gathering gemstones, a new toy and a Kaffe Fassett overload

I have decided that a design wall would make putting the blocks in place so much easier. Being able to stand back and look at the blocks from a distance must make creating a pleasing pattern easier.

In looking at the photo I took, I can see a couple of blocks I will be picking apart and reassembling as well.!!

My new toy arrived this week! A 60 degree ruler... Doesn't take much to make me happy :)

Having cut rectangles for my stashbusting Gemstones quilt using the Kaffe Fassett prints left over from making this quilt plus my other KF stash,  there is still a good amount of KF prints left.

This might possibly be because of the extra fabric I bought to help balance the colours/values etc.

 Funny how that goes......

I have a whole lot of strips now which were perfect for these blocks. I can see another KF prints quilt. How far can I take this? Possibly a scrap quilt as well?

PS - Add "The Big Bang Theory" on DVD and some Toblerone chocolate and it all made for a very happy scenario!

all puffed up

Only about another 60 or so hollyberry-suffolk puffs left to make. I find it curiously satisfying to make them, although I was so tempted to substitute them with buttons. I also find that I am getting the hang of making them and they are getting neater. Woohoo.

Split personality

For some time I have pondered my blog and its mixed bag of posts. Those of you who visit my blog regularly can be divided fairly clearly into 2 categories - friends/family and quilters. There is possibly a 3rd category - those who accidentally stumbled across my blog (Hello! I welcome you!)

With this in mind, I have decided to split my blog, or rather start a new one - over here . So, now you can choose where to visit - "Carpe Quiltem" for my quilting life or "Infinity and Beyond" for my family life. I can't promise there won't be a little cross-posting though!

Works in Progress

Some months there are finishes, but this is not one of those months..... Doesn't mean I haven't been busy :)

I have started hand quilting Little Possum's Fairytale quilt:

Started the applique of holly leaves on the Christmas quilt. Still undecided whether I want to make 100 or so small suffolk puffs for the berries, or to just use buttons

I have finished cutting rectangles and white strips for the "Sparkling gemstones" quilt:

Observed that despite some stashbusting this past week, there is still a lot of stash left. Must get better at the Low-Fabric diet and use twice as much as I buy...

And on the subject of diets, here is what I have tried not to devour this week - the fund-raising chocolates...... Am I the only one who can hear their voices? "eat me, eat me".

Mmmmmm -

postbox delights

I'm breaking out in song today:

"I went to the postbox and what did I see? Lots and lots of fabrics just for me"

My eBay purchases came through with the fabrics I bought to make my stash-busting Kaffe Fassett quilt.... (yes, the irony of buying something for a stashbuster is not lost on me.. )

Sadly the flash made the colours look a little less bright and luscious than they are in real life.

next up is .... "Sand Castles" !

I am feeling incredibly productive these days, finishing off UFO's and WIP's at a good pace. There are butterflies fluttering all over my "Butterfly Garden" and there are holly leaves and berries "growing" on my Christmas quilt. I have booked my Japanese print quilt in for quilting with my friend Adri. She does amazing work, and offered to baste the rest of it for me ready for my handquilting while she was at it. On the assembly line by the sewing machine I have 626 rectangles waiting to be assembled into blocks for my "Sparkling Gemstones".... Woo hoo, I'm on fire!

Little Possum has moved to a new bed and wants a new quilt, one that properly represents her status as more "growed up" - (almost 8). We both fell in love with "Sand Castles" created by Becky. Becky is relatively new to quilting, but obviously has a great talent for it. Go visit her blog now, she is doing a great Giveaway.

Sparkling gemstones

398 down, 226 to go..........

It all started with this post on Kate Conklin's blog. I spotted the quilt made by Leanne of Mount Vincent Quilts and I immediately thought of all my Kaffe Fassett remnants. The name of the pattern is "Sparkling Gemstones" by Pam and Nicky Lintott and is found in their book "Jelly Roll Quilts"

Thankfully for me, because I am an impatient soul and couldn't wait until I buy the book, I found the pattern online.
Edit:  Unfortunately the link to the online pattern no longer works (presumably because it has been published) and so I have removed it. 

One thing that fascinates me about quilt patterns is how a different choice of fabrics - a change of prints or colourways, however subtle, will make a quilt of a completely different feel. While searching online for the pattern, I stumbled onto these blogposts featuring the Sparkling Gemstones quilt.

Gail of "Miss Nance's Life" made hers with a black sashing and it turned out very striking.

Karen of "Bunk's Blog" created a capuccino vision, very warm.
Which brings me back to my fabrics. As most of my remnants were of odd sizes and because I also wanted to fussy cut the bigger prints, I am going the long route in making this quilt.... I will be cutting a total of 624 rectangles for a queensized quilt.
As usual I have discovered a slight imbalance in my colours and will have to supplement my stash and scraps. Gotta love eBay........

Nine Ladies Dancing make 12

My longest standing UFO is the 12 Days of Christmas quilt designed by Tita Leach. I started it gulp> 5 years ago now. It has lingered for 2 years waiting for the dancing shoes. Last week I grabbed the bull by the horns the shoes by their ribbons, picked my fabrics and got stitching.

Now all the blocks are mostly done and I assembled them

There are still the embellishments to be done - beads and buttons. But..... I seem to have misplaced the ones I bought 5 years ago. There also the small matter of a border to be appliqued with holly leaves and (what seems like) a million suffolk puff holly berries. I am really not a fan of making suffolk puffs, but that's another story.

Anyway - Christmas is coming!

warm and fuzzy moment

The downside to working an evening shift is missing bedtime snuggles, but I tell my children that I always go in to kiss them good night when I get home.

