Grace's Merit Certificate!

We had a note come home earlier this week inviting us to come to the school assembly as Grace was getting a Merit Certificate!! I was so excitied when I read it but had to be cool as Grace had no idea what the note was about. I asked her, "do you know what this is for?" and her causal reply was "Oh something about the teacher telling us to invite our loved ones to the school assembly." So we all went up today to watch her! Being in year 1, their names are called out first, two kids per class get one. When her name was called, I saw her turn her head to her classmate as if to say "hey thats me?!" and then she got up, walked over to the Principle, shook his hand and stood in line with the rest of the kids.

It says: Grace completes all tasks quietly and efficiently, taking considerable pride in her work. An excellent start to Year one Grace!

Week 4 of Year one and a Merit Certificate already! I have my proud Mummy hat on today!

WIP Wednesday - Week 8 - Quilting Monochromatic!

I’ve put together the top for the monochromatic 4 Season’s Doll Quilt Swap this week. It has been hanging on the design wall just begging for 30 minutes of attention to do this! Started the quilting today, lots of turning around the wonky flowers and then I am thinking in the white, some stippling with little stars? And then in the main red area, swirly free motion quilting to suggest flames. That was my idea at the start of this project and then with the recent sad events in Victoria I thought hmmmm, maybe not?

Talking of bushfires, here is some binding ready to post to Tia for the Bushfire Quilts, just over 1,350 inches!

And sign ups for the flickr Dolls Quilt Swap Round 6 are now being taken here, if you want to play. I'm in, this is one of the best dolls quilt swaps around I think.

Grace's Rainbow Log Cabin Quilt Finished!

Mum came over on Thursday and I realized that she hadn't seen the Rainbow Log Cabin or as it is now known as, Grace's Rainbow Log Cabin Quilt, since we sandwiched it that day in the school holidays. And then I realized, I hadn't blogged it since I had finished it. So here we go, the largest quilt I have ever sewn and quilted is finished.

The finished size is 48 inches by 78 inches. I went through 3 and a half reels of 250 metre cotton thread for the meandering stippling, so about 1,750 metres of thread for the meandering stippling.....



I found it hard to photograph it flat. The above photo was taken standing on a little step ladder on top of a wooden blanket box and I still didn't get the angle right. I didn't dare lean over any further.

This is my favourite shot. She looks pretty pleased with her quilt. She likes laying on it and playing match the material, first she finds say a strip of orange with spots on it and then trys and finds a matching bit on the quilt somewhere. Kinda like eye spy with colours. She has slept under it every night since I put it on her bed which makes me feel like putting two thumbs up and going YESSSSSSS! I knew she was excitied at it being made but thought after a few days she'd request her doona cover back but nope! Guess I'm not that bad a Mum after all, hey Grace?

WIP Wednesday - Week 7 - Appliquing Birds.

I have been working on appliquing some birds the last few days. It's top secret though and I really shouldn't say anything till later on in the year. You know how it is....

To be honest though I don't really feel like saying anything about anything at all at the moment. Passing through a patch of silence. Grumpy silence more like it. Grace declared last night "I want a new, better Mummy than YOU!" Okay, swift kick back to reality there.

*Edited to add: the blanket stitch is done on my sewing machine, with normal gutterman thread. The tail, legs and eye are by hand with two strands of DMC thread.

More Bushfire Quilt Blocks.

I got these blocks finished over the weekend. Just have to pop them in an envelope and post to Tia.

Bushfire Quilt Blocks.

I finished these two blocks for the Bushfire Quilt Project we are working on. I say we, cause so many quilting bloggers have signed up, its fantastic! I decided to use up the little stars I made a few weeks back for the middle of these stars, it seemed fitting. Wonky but fitting. Happy star sewing everyone!

WIP Wednesday - Week 6 - Project Improv and Bushfire Quilt Project.

Well I finished my Project Improv blocks. All packaged up to post to Jacquie. Can't wait to see the magic happen as she sews them all together. I think my favourite is the top right one, I love that deep green Valori Wells fabric and the sharp point it goes up to on the left. It was fun mixing up designers, something I wouldn't normally do. And I mixed up my whites, spots with floral and stars..... Usually that would freak me and hunt down more of that fabric, but for this project, as was the whole idea of improvising, I let it go.

