I did finish something...

I am working very busily on my Secret Santa Christmas Gift swap project and I don't want to give any clues as to what I am doing yet. But I will say that I am handquilting at the moment so it is nearly completed.

So I am just going to show a bag I made a few weeks ago from a Melly and Me pattern called Sherbert. I have had the fabric for a little while and when I saw the pattern I knew that was what I wanted to make. I only had a half metre of each one so it wasn't really enough for a quilt. I think it has come up nicely. I used red perle cotton to quilt it because I wanted to fix the lining in a bit better ... and then I had to do the handles as well... just because.....

My only problem now is that I have found a shop which has the matching spots and stripes fabric and I am sooooo tempted. Still this is finished and I really don't need any more fabric, do I?

A group quilt show...

My friend Dianne goes to another quilt group and they had organized a small show for the other members. Of course I had to tag along. I just took some photos of the general collection because I wanted to show the interior of the church where it was held. I forgot to take a photo of the outside but I have found one here. Across the road is the sea so it is a very popular historical church for weddings. Although I have never attended here - it has been a part of my surroundings for as long as I can remember. So as you can see it is a beautiful place to have a quilt show.....

Sometimes just looking at a smaller collection of quilts prevents overloading and I have to say that my appreciation was great. It was only held for two hours because it was really just for sharing, so I am glad that I could make it.

It certainly is also inspiring because these are local quilters and it proves once again that beautiful quilts are being made everywhere. What a feast for the eyes!

P.S. I just had to add this page that I found of the church in 1890 . The shoreline looks different now. I love the little bathing boxes at the water's edge. It's funny how writing about one thing can lead on a tangent - but in this case a nice one because I learnt something new about my area.

variety

I'm sure that most people have seen this pattern around - it seems to be fairly popular due to the Holly Jolly fabric range and the charm squares you can get. The name of the pattern is Table Attire and is from Pieces from my Heart. Mine is the one on the left and because I like the Holly Jolly range I went with the original idea. My friend Dianne also liked the idea but decided to go with a Cold Winter Noses charm pack she already had. Her's turned out wonderfully and just goes to remind us that while something can be designed for one style it can still be fabulous when done another way.

Mine is still a flimsy because I bought a charm pack and am still waiting for a parcel from overseas to bring me my binding and backing fabric. When I bought the pack the shop owner said that Moda was only sending charm packs and Jelly rolls to Australia - no yardage. I don't know if is this is true but obviously she had been unable to get any. This is a bit annoying, at least to me, as while we can make a project using the packs, we can't get the fabric to make borders and bindings. So I went on line and ordered some just to finish my runner. I know I could have found something else but in this case I wanted the stripe fabric to bind it with.

I love both the runners and the way that they turned out. I have a Cold Winter Noses pack here too so maybe I'll try one using that. I guess it is all about keeping an open mind and not letting the original pattern colours restrict us. ( Having said that though - in this case I really love the colours of the Holly Jolly range.)

Here's hoping the postman turns up soon so I can finish it.

quiet time

Somehow the past month disappeared. Things still happened but didn't seem noteworthy. We had two weeks school holiday so there was always something else to do. And I just needed some quiet time.


I decided I would just start from today and as I go I will put a few photos and happenings from the past few weeks in between, and catch up. I just have to get the photos from the camera to the computer and then I'm in business. Talk to you soon....