Swoon in it's glory!

This is by no means a new finish... but I realised last night that I still haven't posted any decent pictures of Gus' Swoon quilt. The quilt when straight from the finished pile to his bed and I'd been waiting for a sunny day to take a few pictures.

With our new backyard and lovely deck, I finally have some nice places to take photos! The quilt pattern is Swoon by Camille at Thimble Blossoms. I bought the PDF version for instant gratification :)

The fabric is Children at Play in the Over the Fence colourway by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller. I can't tell you enough how much I love this fabric. I first posted about this quilt here... and here.

This photo even made it to Camille's blog! Blushing :)

I used a flannel print for the backing. It is very snuggly.

My favourite block. I love this colour combination.

This quilt is one of the biggest I've made. Perhaps the biggest! I procrastinated for quite a few months but once I got back into the swing of making these swoon blocks, the quilt came together very easily. There was one block in this quilt that I had considered making again... but once I put it with all the other blocks it looked right at home.

The all over quilting is a kite edge to egde design. It suits the quilt a lot and I am very happy with it. The binding is Racer Stripe in orange. I still have enough fabric (and backing fabric) to make another quilt. I contemplated making another swoon... but I've decided to make On a Whim (also by Camille!). That way the quilts will be similar but different. That will have to wait though! I have another quilt top waiting to be finished (my Innocent Crush charmed quilt) - it just nees a few more rows.

Once finished, I need to get cracking on Oliver's Single Boy quilt(s) in Little Apples. I am hoping to have one finished for his 5th birthday in September. And the other by Christmas! I also have another quilt kit I'd like to finish up by October. But right now I am arrested by our local sheriff and his deputy for stealing kisses. I am about to get cuffed... I hope they'll let me sew in prison ;)

Happy sewing!

Wendy's Sweet 16 Quilt

A little while ago I finished this quilt for a dear family friend. I didn't really get any decent photos of the quilt in between finishing the quilt and posting the quilt.

I called this my Sweet 16 quilt for Wendy. Wendy has been a part of my life since I was 7. I asked her if she would be my grandmother. My mother's mother lived far away, and my dad's mother died when I was 3.

Wendy's been such an amazing source of support since that day and over the last few years she has knitted my boys dozens of lovely jerseys and toys. It felt nice to finally give her something handmade.

This quilt design is very economical. It used only half a jelly roll and some yardage for sashing and borders. I have enough Buttercup jelly roll strips to make another for the DH's nana (she'll be celebrating her 80th birthday in January).

Wendy and I are almost birthday buddies. She's the day right after mine. This quilt got to her just in time and it's been on her bed ever since :)

The quilting is a pretty all over petunia print. Wendy phoned me to tell me she absolutely loved it. It is her very first quilt. I felt quite privileged to have been the first to make and give Wendy a quilt.

Here is Wendy (and me). I got to spend some time with Wendy last weekend when my DH was sick in bed while we were away in the Hawkes Bay. She's just lovely! While I was there I asked if it would be ok to take some pictures of the quilt. Wendy happily obliged :)

Thanks so much for your sweet comments about Pepper the Puppy too :) Two of you left comments saying that you'd also had Pepper's in your time! There's a little story behind how she came to be Pepper and I'll share more about that when she arrives in 15 days!

Happy Sewing!

Pitter Patter of Paws

Meet Pepper. She'll be joining our little family in < 3 weeks.  I can not wait :) In fact, I am definitely more excited than the boys!! Expect to see lots of puppy photos in the coming weeks!

And for those enquiring minds, Pepper is an English Pointer. In this picture she's 5 weeks old. She was the sweetest, quietest pup in her litter. Very gentle and calm which is exactly why I picked her!

Do you think it would be wrong to make the puppy a welcome home quilt? I think the DH might commit me if I did :) Oh, and for my readers with puppy experience, any puppy tips will be gratefully received! I feel like a new parent again!

Destash Sale! Grab a bargain :)

When we moved in March, I have to say I was a little surprised by my fabric stash... It somehow had grown quite significantly throughout the year and I had to come clean with the DH that yes, perhaps a few more parcels than I'd fessed up to had arrived and migrated into the spare room...

That said, I decided it was high time I had a sort through my stash... all the more so now that we're looking to get a puppy in the coming weeks. With the pitter patter of impending paws, I am destashing some of my fabric to help fund all the little bits and pieces we'll need :) Some of these bundles will be very hard to part with, but I know little Pepper/Annie (we're yet to settle on a name for sure) will definitely be worth the sacrifice!

