It's a chocolatey weekend... for some

Yes, because a few weeks ago we bit the bullet and decided to go on a "diet" (I only need to lose a little, maybe 3kg, Craig a bit more than that), I guess we won't be having chocolate this weekend... much. Some might think you can get the same kind of endorphin rush from fabric! Is that true? Maybe...

Anyway, here's what I've been up to.


I finally found a spare moment(s) to piece together the petals for the very large Dresden circle. Hooray! It looks beautiful, don't you think? I then enthusiastically launched into the next step which involves piecing a circle into the centre. It actually is not as hard as it sounds. However.... because I failed to measure the inner circle formed by the Dresden petals before sewing in the circle piece, it ended up as a big puffy pillow in the middle. Oh dear. I'm not even going to share the photo. Lynne suggested I could leave it in and "quilt out" the puffiness. But I'm not taking any chances and have unpicked it (oh the pain!) Turns out the circle is half an inch smaller than I thought it was (hence the circle going into it was half an inch too big). So, starting again on that one.

I also made these fabulous bee blocks for Allison in FMB2 - I can say fabulous because the design (and of course the fabric choice - Central Park) is all hers. I loved making these blocks and have added this to my list of projects to make for myself. Ahem.


Then I whipped up this bag for my friend - it was supposed to be a Christmas present. Last year. Oops.


And finally - look what the postman brought! My doll quilt! From Safieh in Texas. Beautiful colours and an amazing design. And some sweet extras as well. And meanwhile my doll quilt has arrived safely at its destination too - Shayla!


And now we're off on a bike ride around the lake, enjoying the tail end of the lovely autumn weather. Traditionally from next week it just gets very cold!

Happy Easter!

Sunday Sewing

Hello, how was your weekend? Hubby was away for the weekend but I still managed to squeeze in some sewing! Hurrah! This is now the third Pleated Tote I've made from Ali Foster's pattern, it really comes together so quickly now. I barely even need to consult the instruction sheet anymore. The longest part is cutting out all the pieces. Or perhaps trying to decide which beautiful fabrics to use.... I finally settled on an Alexander Henry print (Birdsong) for the main part of the bag, and some Amy Butler Floating Roses for the yoke and handle. The handle looks really short from the angle of the photo, but it's not - it's the perfect size to put over your shoulder and still have access to the bag. There is a magnetic snap and a little internal pocket.

This one is for a friend's birthday. I'd so love to keep it for myself! I know she's going to love it.


I've also started putting some thought into what to make for my swap partner for Modern Swappers, and yesterday started doodling with some pretty fabric scraps courtesy of Mr Kaffe, some Moda natural muslin and some fusible, and came up with this inkling of an idea. Not sure yet where it's going to take me but I'm liking it so far.

Finishing touches

It's been a holiday this weekend and beautiful weather. Unfortunately the kids haven't been exactly on their best behaviour so we have all been going a bit stir crazy. But anyway.... Did manage to get a couple of projects finished which is always a good thing!!

First off, my Amy Butler Birdie Sling. I have had this pattern for quite a while and the fabric as well (from my stash of Rouenneries), and have over the last few weeks tackled the bag in a few sittings. It came together pretty well, although I did have to use the quick-unpick a few times - mainly due to my failure to read the directions properly.... I added a zip pocket inside and a magnetic snap closure. I love the bag, and would love to do another, but next time I would lose the fusible fleece on the lining. I think one layer of interfacing is enough. There was way too much bulk in the seams around the band which made it tricky to do the final top-stitching.

And now for my second project finish - my first bee blocks for Fresh Modern Bee 2 - string quilt blocks for Scruffycat. This was my first attempt at string blocks and I love them! These were so much fun to do and I love the result. I hope you do too, Amy!

Now off to finish dinner - a roast lamb has been cooking away slowly all afternoon and it smells divine!!!

My (very late) creative space

Sadly I've been missing in action from the bloggy scene for the past couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy slaving over a hot sewing machine!! Some months ago I swooped on a big pile of Rouenneries fabric from French General. I am so in love with this line, it is simply divine. My initial intention was to make a quilt for our bed and I'm still toying with various designs.

But while I'm waiting for my inspiration to settle into something more concrete, I decided the time had come to cut into the lovely pile - well, at least a little bit of it - and whipped up a tote for my aunt's birthday.

In the meantime I've also been progressing with the pink quilt. Now all that's left to do is put on the binding. I decided to put a solid pink around each of the blocks, using several different shades of solid. I didn't really plan it and when it came time to arrange the twelve blocks it turned out to be a bit of a task to set them out without blocks of the same colour adjoining each other. Anyway, I think it turned out OK in the end! The quilting is a pretty simple pattern, just in-the-ditch around the blocks, a cross through the centres, and some (occasionally wonky) railway tracks through the solid pinks.

All the while my head continues to swim with other ideas for new projects! Not enough hours in the day at the moment!

My creative space

The sewing frenzy continues! Funny how finishing a project instantly spurs on more action on new projects - exponentially so. By the end of the month I will probably have about 8 projects on the go - is that completely insane? Probably. I'm going beserk with my sewing machine because my return-to-work date of July is looming prominently in the foreground. Only 4 months to go, and so much to do!! I may need to start sewing in my sleep.

Anyway, today I finally delivered the 40th birthday quilt to my dear friend. As expected she loved it and was of course not the least bit perturbed that it was nearly 6 months late. I'm so pleased with how it turned out and so proud that I did everything myself. Have got plans to do another similar one. After a few other projects are complete. Ahem.

So having finished that one, I thought I would make myself something for a change and yesterday afternoon finding myself with a couple of hours to kill whipped up a fab new bag. I'm so happy with it! I can't stop looking at it!

The amazing green hummingbird fabric is from Patty Young's Flora and Fauna collection. (Sadly I've used up every skerrick I had of this and now wish I'd got some more...), the top band and handle is Wildwood by Erin McMorris, and the lining is from Sweet by Urban Chiks (it is a green backgrounded polka dot print - sadly cannot be seen because Blogger is refusing to upload any more pictures). And the pattern is by Ali Foster. A wonderful pattern - I will definitely be making some more of these bags. I will just make the handle a smidgen longer next time.

Lots and lots of clever creative people here.