craft space



take a look at this post from sew many ways to see one of the most amazing creative spaces i've ever seen

all done on a shoe string budget and with loads of creativity

thanks to sister's choice quilts for mentioning this on her blog


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

it goes something like this


so I drove to the fabric shop to choose some fabric for the setting triangles in my swap quilt.

Browsed the shelves, found something nice and it was reduced.

By the time I drove home, I'd completely changed my mind

Next time I'm just going to sit in the car for 10 minutes

(image may or may not be indicative of aforementioned trip to fabric shop)

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

swap quilt update


feeling rather guilty that i hadn't touched these especially after all the love and care my swap partners put in to making them

it was great fun to get them out and re-read all the lovely cards that came with them

they are sewn into rows now with one inch sashings and corner stones

hope to find just the right fabric for the setting triangles today

it was such a tough decision to choose a layout especially after seeing katiemaytoo's, theri's and canuckquilter's versions

thank you - again - for making our  swap successful




Monday, January 2, 2012

snap crackle pop!



this bundle of loveliness was a gift from a friend and

this is the quilt i'm planning to make

pattern available from the fat quarter shop


it's a clever design by aneela hoey and should be easy to make

uses a layer cake and there are four 10in squares in each fat quarter

more than enough


Sunday, January 1, 2012

5...4...3...2...1

happy new year!

can you believe it's 2012?

(well it is here and will be where you are - soon)