Teachers Present 2012

My son was lucky enough to have the same teacher for 2 years in a row. Mrs S had taught son 2 in Prep and moved onto 1st grade this year. To complement the quilt I made last year for Mrs S, I made this European sized pillow/cushion with all the children's names embroidered on the back.

The pillow is made using EPP (English Paper Piecing) using the scraps from a Fa La La La Layer Cake and some yardage from other French General collections. It is quilted on both sides with contrasting olive and cream threads. 

Last years quilt (Christmas Ribbons from the Modabakeshop)

Made with Fa La La La by French General

My little boy decided to make the teacher something too. He drew a wonderful picture using the Crayola fabric pens. It is trashies and the parable of the 'sower and the seeds'. He gave it the title - "The everything world". I am sure there is a deep and meaningful message in there somewhere.

Mrs S is a fantastic teacher. I can only hope she will apply for grade 2 next year. Thank you Mrs S for making my son's year a wonderful, safe, happy and memorable year.

Quick Gifts - Bake n Fry dividers

The Moda Bake Shop is running a series of quick gift projects that take under 30, 60 or 90 mins.

I have a kitchen draw full of non-stick pans and baking dishes so I made these quick dividers using Summerville which can be made under 60 minutes.

They are washable and very light weight, which is important if you are posting overseas.

No paper in this house

The year one teacher asked the parents to provide a shoe box wrapped in Christmas paper with a slit for posting mail. Yeah, like I have paper in this house!

A surprise from afar

Our newest member of our inchy hexagon swap has sent me a lovely gift - 'just because'. Cindy, an independent demonstrator with Stampin' Up, has sent a parcel full of goodies.

• 2 gorgeous fussy cut hexie flowers for my garden
• 4 luscious skeins of twine
• 1 handmade card set
• 1 hexie embellished tissue holder

I won the Lottery!

Thank you so much Cindy. Your gifts will be well loved.

Talknt Tuesday

Cara Wilson has been hosting the Talkn Tuesdays for 2 years now on Twitter. Come join in the fun 9pm EST every Tuesday night (Wednesday 10am / 11am Australian EST ). It's like quilting conversation on speed. Great prizes to be won every week.

Tonights discussion will be about English Paper Piecing, hosted by moi and Joanne.

Jubilee, Lario and Snap Pop

I have just uploaded the following Moda pre release precuts in to my little e-shop:

Jubilee by Bunny Hill Designs

Take an elegant Damask, surround it with little running bunnies, and offer it in seven beautiful color combinations and you’ll have the main fabric in Jubilee. The colors are brighter, the fabrics are classic and now we’ve introduced mauve as a new color. Mix and match as you like, you can’t go wrong. Use the damask for drapes, the stripe for bed skirts and add in the coordinating prints for pillows and accessories. I love this fabric line and I hope you do too! It’s a Jubilee of colors and prints!

Lario by 3 Sisters

The classic elegance and sophistication of the 3 Sisters’ style is exemplified in Lario. A recent trip to Lake Como inspired their latest collection which features a picturesque toile illustrating the grandiose villas and elaborate garden landscapes of this famous Italian getaway. Bouquets of intricate prints in rosy reds, soft petal pinks, shimmering aquas, and warm sunny yellows set the mood for your own creative retreat.

Snap Pop by Sandy Gervais

Who wouldn’t want to live in this happy place? Streets lined with bigger than life flowers, big blooming trees and houses painted in bright shades of fun – sounds like the perfect little neighborhood to me! This line features two panels each surrounded by little 2” squares with flower motifs – just imagine the fun you can have! With its bright pops of color this line is sure to put some snap into your days!

La Belle Fleur by French General

Pre-cuts in the new Bella colours

Also back in stock are Marmalade, Simply Color and Cuzco.

On the air waves with Pat Sloan

One of the highlights of my visit to Quilt Market was to sit down and have a chat with Pat Sloan. How excited was I to receive an invitation to be interviewed by Pat, who as we all know is extremely talented and continually excites, motives and inspires us all to embrace 'the art of Quilting'. Pat and her husband are two of the loveliest people you can ever meet.

Pat and I in the Aurifil booth. I am holding Pat's gorgeous 'Eat your Fruit n Veggies' quilt and
Pat is holding the divine Aurifil thread inspired by the collection.