Like the rest of Australia and the world, we have been devasted, upset and saddened over the bushfires in Victoria. We had to turn off the telly on the weekend as the girls were watching and getting upset and starting to ask questions that I couldn't answer without getting upset myself. Just the comprehension of loosing everything, your house, friends and family members...... and how quickly it happened makes me cry. The news in the paper and online, the photos of heartache and loss makes your heart ache, everyone is just so sad even though we here are on the other side of the country. Grace's school is doing a fundraiser for icey poles tomorrow to raise money for the people affected. Her teacher has showed them the photo of the koala drinking water from the fireman..... The girls from my Mother's Group are quickly whipping up some boxes of non perishable food and toys for a convey that is heading over East. To help some how from far away.

Tia has had the fantastic idea of starting a group of flickr called Bush Fire Quilts up to make star blocks, to send to her so she can do her magic, assembling quilts to send over to those who have nothing left. 12.5 inches finished, white/cream/light background. All the details are over at the flickr group or on Tia's blog. Lets get sewing!

Pink & Purple D9P Finished.

I finished sewing down the binding for this quilt two hours before I got news that the baby was born. Great timing! Grace and I are going to visit this afternoon.

Just a simple Dissappearing 9 Patch, such an easy and effective block, love it. It all came together quickly after being a UFO for a year or so. I say UFO rather than WIP as it wasn't in progress at all.... Feels good to have another UFO out the sewing room. I still have enough blocks to make another of these which is on the list for the next girlfriend due.


I really enjoyed doing the quilting on this. 100% cotton, new needle and smooth stippling all the way, bliss! See the little lovehearts in the stippling? I did a darker pink over the D9P blocks and a light pink on the white.

WIP Wednesday - Week 5 - Grooving down with Project Improv

Yes, I know its Thursday and so I technically late with WIP Wednesday but was a bit busy in blog land yesterday, seeing dots and spots! I've been working on my Project Improv blocks. I can't do one, so I'm doing 4! Such fun to work on, I don't really know what the next border is going to be till I finish the previous one. I'm loving mixing up designers and ranges. A Kaffe with Amy Butler?? Is that allowed?!! In Project Improv land, the answer is yes, love it!




Well I closed the giveaway at a massive 212 comments!! Seems like lots of girls out there like spots and dots. Love a giveaway, always leads to discovering new blogs. I hope you all did the rounds and entered lots! I did! Checking my emails hourly to see if I won anything....

Speaking of winning, a big congrats to Selina! Random Org picked you as the lucky winner!! I'll email you now. Thanks everyone for playing, special big thanks to the amazing Katy who organized it all. We should do it all again soon, who needs the Global Recession when we can just have International Stash Give Away Day!

International Stash Give Away Day!

Hey hey hey! Its International Stash Give Away Day! What a mouthful! I'm celebrating with spots! Big spots, little spots, spots in spots, perfect polka dot spots and wonky spots, spots, spots, spots! I'll be giving away a collection of fabric like above.

Other players in International Stash Give Away Day can be found here, good luck!

So if you like spots and want to be in it to win it, leave a comment below, you have 24 hours, starting from now!

First Day of School!

Today was the big day! Matilda started kindy today and Grace is now in what she calls "proper" school, year 1! Milly was so excitied, she was awake at 6.15, had her breakfast and all dressed by 7. Grace on the other hand was getting out of bed at 7.05! She was offering Milly little pearls of wisdom about life at school as she ate her toast. "Don't kiss any of the boys otherwise you'll have to go to the Boss's office" and "You have to wear you hat when you are outside playing. No hat means no play, that's the rules!"

We walked up to school today, or rather they skipped and ran. We went to Grace's class first, she got settled in her desk, put all her new stuff in her pigeon holes, said hello to the people in the class that she knew, she was very impressed that the drawer under her tray slid out and she could put her pencil case in it! She was happy for us to stay for 10 minutes and then I asked, "Do you want me to go now?" and she replied, "Yes, you can go." Thats my big year 1 girl!

Then off to Milly's room. Her class shares the same playground as Grace's class last year so Milly is totally familiar with the play equipment outside as we were up there twice a day all last year. And it turns out that she will have a different teacher for each day and her Monday teacher is one of Grace's teachers from last year as well, so she already knows her, she is quite at home already.

It felt really strange to be walking back home myself and I didn't feel sad at all till I rung Daz to tell him how it all went. Milly is only in kindy two days a week, Monday and Tuesday's, so I guess I'll feel back to normal on Wednesday when she is home again. This is the bit of motherhood they don't tell you about when you get pregnant, eventually one day they will go to school and you will be alone from the hours of 9 till 3. But hey, nothing wrong with that at times!