Breathing the same air.....

It's the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Normally we would go to our shack but this year we decided not to go. R has just come home fairly wrecked from a grueling school camp to the Grampians...probably as much her late night activities coupled with the strenuous activities the school inflicted each day! Not to mention the mountain of washing she brought home and the need to dry it in this bitterly cold weather.
I have limited sewing accoutrements at the shack, although these are gradually building, so I pick my take-away projects carefully...generally ones that don't need ironing or robust quilting. This time last year I packed a small cutting mat and a ruler along with larger sized fabric scraps that could be cut down to 3 1/2" squares. I remember that weekend cutting, cutting and cutting to create a rainbow pack of squares. Seeing as they'd sat in my cupboard for a year, I thought it high time they were patchworked into a top.I started off pairing each square, then joining the pairs into 4's, then 8's and then 16's. I'm aiming for a 60" square quilt which will be 20 squares across by 20 down. Here they are placed on the floor before piecing.
What's amazing is the number of patchwork quilts appearing this weekend, it seems like there are a few of us breathing the same air! There's this one here and this one here. Both gorgeous. Let's hope this one turns out equally as nice!

Granny square finish....

I haven't been sitting on my hands, although my lack of posts probably looks like I have been! Not that I have to make excuses but sometimes life gets in the way and it's not really blog-able or we get busy and just miss the opportunity.
However, the quilty gods must be happy with this offering. It's my Granny Square quilt that I'm going to give away to R's school as part of a fundraiser for the music student's forthcoming trip to Ireland. Did I hear you say 'lucky'? I got a lovely email from a dear friend recently who said that the only overseas trip she ever got with the school band was to Kangaroo Island! Thank you Bev, I laughed for hours after that.I loved making this quilt from start to finish. I adore each and every block and when it all comes together with the sashing (I used Kona Snow), it's nothing short of divine. And, against this dull late Autumn sky it's like a little bit of springtime has been delivered to my clothesline. The back is a really pretty aqua with white polka dot that was recently gifted from another gorgeous friend. It's a fabric colour that I probably wouldn't have been drawn to in the past but I'm smitten with it now. It goes perfectly with the whole quilt. The back also features a band of left-over 2 1/2" squares to help join the fabric.I haven't quilted anything for ages and I don't know about you but I tend to get really nervous before quilting...in case I muck up all the hours of piecing I guess. But the size of this quilt made stippling really manageable and it went like a charm.
Finally, the binding. It's the last of my Amy Butler Martini Dot in orange. I love how it frames the whole scrappy-ness of this quilt. Sigh....it's going to be hard to give away. I'll just have to make another one for myself I think.

Autumn bounty....

We have a lovely 4 year old espaliered quince tree that over the years delivers an equally lovely bounty of quinces each May. After a bit of a rocky start, and after a bit of advice, Joe has been using some fertiliser that we bought from the grower which whilst hasn't produced too much extra fruit, has produced mega sized fruit! So in preparation for Mothers Day dessert next week, I set about picking 8 of these magnificent yellow orbs which easily filled my large Le Crueset casserole, and prepared them for poaching. I use Stephanie Alexander's recipe. After 6 hours on low in a light sugar syrup, lemon and vanilla, these beauties turn into ruby coloured gems. Not to mention the divine smell that swims around the house for hours. It amazes me that such tough old fashioned fruit turns into such delicious, highly sought after produce! Stay tuned for next week's installment!

Lots of lots of....

I've been having one of those 'doing lots.....not achieving too much' periods.
Work has been super busy and I've loved just coming home, stitching a bit and sorting fabric. I've made piles of strips, sorted small size scraps, small prints, florals, you name it, I've sorted it!
I found this gorgeous tutorial over at Nana Company for needle books and this has totally fed my desire for small print florals and Cath Kidson-sh contrasts of florals, gingham and polka dots.When I left last Saturday for the red-eye to Melbourne (which sadly was delayed 2 hours!) to visit my 3rd Australasian Quilt Convention, I had just this look in mind for my fabric purchases.
And let me tell you, I indulged....big time....bought lots, spent too much...but suffered little guilt....after all why else was I there?The biggest delight were the two stands selling Tilda fabrics. I've had the Christmas book for years and had no idea these fabrics existed. I was thrilled to find these divine prints which completely fed my lust for florals and polka dots....not to mention my favourite colours of pink, red, aqua and green!
Next thrill was the Doctors Flannel from Ballarat Patchwork. I've used this inside my needle-books for the pages and it is spectacular. So lovely to work with and cuts amazingly well with pinking shears. It's on my list for future purchases! Such a shame it is seriously pricey!
Interstate fabric buying is fun right down to the scrap bags and long sought after fat 1/4's but you need to make room in the cupboard so I started paper piecing some scraps for a strip quilt. I've managed 16 blocks over the last few days and this has made quite a dent in my scrap bag. I've shelved them for a while as I need to make some more quilts to get some more scrap stock. Isn't that ironic!
Now I'm playing with left over 2 1/2" squares and a back for my Granny Square quilt. Maybe I might get something finished some day soon!

Knit one....

...knitter's two!
I finished R's beanie, right down to an extra large pom pom. I hadn't intended the pom pom to be 'that' large but I couldn't undo it. Luckily R thinks it's OK, so it's still on! I'm worried it's weighing the beanie down making it extra slouchy!
The pattern (minus the pom pom) can be found here.And first time knitter R has made a really good start on her scarf. As with all first knitting attempts there are a few oopsies but she's enthusiastic and that's the main thing. Let's hope it's maintained long enough to get to scarf length!

Knitting season....

I thought I'd do a spot of knitting over the Easter break. I've chosen to work on a slouchy beanie for R which requires two sets of double knitting needles and two sets of yarn knitted together to create a 12 ply thickness....lots of bits. So to keep it all together, I thought I'd whip up one of Jen's little drawstring bags.The pattern for the bag is really straight forward but instead of using the recommended two exterior fabrics, I opted to use a whole piece of cheater print that I was recently gifted from the very generous Michelle. I also changed up the sizing a little, working with a 13" square. This was essentially to create the biggest bag I could out of the fabric I had that also allowed me to match the horizontal print on each side. I love how it turned out.
Then R asked if I'd show her how to knit a scarf. I dug out some needles that little hands would find easy to work with and some left over balls of wool. And because I was so thrilled with how neat my knitting was looking, I whipped another up for her.R's bag features a very cute Kokka print called 'Treffle' a pattern devoted to all things Paris. It's a little bigger again, 16" x 16" and lined with some more of Michelle's gifted fabric, a gorgeous red and white stripe. And to keep with the red, white and blue, the straps are made from some of DS Quilts' Picnics and Fairgrounds argyle in blue and white.They make a lovely pair of little bags indeed. Happy Easter!

Granny...how I love you...how I love you...

....my dear old Granny....!
If you sing this like Jolson sings Swanee, you'll have an ear worm that rolls around your head all day. Just like mine did as I sewed my Granny Square quilt top together.
I'm still loving it and will let it sit while I ponder a backing and how to quilt it. In the mean time, it's "Granny....how I love you, how I love you, my dear old Granny...!"