Quilt Parade - Part 1

Last weekend was our retreat at Mannum.  As usual we had a fantastic time and it was great to catch up with everyone.  One of my favourite things about the retreats is show and tell.  Here are some of the awesome quilts that the girls have been working on lately.

Here is this lovely soft quilt that Prue made for her niece's 21st.

Jean's "Night Before Christmas" wall hanging.  Mum quilted it. Her cross-hatching is perfect and Jean's stitching is really gorgeous.  There are some close ups for you as well.

This is one that Maryanne made from a kit that her son bought her.

Another one of Maryanne's.  It is from the "Hunter's Star" workshopand Wallaroo retreat that we held last year.  We used Deb Tucker's Rapid Fire Hunter's star ruler.  Maryanne made the traditional two colour version.  There are some scrappy and three colour versions later in the parade.

Another one of Maryanne's - this time a stack and whack from a kit from Hettie's Patch.  She used Etchings by 3 sisters and it was just gorgeous.  

This is Pat's WIP - half a Double Wedding Ring quilt.  Pat has only been quilting for about 2 years and here she is tackling the holy grail of quilts.  Her piecing is so lovely.

 

 This is Sue's Hunter's Star - it is truly gorgeous.  She has done the three colour scrappy version using La Petite Ecole, maybe I am a bit biased because I love this fabric - but I think not, this quilt is divine.

 And finally Carolyn's Hunters star done in a three colour version.  I love this quilt pattern-  it is so versatile.  You can get results like Maryanne's soft, pretty and feminine version in the pink florals and then a really striking effect like below by using bolder colours as Carolyn did in this stunner she made for her little boy.

Ok - my husband's back with the pizza now - will be back tomorrow with more photos.

All in a Day

The past is sailing off to sea, 

the future's fast asleep.

A day is all you have to be,

it's all you get to keep.

Underneath that great big sky 

the earth is all a-spin.

This day will soon be over 

and it won't come back again.

So live it well, make it count,

fill it up with you.

This day's all yours, it's waiting now...

See what you can do.

This is from a children's book I just read to my

  daughter, called All In A Day by Cynthia Rylant.

It was so lovely I just had to share it with you.

Hoot Party

Before I begin I have to confess that I cannot claim any credit for the fabulousness you are about to see.  On Saturday one of my very favourite people hosted a Hoot themed birthday party for her little boy.  This little boy....2 years!  Where did that go?

If you live in Australia and have kids under the age of five you no doubt know who Hoot is - he's inescapable!  And here he is in fabulous cake form complete with colour matched culinary accessories all handcrafted by my talented friend.

 

Check out the Hoot Juice in the little retro milk bottles - so cute!

And those cake pops!!!  Good God!  I ate three and only stopped there because people were watching me.

Friday Finish - Bloom Cushion

Last year for her birthday, my Mum asked me to make her a Bloom cushion out of Pom Pom de Paris and this week I got it done.  Her birthday was only in September.  No flies on me!

In my defence I did have a ridiculously busy year last year culminating in moving house, and of course all my sewing stuff was packed away for a while....but really any judge worth his salt would throw that defence out of court as the whole thing only took about an hour and a half to make.  If you like it you can find the tutorial for it here.  So happy birthday Mummy.....better late than never.

I changed the back from the original pattern to have a covered zip.  I don't know what I do wrong but whenever I try to do a decorative enclosure with buttons or ribbons my cushions always look like they're haemorrhaging an insert - not pretty.  For the covered zip I followed this tutorial.

I am linking up with Amylouwho's friday finish.....head on over an check out what's been happening this week in craftdom.

Galette

Time is ticking away and our Mannum Retreat is just around the corner!  I am really looking forward to catching up with all the girls, sharing some new tips and most importantly - sleeping through the night!


This year at the retreat we will be working on this quilt......

It is a quilt called Galette, made from Honey Buns, that I originally designed for Homespun back in 2009.  I named it after a French pastry called a Galette des Rois which is traditionally eaten at Epiphany.  Hidden inside the galette is a small token named a fevre, and the one to find the token in his or her slice is crowned king or queen for the day.  We were staying with some friends in France at Epiphany one year and I was the fortunate fevre finder.  Queen for a day - finally, the recognition I deserve!  Pity it only lasted for the day and really only got me out of doing the dishes. 

Yummy Galette des Rois

I made the original quilt in Patisserie by Fig Tree Quilts and this is my favourite block.

Since it has been nearly three years since I made it, I thought that I should test the pattern again before heading off to Mannum. To test it I used some scraps I had left over from a quilt I made for Mum last year.  The scraps are a bit of Pom Pom de Paris, some Blackbird Design Fabrics and some Howard Marcus Collection for a Cause fabric.  I have to say that I am a little bit in love and am now going to remake the quilt in these colours. 

If you live in South Australia and fancy a little getaway in March then there are a couple of spots left for the retreat.  Click here for details.

Buzz Lightyear presents - Sunday Stash

This week the postie delivered this stash....

 

An Athill Range layer cake, 2 Moda Basics Jelly Rolls in Parchment, a Basic Grey Hello Luscious Jelly Roll and a lovely Riley Blake Fly a Kite Jelly Roll.

The Athill Layer cake has already been transformed into large pinwheel blocks and next on the list is to make a double hourglass quilt out of the Hello Luscious.  The colours in that range are so fresh and lovely - I am itching to use it.

On a side note.....Am I the only one who talks to the Toy Story crew?  The other day I found Woody floating in the bath with a very naked Barbie doll.  As I was fishing him out I realised that I was chatting away happily to him about treating Barbie with respect and not just using her for nudie bathtime fun.  Surely I am not alone? 

Pfaff Ambition 1.5

I would like to introduce you to my new friend, the Pfaff  Ambition 1.5.  My mum bought her for me and she is a beauty.  I had been idly thinking about a new machine for a while.  My main gripe with my previous machine (a Janome My Style) was that it was so noisy that I couldn't hear the TV when I was sewing. How's that for a First World problem?

I am a little bit in love with my new machine and here's why......

10 Reasons to heart the new Pfaff Ambition 1.5

• It has a speed control - you can go super slow for tricky delicate sewing or like a bat out of hell when you are piecing strips
• Compared to my old Janome, it is quiet
• It has a needle up/needle down function which I love
• You can set it to automatically reverse stitch when you begin and end sewing
• It has a top loading bobbin with a clear shield so you can see how much thread you have left (not that you need it because....)
• It has a bobbin alert for when your bobbin is about to run out
• It has a touch screen and a stylus to program the machine - very cool
• It has a bobbin thread cutter so you don't tire yourself out reaching for the scissors everytime you wind a bobbin
• The quarter inch foot is very accurate (I had to take to my old Janome foot with a power tool so that it would sew an accurate quarter inch seam)
• And finally it has an integrated walking foot.

Just when you thought I couldn't rave any more about this machine - check out the range of stitches!  (I can report that stitch number 1 works a treat...I may never use the others).

It also has  really neat built in storage for you bobbins, threads and tools.

And just before I go...will you check out this contortionist cat?  Here she is doing some kind of Yoga du Chat.  Bless her.

Bon Week-End everyone!!