I'm Serena of SewGiving - former Tomboy who now embraces pink and sewing thanks to my girls and ever patient husband - I'm also an avid over user of "..." You'll get used to it ...
This is our little family ... Fine English Fellow meets Mining Town Metal-Head ... two miss pinks later, he's finally scrubbing me up "good and proper-like". Ha! I may, or may not, have the odd Metallica t-shirt still lurking in my wardrobe ...
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| I think my eldest (bottom-right) was still saying "cheese" when this photo was taken! |
... this is Master Monty. He's absolutely no help around the house, but we love him dearly. Can you believe we got him from the pound? Who would give up this white ball of fluff??
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| Every cat sleeps like this right? |
We live in the lovely city of Perth, Western Australia, famous for: Black Swans, being the most isolated city in the world and the second sunniest city in the world. Who's the first you ask? Honolulu, but they're just showing off.
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| City skyline, black swans, map of where Perth is, my favourite Perth Beach called Cottesloe |
Like a lot of quilters, I started quilting not long after the arrival of our first daughter. I liked the idea of quilting being a "useful" hobby (justification clause!). Also, one that I can exercise my grey matter with on both sides - maths - form and order, colour - creativity.
Here's some of my recent finishes ...
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| "I Heart " |
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| "Rainbow Dolls Quilt" |
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| Echo Beach |
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| "Deer Pillow" |
All of my recent finishes can be found by clicking on the Sew Given tab at the top.
As you can see from the Deer Pillow I love a bit of paper piecing. I recently used a paper pieced block for a Round Robin I've joined through meeting other bloggers on this Hop. We've formed a small group called Possum Magic and have each made a centre for our quilts-to-be. We will all take turns adding a border to each others quilts.
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| My Possum Magic centre block |
It will take a year to get my quilt back ... but it will be oh. so. worth. it! There's a tab at the top for Possum Magic too!
Here are the projects I have coming up ...
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| Drift Quilt ... seems the current favourite WIP |
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| Frog-tastic Quilt for my youngest daughter |
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| Almost ready to put this Houndstooth Quilt together! promises, promises ... |
And of course my Farmer's Wife is a major work in progress. I'm hand piecing all 111 blocks ...
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| Some of the finished blocks |
Yes, I could be a little crazy. The Farmer's Wife tab will show you just how crazy!
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| This could take a while ... |
So, if you're happy to take advice from a
Blogging Tip - Be a joiner-in-er-er (that's a word). Put your hand up for some pattern testing. I have, and I've learned a lot from it AND met some really lovely quilters/bloggers/designers from doing so!
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| Pattern Testing the Hanami Top for Straighgrain |
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| Pattern Testing for Quiet Play |
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| Pattern Testing for The Elven Garden ... soon to be released Block Flower Quilt |
Quilting Tip - Read up on the difference between pressing and ironing, it will make a big difference to your finished block ... I found this post helpful.
Random facts about me ... well ...
Dislikes - Jelly! The way it wobbles in my mouth throws me off balance.
Likes - Dad jokes ... you know ... "a dyslexic man walks into a bra" ... ha, ha, keep them coming! What's your favourite Dad joke?
I hope to see you around here soon or on Instagram, I'm @sewgiving ... but in the meantime, please pop over and visit my fellow New Quilter Bloggers ... go on, you're on the home stretch!
Elli @ Lovelli Quilts
Marcie @ Marcie's Quilt Therapy
Sharon @ Motherdragon's Musings
Cynthia @ Cynthia's Creating Ark
Jane @ Jersey Jane Quilts
Sally @ Wonky Patchwork
Bee @ Pink Almond Quilt
Debbie @ Quilting Makes My Heart Sing
Leanne @ Devoted Quilter
Karen @ Capitola Quilter
Serena xx
Aww look at that fluffy belly! I love cat bellies. Whenever my cats curl up like that I have to go annoy them and give them a rub. If they can jump on me while I'm in bed and annoy me it's only fair I wake them up for soft, cuddly pats, right?!
ReplyDeleteYour Farmer's Wife is looking so colourful! I don't think I have the patience for one (The Tula City Sampler was hard enough and those are machine pieced...).
I try so hard to PRESS but sometimes i find myself ironing. I can't help it :(
Your cat looks like the poster child for a blissful life. The fabrics you chose for your deer pillow were actually a compelling reason for me to buy the patterns. I think it's completely adorable.
ReplyDeleteWonderful family! So nice to meet you.
ReplyDeletei love the pictures of Perth, it looks like a beautiful city!! You make beautiful quilts and always seem to find a way to put a special Serena spin on them!
ReplyDeleteHow could Honolulu have more sunshine than us!? The cheek of the place!
ReplyDeleteThat is one very handsome cat, and having met your girls I can objectively state that - as cute as they are in the photo - they are even cuter in real life when their little personalities get to shine.
I love all of your projects, but especially the colours you have chosen for your Farmer's Wife. Choosing fabrics you like is so important for slow projects.
I am a complete disaster when it comes to ironing and pressing, so I am off to read that link. I can also never remember jokes, no matter how hard I laugh when I am told them.
Look at your handsome husband! :) Sorry we are supposed to look at your crafts, right. Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteLove your post! Monty is gorgeous - seriously how could anyone resist that ball of fluff. Still love that deer cushion! Sorry no help with Dad jokes, I forget them as soon as I've laughed at them too!
ReplyDeleteglad to get to know you a bit better, and wow I really didnt know about the pressing or ironing thing, feeling totally dumb now, haha
ReplyDeleteand for dad jokes, I didnt even know those are out there, never heard one lol
If I were you living in such beautiful place, I'll go swimming in the sea every day.
ReplyDeleteYour did many fantastic quilts. I can't wait to see the finished Farmer's Wife.
What a beautiful family photo. I love the pictures of Perth,we haven't visited Perth yet but we will.I am hand piecing the The Farmers Wife also, only have 6 more block to go but I am part of a group that has been meeting once a month for the last 2 1/2 years.
ReplyDeleteLove your family photo!! Dig out that Metalica t-shirt!! LOL You have a lot going on creatively and I just adore your daughter's face in the Drift Quilt pic :D
ReplyDeleteI admire your ambition to do a FW and hand pieced too no less! Your color choices are fab :)
Great post, and I always love pics of your work!
ReplyDeletei love all your projects! especially the deer pillow. so cute!! :)
ReplyDeleteYay for tomboys! I love quilting for the same reasons you list, it really does scratch both sides of my brain (yay for creativity and quilty maths)! I was trying to introduce some girlfriends to the hobby and made the mistake of being honest of why I love quilting and I know I scared them away when I said "math". Oh well! So glad to get to know you better and yay for your patience and waiting for this last week in the blog hop. I look forward to seeing your WiPs progress; especially the Round Robin - that is going to be so much fun!
ReplyDeleteYour deer pillow is adorable - is there pattern somewhere - I have a little girl in my life that I think would appreciate it (or at least her mother would!) :)
ReplyDeleteThank you very much … the deer pillow is a favourite in our house. :) I don’t have a pattern for the whole pillow but you can download the paper pieced deer pattern from Kristy of Quiet Play’s craftsy store. Here’s the link http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/other/woodland-deer-paper-pieced-pattern/82337. Let me know if you make it, I’d love to see your version :)
DeleteOh my! Where to begin? Your quilts are all amazing and those beach pictures are stunning. I love the picture of your cat too! I agree about joining in with things...that's how we get to know other quilt bloggers and build the friendships we started blogging for.
ReplyDeleteHi there, fellow Blog Hop host! You have some lovely quilts (and blocks, and pillows and...) displayed here. I always find it fun when another blogger is making the same project as me - such as your flying geese in a circle and the houndstooth quilt. And I love the rainbow triangle doll quilt!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind comment on my blog. You make such beautiful quilts. I love your houndstooth quilt.
ReplyDeleteI also love the quilty math and the quilty creativity. Your girls are adorable and so lucky to have you.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet a fellow metal head on the blog hop! I love your deer pillow! The black swans are gorgeous! The Drift quilt is going to be amazing! Has it been difficult so far?
ReplyDeleteLove all of your projects, I can't imagine doing 111 hand pieced blocks. I look forward to seeing your progress.
