To my sister...

who is moving to London tomorrow...

We'll miss you lots
xxx

Welcome Lily!

I just heard news that I have a new baby cousin! Lily was born just after 5pm this afternoon - that makes 4 girls of 4 babies in the last 3 years!

I have almost finished her quilt. The top is done, I just need to get some backing fabric so I can get onto the quilting part.

I'm not sure what I will do when I have to make a present for a little boy - I am far too girly! Here's the presents I made for the other three girls.

Yasmeen's Sunbonnet Sue wallhanging


Bonnie's baby blanket

Belle's baby quilt

Spring Stitch-In - 12th September

I flew to Melbourne on Friday night ready for my day at Glenharrow with Leanne and Rosalie...



There were giftbags at each seat with some very cute cookie cutters, a kit each from Rosalie and Leanne and also 2 fat-eighths of Rosalie's new fabric range!!

There were lollies to keep our energy levels up (note the tablecloth of Rosie's new fabric)...

And he barn was decorated with gorgeous samples of Rosalie and Leanne's work.

It was lovely to see these quilts up close and to discover the incredible amount of work that Leanne had put into them - her embroidery stitches are so tiny!

We did a little stitching too - in between nibbling on the lollies!

Here's my Mum - busily stitching!

We enjoyed a lovely lunch...

And then went for a walk through the gardens of Glenharrow...

We met some of the Glenharrow family....

This little guy was my favourite!

We went back inside for some show and tell. This is Chantelle - one of the lovely girls Mum and I shared a table with. She had two gorgeous quilts to share.

Then I showed off my Leanne's house quilt (yes, I know, I've still not finished! It will happen one day!)

Leanne spent some time chatting with us and teaching us her method for needle-turn applique

Then Rosalie taught us how to mount our stitcheries onto a canvas

I was a little nervous when we arrived as all the ladies seemed to know each otheralready. But everyone was so lovely and Rosalie and Leanne were incredibly friendly, approachable and very honest. A huge thankyou to both ladies (as well as Nel, Erica and the others) for organising such a wonderful day.

Mum and I had such a great day - when can we sign up for next year?!?

Bonnie's baby blanket

I recieved some great mail this week, but my husband is currently asleep and I can't get to the camera without waking him (see what happens when you work from home? sleeping in!), so I thought I'd share the blanket I made in 2007 for the birth of my cousin's first child - Bonnie Blossom!

At the time, I was attending classes in Mill Park in Melbourne with my Mum, her friend and her friends daughter and on the walls of our classroom were lots of embroidered woolen blankets. One of the other women in the class and myself asked if we could make one too - and our wonderful teacher Pene agreed.

I used a soft flannel for the back and satin ribbon for the edge

From my photocopy of the pattern pieces, I can see that this was called "The Duckling" and was designed by Libby Vater of South Australia, however, unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the book the pattern came from.

the page for this blanket in my quilting journal

As I was making this blanket, I discovered my cousin was pregnant - phew! I refuse to keep any of the baby or kids quilts, toys or blankets I make so as to not jinx ourselves for the future! One of my favourite things about this blanket is the butterfly wings which I stitched in a sparkly thread and I have been told Bonnie loves to play with them too. Bonnie turns 2 in April - I'd better start thinking about her birthday present!

Thankyou all for you lovely comments on my pincushion/wallhanging. Hopefully I will get it finished this week to show you. And just because I thought it was cute - here's Sampson enjoying some wadding!

record time!

Since I decided to take my stitching with me on the train each day, I am dedicating a solid 40 minutes each day to my projects - which means I have been able to finish the stitching of 12 red robins in record time!

The original, stitched by Natalie (with much tinier stitches than mine!), was placed in a white frame, but I think I will back mine and use the same red heart fabric for the binding. I think I should definitely have this one done in time for Christmas!