Pin it to Win it!

I'm not sure that Randi from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics knew what she was getting into when she decided to run a Pinterest competition.. I'm pretty sure that she's going to end up going broke from all the free fabric that she'll be posting out! Free fabric did you say? What are you talking about? Haven't you heard?

Well, the deal is this: Check out Randi's etsy store and pin any of her fat quarter bundles onto one of your pinterest boards. Get your friends to re-pin it so that you end up with a number of re-pins equivalent to the $ value of the bundle (eg $15 = 15 re-pins), and then you receive your bundle for free! Seriously? Seriously. The catch? You've only got until the 27th September (Thursday). Totally achievable!

The two bundles I've got on my wish list are (sadly, I can only "win" one! But I'll be happy either way):

Please re-pin:  http://pinterest.com/pin/150237337540556582/ 

A gorgeous berry coloured FQ bundle featuring:

Quilter's Linen in Lavender, Robert Kaufman
Number Games in Bikini Pink
Empire Weave in Garnet, Heirloom
Foliage in Outplayed, Outfoxed
Tufts in Outsmarted, Outfoxed
Dumb Dot in Candy
Jewel in Dark Blue/Purple, Outfoxed
Kona in Candy Pink

Please re-pin:  http://pinterest.com/pin/150237337540556637/ 

The "Perfectly Perched" full line of fabrics by Laurie Wisbrun for Robert Kaufman. Super cute, and I just can't get enough of those chairs!

If you have your own pinterest bundle you're hoping to win, please leave me a comment with the link to your bundle and I'll re-pin yours too :)

Here's to free fabric, ladies and gentlemen! (And thank you for running an awesome incentive, Randi!)

Sisterhood of the Travelling Stash, Part II (Farrah)

A few months ago I was lucky enough to be a part of the inaugural Australian Travelling Stash, "Sasha" organised by Cassie from Cass the Coolest. Sasha came to visit me quite early on (I was the second person to receive her!) and I've been following her evolution as she has travelled around the country. I'm really hoping that once she's returned to Cassie, Cass will decide to send her around again!

Sasha was so popular, and such a success amongst the Quilt Club Australia girls that Bronwyn from Stop that Owl started another travelling stash, dubbed "Farrah" (happiness) the Fat Quarter Stash. Bronwyn sent Farrah off with 50 assorted fat quarters, and she's been doing making her way across the countryside. Since I had enjoyed participating in Sasha's Stash, I couldn't say no to participating in Farrah!

Farrah arrived on my doorstep on Wednesday, which was a *lovely* surprise! She'd just been to visit Waverlee from Little Guinea Pigs.

A healthy 1.974kg worth of fabric!

 Oh the anticipation! There's something divine about getting to unwrap presents, isn't there?

 Once I'd unpacked Farrah I got to sort through and pick out all the pretties! Some of the fabrics were just so soft and lovely to the touch. It was a hard decision, but I finally narrowed my choices down to  17 fat quarters that I just "had to have".

Look at those pretty fat quarters!

A tower of pretties, all for me!

Once I'd made my fabric choices I had to raid my own stash to refill Farrah's coffers. I hope they find a happy home in someone else's stash!

Bye bye baby!

Farrah as she was when she departed - 2.006kg

 I mixed my fat quarters in with Farrah's, bundled her back up and got her ready to post off to her next stop... I can't tell you where she's off to though, it's a surprise!

Why hello, Mr Postman!

I got 3 exciting packages in the mail today... the first one came all the way from Ann Arbor, MI.. from the lovely ladies (Polly) Minick & (Laurie) Simpson! I won a charm pack of Prairie Paisley II in the recent Vintage Modern blog hop run by The Fat Quarter Shop (but more about that in a minute!) - which will match my Prairie Paisley II layer cake perfectly!

 The next package was my new Heart die for my Accuquilt GO! fabric cutter.. this came from Cutting Art, where I purchased my GO! They have excellent customer service and great prices (similar prices to the US - much less mark up than other Australian retailers!).. Phillipa is planning something with this die for the QCA Bee girls when it's her turn to be Bee Leader in May.

