what a day

Yesterday I got to entertain the wonderful city girls at my home. We had a great time spent chatting, eating and laughing with a bit of retail therapy thrown in for good measure. What more could you ask for?

I got some tips for my needleturn applique and after confusing Elyte, I tried to help her with some stitching.

Funny how when you do something without thinking it can be so hard to show someone else how to do it.

I took the girls to Jemima's patchwork shop, a shop run from home in Craigieburn. Can you believe that none of them had ever been before.....Some silly person didn't check their Tuesday opening hours and when we arrived the shop wasn't officially open but Shirley and Veronica were very accomodating and the girls and I got to do some spending. It's a great shop and has a wide variety of fabrics, something for everyone really.

I did notice that there was a big assortment of batiks that had multiplied since my last visit. I have found a fondness for them since making my aussie flag quilt. 

I'm afraid I didn't take pics of our get together I was too busy making cups of tea, stitching and chatting. Elyte was official photographer of the day so hopefully she will post pics soon.

the girls all commented that our get together was a therapy session, how appropriate that they come to the asylum...

thanks girls for a wonderful day!

It hasn't been all laughing and cups of tea all the time here...

The signature quilt is complete!! I finished stitching the binding and sleeve down this morning.

Hooray!

not a bad effort - started on the 12/9/14 completed on the 1/10/14. I think this is almost a personal best. I think it will come close to my aussie flag quilt.

hand quilted with crochet cotton( to speed up the process a little bit.)

 the left overs pieced into the back,

 I was very happy with how neat the quilting turned out, not many zig zaggy stitches on the back either. Wish I could channel that  permanently.

My third sweet William applique got done too.
I am using scraps from my flowers where I can. These are favourite scraps from a quilt I made some time ago. I have held onto them for ages, nice for them to resurface. I have cut out the two baskets for block 2 and 3. Hopefully they will get done soon.

...But a new project has taken priority... I forgot that I had promised to make a baby quilt for a friend who is about to become a grandmother for the third time. 

I picked up some fabrics from Jemima's yesterday to go with the stitcheries I have selected.

Was going great guns with the first stitchery when I ran out of thread. Typical!

Off to get some this afternoon so it doesn't hold up proceedings.

Will show you my fabrics and hopefully a finished stitchery next post.

Happy days!

Marina