This is what I found hanging on my Little Possum's bed:

No further comment necessary.. :)

"Gathered in"

Some time ago I bought a layer cake of Japanese prints. I have always loved Japanese prints for the crispness of the indigo, and for the fun patterns. Especially the owls. Love the owls.

Having purchased the layer cake, it then sat on my shelf for a long time while I was trying to find the right kind of pattern. You know the one? The one that inspires you and shouts "YES!!!" in your mind. I know you know what I'm talking about.

This time inspiration came from Kate Conklin whose blog I was led to by my friend and quilting buddy Lisa. Kate's pattern has since been published, and her quilt adorned the front page of the most recent issue of "Quilts Down Under"

The pattern is a 'stack and slash' which I had never tried before, but which I found fun and easy to do.

(Quilters must be the only people who can talk calmly about stacking and slashing without sounding slightly psychopathic)

I am quite pleased with the final result. The photo is a little too dark, and doesn't show up the variety of the prints, but you get the idea.

I'm trying to decide whether or no to add a border to the outside of it - possibly a narrow white one - which would make the quilt bedspread size. Or I could just quilt and bind it the way it is. It will be mostly handquilted with a sashiko thread either in a dark blue to match the indigo, or in a red to bring in the reds in some of the prints.... haven't decided.

woolly update

2 scarves and 4 beanies......

I had so much fun knitting it all but it was so quick to make, the fun didn't last nearly long enough. Might have to unravel and knit again. Or.... I could just go back to the shop and buy some more. Yep. That's what I'll do.

relaxation and decluttering - must be holiday time!

Little Possum spent all day in her jammies and the beanie I made her.

I found her playing with this road track. As soon as it became known that I am selling it on eBay it was immediately elevated to "Favourite toy in the whole world" ("how could you think of selling it?!").

It has seen more action today than in the last 2 years :) .

I'm still selling it....

I wonder if gg grandmother Brit had this much fun?

I love wool. It's possibly hereditary since I come from a line of sheep farmers on my dad's side.

I particularly love the hand-dyed variety. Hence, I found this display in a local haberdashery irresistible. I had to go inside and get a good look at those luscious colours and to enjoy the feel of the wool. It was a very tactile experience and it felt almost illicit :)

particularly when I made my purchases (how could I not....) and my wool was handed to me in a big brown paper bag.

When I came home I had to get gg grandmother Brit's wool basket so that it could hold my precious loot.

I bet Brit's wool didn't look anywhere near as colourful, but she spun it herself.

Her wheel came in handy for turning skeins into more manageable balls.

I thought about Brit then, and I wonder if she had fun with the wool, or whether it was just a means to an end - making garments to stay warm. What would she say if she could sit and knit with me now when knitting is just for fun and enjoyment. I think she'd enjoy this colourful wool, guiltily, considering her puritanical Lutheran background.

I hope she'd like this hat:

Her ggg grandson Doodlebug does.

Back again!!

The butterflies are fluttering! I am now up to block 5 of the Butterfly Garden

new water sport

Garden surfing!

This is what Little Possum got up to on a hot afternoon. The garden hose was wedged in the branches of the camellia tree and LP had a "surf" in the spray while watering the grass.

Goggles - great idea! (and such a good look.....)

Little Possum's "holiday"

Well...... not so much a holiday, I suppose, as we were there for LP's wet dressings.....

but as far as hospital stays go, this was a good one. All credit to the Royal North Shore Hospital children's ward!

There was nothing wrong with LP's energy levels, and the hospital corridors were perfect for cartwheels and handstands

The children's ward has a school room and teaching staff who made sure that LP and the other children had plenty of things to keep them occupied. LP's noticeboard quickly filled up with her excellent artwork.

Outside the children's ward there was a beautiful haven - a fairy garden. Full of plants, things to explore, ambient noise (bird twitter coming from speakers on the wall....)

One of many windchimes....

Can't beat the clown doctors for entertainment value...

On our second day there, dr P.Brain and dr Colourful came for a visit. They entertained with jokes, songs and bubble blowing.

The bandages were changed 3 times pr day, and LP was very patient with it all..... even when it meant having her hands bandaged. It's amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to it !!

We're happy to be home. The bandages were a success and LP's skin is soft and non-itchy again.

Thoughtful Friday

"Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon"

- Winnie the Pooh

(A.A. Milne)

rainy day........

Here's where I found Little Possum on a rainy day...... Looking very comfortable with her snack table and blanket

I had a closer look to see what had attracted her to the front door..

turns out it was a mini weather station, measuring rainfall.

Thankfully Little Possum is very happy with her own "BlackBerry" still... but I suspect it won't be long until she like many of her peers will want to gadget up.

school holiday fun - easel art

some time back I bought a job lot of these mini canvas/easels on eBay (gotta love eBay!) and Little Possum has been putting them to good use in the school holidays. I think I know what we're doing for Christmas presents this year!

our freecycle treasure

Found among the gumtrees in our garden:

It doesn't look very flash. A little weather-worn, the green/white stripes not as bright as they once were. This is one of our Freecycle finds. We thought we were getting just a straight -forward hammock, but we got so much more! It may look like a hammock.... but it's actually a lava-boat, where the kids float around on a dangerous sea of lava, swaying precariously trying to avoid accidentally falling in.

Covered with blankets it makes a fantastic base for the Turtle/Possum club:

And then the blankets are put on top of the hammock, and it becomes a spaceship, a boat for exploring, or simply a place to relax and have a little snooze on a pleasant school holiday afternoon:

And then the blankets are all taken away and it takes on its disguise as a hammock again. Until next time... who knows what it'll become then?