The project on the floor

Remember these? I made my first feathered star block back in June, just for fun, and found I wanted a Christmas quilt made up of nine of these stars. As we know Christmas is coming fast!!! So this week I finally started putting the top together, today I pieced the points on the sawtooth stars and laid it out. It is going slowly, but here is a pic of how it looks spread out on the living room floor:

Plan for tomorrow is to finish the pieces that will make up the sawtooth stars around the edges, and hopefully get the centre of the top pieced together (so that I can clear off the floor for a change *lol*). I have an idea for what I want for borders, whether or not that will happen remains to be seen :o)

Hope you're having a great weekend!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

My oldest UFO...

...is FINISHED!!! This is the one that has been listed on my side bar as "Blue & multicoloured trial and error".

I started piecing this quilt the summer 2000 (I think it was…) while on holiday at the summer house. This was before I had really comprehended the concept of 1/4" seam allowance - the seam allowances are closer to half an inch in this one *lol* - but it is more or less consistent, so everything fits together (sort of...). Anyway, I lost interest in it once the holiday was over, and it has sort of been laying there… this summer I pulled it from the drawer thinking I’d might use it for the backing on the DNP, just to get it out of the way… but I found I just couldn’t – I still kind of like it, and didn’t want to “hide” it as a back. So once the DNP was done, I put the border on, layered, and quilted it – just some meandering; it was hard to quilt because of all those thick intersections and the bulky seam allowances. The binding was attached sometime in the beginning of September, and I brought it to our guild meeting that month to hand sew it down; didn’t finish that night, and it has been sitting in the bag until tonight – one hour after pulling needle and thread and turning on the telly tonight it was FINISHED!!!! Puh!!! Just happy it’s done!!

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Sunday I was at a flee market with some friends – and I picked up these swatch books

The colours are amazing!!! And there is a lovely shine to the fabrics (some sort of curtain material, I think). No idea what to do with them, but my friend Leisha Camden suggested I’d blog them to put some pressure on myself to find some ideas – so check back with me in about eight years or so, and you might find out? *lol*

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Dear, sweet Hanne has a new pattern out these days - isn't this Christmas shopping bag and purse fabulous?

She has a draw for the pattern on her blog - hmmm... I kind of want to win this... should I send you over to participate in the draw? *lol*

Hope you're having a great week! See you soon!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

Bag and blocks

My friend Leisha Camden had her birthday in mid October, but she spent the day in Egypt, so her birthday pressie from me was only handed over today. She spotted a pattern for this make-up bag with an elephant on it before Christmas last year, and I found she expected an elephant-pressie... Well, she didn't get one then, but I did make her one now:

It is a fair size bag that will hold some books and stuff, or might come in handy for shopping (in stead of those non-environment friendly plastic bags). And for the elephant tail I had some fun with a star stud, a bead and a rusty bell :o)

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Anyone remember this post? While looking through some old post last night, I found that I haven't shared the remaining blocks for this mini quilt - they were all done this summer!

They have been laying on the sideboard in the living room since I finished them, in hope that I'll work some more on this version of Sarah's Sampler. I still have to put the top together and figure out how I'm going to quilt it, but having all the blocks finished is a start. I'm still putting off those tiny pieces for the garden maze setting and the twisted border - this will have to be done over a peaceful weekend when I'm in a great mood and have no stiff neck!!!

Hope you all have had a great weekend!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

This and that - a long post

Long time, no see... I have been a bad blogger again.... Lost track of time, been busy, lost the cord to my camera (what is a blog post without pictures? I finally convinced my Dad to lend me his), basically life has gotten in the way... I want to thank everyone for the sweet comments on my previous post, sorry I haven't replied to all of you!

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Anyway, even though I don't really feel that productive I have done a little bit of quilting. A couple of my friends got married just over a week ago, and of course I had to make them a quilt:

As usual cutting time a bit short as I only finished stitching down the binding and label a couple of hours before the ceremony *lol* - but it was finished in time! As you can see it is a very simple pattern, just 12" stars and some cornerstones, and the quilting is a very easy well spaced meandering. I'm pleased with the over-all look of it, and I think they are happy with it :o)

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My friend Nemo has been a busy bee with the knitting needles (and other needles as well, for that matter), and look at these wrist warmers she made me:

Aren't they pretty? Those dancing ladies are so cute! And they are so warm and cozy! Fabulous these days when winter have arrived. And they were well worth their weight in gold and more after our last meeting at the quilting guild - Nemo has written about it in this post.

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I had an errand at the post office this afternoon, among other things to pick up a parcel from my very dear friend Rose in Tasmania. Sweetie, I'm sooo happy - thank you!!!! Look what this wonderful and talented lady sent me:

Some gorgeous fabrics and buttons, some thread and a quilting stencil and some chocolate pretty wrapped for my B-day - thank you so much Rose, Les, Maddi and Cohen!! Included in the box was also no. 8 Australian Country Threads which has the pattern for Rose's beautiful Christmas cushion "Sleep Tight"; and all the patterns to her fabulous BOM "Tender Moments"; which I sort of cheated and started sewing on back in May before she finished the pattern writing. This is as far as I have gotten:

Now that I actually have the patterns I might be able to finish it *lol* I have cut the pieces for the rest of the flying geese units, and they keep Bernie company on my desk so I can use them as leaders and enders and for some in between fun sewing.

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Other happy news is that my friend Elin has finished the top on her Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, pop over to her blog and have a look. It is absolutely gorgeous!!! Congratulations, Elin!! I now look forward to seeing this quilt all finished (and in person!!!)! ...hmmm... I feel my fingers itching to make another of these quilts... perhaps someday *lol*

Hope everyone has a great week!
Sincerely, Anne Ida