doll quilt ♥

did you hear me squealing ?

oh my goodness - my ♥ little ♥ doll ♥ quilt ♥ arrived today - and it is just so GORGEOUS !

so what do you think - am I just the luckiest girl !

my secret partner Karen made such a fantastic little quilt - such gorgeous colours and the quilting is fabulous - it is just amazing - those log cabin strips are just over 1/4 " wide !  the quilt is       12 1/2" square and the fabric is moda crossweaves.

the back shows the great quilting and the label is pieced flying geese - genius :)

Karen also sent some wonderful extras - absolutely fabulous fat quarters - pink of course ♥

there's a pezzy pink, little pink ladybugs, some bright pink buttons, and gorgeous pink text fabric - as Karen said in her note she's been checking my blog getting to know me so she's certainly picked up my love of pink :)  and it was all wrapped up in pink polka dot paper and tied with a gorgeous pink ribbon ♥

so I'll definitely be putting my name down for the next doll quilt swap and hope you will join in too :)

orchids and wonky trees

it finally stopped raining today - yes, I'm in sunny queensland and its been raining on and off since last Friday and yesterday it rained so much I couldn't take pippi for a walk !

so this morning I thought I'd take a few photos of the gorgeous orchids in my dad's garden to share with you - they are such beautiful flowers and they last for ages as well !

not sure what they're called but I'm sure they each have a name!  see the beautiful blue sky finally showing :)

 

and this one my dad brought inside before he left so that I could enjoy it close up - love the colours ♥

I've been making progress on the wonky trees - just need to get some background fabric to suit (these fabrics are just for photo purposes !) and I'm going to try machine applique - fingers crossed.

 

I managed to find enough fabrics out of the scraps I brought with me to do the trees but not enough for the backgrounds - didn't realise how much I'd miss having my stash close by !

and I'm nearly finished the minis I'm making for the table topper blog hop which started this week - my day is next Monday 23 April so hope you can join me then :)

feather your nest

I know I've got quite a few other projects that need to be done but I can't help myself ! in the past week I've read on a few blogs about feather your nest which is a sew-along/contest to make items for your home being held over at Stumbles and Stitches.

During April there are guest posts and tutorials to make items especially for your home - there are requirements involved and one of them is that you have to use repurposed or upcycled material in your project.  Although the sew-along started on 2 April sign ups are open until 22 April so I figured I'd think about it.

Well, today I went to get some groceries and thought I'd just pop into the local charity thrift shop to see if I could find anything to use and found this fabulous top in lime green and 100% cotton so I'm signing up :)

and while I was at the shop I also found this wooden toast holder which will make a great small ruler holder - just what I need ...

and I also found this piece of carlton ware - apple blossom butter dish ♥ I'm hoping a little magnet will fit on the bottom so I can use it as a pin dish

 

now I just have to figure out what feather your nest project I'm going to make and I have just over a week to get it done - eeek !

Spring is in the Air blog hop

so Madame Samm is at it again with another blog hop :)  this time we are sharing mini quilts to be used as table toppers - you can use a cute little frame to display the mini quilts on a table - the blog hop will visit heaps of fabulous bloggers over the next week and a half - are you ready !

it will be so much fun to catch up with these ladies as some of them took part in the ghastlies blog hop that Madame Samm organised last year :)

the schedule and blog links are below - my day is Monday 23 April so I'll see you then !

Monday April 16th
Jacque
Lesley

Sharon
Dawnmarie

Tuesday April 17th
Kris
Marcia
Jenny
Sheila
Josie

Wednesday April 18th
Vickie

Deonn
Mrs Pickles
Sharon
Piece Peace 

Thursday April 19th
Leslie

Jennifer

Karen
Katherine

Friday April 20th
Marlene
Charlotte
Leslie
Darlene
Jane
Michelle
Cherry

Monday April 23rd
Christine 

Carol
Patti
Wendy
leanne - that's me !
Elaine
Judy

Tuesday  April 24th
Jennifer
Roxanne
Syd
Selina
Connie
Patti
Jane

Wednesday April 25th
Shanna
Mary
Thearica
Marianna
Kelly
Marnie
Pauline
Madame Samm

the quilter's horoscope

I stumbled across this link to the quilter's horoscope a while ago and thought about it the other day so went searching and found the link again - and knew I had to do a post to share it as I think its me to a "t" (lol) although I have actually finished some projects !

