Kalan's Quilt

 All in vehicle fabrics for a kid who has loved trains and trucks since he was a little tacker.

Milla's Quilt

I made this for Milla (Niece #4, currently 2.5) for Christmas. On Christmas Day, I didn't think she even noticed, but I'm told she's insisted on having it on her bed ever since.

Oh, as those dark bits on some of the pink squares? They're tractors...

Mum's First Quilt

It's been a couple of months now since Mum finished her first ever quilt. In all honesty, she did the actual hand quilting, while I did all the cutting and construction. Still, she spent ages lovingly quilting words about love and family in both English and Burmese, and finally gave it to the Burmese family she has been working with (she tutors the mother in English through AMES - a great program if anyone is interested)

Kilt Quilt #1 - The Tartan Sampler

When we lived in Edinburgh, Andrew worked for a kiltmaker's and collected tartan offcuts for me, which I brought home to make quilts. This is the first one. Most of the pieces have come from tartan sampler books, and every one is different. There's 133 different tartans in there! I won't be working on it for a while due to Chestnut Festival sewing, but it may just take me that long to decide whether or not to add a border...

To market, to market...

The last month brought with it two big craft supply purchasing opportunities. The first was the Australian Quilter's Conference quilt show. I hadn't been going to go to this one, but Mum wanted to, so along we went one Saturday after Italian. The display was gorgeous, though Mum and I have very different tastes. There were many gorgeous fabrics for sale, but in the end, I couldn't cope with the crowds, and only bought a couple of 30cm strips of greens for my Emerald Isle quilt, plus Mum bought me some Beatrix Potter panels.
The other was the Stitches and Craft Show. It was in a new venue this year, and ultimately, I was disappointed with it - there was far fewer stalls than previously. That didn't, however, prevent me from spending over $100.

I simply couldn't resist this Halloween/Samhain fabric.

Or this fairy. Isn't she gorgeous?
And I've wanted this pattern for years. It was finally time to buy it. I already own two from the series, and there's two more to buy. I'll stitch them one day. Really.

Finally, Andrew had the bright idea that we should have a stall at Mt Dandenong Preschool's Chestnut Festival. His mum is knitting gnomes, Andrew is making sticks/staves, and I... am making kids clothes. I'm not at all confident about this. Can I make enough in time? Will people like them? How much should I charge? Will I have the right sizes? Nevertheless, when Spotlight had 20% off everything, I had to go and buy some supplies. Then I raided my stash.
I've also found some corduruoy at the op-shop of all places.
So I'm currently working on getting my kilt quilt out of the way, and pondering whether or not to order some woven labels for the clothes. It would give them a more professional touch, but do I really need $200?

An update...finally

After our wonderful engagement party, I have achieved quite a lot in the domestic department (sadly due to not working enough, which has also relegated me to family housekeeper/wife, so I get to feed the animals, and cook dinner most nights)
I had a big cooking day one Friday, which resulted in

Soup
Curried sausages (using the leftover sausages from the engagement party)
And nectarine jam, - my first attempt at jam - which I'm told is good, though I won't eat it myself as I only eat raspberry or strawberry jam!

I smocked these singlets to take as a gift for a baby shower, for a little boy who is expected any day now. I love smocking singlets - so simple, yet so cute!
I made a teddy bear for a friend's 21st. It's been a long time sine I made a fur bear, but I'm quite thrilled with the results. Much more fun than signature bears! This little darling was named Nadira Phoebe.

I finally added the borders to my 21st quilt, which is now layered and basted, ready to be quilted. I've also started cutting blocks (not quite square) for my first kilt quilt.

I experimented with a new pasta sauce on Friday (Fridays seem to be a good day for cooking). I consisted of homemade pumpkin soup, combined with the bechemel sauce I make for macaroni cheese, topped with toasted pinenuts. By all accounts - success! I am contemplating serving it in future with a dollop of pesto too.
In my role as housewife, I have been making the families snacks each week too (they have to make their own lunches - I don't get up early enough!) Most weeks, it has been the usual chocolate chip cookies, because Andrew loves them. Last night, however, Mum requested jam cookies. Since the usual ones contain almond meal though, and with both Mum and I being teachers, and so many kids with life threatening nut allergies, I had to come up with something different....
I haven't had one yet, but Mum likes them!

Patterns

Most sewers are addicted to fabric, and while I will confess to being slightly affected by this affliction, my big craft addiction is patterns. Sewing, cross stitch and quilting, I have more than I will ever use. And today I bought two more. In my defence, they were at least partially paid for with birthday money (originally a Spotlight voucher but they gave me cash change after I bought fabric) and they were 50% off.

This one is described as a 'Walk-away dress' the idea being that you can start making it in the morning and walk away in it in the afternoon.

And I just couldn't resist the gorgeous 40s style of this one.

*sigh* I'm already dreaming about wearing them, but have no idea when I'll manage to make them!

Quilting Dilemmas

All the pieces of my 21st quilt have been sewn together, and I'm quite happy with it. It's by no means perfect - there's plenty of places that the seams don't match up properly, but over all, it works out. Now I have some dilemmas... Does it need a border? If so, what fabric should I use? I don't have enough of any of the ones already in there, and as I bought them 5 years ago, I can't get more. What colour binding? What should I use for the backing? What quilting design should I use? Should I hand quilt or learn to machine quilt? Decisions, decisions....

21st quilt underway!

As it quite clearly states in my profile, I am 25. I turn 26 next month. But for my 21st birthday, I had all my friends and family sign quilt squares for me, and I am finally getting it put together. I have laid it out and am currently 'living with it' to be sure the layout is right. It has proven to be a little emotionally difficult, as there a squares in there from people who are now deceased, and a friend who is no longer in my life. There is also a debate as to whether or not to remove a square with a not-so-nice message, and rewrite history... but it's nice to finally be getting it done.
Cooking-wise I have been repeating cookie recipes - the jam ones and ginger ones. I did make gingerbread cars for a friend's birthday, but I'm waiting on a photo of those from another friend. And I made a lamb roast for dinner - yum!