More Quilt Tops....

This is what else I have accomplished, so far, this month:



A bright sea creature quilt for the Grandchildren to use when staying...made from a panel with border added.

A little 24" square quilt top that a friend is going to quilt for the Blankets Of Love programme

 Made from stash except for last border.

Play quilt for Master M to drag into his Teepee and have Teddy Picnics on.

And February isn't over yet!

Cheers,

Sewing for Miss A....

Miss A hasn't missed out, either. Of course, she isn't old enough for a bed yet, so I have time to do her a cushion and snake.

As my Son G, DIL D and Granddaughter Miss A (or Miss M if we use her abbreviated name) are moving back here from Tasmania (oh joy oh joy! ) in 2 weeks, I thought it would be nice to make a couple of summer tops/dresses for Miss A to wear in this warmer weather.

This little top is reversible....



Floral top....which can be turned inside out to...

a pink top!

This Care Bear top/mini dress has bear buttons added. When my hand is better and more co-operative, I will make 2 white bows and add them to the top, near the hemline at  the front sides.

Recent photos

She's such a happy little soul. Can hardly wait to get her here and give her lots and lots of cuddles. :)

And yes, there is more sewing to show and tell.....told you it has been a productive month!

Cheers,

For The "Big Boy Bed"

February has been a very productive month, so far, in my sewing room.

First up was this cushion for Master M (Grandson). He has moved out of his cot and into a "big boy bed" so Nana (moi) decided to make a cushion for him out of this lovely Hoot owl fabric. He loves Giggle and Hoot - a children's programme on ABC2 here in Australia.

Front

Back

 Then, of course, I made this snake, to be tucked in beside him to help prevent him falling out.... it really needs to be longer, to match its fatness, but it needed to fit in the bed, which is a toddler sized bed, not a single. I can add lengthe to it later if wanted. :)

I think the snake was a big hit! :))

I have made more, but I'll save them for other posts.
Cheers,

Birthdays, Quilt tops and Giveaways....

Five years ago, for my Sister's 50th birthday, I promised her a quilt. Fortunately, she knew there was a waiting list of promised quilts and it would be a while.....
She won't get it in time for her 55th this month, because I don't have enough hand control to do any quilting yet, but at least the top is now finished! :)

I don't  know how intense the colours appear on your screen, but on mine, they seem rather washed out. I used a Hoffman Bali (Batik) Pop in beautiful greens, lemon, purple and a bit of blue. The colours sing!
:(  It's hard to get accurate photos atm as it is overcast and raining outside, the artificial light alters the colours, and there is not enough natural light to get a decent photo. But you get the idea.
On the side borders, I have added some interlocking diamonds in purple and lemon, using my diamond Flip-la-K template.  This is the first time I have used it, and I love the effect, so I will definitely be using it again!

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Talking of Birthdays, my friend Melody over at thehouseonthesideofthehilll, is clebrating her birthday today. Happy Happy Birthday, Melody!
Generous person that she always is, Melody is having a giveaway! Pop on over and wish her a Happy Birthday and enter her giveaway. I'd suggest yoiu check her blog while there. She does awesome work, and has lots of interesting links as well. You might want to follow her, too. :)

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What else have I been doing?

I did find a dozen 2.5" jelly roll strips in dark blues the other day, so I decided to put them together a la 1600 quilt method....

This only measures about 30" square, so I will do something further with this. I'm just not sure what, yet. :) I may treat it as a piece of fabric and cut it up, or I may add borders.... For now, it can sit on my UFO trolley for later....

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Finally, while I was at the UFO trolley, I found 11 rows of 12 charm squares that I had sewn together a month ago, so I decided to join them last night, before going to bed.

