Butterflies and Sneak Peaks

Not much sewing getting done at the moment - kids started school today - surprisingly willingly - hope that lasts but not optimistic!  Gorgeous husband and I spent a good part of the morning toiling in our garage - you are finally able to see progress and we have been working on it for ages.  We quit when it got too hot and I went off and ran some errands.  I had an hour or so to myself so I whipped up a batch of lemonade scones (YUM) for the boys for afternoon tea and then made the binding and managed to machine it onto the asian quilt that I brought back from Tasmania with me last weekend.  Yesterday I managed to get it quilted.
I spent an hour doing the hand sewing before the boys came home and then a quick trip to the supermarket and it was SO HOT!!!   I just couldn't get cool even with the airconditioning on so I jumped in the pool for fifteen minutes before getting the dinner.  I sat around in damp bathers, shorts and T shirt for a couple of hours and it was lovely.  After dinner there was a school book covering blitz.  My husband helped me and between us we covered about twenty A4 exercise books in clear contact plastic.  Very boring but of course teenage boys won't let me do anything that might make them stand out and at least the contact makes them last a bit longer.  Finally after that I was able to get back to my hand sewing and at last it is done.  Now I just have to design or choose a label.  I have to get on with it and get it done as I want to give it to the recipient, my friend's daughter, Amy, on Wednesday. 

 I have decided that I need a better camera as my photos just don't seem to be as clear as those I see on other blogs.  Anyway, this is the back

 and the binding

 And this is a sneak peak of a little project I am working on but you will have to wait till later.....except for

 this little snippet as well. 

No hints!  That's it! 
Tomorrow is going to be really busy.  Up early to get the boys off to school - off to coffee with my sisterhood friends at 9am to make up for the fact that one of the girls and her family couldn't make it on Saturday (to our dinner).  At ten thirty I am off for a long overdue haircut and then home to hopefully do some cooking.  I want to make homemade sausage rolls, a boileded fruit loaf and a melt and mix chocolate chunk mud cake.  I won't get all of that done in the afternoon as I have to leave at two pm to head off to music lessons - mine at 3pm then guitar hero's at 330pm.  Then home to cook some more.  It was disgustingly hot today and it is supposed to be hotter tomorrow - ugh - so I plan to don my bathers after music tomorrow and have a dip in the pool before i start cooking so I stay cool.

Right now it is bed time - as my mother used to say "I have a big day tomorrow!"  Yes Mum!
Happy stitching.

Last Blue Scrappy Saturday....

Well it has been a busy month of sewing blue scraps and regular projects and then quilts to send to flood damaged house holds in Queensland but today is the last Scrappy Saturday for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I have a busy day ahead so I squeezed an hour of sewing in first up.

First I made up these kaleidoscope blocks.  I just bought myself a new Kaleidoscope ruler as I figured I needed to challenge myself with more than squares, rectangles and half square triangles with a bit of machine applique thrown in.  I have made 5 inch blocks and I am going to make more of these in each colour way throughout the year.  I think it would do my head in having to cut out enough for a quilt in one go, not to mention sewing them all at once.

Next I got out the disappearing nine patch block that I made earlier in the month and made two more nine patches.

 I haven't had time to cut them up yet - later dude!  I am making more of these throughout the year as well.  Should be a few of bright cheery quilts to add to my stack sometime around the end of the year as

I have also been collecting a stash of scrap blue flowers and each time I made one of them I get another

 

 scrappy blue pin wheel!   I love scrappy quilts and this is really making me get off my behind and get going!

