Piece and Quilt SAL

Two of my favourite quilt pattern designers, Lissa Alexander and Susan Ache (both brilliant scrappy quilt designers), have produced a book called "Celebrate with Quilts" and are hosting a QAL.  I'm making two quilts - one using Thimble Blossoms' "Shoreline" range and the other using my Fig Tree stash.

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3:

I've been starting my blocks on the first of each month but am very tempted to just keep going.

Starlight

 "Starlight" is a lovely Thimble Blossoms design.  I've made this quilt using a FigTree "Fruit Cocktail" jelly roll to give it a scrappy look and "Figs and Shirtings" for the star points and border.

An older FigTree fabric, "Somerset", for the backing.

I love a rainbow quilt and Thimble Blossoms' "Hello Sunshine" is a great pattern to use up stash and create a rainbow.

Once again I asked Karen to use "Orange Peel" - it always looks great.

Scrappy Jelly Girl

When I made a Jelly Girl quilt earlier this year I had loads of offcuts from the jelly roll strips.  So I thought these would make a great scrappy version of this quilt.  I love how it turned out and I'm always happy to use FigTree fabrics.

Karen quilted it with "Featheration", which is always a favourite.

I was able to buy another "Quilt Fair" layer cake from Bella's Patchwork - it's such a pretty fabric range - and decided to make Thimble Blossoms' "Flower Girl 2", a variation of her original "Flower Girl"quilt with smaller flowers and added nine patch blocks.

I love this quilt top

and the backing is another pretty Tasha Noel design.

I asked Karen to quilt "Orange Peel" on this one.

Recent Sewing

"Hello Sunshine" was cut out a few months ago and the top is mostly together.  I've been making one block per day and now need to add the borders (plain white).

All the blocks have been sewn for "Rainbow Connection"

and "Sweet Escape".

I cut out another "Jelly Girl" quilt - this one is scrappy in Figtree and Co fabrics

This quilt will be a birthday present for a dear friend later in the year.

"Jelly Girl" is on the way back from Karen

along with "Starlight".

I'm still sewing nine patches for the Tiny Nine Patch quilt and should start sewing some of those finished blocks in to quilt tops but I feel like starting something new.

A Big Birthday

Last weekend was full of birthday celebrations for a big birthday, starting on Thursday with the arrival of my dear friends, Diann and Bill, who had driven down from near Brisbane.

My best friends, Lynell and Robyn, arrived for lunch on Friday (my birthday) with me, Diann and Bill then in the afternoon Jenni, Kurt, Vinnie and Daisy arrived.  Always a party when Vinnie is around.

Vinnie was so excited to give me a birthday present

and it was The Best Present - pink, metallic cowboy boots!

For dinner we went to a local restaurant, The Lagoon.  Elizabeth decorated the table with beautiful jars of pink and pink/white roses and loads of photos of my life on cute little gold stands.

Jenni made a delicious Lemon Poppyseed cake.

We managed to get a photo of my brother, Philip, smiling.

Cousin Steph

Diann

Lynell and Robyn

The Grandbabies

On Saturday afternoon we hosted an afternoon tea for the family and more of my friends - the weather had been dreadful for weeks and was no different on that afternoon - pouring rain all weekend.

We had a lovely time and I really enjoyed being able to spend birthday time with such lovely friends and my family.

Little Sweetheart Daisy is now 12 weeks old.

Elizabeth organised a continental birthday cake for the afternoon tea.  The table cloth was stitched by my mother-in-law in the 70's.  I think it was a kit from Family Circle.

Gulli and Daisy coincidentally wore matching outfits

Hugo and Vinnie had the best time playing "The Floor is Lava" with all the loungeroom cushions.

Sunday was Mother's Day and it was lovely having Jenni, Kurt and the little ones still here as I found the whole weekend a bit emotional being my first birthday and first Mother's Day without Mum.  I took some of Elizabeth's roses to Mum and Dad that afternoon.

All Vinnie wanted to eat at the party was hot chips and I didn't have any so, on the way home, Jenni and Kurt stopped at the McD's, about 5 mins from my house to buy Vinnie some chips - she thinks he ate 5.

Hopscotch

Last September I attended a local quilt show and bought a random jelly roll - it reminded me of fabrics I used to buy years ago and the colours were so pretty.  Decided to make Thimble Blossoms' "Hopscotch" quilt - it's a jelly roll pattern and quite simple to put together.

I asked Karen to use "Modern Loops" for the quilting.  It's a favourite design.

The backing is a pretty cotton I bought from Bella's Patchwork.