More FMQ

Started my day baking - date and almond cookies first for a friend who needs to boost his iron levels.  Then Pop's Specials which are chocolate cookies with chocolate chips and so-named coz they were my Pop's (Grandpa) favourites.  My nanna used to make them all the time.  And finally I made these:

A new recipe for chocolate chip rock cakes.  Luckily one of my two boys likes them - the other one said choc chip cookies are better. 

Tonight was the second lesson in Free Motion Quilting and I loved it again.  Now I can't wait to get on and quilt something for real, not just a practice piece!  Yesterday I bought a couple of pre-printed panels to turn into quick and easy quilts to practice on so i will be sewing those up as soon as I can - all they need is a quick border.   Once they have been quilted they can go to the Salvo's (like Good Will in the States)  but I get to practice on them first. 

Tonight I did leaves which were fun

then my current favourite  - some more little blossomy things

and finally circles which I have seen on lots of quilts and loved. 

Now, I am pooped and it is time for bed. My husband heads off to the States for 12 days tomorrow so I will be flying solo with the boys, something I have done for the majority of our marriage, but I have had him home since the 7th of December so I am a bit out of practice.  It doesn't help that one of the boys is grounded on Friday night and it bound to give me lots of grief ...........but I now know how to turn his wifi off, block his access to Facebook on his computer AND if he gets really obnoxious block his internet access completely, all remotely from my laptop!!!!!!  Great management tools for the mother of computer addicted teenagers!  Yay.

On that note, I am off to bed - till next time.......Happy stitching!

A MIXED BAG!

Lots of bits and pieces today.  First up a couple more quilts for Queensland.  The first one was made by one of the lovely ladies in my quilt group, Lyn.  The photo doesn't do the fabrics justice.  The colours are lovely!

 The second was donated by one of the lovely ladies from my local quilt shop, Country Pickin's at the Corner in Dural.  It was quilted by another lovely lady called Dianne with a computerised machine and I just love the pattern.

 Cherries!!!   Can you believe it!  It is a really good argument for a computerised machine if you ask me!  Just love it and I have a thing for cherries!

 Country Pickin's also gave me a bunch of teddy bear blocks to finish and put together for Queensland.  This is going to take a while.  All of them have been appliqued but not all the facial features have been completed and they really need them I think!  Luckily my dear friend Mary from Tasmania was visiting last week and she thought she had it.  Thank goodness she just rang me tonight to say it will be in the post tomorrow.  Hooray!!!  That is going to make it a lot easier for me to finish it!  Yippee!

 We were also given this quilt top to finish and it is also partially incomplete.  Some pieces are going to be easy to work out but others not so obvious!  Sadly no-one has the pattern for this so I will have to wing it!

 These poor teds really need their faces and outlining, particularly the one that is seated - I will just have to do the best I can!

 The same with this little guy and seeing as he is already wearing an eye patch he certainly needs the rest of his details!

On the green scrap front - last post I told you how I had cut out 200 cream squares and 200 green squares to make half square triangles.  Well, I haven't had time or quite frankly the inclination to do anything that required too much effort this weekend but I did manage to get all 200 blocks sewn!  Now I just have a huge pile to cut in half and iron and then I have to trim all those pesky little corner bits - sounds like some time in front of the tv might be in order. 

That is it from me for tonight - 400 half square triangles are calling my name.....................  for all of you
Happy stitching!

Green Scraps

I have been fighting off a bug, an annoying bug, that isn't making me really sick, just making me just tired enough that I am not up to my usual game!  and I keep needing a nap each day - frustrating!  Anyway, I haven't felt all that much like concentrating when I sew so I decided to get a head start on my green scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

First I sorted thru my two huge grocery bags of green scraps and found all the biggish odds and ends and started cutting 5 inch squares. Made it to 200!! Decided that I needed a contrasting colour - red is too christmassy, yellow is too aussie (not that I mind being patriotic but not this time) pink is out coz my son might like the quilt without pink and I just may give it to him, blue was done in January so not enough scraps.  In the end I decided that it was a good chance to use up some of the beige/pale tan fabric odds and ends that I have and don't particularly like.  Another 200 five inch squares!  Last night sat in front of the TV and drew diagonal lines on all the pale ones and you guessed it I am already to sew half square triangles. 

Now I had a huge pile of squares all pinned and ready to sew.  I started sewing today and more tonight.  After I had sewn some I threw them up on the design wall - if only you could throw them! 

First I tried this............

 Then this - and yes I know there are a couple of mistakes..............

 and last I tried this.

At the moment I am leaning towards Option 2.  My quilt group and I made one of these for charity last year and just happen to be making another one this year.  I actually really like this pattern but I am going to keep auditioning patterns in case i find something that appeals more - not sure that will happen but you never know!

Now...what do you all think?  Do you have a favourite or have you made a half square pattern that you like and which you think these blocks would lend themselves to?

That is it for me tonight.  The boys are about to come home from Youth Group and my goal is to get them off to bed and than I will be right behind them!  Till next time....

Happy stitching!

Decision Made - Almost Happy Now!

Decision made!!!  Finally decided what to do to complete my round on Debbie's Round Robin Quilt.  I tried the floral with a blue as well.  Loved it - or thought I did.  Kept looking and thinking and tried an aubergine which actually turned out to be a grey when I got it home and looked at it again.  That didn't work so i had a re-think.  One advantage of having to snooze all the time is plenty of thinking time.  I always design quilts in my head, or work out how i am going to make whatever my next project is in my head when I go to sleep so I slept on it and this is what I came up with.......if you don't like the direction you are heading .........

change direction

So, now I am almost happy - just have to get over this bug and I will be all the way there!

