The Birds and the Bees by Tula Pink

How exciting is that moment when you are ripping into that new parcel of fabric??  The race is on to get into it as fast as possible to check out your purchases.  This is how I felt when my delivery of fabric, Tula Pink's The Birds and the Bees, arrived from Hawthorne Threads.

This is such a beautiful collection!!

Those swallows and squirrels are adorable.  I can't wait to cut into this fabric.  It'll need to be a special project.

Then there are the trees.  When you take a closer look their are apples in the trees, bees flying around and the birds.  Very cute!

I recently got the Tula Pink's new book, Quilts from the House of Tula Pink, so I am thinking of using one of her designs for this fabric.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

WIP Wednesday

Hello all

Thanks for taking a look at another work in progress.

I am quite excited about this week's WIP.  I have been busy, busy hand sewing many, many circles.

I really enjoy hand sewing and love the look of it when it's finished.  That's not to say I don't love machine quilting though, I love the ease and speed at which you can quilt by machine.  My hand stitching is by no means perfect but I am happy with it!!

It is a yuck day outside so I wasn't able to get a good photo of the full quilt but this gives you an idea of how I've laid out the circles.  They are very random :)  I just grabbed a plate of each size and a few smaller bowls and started marking them out.  The quilt itself is just 2 pieces of white cotton basted together.

The colour selection was the best part, there are just so many to choose from.  Here is what I came up with.  No circles of the same colour touch each other (well up to now anyway) so the colours have a nice spread across the quilt.  I look forward to showing you the finished product soon.

This week I finished up the Kidlet bag that had been a work in progress for a couple of weeks and I'm happy with how it turned out.  Now that I've finished it, it wasn't as bad as I had made it in my mind.

And a finish happened here yesterday, not of the sewing kind but we finished up the majority of our backyard blitz this week and I'm happy to say it looks great.  My husband and Dad did a wonderful job of laying pavers last weekend which really transformed out patio area.

Here are some picks of before, after and in between.

 

We just have some metal garden edging to put in and it will be finished. Yay!!

I'm linking up with  Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Monday's Inspiration - delayed

The modem decided to croak it on Sunday so there was no internet in our house for a couple of days.  Does anyone else wonder how we coped before the internet?  I turn to it numerous times a day, firstly for all the wonderful quilting & sewing blogs out there but also just for the small stuff - like find a phone number, online banking & just to answer weird questions that pop into my head.

Anyways that's my rant.  The issue still isn't resolved so for the moment I am unable to upload any photos or get into my email account.

Just as soon as I can I will be back with a new post!! I'm hoping I can get it fixed soon!!!

Excitment Plus!

I am one of those people who gets super excited when I receive a parcel.  It doesn't matter whether I know what it is or not.

Today was even more exciting with two parcels arriving, within 5 minutes of each other, didn't know what to play with first! :)

So firstly I love stationery, always have and I think always will.  I do restrict my purchases these days but Kikki-K has a new collection out which was too good to pass up.  The collection is called Happy and it makes me happy just looking at it.

I got the recipe folder so I can keep my Gluten Free recipes in one place and well the planner, it's another one to add to the collection but it was just too cute!

 

I can't start writing in the new planner! That'll have to wait for now though:(

Normally I just go to my local Kikki-K store for stationery but with being on holidays it was easier to just order them online.  It is so nice how they wrap up your purchase with their own Kikki-K tissue paper.

And then there was the iPhone 5!!

I have been waiting on a new iPhone for over 12 months now.  I was going to get the iPhone 4S but there weren't enough new features to warrant the upgrade so I decided to hold out until the 5.  I'm glad I did, I am loving the sleek design and larger, clearer screen in comparison to my 3GS.  I am so very excited!!!!

And because I had to go to the shops I decided to pop in for a new case for the iphone 5.  The case is so cute, minty green!!

Well I'm off to play now!!

WIP Wednesday

Hi everyone, isn't it nice for Wednesday to be here?  Wednesday has to be one of my favourite days of the week.  Yes, unfortunately the weekend has passed but you know that it's not far away when you hit Wednesday.

It has been a very productive week (it does happen occasionally) with one baby quilt finished, 2 baby bibs finished and another quilt pieced, basted and ready for some hand quilting (just waiting on Perle cotton to arrive).

Here is my version of Megan's Firefly Quilt.  I've only quilted along each seam on the white fabric and it is backed with a gorgeous grey flannel which has left it feeling so soft.  It would be great for a baby mat or quilt.

I normally hand sew my labels onto the quilts.  With this one I've machine sewed along the edge of the label which I much prefer.  I need to get better at remembering to add these before basting the quilt.

These bibs are super cute.  They are demin/cotton on the front and flannel on the back.  There are so many tutorials for baby bibs but these were from New Conceptions free patterns.

This quilt will be heading to a close friend for her 60th Birthday.  I used the Loulouthi Tiles tutorial from Rachel at Stitched in Color and combined it with Anna Marie Horner's new collection Field Study which I got from Hawthorne Threads.  They have such a great store and quick dispatch.  I wasn't 100% on the fabric once I had it in my hot little hands but I am more than happy with them now they are in the quilt.  I'm waiting on the Perle cotton to do some hand quilting but the binding is made and ready to go.  I am feeling very organised with 6 weeks until the birthday.

Binding

And there are a couple of projects that I'd started the week before last which are still in progress.  It's funny I tend to gravitate to make quilts even though I enjoy sewing other projects as well.  I think I am happier with the way my quilts turn out (I am a less than perfect sewer which is frustrating for a perfectionist) and love giving them away.

So I've got the Tabitha Bags which all interfacing is now attached to fabric but still sitting in a pile on my sewing table.  Eventually it'll get the better of me :)

And lastly the Kidlet which won't take long, as it's all ready to go, once I get motivated to finish it.

