Quilt: Scrappers Delight

I have a football mum friend that I wanted to make a quilt for. Our sons have been playing in the same football team since they were five years old. Over the years I have noticed that my friend is quietly considerate and sensitive to the needs of others. She always goes the extra mile in every task she undertakes and is a wonderful example to those around her. I don't think she even realizes what a good influence she is on others. My friend is a single mother who supports her family without complaint. She is the first to volunteer when others are unable to fulfill their commitments, she is supportive and encouraging and is always happy!

I wanted to acknowledge her in some way - to thank her for the lovely person that she is. She is a 'behind the scenes' person - something with a lot of hoo hah would have made her feel uncomfortable. So, I decided to make her a quilt.

Even though I have known her for years, it was always in the context of football training, managing the team, coordinating rosters and game days. I had never been to her house and didn't know what colours or style she preferred. So I sent her an email telling her that I would love to knit her a pair of socks and what colour(s) would she like? I always tell the truth. I really did want to knit her a pair of socks, except I am a terrible knitter so it really wasn't possible! Her response to my email were the colours blue, green and purple.

And so a blue, green and purple quilt was made. Because a quilt can keep a person just as warm as woolly socks! I used Amanda Jean's Scrapper's Delight pattern from her book Sunday Morning Quilts. I love that book!

I used more blue than purple and green (simply because I wasn't sure I could pull off the colour combo!). I really enjoyed delving into my scraps for this quilt. I also cut into some fat quarters to ensure I had enough green in the mix.

I dropped off the completed quilt to my friend at the end of November (requesting that it be put under her Christmas tree!) - just before we left for our holiday. I was overjoyed when I received an email from my friend at Christmas time. She loved the quilt.

The pieced back.

I love making things for others. I love the feeling that I receive when I see their joy. I have learned that my handmade gift doesn't need to be perfect (though I do try!); people are touched when they realise that you have spent time making something for them. I love that in this way I can let them know that they are important to me.

Foxy

I had the good fortune to test this paper pieced fox from my favourite pattern designer Kristy who blogs over at Quiet Play. The pattern will be available in Kristy's pattern store on Craftsy soon, most likely in February. Have a look at her other patterns - they are wonderful. Kristy is also responsible for the Sew Kitschy BoM which started this month (each pattern is free for the month and it's not too late to join!)

My photo of Foxy is not quite accurate - the background is brighter and the orange is not quite as bright as shown. I think my camera struggled with the contrast between the two colours.

This pattern has  a few fiddly bits, namely the face! I find that paper pieced patterns that have super large pieces or very small pieces have greater 'messing up' potential. I rank patterns according to how much I am able to daydream while making them. If I am able to daydream during the entire process then it is an easy pattern and suitable for a beginner. If I have to concentrate solely on sewing up the pattern then I categorize it as an advanced pattern. I think Foxy lies somewhere in between!

So, what shall I make with my Foxy?

Teacher Gift: Dr Seuss Quilt

This is the last of the teacher quilts that I made for the end of the 2013 school year. I loved them all, but this one was different to the other three which were made using 5" squares. This quilt was made for Lily's year 1 teacher. I originally thought that I would make her a quilt made entirely as polka dots, as polka dots featured prominently in the classroom. When I shared my idea with Lily she was adamant that her teacher's quilt should be a Dr Seuss quilt. I am not the kind of mother to indulge my children 'just because' and I didn't have any Dr Seuss fabric, so I stuck to my polka dot idea.

As it happened, I needed a zip on the same day that I spoke to Lily about the quilt. I walked into my local quilt/sewing shop and lo and behold, they had Dr Seuss fabric on sale. For $6 a metre. And it was 240cm (94") wide. You know it. I bought some. And then Dr Seuss fabric just seemed to come to me.

So I made a Dr Seuss quilt!

The front

Closeup of the front panel. Lily loves reading the text and I love hearing it!

I chose to quilt this one with organic lines. I don't think there is anything about Dr Seuss is straight, do you? I was so pleased with how it turned out that I am going to make one for our family.

As it turned out, when Lily gave the quilt to her teacher she told us that she is pregnant with her first child. So, I hope that this quilt sees lots of dribbles, rolling around, bottom noises, milk vomits and cuddly moments!

The back.

