Almost at the finish line

Six more blocks to be made later today for Sunny Days which will be six blocks across and seven down.

When I began with this quilt it was to be for my expected great-grand-daughter, not for a new born but perhaps a play mat when she's at the stage of beginning to roll over and study what she's laying on. I later became aware that grand-daughter was having as much pink as possible!!

Change of plan needed,  I've enjoyed so much stitching this little quilt so it's going to live here with me!
My stash will be raided for an appropriate mix of pinks for a first new baby quilt, as due date is one month away I need to motor along. 

Things have been slow here due to recovery time from oral surgery, not the most of enjoyable procedures I have to say, but necessary. I have almost finished up quilting Northern Lights and made two Bear Paw blocks to go over to Chris English in Huddersfield, you can click on the link to take you to his site, he is extremely active on Instagram. More in my next post on this.

Ideally Chris would have preferred to go with recycled fabrics but as I don't have any I'll send these on to him, his choice as to whether he includes them or not.

Next up for hand quilting will (hopefully) be Desert Rose below.

Dare I tell you all that this was made as part of a QAL using a Jen Kingwell pattern
Midnight At The Oasis, begun in 2013 and hosted by Sharon McConnell aka Color Girl Quilts!!!
I didn't follow the pattern exactly, a few of the borders were pretty complex and I ducked out of them! 
Can't remember exactly when  I finished this one but it was easily two years or more afterwards.  I think the hand quilting might take me some time.

Here's the backing fabric

So, that's all to report on the quilting side of things here, but I do have a photo I'd like to share of an oil pastel piece of art recently done by my husband. Many times I'd said I would love a rickety shed in the garden, thinking of the shed - which actually wasn't rickety -  in our garden in Christchurch and which I loved! In reality a shed in the back garden here is not going to happen but I now have this one instead, definitely rickety.

it's now framed and on the wall and I love it.

Can't finish up without flowers in my garden, a  David Austin rose

Princess Alexandra

and a lovely Osteospermum, couldn't resist the colour!

Osteospermum

Everything in the garden is now beginning to flower, dahlias are shooting up, always a cheerful sight.

Back to the machine for me now, cup of tea by my side.

Maureen

Progress with Dolly Mixtures, Spring blooms and a good book!

 I don't have much to write about in this post I'm afraid, update on
Dolly Mixtures and flower photos!!

Let's start off with beautiful magenta pink roses

the name escapes me at the moment but the bush is blooming
prolifically and scents the air wonderfully!

My last post had Dolly Mixtures as a top but minus the border,
that's now been remedied, I've carried on with a 2 and 1/2" finished
border of Guinea Flower - a favourite pattern of mine in all colours of the
range.

Photographed in the garden below on a sunny morning yesterday

and here on the design wall whilst I played with choices for binding.

 

I'm really happy with the extra width of Guinea Flower, I feel it holds
the multitude of colours in this quilt together nicely.

Binding ideas, just playing with scrappy pieces, on the left
is green GF  - I placed this so that I  could see how that shade of green
fitted in given all the colour in the top,  I do like the
medium depth in this one. In contrast the strippy scrap on the right is
really very dark, in fact I think it's too dark, it's one of the new PJ fabrics below.

I could try a few more tomorrow but looking at the LH side again

I think the green version of GF could work - any thoughts here?

 Emptying out my three very large scrap bins has been keeping me occupied and the

the volume is overwhelming!! Starting to sort into large/small pieces and

iron. I've been guilty of just tossing pieces gaily into these bins when I should

have put them away after completing a project.

There are lots of nice surprises for me in the sorting process, a piece of

one of my favourites from years ago, KFC of course. Pity it's only
a 10" square but I shall find a nice home for it!

Here are a couple of flower

photos for you all.

Alstromeria with a David Austin rose - Tranquility - and we all need a little

of that right now.

Outside the living room window

the first epiphyllum bloom of the year.

The next few days will be spent making a decision/decisions  on which project/projects to

make next on my list, my too long a list, which needs culling and to make a start

on reading a new book bought this morning.

Lynda is a well known gardening celebrity in NZ and lives with her family

on a farm -  Foggydale Farm - with a magnificent garden  in the

Hunua Ranges here in Auckland.

Perhaps the scrap sorting and project list could wait!!!

Maureen

Stamping Along

Somehow I have been able to put together
a brief post and apologise in advance for the photos,
especially of my blocks which have not been trimmed!
I lay the blame squarely at the door of my second Covid 19
shot two days ago. and it's effect on my whole body!!

So, the blocks are for my take on a quilt seen in the new book by
 Kaffe Fassett mentioned in my post
HERE

Below is a photo of the original quilt which inspired him

to make
his version below
Stamps and Bricks

I was hooked!
But as usual I decided not to follow exactly either of
the two quilts.

Here are a few of my blocks for the central portion

which all need trimming but until my body stops this incessant aching
they will stay just as they are and I've done a little cropping!

Another 14 to go if I stick with the size in the book, but I'm not
too keen on making a 74 and 1/2" square quilt, I may add another
row of blocks so the set will be 5 across by 6 down which will give a little
more length, or I may go smaller!

The only other exciting happening this week is receiving the backing
fabric for Matt's quilt - I went with the KF Hydrangea in Purple,

and I'm very happy with it.

I'm heading off to down a couple more pain meds but here's one of
the roses in the front garden - can't remember the name.

Happy Quilting

Maureen

Teapots and a 5"square swap - a productive day!

 Julie at justjulielou suggested that she and I have a swap of 5" squares,

she would send me Anna Maria Horner in exchange for

Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics

and just look at the lovely selection she sent.

I have only a handful of AMH fabrics in my stash

but I've cut 5" squares (below) from those to add to the swap

from Julie, along with more from different designers.

I'm thinking of a throw size quilt and luckily I have

a few Amy Butler, Heather Ross, Victoria Findlay Wolfe

plus other designers to add to the mix.

I'm cutting 2" squares from my Jinny Beyer fabrics, these

will be going into the quilt.

Remember my KF teapots??

Three for the second row now all appliqued, two

more rows to go and then a hunt for the perfect sashing and border.

I've also found a few quiet minutes to wander in the garden, lots of roses beginning
to bloom, I was surrounded by the scent from all these
old roses.

I love this very soft pink/peach David Austin  - sadly I've forgotten
her name!

Another favourite are my Rugosas,
below is the bud of Rugosa 'Alba'

here she is below fully open, a single Rugosa.

Then we have Rugosa "Blanc Double de Coubert"
in all her glory

with her glorious perfume. Open the garden gate into
the back garden and you're in heaven!!
These roses are very, very hardy - no wonder because they
have the most lethal prickles I've ever seen, even Leila
doesn't try to chew these stems!

Maureen