A Winner...

It's lucky number seven this round! Lis wrote "Cute fabric, please count me in!" - Congratulations Lis! I'll be sending you an email :)

Hope everyone had a good week! I've had a man cold this week. Finally on antibiotics! So bring on feeling better :)

Happy sewing everyone!

A little bonus giveaway...

2 FQ's of Japanese prints by Cosmo Textiles

Leave a comment to be in to win... entries close Friday :)

Blushing - some more Mendocino

Oh Mendocino how I love thee... Mendocino in blush - my latest arrival bought from Kerri's shop on Etsy.

And here is my little Mendocino line up - I love those swimming mermaids. A lot! Now to settle on a pattern design... If you have a moment take a look here, here, here and here and tell me what you think!

Ohhh and here, here, here, here and here!

Thanking you in advance! Happy Sewing!

Work In Progress Parade - Asher's Quilt Part Two

Quilt top - done. Just need to quilt this little quilt and it'll be on it's merry way to it's new home. I am going to back this quilt in flannel to make it snuggly. Anything I should know about quilting flannel?

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Seeing Double

Amy is hosting another Blogger's Quilt Festival and I am very excited to have an actual quilt to enter this time round... make that two! For Christmas, I made two of these Bot Camp quilts - 1 for each of my very own little sprockets - Ollie and Gus.

This was Ollie's quilt in the making - his is bound and machine quilted in Blue...

This is Gus' quilt on Ollie's bed - his is bound and machine quilted in orange.

I decided that I wanted to make the quilts fully reversible - you know for those unexpected accidents... and also so I could use up all the fabric (my ulitmate goal :)).

This is the back of Gus' quilt... I love those sprockets. A lot.

Please head on over to Amy's site to check out the other lovely entries - trust me it's perfect quilty eye candy :) Lots of fabric coveting and inspiration to be seen :)

We have a winner!

Lucky number 11 - Alisa commented "Those Japanese prints are just so cute! Thanks for the giveaway!"

Alisa - I'll email you now! Congratulations! And thanks everyone for entering... I'll be having another very soon :)

Work In Progress Parade - Asher's Quilt

I just need to finalise the layout and sew the blocks and rows together. Then quilt it. Myself. I think this quilt will lend itself well to straight lines - fortunately :)

If you haven't already... don't forget to leave me a comment here to win some super cool Japanese FQ's!

Monkey. N.Round - Testing the blocks

The Sawtooth Star block - 8"

The Snowball block - 5"

So... the verdict is still out... I like them both - while the snowball block is quicker, it's a lot smaller, so I'd need to make more which could take longer? Maybe a quilt of each is in order?

Mr Postman delivers and a giveaway!

Some yummy Hushabye by Tula Pink FQs - these were part of a fabric swap on Flickr...

Some cute Japanese prints from Dana's destash sale... I missed the boat on the Sew Mama Sew giveaway, so I'm just going to host my own little giveaway here for my followers :) I'll be giving a FQ away of each of these Japanese prints! Just leave me a comment at the end :)

And Dana also kindly sent me some of her Mendocino strips of unused fabric...

Still another parcel (or two) to arrive! Hopefully tomorrow! Hope you all had a great start to the week! Don't forget to leave a comment below to enter the giveaway :)

Monkey. N.Round

Started well over a year ago... I am completely lost for inspiration with this bunch! I've changed my mind soo many times on what pattern to use... I am now either considering a snowball quilt or a sawtooth star quilt. Please feel free to offer up you 2 cents :)

Oh Mr Postman...

"Please Mister Postman look and see,

Oh yeah,

If there's a letter in your bag for me,

Please, please Mister Postman,

Why's it takin' such a long time,

Oh yeah...."

That verse by The Carpenter's has been playing in my head everyday I check the mail box. LOL. (My mum was a fan!)

Only 1 birthday parcel has arrived so far!!! It was the last order I made on Etsy but the first to arrive. Go figure!