Now I am off to bake chocolate chips cookies, then friends dropping in briefly at ten, leaving home at eleven to take Guitar Hero and mate to the movies while my gorgeous husband and I check out furniture for our never-ending house tidying quest at Ikea.  Then collect the movie goers, home to get dinner for both boys, wrap three bundles of choc chip cookies for gifts for my girlfriend's husbands' birthday presents and then finally at 7pm off to a local restaurant with girlfriends and husbands and some of their kids (ours won't go out with my friends' families - too uncool) The dinner tonight should be fun.  I don't think I have explained about the Sisterhood.  There were five of us and we had a ball together then one of our number was diagnosed with cervical cancer - that brought us even closer together.  We saw her thru her battle and eventually lost her in May 2009.  Now there are four of us and we really work hard to keep our friendships going.  We get together as often as work and family commitments allow.  We always celebrate our birthdays and Christmas but have decided that this year we will have a combine birthday dinner for the boys (our hubby's) and also a combined birthday for the kids sometime during the year.  Tonight it is the husbands' turn.  Dinner at a Pizza Pasta Restaurant and lots of laughs.  Homemade treats of some sort for gifts, hence the chocolate chip cookies.

Better go - cookies don't make themselves!

By the way - can't wait to find out what colour we are doing for February............I am guessing pink or red!

Happy stitching!

Lamingtons, Lamb and Pavlova!

Yesterday was Australia Day!  I am always a proud Aussie but Australia day always heightens that feeling and this year, after watching the heartfelt responses of everyone t the flood disaster, even more so.  We had an American friend come over for lunch.  He is actually a business associate of David’s and is in town for meetings – of course no meetings yesterday so he came out here.  We had to show him a real Aussie day so we had a BBQ with sausages and lamb (Our sausages are very different to American ones and lamb was very hard to find inexpensively when we lived in the States) with roast potato, pumpkin (another experience for him as Americans don't eat pumpkin like us) and sweet potato and salad.  I made a pavlova for desert 

 and lamingtons for afters - I make them once a year for Australia Day!

and sat chatting the afternoon away nibbling on lamingtons, cheese and biscuits and dip.  Lovely.  Of course the weather was well in the high 30's Australian summer style.  We sent him home with about six packets of TimTams - his wife's favourite - and even packed them in a cooler bag with ice packs or they would have been melted mush by the time he got back into the city.

It was a lovely, relaxing day.  Today - not expected to be quite so relaxing.  Both cheerful (not), enthusiastic(hardly), students in our house hold have to get out of bed, SHOWER and go to school with us for the annual pre-start of school three way conference with parents, teacher and student to discuss goals for the coming year.  To say that Guitar Hero and Fly Boy aren't really in the right frame of mind for such an exercise is an understatement.  Luckily once we get home around lunch time they can slink off to their computers and will probably leave me in peace to sew for most of the afternoon.  Wish me luck!

If anyone has any spare sewing time in the next few days you might like to join me in answering the call to make New Beginnings Kits for crafters who lost everything in teh floods.  I have several on the go hope to have them all completed by the end of the weekend and in the mail early next week!

Till next time
Happy stitching!

And the winning bids.....Back from Tasmania and lots to do

The Queensland Flood Relief Auction for my items closed at 9pm tonight.  A big thanks to Diana for her winning bid for Popsicle the Penguin and also to Regina for her winning bid for my Queensland Blue Quilt.  I look forward to hearing from you girls to finalise the transaction but in the interim thank you and everyone else for being so generous!  If anyone didn't win an auction and still wants to get in on the action there are plenty of raffles still on the go so get over the the master list and check them out - there will be a master list of the all the raffles on Toni's blog tomorrow morning.


Phew!  Well I am back from down south in picturesque Tasmania.  I didn't exactly do much sight seeing - did manage to take in four quilt shops - more on that tomorrow.  What I did do was spend time catching up with my good friend Mary, an old Gumnut Quilter who retired to Tassie with her husband a little over a year ago.  This was the first time I have been down there to see her and enjoy her gorgeous new home. We had a ball!  I will tell more about the Quilt shops tomorrow night - tonight I want to focus on the sewing.  Yes, we did lots of sewing.