This was made from 3 pcks of Moda's 3 Sisters Roman Holiday charm squares. I would like the quilt a little bigger, i think, so i will be on the hunt, now, for more fabric...either Roman Holiday, or something to blend, or a combination....i am open to creative suggestions! ;)

                                                    Cheers,

Cushion for Master M

Felt like a break from cutting out Swoon blocks today, so I whipped up this cushion for my Grandson's bed. He has just moved out of his cot and into a toddler bed (small bed made from transformed cot) and is very pleased with himself....so much so, that his Mum only has to say "it's time for bed, now" and he heads straight off and gets into his bed. :)
I wonder how long that will last? lol

Front....Hoot Owl fabric with aqua and orange sides



Back with aqua and brown sides, plus a strip of Hoot Owl for the buttons

I think he will like it! :)

I'm also working on a quilt for my Sister's 50th birthday (she is 55 next month!). I'm using a Hoffman Bali Pop (in greens, purple/mauve, blue/greens and lemon) and sewing 4 strips together into tubes. Almost done that part - next is cutting with my new Omnigrid Quarter Square Triangle ruler....

What are you working on this week?

Swoon block 2

I have finished the second block for my Swoon quilt. I'm thinking how lovely these blocks would be as centrepieces of medallion quilts.....hmmmm.......another project to add to my to-do list?

1st Swoon-along block

Just finished my 1st Swoon-along block!

This has been a struggle for me...my right hand and fingers aren't really ready for all the precise cutting and piecing required.This is also the first time that I have made Flying Geese units! Talk about ambitious!
 I will need to do a little trimming and some of the points don't meet, but overall, I am happy with the outcome.
Once it is part of the quilt, I will hardly notice it...or if I do, I will remember the difficulty and how I perservered! :)
I am using FQs from moda's Blush by Basic Grey collection, along with a white background. Lots of pink, aqua, chocolate and subtle cranberry...

Samelia's Mum Giveaway

Samelia's Mum is celebrating her birthday with giveaways! The latest is a gorgeous Layer Cake of Sandy Gervais' Sassy range. What a great thing to make up for summer!
So go enter....

Tuesday's Treasure

I haven't posted a Tuesday Treasure for a while, but last Friday, I did a clean out of my wardrobe, and when I came across this, memories came flooding back.



This manicure case belonged to my Mother, and I remember it lived in the top drawer of her dressing table, from the time we moved house when I was 12.
It was shabby even then, with only a little bit of polishing powder left in the tins, and the seude buffer already had a tear in one end. However, Mum still used it, and I remember feeling very priviledged to be allowed to use it when I was 15.
It still has the suede/velvet/powder smell I remember it having when I first saw it. Don't you love the memories aromas/fragrances can summon up?
I never thought to ask Mum how old she was when she got it, or if it had been a present. :(

The doily it is sitting on in this photo was embroidered by my Grandmother (Mum's Mum). She did the most beautiful embroidery...her padded satin stitch was/is the best I have ever seen, and her stem stitch was the tiniest of tiny stitching! I have lots of doilies and dressing table sets that she embroidered. All of them treasures, too.

For more Tuesday Treasures, head over to Melody's Blog and follow the links to what others are treasuring.

Swoon-along with Katy

I've just bought this pattern from The Fatquarter Shop and I am joining Katy at Imagingermonkey  in her Swoon-along. She has set up a Flickr group for us, to post pics of our blocks, and to discuss making the quilt. There are also going to be prizes!

Add caption

I'm not sure what fabrics I'll use yet, but I'll have fun deciding.

Tempted to join us?



Cheers,

Jelly Roll 1600 Quilt....

I have been watching with interest, as some bloggers have shared photos of their 1600 quilts, made with jelly rolls. Some I have loved, enough to try one for myself. I have a few jelly rolls, but most of them I have plans for, so I chose this Hoffman Bali Pop: Berry Bliss, and away I went. I must admit, it was fun!
(The colours are better in real life...I couldn't get the lighting right to photograph with my phone camera)

Finished piecing....well, supposedly.....



Side view got me thinking.........



Unpicked the top 7 rows and stitched them across the side



Different view.......