Ordered from this store here on Etsy my yummy parcel of Heather Ross Mendocino also came with a an extra pile of lovelies

The service was super quick and the fabric was beautifully presented upon arrival! Aren't those wee gnomes adorable? They'll be used eventually in a red/aqua quilt I think...

I can't wait to get started on this quilt for me! I am thinking of making a Mendocino hexagon quilt for me now that I finally have the right triangle ruler! What do you reckon?

There is still some more Mendocino to arrive! Hopefully on Monday!! There won't be a lot of sewing done next week though, my brother-in-law is having open heart surgery on Wednesday so we're on kidlet/meal duty... but I might try sneak some in!!

Happy sewing!

The start of a new collection (read obsession)...

The problem with Flickr and blog land is that I get to see what a lot of really clever people make. And their fabric stash. Georgia

always makes beautiful quilts, often using gorgeous reproduction prints. I popped by my LQS (which I try to avoid because it makes me covet) this evening on my way to buy some lemonade for the DP who has "a bug in his tummy" (Dr Ollie's assessment). We were walking past and I thought it would be rude not to pop in - the lady who owns the store is lovely :) and patient.

In the window display she had some lovely reproduction prints. This one took my fancy. I was firstly drawn to the colour because I've chosen orange for my bridesmaid. And the print was very cute too. It also comes in a nice yellow and blue. Plus she had a bunch of other coordinates. Pity that! So I left with only 1 FQ. The start of my reproduction collection which I will use to make a nine patch. Hope ya don't mind Georgia?!

But before I can begin, I really need to sort out my craft space. This is the state of my dining room table. This is what happens when the table becomes a dumping/nesting ground for everything. It's probably why my crafty mojo is on strike. Or it could be that it's been a very long week with the DP being away 3 nights and who is sick :( Fortunately Gus slept through the night (first time in 3 weeks) again last night! BLISS! Now to get Ollie to do the same...

Hope you're all having a happy week with plenty of sewing to be had :) I am hoping that my birthday fabric stash will arrive tomorrow!!! Please Mr Postman! Please! Check back to see my new additions :)

Banned: From Etsy and Fabric Sites

I have no self control. I am hereby banning myself from Etsy (except to order our wedding invitations).

My DP gave me the go ahead to buy some fabric for my birthday and Mother's Day. He gave me a very generous limit. I was so excited. It was want I desperately wanted. After hours of searching mindlessly online, I came across a bundle of Mendocino. I wasn't quilting when this line came out but I sure wish I was! It is so sweet and pretty. I bought it immediately. With a few extra FQ's of Monalulu (?) for odd projects - they looked as though they'd fit well in my stash.

But unfortunately, my desire to have more overpowered my brain and before I even realised I added some more to my cart tonight! Oooh.... so naughty!!!!!! This will be the first quilt I make that will be for me! I am planning on making a decent sized quilt for the end of our bed. Not sure what pattern to use yet - open to suggestions... I am considering a hexagon quilt as I've bought the rulers but am yet to make something with them!

Anyway, so there you have it. I am banned from buying more fabric (except for Colorful Christmas by Riley Blake - I wish that would hurry up!)... And I am considering selling my bundle of Nicey Jane fat quarters? Any takers?
Happy Sewing!

Wheels Quilt Finished

I finished this quilt last week but haven't had a moment to post completed pictures...

I love this print for the backing... I see it's available in flannel... oh what cute PJ's that would make. Or cot sheets. I am restraining myself! Truly!!

Happy Sewing everyone!

In the making...

This wee quilt inspired by Allison's Hunky Dory baby quilt is for a special little man Asher. This quilt will be making it's way to the USA soon for a Kiwi family living in Nebraska while their wee daughter waits for a transplant. I saw Aria's story on an episode of Attitude a few weekends ago. Having little children, it really affected me. Someone had kindly made Aria a beautiful little quilt, but her little brother Asher didn't have one of his own... so here is his in the making. Fortunately having two wee boys I have a bunch of bright and cheerful boy prints. As you can see I have a few more blocks to make!

