It's been awhile....

but I have been busy! I've finished off the quilt for Luke's teacher. Her baby is due later this year and she will finish up work at the end of the term. I plan to give it to her as soon as possible though, I don't see the need to keep it hanging around the house. So, drum roll please!!!



















I'm really quite happy with how it has turned out and hope she is happy too.

The back is flannelette - nice and cosy!

The label is printed on EQ Printables Fabric











And finally, a close up of my favourite block - the pink rhinoceros!

Not broken, smashed!

The fabric ban that is! First off, a fabric shop near by was having a 20% off sale. 14 metres later I walked out with this lovely lot.
Now, it does include a lot of fabric for existing and planned projects.

Then, of course, today I went to Craft and Stitches show. I was slightly disappointed by the show. While there were quite a few quilt places there, their prices weren't any better than they normally would be. To me, part of the point of a show is to pick up a few bargains. Luckily I did find two stalls who had great prices and I managed to pick up this lot of fat quarters.


I also managed to pick up a couple of cross stitches that I've been eyeing off for awhile. The cross stitch stalls were a lot better in terms of bargains and I could have spent alot more than I did.I also had another cross stitch I ordered from The Stitchery (link is on the side if you are interested) a couple of weeks ago. I've been looking for a Celtic Cross cross stitch for awhile, and this one caught my eye.

Today wasn't all shopping. Before I left for the show I did manage to put the border on the jungle quilt. I wasn't quite sure about it, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. This is going to be backed with a flannel and I was just going to do stitch the ditch quilting, but now I'm not sure. I'd love to quilt around the animals, but I don't think I could do it on the machine and I'm not really that confident with hand quilting. Any ideas, or do you think I should stick with stitch the ditch?

Too nice a day to be inside.

It was a gorgeous day here today. Breeze was blowing, sun was out and it was way too nice to stay inside. But I wanted to sew. What's a girl to do? Well set up outside of course! We have a lovely wide verandah plus power points, so I felt no need to stay inside.



My goal for the day was to get the blocks of the jungle quilt sewn together. I'm glad to say, mission accomplished!
I'm really thrilled with how it has come up. My seams match, the colours look great and I'm just loving it! I'm now going to add a border the same green as the leaves. I'm trying to decide between a 2 inch and a 4 inch border. The yellow and orange strips are 2 inch. Any opinions?

I was in "the zone" after I finished this, so I pulled out a project I've been avoiding. I started a quilt for Luke at the end of last year. Once I'd sewn all my strips, I laid it out on the floor and was devastated to learn the strips didn't line up as they should have. My solution was to put it in a drawer to be dealt with another time. Yes, I know, very proactive! I had decided a few weeks ago that I would unpick it and start again, but when I pulled it out today, I thought I'd see if I could fudge it enough to live with. Well with a bit of ironing, stretching and pining, I managed to line up what I thought was impossible to line up. I'm not even half way through and I won't say I'm enjoying it, but at least I think it will be ok. It won't be perfect and I know that I will forever look at it and wonder what would have happened if I had measured a bit more carefully. I think I will keep it as a reminder of the importance of accuracy! Anyway, here is a progress shot and lets just say it will never be entered in a quilt competition.

Been a bit Slack

Haven't done a lot of sewing, hoping to get some done this afternoon after I get through my list of things to do. I did receive a lovely parcel of scrap fabric from Helen as part of a scrap fabric swap. Lots of gorgeous bits and pieces beautifully tied. Now all I need to do is decide what to do with them!
I also finished the other 6 of the jungle fabric blocks. Once I sew them together, I'm thinking a green border of 4 inches.