On Saturday, after visiting some shops and having a nice lunch out we came home and got started.  Mary's youngest daughter spent Saturday moving house in Sydney so Mary and I spent Saturday making her a house warming present - what else?  A quilt!

 I really am going to have to invest in a better camera as this one just doesn't give the lovely clear pictures that I am seeing on lots of other blogs ....still back to the subject at hand.  This was made up of a centre medallion of lovely butterfly fabric and then surrounded with disappearing nine patch blocks (a block I have only discovered since following lots of other blogs and i love it so thanks to everyone who had featured one!)  I received all these blocks over a period of years as 5" squares from various quilt shops.  Now they have all been put to good use.

 As we sewed we were closely supervised at all times by Hamish - the gorgeous!

After we finished the Asian inspired quilt we sat in Mary's sewing room looking thru all her UFO's deciding what we would sew the next day and to Mary's surprise we stumbled across a baby quilt that Amy had started before her son Liam, now almost two, was born.  She has since gone on to complete an absolutely gorgeous quilt for him but it just so happens that she is about two weeks away from delivering baby son number two.  Of course Mary and I decided that this was the perfect time to complete the baby quilt.

Amy had completed the centre panel with the exception of an eye for the duck and a couple of other details so Mary and I did the pinwheels and borders.  The letters and numbers had already been made and just needed to be ironed on and Mary will do the button hole stitch around them.  Mary is coming up to Sydney on Friday so she will be able to give Amy the quilt top then and finish it while she is here.  Amy will get a real shock as we think she has forgotten about it!

Mary also gave me this little pretty - it doesn't show up but the centre blocks are a cute cat print.  Just a couple of borders and some quilting and this will be off to Queensland with the quilts that Corrie over at Retro Mummy is organising - Quilts for those who lost everything in the flood. 

 Mary also gave me these twenty five attic window blocks that she has had for ages and I have laid them on red to decide if I like it.  These will also be going to Queensland once completed.

While still on that subject when I got home from Tassie I knew I would have to get stuck into quilting two other Quilts for Queensland. Last Tuesday Gumnuts Quilters had a sewing bee and we got three quilt tops as good as completed and then another member made a fourth on her own.  Today I quilted two, both of which as so similar that I am only including the photo of one - the hand sewing is still needed on the binding but you get the idea.

I have to say that I really like this quilt and I hope the children who receive it and it's twin like them too - to me there is just so much to look at with all the novelty fabrics - a bit like a Where's Wally (or Waldo for the Americans)

I still have a heap of sewing caddies to make -  Starting over Kits being coordinated over at Gum Tree Designers -  more on that in the next few days.  I have a Gumnuts Sewing Bee tomorrow to complete all the quilts we have started for Queensland and then on Wednesday my husband has invited an old business friend out from lunch so most of the day will be taken up with getting lunch ready.  More on that later too.

Hope all is well with you all - I have missed my blog and blogging buddies over the last few days and it has been great to get back and catch up on what all of you have been doing.

Till next time

Happy stitching!

Change of end time for Queensland Flood Relief Auction

No photos or news today.  I just got back from Tasmania late last night and haven't got myself organised for a real post but in the mean time I just wanted to let you know that the Auctions for Popsicle Penguin and Queensland Blue will end with effect 9pm tonight.  This will make it easier for anyone interested in watching the auctions to keep an eye on them without having to stay up till midnight.  I hope that is okay with everyone.

 

Cheers

 

Jan-Maree

 

Queensland Blue for Auction

Thanks to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge  I have been spending the month of January sewing blue scraps!Well, I have finally finished my blue wonky log cabin and have named it "Queensland Blue" as I have been glued to the TV, like loads of others, watching the unfolding situation in Queensland.  I no longer feel the quilt belongs to me but must be used in some way to raise money for the relief fund.  So this is Queensland Flood Relief Auction Number 2 from my blog.

Sorry the quality of the photo is not very clear - this is very simply quilted with one row of stitching along each side of the blocks.  The backing is a dark royal blue. 

