 OK so hop over here and sign up if you want to join in with Friday Night Sew-In. You'll have to be quick, as it's being hosted tonight! I've got some projects ready, and a bottle of wine chilling in the fridge and some nibbles too. The trouble is, I've got so many things on the go that I don't know which project to chose! I'll post some pictures on my blog on Saturday, so come back then and see how creative I've been!
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A few weeks ago I made a couple of baby quilts, one with a Charm pack of "Peak Hour" fabric for a little boy and one with a Charm pack of "Happy Sunny Skies" fabric for a little girl. Anyway, I was patiently waiting for the baby to be born. Well look who the stork delivered! This handsome little fellow Elliott and I can't WAIT to have a cuddle with him!
 I've just spent the last few days in bed with a very nasty cold, and decided I really needed something nice and pretty to perk me up, to make me feel better. So I thought a little bit of online shopping was in order, and saw just the thing to make me feel better! A gorgeous piece of Amanda Davie jewellery! This Dreamer bracelet is just perfect - a wonderful antique bronze finish dragonfly is the focal for this unique bracelet. Amanda has paired the beautiful centre piece with hand embellished brass charms, crystal, amethyst, and fluorite gem stones. She has also included one of her box clasps with a lovely dragonfly motif. Now I'm REALLY starting to feel a bit better, and I can't wait for it arrive!
 Over on the Better Off Thread blog it's started - "Sew Cute Tuesday"!! I've added a link to my Marmalade baby quilt. Why don't you hop over and have a look at all the other crafty creations from other bloggers?
 When I saw some Marmalade "Mini Charms" for sale in my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, I couldn't resist them!! As soon as I saw this lovely range by Bonnie and Camille for Moda, I knew it would make a lovely baby quilt, and I had the perfect pattern to use that is a free download on the Moda Bake Shop website. The original pattern (by teaginny designs) uses strips from a Jelly Roll that is sewn into strips and cross-cut. I thought this was going to be a slow process as I was using all these little squares.....  .....but these mini-charms were quickly pieced together in no time at all I used the green spot from the same range of fabrics for the inner border (I'm going to use it for the binding too) and this white floral fabric that is used for the two outer borders keeps it looking fresh and bright.....  .....and the dense quilting (lots of rows stitched ½" apart) adds a wonderful ribbed texture to it. I used white Mettler quilting thread in both the top of the machine and in the bobbin too. When this quilt is washed and dried it will wrinkle up beautifully, and be really soft and snuggly.....  .....label on, binding on, job done! As you can see, I have stitched the label in place along both sides, and after sewing the binding onto the front of the quilt by machine, I have hand-stitched the binding to the back of the quilt, using pale grey Mettler quilting thread shade 0813, and ladder stitch.....  .....this will soon be posted off to Norway, as my friend Eva's daughter, Hilde, is expecting a baby girl next month. I made a baby quilt with a "Pure" jellyroll by Sweetwater for Moda, using the same pattern when she had a baby boy, Sondre, last year - I hope she likes this quilt just as much as she liked the last one!
 Having a daughter who works at my local quilt shop is absolutely wonderful! She told me about some fabric that arrived at Quilters Haven and off I went to have a look. This was the perfect fabric for a very special baby. I found some pale blue fleece in my stash, that was just right for the backing, and as an added bonus it wouldn't need any wading, and it would be soft and cosy - all the things I wanted for this precious little boy.....  .....the next job was to rummage through my thread boxes (yes Heather you know I've got several of these boxes) - and guess what - I'd got plenty of threads in various shades of blue, perfect for lots of rows of quilting on this "wholecloth" quilt - although technically this isn't actually a quilt as it only has 2 layers not 3, but anyway, it looks and feels like a quilt.....  .....I spray basted the fleece and fabric together, and marked a grid with my Clover Hera Marker, and off I went with lots of straight rows of quilting. I started off by using a variegated grey King Tut quilting thread shade 902, then stitched either side of the grid using a variegated pale blue King Tut quilting thread shade 907. I used a plain Mettler blue quilting thread shade 790 in the bobbin. Fleece is a bit tricky to sew with as it can be a bit stretchy, but using a walking foot made it so much easier to handle.....  .....and adding one of my labels? Of course!! and finally strips of black and white polka dot binding lovingly sewn down by hand to finish off this beautiful quilt for a beautiful little boy. I am just thrilled with the way this has turned out. It feels so soft and cuddly, and I'm sure his mummies will use this lots to keep him snuggled up in, as I know they love penguins!!
 A few weeks ago I blogged about "Sew Cute Tuesday" again - and now it's started! Oh my goodness that's come around quickly!! Hop over here to the Better Off Thread blog and see what other crafty creations have been going on - I've added a picture of my Ruby Red Runner!
 Ohhhh look what arrived in the post just before Christmas - a fabulous kit from Oakshott Fabrics!! (This arrived just a couple of days after ordering - I was VERY impressed with their service!). I have been on several quilting courses with Helen Howes and she highly recommends these fabrics, and one of my friends recently made a FABULOUS runner with the Lipari range. Anyway, I had a little peek on their website and couldn't resist this kit. It contains the most gorgeous fabrics - Ruby Reds - a collection of 12 shot fabrics that all share a Ruby Red warp. Oh yummy!!....  .....the pattern is called "Modern Blocks Table Runner", and is designed by Lynne Goldsworthy, and I follow her blog Lily's Quilts regularly. This really was the perfect project to pick me up after all the hullabaloo of the Christmas and New Year festivities. I'd missed not having my machine out over the holidays, and was desperate to start sewing again.....  .....I'd never used Oakshott fabrics before, but all that's going to change! These fabrics were really lovely to sew with, although they did start to fray.....  .....this runner looked fabulous, and I love the way the fabrics change colour in the light.....  .....this was quilted very simply, with straight rows 0.5" apart. I used a burgundy coloured Mettler quilting thread, and used the same thread in the bobbin, and added one of my new labels to the corner. I used a plain black fabric for the single fold binding.....  .....and here is the finished runner, looking very splendid on my dining table. I love this modern pattern, and might try to make something similar with my collection of batiks!
 Do you remember last year I made a couple of "Kaffepause" runners for my dining table and coffee table and a set of 6 place mats using a pattern by Bente Malm? Well one of my colleagues loved those, and asked me if I could make a similar runner for her daughter. Here it is, in it's new home - and doesn't it look lovely? Sherry's daughter was really pleased with it, and I must say it does look very nice indeed! Now I really must get started on some new projects for this year!
 I really love the quirkiness of Amanda Davie's jewelry, and when I saw this unique necklace for sale I knew it was just what I was looking for. This mixed media piece features a large aged brass bat pendant, accented with black and white crackle beads, vintage sparkle, and buttons. I can't wait for the postman to hurry up with this parcel!
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 About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
  
 
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