Russian Doll Quilt

 

For those of you who've been stopping by my little blog for the last few years may be wondering what ever happened to my Babushka quilt....well you can breathe a collective sigh of relief as I have finally finished the top!!  Here it is - apologies for the picture - there were no helpers around to hold the quilt up. 

 

Now to choose the backing and this is another one to be hand quilted.  The dolls are telling me that they really want to be framed by some hand stitches.  I'm looking forward to spending time chatting to each one as I go...there's Olga and Anastasia and Anna and Tatiana and Nadia and Svetlana...they have become my friends over the YEARS it has taken me to put this one together...

 

I'm thinking of renaming my blog to Quilt Interrupted :) I take so long to finish anything. So this is not a ta-dah, just a progress report

Hammock Quilt Ta-Dah

I finished the quilt top yesterday.....this is the quickest quilt I've ever made.  I think I took 3 weeks, snatching a few minutes here and there.  The colours are wonderful and I love love love it.  It looked so beautiful in the glorious sunshine in my garden yesterday.  Perth is having one of the most stunning weeks weather wise.  Wide blue skies with radiant sunshine. Cool crisp mornings for my walk. 

 My plan is to have it quilted by my quilter guy, once I choose the backing.

Colour Therapy

 

I added in lime.

 

I should have it finished on the weekend. It's the quickest quilt in the world to make...and as I'm the slowest quilter in the world, this is a good thang! 

 

I can't get over the ''prolificnessness '' of the likes of Rita at Red Pepper Quilts! I am totally awed out.

 

And this next pic because...well...just because (fabric lovers will get it :)

 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by xo

My next patchwork project :)

I'm putting aside the sewing this weekend for some household patchwork.  A section of a side wall of our house is in desperate need of attention and has been for the 9 years we've been here.  But now we're moving on, this wall has the potential to freak out any buyer! 

Who'd have thought a carpenter/builder lived here? Just testament to the old saying about living with a plumber and always having dripping taps, or a painter an unpainted house or however it goes.  I've lost count of the unfinished bits and pieces around our place.  Funny how there is always time to drink beer and pat the dog and watch hours and hours of Dad's Army dvds.....

Needless to say I'm hitting a very bumpy patch as our relationship ends and the house sold.  As much as I am trying to stay calm and tell myself one day I will wake up and this ugliness will all be behind me and not ahead of me, I have my moments of freaking out, intense sadness, relief, exhaustion, nervous hilarity...so "bear with me'' dear readers and sharers of my little corner of happiness and sunshine that is my blog.  I love coming here and reflecting on snippets of my life.  I love looking at others crafty worlds and sneaking a peek at other creative lives.

thanks for reading xo

I'm not sure

I've had this fabric stashed for years now, just waiting for the right project to come along, so when I spotted the Hammock Quilt in Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making, I was totally inspired. So here is my version, ready to piece together....but .....I'm hesitating.  Perhaps, it's because I have followed a pattern in a book and my version is different in that I've used stronger colours and I look at the photo and think am I getting this right?  Do I just trust myself? 

Do you know that quote "Don't let comparison steal your joý."?  Should I just bust it together and not over think it?  Or is that yellow really too strong?

Retail Therapy

My last week has been very stressful, so when I got an email from my local fabric shop announcing 4 DAY SALE, I knew what I had to do :)

I've been sorting my stash a little lately - I know I have, but to the onlooker they may not see my progress.  Piles of fabric covering a fairly large floor area = sorting to me :)

So off I chuffed in my lunch break...I'm lucky enough to work in the next suburb...for a bit of light relief from a fairly harrowing office environment lately. Having recently sorted I identified a few gaps in my stash...and a sale coinciding with pay week...what serendipitous timing.  The planets have aligned and spend I must :)

Down to Materialise I drove...and here is my stash builder collection

I know you can feel my glee and hear my squeals of happiness and delight.

Here is the hero piece of the day....

The bolt had just arrived and it leapt into my arms.

All in all I think I was fairly restrained...with 20% off EVERY bolt in the store, I may have to venture back...I mean after all....it's an investment in my future......