Christmas Stars finally finished!

 

For those of you who happen to visit in search of some crafty news, I have finally finished my version of the Audrey & Maude Christmas Baubles quilt! This has been a work in progress for nearly two years and has been my handwork project for the past 18 months. The largest quilt I've made yet, it's entirely handquilted in perle cotton in a wavy pattern that I happily made up as I went along.

The quilt hung on the wall last Christmas (where the myriad safety pins looked like extra decoration) and will again grace the walls but this time finished! (And you know it's not long till Christmas when the department stores start setting up the Santa photo stands!) Thanks again to Helen, who gifted me the pattern a couple of years ago - I got there in the end!

I have really enjoyed seeing Christmas Stars evolve over time and am so pleased I stuck with it although at times all that handquilting seemed tedious and never-ending. Of course now I need a new project to keep my knees warm at night...and it's ready and waiting all sandwiched and basted. I'll show you a sneak peek in my next post.

Hopefully it won't be two months between now and the next post - I am counting down the weeks until I change jobs, which will happen in mid-December (all going to plan) - and I hope to be doing a little more crafty goodness than I've managed over the past two years.

Sew It Together is coming to Canberra!

How very exciting. Sew It Together is coming to Canberra from 8-10 June 2012. I was all lined up to go to Sydney last year but had to pull out at the last minute due to work travel commitments. This year is shaping up to be as stupidly busy as last year, but how could I not go since the lovely ladies, including organiser Sheridan Powell, are coming to Canberra? I have been blogging/commenting/facebooking/twittering with some of them for around four years - I am not going to pass up the opportunity to meet them and do some crafting with them.

The lovely Cass is once again organising a sample swap - the cause of great excitement at each year's event I understand! I have signed up for the swap and am already planning what to make.

Are you coming to SIT Canberra? If so, I hope you bring your winter woollies - it's going to be freezing, but what better motivation than to knit yourself a new scarf and some gloves? Or a make a lap quilt? You could handquilt it while we're chatting over a cup of tea!

I'm not sure what craft I'll bring with me - it will either be some handquilting or some knitting. It's so nice to be crafting again :)

Here's what I look like so you'll know me if you see me! (There's the skirt I made in 2010! Brooch was purchased from Lupin on Etsy)

All about food

It seems as though it's all about food around here lately! I was lucky again and won a copy of Bake by TV cook Rachel Allen (who I'd not heard of before but you all know how much I love to BAKE!) from Frills in the Hills (Liss), who was giving away three copies.

I collected mine from the post office yesterday and before I even finished flicking through the pages, had baked the chocolate chip version of the Banana Bread (with a little help from Tristan). The house is now smelling totally divine and I now have a whole recipe book full of new yummy things to try. Thanks again Liss.In crafty news, I'm hoping my PIF gifts arrive at their destinations soon - I sent them registered post, having learned from my last disaster (and no, it - missing quilt, see previous post - still hasn't turned up). I also finished piecing the top for my FIL's quilt - I can't show a picture, as he reads Facebook and this post will appear there automatically. If you follow me on Flickr, you can see a picture of it there.

Winnings!

I hardly ever win anything on blog giveaways, but I was stoked to have two recently!

First off, was a fabric giveaway at Emma's place. She sent me some gorgeous fabric left over from the most incredible custom quilt she made.

Then I won a cute skirt pattern from OzMaterial Girls - the City Girl Skirt pattern. I really want to make some summer skirts for myself, so here's my chance!

I also received my Pay It Forward gift from Mands - a cute owl appliqued shopping bag and a very cute notebook - all for my inventions, featuring Bert & Ernie! Of course Romily has claimed both items for herself! Thanks Mands!Thanks everyone for being such generous, wonderful, crafty folk!

As for me, very little in the way of sewing going on - but I did do some cutting in preparation for making my PIF gifts. Soon! I also ordered some fabric for a hush-hush Christmas present I'm making for my FIL. Can't wait to get started on that project - it's going to be an Oh Fransson! quilt. I love her work!

While there has not been any sewing, there has been a little bit of baking :) I discovered, via Corrie from Retromummy, a fab blogger Liss, who has the most amazing, droolworthy recipes on her blog, Frills in the Hills. Go check her out - you won't be sorry! This was the lemon delicious I made on Sunday morning to take to a lunch we were invited to - it was a big hit! (I made a double batch - nom nom nom!)

