S.P.O.I.L.T!

A parcel was waiting for me when I got home from work today! I was so excited to open it! And so was Ollie! The package is from a good quilty pal on Flickr - Georgia. And look at the yummy goodies Georgia sent me just because she happens to be one of the sweetest people ever...

The sweetest apple pin cushion ever made, a gorgeous fruity fat quarter, some woodland sticky notes and an adorable Heather Bailey pattern! Thank you so much Georgia!! LOVE them all!!! You really shouldn't have but thank you thank you thank you!

I also got another yummy bundle of goodies from another quilty pal from the Old Red Barn Co flickr group - Lynz as part of an Eastery swap a couple of weeks back...  Lynz is another of the worlds sweetest people :) Lynz pegged me good and sent me these yummy fabrics and Easter decorations

The Happy Easter banner is still proudly hanging in our kitchen Lynz! I am so reluctant to take it down! My MIL tried to *steal* it!!! She loved the eggs and felt friends too!! Thank you thank you thank you Lynz for such gorgeous goodies too! Sorry I haven't shared these with you sooner! Lynz there's another wee package on it's way to you tomorrow!!

Hope you are all having a good week! We are in quarantine at the moment because there has been an outbreak of measles at the boys daycare centre and as Gus is yet to be immunised they're not allowed to go!! So I am rocking it at home with my two boys!

Rolling On.

I've been whipping up these wee crayon rolls for Ollie's wee friends. I researched many tutorials online... and I've tried a few out. But I think I have nailed the best by coming up with my own. If you'd like a wee tutorial - I'll happily post my how to?

The owl print is for Ollie's wee friend who turns two next month... I made a wee calculation error to begin with but I have worked out how I'll selvage it! The other two went according to plan. I have now written my measurements down so that I don't estimate next time (hehe).

PS - I've made this my finish of the week! So why not pop over to the Sew n Tell link to the right there and check out some other posts for fantastic inspiration! And congratulate Amy for welcoming another little baby into her little family!

Absent. Minded.

In the words of the great Ronnie Barker in the closing of each Open All Hours episode - "It's been a funny old week"... (If you've never watched an episode - I highly recommend watching one! They are good for a giggle. Especially when you're feeling under the weather!)

I have been rather absent. Absent minded. And sleep deprived Work has been busy, my DP is away each week for work and the boys have both been battling ear infections and chest infections. I've suggested to our GP that we ought to pay an annual retainer. He just laughs. We are mostly there once a week (sometimes more!) during winter. Hopefully this winter will be different!

I've had a list of things to do. Things to sew. Knit. Buy. Plan. I am sneakily planning a surprise 30th for the DP and also trying to plan our wedding day. We've not really done too much to date but book the venue. But my MIL and I did go on a road trip to Palmerston North to buy my dress fabric. And bridesmaid fabric. I am going with burnt orange. At the moment. It was hard choosing a colour that hadn't been done by our friends. We have been to a LOT of weddings in the last few years and they've all been lovely. Not to mention I've been a part of 4 of them and have gleaned some vital tips from the brides.

Anyway, here is my finish so far this week...

(Please excuse the boy robot sheets!)

This is on it's way to Australia this Saturday... just in time for my bestie who is being induced on Saturday and will welcome their third child but first wee girl.

And my favourite Hushabye print for the backing... It's a pity that it wasn't centred properly but I still love it! My LAQ used a gorgeous paisley print which echoed the fabric beautifully. This quilt made me want *more* Hushabye. I love Tula's attention to detail. She is AMAZING. Pity I have no real *need* for anymore but it was nice to play with pinks for a change!!

I've got another quilt to hand sew the binding on... that'll have to be a job for tomorrow night!

Happy sewing all! If you've made anything with Hushabye - please send me a link! I'd love to see! Otherwise if you are a closet Open All Hours fan too - let me know :) I just love that show!

Sew n Tell - Another Finish

It's been a while since I've joined in the fun of Sew n Tell. Below are my finishes this week...

This wee coin quilt is for my friend's little man Ryan. This is off at my LAQ. I am really happy with how this quilt came together. I get really nervous about making things for other people!

I made this quilt as part of the windmill quilt along hosted by Dana over on the Old Red Barn Co group on Flickr. I debated making this quilt bigger, but Lynz commented on how Eastery the colours were and I decided it would make a perfect wee Easter table topper. Still undecided on the quilting... it seems like it needs something kinda circular and flowing... kind of like the breeze blowing or something?!

I also finished up my Beatnik Bee blocks... I remade two because I was not happy with my original takes... So here is my improv blocks for March and April

The two above are for March. Very pretty fabrics!

And my April blocks for Nichol. She chose some pretty funky, graphic prints.

Improv was a new experience for me. I found myself really struggling - "what if my fellow bee buddies hate them?!". Eventually I just let go and hoped for the best. These will be in the post today :)

So it's been a surprisingly productive week for me! Nothing like the thought of starting a new project to keep you motivated to get your old projects completed!! I think I've chosen my fabrics for the next round of the ORBC quilt along... This time Julie of Jaybird Quilts is hosting hexagons! After polling on Flickr, I've decided to make a Christmas quilt using some of my Figgy Pudding! I've just got one more quilt I really really need to finish!!

Happy sewing everyone! If you'd like to check out more Friday finishes, click on the Sew n Tell button to the right!

What do you reckon? And Happy Easter!!

So I am not very good at mishing and mashing prints and fabrics together. I tend to stick to one fabric range per project. It's my safety net and I like it! But then I saw this quilt that Allison made for her boys on Cluck Cluck Sew and I fell in love. I bought the pattern immediately and last night I pulled out all my boy fabric... What do you think? You reckon these would work well?

I must admit that most of these are Michael Miller prints. But there is a few random prints in there...

Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter Weekend!! On Thursday my little baby turned one! Here he is the day we bought him home from the Neo Natal Unit

And here he is on his last night of being a baby (although I think it's fair to say he'll always be my little baby!)

I've got a new project on the go for a friend and will share some pictures soon! I still haven't finished Aphra's Starflower quilt and her birthday is today! So I think I'll just keep plodding along and get it done as quickly as I can!