And my last package came from The Fat Quarter Shop. It's a Fat Eight bundle of Twirl by Me & My Sister.. also from the Vintage Modern blog hop. Sadly they'd run out of the layer cakes that were supposed to be the prize, so I had to settle for the F8 bundle - what a shame! And speaking of great customer service, The Fat Quarter Shop is amazing! Aside from upgrading my prize, they also went above and beyond with a recent order that I placed regarding how much they could stuff into a flat rate envelope.. clearly they are just as invested in their international customers as they are in their local customers ♥

So thank you, Mr Postman.. you've made my day!

Blogger's Choice Bundle - I'm a Ginger Monkey

So the wonderfully talented Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey has teamed up with the girls at Pink Castle Fabrics to run a blogger's choice fat quarter bundle competition! All you have to do is choose 12 fabrics from Pink Castle's etsy or web stores, plop them into mosaic maker and then link them up to Katy's blog post. Simple, yes?

And why would you want to do this? Well, aside from the obvious benefits of getting to browse lots and lots of pretty, shiny fabric... there will be two winners who will not only win their bundle, but will attain fame and fortune (ok, no fortune sorry!) when their bundle is featured on the Pink Castle Fabrics website. Score!

So here's my entry. It was inspired by the Salt Air prints I've chosen, which made me think immediately of my sister. If I win I will use my bundle to make her a quilt, because I love her and she's an awesome sister!

I call my collection: Ocean Goddess

The fabrics I chose were from Pink Castle Fabric's etsy store, and are as follows:

Row 1:

1. Sea Garden in Ocean - Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket for Moda Fabrics

2. Prairie Rose in New Day Hope Valley - Denyse Schmidt

3. Seeds in Gray - Fruit Slice by Khristian A Howell for Anthology Fabrics 

4. Bella Solid in Graphite - Designer Basics by Moda Fabrics

Row 2:

1. Sea Garden in Mist - Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket for Moda Fabrics

2. Modern Meadow Picnic Plaid in Pond - Joel Dewberry 

3. Metro Living Lattice in Dusty Blue - Robert Kaufman

4. Ta Dot in Sea Aqua - Michael Miller Polka Dot

Row 3:

1. Frog Prince in Indigo - Prince Charming by Tula Pink

2. Bella Solid in Turquoise - Designer Basics by Moda

3. Woodgrain in Teal Woodlands - Khristan A Howell for Anthology Fabrics

4. Mono Pez in Aqua - Pezzy Prints by American Jane for Moda

Bargain hunting, Swooning and FMQ

It's been a pretty busy fortnight here on the home front.. Mum and I took the kids up to see my grandparents for a week so we spent our time beating the heat down at the beach! And really, it was HOT. The first 3 days were hot, humid and crazy and the water was a welcome relief.. then came the thunderstorm which finally brought in the sea breeze for the next 3 days.. until it got hot and horrible again the day before we left! But overall it was a lovely holiday. Of course while I was "away"  Spotlight decided to have a VIP sale where you got a $10 voucher to spend for each day of the sale  so mum and I made sure that we managed to fit in a few visits to make sure we got our money's worth ;) I managed to come out of it with some fabric that has been catching my eye for months..... at the bargain clearance price of $4/m!

Even better, when I got home I managed to find a couple of the other fabrics in the same range at my local Spotlight store so I think I ended up with about 9 different fabrics in the range overall. I also managed to pick up a June Tailor 12.5" square ruler & some of her plastic shape templates (star, heart, circle, flower, leaf) at 50% off, some Christmas quilting fabric & panels cheap on clearance and some other random fabrics that I'd had my eye on. Now I just need to find the perfect project for my pretty yellow/grey "Sunny" fabric!

I've also joined in on Katy's Swoonalong, so at yesterday's craft morning playdate I cut pieces for my first block and today I completed it! These blocks will be for one side of the quilt that I've been planning to make as part of a marriage quilt for my husband and I. I purchased the fabrics back in October specifically for my quilt but with no real design idea in mind.. I had picked out a couple of star blocks that I'd been thinking over but once I saw that Swoon block it was just a case of deciding whether to use these fabrics or the fabrics I'd chosen for the other side of my quilt.

I've been working on my project for the Quilters with Modern Tools "GO! Ahead and Show a Little LOVE" AccuQuilt Blog Hop.. the blog hop will run from 13th - 18th February. The line up includes some of my favourite bloggers - I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with! And I hear rumors that there will be giveaways - yay!

