Tulip Love

I adore tulips - in every form and colour. These were yesterday's bargain purchase: 50 red tulips for £10! I capitalised on the post-Valentine's day half price sale and indulged in these lovely blossoms. Dr Hubby and I have never celebrated Valentie's day in the time we have known each other. Every year I have my rant about commercialism, stereotypism etc, etc but in reality neither of us remember or register the date. Being a first language Welsh speaker, I would like to claim that I celebrate 'Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen' (our Welsh equivalent) but I hardly ever remember January the 25 th either!

Insted I will enjoy my lovely bargain flowers and pretend!

It's cold outside

It is sooooo cold here today. Don't get me wrong - I adore this sort of weather: blue sky, frosty, crisp and sunny- but there is no getting away from the fact that it is freezing!

I'm cwtched up inside with the log-burner on so I'm nice and toasty, and I deem it time for a *New Project*!

I've had this 'Sherbet Pips' layer cake since the summer but was yet to use it. Given the current cold weather and the wintery scenes on the fabric, I thought it was perfect for a cold day project. My plan is to make a 'snowball' quilt. The 'snowball' part is entirely coincidental and has nothing to do with the climate - the fabric prints are so lovely I wanted to cut them as little as possible to preserve the pictures. A 'snowball' quilt thus seemed perfect.

So with Radio 4 on in the background and a sleepy little boy napping upstairs, I shall begin cutting :-)

For Down Under

My good friend Wendy had a baby earlier this month so this quilt is on its way to Oz.

*Slight apologies - this first picture shows the quilt upside down - ooooppps!

I bought the jelly roll for this quilt when I was pregnant with my own Baby Boy. You may remember months and months ago on a rainy afternoon, I vowed to cut and sew a quilt in that finite amount of time between lunch and the school run! I did manage to piece the quilt top, but hormones and exhaustion prevailed and the quilt was never finished. One thing is apparent about me if you read this blog - I always bite off more than I can chew!

The quilt top - inspired in part by this one- was placed in a basket for another day. When I found out Wendy was pregnant I knew there was a reason to complete the quilt and pass it on to a very special little boy.

The quilt is simply backed with a check print, stippled and bound with scrappy binding making use of those leftover jelly roll strips.

The fabric is from the Lily and Will range by Moda - it's perfect for baby blankets as it comes in several pastel colourways.

I've not made any real New Year resolutions, but I'm trying to complete one project before I start another!

Another completed quilt

Yes, this is another completed quilt! It was finished last year and was a combined birthday/christmas present for my lovely mother-in-law, Dolores. It had been a big secret, especially as I bought the fabric whilst staying with the in-laws in August, and it has had to be hidden at various times when they've come visiting!

The fabric is 'Faith' - one of the 'Collections for a Cause' range - by Moda. I loved the warm brown and red colours which were going to compliment the decor in at least one room at the in-laws. She was thrilled with it.

The quilt top is simply made - I used a jelly roll and cut each strip into 8 and a half inch units. These were then sewn into groups of for. Each block was placed at right angles to each other and sewn together. The borders are made using complimentary yardage from the 'faith' range as is the binding. I made the quilt top very quickly back in August - so long ago that I can't actually remember the dimensions of the added sashing! The quilting was a nightmare. Although I'm used to stippling by now, I was hampered by tension and puckering issues :-(. I'm glad it's finished but I regret not using a darker backing fabric (sorry no pics, but it was cream!) and quilting thread. Nevermind - you live and learn!!

Seeing Stars

The sun was shining yesterday, and I did manage to snap some photos of my wonky stars quilt - but, alas, they were very unflattering! It may have been something to do with placing a quilt with a white background against a whitewashed wall! These pictures were taken inside instead.

I am so pleased with this quilt. I had wanted to make a star quilt for absolutely ages but the prospect of triangles and points scared me a lot. The maverick/wonky star method disperses such fears in an instant - so easy and such fun!

The backing was aquired from my stash - it's a cherry print by Lecien from the Mrs March collection. I've had it for ages, loved it, but never known what to do with it. It seemed the perfect choice to complement the little cherries in the various 'teatime' prints. The pink gingham binding is by Makower and also features in one of the star blocks.

Love this quilt sooooo much - I am definitely going to make another one - but bigger!

Festive Baking

Well it's Christmas Eve - how DID that happen?! The munchkins are in bed so I've a little time for some festive blogging before completing my Mrs. Christmas duties! I had hoped to post some pics of my two completed quilts this week, but the weather has been too evil for photographs so it will have to wait til next week. Luckily we aren't seeing the recipients til next weekend so I've a few days yet!

My friend Stella and her two children came around on thursday afternoon for some baking fun. We go way back and she is a very dear friend. We initially met 15 years ago at university - we went our separate ways but our paths have crossed on multiple occasions and in the most extraordinary ways since. The most weird and wonderful crossing of paths occurred in August when Stella and her family moved from Surrey and bought a house on the next street to ours!

We had a lovely afternoon of gingerbread making and decorating:

Some of the results:

The big girl and I made a gingerbread house:

And I managed a spot of festive sewing - a stocking for the baby boy :-)

Happy Christmas!

Long time no blogging!

I can't believe I haven't managed to write anything here for about 6 weeks! My intentions have been good and my creative life has been quite productive but life - family life in particular - is busy! This coupled with terrible weather and a lack of internet hasn't been very helpful to the blogging experience! I've just got through a manic school week of Christmas concerts and Toddler group related Christmas activities while my husband flew to Northern Ireland for his grandmother's wake and funeral. It has been an emotionally draining week but there are only 3 more school days left of term and then my Big Girl will be home for the holidays and there will be lots of R and R - and baking and crafting one hopes!

I've been busy on the quilting front - finally completed my mother-in-law's birthday/Christmas quilt (pics to follow), and I'm just about finishing up a quilt for my niece. Here are some pics of the progress:

It's a wonky star quilt! I LOVED making this! There are only 6 block as it is a baby quilt and I used the tutorial here with great success. The fabric line I used was Tea Time by Makower, with a few bits of stash thrown in. For an easy life the white backround was a Bella Solid charm pack!

This quilt top has been sandwiched, basted and stippled already :-). The binding is cut and will hopefully be attached today - the sun is shining so if my fingers are quick I may get a snapshot later on!