its done by Pauline Rogers and "... is a humourous compilation of character traits of quilters according to their zodiac signs - compiled by a quilting tutor with more than twenty years experience teaching patchwork and quilting but zero years writing horoscopes" so go and check out your sign and see if it fits:)

this is the entry for the star sign Gemini - May 21 to June 21

If Gemini has been fortunate enough to discover a tutor that has guided their enthusiasm, their quilts will be imaginative and versatile. If they are self-taught quilters they will have a treasure trove of books, magazines, quilting supplies and every innovation related to quilting but they probably do not have a single finished quilt. This won’t bother them though as they will convince everyone, including themselves, that this was always their plan. Being youthful they love funky projects that use bright fabrics and dazzling threads; being romantic they love traditional quilts made with soft pastels and florals; being whimsical they love the country theme and flannels; being Gemini they love it all! They are very good with words and will likely go on to author books as experts on patchwork and quilting – having never finished a single project.

Just a little fun for Sunday :)

and here's another little sneak peak of the projects I'm working on for the blog hop which starts Monday (US time) - I'll be putting up the schedule tomorrow.

giving something back - siblings together

This month for the care at do.good stitches bee, Annabella has asked for japanese x and + blocks, using a tutorial by Amy at badskirt.

Annabella plans to make some quilts to donate to siblings together, a charity which brings together siblings separated by the care system - Lynne from Lily's Quilts has put out the call for quilts to be donated for children attending a holiday camp in July so if you want to get involved, the button will take you to the post on Lynne's blog with all the information.

I'm going to do a few blocks so that Annabella might be able to get at least two quilts done.

hi from queensland

so here I am in Queensland on holidays for the next seven weeks - I arrived last Saturday and I've had a busy week with mum and dad - I'm here to look after their house while they go on a cruise for five weeks - they left this morning so I'm finally able to get back online and also get some serious sewing done.

I've given my little camera to mum to take on the cruise and so made a cute and simple case for it yesterday.

 

In mum's sewing room I discovered some little closures that were just perfect as they had red tops - they are really easy to do and mum said I could take them with me so I'll be using them again for sure...not quite sure what they're called but they're kind of like press studs without the need to sew !

 

I'm catching up with blogs and emails today so tomorrow I can start on some sewing - hope the next five weeks go slowly so I can get heaps done :)

hope you have a great weekend :)

happy easter

I hope you are having a wonderful Easter with those you love...

 

 

I'm in Queensland catching up with my family - its the first time we've got together at Easter for quite a few years.

doll quilt swap 12

my little doll quilt for the 2012 doll quilt swap is finished and was posted on Monday to its home in the USA - I really hope my partner likes it - not sure which is the most stressful - making something for someone you don't know or wondering if they will like the finished quilt :)

I wasn't quite sure how to quilt it and as my old machine doesn't do free motion quilting I was limited to straight line quilting !

I decided to do the inside of each block and then a kind of maze in the middle of the churn dashes - I don't think I realised just how much the quilting would stand out but I really love the maze quilting - I did it in grey thread and the outline quilting in pink !

Anyway ... its done, its posted, and I just have to cross my fingers that my secret partner is happy !

march finishes

well - another month over and a new one beginning :)

I've done quite a few blocks again but as I'm in a few swaps and bees that's to be expected - the one big finish for March was the mini quilt for dqs12 which is on its way to its new owner in the USA.

I joined the New York Beauty quilt along on flickr at the beginning of March but I've only got one block done so far - hopefully I'll catch up with that this month.

I also plan to get some actual quilts done in the next few months so stay tuned !!

Linking up to Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day