I have been a busy little beaver ;-)

with apologies to my two remaining January swap partners SylviaU and Marybeth, I have been busy making up a baby blanket/quilt for the QLD Flood Relief

I had a few scraps left over from my first ever baby quilt and decided to put them to good use.  I wasn't sure I would have enough to make up a complete quilt, but surprise, surprise, I have ;-)

here it is on my design wall (which is really a mattress protector strung up in front of a cupboard)

Here it is ..... all quilted and finished

I am quite pleased with this one ;-)

I made the quilt especially for the QLD Flood Relief effort, hoping to auction it off, and if no bids are received, it will be donated to OzComfortQuilts

I am happy with the way it came together ..........

The quilting is not quite perfect .........

some of the lines are a bit crooked .......

but it was made with love ;-)

My first QAYG square - I have just enough batting left for 3 more squares and will get onto them during the week

I will resume normal programming now, and work on my January blocks ;-)

Reasons to celebrate

I received this lovely unexpected birthday card in the mail from one of my CraftMad friends, Merry. This card is just so pretty in real life - unfortunately, my photo does not do it justice.

I got to meet my Great Nephew, Riley, in the flesh for the first time yesterday ;-)

Great Grandad with Riley

Nanna (my sister) & Riley

Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of me holding him ;-(  he got restless when I held him

(most probably picked up on my nerves)

The quilts - finally finished and in the nursery ;-)

JRSQA - Quilt Completed!!! YAY

I have finished!

quilting (in the ditch) & binding done!

I love the binding!!!

I have just washed it again to make sure it doesn't fall apart - if it survives, LOL, I will give to my nephew & his wife for their son, Riley.

I hope they like it!  I believe the nursery is just a simple blue & white. 

I needed to do the backing in two pieces, so I thought I would make a feature of the seam.

Close up of back section

JRSQA - completed top

I have finally completed my quilt top.  Since I am making this for a baby quilt, I decided to go with 3 x 3 setting.  I think I am happy with this one ;-)

I am really happy with my sashing - I got about 80% lined up

I chose the block with the most background colour as the centre block

I am in two minds whether it needs an outer border ???

what do you think?  any suggestions??

JRSQA Block #12 - completed

I just realised I had not posted Block #12 of the JRSQA (see icon on sidebar)

JRSQA Block #12 - final block

I am now in the process of laying out my blocks and bringing them all together in a quilt. 

I think I will make two baby quilts - 6 blocks in each.

The sashing will be light blue with yellow polkadot cornerstones and the backing will be blue & white polka dots. 

I am thinking of using the yellow polkadots as the binding too, but will wait and see what it looks like when I finish sewing the blocks together.

here is a photo of my choices for the binding

I really love the yellow polka dots next to the blue polka dots

Now to decide on what will be the outer border - to bring the quilt up to a crib size.

I have really enjoyed this process and have loved seeing everyone's pics in the flickr gallery.

Toy Society Drop Completed ;-)

I managed to do my Toy Society drop today - it was a lot of fun.  Here is what I made for our CraftMad June Sewing Swap:

I decided to place my 'drop' in the Baby Change Room of the Clovercrest Shopping Centre, Modbury, South Australia.

Here is the proof of the drop:

I think I will do another one soon - I enjoyed the challenge - I may even attempt the bear again seeing the first attempt was so bad ;-)

I hope that the blocks find a new home soon.  The Toy Society Blog is  here - check it out, maybe even participate yourself ;-)

Time to play catch up :-)

After waking up to a terribly cold and wet day, I decided to do some cooking & cleaning in the morning and promised myself some time in the sewing room in the afternoon.

I had a list of things I wanted to complete today - I am pleased to say I completed my tasks ;-)

I was so very far behind on my CraftMad June sewing swap - we had to make up a softie, swap with another member and agree to do a drop for the Toy Society BLOG .

My first softie turned out a bit of a mess, so I started again.  It suddenly came to me that it did not really need to be an animal - so I decided to make up some blocks.

I cheated a bit ;-)  I had lots of squares left over from my baby quilt, and thought they would be perfect for these blocks.  Unfortunately, these were cut out in my early days, and they are not quite square, but that adds to the rustic charm ;-) 

I just need to print out the blurb, place items in a bag and then pass over to Mandy so that she can do the drop.  Hopefully, Mandy will have a softie for me so I can do the drop for her.

