2014.......hello!

Hi all! I hope your holiday period is going peacefully & you have been enjoying the company of friends, family & your needle & thread!
Just wanted to share a couple of things I have made & some photo's of my spare room, this is for you Julia.
There is a couple of secret things I have been working on too, but I will have to wait to show you those.
First is some new oven mitts, that I have procrastinated about making for some time.
A couple of fat quarters, some Insul-bright & a couple of hours. ( btw.....this project can be started while you wait for the plumber to fix a burst pipe in your toilet wall!! :-/)

When I opened these fat quarters up to iron them I noticed they were both Debbie Mumm fabrics, but of two different lines.

Next are two cushions made from left over 2.5" squares from my Angel Story quilt. I think they look nice in my spare room. I still have 2.5" squares left...................:-)

The doll on the bed is "Kathleen-Rose' my doll from childhood, now wearing my sons Peter Rabbit jumpsuit.

My Heirloom Romance quilt hanging here next to my grandmothers 1934 singer treadle sewing machine.

 A cross stitch I made for my youngest daughter back in 2001. I remember the task not being a quick one as this particular design is stitched over linen rather than the Adia cloth I was use to.
I have a few Cross stitches in this room, ones I have stitched for my kids. I guess when they are settled in their own homes they will want them back.

Have you met Beth? I blogged about her 'birth' back here. She hangs to keep watch.

While we are talking all things pretty, I will leave you with the flowers I picked this morning & wish you all a magical 2014, with peace, happiness & thanks for your sweet comments & support.

can you smell the Tiny white Gardenia? & my friend Julie's lovely potpourri?

A story to tell

Sometimes you just have to face things head on..............................................
For many years I coveted The Angel Story quilt, two friends had both made the quilt. One friend photocopied the patterns for me. Then I had the opportunity to meet Anni Downs ( Hatched & Patched designer ).....who is the designer of Angel Story. That's when some wires got fused in my brain...........................
 All designers are real people, with bills to pay, families, taxes, mortgages etc. So if I photocopy one of their designs surely that is a type of theft? I had all the a patterns at my finger tips, the 3 Sisters jelly roll, matching charm pack, a few fat 1/4's now all I needed to do was get to work. But I couldn't I had one more thing to purchase.......yes purchase....... The book.
 So long story over, I bought the book & set to work!  P.S Anni is a really lovely person.

Needle turn Applique, stitchery, piecing & quilting by me. I used my favourite threads, Madeira & Gunold over Warm & Natural cotton batting.

My appliqued label, the backing fabric is the same as I used for my Heirloom Romance quilt.
I hope you enjoyed my show & tell........now for somewhere to put it????

five years

That's how long it took me to from start to finish........................

Heirloom Romance by Crab Apple Hill. Handbags & crazy patch blocks embroidered by hand. Trapunto behind each handbag & many beads.

 I quilted each background heavily to make each bag 'pop' with free form quilting, also known as doodling!
Each horizontal & vertical row is quilted using a embroidery stitch from my Bernina 440.

The last block which is in the centre of the quilt is a fan.

"Memories of by gone days & evenings of elegance & grace"

 I had the top sitting finished for a year, before I decided I should start quilting it!
 I did work on it in the evenings after customers quilts.

"A Trip Down Flimsy Lane"

I love when you can make the time to just 'potter'.
 So with pottering on the menu for today.....(well after Hubby & I cleaned the house!)
 I finished " Classic Strippy" from Bonnie Hunter's book : Adventures with Leaders & Enders. You may remember my post about making this quilt way back here!
Now this is a BIG quilt : 90" x 108" , I made mine a bit longer than in Bonnie's book as I wanted the quilt to go over the pillows. I have my washing line extended as high as would go & it was still on the ground!

Way back,
..................well a while ago I posted about these wee stars .So here is another flimsy, this has been finished for quite sometime, ready to be quilted.

Maverick Stars is from Bonnie Hunters website, she has many cool free patterns, you can find Maverick Stars here.
Great quilt for a Leader & Ender & to use up those scraps. Some of the centres I did 'crumby'.

I just need to get quilting these as I love them!!

Click for a better view

This one was a BOM  (no scraps here!)  from Crab Apple Hill I have spent quite a few years working on this , lots stitchery, the hand bags, the crazy patch blocks. this too is ready to be quilted, when that is done I need to add all the beads.
All these quilts have backing &  binding already cut & ready to go!

As suggested by Leeann I'm bringing you the month of March.