Sneak Peek

Just a little sneak preview of "Put a Ring On It" (so-named because I could NOT get Beyonce's song "All the Single Ladies" out of my head while I was working on this quilt all weekend...).

I just had lunch with my friend, Cheri, at Panda Express. My fortune cookie contained this fortune:

"You will spend many years in comfort and material wealth." I don't think the fortune writers meant it quite so literally, but this arrived from Australia yesterday.

Coincidence?? I think not...

I've Fallen Weeks Behind

I've been so lazy with my blogging these last few weeks. I had a marvelous school holiday and even escaped to the beach for a couple of days. It was crispy autumn weather. We went to Point Nepean. On the left is the peaceful bay and on the right is the open ocean. We walked through the park and caught the shuttle. It used to be an old army base. There were some very cool rusty relics.

We sat on the beach and walked and drank coffee and ate yummy food.

The boys are studying for their mid years. Hard Life!

I took my hexies with me. They are so portable.

There is no plan with these guys. I am just adding on scraps as I go. No paper piecing. I'm just drawing the lines and sewing them together with running stitch. My textile teacher way back at uni would be horrified but it works! 

I loathe to throw away even the tiniest bits of fabric which is why I am getting so much pleasure out of this project. I also have been using my scraps to make these.

I got the idea from One Shabby Chick. I have linked her straight to her tutorial on how to make these little purses. They are so easy to make and use up lots of scraps.

I think they will make great end of year presents for some of the teachers I work with.

During the holidays I had to baby sit Phil, my class pet. When I first introduced him he looked like this.

During the December holidays he lost his exoskeleton and now looks like this.

He is no longer brown and 'twig like' but green with yellow horny legs and hard to find amongst the eucalyptus leaves. He is also nearing the end of his days. I found out that he is a Goliath Stick Insect which makes sense because he is probably 10" long.

I finished Rivka's quilt for her brother. It really is fun. It's binding was from Denyse Schmidt's new range. Although I can't say I love the range, the colour was perfect for the binding.

I think there is still more to tell but that is for another day.

Color Therapy Thursday--Jumping on the Bandwagon

I have jumped on the bandwagon. The Denyse Schmidt/Joann's fabric bandwagon, that is.

That phrase kept going through my mind when I woke up in the middle of the night. Does that ever happen to you? Howexactly did that phrase originate?

Nothing earth shattering. It was coined in the U.S. in the mid 19th century as the name for the wagon that carried the circus band. Now it just means "a growing movement in support of someone or something, often in an opportunist way, when that movement is seen to have become successful."


Yep, that pretty much sums up my feelings about DS's new fabric line. Well, maybe not in the opportunist sense. Although I have seen fat quarters going on etsy for $4.99 each! I'll just be happy to get another yard or two with my 50% off coupon.

And did you know that there are colorways available in Australia only? I learned about that here, and it's gotta be true because Audrie heard about it from Denyse herself. That seems like a reliable source...

(Photo from blue is bleu)

It's been an odd week, kind of introspective. I've been reading a lot, but not blogs. And I've thought a lot about quilting, but haven't sewn a single stitch.
 
On the other hand, all the blocks from the first quarter of the 3x6 mini sampler block exchange have arrived. I'm participating all year, and requesting orange/grey/white each quarter. It should be a fabulous quilt. But before I show you the blocks, look at the return label on this envelope. When I flickr-mailed my exchange partner, she said she works for the studio head, Jeffrey Katzenberg! Whoa, another brush with fame!
 

Back to the blocks.

I love the combination of improv blocks, and the more traditional blocks done in modern fabrics.

Now I'm off to my sewing room for a little quilting therapy.

Look what just showed up at my house!

The new Denyse Schmidt fabrics from Joann's! Deborah went by yesterday to grab some, and went back this morning and the dots were already gone!

This magazine that I requested after I read about it here. I had to work and she was already going back to Joann's anyway. But they didn't have it at Joann's so she made an extra stop at Borders!

And as a bonus: we now each have a Cath Kidston mug for our coffee when we get together to sew!

Sorry. I can't stop taking pictures. They all look so happy together.

What makes me happy today: a good friend...who loves to quilt...and is on exactly the same wavelength as me.

Thanks, Deborah (and Miss Luella).

New Fabric and Finished Star

This week brought me a new stash of fabric from Contemporary Cloth . I really didn't want to do it but they were having a sale and I loved the colours and before I knew it, I hit the pay button.

Yesterday was the start of the weekend. I just had to get the star quilt moving because I have all this new fabric to think about. Mini star number four was quickly finished. On an impulse, I pulled out some old Kaffe fabric that had been waiting (about 2 years) for just this moment.

All finished. I am quite pleased because I really haven't enjoyed making this quilt. Too much pink and orange and the grey was very somber but I think the purple ikat really helps.

Zigzags or Stars?

I bought some Denyse Schmidt fabric and then decided I didn't like it so much. I started making a zigzag quilt and used  grey that just made the colours die. My fault - bad choice.

Anyway the triangles have sat in a box for 4 months.

This weekend they came out. After playing for a little while with all sorts of patterns I decided to make a giant star out of the triangles.

I still don't like the grey but liked the star idea as a new project.

After sewing it up I realised that the giant corners were going to need filling.

Four mini stars are on the way. The squares are just over an inch so the star is so bumpy! I am still not sure what I will fill in the rest of the gant star with but I like the purple shot cotton I used on the little star.