Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star ...

If nursery rhyme lyrics could be worn out by singing them, then the lyrics of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" would be nothing but ghost writing in our house.

I mix up the lyrics from time to time to see if they are still listening to me "Up above the world so high, like a banana in the sky ..."  

"Silly mummy! you sung it wrong!"   It's a gets a giggle every time and I love to hear them giggle.

This little quilt is my first finish for Q2 - 2014 Finish Along and is a bit of an experiment for me.  I saw this backing label and thought it would make a nice front.

I started by piecing the star and using the Monogramming feature on my machine to embroider the "Twinkle, Twinkle".  Then I appliquéd the star on to one big piece of fabric.

Some simple cross-hatch quilting was all that was needed and it's backed with the same dove grey as the whole cloth on the front.

Quick, easy, simple and pure ...

UPDATE: Here is the link to my Q2 Finish Along list.

Sx

Linking up with
Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts
Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Such a Gem - Sunday Stash

Hubby was recently on a business trip to Sydney and let slip that he might have a few hours free one afternoon.  I immediately emailed Ms Sparkles to find out where I should send Hubby for a well deserved drink  shopping for fabric in the big smoke. 

Now hubby can backpack his way through the Colombian Jungle, solve the Rubix Cube in a nano second and IPL a Mainframe (whaa?)  but put him in a warehouse of fabric and I think his head would explode!

Molli Sparkles to the rescue!

It was a military operation. Objective. Find jewelled toned, AMH preferred, fabrics for up-and-coming Gypsy Wife Quilt ... yeh, I'm jumping on that horse drawn, glittery, crystal ball reading wagon.

"Thank goodness for Molli Sparkles!" ... my husband's words ... "He's a real gem!"

That he is my dear ... a glittery ... sparkly gem!  

Sx
Linking up with Sunday Stash

Sing Me A Rainbow - WIP

Hi everyone ... I hope the sun is showing it's face where you are?

I've finished my Triangle Quilt Along flimsy and it's ready for basting.

I'm very lucky in my house that every afternoon, if the sun is shining, I get a stream of rainbows through my window.  They gently flicker on my walls and my girls think that the fairies have come to visit our house.

IG Pic @sewgiving

As I've used leftover squares from charm packs, my triangles are smaller than the tutorial and therefore my quilt is a lot smaller than most of the others joining in at The Sassy Quilter, though just the right size for a dolls quilt for my girls to play with ...

But good things come in small packages right?  

Sx
Linking Up to:
WIP at Freshly Pieced
Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Newbie To Bees

I'm new to sewing bees.  I've avoided putting my hand up for them for a few reasons really 1. I'm scared of letting people down when life gets in the way of sewing time.  2. What if my skills aren't up to it? 3. What if my bee mates don't like my fabric choices?

But just recently Jo of Riddle and Whimsy asked if I would like to join AusBees.  As she's local to me I thought, why not?  Give it a go.  It's a 6 month commitment (there's that scary 'c' word again).  There are 6 of us in the group and we each make 2 blocks for the queen bee of that month.  I can do that (she says).

Jo is kicking off as Queen Bee for April and she chose the Star Crossed Block - tutorial found at Don't Call Me Betsy.

Here's the blocks I made ...

I sewed really slowly and was as precise as I could be with a scant 1/4" seam required - eek!

I have since trimmed the threads but haven't squared them up yet ... some bees I see the members like to receive blocks squared, others like to square them up themselves ... ?

Jo asked for Warm and Cool colours for the Star and Cross and a low volume print for the background.

The fabrics I chose are:

1. Low Volume: Riley Blake "Enchant" by Cinderberry Stitches "Enchanted Floral in White"
2. Warm Colour: Kate Spain "Blossoms on Orange"
3. Cool Colour: Wish I knew!  I want more!  Picked this up as a FQ at my local quilt shop and there is nothing on the selvage. 

 **NOTE TO FABRIC PRODUCERS - please print the fabric label at more frequent intervals on the selvages.  Quilting fabric is, more often than not, cut into FQ's and we quilters love to know what we are using and we also like to play with pretty selvages :) **

So that's my first ever bee blocks complete.  Time to pop them in the post - yippee!

Sx

Linking up with:
Sew Cute Tuesdays at Blossom Heart Quilts

Sunday's Quilt Scrap Fabric Winner!

Here is a lovely scrap bundle of Terra Australis and other fabric, used in Sunday's Quilt, to give away to a lucky winner who is ...

... take it away Mr Random ...

Number 3 is Laurie Matthews!  Congratulations Laurie, I'll be emailing you shortly for your postal address.

In the meantime, let's see what loveliness is headed Laurie's way ...

Terra Australis, Hanky Linen, Spotlight Shot cotton in grey ... all the ingredients for a Sunday Something!

I hope you enjoy this fabric as much as I have Laurie.

Sx

PS A big thank you to Craft Project for supplying the Hanky Linen and Terra Australis fabric, it was such a pleasure to play with!

Finish Along 2014 - Q2 List

I have a busy Q2 planned.  I'm idea rich but like most quilters I'm time poor so lets see how I do!

1.  Houndstooth - Hanging my head in shame.  This is a roll-over from Q1.  I'm in repetitive block hell, but this quilt will be oh.so.worth.it when it's done!

V&Co Houndstooth Pattern - Work in Progress

2.Triangle Quilt Along - I'm joining in with the Sassy Quilter and learning all about triangle quilts.  So far it's been fun and I hope to have a lovely little dolls quilt at the end of it.  I'm doing a bit of two birds - one stone here and linking this post up to the triangle along QAL as I've sewn the first 1&1/2 rows!