This is how the auction works:

1.  Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone, however $15 will be charged for International addresses.  Postage is FREE for Australian residents.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.
6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Fund and send me proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your quilt to you.
7.  Thankyou for participating and happy bidding!

You might like to also check out Popsicle who is available for auction as well.

Cheers

Jan-Maree

Gumnuts and travel plans

Had a lovely surprise today and discovered that the bid for my quilt has gone to $130.  Exciting!  It is being auctioned to aid the Queensland flood Relief Fund in a huge bloggers auction coordinated by Toni and all her wonderful helpers.  Check out her blog for all the details.  Check out the Master List of all the items on auction and please try and bid for something or buy a ticket in one of the many wonderful raffles.  it is all for such a great cause!

Then my wonderful friends, the Gumnut Quilters, met for our normal fortnightly meeting today and we continued to work on the quilts for Queensland as organised by Corrie.  Check out her blog.  Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated and warmly welcomed.  Here we have Moo inspecting one of the quilts and making sure that it is soft enough to pass muster!

 I showed you this quilt last night but today the green borders and a bit extra top and bottom were added and everyone agreed that they really "calmed" the quilt down.

 I think this quilt is going to be a wonderful quilt for a child to sit and look at -  so many things to spy!  And the best thing...there are two of them!

 Tonight I started to do some cutting out.  There is going to be a little blog silence from me over the weekend as I am heading to Tasmania to stay with a long distance gumnuts member Mary.  I leave very early Friday morning and get home late Sunday night.  Mary asked me if I want to do anything special and I said I would like to visit a quilt shop, so she has three on the list and then I asked if she would like to do some sewing and of course she said yes!  I told her about the quilt for Queensland so another one of those is on the agenda. 

 This is the kit for the quilt above and the backing below.  You will have to wait till we have put it together to see what i am planning to do  - no more hints!

 I also told Mary that the Gumnuts have been inspired by Gum Tree Designers to make some "New Beginnings" sewing kits including a sewing caddy, fabric, needles, thread etc, all bundled up in a draw string bag.

 So I have cut out several kits and tomorrow will cut out the batting and lining for the bags and then after the weekend we should have a few of these below!

 Now I am off to bed as tomorrow I have a lot to do to get ready for Friday's early start.
You might not hear from me again till Monday so until then.....
Happy stitching!

Queensland sewing

Tried to think of a good name for this post but am too tired to come up with anything funnier.  We (four of my quilt group buddies and I) worked really hard today!  We got together to answer a call from Corrie to make some blocks, or quilts to send to Queensland.  Lots of sewing, pinning, ironing, trimming and laughing later these are the result -

 This one is going to have some more red added to each side and then red binding and backing.  I should have taken a close up as this does not show the fabrics off to advantage.

We actually did two of these.  Both will have green borders and then a band of strips top and bottom to make them longer and and finally red binding and blue backing.  These are really busy quilts but as a kid I would have loved one of these as there are so many novelty fabrics to look - always something new to see.

Tomorrow is our normal meeting so we hope to get these three quilts completed as much as possible.  If we can get them layered from quilting that will be great!  We are having another Queensland Quilting Bee next Tuesday as well so maybe we will get another couple of quilt done then too.

Till next time
Happy stitching!

Jan-Maree

Breeding Scraps!

Did you know that in the dark, late at night, when the house is quiet, lots of naughty scraps are getting up to mischief and creating more scraps!  They must be coz surely I didn't end up with this many scraps all by myself!

 I tried several time to orient the above photo properly but maybe it is just too late at night for me.  Nevermind, at least you can see all the separate bags of colours.  Quilts in waiting all of it I guess!

Actually, what participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge has made me realise is that I have about fifteen years worth of scraps to sew with!  Oh the stories these scraps could tell!!!

