Next...

another binding/label on and another quilt is finished...

this quilt has been to Alaska USA (x2), Cambridge UK, Norway, California USA and of course Australia.

it was made as part of an international round robin that i was lucky enough to be a part of in 2008/2009.  thanks to Amber, Chrissie, Gunn, Julie and Karrie for helping to make such a gorgeous quilt for me!

thanks to Dawn for doing the quilting
 

my F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap parcel is here!

my wonderful swap partner Karen send me the BEST swap parcel... i was like a kid at Christmas unwrapping all of the beautiful gifts...

F is for Feathered Friends

R is for Relocatable, Removable, Re-positionable.

I is for Interruption and Inspiration Markers

E is for Ever Wise

N is for Naughty but Nice

 
D is for Delightful Drinkables

S is for Sensational Variegation.

and a little extra gift

i am feeling very spoilt!

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. swap has arrived at Karen's place!!

Karen has received my parcel and i am happy to report that she loves it!!

This is what was in the parcel that i sent...

F is for - Found on Etsy (the cutest little steam punk robot! from SleepyRobot @ Etsy)

R is for - Relax

I is for - Inspiration (the bathing beauty is a magnetic bookmark)

 
E is for - Exotic animal… made by me!! (pattern is from DIY Fluffies @ Etsy)

N is for - Notebook and pen (yes, that is a pen disguised as a pencil!)

 D is for - Disco Bots pattern and fabric

S is for - Scrumptious snacks (in a bag made by me)

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

this box will be off to the post office first thing tomorrow morning...

and a little sneak peek at the contents...

Handmade pay it forward

way back in January i committed to a handmade pay-it-forward swap.  i have finally packed and posted my gift to Cheri, hopefully it wont take too long to arrive. 

i wonder what is in the parcel???  and i hope you like it!

2011 F.R.I.E.N.D.S. swap

it's that time of year again....

i have signed up to do this swap (if you click on the photo it will take you to Khris' blog) - it was so much fun in 2010, i cant wait to do it again!!

I'm sorry bunny, but I just HAD to....

the eating of Easter eggs has started at my house...

my table runner has arrived at it's destination so i can now share photos!  it was a fun little project - my initial idea came from a photo that i saw in a magazine and i altered it to suit the fabrics that i had and the size that my swap partner requested.  i think it fits the "spring" theme nicely!

 

and i have also delved into the world of yeast baking, and made some delicious cinnamon rolls late one evening (i found the recipe here) i decided to use a drizzle of icing rather than the glaze that the recipe suggested.

i used this conversion table to change the USA measurements to Aussie ones

next time i think i will add a little more yeast to the recipe and reduce the amount of cinnamon filling by half, i also think that the mix may rise a little higher if i make them during the day - rather than on a cold evening!!

It's almost Christmas (wall hanging)

i don't know why, but the other weekend when i was looking for a project to work on this little wall-hanging took my fancy!  it is now all finished and sitting with my other seasonal wall-hangings just waiting for it's turn to be on show

 i recently joined in a swap at the quilted table (theme: spring), here is the wall hanging i received from my swap partner in Canada...

i have a new camera on my wish list... i wonder if it will help me take better photos???

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

this is a bit late but my internet wasn't cooperating this morning.

weekend progress...
- i got my christmas wall-hanging almost finished (i just need to hand stitch the binding to the back of the quilt)
- i have chosen a pattern and some fabric for my swap table runner

and a random cute animal photo...

QAYG blocks

 i have had a few health issues during the past month (thankfully they are all resolved now) so my blogging has been very slack, and i have done very little sewing.

i have made a few quilt-as-you-go (QAYG) blocks for a challenge that a friend gave to me late last year

this first block is a technique that i have wanted to try for a while.  2 fabrics were cut into 9" squares, then starched.  i then used my rotary cutter to free-hand cut curved lines in each square (first square i cute left to right, second block was cut right to left) the squares are then woven together and fused onto some light-weight fusible interfacing.  i added the wadding and backing and used a zig-zag stitch to sew over the cut edges, final step was to trim the block to 8.5"...

next block is fairly simple (but still pretty cute!!) i fussy cut the flowers from my fabric, added some 3/4" stems and some free-hand leaves....

a variation on the traditional Chinese coin block

crazy patch block made with some of the random size scraps that i had left from the first 3 blocks...

and my final block.  i had plenty of the blue floral and a couple of scraps of green, so i played around and came up with this graphic block...

today i am working on a Christmas wall-hanging UFO and i will hopefully get a start on a table-runner for a swap that i am participating in.

2011 Handmade Pay It Forward

i have just signed up for a handmade pay it forward (PIF)over at Turtle and Roo. Here is how it works:

I promise to send something handmade to the FIRST 5 people who leave a comment here. 
However, to be eligible, you must repost this message, offering something handmade to 5 other people. 
The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your 5 giftees sometime in 2011. 
Ready, set, GO!

ok, who wants a handmade gift from me??  remember you need to be willing to pay it forward.

if you are interested please leave a comment on this post- please make sure that your email isn't set to @noreplyblogger (or please leave an email address that i can contact you at)
 
i will email you to ask a few little questions (eg. what colors do you like?) and to get your mailing address

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

my F.R.I.E.N.D.S. swap parcel has arrived from M at Farmyard Crafts!!

a wonderful parcel was waiting on my doorstep when i got home from work tonight - i rushed inside, ripped the post bag open like a small child on Christmas morning, and all of these wonderful gifts spilled out...

I slowly opened each one - smiling, giggling and very excited!

F is for fabric fat quarters

R is for RicRac

I is for inspiring magnet

E is for exquisite pin cushion (made by M.)

N is for Nellie's sewing bag (made by M.)

D is for dragonfly journal

S is for swell self-covered fabric buttons (made by M.)

i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all of my gifts and i was so blessed to get M. as a swap partner!