still ambling along ...

... more baking, emergency cookies for an impromptu visitor,

who had a delivery, and when I'm done with it I will show you!

and my Tripple Zippy Pouch ...

which just happens to be  twinnie to Annabella's 

and I started quilting those great big Vintage Modern Stars

which is on my FAL list, so I'm making progress, about half way through quilting at the minute, 

good progress :) 

and I rustled up a bag, saw a pattern, looked simple enough for a bag dunce like me

and it was!  

I'd make this again, but I would probably make it slightly bigger and add a zippered pocked to the inside lining too.

ah, yes, and then there has been some swapping of ugly fabrics happening about these parts ...

I guess up to 10 years old, not used constitutes ugly in my book!

though one recipient really loved it!

and there was also a little relaxation ...

with possibly one of my oldest UFO's, but that's a whole other story!

ambling along ...

well, you'd think so, by the lack of news around these parts!

so lets get up to date again ...

I've quilted this beauty, and it really is wonderful, full of vintage fabrics including some iconic Laura Ashley fabrics ...

I need find a perfect binding, maybe a vintage ditzy gingham, all suggestions gratefully received

I finally got round to playing with my Simply Solids Monthly Stash club fabrics, working on Laura's Stella Stars pattern ...

I have the greens matched up, and the oranges arrived today ... hmmm, fall ing behind already!

The Diva has gone on a little trip, nuff said!

But I did make her a pouch to put all her medical emergency stuff in, you know, the stuff you take just in case of Deli Belly and all that jazz!

kinda cute, but still an ungrateful child!

there has been baking ...

and I pulled fabrics from a triple zippy pouch ...

and I got a little play time in with these Superior Threads ...

that involved patchwork wadding ...

play time ...

and I uncovered 15 years of dust from this little baby ...

which meant I could get these done ...

so, for now, there you have it, ambling along as usual!

I'll be back with the rest tomorrow maybe

Lots of Lovelies ...

first up some beautiful hand prints from the absolutely amazing

 Leanne Fanny of The Little House Martin ...

Really I couldn't resist!

you can read a little more about her here

and then a pile of  fabulous Japanese Charms that have travelled all the way from Sarah in the Shetlands ...

actually I think Ellie had an awful lot to do with this too!

oh, if only I could find more time to sort, organise and discover these beauties

Thank you Sarah for organising a great little swap, and to everyone who took part choosing such fabulous fabrics  ... sign

and then there was a wee surprise ...

from Hadley, a thank you for snapping her Sissix Quilt back in the summer at Festival ...

and of course it's a twin too!

I often get to reading blogs way too late and miss out on some of the really good stuff ...

but this time, I managed to snaffle up the last of these ....

well this design anyway,  

Thank you Aneela, I absolutely love it!

and last, but by no means least, a  very BIG thank you to Judith, who, it has to be said, 

can shop just like me! ...

yes, the most gorgeous Irish Linens this side of Lincolnshire now!

perhaps next time there may be evidence of actual sewing!

Sunday Sitrep

I've been absent, I'm sorry, LIFE ... nuff said!

But I did get my Mouth Stitches Pouch made for my swap partner ...

I even managed a wee pocket inside

I'm pleased with how well the sip ends went, thanks to a great tip by Susan  :) 

and I took a little inspiration from Hadley with some hardware

I hope my partner like it,  I'm rather taken with it myself!

and in true swap fashion, I've been thinking extras, and these scraps from my Made in Cherry quilt could be just the ticket, despite being ticket sized (about 4 1/2" x 2 1/4" - 3" ish) 

Would you be happy to get scraps that size? 

I have some more to go with these, but these do come as a collection

I also got to do some work on the Ab Fab Free Bees round robin for this month ...

I chose a block from one of the 100 blocks magazines ...

a bit of a border or two and some applique ...

but this one is still speaking to me, as much as I am ready to send it on to Lynz in the morning, I may have to hold off a little , though the way life is, it could be just quicker to post it!

I've been doing a little more cutting, but not on anything I should have been working on ...

I've been staring at this little bundle that was a Moda Scrap Bag of Verna ...  it's been goading me for a while ... more on that in the week

and I got the block for the Pea Room BOM made ready for the meeting tomorrow night ...

Phew...  it was a productive weekend! 

Exactly what I needed to put everything back into balance and perspective ...

Hope you've all had a creatively focused weekend too!

happy quilting!

Monday already!

I know it's been a while, but I haven't had a lot to say ... sorry, I've just been a little distracted

I have been busy sewing the binding on the monster quilt ... almost there ...

there was some of these ...

and remember this ...

well, it was featured on the Fat Quarterly blog last week, so I can finally show you what it was all about

cute little pouch, free motioned with 28 wt Aurifil thread created fantastic texture to the fabric don't you think? 

this year I'm in charge of the Pea Room Block of the Month ...

There was a little bit of baking that involved this ...

ok, there may not have been any baking involved but there's still some in the fridge!

and on Christmas day the sign ups for the Old Red Barn Flickr spin off group Around the Bend and Across the Seas which is a sort of round robin ...

but free form ....

my starter block for our group the Ab Fab Free Bees,

there are several groups doing various forms of traditional rounds, rows and a couple of free form groups

and we decided we'd send a little journal to go along with the block on it's merry way round the world ...

I've done a bit of dabbling in scrap booking, and found all I needed in my secret craft store,  and blow me, I even have Amy Butler papers!

so that's me just about caught up, I have the second block for Miss January to finish for the Brit Bee, and am currently in the middle of quilting a quilt for somebody else,

and then I'd like to get on with my Swoon quilt and load up another of those UFOs

oh and I almost forgot this too ...

time I snapped out of this mental overload and did something more distracting ...

Happy Quilting!

Post Christmas Catchup!

Christmas came ...

teenagers both in the house, peeled unquestionably, slept in ...

allowing himself and I a very rare peaceful breakfast before he went off to visit his daughter ...

 presents, children, lots of love and ...

lots of laughter!

they left, the dinner went on and the bottles opened,

my mother arrived drank, ate, opened and left ...

and we had a little more time to exhale  :) 

I'm still trying to work out what day of the week it is, and am in that post mayhem CBA (can't be arsed) mode

There are one or two makes that I never got to show you (some I still can't for now)

a couple of last minute gifts

I confess I was still finishing this one off for himself on Christmas Day! 

Shocking I know :) 

And then I headed off for a couple of days, no Internet, no sewing machine, I just couldn't go without SOME stitching ... could I?

it's coming along!

meet Brian!  gifted to me by a friend at work, who also made the most amazing Angel that sits in the studio, she's such a clever lady ....

So, that's us pretty much caught up, all's quiet here, a little stitching each day, and I'm itching....

yes.... itching to start something new, but I know I shouldn't

not yet!

I'm slowly getting more blog reading done, but not much commenting, I'll get back in the swing of it soon   :) 

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and Santa brought you all you were hoping for, along with a few special surprises too!  If I don't get a chance to say it before hand Happy New Year!