quiet day

It's Monday. Dash-around-quickly-do-housework-then-quilt-day. Normally I would be alone today, but I have Doodlebug company today. He has been unwell since Friday, rallied himself to help out his teammates for the Soccer Gala Day on Saturday (which wiped him completely since they made it through 3 games to go to the final) before collapsing in a little heap yesterday. This morning I was trying to get him moving with not much luck. I found him sleeping in a little beanbag nest by the window, curled up in the morning sun like a cat.

Silent Auction for Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders

I know that you are all aware of the humanitarian disaster in Pakistan at the moment.

The sheer scale of it is hard to comprehend. The number of people made homeless is now estimated to be 4 million

 - the equivalent to the entire population of Norway or of New Zealand.

I want to make a contribution to MSF towards their efforts in Pakistan. These courageous aidworkers are helping to provide safe drinking water and healthcare to the flood victims.

This will be a drop in the bucket, but I hope to raise a little cash by auctioning of the following items:

A baby quilt, inexpertly pieced, lovingly appliqued and quilted by me.

Cotton fabrics, polycotton batting

Bids starting at $60 AUD

Pencil roll made from The Hungry Caterpillar prints. Pencils included.

Bids starting at $10 AUD

How to bid:

Submit your bid in a comment with your first and last name (or a nickname -- something you will know!). If you are the first bid, your bid must be higher than the minimum bid, and if you are not first, your bid must be higher than the previous commenter.

If you have a blog, please link to this post in order to spread the word!

Auction ends Friday 3rd September at 8pm AEST

Payment to be organised through PayPal

Also consider making a donation through other agencies such as

The Red Cross

Unicef

World Vision

Caritas

as well as a generous fast offering!

THIS AUCTION IS NOW ENDED!

Can you say a-d-d-i-c-t-i-o-n ?

My name is Mari and I'm a serial quilter :)

(click image to go to Cafepress for great quilting gifts)

I know I'm in good company out here in the quilt-blogging world when I stand up and confess my addiction to fabrics :)   Not just the fabrics themselves, but planning what to turn them into, and then of course the work itself. /happy sigh/

These are the bundles that somehow found their way into my house in the last week:

A lovely layer cake full of cheerfulness

Saffron Craig's "Fields" range with some extra homespuns to keep them company

This 'Fat Roll' from Wyndham Fabrics' Fiona range.

Fat rolls are new to me ( the fabric ones at least!) but this was an eBay bargain I couldn't let pass me by.

And when I didn't buy any bundles, I have grouped some of my stash into bundles for some planned projects:

These lovelies are for a redwork quilt I will be doing after a pattern by Tita Leach. I have to have something to satisfy my need for needleturn now that Butterfly Garden is coming to an end.

And last but not least this bundle that I am gathering for Doodlebug's bedspread:

These are the sketches I have been playing with. (I really want EQ 7..)

Jigsaw puzzle quilt (currently Doodlebug's favourite)

or "Garden Spikes" from here

Accuquilt Giveaway!

Have you seen one of these advertised? Have you wanted one? Badly?

Here is your chance of getting one for free!!!  The amazing Paulette of SweetP is hosting a Giveaway for the Accuquilt GO.  All you have to do is leave comment, and for an extra chance, blog about the giveaway. How easy is that?  I've had my go..... why don't you go try your luck as well.
As a bonus, there is also a tutorial showing how easy the machine is to use, and demonstrating how quickly you can turn your scraps and remnants into blocks once the cutting time is down.

diversional therapy

Today I needed some diversional therapy for a couple of reasons. I suspect I have a dental abscess, and the pain in my jaw is making me feel very bear'ish indeed. Time to retreat to my happy place :)

So I decided to play with my new Marti Mitchell "Strippers" templates and a Moda 'Fandango' jelly roll.

First I made this runner:

Instead of batting, I used a medium weight fusible interfacing. I backed it with a plain seeded homespun.

There was still plenty of homespun and I didn't use the whole jelly roll, so I thought I would make some placemats. There will be 8 in total, but I only managed to finish off 3 before I had to go make dinner.

well - I have to save some fun for later :)

controlled chaos

The Gemstones assembly line.... 

 No finishes this week, just the same WIP's going on. It'll be like the no 9 bus - wait forever for one and then three come along at once....

Does a mini design board count as a finish, though? I did make one of those as you can see behind the sewing machine. I love my staple gun.

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