All I want for Christmas is...

... a Swoon Quilt on the bed!

 I just wanted something bright and summery to match the lovely weather we have been having.  And the small fact that the binding is not quite finished yet was not enough to prevent the Swoon finally getting its time to shine for Christmas.  For all the angst I had putting it together - I now struggle to find those pesky intersections that just wouldn't match up making the blocks.

Beep Beep has been whizzing along...

This got to the stage where I had to think and assess what fabrics were going to go into the missing slots - pins in my design wall worked well to give the visual aid and make sure it was all looking balanced.

Until finally all the blocks have been constructed!  This may well be a new land speed record!

Do you know that there is only one sleep left?

My kids have the job of decorating the tree and I love that it has that "casual" feeling.  A little house means a little Xmas display.

And this little guy crops up every few years when I remember to bring him out at the right time of year.  I'm still surprised that the glue is holding him onto his rockers (repurposed coat hangers).

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Christmas - hope Santa brings you all something nice!

Beep Beep Progress Already!

Stretching my fusible web scraps as far as I could meant there was enough for two more blocks - although I did have to choose the ones that were long and skinny.

I had been pondering how to use the stripe feature fabric, wondering whether to use it as a block silhouette or not.  Such a strong stripe was probably not ideal for this application - damn that directional fabric. I thought about adding grey sashing to the blocks, so that I could use the stripe as a corner stone, but then worried that the extra grey around the blocks would just look like a big grey mass.  Discussing this with a quilting friend - hey, thanks Charlotte :o) we threw around the idea of cutting the blocks down, so that I could add the sashing.  But that just sounded like too much work.  Brain wave... cut back some of the blocks (maybe three to make it nice and zen), and add a narrow border of the stripe, to make the block full size again.  Perfect!

While these fabrics may look like solids from a distance, they all have some sort of pattern.  I think it is going to be a great looking quilt!

Now I really do need to buy more fusible before there can be any  more progress.

OMG it's almost Christmas

As the school year has rolled around to a finish, we have been inundated with school and work activities... more than I can ever remember.  I am so glad that it is now all done with for another year - even though while I have officially finished up at work until the end of January, I will still be making regular appearances to catch up with urgent work requirements.

Hubby has requested that I make a baby quilt for a work colleague.  So out came the books and patterns.  I have some good designs for boy babies, waiting for the right person - now that my own little boy baby is a teenager and is taller than me!  This little traffic sign quilt is perfect for a family involved with roading construction.

Of course I will be working with a slightly scrappier colour palette, although it all does hinge loosely around the green/red/orange/blue stripe.

And progress so far! I think this would be a great first project for someone new to applique. I have chosen a soft grey homespun as my background, which is hopefully a bit more forgiving and practical than a white background per the pattern.

I have now run out of fusible webbing... so off to the shop I must go before any more gets done.