A few rainy days...

... a post-plane flight sore throat, and sewing, go well together.

I am now up to Number 59 in the farmer's Wife sampler Quilt, which means over half way!  

And because I would rather play with my sewing machine than my camera, here are the latest blocks:

The top right hand one is Number 56, the Maple Leaf.  But I would rather call it "Oh Canada", as I have just been there,  and to celebrate, listening to kd lang singing it...

And Thanks Richard for suggesting to use the royal blue for the sashing!

Craft projects to me are like travels, I am always thinking of the next one...

These cool fabrics came while I was away.  The repeats on the Paris Map fabric makes it confusing to work out what is where!

Bee Blocks

Amongst all the fabric I brought back from the States were these lovely 24" x 24" Carpenter's Wheel blocks from my mates at the Always Bee Learning online Bee:  it was my turn in April, and as most live in the US, they sent their blocks to my sister's to save on postage. 

Here they are!  thankyou, lovely Beemates!

In the Always Bee Learning bee, it was Michonne / Watch Meesh Run's turn in May, and she had chosen  Denyse Schmidt's Single Girl block.  A great opportunity for me to learn curved seams...  which after all were not as hard as I feared!

and to finish catching up, a Swoon block for Meredith in the Bee Connected Bee:

So now, I only have on the go: 2 quilts, a picnic rug, and 70-odd farmer's Wife blocks to do...  but I know that once I get stuck into the Farmer's Wife blocks, I will be bitten by the bug again and nothing else will be done!  Oh and I have a wonderful holiday to put into scrapbooking...  how did I ever find time to work in the past?

Travels and Fabrics

Well, it went like this:  I was taking the "On a Whim" queen size quilt to give to my sis in Davis CA.  

This one:

So, I figured I could replace at least its weight and volume in fabric...

and promptly went on a little oredering spree, the resuts of which kept arriving at my sister's place prior to my landing there late May.

Before this, a great time was had by all, as shown in the slideshow...

On a Whim went along for the ride, safely in the suitcase, under the bed in the cruise ship and in the luggage hold of the tour bus...  till it was safely delivered!  It was promptly placed on the guest bed and we enjoyed its warmth during our little stay.

Back home now, and so much fun to unpack all the goodies, and plan enough projects for the next year or 2. 

A little bit of Alaska, not sure where it will end up:

 

Some Kona and charm packs:

Fat Quarters from the Blue Eden range by Benartex, for maybe a Swoon quilt...

Some Happy Mochi Yum Yum:

and some bits and pieces for the Farmer's Wife, from the quilt shops of Davis...

 As well as some gorgeous Carpenter's Wheel blocks from my Always Bee Learning Bee,

for the next post!

Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: Blocks 33 to 40, Postage Stamp, and a group pic

The last for a little while!  I will be back soon with heaps of new fabrics....
 33:  Farmer's Puzzle... a bit more Kaffe Fassett


34: Flock:  and more KF!!!


35: Garden Path:  a bit worried about this one, I feel the lines should cross or something...


36:  Flower Basket....  mehhhh..

37:  Flower Pot, not too unhappy with this, considering it has the dreaded Y seams...


38: Four Winds..   a bit of unpicking here to get good points!


40: Friendship Block,  happy with this one!


39:  Friendship..  easy peasy, this one!


Then I skipped, for the first time:  wanted to make Block 58, the postage stamp one, before I ran out of Ruby...  the easy way to get a nice colour scheme!

and a group pic to celebrate!

Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: Blocks 25 to 32

Yes, I am romping ahead!  totally smitten by these lil' blocks.  If it wasnt for R cooking meals, I would fade away to a shadow (I wish...)

 Here are the latest:

 25: Cups and saucers:  I like this Moda print, just wish the background was a proper WHITE!


26: Cut Glass Dish:  happy with this one...


27:  Darting (blue) Birds


28:  Duck and Ducklings:  a bit meeeh abouy this one...

29:  Economy:  nice to have quickie blocks after all those number 13 templates

30:  End of Day:  yup, end of day, when one is  tired  and doesnt want fiddly blocks


31:  Evening Star:  yup, I like to fussy cut the new bird fabric...


32:  Farmer's daughter:  she's all bright 'n pretty!

Clearing UFO's Part 1: Scrapbuster Quilt

Amongst my easier NY2012  resolutions, were

• attacking Unfinished Objects, some as old as 20 years, that have followed me through every house move, and
• to sew exclusively from my stash...  well, a pending trip to the US has ruined that good intention, and various packages are on their way to my sister's home!

Back to the UFO's:  when I first started on my online quilting Bee binge, my first Bee was the ScrapBuster Bee on Flickr.  I made about a dozen "scrappy depression blocks", sent them in and got back a dozen wonderfully bright blocks, that were promptly relegated to the cupboard.


Then came the NY resolution,   The blocks were hauled out, I made another 12 blocks, all from the stash!!!  And here is the result:

This quilt top, along with this backing, will be sent to the lovely Suzanne of SewGenerous, to be made up as a lap size quilt for one of the children at the Oncology Unit of Sydney's Westmead Children's Hospital.


Woohoo, one UFO down, lots more to go!

Farmer's Wife sampler Quilt: Blocks 17 to 24

Well, busy busy days!  before the week-end, 4 blocks:

Clockwise from top LHS:

20:  Churn Dash, not that pale IRL, the flash washed it out a bit...  I left it too late in the day to take pics.



18:  Century of Progress:  happy with colours, but he needs a good stretch...


17:  Cats and Mice, like this one!


19: Chequerboard...  just how far is that Ruby charm pack going to go?







So... I celebrated 20 by taking a group pic:

...  still not feeling the love for the Buckwheat (the middle bottom row one).

Took a little break...  picked up the Rainbow "On a Whim" from Pam the Quilt Guru...  so happy with it (pics coming when he is all bound and finished).

Decided to finish the lap size quilt from one of my first Bees, the Scrapbuster Bee.  This one will go to Sew Generous , an online Charity Quilting Bee who makes quilts for the very special children at the Oncology Unit of the Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney.  So the extra blocks I am making will be very bright!

Went to buy some more sewing machine light bulbs (blew one in less than 1 day...), and of course, more for the stash....  like the birds, they might look good as a block centre!

mmmm....  I am on a bit of a blue/turquoise/aqua binge, arent I?

So, with some of the new fabric,  4 more blocks were added to the tally:

24:  Country Paths... this one took me nearly all day!

23:  Country Farm, happy with the way the Ruby in the centre looks a bit 3D

21:  Contrary Wife

22:  Corn and Beans...  yeay, no Ruby in this one!


Well, I think I am FW'd out...  that Block 24 did me in and I need a break!!!

Quick, find another hat and try to install the 4 stained glass panels I have been making for the last 18 months, for the double front doors at "The Farm".

But that's another story...  a very long one!