Ho Hum, bedtime.........again.........

Happy stitching!

all sorts of goodies!

I still have the dreaded bug that caught up with me a few days ago but I am fighting it off, unfortunately with sleeps during my sewing time!!!!   At least I feel like I am winning.  Consequently not much sewing has been done here, at least not as much as I would like but I have managed to get a couple of things done.  Firstly on Friday night I sewed this cute little bag for my girlfriend Tarja's birthday.  It wasn't actually the gift but the wrapping!  I love the fabric on the outside but I can't tell you what the range is called.  I can tell you that I chose it because Tarja loves the fabric that I used as the lining.  She was spotted walking around the store hugging a bolt of it!

This pin cushion which I made her earlier shows a better picture of the lining.  I didn't use it on the outside as I thought the green might show thru! 

 You can see a bit of the lining here and also most of the goodies - a movie voucher that three of us contributed to, a mini stack of post its (Tarja is the post it queen!!!) and a potholder -the long sort that has a pocket for your hand at each end.  I forgot to take a photo of that as I made it a while ago especially for Tarja and put it away!  I then filled the whole bag with loose foil wrapped chocolates.

 The four of us - my special friends called the SISTERHOOD - then went out to a Thai Restaurant for dinner (Tarja's favourite!!) and then onto Max Brenner's Chocolate Shop next door (my favourite) for desert - oh it was good!!!!!

The postman made me almost as happy as my wicked chocolate desert today.  First the parcel courier brought me a parcel containing a couple of irresistible pieces - California Dreaming which I already had a fat quarter of but which I decided I needed more of - probably enough for the border and maybe some of a pieced backing for a pinking and orange and white quilt I am going to make for myself sometime this year!!  The way-too-cute birds are Leanika by Dana for Free Spirit called Lovebirds!  And I just LOVE it!  Both came from Quilt Fabric Delight in South Australia. 

 Next the postman left me a lovely treat in my letterbox.  Thru my blog I have met some lovely ladies and one of them, Sandi asked me for copies of my Hoot and Popsicle patterns.  I suggested that we do a swap.  I would send her my two patterns and she could send me some fabric, something little and I suggested she wait till she received the patterns and make sure she was happy with them but today in the mail I received the following-

Aren't I lucky!  Thanks so much Sandi!  I hope you are happy with your patterns.

I have also spent a bit of time working on my red scraps for the rainbow scrap challenge - my last project for the month is a small table runner made from spare squares and other bits.  I am making it a two for one again - well why not.  I figured as it will be in the the same room as the last one I might as be able to turn them both over at Christmas time to enjoy!  No photos yet though.  I spent time quilting it last night, only to discover today that the pattern I had put in the middle, a diamond pattern, was off centre!  Hmmmpphfff!  Not happy Jan!  Oh well, I unpicked today and will quilt it again, though probably not the same way!  As soon as I have it bound I will post it!

That's it for me tonight.....I plan to settle down and watch "This is Your Life" with Debora Lee Furness, (a.k.a Mrs Hugh Jackman - lucky girl!!!!) and then do some more sewing!

Till next time...happy Stitching!

Lesson number one

Last night I had my first lesson in free motion quilting.....and I loved it!  I had not expected it to be so much fun.  i don't know how everyone else learns to do it but Amanda, the teacher had me draw something on paper and then repeat it on the machine.  I started with my name which I can't show you as it doesn't show up.  I did so much practice on my first practice piece that it is just a mess!  After that I did these sort of side to side thingys.

 Then these thingys

 Then these swirls snail thingy's - loved these

And finally the most fun - the snail thingy with flower petals around the edge.

I can see that with practice, probably a lot of practice, I will get the hang of these, but the hardest part seems to be what happens when you finish a flower and want to move on to the next area without going over what you have already done - practice practice practice.

Today I spent the morning tidying up my linen cupboards - they are so nice and tidy now and lots of space too after throwing out a heap of junk and old stuff.  After that i started sorting thru my scraps of batting and ugly fabrics and made up a heap of practice quilt sandwiches to practice with.  My goal is to do one a day, before I sew anything else each day.  That way I should gradually grow in accuracy and confidence.  I am so excited coz I am really over doing straight line quilting - that certainly has its place but it can get awfully boring!

That is it for me.  I am really tired and have a sore throat so it is guitar practice, quilting practice and then bed!  Till next time

Happy stitching!

Thinking of Christchurch and New Beginnings

Everyone surely knows by now that Christchurch New Zealand suffered a devastating earthquake 24 hours ago that has all but destroyed the city.  So far the death toll stands at more than 70 and there are people missing in the hundreds.  Our hearts thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected. 

It is good to be able to say that a bunch of New Beginnings Kits  and extra bits are in the mail and on their way to Queensland to be sorted and distributed by the Gum Tree Designers in Brisbane early next month. 

Each kit contains a sewing caddy similar to the one below, needle book and needles, scissors and scissor keep, fabric and thread. 

I packed one box containing approximately ten kits and extra needle books, scissors and the like

and one box crammed with donated fabrics

It is so good to know that you can do something to help.  My local quilt shop, Country Pickins yesterday gave my friend a huge bag of goodies for us to complete and send off to Queensland!  I haven't seen it yet but apparently it contains a finished quilt, quilt tops, blocks and fabric.  Fabulous and very generous!!!  I feel a sewing bee coming on!

Tonight I am off to a free motion quilting course - lesson number one.  Wish me luck!  I will let you know how it goes.

Till next time,  Happy stitching!