Feb. 13 Marjorie from Marjorie Busby Quilts
Feb. 13 Ariane from Ariane's Crafts

Feb. 14 Connie from Quilting by the River
Feb. 14 Linda from Living 4 Quilting

Feb. 15 Lisa Marie from Scraps of Life
Feb. 15 Marilyn from North Hill Quilter

Feb. 16 Alicia from Heirloom Quilting
Feb. 16 Marjorie from Marjorie's Busy Corner

Feb. 17 Sharon from Craizee Corners
Feb. 17 Snoodles from Lily Pad Quilting

Feb. 18 Stacey from Driving Miss Stacey
Feb. 18 Tracey from The Peony Teacup (me!)
Feb. 18 Paulette from Sweet P Quilting and Creations

Do you want a sneak peek?

I decided to join Samelia's Mum's Name Game Swap at the last minute, so stay tuned for sneak peeks of the mini quilt I'll be making for my swap partner!

And last but not least, I finally got around to having a go at SewCalGal's 2012 FMQ challenge..  I read somewhere that felt made an excellent practice fabric, so I thought I'd give it a go before moving on to quilt sandwiches.. Here's my first attempt:

Front side

Back side

I boxed myself in a couple of times, and then my bobbin ran out and I decided that seemed like a good time to finish for the day. With a little more practice I think I  might even be able to turn out something that looks like leaves!

Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle Competition

The lovely Laura from Quokka Quilts (another Perth girl, just like me!) is having a competition on her blog where you put together your "own" fat quarter bundle using fabrics from the Fat Quarter Shop and then make up a pretty mosaic, blog about it and go into the draw to win your fabrics! And not just the fat quarter bundle, oh no! But a HALF YARD of each of your fabrics! Woohoo! Talk about excitement.. the whole of the blogging world seems to be posting fat quarter bundles (or atleast, they are on my feed..)

So here is my bundle.. my inspiration was Lily Ashbury's Summer House line, I just love that fabric :) The pinks and greens are colours that I've wanted to have in my lounge room for quite some time now, so if I won my FQ bundle I would love to use it to make some cushions, throw rug/quilts etc. It makes me think of Spring time :)

I used the following fabrics:

1. Summer House Pink Lemonade Rosemarie Yardage SKU# 11442-14 
2. Daisy Dance Pink Tiny Flower Buds Yardage SKU# 7534-22
3. Sweet Shoppe Pink Petals and Vines Yardage SKU# 3650-26 

4. Heart Garden Medium Pink Swirling Swirls Yardage SKU# 11908-98

5. Me and My Sister Favorites Green Swirls Yardage SKU# 22045-38 
6. Sugar Hill Cotton Green Scattered Roses Yardage SKU# PWTW049-GREEN 
7. Babysaurus Green Geo Diamond Yardage SKU# 106101-06-3
8. Annie's Farm Stand Green Mini Rose Yardage SKU# 10062-Green
9. Summer House Bright Blue Rosemarie Yardage SKU# 11442-18 
10. Folk Heart Blue Teardrop Floral Yardage SKU# 30393-70 
11. Pam Kitty Morning Blue Buttons Yardage SKU# LH11011-BLUE 
12. Stitch Organic Blue Stitchin' Swirls Yardage SKU# 11900-4 
13. Kona Cotton Candy Pink Yardage SKU# K001-1062
14. Bella Solids Amelia Blue Yardage SKU# 9900-167 
15. Bella Solids Summer House Lime Yardage SKU# 9900-173 

Catching up..

Goodness me! I've just realised that it's been a month since I last posted about something crafty on here! It's not for lack of crafting, let me tell you! Infact, it's probably exactly why I haven't managed to post.. aside from the fact that it's "that time of year" and things have been super busy with end of year concerts and parties as well as half a dozen birthdays, I've been spending quite a bit of time focussing on the actual crafting which has left significantly less time for the blogging. I've been lagging behind badly on my blog reading, too - falling asleep on the sofa has become my new normal.

So here's some of the stuff that I've been doing this last month...

Crochet "wine glass cover" #3 - about 3 rows to go.

My first completed "Split Drunkard's Path Star" (will blog tutorial)

2 stars plus the tumbler medallion.. Harry Potter Quilt still in progress

Quilt for Blossom's Kindy teacher, who is retiring.
Each child in the class decorated a square, and I put it all together.

Back of the teacher quilt.

Christmas table runner, complete!