I hope everyone else has had a great week.

I'm linking up with  Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Monday's Inspiration

I have had a great start to the week, got a new quilt top pieced together.  I will share photos once I've had a chance to get some.

This week's inspiration comes from my wonderful, handy Dad.  I'm sure he shakes his head every time we come up with some new idea.

I had been in search of some way to store my threads.  On my travels in cyberspace I had come across this thread holder which looked easier enough.  Then I came across this thread holder tutorial which as luck would have it I had a frame that I could recycle, so that solved that.

I love the rainbow of colours across the holder.  I just need a few more to fill it.  It will eventually be hung on the wall next to my sewing machine but we don't need to rush these things :)

Well, I hope everyone has a great week.

WIP Wednesday

Well this week has been busy and I've got a few projects in progress.  I normally like to finish one project before starting another one but this hasn't been one of those weeks. 

So I started off trying to make some bibs.  The first one (on the right) went smoothly but I didn't have any bias binding to finish the other one.  When I went to finish it today the sewing machine decided it didn't want to sew through denim.  It's very temperamental!!  It's probably having a hissy because I'd used my Mum's sewing machine in there last weekend :)

After that I moved onto making a Kidlet Bag.  Not long after starting I came to a standstill again, this time the machine wouldn't top stitch the front pocket.

Then I decided to cut out the interfacing for a Tabitha Bag.  This project had been sitting in the cupboard waiting to be started for a couple of months now so it was good to at least get it started.

And finally because the sewing machine was driving me crazy I decided to piece together a really simple quilt top.  This is inspired by Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations.

Not only have I got a few projects on the go in the sewing room but we are in the middle of a backyard blitz.  The blitz started out as putting in a water tank and pulling out a tree that was causing issues and has ended up with the backyard being cleared.

I'm looking forward to another productive week ahead.  Who knows when it will be finished :)

Be sure to check it out on Freshly Pieced.

Inspiration Monday

Hi all, hope you all had a great past week.

Last week I spent a lot of time on Pinterest which I've only recently discovered.  There are so many great ideas and inspiration a plenty.  If you haven't already checked it out head on over there.  The best part is creating boards where you can store all the great ideas.

Here are some great photos from Design Seeds.

Gumball Brights

Crashing Hues - I find the ocean very calming and feel the same way when I see these colours.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week. 

The pleasure of finishing 2 quilts

I had a wonderful day sewing on Thursday.  My mum lent me her sewing machine (which is so much better than mine) so I was able to machine quilt my Plus quilt from In Color Order tutorial.  What I wasn't expecting to do was also quilt the Sliced Coin Quilt from Don't Call Me Betsy's blog.  I have a habit of spending hours on a project when I know it is almost finish.  I think it's the anticipation of seeing the finished item.

This is the last quilt for a family member for a little while and it's for my Mum.  As my Mum is wonderful at sewing I wanted it to be something special which I think I achieved.  I love how the sliced coins stand out and that the back looks just as interesting as the front.  I also like the way the pink binding pops against the Free Spirits Designer Solid Sand Dune fabric.  The coins were cut from a Pretty Little Things fat quarter bundle that I got from Hawthorne Threads.  I do need to work on my quilting though, for some reason it has some puckering which is mainly noticeable on the back.  I had over 400 safety pins in and at no more than 3 inches apart.

Then there is the Plus Quilt which I made for my husband and I.  I've made so many quilts and not one for us.  So here it is!  It has all my favourite colours in it - there is a lot of them!

Now that I've finished them I'm thinking about what next.  I love creating quilts but we can only use so many of them.  I'm sure another one won't go astray :)

Seaworld, Gold Coast

On Monday we took a trip to the Gold Coast to visit Seaworld.  We hadn't been for over 15 years so it was quite different to how we remembered it. 

Seaworld is located at the Gold Coast Spit from which there is a great view along the coast.

Seaworld is a great day out.  There were a lot of families there with Sponge Bob Square Pants and Nickelodeon characters on parade as the big draw cards.  There's still a lot of fun to be had if you don't have children though.

 

 

 
These pelicans were quite happy just chilling out beside a pond which had plenty of fish in it for when they get hungry.

There was a touching pool with Sea Stars and Urchins and another larger one with different Stingrays.  It was great having being able to interact with them.

Then there was the largest pool which had many different fish as well as sharks.  You can snorkel in there or as we did, you can go down to a viewing window. It was very colourful.

We will definitely take another trip to Seaworld.  Hopefully it won't take us 15 years next time.

WIP Wednesday

This week I managed to get the backs to 2 quilts pieced together and basted.  There was a lot of procrastinating before these got done!  While I was procrastinating I managed to sew myself a couple of Yard Sale Wrap Skirts from Heather Ross' book, Weekend Sewing.

 The larger of the two quilts I've basted with safety pins as it's too big to fit through my sewing machine so I'll be hand quilting.

The other quilt I've basted with quilting spray adhesive as I'm hoping to machine quilt this one.  I find the machine quilting easier without the pins in the way.

My goal for the next week is to get a couple of small projects completed and start on the quilting for both of these quilts.  I'm on holidays at the moment so I think this will be achievable.

I'm linking up with  Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Yard Sale Skirt Finished!

I had a win with my skirt yesterday!! And I'm loving it!!

I'm not normally a dress/skirt girl, it is almost always pants but I do like this one.

I managed to finish it and in time for Father's Day outing.  It turned out well with the adjustments and I've even started a second one.  It's certainly a lot easier and faster the second time round.

We are off to the Gold Coast for a couple of days but I will be back for WIP Wednesday.