You can listen to this weeks show at

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/radio/index.html

it will air November 19th between 16:00 - 17:00 EST.

and this her radio show page where you can find out about the line-up for her show.

http://www.creativetalknetwork.com/

Two little pillows sitting on a bench

Some Sunday afternoon sewing. Making up cushions / pillows from my collection of orphan blocks.

What's on the table tonight

I have being quilting a large customer quilt all day and in between I have been playing with the 2.5" mini charm square of Carolyn Friedlander's Architexture I picked up at market.

The plan is to make a 20" pillow/cushion using the charms, some fancy artwork and then quilt it. Just as I was getting somewhere the ink ran out. Now I have to wait another week while I wait for more to arrive from the US. Arrrrghhhh!

Best get back to quilting then ........

Winner of Birthday Giveaway

Thank you everyone for my birthday wishes. I have a great few weeks ( I like to stretch it out !). It was very entertaining reading all the places you do and don't stash your fabric purchases.

The winner of the birthday giveaway is

TatkisNovember 3, 2012 7:09 PM

Happy 18th Birthday! ;)
Well, all the fabric addicts are alike, aren't they?
For now I try to push and stuff new fabrics in the containers with previous bought fabric :) no one is noticing :)

Congratulations Tatyana. I will be contacting you shortly for mailing details.

Sew Seasonal Blog Hop - Mini Advent Calendar

Today is my turn to share with you one of the fabulous Christmas blocks designed by Kristy and Alyce. For the duration of the blog hop (until November 13th) their patterns will be free for you to download from our Craftsy stores: Kristy's paper piecing patterns and Ornamental. Link up on November 30 with your own finished products using our patterns and be in the chance to win some fantastic prizes. There's a second chance to win prizes by joining the Sew Seasonal Flickr Group and sharing photos of your blocks as you go!

I chose one of the Ornamental blocks , finished at 10" and created a mini advent calendar using Michael Miller Christmas fabrics.

Using a 60 degree triangle ruler, I cut a 3 3/4" and 4 1/4" triangle.

Found the centre of the block and added the larger triangle to the bottom of the block and smaller to the top. 

Quilted the block and cut out an ornament shape.

Added some ribbon for hanging.

Bound the 'ornament' using 2 1/4" wide binding cut on the bias.

Added flat numeric buttons and a used a cute, little elf button to move along the date buttons each day.

A simple, easy project to hang on the children's bedrooms door, in the house or give as a gift.

There  are 23 other fantastic bloggers lined up to showcase each of the blocks used in different ways to inspire your own creations. 

1st November: Kristy from Quiet Play & Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts

2nd November: Marieka from Bespoke Bites & Jane from Where Jane Creates

3rd November: Susan from Patchwork N Play & Kelsey from Kelsey Sews

4th November: Janice from Better Off Thread & Erin from Missy Mac Creations

5th November: Lucy from Charm About You & Rebecca from Making Rebecca Lynn

6th November: Charlotte from Lawson and Lotti & Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans

7th November: Jess from the Elven Garden & Cindy from Live a Colorful Life

8th November: Elaine from Dashasel Sews & Kelly from Jeliquilts

9th November: Beth from Plum and June & Fiona from Finding Fifth

10th November: Juliet from Tartan Kiwi & Fiona from Celtic Thistle Stitches

11th November: Taryn from Pixels to Patchwork & Anorina from Samelia's Mum

12th November: Megan from Jaffa Quilts & Jane from QuiltJane 

13th November: Gemma from Pretty Bobbins

 ---

30th November: Link up to win! 

Fabulous prizes to be won from the generous sponsors:

Fat Quarter Shop

Intrepid Thread

Fabric Worm

Sew Lux Fabric and Gifts

Stash Modern Fabric

Blossom Heart Quilts

Quiet Play

Even the dog is getting in the Christmas Spirit. Doesn't Jasper look impressed!

   

Six

Without the help of my beautiful friends, the Quilt Market would not have been possible. One particular friend, Karen, helped me with my travel arrangements and more importantly looked after my 6yo while I was away. To thank Karen, I whipped up this quick quilt.

Like me, Karen has a house full of boys, so I foraged through my stash and found two 6" charm packs from Westminster/Free Spirit (Heirloom by Joel Dewberry / Taza by Dena Designs, added a few 6" squares cut from SisBoom fabrics, added 6" wide sashing and borders using Laura Gunn (painters canvas) and backed and bound it with two prints from Kaffe Fassett. It took about 6 hours to make.

Quilted with a Jacaranda Blue thread using a very flowery pattern called Marrakech

Thank you Karen. Enjoy your very girly quilt.