Finished in time...

Over the past few weeks I have been working on this quilt for a friends 50th birthday.  You can see previous posts about design and fabrics here and here.  This past weekend I needed to make sure I got this beautiful Bella quilt basted while my husband was home to help out, which he did so wonderfully.  It is so much easier when you have two pairs of hands!!

I've found that once I've basted a quilt I'm so eager to get back to the machine and complete the quilting which I did on Sunday.

I love the way the colours work together and how the yellow really pops.

I back was pieced from leftover squares and white along with the grey.

The additional yellow border was a variation from the original pattern from Stitchery Dickory Dock which I'm quite happy with.

I kept the quilting simple with random curvy lines through the white sashing.  Now that the quilt is finished and I'm so happy with it, I am much more comfortable that my friend is going to love it.

And on a fun note, we have added to the menagerie!!  My husband has taken to buying these recycled metal barnyard animals each time he is home.  They are just so cute!!

I am linking to Fabric Tuesday.

Some Christmas gifts finished...

In the past week I finished a couple of gifts for work friends and one for my Nan.

The first one is for my soon to be 91 year old Nan.  This is the table runner I made in my sewing class which finished up this week :(  You may be thinking this is very bright for a great grandmother but if you could see her very yellow kitchen walls you would understand the choice of colours.

A couple of weeks ago I bought, with my work friends in mind, these very cool coffee mugs that are double walled.  I thought the extra insulation was great as we rarely get through a full cup of coffee/tea while it is still hot.  Then I started thinking what am I going to give with them.

They are always so interested in my sewing so I decided to make these coasters to go with their mugs.  You can find a great tutorial from Jeni at In Color Order.  These are great for using little scraps of fabric, which I am always wondering what I'm going to do with.  I varied the quilting on the coasters to keep it interesting.  I hope they'll like them!

I will be linking up to Sew Modern Monday.

Still sewing...

Over the past week I have been busy enough and have made progress on a couple of quilt tops but with being out of action on the weekend (hurt my back shopping of all things!) I feel as though I could have done so much more.  

I am happy to say I have pieced the quilt top and back for my friends 50th birthday present and am really happy with it.   I didn't manage to get a photo of the back but it's a scrappy piecing using what fabric I had left.  I'm waiting for my husband to get home so I've got some help to baste it and then I'll jump into the quilting which I'm planning on keeping simple.

I paired up the Bella collection with Bella Solids Charcoal, Clementine and Citrine along with Kona Royal Blue and Emerald.

I can't believe that on the days we've had sunshine and could get outside to take some photos the wind has been crazy.  I just keep clicking until I get a photo with it mostly front on.

I've also got 3 columns of my Birds and Bees quilt together which I am really loving.  I am hoping to piece the backing over the weekend.  I am thinking about taking this one to a Long Arm Quilter due to it's size.  I'm not really sure how I want to quilt it either.

Again the wind was not letting up!

And totally off the subject of sewing, I thought I'd share this gorgeous magnolia.  I am in no way a green thumb and really have no interest in gardening.  On top of that I have allergies to some flowers so needless to say I had to do some research before planting flowery plants out the front of our house.  I couldn't have made a better decision though!  These have really grown all by themselves.  I haven't actually watered them since they were planted, that's how good they are!  They are covered in flowers!  I'm guessing they like tough love :)

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week.  I will be back later in the week to share the finished table runner from my sewing class.

WIP Wednesday

So much is happening and I can't believe a week has already passed.  My husband was home for the weekend and as it is approaching the festive part of the year we seem to be so busy.  We have every weekend booked between now and Christmas, no wonder people call it the silly season :)

Now on to sewing.  Last Tuesday I started a patchwork class.  We are making a table runner which is designed to build our skills and give us tips we can carry to other projects.  I really had a fantastic time and learnt so much.  I was so excited when I walked out at the end of the night.   So here is a photo of what I've done so far.

In hindsight the fabrics I chose were too busy and wish I'd put the solid fabric on the front instead of using it for backing.  It's all about learning :)

After the sewing class last week I came home and started pulling apart my Birds and Bees quilt.  I've now got every seam perfectly aligned.  Before the sewing class it was a little hit and miss as to getting them perfect.  I still didn't get them all perfect first go but I am more open to getting the seam ripper out and doing it over and over until it is right.

6 columns are now finished and I'm waiting on the fabric for the sashing, backing and binding.  Hopefully it isn't too far away.  I did end up sewing my blocks together a little different to Tula Pink's pattern.  My small rectangles are all in a line rather than alternating each block.  This was entirely by accident, I really need to look at instructions!!  However, I am really really happy with it this way and would probably even go so far as to say I prefer it this way.

It was a crazy windy day when I tried to take photos and this is how most of them turned out.

And only 2 photos with them straight on.

I've also started another quilt for a special friend who is turning 50 later this month.  It is a simple design by Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock but with these great colours, I think she will really love it.

And lastly I've decided to try making some new clothes.  I've copied the patterns so hopefully I'll get to sewing these soon.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week.

I am linking to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced