Check out my new toy!

Woohoo!  I am so excited to share my new plaything with you, isn't she beautiful?

Feel a little like I'm betraying an old friend to say that I have now replaced my trusty Toyota but I am so ecstatic to have upgraded (and hope the Toyota will forgive me).  I now own a quarter inch foot (can you believe it?!  Actually I now have 10 feet to learn how and when to use - I didn't know so many existed!

Random thought, do people name their sewing machines like some people name their cars?  (My first car was called Mabel.)  If your sewing machine has a name, do share.

A little blog Oscar

'Tis the season of awards and I've just been blessed with my own little blogging Oscar from the wonderfully talented, and truly lovely Judith of Rags to Bags.  In the vein of acceptance speeches worldwide I'd like to thank Judith my friend, my mentor and my inspiration for making me the quilter I am today!

The Liebster Blog award was designed to help raise the profile of new/lesser known blogs, I guess to help us share all the fabulous creative inspiration that's out there!  So, as Liebster Blog is an award which you pass on to others, here are my nominees:

North Star Quilting
Crafting at Heart
Fresh Lemons Quilting - this one probably breaks the rules and has more followers than is allowed, but I love the bright crisp piecing by Faith and also it's really hard to find folks with less than 50 followers.

All 3 are recent discoveries which I am watching with interest for future posts and inspiration - I wish them well with their blogging and creativity.

The rules of Liebster Blog are here if you are interested:
1) If you are tagged, and you want to accept, then create a post on your blog and add the leibster blog pic.
2) Link back to the person who gave you the award and say if you accept. 
3) Choose 3-5 of your favourite blogs to tag, link these in your post too and tell the lucky people they have been tagged.


The aim of this award is to bring unknown good blogs to light, (less than 50 Followers is ideal), therefore, please don't tag somebody with 3000 followers!

Ta da! Quilt no 3 complete!

Well, here it is folks - quilt no 3 all done and dusted (and ahead of schedule).

Quillow unfolded as a quilt.

All neatly folded up as the Quillow

I did so love the Denyse Schmidt fabrics - they were gorgeous to work with and so calming.  I know that this particular pattern doesn't showcase some of the larger designs of the Greenfield Hills range in the same way as another type of piecing might have but I like how the quite traditional look of the fabrics has been altered by the chopping and re-arranging of the disappearing 9-patch.  Still finding it hard to think that I will have to part with this quillow (it does have a cushion pocket sewn into the back) at Easter because I love the colours so much, but hopefully so will the recipient.

Close up of Greenfield Hills fabrics

 I love the effect of this Ramble fabric -
looks almost free-machine quilted!

Now I'm off to tend to my poor perforated fingertips - is there such a thing as an all over hand thimble?

Lovely Left Overs

Take a wee look and see what I've been up to at my class -

Left-overs looking lovely!

Lining prepared with a little inner pocket added

It's not quite finished but it's getting there.  The 9 patches that make up the body of the bag are made from left-overs of old curtain weight fabrics I used for cushion backing and recovering my dining chairs some time ago.  Added to a little bit of aubergine corduroy to give the bag some durability and some bargain tub polyester satin lining it's starting to look good.

There has been something unexpectedly pleasurable in using up left-over scraps to create something new and ready to be loved.   Hats off to those of you who recycle scraps all the time because it really does require some new skill levels working with varying materials. I have to admit that while I loved the individual fabrics I used I could have lived without all that fraying and stretching!  Still a new approach for me, and worth a little huffing and puffing and millions of fraying threads, don't you think?

Hoping to finish off and put my bag to good use at the end of next week's class.  Hopefully I'll get a better picture when it's all put together and the handles are added.  Now all I need is hubby to book a little night away so I can pack it up and show it off! (Okay ...  so I might just have to make do with filling it full of materials for the next project and using it as a class carry-all, but a girl can wish, can't she?!)

Giveaway Success!

Can't believe I was the winner of the Swoon giveaway from Mandy at Simply Solids!  I've never won anything before so this is a real treat.  Thanks to Mandy for the opportunity to get hold of some of this new line (exclusively available from Simply Solids in UK) for free.  I will be almost ready to ambush our postman this week waiting for these to arrive!

Sherbet Pips Giveaway - Don't Miss It!

Hey Folks, Lynne over at Lily's Quilts has had her fun Hexagon Park Quilt featured on Moda Bake Shop today and has a whole layer cake of Moda Sherbet Pips fabric to giveaway - for FREE!

Check out her blog and leave a comment to enter (or don't and increase the chances for the rest of us - haha).   Here's a pic of the Sherbet Pips just to tempt you.

You have until Sun 27th Feb.

Could it be I'm falling in love?

Uh oh, I think I may be falling in love...

I have been piecing a quillow with the Denyse Schmidt Greenfield Hills fabrics I ordered recently and I had no idea just how much I would love it.  I have panicked at every fabric choice - are these going to look too traditional? are they too dark? which sashing white, cream or navy?  But now that the top piecing is complete I adore it.  Everything is just as I would want it to be. Problem is, this quillow's not for me so I have to give it away (gentle sob).

When I made my own quillow I was on a mission to break out of my fabric comfort zone which I think I can say I managed successfully.  Hence the purple and green creation and its recent left-over cousins.  This quilt top, however, has reminded me of all the reasons I love the fabrics I would usually choose.  I am truly going to find it hard to part with this one.

Here's the thirteenth block which will become the cushion front part of the quillow eventually.

Now I will let you in on one of my secrets folks - I am not a fan of the quilting part of making quilts.  I am hoping this will improve with experience.  After all, I have only ever made two quilts before and to say I still have a way to go in gaining confidence handling all that bulk through my little sewing machine is a bit of an understatement.  So, today I am in love but perhaps when I am half way through the quilting  I will have sufficiently fallen out of love enough to be able to give this quilt away to its intended recipient!

Now I need to try and get some more of 'The Ramble' fabric which I used for the outer border - I have another project in mind which it would be perfect for.  Wonder if this will be available in UK soon?

Gift Voucher Wrapping

I have a gift voucher to give as a teenage birthday pressie and hated the thought of handing over just a little piece of 3" x 2" plastic.  However, when all the money has gone into the gift voucher what do you do?  Make a little gift-wrapping purse, that's what!  Thanks to a couple of coin purse tutorials and a wee adaptation or two, I made this little purse from some left over charm squares, scrap wadding, a zip and a D-ring.

In all honesty, there are a few things I would alter about the making of this next time around but I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt. And, it certainly improves the look of the gift voucher.

Love Ties

It is purely coincidental that these hearts are appearing at this particularly seasonal time.  In fact it's more a case of lengthy delay on my part in getting this project moving.  But here it is - a little family of hearts, each one different and unique as we are, but bound together by love and family ties (or beautiful ribbons in this case).

Swoon Fabric Giveaway

Great giveaway happening by Mandy of Simply Solids  - check out her blog for details of a chance to win a bundle of 12 fat quarters of Swoon by Melissa Averinos.

As my hubby would say "If you're not in, you can't win!"  Winner will be announced Fri 11 Feb.

Sneak Peek

A little preview of the disappearing 9 patch blocks for the quillow in progress ....

Cosy Cushion Complete

Ta-da!  All quilted, zipped and sewn up.  I'm delighted with how my floor cushion turned out - though I think it's too nice to ever be anywhere near the floor.

Definitely a cushion to snuggle up to!

Keep an eye on the Rags to Bags blog for pics of the other cushions made at the class appearing soon - they were all so beautiful - worth a few minutes peeking, I'd say.