This is another load of scraps and you will see the completed quilt soon but I just had to share tonight's dilemma with you!  Can you spot it?  I ran out of binding with about three inches to go - amazing!  I am sure I measured!  Well, it is a scrap quilt so I can scrap the binding - tomorrow after a good night's sleep!

Sewing tip for the night - measure your binding!

Happy stitching!

Flood Relief Auction - Popsicle the Penguin

Okay, now I have never done this before so be kind please.

It is time to find a new home for Popsicle the penguin.  He said he is very keen to go to someone who wants to help to Flood Relief Program.

This is how this auction works:

1.  Bidding will start at $10 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone, however $15 will be charged for International addresses.  Postage is FREE for Australian residents.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.
6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Fund and send me proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your Penguin to you.
7.  Thankyou for participating and happy bidding!

I also have a second auction of a quilt that you might like.  Why not pop over and check it out.

Cheers

Jan-Maree

Celia's Swap Blocks and Popsicle wants a home

Hi all, look what the postman brought me yesterday.  I would have blogged about it last night if only I could have found my camera!  These are the blocks that Celia sent me as part of a swap we are doing whilst we take part in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Four blocks,  a pin cushion (with the yellow centre) and some gorgeous variegated threads!  Aren't I spoilt.  We are going to exchange blocks each month throughout the year of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I decided that I would like any 5 inch blocks at all and I think I will use mine as the centres of some star blocks.  I haven't quite decided yet. 

Celia asked for 5 inch star blocks - one of my favourites to make.  And I really enjoyed making these and strange though this may sound, I have never made them this small before and I loved them.  I am going to make some more for myself.

Now onto more important matters.   This is Popsicle and I am hoping that someone will take a liking to him.  I am going to offer him up for auction in the Flood Relief Auction next week.  My only problem, what price to set bidding to start at.  Any ideas?

I would have loved to finish off my Blue Wonky Log Cabin Quilt but I can't count on having it finished in time given that it is school holidays and I have my husband home as well.  I have already re-named that quilt "Queensland Blue" in my mind and will use it to raise funds for Queensland - just haven't worked out the finer details - may be a raffle quilt at my sons' school. 

But for now I need to decide a price for Popsicle and I would welcome any suggestions please.

Happy stitching

Jan-Maree

Another way to help

  No time to post any sewing progress tonight but I just found this from the Gum Tree Designers and wanted to pass it on in my own small way. What is going on in Queensland is just mind blowing and heart breaking.  I think their idea of putting a starting over kit together for crafters in the devastated areas is a wonderful one and I am going to try and organise my quilt group into making some of these kits.

Please check it out and see if you can help.
Love and prayers to all those who are affected by these horrible floods.
Jan-Maree

A few more blocks

Like most Aussie quilters I am sure, I have been sewing in front of the TV or the radio keeping up to date with the latest news about all the floods occurring at the moment in Queensland.  It is just unbelievable.  I was so pleased to see that there is going to be a Flood Relief Appeal starting Monday with auctions on lots of blogs.  I don't have anything to auction but I will be bidding that's for sure.  If you can't contribute something to auction please get along and see what you might like to bid on. 

On a less important subject, I completed five more flower blocks from my blue scraps, that is a total of nine and I still have a few more cut out.

Next I pieced these two eight inch blocks that are destined to become pot holders - maybe on Thursday they will be finished.

And finally, these are the extra half square triangles left over from the flowers.  They are about four inches and i think they might score a blue border and then become another set of pot holders.

The only other bit of news is that I have registered for a Mug Rug Swap with the Quilting Gallery Blog - see button to the right.  That should be fun.  The first time I have done something like this so I am really looking forward to it getting underway.

Well, that is it for me - now it is bedtime.  Tomorrow is another busy day!

Still got the blues but love my 12 inches!

Am up early today.  There is no truth in the rumour that my husband was snoring (cos he said I am not allowed to post about that) so let's just say I am up early just to post this cos I didn't post last night!  Have been stitching since January first to use up my blue scrap stash and you would have thought I wouldn't have much left over!  Oh well, guess I will keep stitching till the end of the month and see what I am left with by then.  It is a fun challenge and certainly makes you think creatively!

