Block 3

I quickly whipped up the third block in the Jelly Roll Quilt Along and I am really happy with how the colours go together in this one.

It's interesting looking at all the other blocks other people are making in this Quilt Along - the fabric choices can make the same blocks look completely different.



I night-sewed this one so again I stuffed it up a little, but not enough to make me unpick and not enough to be noticeable! Those who are doing the block will see my mistake.

Some orphan blocks found a home

A couple of weeks ago, during the never-ending attempt to clean up my sewing room, I came across a lot of orphan blocks including a stack of disappearing nine patch blocks in lovely pastel florals.

So I quickly put them together into this very large table runner and did some quick in the ditch quilting to finish it off rapidly.

Here is a close up with my new/old bowl which I decided to use for a fruit bowl, as it is just the right size for four or five pieces of fruit which is about what I have in my house at any one time.

I also came across this crocheted jug cover I had forgotten making. Instead of beads, it has little colourful buttons around the edge.

I have been feeling like the above picture the last few days (except not so tidy looking, imagine wilder hair, weepier eyes and a snottier face). I don't know if flus are getting more severe every year, or if I am just getting older and feeling them a lot more, but I have been miserable.

Today I am feeling a lot better, although I didn't sleep much last night as I was up coughing most of the night and when I did fall asleep I was having strange, vivid dreams. I wonder what was in the cough medicine I was diligently chugging all night? Or was it the gallon or so of green tea I drank to soothe my sore throat? So I was exhausted this morning and decided to have a second day off work, but I should be feeling well enough to return tomorrow.

The good things about being sick are that :

• I've been doing some crochet while in bed or watching TV;
• I've lost a couple kilos I had put on over the last few weeks as I have been too busy with work to eat healthily and have just been snatching gulps of junk food when I can
• and that I've been able to spend more time with the pups who have been giving me extra cuddles and cheering me up with their antics.

Crocheted Jacket

I finished crocheting this little jacket for my neice Olivia today. It is from this pattern here, but I used two strands of a Lincraft brand 5ply acrylic - one strand in pink and one in purple, and also added a little flower in the pink. This was a nice and easy pattern to make, mostly worked in one piece so there was minimal joining to do.

And some puppy photos, just because Sugar and Spice are such beautiful angels, and they make me smile.

I bought some gingham flannelette sheets recently and I think the pups like them.

Jelly Roll Quilt Along Block 2 and Some Crochet Things

I finished my second Jelly Roll quilt-along block today:

For some reason this block gave me a lot of headaches, even though it isn't that complicated. I normally have a rule that I don't do any piecing on weeknights after work. I usually find if I do, then I make a lot of silly mistakes because I am tired and my mind is on other things. This week I ignored my own rule to my peril, and ended up having to unpick twice. I finally put it together properly this morning.

If I do feel like doing craft at night, I normally stick to embroidery or crochet which are a little less difficult to stuff up and easier to undo if I do!

I was looking for a pattern to make my little neice something for her birthday but instead came across a beginner's crochet book from Patons with some easy, thick-yarn projects I had forgotten about and made a couple of adult things from that instead.

This scarf is just a nice weight and sooo soft, made from Jet which is a wool/alpaca mix, and with such a chunky yarn it was very quick to make too. I hate the very cold weather, but I am kind of looking forward to it now with a new scarf to wear!

Also with Jet is this beanie and wrist warmer set. I still need to make some little flowers for the beanie. The wrist warmer, or fingerless glove, wears like this:

I've got the flu at the moment so am feeling a bit sorry for myself. I had a pounding headache for two days, but now am just snuffly and lethargic. I mowed the front lawn this morning and the sun and heat and exercise have made me feel a bit better.

Another UFO bites the dust and some trash n treasure finds

I've been working on finishing this UFO I found while cleaning my sewing room (and OMG I keep finding more and more UFOs!). I think I started this one as a cot quilt for someone but it ended up being bigger than I thought so it ened up smallish lap sized.

I'm thinking this design would be a good scrap quilt to use up small pieces of fabrics and would one day like to do a multi-coloured one.

I've been to Blacktown Markets with my friend Lyle this morning and found lots of little treasures. We were lucky as it was drizzly yesterday but we woke up to a fine, sunny morning and now that we've finished shopping it is starting to get a little overcast again.

I love this iron shelf with painted roses. I am trying to decide where to put it. It goes really nicely with the blue wall above my fireplace, and the yellow wall in my kitchen.

I also bought this pretty bowl. I don't know why, I don't normally collect porcelain bric a brac. For some reason I just liked this bowl.

It is by Johnson Brothers from their Australian factory so I don't think it is very old and probably not very valuable, but I think it is pretty and it cost me $3 so I am happy.

I also bought a cane wine basket for no other reason than it was $1 and some cushions from this lady whose cushions I love. She sells big, firmly stuffed cushions in pairs for $6 and today had these huge cushions (nearly 80cm square) for $4 each. I think she used to be a dressmaker so just uses things up from her stash which is how she does them so cheaply. The polyfill alone to stuff one of the big cushions would be nearly $20 worth. So I bought a few to use to make patchwork covers for.

Jelly Roll Sampler and Flannel Quilt

I am so glad Kris at Dandelion Quilts posted about the Moose on the Porch Jelly Roll Quilt Along, as I never would have found it otherwise.

It looks like good fun and will help me do something different with a jelly roll from my stash - I normally do quickly rotary cut and chain pieced things with jelly rolls.

I am using Patisserie by Fig Tree Quilts. I was worried the fabrics wouldn't have enough contrast but I am pretty happy with my first block (above) even though a couple of my seams don't match properly.

Sug finally found another napping spot yesterday and I got back to basting my quilt. I have really lightly quilted it with in the ditch stitching. Just enough to hold it together really. I've had trouble getting my tension right the last few times I've tried to free motion quilt, so just wanted something quick and easy this time.

It's been a while

Well, it's been a while, more than a month I see from my last post but I'm still here! Things have been very busy with work, so I have just been a bit exhausted and haven't been getting much crafting done.


I'm still determined to finish up a few UFOs though and this morning decided to baste this flannel lap-sized quilt.





But Sug had other ideas, so I decided to stop and do a quick blog post instead. Hopefully she'll find something more interesting to do in the mean time. Or find a cosier place for a nap.




I hope her feet are clean!