I said that I wanted to make some more time for sewing this year…….and in January I mananged to get a bit more than usual.

My yoyo count  is steadily increasing and I’m just about up to the number required to make the curtain for the Princess Room.

And I sewed all my Around the Block  pieces together into a quilt top which fits perfectly on the bed in the Princess Room.  It went together really well in a couple of hours one night last week up at Sewjourn.

I started a cute little sewing bag using a Rosalie Quinlan  pattern that I’d had for ages and some fabric from my Houston stash.  Now I’m up to handquilting the outside with some Perle thread.

Which reminds me that I haven’t shown my purchases from Houston. 

Fabric bundles from Sample Spree including  the gorgeous Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hoey, Quite Contrary by My Mind’s Eye for Riley Blake, Anna Griffin’s beautiful Carmen and Just Wing It by Momo, which is really special.

Anna’s divine stand was opposite us at Houston – so nice to look at for four days. 

Not that we had much time to look as Kellie’s patterns and stand attracted LOADS of attention as usual.

Including attention from two of the best – Kaffe and Brandon!  And speaking of which, the Kaffe Workshop at Ballarat Patchwork  in February was great fun…..more on that later but here’s Kaffe talking about my quilt.

I was lucky enough to spend the following day at Sewjourn with some lovely girls and so got most of my quilt top sewn together…..just need to finish the middle section but haven’t actually pulled it out since then.

March didn’t see me doing much sewing even though there was a short stay at Sewjourn during the holidays – I did make lots of Welcome Cards for the guests coming to Sewjourn though. 

Oh and I did go to a Sashiko Class at Kimono House  which was lots of fun…..I think sashiko could become quite addictive.

And in April I spent lots of time sorting out my stash and did make two cushions that I love.  I was especially happy with the way the zips worked out as I’ve had a bit of a block when it comes to zips…..but really it was very easy.

It would be nice if I could say at the end of May that a few of the half done projects were finished…..we’ll see as there is 2 weeks in the US and then planning (and cleaning) for a special birthday party at the start of June.

PS  Sorry for photo overload……you’ve done well if you have made it to the end of this post!

Just a LITTLE BIT EXCITED…..off to Ballarat Patchwork TOMORROW for the Kaffe Fassett Workshop.  Promise to be back to report on it soon.

Well, it had lots of things in it that I really didn’t want to lose but……..it also had my FABRIC PURCHASES!!!  And yes my bag did eventually turn up in Melbourne, and yes I know it’s taken me a while to stop falling asleep at 8pm and to get back to writing a blog post, and yes someone has been prompting me to share my purchases so here goes………

Here’s my bundle of fabric – some from our day trip on the first day and some from the Sample Spree

The whole bootie including some voile intended for curtains in Daughter No. 1’s room, but now not sure…..

It’s A Hoot by MoMo for Moda……the Around the Block  girls will have some of this coming their way soon……my month is July – YAY!

And there might be a spattering of this in there as well.

And in the closing minutes of Sample Spree I discovered this and couldn’t resist – the colours match my ‘sewing room’ (AKA ‘junk room’ or ‘front room’) so well!  And it’s gorgeous just rolled up like this so if it takes a while to make the quilt then at least it will look good in the meantime…)

And then there were these other goodies fromSample Spree (sorry about the por quality photo).  My favorite is the Kaffe Fasset umbrella….but of course I couldn’t take it on this  day because it was a bit muddy!

Love the fabric

Love the design

But just not loving how it is all going together so far…….but the more I do the more I think I DO like it???

(Edit – I’ve done quite a bit more since these photos and it is growing on me……..I think??)

Last Saturday  a group of lovely ladies got together and spent the day cutting and sewing and ended up with two completed (almost!) quilt tops.  These are made from left over fabric from our Bushfires Quilts and are destined for a Women’s Shelter.  It’s such a fun way to spend a day!  Thanks girls to all of you for joining in.

Thanks Susie for the photos (I forgot my camera!!)…..sorry I can’t post more but can’t manage to make them small enough in size to load quickly.  But you can find other accounts of the day here and here.

PS.  We missed you Bron (and a few other blogless girls who usually come along) but are planning our next get together on May 1st when we will be making children’s quilts for the Royal Children’s Hospital, so mark it in your diaries!  If anyone else would like to join us you are most welcome – please just email me to let me know.

What a  spectactular day to be here!!

Blue skies, peaceful – even the garden is at it’s best at this time of year! 

So excited about the weekend ahead – just waiting for friends to arrive now……..

Have brought too many projects to do yet again!  But first on the list of priorities is Around the Block swaps!  These gorgeous fabrics arrived from Lara yesterday – which means I have 3 blocks to complete to stay up to date.

Hopefully there will be some completed UFOs to show by Sunday night!  Have a good weekend.

I was lucky enough to pick up these lovelies this week from here which gives you a hint of where I have been and why so many days of Blogtober  have slipped past without a post………

Back on track now………..

…..on a Monday because I already had a post for yesterday and being Blogtoberfest I couldn’t afford to do two posts on the one day!!!

Grant Teint 1880s by Windham

Purchased online from US at a great price……..destined for a special project with two fabric friends!

From Amy Butler’s Nigella range…….

This one is destined for our dining chairs.

And these are for coordinating cushions for the couches.

(PS Yoyo total for the weekend = 12)

Some time ago I joined up for Around the Block swap  and have finally gotten around to doing the first of my September blocks.  Like Lara I decided that I would make each block for myself first (as a practise!!) and then I’d have another quilt at the end of it as well.  These are my choice of fabrics – all from my stash.

I started with Midwest Modern sent from Janelle and just added bits and pieces.   I’m making a big effort to  work with what I have – hopefully it will look OK.  (And I hope my DH is reading this – I’m NOT buying any more fabric……but yes there is enough in the stash to pull together a quilt….or two!)

Anyway, Kate asked for Wonky Log Cabins and sent out some gorgeous fabrics in blue and oranges.  Here’s my first block for her…..

And here’s my ‘practise’ one for me…..

And then another block to use up all of Kate’s scraps……