Retreat photos (finally!)

This is a little wall hanging to brighten the entry room in my home, it was inspired by Crazy Mom Quilts' Ticker Tape quilt.  I had all of the little shapes pinned onto the background before i went away, but all of the applique was done on retreat (as was the binding)

Next project for retreat was to finish the binding on my "Summer Lemonade" quilt.  i am proud to report that it is all done.  It is going to hang on the wall in my laundry, which is painted a lovely bright yellow so this quilt should be perfect in there!

Here is a photo of the back, you can also see the "snake stitch" that i quilted the top with:

A close up of the front:

And i just had to do some shopping at Old Rosemont Quilts, Isabelle is kind enough to bring her shop to us every year.  She has some lovely fabrics, a few just needed to come home with me!

i also got a couple of postcards made for a swap, i think that they are bright and happy (perfect for a "summer" themed swap):

i also came home with a little pile of challenge fabrics, all different sizes and in shades of blue or green.  my challenge is to make a 8.5" QAYG block for a charity quilt and to make an "item" from the remaining fabrics (i can also add ONE plain fabric of my choosing)

an indulgent weekend

i got home Monday afternoon from my annual quilting retreat at a wonderful facility at Halls Gap - we have en-suite rooms, a wonderful sewing space, central heating and it is fully catered... i always return home feeling relaxed and very spoilt!

There is also some shopping to do when Isabelle visits us with some wonderful wares from her shop "Old Rosemont Quilts" in Wartook.   we spend lots of time sewing, chatting and relaxing.  i came home with a few finished projects and i started work on a project that i have wanted to do for a while now - will post photos later as the weather has been too dull and dreary to get nice photos.  hmmmm i really needed that break

last week was tough... one of my dogs (13yr old female Maltese) tore a cruciate ligament in one of her back legs last week.  she had surgery yesterday to repair it and finally came home late tonight.  i missed her and am very glad to have her home again  she is doing fine but there is a lot of physio/rehab to do during the next few weeks.  fingers crossed that it all goes well

Maree and i are getting to know each other and i am looking forward to a fun F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap

Snap Bag

My little project for today...

i am going on a quilter's retreat soon (i organise it every year for my quilting group), each year we have a gift swap.  This year i felt the need to make something, so i dug out a tutorial for a "snap bag" and started sewing. 

Mine is a little different from the tutorial, i wanted to use some leftover prairie points, so i needed to make the casing separately from the bag and i decided to line my bag.  I also changed the size of the bag to suit the fabric that i had (it was a scrap from another project)

hmmmm, i think it needs a bow or a flower on the casing or some mini rick-rack between the casing and the prairie points.... off to play a bit more

F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap

Khris emailed my swap partner's details tonight, i am paired with M from Farmyard Crafts.  i am totally in awe that she is a mum with 3 kids (one who is only 1 month old) and she can find time for a swap, i hope i am that organised when i have a family!

A little bit of fun

i have long admired Amanda-Jean's Ticker-Tape quilt and have finally given in to my desire to make one.  i decided to make mine a bit smaller so that i can use it as a wall-hanging in my entry, i also decided to use bigger bits of fabric.  

here it is, all pinned and ready to quilt..

Fabric painting

On Saturday I had the pleasure of going to a fabric painting workshop with Kerry Gillespie from "My Favorite Things" (it has taken me this long to get some photos of my project lol)  those little marks up the top of the picture are color tests (they will be trimmed off later)

and here are some close ups...

i think that it is pretty cute!  i love the softly faded look of it.  of course now i need to decide if i am going to stitch around each toy or if i am going to use a permanent marker (i am leaning towards the marker!)

F-R-I-E-N-D-S Swap

Khristina from Sew Prim Khris is hosting a F-R-I-E-N-D-S swap and it sounds like lots of fun, so I have already signed up, head on over to check it out!