Not Good Enough!

Oh, I did think I would put a lot of this quilt together today - sadly I'm still affected by this darned heat! I'll get into 'My Studio' early tomorrow morning - hopefully it will be pleasant then. Time runs away on us and I thought I must pop in to say hello!Not even two miserable blocks done - but they are 14" blocks! This quilt is from Rachel Griffiths 'Impromptu' - so fresh, crisp and lovely. The original is quite large, mine will be just a small lap quilt - nice to play with and have on hand!Part of my 'little' family DD, Danielle, SIL Adrian and the twins - eight in just a few days! -Heidi and Byron. They were having a romp around on my lounge before heading off to the beach last Sunday. Best place to be these days and we have a lovely one just ten minutes walk away.
Now I'm no photographer, but I think I managed to capture the splendour of this gorgeous sunset, late one afternoon through the week - this is looking towards the beach - doesn't that make you enjoy the beauty we have around us?

Happy weekend!

Birthday Aussie Style!

Happy Birthday, dear Carole! Oh, she's looking good - there should be 70 cakes there.

Jan was our cake-maker - so yummo with our wonderful fresh berry fruits. What a super day it was!
We started celebrations outdoors - here's our gorgeous hostess Louise, on the left and gorgeous Barb, on the right. Even in the middle of a very hot summer's day, we had a lovely spot here with a cool breeze starting to come in.
I always take a pic of our gorgeous Gwen - she's a Canadian, and sometimes her family has a peek at my blog - one of the most photogenic people I have ever known and she's gorgeous too!
Fingers crossed! The start of a new quilt, just a lap size - will tell you all about it soon. I think I maybe 6" or so short on the white fabric - what is it, very nice, but I don't know, sob, sob. I've tried one shop, no, not there - I think I've learned a lesson though -when you find a fabric you love, buy a bolt of it! I think I have ruled out Kona and I am doing a test on solids to decide my preference - I'm waiting on some Free Spirit to arrive and would like to check out some Bella, too. Would love to hear from you on this topic.

Oh, by the way - these pics have been taken on my new Sony Ericsson Xperia phone, some good and some not so. This phone is just sooo good - it jumped off the table, smashed apart, and still took the last pic, not bad hey? Still it is nice to know I always have a camera on hand. I am yearning for a tablet/iPad type that is - I'd love to hear from you on this too - is it because I haven't got one that I want one so badly or am I just a spoiled brat?

Happy day everyone!

I'm Still With the Elephants!

Not a lot happening here stitchwise - just this morning I've had a little play while having my coffee!

I'm really going to enjoy quilting this little quilt. It has been professionally basted by a friend at my local patchwork group - oh, too easy! I have a nice little collection of Perle 8 threads, no gold or yellow, so I'm going around this elephant with a light tan - looks okay!

I think my mojo has returned - maybe I will indulge myself this afternoon and talk to my Janome for a little while. There is so much whirling around in my creative matter up there - it is just so good to feel totally well - cross fingers it lasts! Hoping you are all having a great day out there!

Elephant Flimsy!

The top is finished - it has been fun! Basting next and then to hand quilt with Perle thread.I will use various different colours of thread, so let's hope as I get into the swing of it, the stitches will become even - well sort of anyhow, as I'm not one to let it send me crazy if not! I was lying in bed last night reading my Kindle and covered by an old fine hand quilted quilt - I would have been so hard on myself at the time I did it and now I look at it and think wow! - I just love it!

This is really not a good pic, my next project! Sampler by Karen Cunningham - now where am I going to get all those yummy fabrics? By the way, this is just the centrepiece, tiny blocks, let's hope the patience lasts as I really love this quilt. No instant gratification here, let's hope things go smoothly in my life.

Happy weekend all!

One Panel Complete!

Sounds wonderful, doesn't it and now I have mislaid the insert with templates of smaller elephants - oh well, now I will have to play the artist and draw smaller elephants or try to downsize on my printer!I must say, I am really enjoying playing with these little fellows and using the great fabrics.
I think a lot more applique will happen this year - very relaxing! This one will be hand quilted in Perle thread, so I am really looking forward to that too. We are experiencing a heatwave here in Perth, so nice to be indoors in the cool - Australia is having extremes in weather, so let's hope we all stay safe.
Happy Stitching Girls and Guys!

Back to the Elephants!