Poor, neglected blog!

This poor little blog, abandoned but not forgotten. Life just keeps getting in the way of crafting and blogging. And I am sorry I have been unable to come visiting with my blogging buddies. My research/studies are taking up a lot of my time, and, in what little free time I have, I am usually too tired from work and looking after kids to pull out the sewing machine/quilting tools.
I have been doing quite a bit of handquilting on Tristan's Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt, which I started way back before he was born, but there's not a lot to show for it (above picture is of the finished top, pre-machine quilting - it looks a bit different now - will post a photo when it's done). We went to Bendigo for Easter and I spent the evenings stitching away (how lovely). I showed the quilt in progress to Tristan, whose reaction was: 'wowowow!' - I think he likes it! He loves the book and is constantly bringing it to me saying: 'Mummy. Story. Cat-pillar. Story.' He's already a man who knows what he wants!

Tristan is 19 months old already. As I keep saying, they grow so fast. Rom will be five in August and is loving preschool. She will definitely be ready for school next year.

Merry Christmas

From my mum's computer in Melbourne, I wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010. We head to Tasmania on Christmas night for a week of soul-replenishing relaxation before I return to work (four days a week) on 11 Jan. See you on the flip side!

A big day out

The Christmas rush is well and truly here, although none of the things we did today actually qualify as Christmas-related!

Carl took Rom to her swimming lesson this morning, brought her home for lunch and a nap before heading out with her again to a fifth birthday party. The theme was 'princess or pirate' and, despite my best persuasive efforts, Romily decided that she'd like to go as a princess (naturally). She was happy to wear her new skirt, as well as the applique tee I finished last night. And the tiara we bought for her at Angelina Ballerina. She looked very sweet. Like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!The birthday girl was very pleased to receive the matching set, as was her mum, who told Carl that if I ever open a shop she'll be my best customer! If only :)

Meanwhile, Tristan and I headed out this morning for a family fun day in Queanbeyan, ostensibly to meet up with Xena and her family, who made the long trip down from the Blue Mountains for a fun day out in the sun. The venue, Queanbeyan Park, was perfect for that - there were kids rides, face painting, a petting zoo and lots of other things - all for free. It was lovely in the park, the grass was lush and green and some beautiful big trees provided lots of shade for the kids. Tristan had a wonderful time wandering around here and there. He even got to have a look inside the cabin of the fire truck that was there. He's into trucks and cars already!I even let him 'drive' my car when I'm unpacking it at the end of an outing. He loves it. Such a boy.

Pay it forward slot open over at Miss Monny

The lovely Monika, who signed up as one of my Pay It Forward recipients has some slots open in hers if you're interested: link.

Doll quilt revealed!

Now that it's been safely received and opened by Helen, I can now reveal the mini quilt I made for the EBDQS3 swap, 'Tequila Sunhouse'. (Measures approx 17" x 20")

Helen recently participated in a block swap where she asked the other swappers to make a 'wonky house' block, based on her tutorial, which was a variation of Lazy Gal Tonya's ace tutorial. I thought this was a good jumping off point for my quilt - she now has a wallhanging to go with her yet to be made quilt.
Helen also loves brights, especially orange and pink. I had the tiniest piece of the fab orange, yellow, pink and gold striped fabric in my stash and that was the first fabric I grabbed for this quilt, I also had a largish piece of the graduated yellow through red fabric, which I thought would complement the roof nicely. I had lots of fun making the quilt and when it came to the quilting I took my inspiration from some table runners I'd seen made by The Silly Boodilly (Victoria). It was perfect for this little quilt, as it gives the house great texture - almost like corrugated iron, which is a common roofing material in Australia - especially for wonky old joints! Here's another shot of the back - I used corner patches for the hanging pockets - a very simple and effective way of doing it.Anyway, I hope Helen likes the mini. I enjoyed making it for her and there might even be some more wonky houses in my future :)

* * *

And here is the sweet little mini made for me by Cass. Her first attempt at hexagons (I am yet to give them a go - they scare me for some reason) - she's very cleverly used some cheater patchwork fabric to great effect. Check out the backing - at first glance I thought it was pieced. What a great idea to add some interest to the backing! She also sewed on two hanging pockets - very thoughtful of her.Thanks Cass!