Next up, I put the finishing touches on my CraftMad July sewing swap - a christmas wall hanging for Mandy.  I am fairly pleased with this, seeing it is my first wall hanging.  The hanging tabs are a bit crooked, but I didn't want to take it apart and make Mandy wait any longer - she has been patient enough with me as it is.  We are going to catch up over a cup of coffee and I can give her my 'creations'  in person.

I received a gawgeous wall hanging from Merry a beautiful pic is here - I love it!  I can't wait for December so that I can hang it up.

Pop on over to the CraftMad Gallery and check out photos of our previous swaps - maybe even join in for the next one!  The more the merrier!

Next came Block #11 for JRSQA (see icon on sidebar)

this one came together quite easily

Block #12 has been posted and I hope to get to it soon!

I am still so very unsure about what to do for the sashing and/or background/backing.  Once I have finished Block #12, I can have a play with some other sashings and see what I can come up with.

It was so worth getting wet and cold when I went out to the mailbox this morning ;-)

These two lovely items were in the mail - blocks from  CraftyPug - I love them, they are so bright and beautiful.  There was some extra dotty material and some embroidery cotton as well - thank you so much! 

I am really enjoying being part of this Block Swap group (see icon on sidebar).

Must be off now - it is time to start preparing tea - sausages & mash & onions - mmmmmmmmm my fave!

JRSQA - Block #10

I finally got some time in the sewing room to complete Block #10 of JRSQA

Block #11 has already been posted!
I need to catch up ;-)

JRSQA - Block #9 - it's on my wall ;-)

Block # 9 has been posted for our JRSQA (see link on sidebar if you would like to participate)

Here is my block - I am really happy with the way this one turned out!  ;-)

Here is my wall at the moment.

Here is my thoughts on the sashing - not too sure I am happy with this combination.  It does not look the way I imagined it ;-(

What is on My Design Wall?

This my quilt so far for JRSQA - block # 9 has just been posted.

Here is my first solo quilt - a split/disappearing 9 patch in Moda, Old Primrose Inn.

I am making a lap quilt for myself.

Pop on over to http://www.patchworktimes.com/ to see what is on other people's walls ;-)

Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along - Block #8

yay - finally completed Block 8

I must confess, when I first saw the block - I thought 'OMG that looks hard', but it was very easy and came together beautifully!

Blocks 1-4

Blocks 5-8

Now to make up my mind how I am going to do the sashing - I was originally going to do the plain light blue as the background, but am thinking that some yellow will provide some real pop!

I will have a think and a play with some scraps and see what 'speaks to me'  ;-)

Anyone have any suggestions?

Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along - Block #7

Here is Block # 7 (see link on sidebar for JRSQA blog)

this was the most difficult to sew up - I am down to the really scrappy bits of my jelly roll now ;-(
I am sure it would have come together better if I had been a bit more careful with my cutting ;-)

Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along - Block #6

The weather here was terrible today (see my post on http://www.cathy-throughmyeyes.blogspot.com/)

Here is my Block # 6 for JRSQQ (see banner on sidebar)

Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along - Blocks 4 & 5

I am catching up!

Block #4

Block #5

Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along - Block #3

here is block #3

Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along - Block #2

I am on a roll ........... here is Block #2

Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along - Block #1

Here is my first block for the Quilt along over on JRSQA - better late than never ;-)

I am using the left overs from my baby quilt - Alfie Bebe-Blue Jelly Roll.

I am fairly certain I won't have enough to make up the complete quilt, but may have to make up the difference with some fat quarters.

This was a challenge with my cutting and sewing - a few misaligned seams :-)

I am sure I will improve with time.

Baby Quilt Completed! just in time!

I have been frantically working on the second baby quilt for my nephew's twin boys.

Here is the layout

Finished quilt - I decided to add two borders to make it a bit bigger than the first quilt I made. 

I am not too sure what I am enjoying more .......... the actual sewing or the photographing  ;-)

I had all sorts of trouble with the tension during this project.  I guess the old SINGER was protesting about being used so much so quickly - after all, it has spent the last 12 years just sitting in the spare room, only being used very occasionally.