You should check out Aria's story if you have a moment. She's one very brave little girl. And her parents are amazing too.

The boys and I went to the park on the weekend... here they are having a bunch of fun together...

Need to take the plunge... to learn to FMQ!

So a wee while ago I took a stippling class at my LQS. It was not successful. In fact, I came out thinking that stippling was not for me. I love the effect I just couldn't quite master the actual doing.

But the budget buster (aka the DP) and I are going over the books tonight and I know he's going to say no more LAQ unless it's absolutely necessary. So I *need* to improve my machine quilting! I am ok if it's straight line stitching and I can masking tape out my lines to quilt against, but FMQ is beyond me...

So I desperately need all your top tips and stories! Please let me know how you do it! Do you draw the pattern on first? Or just go for gold? How do you keep the stitches even and get nice curves?

I am thanking you a bunch in advance!!

Six

This post is bought to you by the number six. Last month I had serious issues with the number six. I am hoping this month will be different! After all May is my favourite month! Mother's day and my birthday! This year I am hoping to get LOTS of fabric!! tehehehe!

So... the number six? Well, as you've probably heard Julie of Jaybird Quilts is hosting a hexagon quilt along over at the Old
Red Barn Co group on Flickr. How many sides does a hexagon have? Six. Yes! SIX! But this is what I ended up with...

I couldn't figure out why on earth I couldn't get them to fit together like everybody elses! Then I counted how many sides I had. Idiot! My ruler wasn't the right angle and I've ended up with octagons!!!! So know I am trying to figure out how to make these into a wee lap quilt. Cutting into my Figgy Pudding was a BIG step for me so I was gutted when I realised I'd bought the wrong ruler! I even asked the lady at the quilt shop and she said it work fine :(

So... I've splashed out and bought the right rulers after reading the instructions again! They arrived last week from American Jane Quilts. And I also bought a jelly roll of Figgy Pudding. The DP will kill me when that arrives in the post too. I am praying it arrives Wednesday - my working from home day so that I can smuggle it inside :)

I also found this wee Sublime book online...

(Image from http://www.theyarnqueen.co.nz/)

I must have been living in a cave this past year - I had no idea they were up to The Fifth Little Sublime Handknit Book! I have the first and second books. They have such sweet and styley little handknits for babies and children!

Anyway, I bought it instantly when I scrolled through the images and saw this little coat...

(Image from www.theyarnqueen.co.nz)

I thought this would be perfect for the wedding for the boys! I've ordered a very dark navy yarn which match their wee little outfits perfectly. Isn't it the sweetest little coat?

Anyway, so back to my issues with the number 6... I decided to get back into the rhythm of knitting by making this little coat for Gus. Nice easy garter stitch to get practice my tension.

(Image from www.theyarnqueen.co.nz)

Gus is still quite wee so I decided to knit the 6 - 12 month size. He's still wearing a 6 - 12 month cardi from the first book... After casting on and knitting 10cm, it just felt too small! I kept measuring it and my tension was practically perfect! It wasn't until I compared size charts between the fifth and the first book that I noticed a BIG difference! The 6 - 12 in the fifth book was the measurements of the 3 - 6 months in the first book! I was so disappointed and peeved to be completely honest! I had to start again and am know knitting size 1 - 2 which is the same size as the 6 - 12 in the first book. 6 additional stitches. It doesn't sound like much but it makes a HUGE difference!

So now I am super worried that Ollie might not fit the 2 -3 which is actually the same measurements as the 1 - 2 in the first book! He's still pretty small for his age too... and I thought I could always make it longer if needed. So lets all hope he doesn't grow a bunch between now and November!!! Fortunately I erred on the side of caution when I ordered the wool and ordered 2 additional balls. So I have the right number for the pattern. But I might get another. Just to be safe. The lady at the store only has 7 of the colour and batch left.

Sorry for all the words. What a super long post! Perhaps I should have done this in part 1 and part 2! Hope you have all having a great weekend!!