Sampler Spree

The blocks for this quilt had been made for more than six months before I made a decision about the sashing fabric colour.  I think the rockmelon colour works well with the FigTree and Co fabrics.

Really enjoyed making these blocks - there are 100 different blocks in the sampler and all are made from stash fabrics and my FigTree scrap baskets.

I asked Karen to quilt it with my old favourite "Clamshells".  Very happy with how it looks.

I didn't have a backing fabric for this quilt and, fortunately, Karen had a FigTree wideback, so that worked very well.

Karen will be visiting tomorrow and is bringing "Master Plan" with her - so thrilled with how this quilt has turned out and am very excited about having it bound and finished.

I've been working on "Castle Gardens" blocks lately.  They're all done and I hope I'm able to lay them out so they look ok - so many patterned fabrics in this quilt.

Looking forward to this weekend.  Going to Canberra with some friends to see the Van Gogh Alive exhibition in Canberra and maybe the Women in Art exhibition (including Jenny Kee/Linda Jackson) at the National Gallery.

Joyful

 "Joyful" arrived back from Karen a fortnight or so ago and I've been slow to add the binding.  Finished it off last week and I love how this quilt has turned out.

Bonnie and Camille fabrics are so pretty.  This quilt is designed by Camille Roskelley (Thimble Blossoms) and I've used lots of scraps and smaller pieces from my stash.

Karen quilted it with "Diagonal Plaid" and the texture is lovely.

I now have three Bonnie and Camille fat quarter bundles that haven't been cut into - think it's about time I did.

Party Boy

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day to celebrate Vinnie's first birthday.  His party was lovely and the timing fitted in well between his naps :)  Kurt's Mum and Dad were able to travel down from the Mid-North Coast, so it was wonderful to be able to see them too.

Jenni and Elizabeth made very sweet decorations for the gazebo and cupcakes.

"Master Plan" is together and on the way to Karen for quilting.  There are more than 3,200 pieces of fabric in this quilt top.  Lots of cutting and lots of chain piecing (my favourite).  Many different colours have been used but I'm finding that I have not used red in most of these very scrappy quilts.

"Joyful" arrived back from Karen last week.  Binding is still not done.  "Diagonal Plaid" quilting design looks terrific on this quilt.

In amongst the loads of fabric my friend sent to me last October, were three bundles of Jen Kingwell's "Gardenvale" fabric.  

I've been puzzling over what to make with it ever since and after looking through loads of patterns and books decided on "Jiggery Pokery" Quilt in Kaffe Fassett's "Quilt Romance" book.

I think with the bigger sections of fabric, the quilt won't look too busy and the border triangles will be the spot fabrics.  It's all cut out and packed away while I sew some other blocks.

The fabrics and pattern for "Castle Gardens" were also in the parcel from my friend and the blocs were cut out last month.  I've started sewing some blocks together.

When all the blocks are made I'll decide whether to add sashings or assemble the blocks as in the pattern.  Some of the fabrics are pretty busy

So thankful the really heavy rain seems to have finished - we're still having showers.  I can imagine a little of what everyone up north is going through but not the extent of it all - just awful.

Happy Birthday

The baby with the biggest personality, Vincent, turns one today.  Surely a sign of time flying by way too quickly.  Even though we missed a few months with him due to the lockdown last year, we've been very fortunate to be able to spend so much time with him.

Vinnie is an absolute joy in all of our lives - his cousins have so much fun with him and he is very entertaining for the adults.

Little Sweetheart H decided it was time to launch himself from his cot after his afternoon nap, so the cot was quickly converted into a bed and he's been sleeping very well.

"Sampler Spree" arrived home from Quilting on the Coast (Karen) yesterday - the Clamshells quilting looks terrific.

"Master Plan" quilt top is together and I've decided to add a chequerboard border - one side to go and it will be finished then I can choose backing/binding.

On the weekend I spent a good amount of time cutting out a blue version of "Blueberry Kisses" - so much cutting in that quilt but I think it will be lovely.  I like to have a few quilts cut out ready to sew when a quilt top is finished.

The last couple of nights I've been knitting.  Hadn't touched H's jumper since December.  It's slow going but I love the challenge.