halfway

first set of blocks are finished

just so you know i'm not the only crazy person

making this quilt

there are others

goingsewcrazy's ruby version

angela- fussycut

hinkenhook's country version

what was I thinking?

here's a block from my new project

crackle quilt by aneela hooey

five bias seams means

careful handling and gentle pressing

makes for slow progress

but so worth it

herb blossoms

such tiny flowers

the garden is struggling in all the humidity and rain

there's fungus on the rosemary and the hydrangeas have rotted

fickle business

this is my entry for

swap quilt top

there is quite a sense of achievement when you can tick those tasks of your list

household chores - check

make cranberry pecan streusel slice -  check

finish swap quilt top - check

clean sewing machine - check

install new blade in rotary cutter - check

 my thanks to katiemayquiltstoo for inspiring me to finish this quilt top

gotta confess that this quilt is incredibly special. thank you to all who contributed and to our cheer squad for their support and encouragement

usually deciding how to quilt a top is a long tortuous process for me but this time i have a pretty clear idea what designs i want.

finished top is 72 inches

cape daisy

while nandina is doing all the hard work in pam's garden over at sidewalk shoes

in mine, it's the cape daisy

grows anywhere in any soil

survives on rainwater

doesn't mind the heat

smothers the weeds

almost the perfect plant

this is my entry for



under the sea

first finish for 2012

a baby quilt

pattern from moda bakeshop

designed by jodi @ pleasant-home.com

fabric is odyssea by momo

having some trouble leaving a comment on some posts

just getting a blank page

hopefully it won't last

scrap busting

with all this talk of scraps and scrap projects it might be time to bust my scrap box
besides there's unpicking to do on the swap quilt

where's the fun in that?!

now it's rather a pathetic collection but that's because...

so 2.5in squares, 3in squares (there's a mistake on the label - remind me to complain to management), 5in squares, 2.5in strips and strings

you know even the ugliest fabric is tolerable as a 3in square

once there is a nice collection then these projects look pretty tempting

ariane's scrappy string stars

lurline's scrappy dresden

or even this one which isn't a scrap quilt but was made with 5in charm squares but it would look fabulous in scraps

a bright corner's charmed to pieces

got me some cutting to do

year of the scraps

never mind year of the dragon - 2012 is definitely the year of the scraps.

here are just a few of the scrap-a-longs out there

stitched in color

just a bit frayed

pleasant home

planning to use my scraps for either a version of this

or maybe this

a rose by any other name

apologies to Will

with all the rain, cold, heat and humidity we've been having here it's a wonder there is a garden at all.

at one stage it was looking like the weeds might be featured

they may still be

this is my entry for



birthday cake...just a slice

a friend has a birthday coming up and i believe you should always have cake to celebrate

since it's after christmas i felt that just a slice would be plenty

this cute pincushion is from quilts & more spring 2009

stitchniche made me one of these and sent the magazine with the pattern

i'm just sharing the love

the ultimate craft space

take a look at this post from sew many ways to see one of the most amazing creative spaces i've ever seen

all done on a shoe string budget and with loads of creativity

thanks to sister's choice quilts for mentioning this on her blog

it goes something like this

so I drove to the fabric shop to choose some fabric for the setting triangles in my swap quilt.

Browsed the shelves, found something nice and it was reduced.

By the time I drove home, I'd completely changed my mind

Next time I'm just going to sit in the car for 10 minutes

(image may or may not be indicative of aforementioned trip to fabric shop)

swap quilt update

feeling rather guilty that i hadn't touched these especially after all the love and care my swap partners put in to making them

it was great fun to get them out and re-read all the lovely cards that came with them

they are sewn into rows now with one inch sashings and corner stones

hope to find just the right fabric for the setting triangles today

it was such a tough decision to choose a layout especially after seeing katiemaytoo's, theri's and canuckquilter's versions

thank you - again - for making our  swap successful

snap crackle pop!

this bundle of loveliness was a gift from a friend and

this is the quilt i'm planning to make

pattern available from the fat quarter shop

it's a clever design by aneela hoey and should be easy to make

uses a layer cake and there are four 10in squares in each fat quarter

more than enough

5...4...3...2...1

happy new year!

can you believe it's 2012?

(well it is here and will be where you are - soon)