Boxes And Bows

One top sewn together of a table runner...

This is a free pattern on the modabakeshop page.

I used my favourite designer Sweetwater.  The range is Cookie Exchange.  This uses a charm pack which is a pack of 5" squares.  Will find some binding & backing later on in the week.

Pretty Present

Just playing...  

Christmas Is Not Sneaking Up

It is coming at a very rapid pace...

Preparing...

And Now For The Baking!

Pleading to bake started early today.  No good excuse not to as it was a bit damp out.  

Started with DJ & ANZAC biscuits & then chocolate chip cookies.  

While doing that I came across the Lemon Slice recipe that BJ had been asking to make for a few weeks.  So got that ready to roll too.  

Super excited to be able to say I have a third quilt finished off too.  This Sweetwater fabric range "Reunion" is a jelly roll fun & fast quilt I put together a while back.  Unfortunately I cannot find when, anywhere on here.  I can't remember when I whipped it up.  But now, it's basted, quilted & bound.  It will go in the cupboard with my collection of Sweetwater quilts.  lol  Oh & I quilted it with a template I made myself, trying to duplicate the 4 petal flower sort of design in the fabric.  I thought it needed a big sort of design on it some how.  I'm not good at it or anything but I guess if I do some it's called practice.  

I was reading something earlier about how people don't quilt their quilts for fear of ruining them so the quilt tops get put away for an age until they feel brave enough.  Yes, I can see why.  Have one of those coming up.  Anyway, it's nice to try something new & have a little play.

Leftovers!

So I had a couple of pieces of the green fabric left.  So I used them.  As you do.  I used up some more of the cute Store front labels that I had cut out.  I added the Christmas tree fabric to the top & bottom of these.  I love them.  

My Gift

I showed this nice fabric off the other day when I had done the place mats.  Well I had to do a table runner or something else where I could incorporate the car fabric.  Little cars with Christmas trees on their roof?  Of course.  So this is my table runner, about 1m long x about 45cm.  I like it.  Love the fabric.  Think I had better move on now.  Next project!  lol

Christmas Inspirations

Christmas gifts for me the teachers & swim teachers maybe.

My favourite fabric designers have done it again.  I love this range from Sweetwater called Holly's Tree Farm.  I have cut out the pictures from one fabric with a wavy blade & the fusible webbed them to the backing.  Basted them & all I have done is a straight stitch around each square on the machine.  That is quilting & sewing the patches all at once.  Binding is fabulous with that diagonal stripe.  Love it.  & I cheated & did all that on the machine too.  No hand stitching in sight.  Cheating, but hey, it has made for a quick idea & I think, a great result.  

Now to decide who is getting them.  It looks like 2 teachers are.  So scrap all that knitting I did.  That is not in the equation any more & it seems I have a nice range of new cowls for next year.  lol  

Christmas Is Coming

Couldn't help myself at work yesterday.  Had a little play.  Now playing at home a little more...

Wait & see...

Some Finishes

A couple of weeks ago I had a basting session with mum.  She had a couple of quilts to do so between the 2 of us we should get a groove going & make the most of the time & place we got to use.  

I did a couple of mine that day, these 2 cot quilt sized ones.  I finally got around to quilting them last week.  It didn't take long to do that really once I got started.  I didn't even bother moving the machine to the dining table with my big quilt extension table.  

The binding bit took a little bit longer as I only had small snippets of time to do any hand stitching.  Saturday night saw the longest stretch of time in one sitting to do some.  Sunday I got the second finished.  

Yay.  I am really pleased with them both.  I love the top one.  I seem to really like the Sweetwater fabrics...  this is the range "Road 15".  I should have taken a close up of my little hosues...  can't see it so well.  Darn...  But lighting wasn't good today  - very dull & grey...  

Below is the Retromobilia fabric that I really like.  Something different again.  This is a good pattern.  Only uses 9 fat quarters.  

Both patterns are from the book "Growing Up Modern".  There are a few more I would like to make from that one yet.  

Road 15

It's hot!  But oh well, I still had to come home from work today & do some sewing.  You know, these crazy ideas you get in your head at silly times.  Oh well.  