I've missed a lovely lunch with my Girlfriends! - now I feel free to indulge myself in preparing more applique for my Elephant Quilt - hope to get a lot done this weekend!I ordered some gorgeous fabric from Kelani this week - see my Sidebar - lovely folks to deal with. The fabric is 'Happy Sweet Collection' by Kei Fabric Japan - it is a glorious texture, not quite as light as Liberty. I would have preferred it to have been a bit whiter background, but I think if I can stick to a whiteish batting it will be nice - oh, I don't have any plans for it, we'll see! Maybe another Liberty quilt!
Just look at this pavlova made by Sue-Ann of Buddy & Me - amazing! This one surely 'takes the cake' - hey, don't be so sad you Kiwis, lol!

Yummo! Is it afternoon tea time?

A Scrappy Week!

This has been fun - at last I am ready to announce a winner and I will post her parcel on Monday - hopefully, because I need some details. Congratulations Sandie from crazy'boutquilts, would love to hear from you soon and a big thank you to Jodi from A Pleasant Home, this has been a really nice experience for me and I do love your blue Dresden! I will continue to follow you to check out what is happening in your part of the world.Two little stacks of scraps - one repro and one modern - the top scraps my precious Keiko Goke.
And the little scrappy Whirlygig - hope you find a nice little spot for this Sandie.
I hope I will make Dianne of Sewmanmaniac Quilter happy - her little quilt above is all packed up and ready to post, so I hope DH will do so this afternoon. I must apologize to you and Mary from My Needle and Thread for being so late getting the parcel to you. DH has just gone out with parcel in hand so let's hope all goes well from here on in!

More big tidy-ups this afternoon - the weekend que sera, sera! Hope you all have a lovely one!

One Last Little Thing!

One last little thing to my Giveaway! I've decided to give this scrappy little quilt as a gift instead of rushing applique - this quilt is 17" square and the blocks just over 3". Cute as and I will machine quilt today or tomorrow. Notice the Dresden Plate quilt I have on my dining table, there for all to see and enjoy - this one was an award winner too!The little quilt above is part of a BOM I never did finish - must get accurate measurements before it is posted.
Here are some repros I have sorted out and the big tidy-up is on this afternoon - while doing this I will pull out my very favourite, bright scraps. You have until tomorrow evening to join in the Giveaway - please leave any Comments on previous Post.

Pop over to Jodi's Pleasant Home - she has some very nice things going on there and she would love to hear from you.

An Invitation - 2012 Sew Scraps Along!

I'm thrilled to be able to welcome you to join in Jodi's 2012 Sew Scraps Along - please click on her button just to the left here! Thank you for choosing me to participate by selecting my Tutorial Dresden Plate, Jodi and it is a wonderful to see any newbies who drop in, thank you too! I'm happy to show you my scraps - well, partly my stash because I do tend to work with the smaller cuts of fabrics.

The Dresden Plate was made with Kaffe fabrics, just love his creations and now I am working on my current unnamed project using some gorgeous Keiko Goke fabrics and a few plains.

Here's a few more - I love whimsy too!

My kinda scraps put to use below!

I'm thinking, as Nanette of Freda's Hive has done previously (dam! I just cannot set up links at the moment! Please check Nanette's blog on my Sidebar!) I'll have a lovely Giveaway ending Sunday 15 January and let you know who's lucky next Tuesday the 17th. I do have lots of lovely reproduction fabrics - if these are the fabrics of your choice, please mention.

I'm flying on a wing and a prayer here - have not been known to be faint-hearted! - my intention is to make a nice, small wall hanging for a winner - if it isn't finished by close-off, it will be soon after and those dear Posties keep delivering. I love applique and also Kim McLean's gorgeous designs.

So looking forward to your visits to Jodi's Pleasant Home and to My Place too! I may post again on this subject soon to tie up any loose ends - to join in for the Givaways, please Comment on this post!

Happy Thoughts!

This gorgeous bag goes back quite a long time and I have received so many comments over the years. It has a lovely little story to it! In my very early days of blogging I was in a swap and Stephanie of Loft Creations was my partner. When this gorgeous bag arrived I was shocked - was this the sort of style and quality we used in Blogger Swaps? Wasn't I the Lucky Girl to enter into this world of quilt blogging! Thank you so very much Stephanie - love you♥ I'm sorry, my linky thingo is not working, I'm sure so many of you know of Stephanie, though!

Dear son, David who is bobbing around in the Indian Ocean on a gas platform at the moment, is our gardener, Good Boy, and has grown these delightful Kangaroo Paws, the floral emblem of the state of Western Australia - the yellow ones are not quite so common though just lovely, I think!

It is nice to be almost back to normal after the Festival Season, here I sit trying to decide if I will take myself shopping hoping the sale crowds have settled. Happy stitching Girls!