I love to handquilt!

After machine quilting around the 'frocks' twice I was going to machine quilt in the ditch between each block but in hindsight I should have done that first before going around each frock because I ended up with it puckering badly at the end of the seam. Not a great look! So I decided to hand quilt 1/8 in from the seam of each block and I'm really pleased with how it now looks. Hand quilting is so forgiving and it really isn't taking that long with just straight lines.

I can do 4-5 stitches at a time and it's something I can just pick up when I've got a little pocket of time. I love the look that hand quilting gives a quilt. I know machine quilting gives quicker results but it can be a real upper body workout sometimes.

These are the colours I'm working with. The thimbles are a must although I still get a sore thumb when I've done a lot. I have tried various thimbles but always go back to these original ones that I bought for my very first quilt. I have now accumulated quite a good selection of colours in the quilting cotton which is good when you don't live near a quilting shop.

Giveaway Day is coming......

Sew Mam Sew is organising another Giveaway Day on the 2nd of December and I've just joined up to participate again. It was so much fun last time and I met some wonderful blogging friends through it I didn't hesitate to sign up again. You can check out all the details over here.

Ready to quilt.

I finished the backing for this quilt today and it is now pinned and ready for quilting. I made this quilt top way back in July so its about time I got onto the quilting!! I put it on hold to complete my zig zag quilt and the wonky log cabin quilt. I love this quilt already so I'm very eager to get started on the quilting. Not sure how I'm going to quilt it yet. Hopefully I'll get an epiphany when I sit down at my machine!

These 4 parcels arrived in the mail today. So exciting to get parcels in the mail so to receive 4 in one day was pretty cool.

These are the lovely colourful scraps that came out of the above parcels. I can't wait to start this quilt.

My daughter Amelia and I are going to the "New Moon" movie on Friday afternoon so I have been reading this book at every opportunity to get it finished before I saw the movie. Amelia has read all 4 books twice now so you could say she's a bit of a fan. They are aimed at teenage readers but I've gotta say I'm hooked and can't wait to start the 3rd in the series " Eclipse" which will be tonight.

A matching set!

I whipped this chequebook cover up in a couple of hours today and I'm really pleased with how it turned out! I took the measurements off the ugly fake suede one I got free from the bank and just designed it as I went. I sewed a nice decorative stitch down the middle of the outside to make it fold more easily. The tote bag that it matches was made a couple of months ago and I had just enough batik fabric leftover from it.

When I finished it I thought it looked a bit plain but then I remembered that I had bought these decorative metal corner pieces years ago and had never used them. I have no idea what I originally bought them for but they just add the perfect finishing touch.

I just need to go shopping now so I can show it off! Sew'n'tell Friday is such good motivation. Check out the other finishes over here at Amy's or just click the button on the right sidebar

The only other sewing related activity I did was cutting up some scraps to send to 8 lovely ladies that I've met through the Old Red Barn Quilt along. We are doing a scrap swap so we can make a quilt like this one. I love scrappy quilts so I didn't think twice about taking part. Sorting out my scraps made me re-think what I have in my stash and I had a good sort out and totally reorganised my fabrics. I ended up throwing out 5 supermarket sized bags full of ugly or poor quality fabrics that were taking up valuable room in my sewing attic. I seem to be in a real spring cleaning mood this week as I also re-organised my linen cupboard this morning.

Tea Rose Home Giveaway

One of my favourite blogs that inspires creativity in me is Tea Rose Home. She has a beautiful blog and her creativity seems endless. To celebrate thanksgiving she is having a very generous giveaway of the above 4 picture frames and the moda charm pack ( she recently did a tutorial on framed fabrics), a cute little girls bag plus an adorable dolls quilt.

Go and check out her blog, she won't disappoint.

My definition of satisfaction.

This week for Sew 'n' tell Friday I made another pencil case , this one is for Caitlin similar to the boxy pouch but it is round and probably large enough to be a small overnight toilet bag. It should fit all the pens and pencils etc she needs for school plus more. I also had a go at a crayon roll except for pens or pencils and thought it would be kinda cool for Amelia to put her gel pens in to take to school. I don't think Caitlin has seen it yet but I'm sure she will want one when she does. Hey even I want one! I'm thinking it would be an easy project for Amelia to tackle. I had both these items all cut out and ready to sew last Friday but ran out of time. Once they are cut out they take less than an hour to whip up. I like that quick satisfaction in a sewing project. You can find this quick and easy tutorial for the pencil/pen roll here. Don't forget to check out all the other Sew 'n' tell participants by clicking the button on the right hand side bar.

I got no sewing done over the weekend as I spent most of Saturday on my bike completing a 200km cycling event. This annual event is called the K2 and they say it is the toughest cycling race in the Southern hemisphere and yes it was pretty tough. It was a beautiful day here and perfect riding weather so that all helps. I have been training for this event for 6 months which was a big commitment but the satisfaction of completing a long ride like this was huge. You can check out the beautiful scenery that we rode past here. I spent Sunday not doing much but being kind to my body and letting it recover. I do find it hard to laze around and not do anything...I wonder if that puts me in the exercise addiction category. Maybe, because I've just signed up for another long cycle event in 3 weeks... the Lake Taupo Cycle challenge which is slightly shorter at 160kms. I know I'm a sucker for punishment !

You know what this means.......

Yes summer's on its way in our part of the world because these are ripening in my garden.
We love strawberries in our house!

Strawberries for dessert tonight!

And I've been working on these cute little strawberry ornaments today from a Heather Bailey pattern. One is for me and the other is for a friend. The strawberry fabric is the backing for this quilt.

Sorry to all you northern hemisphere readers about this summer post but I have been enjoying all those recent fall pictures being posted lately.

Block Party Quilt Along

The Block Party are publishing a book about virtual quilting bees and everyone has a chance to be part of it. You can read all about it on their blog but to kick it off they are having a giveaway.
They are a very talented and inspiring bunch of ladies and generous to boot. The photo above is one of the bundles of fat quarters that they are giving away.