I did that tractor quilt in January.  Do you remember that one?  It was a cool pattern for a small kids quilt from the book Growing up Modern.  What a terrific book.  Since doing that I look at fabric designs that are in rows...  It was such a nice pattern & it has so much potential.  I was going to do a quilt in it using half a jelly roll.  I gave half to mum.  She's almost finished.  The other half is now going to my aunt from the UK that is here so she can do one too.  She has never quilted & is a great sewer so wants to learn.  Never too old to learn either you know.  She is almost 80!  But you wouldn't know it.  

Well anyway, I had to make it again.  I had to use the cute little houses from Road 15 by Sweetwater.  We had a few of the range at work.  But it was the little houses that had me along with the mappish looking one with things like Abbey Road, Downing St, Lombard St, Wall St, cute things in a cute map that isn't exactly an accurate type of map!  lol  Well I came home & sewed.  It's done!  You can't get the print from this over all picture but you get an idea...  closer pics of the fabrics below.  

Six fabrics from the range & a Moda Bella solid Natural for the narrow strips.  I'm really pleased with it.  No idea who or what for but I love it.  I will quilt it much the same way as the tractor one I think.  Less is more...  that's me!  lol  

I told you before I seemed to be addicted to Sweetwater's fabric designs!  This is the third one this year!  

I should have cropped the top picture I think as it looks like the quilt has a head & glasses on!  lol.  Oh & 4 legs too!  

And Another Quilt

I have to say it!  I adore this fabric!  It is Pure by Sweetwater.  From a couple of years ago.  I got the jelly roll from work.  I am not sure if I was working there at the time or not.  But I got it.  The pattern is from the book Jelly Roll Inspirations.  This is my favourite book of all the Pam & Nicky Lintott books.  

I did this quilt top 2 years ago almost.  I know that as I gave it to Stuart for our 20th Wedding Anniversary!  hmmm...  I can finally say it's complete.  Yay!  I love it.  It's beautiful.  Definitely a favourite.  It was good to give it too him, as that way it stays in the house.  (ulterior motive!  Of course! )

I seem to have a love of all things Sweetwater as the quilt top I made the other week was with their Reunion fabric.  I also have a little of their newer one Road 15.  I have something in mind for that when I buy a little more.  I won't at this stage buy a lot of it.  I am being good.  Trying at least!  

So that's that one.  Another of my long list of things to do this year.  

The Weekend

So, what do I decide to do at 9pm on Friday night?  Make a quilt of course!  Weird time to decide such a thing but I did.  I was sitting there wasting time trying to decide what I felt like doing!  It was too late to start a new crochet square it seemed so I didn't!  But hey, why not start a bloomin' quilt instead!   (yeah I don't get the reasoning going on in my head either! )


I had this pattern picked out of the Jelly Roll Inspirations book already as I got the book particularly for it!  I had had a little play with the jelly roll a while back.  Now I had this sudden urge to sew it though!  So Friday night I got a bunch of strips sewn up.  Saturday afternoon during nap time was the next part of the strips.  Saturday night was the centre panel.  Sunday & the borders are added & there you go, one quilt top!  The fabric range is from Moda, called Pure by Sweetwater.  I never really got into jelly rolls but this particular range I fell in love with a few years ago when it came out.  Now I must say having the strips all cut ready is a huge help though you do create a lot of fluff about you from the edges!  Minor problem of course!  I'm quite pleased with it.  Now I just need to get the batting, some backing & quilt it!  Ideally I would like to get that done in the next week so I can give it to someone the week after but I don't know if that will happen in that time.  But either way I can "give" it up to where I am at at the time I reckon!  Yes I decided it would be perfect to give away!  But not to just anyone!  Stay tuned for that one!  hehehehe...

It was actually a quick top to sew up.  The thing that took the longest I think was cutting the bits off the brown triangles after they were sewn on.  But even so it didn't take terribly long!  The really cool thing though in all of that is that I still managed to get some crap jobs done around the house as well!  Those jobs that I had no intention of starting on but they just happened to get done!  So that's pretty cool!  Now I better resume with the ones that do need to get done though!

Hoping your weekend was a productive & fun one too!