Please note postage is from New Zealand and shipping will be combined for multiple purchases. There will be a few more items listed in the next few days too :)

Little Apples Jelly Roll - NZ$40 + postage

Hope Valley FQ Bundle (24 FQ's) NZ$95 + postage SOLD

AMH Little Folks Voile

5 Half yards + bonus piece (blue) - NZ$40 + postage

Children at Play Over the Fence FQ bundle (8FQs) - NZ$30 + postage

How the Grinch Stole Flannel - 2 yards NZ$30

Cute Cowboy fabric (from Spotlight) 1m - NZ$10

Random FQ's - NZ$3 each

Pitter Patter of Little Feet (not me!)

There's nothing like a long weekend spent sewing. Especially when you have a bundle of small babies (yet to arrive) to sew for! We have three friends expecting their first baby's in the next month or so. It's always nice to give a handmade gift for little babies.

I've had this Monkey n Round fabric sitting in my stash since 2008. In fact, this is the first fat quarter bundle I ever bought.

In July 2009 (ahem...) I intended to make these into a quilt for Oliver. It never did happen. Instead, he got quilts made of Bot Camp and the monkey charms sat for quite sometime.

In June 2010 (what?!), I attempted to make a quilt for Oliver out of the charms again... but once again, it didn't really inspire me. So the four blocks sat unfinished until now. I made a few more blocks, and this little quilt top measuring 40" x 40" was complete!

I then chopped up the rest of the blocks from 2009 and after toying with a few different patterns, I decided to make another of Elizabeth's Hartman's from Oh Fransson Charm Square Baby quilt which is a free tutorial here. I first made this quilt in 2010 for my nephew Shaun. 

I enjoyed making the Monkey quilts so much, that I decided to make up a Bliss charm pack into a sweet quilt perfect for a baby girl.

So there you have it! 4 easy peasy baby quilts! I attempted to use my walking foot to quilt one of the monkey quilts, but I made an absolute dogs breakfast of it... so I dropped all these off at the LAQ today. Naughty? Yes. At least this way I know they'll be finished in time for the babies arrivals! One of these quilts will be heading to the UK, two will stay in Wellington and the last will head to Auckland (a little belated though - that baby arrived in February!).

Tonight I plan to finish up another quilt started  long ago... I can't help but ask myself why on earth I procrastinate for so long?! Oh well! Better now than never!

Bliss in Patches - A Finish!

When I first started this blog back in 2009, I hoped that an online journal of my quilty projects would keep me task focused and would help me see as many finishes as starts...

Of course, if you've been hanging around here for a while, you'll know that's not often the case. But, strangely, this year has been about finishing the unfinished and working through my stash. Perhaps it's my rather large mortgage which prohibits fabric purchases that has seen a positive result in me finishing up projects of long ago or using fabric that's been sitting around for some time.

So far this year, I have finished 6 quilts, with another 5 waiting to be quilted and another quilt top nearing completion! Wowsers. Here's my most recent finish

Last year in February, I'd planned to use this Bliss jelly roll for something else. But, after attempting to make just one block, I set it aside. Then in June, I decided to make a 9 patch quilt - Bliss in Patches.  After running out of white, the quilt blocks sat unloved for some time. Finally in January this year, the quilt top was finished and sat patiently in the wardrobe waiting to be quilted.

This quilt was made with a jelly roll of Bliss and a jelly roll of Moda white. The backing is a coordinating flannel print from the Bliss range. I wasn't "feeling" the quilt until I finished sewing the binding on... it was feeling a bit too pink... but the aqua binding is perfect and this quilt is so delightful to snuggle under.

I've been finishing up some other projects to and using up some of stash that I've had for years! Now, that I've located the camera and the charger, expect to see more posts :)

Happy sewing! 

Still here!

Innocent Crush a photo by lara"s theme on Flickr.

I can't believe it's been 3 months since my last post already! Where has the time gone? Oh yes, that's right - it went into packing, cleaning, painting, moving, unpacking, cleaning, gardening, children, birthdays, parties, trips here, trips there...

The last few months have certainly been busy. We've been in our new home a little over two months and we are loving it. Our little Gus turned 3 at the start of April, and almost overnight he turned into a real little boy - no longer a baby at all. Oliver starts school in 4 months so we've been visiting schools, reading Ministry reports and trying to figure out an impending new schedule. I'll be changing up my hours at work a little so that we can accommodate the new drop off and pick up times that come with schooling.

I've also been doing some sewing. It took me a month or so after we moved in here to find energy to even think about sewing, but this past month I have been enjoying finishing old quilts and starting new ones. Innocent Crush is a new quilt top finish. I am yet to uncover our camera, so in the meantime the pictures will be via instagram :)

Here's hoping I can get back into the swing of blogging. Wishing you all a fabulous day!