I have further plans for this quilt, but it involves a little stencilling and painting, so will have to wait until I have better use of my hands. :)

Cheers,

Pay It Forward 2012

I have joined in Pay It Forwards before, and really enjoyed them.
This one started on Facebook, and I have Two Three people signed up on FB, so I am looking for another Three Two .

Here's the deal:
"I promise to make something handmade for the first five people who comment. They must in turn post this and make something for the first five people who post comments in their status. (So don't comment unless you are willing!) *The rules are it has to be made by you (sewing, cooking, paper craft, art, knitting, etc) and recipients must receive it before 2012 ends."

Cheers,

Progress on quilt....and a WINNER!

I expected this quilt top to take quite a while, but a couple of sleepless nights and a body that co-operated with me spending hours at the sewing machine has resulted in progress!

I have yet to add borders....I had to order fabric online and it probably won't get here until the end of the week....a chocolate narrow inner border, and a blue border from one of the prints in the range (Cherish Nature by Deb Strain for Moda).

I am calling it RENEWAL as that is the word I have chosen for 2012. Eggs and Butterflies = change and metamorphisis, bees for the network of supportive family and friends, the layout to represent 2 steps forward, one step backward still equals forward momentum....





"RENEWAL"

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 .....And now for the winner of my little giveaway...........

I have tried to capture the picture of the Random Number Generator to show you, but there doesn't seem to be any where to upload it and move it onto here, on my laptop, so you will have to take my word for it.....

The winner is comment number 5:  Joy  V, who said: "A great idea - last year I chose 'relax' - I felt I had to learn not to worry too much about all the little things, so 'relax' it was - I think I achieved part of it anyway. This year - I need to 'focus' - you can guess that I often wander off onto other things instead of what I'm doing. So Focus is my word for this year."

Joy, email your snail mail addy to me, and your goodies will be finding their way to you. :)

Thanks for playing, everyone. And welcome to the new followers. :)

Cheers,
Lindi

Machine Pieced Hexies

I have been doing quite bit of machine piecing lately...yes, still one-handed with the occasional co-operation of my right pointer finger....so thought I'd have a go at machine pieced hexagons, at least until I reached a point I couldn't manage.
I bought these 2 packs, precut, from Possum Blossom Patchwork. They are the Reunion pack from Sweetwater.....

So far, I have stitched them into rows, but have yet to try attaching the rows. I might have a play with the row arrangement, first.

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Don't forget my giveaway...see previous post.....I am drawing the winner tomorrow afternoon Australian Eastern Daylight Savings time.

Cheers,

Lindi

New Year Giveaway

Happy New Year, Everyone! Wishing you all a wonderful, inspiring, creative, happy, healthy 2012. :)

My friend Sally, has a great idea. She gives each year a word.... read her recent post here.
I love  the idea, so last night and this morning, I gave serious consideration to what word I would choose for 2012.
I wanted something that would reflect the challenges I will face this year with my health and treatment of CSS, but also something that would reflect the opportunities for personal growth, accomplishing doing things that I currently can't do because of CSS, and the chance to lay the groundwork to make big changes in my attitudes and lifestyle for the future.

Not easy to find that one word. :)
forward evolution accomplishment advance triumph remodel progression reformation transformation metamorphisis  .....these all could be applied. I just don't know which to use. Maybe there is a better word I haven't thought of.....any suggestions? I'll ponder on this for a little while, I think.....

So, this is where the giveaway comes in.
1. Leave a comment telling me what YOU hope for in this year.....either in one word or in a few...
2. If you are a follower, leave another comment telling me so, and you get an extra entry.

That's it!

And the prize, you ask? Well, I am not in a position to make anything yet, so I have raided my stash and gift box, and come up with this.......and I might even add some more....



  I had to be quick, because Miss M decided to investigate....
she approved, by the way. :)

Cheers,
Lindi

Congratulations, Melody!

My friend Melody, from Thehouseonthesideofthehill, has reached 500 posts! What an achievement! To celebrate, she is having a giveaway, so go have a look at her blog, and say Hi! and tell her I sent you. :)



Cheers,
Lindi