Rolling into the holidays...

 Here we are just about to finish off this school term. I really feel that the term has flown.

Crafting has mainly been that of the woolly kind. Holidays should make for some creative inspiration and I'm looking forward to working on some of my neglected projects.

I have managed to finish off two woolly projects and a sewing project

the neglected blanket was completed and in an effort to use up the scraps I had to buy some more wool to add to those lovely little scraps. so another knee blanket was completed but guess what .... there are still leftovers. I'll just keep hooking till there is only a tiny amount left.

this is how the leftovers started to come together....

the finished scrappy blanket

this quilt was completed and gifted. I really enjoyed making this quilt and even have toyed with making another one for me.

this little May Gibb's themed baby quilt was completed a few weeks ago. It had been languishing waiting for a border.

Now I know that it's only September but....... 1st of September is the day that my favourite elf on the shelf store opens for the year. Of course some new accessories were purchased and a new little elf jumped into the basket too. Looking forward to the antics they will get up to this year.

Happy days

Marina

finish with a purpose

 There's no greater feeling than finding a recipient for one of your projects. A dear friend has a big '0' birthday and I asked her if she would like to have a quilt for her birthday. I have previously gifted her two others.

The choice was between my little blooms and orange sherbet. She chose Little blooms.

I have been working on it since she made her choice to get it finished for her September birthday and today it will be off to the quilters. 

I really love this pattern and was looking forward to finishing it as a keeper but I'm more than happy to gift it and I can always look forward to making another for myself.

The label has even been done.

wow!

 Boy where does time go?

It was back to work last week after two weeks holidays and I find that I did very little. Usually holidays are my productive times but it was just a take it as it comes sort of holiday break.

I have been slowly adding to my main projects on the go. I have started the second Orange sherbet block and am on the final stretch with the Little Blooms quilt. Only 7 to go and as I am going to gift it to a good friend for her '0' birthday in September it needs to take priority to get it over the line. I love this quilt design so much I may make another one just for me.

I re checked where I was at with this project and it seems I am close to the home stretch on this one too. I need three more dresdens and about seven more stitcheries and it will be all done ready to sew together. I think this may be enough dresdens for me for awhile as it's about the 5th project I've done in the past few years with dresdens!

 

This is a close up of one of the extra stitcheries I needed to do. I really love Kathy Shmitz stitcheries and these tiny ones really appeal to me.

Well that's me caught up! Not much to show for such a bit blogging absence but I feel I don't want or need to do many projects and it takes a bit of thought to chose one I really want to commit to.

Here is a photo of our Daphne which has absolutely exploded with flowers. The perfume as you walk past is divine.

Bye for now and happy sewing.

Marina

Thursday happiness

 It's a lovely Anzac day holiday today and I am hoping to get some time to prep some blocks for my Blooms quilt as I have run out of prepped ones. Always a lot of fun selecting fabrics.

Speaking of fun this week I got to catch up with two bloggy friends. Fiona (Bubz Rugz) is down from Queensland and we arranged a catch up. I thought it would be great to ask our mutual friend Liz to come with me for the drive.

It has been a few years since I have had the chance to catch up with Fiona and it was a joy to do so. Of course the time went by too quickly but there was lots of chatting and laughs had. I remember I caught up with Fiona, Michelle and Teresa in Queensland years ago and that was a wonderfully memorable catch up.

Michelle and Fiona are both making the Caswell quilt which  I made a few years ago and I very generously gave Fiona my pattern (after we both talked her into making it). I thought it might have been even more generous of me to give her my Celebrating Mary Brown pattern as she may like to make this one next but she was not very receptive and replied with a threat about sending me the Civil War Bride quilt patterns if I did.

Hmm some people? 

Thanks Fiona for the catch up and hopefully it won't be years between this and the next one. 

Here are the latest bloom blocks. They are such fun to make. I think I may be close to half way, I must tally up and see.

Hope your day includes some sewing.

Cheers

Marina

What is new....

 Now that a few projects have been completed and delegated to different quilters I can share my new projects.

It was not easy finding the inspiration for a new project. I went through the projects waiting to be started and found a pattern that I had really loved and was keen to do. With everything I need at hand (after a little retail therapy) I was off and running.

this lovely pattern is by Irene Blanck, named Orange Sherbet. It was a project in an English patchwork magazine a few years ago and I was so keen to have it I subscribed to the magazine to get the pattern. That's why the pattern is just printed on paper. Irene has since put the pattern for sale on her website if you're tempted. I was very keen to use the same background fabrics as she used and it took some internet searching to find them, luckily at a couple of my favourite on line stores.

I started with the orange flowers and went with a mottled brown dot for the flower centres.

Tried my best to be as accurate as possible with the tracing on the back grounds and the flower petals. I think it paid off. Sometimes I can be a bit slapdash but this project won't be too forgiving I feel so it's slow and steady for me.

This week past I cut out the flowers for the centre blocks.  Here is one I tried out to see how the colours sat for me. I must admit I have toned the colours down a little bit, but they suit me so I am happy with them so far.

 

Second new start is another Irene design. Little Blooms.

In the pattern the flowers are pieced together like epp but one whole piece suits my purposes better.

Its always fun dipping into different fabrics to put a scrappy top together. Luckily I had quite a few background fabrics in my stash and it feels great to be using them.

Happy days as school holidays have arrived!

Two quilts have the binding to be sewn down, definitely on the holiday to do list.

some more applique to be done with some revisiting of projects on the go.

Cheers for now

Marina

PS thankyou to Suzanne and other commenters for your kind words. I couldn't reply to your comments so will do so here. Thanks