I just love the backing fabric.. might even pretend it's reversible ;)

I also broke my fabric ban.. it all started so innocently.. with a voucher for $40 off at Spotlight when you spent $100... and I needed more fabric/batting for the quilt for Blossom's teacher, so it totally didn't count towards the fabric ban.. and my husband decided that I should make some "Minecraft Creepers" for Bean & Blossom (like these) so I had to buy fabric for those (because I seriously need ANOTHER project that has to be finished in time for Christmas!) and my SIL decided that she wanted a jungle themed quilt for her nursery instead of Peter Rabbit, and I found a gorgeously perfect panel..

And most people would leave it there. But not me... once the flood gates were open, it was on. It didn't help that there were a whole pile of Black Friday sales being tweeted left, right and centre... The first thing I indulged in was a 21 FQ set of Riley Blake's Delighted from The Intrepid Thread, which reminded me how much I love fabric designed by The Quilted Fish so I went hunting for some more Sweet Divinity to go with the fabric that I bought a couple of months ago (which will be turned into a quilt and accessories for Blossom's new room when we finally move)... and I found what I was looking for at two separate etsy stores.. A total of 10 yards, made up of 10x Sweet Divinity fabrics, 9x Sugar & Spice fabrics and the "Quite Contrary" Green Stripe by My Mind's Eye. Yes, way more fabric than I will need to make Blossom a quilt, given that I already have 5 yards of Sweet Divinity (5x fabrics).

My Christmas present to myself

And then I went back to Spotlight and bought myself a walking foot, some coordinating fabric for my SIL's baby quilt, some more fabric for the teacher quilt (because my backing fabric was an inch short and I decided just to buy another piece than mess around) and then decided that I was all binged out.

Poppies, parcels and progress..

It's been a pretty crazy week, but honestly I won't bore you with the details! Instead I'll share with you some photos that I took of flowers in my mother-in-law's garden, my order that arrived from Quiltjane, and some of the progress that I made on my Harry Potter quilt and my Christmas table runner..

 My mother-in-law used to have a garden filled with these beautiful pink mop-head poppies. When my husband and I were first dating I used to love going to their house when the poppies were out because they were just gorgeous and divine and beautiful. When we moved up into the hills 4 years ago my MIL gave me some of her poppy seedlings to plant in my garden. Every single one was plain red single layer poppies. Infact, every single poppy either of us has grown in the last 4 years has been red. We figured that the poppies must have reverted or something because my MIL had never had red poppies. And I was sad because I thought I'd never again see those beautiful pink mop-head poppies... and then on Wednesday, what did I see???? There was one little pink poppy amongst the red! Oh happy day!

 That doesn't mean that I don't like the red ones though, don't get me wrong.. there's just something kinda special about those pink ones, you know?

 And Cosmos.. I love cosmos. A couple of years ago I had them flowering profusely in my garden in shades of pink.. light, dark, in between! This year my winter grasses have taken over my garden and I've given up hope of anything being visible in there. But one, single plant has also come up in my MIL's garden.. doesn't it just look cheerful? I know I have some seeds saved somewhere.. when we move in I might scatter some more seeds and see what happens!

 My package from Quiltjane's Want it, Need it, Quilt! store came yesterday! Woohoo! Look at all that fabricy goodness. I must say that I was surprised by how much MORE I loved Kate Spain's Good Fortune in real life than I did online! I think I'll be buying more of that once I lift my fabric buying moratorium. I also can't wait to play with my Grace layer cake.... I think I have the perfect pattern picked out.

And isn't Jane a sweetie? She sent me a teeny tiny 2.5" square baby charm pack of Antique Fair. I love it!

 When I finally got around to doing some "real work" I cut some tumbler blocks out of my black backing fabric and then cut them in half so I can put them at either end of my tumbler rows. This way they will square up nicely and it will be easier to do the horizontal sashing. Unfortunately my MIL broke her ironing board(!!!) so I can't press my seams until Monday (Well, I suppose that's not strictly true, but it's a good excuse to move onto another part of my project!).

All my rows chained together (when I added the 1/2 tumblers to each end)

 And while I was chain piecing, I finished stage 1 of the Christmas table runner piecing..

I was clearing out the kids drawers the other day, putting aside all the clothes they've outgrown to keep or send to Good Sammy's (thrift shop).. but at the last minute I pulled out all the flannelette pyjamas. I think I might upcycle them into a snuggle rug. Maybe even try out a rag quilt. If I unpick all the seams I can then send them through my Accuquilt GO! and turn them into squares and half square triangles. I just loved my babies toddling around in their flannel pjs, and if I turn them into a quilt they can be used for sleepovers etc and I can enjoy them all over again. Is that a crazy idea?