Fruit

Everyone in our family loves fruit. When we arrived home one of the first things that we did was to go to the shop to buy some fruit. And milk and bread. Arriving in Perth at 6am on New Years Day proved somewhat tricky though. We headed off mid morning to see if we could find a shop open that could meet our needs. Unfortunately we came home disappointed. We did find a few shops open and were able to buy bread and milk, but sadly the fruit on offer was dismal. It looked terrible and was very expensive. I'm just not prepared to pay $10 a kg (2.2lb) for marble sized plums that are softer than a cotton wool ball.

Lucky for us a friend agreed to purchase some fruit for us at the wholesale markets (he has a fruit and veg shop - we would have gone straight there but it is closed for renovations for a few more weeks!). I am so glad that he didn't mind getting up at 4am - what a friend!

We welcomed a box of nectarines (these are now all gone!), a box of bananas (also all gone, though quite a few are in the freezer to make banana ice cream), a box of plums, a box of cherries, a tray of mangoes and some Granny Smith apples. You can understand why we planted fruit trees in our yard - we now have twenty one! I turned 3 kg of the apples into two pies - we dropped one off to our friend to show our immense gratitude! Apparently the summer fruit season is very late in Perth this year.

What's the fruit like where you are? Do you buy in bulk like us?

Putting Away

A few days ago I was feeling frustrated with my children. It seemed that as one thing was put away, seven others would appear. I felt like I wasn't making any progress!

Eli kept getting toys out (I know, why would a four year old want to get out toys to play with?!!), playing with them and then walking off to another spot in the house to repeat the process.

I decided to focus Eli on one particular spot where he had been playing with a train set he received for Christmas. My request was for him "to get all his toys off the green rug." Of course, my intention was for him to pick them up and put them away.

My clever four year old did what you see in the photo. He removed all his toys from the green rug. He even lined them up neatly.

What could I say? I thanked him and moved on to another child and another part of the house!

Home!

We're home! We arrived home early on New Year's Day and I feel like I have been washing non stop since! I thought it would take me weeks to unpack (we left with 3 bags and came home with six) but it was all done within 24 hours. Thank goodness.

We flew with China Southern and, just in case I don't get around to doing a separate post reviewing the experience, they were great!

While we were a little sad to have our fabulous holiday come to an end (we will miss our dear friends) we were also excited to see the work that went on in our house while we were gone.

Here are some 'before' photos of the main bedroom and ensuite:

The toilet with the sliding seat.

The only ventilation in the bathroom - a hole in the window!

The light that did not work.

Gutted and ready for its transformation.

Old wardrobes, carpet and built in thingy gone.

And a few very exciting 'after' photos:

New wardrobes.

The sticker on the toilet has now been removed!

Heat lamps!

I feel very lucky to have such a beautiful bathroom. Of course, there is now no excuse for any stray eyebrow hairs as, with a working light, I can now actually see them in all their glory. And with a new bedroom I think that this is the year for me to make a quilt for my bed.

Now on to even more exciting things! After being away for five weeks I couldn't wait to sit down and sew. So, after a sufficient amount of work was done packing and sorting the new bedroom (i.e. five days of toil) I rewarded myself with some time at my beloved Bernina. And made this!

Oven Mitts

It is the first block in Kristy at Quiet Play's Sew Kitschy paper pieced Block of the Month. On the first of each month (starting January 1st, 2014), Kristy lists the pattern free of charge  in her Craftsy shop. It will be free for the duration of the month only. If you don't want to collect a free pattern each month, the entire bundle of 9 patterns is available right now in Kristy's Craftsy shop. I love Kristy's patterns - they are so easy to follow, beautifully presented and never have any Y seams. 

These are the 9 blocks that will be forthcoming over the next 9 months. Aren't they great?


So, do you want to join in with me and give it a go? I know you want to!!

Disney's newest movie 'Frozen'

We went to see Disney's Frozen as part of Zoe's birthday celebrations. It is a wonderful movie and we all loved it! Our favourite character was, of course, Olaf the snowman. Ever since arriving in Park City we have wanted to make a snowman. Unfortunately the greatest snow on earth is so powdery that it doesn't stick together. Small snowballs were impossible, let alone an entire snowman!

Last Friday we were blessed with some more unusual weather which resulted in a day of snow that had more moisture in it (more akin to New York snow) - perfect for building a snowman!

What do you think? Tell me he's very handsome (look at that beautiful buck tooth!). We learned that making a snowman takes hours of work!!