It brings back a lot of memories too, of all those quilts, some of which I have no photos of.  It is certainly a reminder to me to make sure i record what I make!

Had a huge day yesterday.  More clutter busting in the garage before it go too humid and then off to the dentist to spend a huge amount on getting one tooth finished!    Next job pulling down the 7' Christmas tree finally and then a trip to IKEA to check out storage options for some of the rooms in the house that we are rearranging now our kids are a bit older.  After all that it it was time to sew - and time to finish off some smaller projects for a change.  First I completed four 5" star blocks to send to Celia.  We are swapping four scrap blocks to go along with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge that we are taking part in.  Can't show them to you till Celia has them.  But I can show you my happy 12 inch block.

The centre of this block was completed by my Mum for me in the last few years before she passed away.  I have been waiting for inspiration to do some thing with it.  This year a couple of us decided that it would be a great idea if our quilt group did a round robin and so we are all supposed to make a 12 inch block to be our centre.  I have had all sorts of great ideas but in the end this one just seemed right and it will be nice to see what the other do with it.

Happy stitching!

Jan-Maree

And again, more scraps out and more scraps sewn.....

Now this post is especially for my dear young friend Jennie.  Jennie has just started to follow my blog after recently discovering I had one.  We have been friends for several years now and don't get to see each other too often as Jennie has  very full life with full time work, almost full time study and four grown kids to keep her occupied!  Jennie is also a quilter though she doesn't get to sew anywhere near as much as she would like to for all the above reasons. 
Anyway, I normally post last thing at night before I go to bed, and during the school holidays that has been quite late (or sometimes quite early!) Jennie has told me that this has to change as I am posting after her bed time and she can't stay up late enough to read it.  Poor dear!  She just isn't the party animal she used to be.  Never mind, this post is early Jennie, just for you!

Tonight I am not going to bore you with the details of our ongoing clutter busting war but suffice to say we are winning the battle - but I am pooped! So that deals with more scraps out!

I did manage a couple of hours sewing this morning, and I mean very early morning as I had a rare bout of insomnia and gave up trying to sleep from 445am onwards and sewed till 8am when my husband woke up. 
I also managed another couple of hours sewing from 4 till 630pm and HOORAY!  I managed to complete all the blocks for my Scrappy Wonky Log Cabin Quilt for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge! 

And here it is laid out on the carpet ( I sew need a design wall!!!)

Tonight's task, and I have the rest of the evening to do it, is to sew it all together.  the pile of blocks is sitting on the machine waiting for me, all neatly numbered so now that I have posted for Jennie, she can go off to bed and I can start sewing!  Don't tell Jennie, but if I finish in time I might even post the completed quilt top later tonight...but we will see.
For now, sweet dreams Jennie
And Happy stitching everyone else!

Jan-Maree

scraps out and scraps sewn!

Wow!  Been a busy couple of days!  Scraps out and scraps sewn?  Well, the scraps out are the result of my husband and I getting in and tidying our teenage son's bedrooms, while they are away.  Guitar Hero left for a holiday in Perth with friends of mine on Thursday night, so first thing Friday morning we started tidying.  I wish I had taken a before shot but the after shot will have to do. These shelves were loaded with lego and meccano models but Guitar Hero decided that he didn't want them on display anymore so out they came.  Only problem?  Not much left to go on the shelves so I put his caps there.  Both units have cupboard doors on the bottom though that doesn't show here,  I actually didn't throw out all the contents of the second one - it was pretty much full of empty storage boxes so we just removed those!

Today Fly Boy left to go abseiling with the Airforce Cadets so as soon as he left......more tidying!  I didn't take photos of his room, not as easy to do, but loads of junk came out of his room and lots of dusting.  For both rooms - lots of things found that had been "lost" or "taken' by the respective brother.  Amazing what turns up when you tidy!