EBDQS3 swap quilt sneak peek

Now that it's made its way safely to Western Australia, I can post a sneak peek of the quilt I've made for the EBDQS3. I couldn't post it before, because I thought the colours would be a dead giveaway. But, as Helen now knows who it's from, I think it's okay to show you a tiny bit of the front and a shot of the back.The big reveal is on 7 November, so stay tuned. Mine hasn't arrived yet and I'm busting a gut to know who's making mine!

It's time to Pay It Forward

I am participating in some 'pay it forward' fun over at http://mandsnest.blogspot.com/ and am continuing the fun here. I have three spots to fill for peeps who want to join in too. I will make a handmade gift for the first 3 interested people. I have 365 days to do it in…What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well: you must have a blog and before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going.(Just cut and paste this one if you like, changing 'http://mandsnest.blogspot.com/' to 'http://waterfallcascade.blogspot.com/' which I did!) Looking forward to this :)

Edited: thanks for playing ladies, we are now full!

And the winner is...

...Nicolette!

I don't tell many people this, because it was sarcastic, but my nickname at primary school was 'Dictionary'. Because I knew so many words and because when I didn't understand a word I'd look it up to learn. The girl who started the nickname thought that knowing so many words was daggy, hence the nickname. I have never agreed - I don't think you can know enough words! So, Nicolette's entry for the Don't Look Now giveaway really appealed to me and also gave me a chuckle. Nicolette, congratulations and please email me your postal address and Kellie's pattern will be on its way.

The dictionary says: applique is a small addition to a standard circuit to enable it to perform additional functions or provide additional features... duh? They obviously never heard of fabric applique. To me it’s a wonderful way to make a quilt or cushion something completely your own, by taking objects from every day life or nature and translate them into applique shapes using the fabric you love the most. All you need then is some persistance and a well working sewingmachine!

We had a big dust storm roll through yesterday - it's now over the eastern seaboard. This is what it looked like from our place.
Fortunately, we'd already had our visit to Black Mountain a few days earlier, or the view wouldn't have been like this!

Don't look now - it's a giveaway!

I was stoked recently to win a Don't Look Now pattern during one of the very generous Kellie's giveaways. I'm really excited about using Kellie's pattern - her designs are based on raw edge applique and modern fabrics and they are absolutely beautiful. Her quilting is divine and I hope that one day I can do it half as well as her.

The giveaway I won was just before Kellie went on holidays. Somehow in her post-holiday catch-up she ended up sending me two copies of the pattern. I emailed her asking whether she was happy for me to do a giveaway and she was delighted.

So, leave a comment by midnight Sunday Australian Eastern Standard time to go into the running to win this gorgeous pattern. Instead of random number generator, this time the most creative entry on the theme of applique will win! I will be the judge and no further correspondence will be entered into!!!

In the meantime, if you want to know more about Kellie and her wonderful designs (and where to buy them), visit her blog.

Stashboosting

Well if a girl can't quilt, what's the next best thing? Buy more fabric of course :)
I ordered a 'charming jelly pack' of Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding range from the Fat Quarter Shop and was pleased when it arrived during the week. It took about two weeks to arrive from the US, but it was worth the wait. It's lovely Christmassy fabric in non-traditional Christmas colours. I have a couple of projects planned. They're on my ever-expanding 'to do' list :)

A friend asked me for some advice during the week on how to get started quilting. She wanted to do a butterfly quilt for her daughter. I went onto Etsy to see if I could find anything suitable for her and, in the course of my browsing, I came across a 'bits and pieces pack' from greenolive. I couldn't resist, and this gorgeous Flutterby fabric - screenprinted in Melbourne by hand - also arrived during the week.And, while not fabric, this also arrived during the week (I was popular at the post office!) - it's my win from a recent giveaway on Duyvken's blog. She was decluttering and had two boxes she didn't want any more.
My sister-in-law had these eggs up around her home at Easter time at I secretly coveted them - so when I won I was very happy indeed. Romily was over the moon as she just loves Easter. She, of course, wanted to put them up straight away and only being reminded that we have to have Christmas first could dissuade her! Thanks Amelia - your eggs have come to a great home!