Moda Pre-cut Fabric Binge

Incase I hadn't spent enough on fabric recently, I've been pondering some of the pre-cuts in Quiltjane's online store for about 3 weeks. After much thought and money juggling I reached the conclusion that I *really needed* the following items:

2x Ruby Charm Packs, Bonnie & Camille for Moda

I plan to use these to make the super easy Charm Quilt mentioned in my last post. I just love the cheery combination of blues and reds.

Buttercup Layer Cake, Fig Tree & Co for Moda

This is the layer cake that started it all. It was on sale for $25! And it was the LAST ONE. I don't know what I'll do with it yet, but I just HAD TO HAVE IT. I love this range. I also love Fig Tree & Co's Butterscotch & Roses and Strawberry Fields ranges too.

Rouenneries Deux Charm Pack, French General for Moda

I fell in love with this range after seeing someone blog about a candle mat or a table centre or something done in this range.. but for the life of me I cannot remember where it was. Does anyone know the post I'm talking about? It was a semi-tutorial (divide into light & dark tones, cut strips, cut wedges, sew into a circle, add scallops to the outer edge & fussy cut cream circle motif for centre..) Please help me!! I know a charm pack isn't big enough, but I wish I'd bookmarked the post now.

Grace Layer Cake, 3 Sisters for Moda

I love the greens, reds and roses in this range. I'm not sure if I want to do something Christmassy or just something pretty to grace (haha) my afternoon tea table.. if I can ever find that pattern (mentioned just above) I might do that with this fabric.

Good Fortune Charm Pack, Kate Spain for Moda

I nearly went with this fabric for the Charm Square Quilt instead of Ruby, but I thought that I might make myself a bag or a table runner with this instead. I love the cool colours.

But now I need to declare a moratorium on fabric purchasing for a while. No more fabric until I have completed project items with the fabric I already have (and am waiting to receive). Seriously.

Super Easy Charm Square Quilt

I was looking at charm packs online and thought I'd go hunting for a pattern that would give me an idea of what I could do with a charm pack and how many I'd need when I came across this Charm Square Quilt pattern from Snippets of a Quilter. It only takes 2 charm packs to make, and while it looks fancy and complicated is super simple! Now all I need are 2 charm packs.. what a pity, means I'll just have to buy some more fabric ;) I'm currently tossing up between Ruby, by Bonnie & Camille for Moda or Good Fortune bby Kate Spain for Moda... it's so hard to choose just one!

Charm Square Quilt from Snippets of a Quilter

It would also be easy to adapt for the Accuquilt GO! as you could cut your own "charm squares" using either the 5" square on the Value die or the Go! 5" square die.

More holiday shopping

On Saturday I went back to Spotlight to check out what other quilting fabrics they had marked down - not with any particular expectations, mostly just curiosity! (And of course, the lure of their birthday celebrations - the kids were keen to get a "showbag" and have their faces painted)

As it happens I managed to find a co-ordinated range of fabrics "Tulips in Bloom" all on sale! Initially I'd set aside some other fabrics, not for any particular project but because they were cute (including a pink polka dot that I just HAD to have anyway - pic right at the bottom of the post) but there was this one fabric, a brown and blue floral that kept catching my eye... so I pulled it out and then noticed some other fabrics that matched.. checked the labels.. yep, same range! and started hunting for others. This was my final selection:

Tulips in Bloom, Blue & Brown

You might be able to just see the rabbits & birds hiding in the design

Tulips in Bloom - "Leaves"

Tulips in Bloom - "Petals"

Amusingly enough, the light blue "Petals" fabric is the one that I'd purchased on Thursday to make the Pillowcase Top for Blossom!

Co-ordinating homespun

Doesn't it look lovely? I can't wait to start cutting!

I was only going to buy 1/2 metre of each fabric because I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but then I decided that I would use it to make a quilt top for my husband and me, which meant that I would need probably closer to a metre of each because we have a king-size bed.. and at $6/metre, why not?!

The pink polka dot that I just couldn't walk past

All up I had close to 13 metres of fabric, and for the bargain price of $72! Now all I need is a design..