My husband and I are really working hard at clutterbusting this month.  In fact this afternoon we took all the seats out of my van and loaded it full for a tip run!

So that is SCRAPS OUT!  And there will be many many more to go but another day!

Now, scraps sewn!  

This block comes from a Moose on the Porch Quilts Book called Simply Charming.  I love this block.  I have used it before and have decided that I am going to make these blocks every month and then decide what to do with them at the end of the year.  I am still making scrappy wonky log cabins but didn't get any blocks finished to show tonight so they will have to wait till tomorrow!
Now to bed.  Tomorrow we start tidying part of the boys' chill room - it is where their book's have been stored (which they are now too cool to read darn it!) and also where their PS3 is (more popular).  Every room is getting a big tidy and clutter bust - much more to come and lots to go I hope.
Happy Stitching!
Jan-Maree

How Exciting! I have been tagged!

Joyce was tagged by Cheryll, for this award and now Joyce has tagged me and I am delighted!  Why don't you visit Joyce's blog and check out her fabulous stitching but also her great drawings and envelopes.  Wish I could sketch like her.

I'm going to continue to share the award and name some fellow blogger friends who I'm sure would love your company also.  If you choose to participate, the rules are:  1)  Tell your readers who tagged you; 2)  Add a link to their blog. 3. Award 3-5 bloggers who you think deserve this award.

Inform them & post directions to your blogspot. Please don't tag people who already have 300 followers. The goal of this award is to get more publicity to blogs that are good, but not so well known.

So in the spirit of the award, I'm tagging Celia , Angela, LaDonna and Diana and Lisa.  I hope you will check out their blogs and enjoy them as much as I do!

And, P.S. I am keeping my fingers crossed that all my links worked as I didn't know how to do that until this post and I can't believe I got it right!

Happy stitching!

Jan-Maree

Finshed and resolved!

A good day today.  Started out doing errands, lunch out of the way and then time to sew - yay!  A bit of work on my second Christmas quilt, laid it all out on the floor and still wasn't happy with it so decided to think on it!  Suddenly realised that the quilt I am making for my girlfriend has to be completed and packed into my son's suitcase tomorrow so I had better get that binding sewn!  Another family movie night tonight (The Bank Job - not too bad except for the bits that we had to fast forward thru coz we didn't think they were suitable for the 14 year old Fly Boy and Guitar hero!).  Watching the movie and getting that binding sewn.  Done!  Time to make a decison on the Chrsitmas Quilt and realised that I had to unpick all the sewing I had done this afternoon but that was okay - it filled in the second half of the movie.  I am not good at sitting in front of the TV with empty hands anyway!!
So, here is the completed quilt for Tracey...

 It is just as well I am giving this to Tracey, a friend of mine for at least 30 years, and it is just as well I don't have time to make another quilt as I really love the colours!  At least it is going to a good home.

 The pieced back - not quite as happy with it as I wanted to be but that is ok!  At least, for the first time, I remembered to write a label and incorporate it into the backing before I quilted it - I have been meaning to do that for AGES! and never remember til it is too late!  I hate sewing on labels!

 And this is my Christmas quilt!  The red blocks still need a final red strip along the bottom but no time for that tonight as I have to cut more and it is almost midnight!  Still it is enough for me to see that I like the direction now!

 The red star fabric and the green fabric on the left of each block is a really sparkly, and I mean SPARKLY!!!! fabric and I just love it.  I wish it showed up in photos but it really shows up in my living room!

Well, that is enough for me!  Tomorrow I hope to get the red strips on before I go to Quilt Group and then in the evening I will get back to sewing scraps as I have finally decided how I am going to complete my scrap quilt and I have a few other projects in mind!

And, now to bed!!!  or I won't be awake enough to sew tomorrow.....

Happy Stitching!!!