Snowball Challenge

A couple of weeks ago I did something outrageous - I joined Allyson and Nicole's Red and White Snowball Challenge. Outrageous because I am usually a bit of a lurker and here I am joining in and sending fabric all over the world (well to the States anyway - am prone to slight exaggeration). For the challenge we will be making this quilt:


I wasn't sure at first if I was going to do it in red. When Nicole asked the question "Got Reds?" on her blog, my answer would have had to have been no. But after a lovely solo shop at Hettie's Patch last Sunday I can now say "well yes ma'am I do!". In fact I think that I could become a little addicted to red fabric.


As part of the challenge we are doing a fabric swap for the light fabrics and here are the three I chose (after much agonising and hassling my friend Amy for her opinion on endless beige fabric) to send to my swapees.


I have washed and cut them and here they are ready to wing their way to the US.



Bring on the Snowball!



Fabric wasn't the only thing I brought home from Hettie's last week. Lorraine and Amy had found four little kittens abandoned by their mother just before I arrived. I brought them home with me and Greg and I have been looking after them for the week while Lorraine is away. They are about 3 weeks old and are super cute - even if they do require around the clock bottle feeding!


This weekend we are heading up to Moonta Bay with my girlfriends and their husbands and about 100 children (again slight exaggeration). I have the Grandmother's flower garden and the Anne of Green Gables packed - I wonder if they'll see the light of day? Unlikely.

Sunday Stash

Hello all,

This is just a quick post to show you all what fabric has tempted me this week. I will post some photos of our Kangaroo Island trip next Sunday (hopefully!).

I popped up to Patchwork Apple on Thursday to buy some fabric for binding. No problem there...I chose this loveliness from a selection of new repro prints that Jane has in.



That should have been the end of the transaction but as so often happens, like a bird I was distracted by these and now they live with me.


While I was there and letting the moths out of my purse I picked up these little 30s prints for a quilt I am planning to make for my best friend's little girl.


And that is literally all she wrote for tonight, and possibly for the next week. Sunday is the deadline to drop quilts off for the Festival of Quilts show in Adelaide and I have 1030" (that is 26.162m) of binding to attach before then. I can feel the calouses forming and the vision failing already.

Until next time,

Shontelle.

PS. I wonder how many seasons of Frasier the binding will take?

Sunday Stash on a Monday

Hi Everyone,

Even though it's Monday I thought I'd post some photos of some delicious fabric I received this week along with some of some Yuletide gorgeousness that I've been hoarding for a few weeks. I did take the photos last night, so technically it is still a Sunday Stash.

This is the backing fabric that I bought for my kaleidoscope quilt. Hopefully I will be finished that by the end of the week and can upload the photos of the finished quilt top - I am currently in phase two of the unpicking stage! I love birds as a motif on fabric and when the Fat Quarter Shop put this on sale I just had to have it.


This is a couple of fat quarter packs of Faye Burgos Christmas fabrics. I plan to make Christmas sacks for my family out of them. If you check back in a couple of weeks I should have the tutorial posted.

These are my favourite fabrics out of the packs:


And last, but definitely not least is this delicious fabric from the Sturbridge VillageIV range by Judie Rothermel. In real life the red is more of a rich ruby colour (the flash has destroyed the true hue) and I can't wait to use it in a quilt I have floating around in my head.


I have finished my apron for the September Apron Challenge, so watch this space - I am hoping that tomorrow is a nice day and I can take some photos of the apron in action for you.

Bye for now,

Shontelle.

Sunday Stash

Hello Again,

Well the day at Hettie's was lovely. I didn't make much of a headway into the Weekender Bag (so called because it takes a weekend to cut out :)), but I did manage to cut out all of the outer and most of the lining. We are going to Kangaroo Island for a family getaway in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping to finish it by then so I can appear organized and sophisticated on the ferry journey.

I thought I'd give you an update on the apron challenge. Not many takers so far - surely there must be some apron lovers out there? I bought the fabric for mine today and thought I'd share it with you.


I love the floral fabric and have been admiring it for months wondering what to do with it. I think that the apron is the perfect project and the colours are just perfect for spring. I was planning to get eloborate and applique a bird on the pocket and make it reversible with another bird embroidered on the other side....but I had a stern word with myself and decided to pull my head in. I don't know how to applique and there are only 10 more days left in the month. So it will be plain but pretty.

This week I have also aquired these fabrics-

They are for a quilt that I have floating around in my head. The pink and green are from Hettie's and the lavender and blue are from The Patchwork Apple. I still need a couple more pinks, greens and some yellow which I will hopefully pick up at the Quilt and Craft Fair in November.

I also managed (finally! after looking everywhere - should have just gone to Hettie's first) to find some plain homespuns to go with the Sherri Berri Christmas charm pack I bought a few weeks ago.


I bought it to make this advent calendar designed by Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson.


The pattern is free to download from her blog or from Sew, Mama, Sew. I am itching to make it, but I have about 20 projects ahead of it on my list. At least I have got the fabric I need and I know that it is sitting there waiting for me.

Lastly, I was thrilled to see this hanging up at Hettie's today -

It is a quilt called 'Starburst' that I designed for our June retreat. Lorraine is stocking my patterns and it made me feel a bit giddy to see it displayed in her beautiful shop.

Bye for now,

Shontelle.