3.  I hope to rectify the disastrous SLQ of my old machine with my new whiz.bang.machine and have this pixel heart quilted, bound and given to it's intended owner soon!  This Posy fabric needs to be cuddled and adored.

4. A Frog quilt for my Miss 2.5.  I've finished one block (winning!) ...

and have a rough sketch ...

Quilt to feature a Quiet Play Paper Pieced pattern

5. Turn this loveliness, that is Art Gallery Luxe in Bloom, into a plus quilt using these instructions from Rachel at The Wooden Spoon 

6. Sew up a Geranium top for each of my girls.  I've cut the fabric, they just need sewing (I know, I should pull my finger out already!)

How cool are those deck chairs!

7.  Complete a simple baby quilt.  I like the backing label of this quilt by Little Bluebell  and thought that the back would look nice as a front!

This picture is a quilt backing by Little Bluebell - I absolutely adore it!

I've chosen (and almost bare-faced copied) the fabric (why try and improve what is already perfect?).

8. Participate in the PMQG Mini Quilt Challenge.  This means making a mini quilt preferrably 25.5" x 15.75" so that the mini quilt can be donated to the King Edward Memorial Hospital Humidicrib Quilt Charity.  No fabric chosen yet but I've created an inspiration board on Pinterest and hope to make a mini quilt with a stitch sketching appliqué theme.

9. Finally, Hubby has requested a Pliers Wrap ... a wha??!   Yep, that's what I thought too!  Something along the lines of THIS I'm guessing??? I have the perfect fabric for my English Hubby.  It's a drill cotton so has a bit of weight to it ... though I'm not sure it will stay white for long!

So that's it ... gulp ... wish me luck!

Sx

Linking up to:
Finish Along at The Littlest Thistle
Triangle QAL at Sassy Quilter
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Sunday's Quilt - Terra Australis

Here she is ... Sunday's Quilt.

She doesn't belong to a person or a room in the house.  She just belongs to Sundays.

Sunday's Quilt - featuring Terra Australis 

Sunday picnics at the park.

Waratah Print - be.still.my.beating.heart

She's rainy day snuggles on the couch and Sunday trips to the beach.

She'll be our go-to Sunday gal.

Fancy scoring yourself a scrap bag of Terra Australis and Hanky Linen from this quilt?  Just leave a comment and Mr. Random will hopefully pick you this weekend :)

"Sunday's Quilt" Quilt Stats

Front Fabric: (The fabulous) Terra Australis supplied by Craft Project, Hanky Linen supplied by Craft Project and Grey Shot Cotton

Backing Fabric: Zen Chic Sphere Dots

Binding: Zen Chic Sphere Crossing

Quilting:  Straight line quilting by me

Size: 55" x 60"

Sx

Linking up with
Sew Cute Tuesday Blossom Heart Quilts
Fabric Tuesday at Quiltstory
Lets Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
TGIFF
Crazy Mom Quilts

Sunday Stash - Art Gallery - Luxe in Bloom

Hello Art Gallery and welcome to my humble abode ...

Clockwise from top left: Diamante Shine, Marquise Azure, Boucherouite Silver, Petite Petalie Lapis and Cascade Agate (middle)

Now that I have you here, what shall I do with you?  (um, like a zillion things!!!)

I'm just a BIT excited to have this loveliness in my home!

Sx

Linking up with:  Sunday Stash at Molli Sparkles

Triangle-Quilt-Along

These fabrics just shouldn't be in a quilt together ...

... But put them with a few friends and look what blossoms!

I'm hoping my triangle piecing skills blossom with the Sassy Quilter and all the others joining the Triangle-Quilt-Along.  As Mikhael Paskalev so aptly serenades "To fall is connected to try".

Now the tricky part starts .. sewing them together .. eek!

Sx

Me or the Machine?

I sat down to do some straight line quilting last night and, to be honest, I had been dreading it.  You would think that straight lines would be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy ... but not for me.

My last attempt for a lap sized quilt had me in tears. I did a few lines, unpicked it, tried again, unpicked it, tried again, then threw it on the floor and stomped away from the sewing machine like a two year throwing a (spectacular) tantrum.

Patty over, I hit Google, I hit Blogs, I hit Youtube and I squeezed every last drop of advice from my Monday night quilting group to find out all the tricks of the straight-line quilting trade.

I was basting right
I was using the same weight/value 100% cotton for both the top and bottom of the quilt sandwich
I was using a walking foot on my machine
I was supporting the quilt so the machine wasn't having to pull the quilt
I was using good quality thread
I'd had a glass of wine 

But still I got results like this ...

Front quilting horror

Back quilting horror

Can you see why I cried?  Such lovely Aneela Hoey fabric and it was being butchered.

Then came my new machine.  Bought primarily because I wanted to learn FMQ.  I've been having fun doing that, but even better, I've discovered that I can straight-line quilt on this baby.  It's quick, it's flat and it's all kinds of magnificent!

I'm aware of the old saying the a good tradesman never blames his/her tools ... but just look at the difference!  

I'm still doing everything the same.  Basting-wise, fabric-wise, thread-wise, wine-wise.

So whilst I'd like to take all the credit, I really do think it's the machine.

I think a new sewing machine cover is in order - he deserves a special treat :)

Sx

Linking up with:

I Quilt over at Pretty Bobbins