ReplyDeleteLove these projects especially that hand quilted farmer's wife you're so ambitious! I think visiting you might now be a dream vacation, it looks so pretty there!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love your projects and writing style :) I think your farmer's wife quilt is perfect. Nothing better than a long term handwork project. I love corny jokes too...Like "what's a pirates favorite letter?" (then people answer R - usually pronounced ARRRRRR), and you say "you'd think it be, but tis the C"...get it?
ReplyDeleteI've been telling my husband I want to move to Australia for years! You may be in the perfect city that I imagined in my head!
ReplyDeleteLove your quilting and your ability to do wide varieties of it as well!
Great to learn more about you! Wonderful projects, I especially love the deer pillow.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm the caboose on the hop since I'm the last of the last, ha ha. Really nice post and your two miss pinks are adorable. My houndstooth hounded me as a WIP for an eternity and once I actually put the darn thing together it went so fast. Love your projects
ReplyDeleteYou're not new to me but I don't think I've met Master Monty before, what a lovely white fluffball is he!! It great to see so many of your quilts too!
ReplyDeleteThat is a very fluffy cat. I love your houndstooth quilt top. Being a joiner is the best quilting/blogging tip! I have learned so much, and have had a lot of fun by being a joiner. Sewing can feel like a solo activity, but joining in other groups, bees, blog hops, makes it very social, and a lot more fun. Nice to learn a little more about you!
ReplyDeleteMy ball of fur sleeps the same as your ball of fur - very elegant creatures they are.
ReplyDeleteAnd I used to be a metalhead too, still have a soft spot for it.
Lovely to get to know you better.
What a lovely showcase of your creations. I've never seen a houndstooth quilt. It looks amazing. Your girls look lovely too. Please pass that on to them. I'm sure they'll grow up to be creative too.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love Australia! Though I only got to see the east coast. How lucky you are!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute little fur ball, and your quilting is lovely. Visiting from the Blog Hop! Carole @ From My Carolina Home
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post!! I love the heart quilt!
ReplyDeleteGreat to meet you! Perth looks really beautiful, how lucky you are
ReplyDeleteYay for tomboys indeed! I never really thought about quilting in terms of exercising both sides of my gray matter--but what a true and perfect fact! Perhaps that is why I love quilting so much! I'm a secret (or not so secret) math geek, but also totally love color and aesthetic. Great to meet you, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your creations!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely family you have! I adore your quilts and blocks too. That deer pillow is too cute!
ReplyDeleteYour quilts are wonderful, but more than anything, I want to shove my face in that white cat belly. Mind you, if he's anything like my white cat, this is perhaps not the wisest course of action.
ReplyDeleteCarmit
www.quiltingrainbows.com
hello and nice to meet you! You've got a great eye for colour and design, some lovely projects!
ReplyDeleteI've had a crazy busy week or two so am only now getting round to visiting on the blog hop. Beautiful quilts, love the rainbow one and I had to go and look for more photos of your Echo Beach one - that photo left me wanting more! Great colours and mixture of fabric in it. And I'm not a big paper piecing fan (slight lack of patience I think) but your deer cushion is gorgeous, and might definitely tempt me sometime. Lovely family photo too, your girls look so like you.
ReplyDeleteWoefully behind on visiting you all on this last round, but glad to finally pop over, Serena. I love the colors you work with - the Possum Magic center is fabulous, and the pp deer and Drift quilt are so pleasing. Lovely work!
ReplyDeleteWOW another quilter that listens to Metallica? Thought I was the only one-LOL
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! You summed up my two loves about quilting, the Maths, form and pattern, and the colour choice, creativity. There's nothing wrong with Metallica tshirts! I live near Adelaide.
ReplyDeleteHi Serena! Isn't paper piecing addictive? I absolutely agree with you about pattern testing - I started paper piecing that way, actually. I played with cars as a kid and not dolls, so it's been interesting having a girly daughter who loves purple and princesses (she's 5). Your farmer's wife progress is impressive - I've been enjoying watching all the variety that's out there on IG and whatnot. Also, happiest cat ever! You must be doing something right! ;)
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