I will be having a giveaway soon - I recently won a gorgeous pattern from Don't Look Now and Kellie somehow ended up sending me two. She has very kindly agreed that the second copy should go to a good home, so keep your eyes posted to this blog for your chance to win!

Handmade Help's 'Homemade' is here

Lots of lovely alliteration! Spotted on Mands' blog, a new recipe book - and one with a great story and a good cause behind it. I put in my order for the Handmade Help 'Homemade' recipe book last week and it was waiting for me in my letterbox when we arrived home from Sydney yesterday afternoon.

With lots of delicious recipes, including one from Mands and a bunch from Pip from MeetmeatMikes (if you read her blog or follow her on Twitter you know she's pretty handy in the kitchen), it looks great. We're going to try a slow cooker chicken recipe during the week to get things started.

The story behind the cookbook is the Victorian bushfires - a bunch of crafters got together after the fires with a bunch of ideas to help those who were affected. One of the ideas was to create a cookbook - the proceeds of which go to the Salvation Army, and a free copy for every copy sold will be donated to a bushfire victim. That ticked all my boxes!

You can order a PDF version or a print version here. And then you too can enjoy the fabulous recipes and know that you're making a small difference too.

+++++++++

We had a good time in Sydney, although Carl and the kids picked up a 24-hour tummy bug which put a dampener on things. I've also come down with a chest cold just to even things up. I couldn't be the only healthy one in the family now could I? Photos from the Sydney trip are coming soon. Watch this space!

Baby gifts

There's nothing like a new baby to inspire some sewing. A quilting buddy of mine, AJ, recently celebrated the birth of a beautiful baby boy, Aden Henry. AJ's pregnancy journey was long, with her much wanted baby finally arriving with the help of some modern medical magic. Her joy upon discovering she was finally pregnant after more than two years was contagious. Her family and friends were all overjoyed for her and her husband. Such wonderful news called for a very special quilt, so some of the EB Quilters got together (virtually, of course) and made a 'Noah's Ark' quilt for Aden, or 'Russell' as he was called inutero.

(Photo nicked from AJ's blog)

I made the Ellie & Squeak block - the first time I've made anything like this, as applique isn't really my thing. I did enjoy it though - especially rummaging through my modest stash to find fabric that would work with the sashing fabric (our mutual starting point). Two clever ladies, Emma and Adds, put the combined parts together and Emma did a marvellous job of the quilting and sent it off just after Aden's arrival. AJ loved the quilt and we loved making it for her.I also made a little outfit for Aden - some cute little shorts and a matching applique onesie, using some of the luscious and soft Prints Charming fabric I had leftover from the party bag epic. I made the outfit in the 6-9m size, as Aden is a big boy. Hopefully it should fit him as the weather warms up - he lives in Queensland, so that shouldn't be too far away!
Well we're off to Sydney tomorrow. We're planning on visiting the Aquarium, Taronga Zoo and possibly Luna Park if we haven't worn the kids out completely. We're staying right in town, so we'll be close to all the good stuff and we'll catch ferries to the zoo and to Luna Park. It'll be quite an adventure for the kids! And I might even manage to squeeze in a visit to Ikea on the way home on Friday. Depends how tired we are!

Groovy pants for a groovy chick

In a last-ditch crafting frenzy before downing tools to study for my exam on Thursday, I finally cut into the lovely cord fabric I've had in my dressmaking stash that I posted about here. I made some 'Katri' pants from Ottobre 1/2009 (#13) for Romily. She doesn't have many warm pants for Playschool, so I thought these would do the trick. They were easy to make, apart from all the fiddling about with 28 pintucks around the pants leg bottoms!She likes them a lot and thanked me for making them for her. She also told all the teachers at Playschool that her mum made them for her. God love her! It's nice to have an appreciative model :)

(Note the fog! It was the foggiest day we've had in Canberra this year to date.)

So now it's time work through my notes from the past semester and do lots of handwriting to get my hand and arm muscles used to the idea of holding a pen again. The exam goes for three hours - ouch! We have four questions to answer out of six, so it will be a word frenzy! I will be glad when 5pm Thursday rolls around and I am free! Well. For a few weeks at least :)

++++++++++++++++++

And, if you're a fan of Oliver + S patterns, head on over to Novy's blog for a giveaway.