CHARM ABOUT YOU

This is the fastest I've ever made a quilt! It was completed in one evening (all but the label) and that is because all the prep was done for me...

I won a quilt kit from the fabulous Mary and she includes everything - even the wadding, backing and binding! Thank you so much Mary!

I used simple straight line quilting either side of the seams in white thread and hand stitched the binding (one of my favourite parts).

She has these gorgeous kits available in her shop, along with vintage charm squares and her brilliant new addition vintage fabric tape! All really reasonably priced and honestly after making this quilt I recommend everyone get one of these kits just to have on standby for when you need a quick baby gift.

Mary is having a giveaway on her blog, so hop over and take a look! She's also planning a UK vintage sheet FQ swap starting in the New Year, there's a Flickr group here if you like to join and get more info.



Here's the funny thing about this quilt... by total coincidence that print on the left was on my bedding as a little girl and the one on the right was the pattern of my parents bedding!! Nice memories and fun to have them included in a quilt that was destined (as soon as she laid eyes on it) for my little girl!





Baby news: I had my appointment today and thankfully I don't have gestational diabetes, the scan went well too and although the baby is on the large side it's nothing abnormal!! I do have a slight iron deficiency but hopefully it's nothing some iron tablets and spinach can't take care of. Thanks for all your well wishes :)

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Keep reading for giveaways!
This week I was delighted to be able to test Rebecca of Making Rebecca Lynne's new pattern for infinity scarves. She has cleverly devised one pattern for 3 different versions - The Skinny, The Hood and The Mama. All gorgeous, simple to make and so stylish!! The beauty of these is there's so many options and they would look completely different depending on the fabric you chose.

Firstly I made The Skinny:


I used 3 fat quarters that I absolutely love but had no specific plans for. One was from the stale stash swap with the fabulous Danny and the other two are Swallow Skies in Storm and Little Bits in Honey from 'The Birds and The Bees' by Tula Pink.

the preggy belly shot!

The pattern is so well written and it took hardly any time at all so I went straight on to The Hood:

I had bought these two prints especially for this project because I love them so much! They are Spotted in the Crowd in Amelia from 'Field Study' by Anna Maria Horner and Marqueterie in Berry from 'Indie' by Pat Bravo. The pattern actually shows 6 different fabrics for this scarf (so easy with fat quarters!) but you can really adjust it to what you have or the fabrics you chose to work with.

I am so super happy with both of my scarves and they really make me smile when I wear them! I can not recommend this pattern enough, I absolutely give it 5 stars! A beginner could easily make these scarves and an accomplished sewer would find so many great options with it... I'm totally thinking some embroidery would make a nice addition too! You don't even need a sewing machine if you wanted to hand sew them. I used a machine for all the seams except the final closing, which I hand sewed using a ladder stitch.

Thank you so much for letting me test the pattern Rebecca! My wardrobe thanks you too - they add a great pop of colour :)

Here's some outtakes:



I will totally be making more of these and they will be great to give as Christmas presents.


Someone is going to be very lucky because Rebecca is giving away one of her patterns... head on over to Making Rebecca Lynne and enter to win! You can also get details of how to buy the pattern.
Please show her some love and support her amazing creativity.

And then don't forget to enter my Kona giveaway to win 4 fat quarters of Kona solids and a Kona colour card - kindly sponsored by Fluffy Sheep Quilting and open to everyone!




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I joined in the Tetris QAL at Happy Quilting because I loved the concept and it looked like fun!


It really was and I'm pleased to say I've finished it.

A quick finish because I made it into a picnic blanket, using some canvas type fabric my mum gave me for the backing. I sewed the front and back right sides together, turning it through and top stitching around the edge.


The backing has a camping/holiday theme, which seems appropriate.


Happy it's already being loved and enjoyed while we play with yet more cardboard in the garden!!


I also managed to finish another Rose Star block, that's 18 and counting:


The giveaway is open until Monday so make sure you enter!

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at the awesome Missy Mac Creations this week!
and

One very necessary finish this week... I'm having trouble sleeping so I thought an eye mask might help. It was also a chance to do a bit more embroidery!

I got to try out a couple of stitches I'd not done before - button hole stitch (blanket stitch) and up and down buttonhole stitch (for the bottom lashes)


I used some of the Oakshott cotton I was given in my Fat Quarterly retreat goodie bag, as well as a couple of layers of plain black cotton inside and the back is the softest cotton fabric I could find. It is really comfy, the only change I made to the pattern was adding some elastic at the back to hold the ribbons together and make it easy to take off and on.

It covers all the basics and has really clear instructions and diagrams for how to do the different stitches - there are some beautiful filler patterns I want to try. It also has chapters on Blackwork, Crewelwork, Hardanger and more. I also want to try some of the lovely Drawn Thread techniques.

To be honest I was originally looking at another book - I wanted something to teach me more stitches and that I could use to help me follow patterns - this one was cheaper though and in the end it has everything I need. I definitely recommend it!

On to the winner of the Japanese scrap bag...

Mr random.org has chosen:


who is tubilinha tiacarminha, a lovely follower:


Congratulations! I have sent you an email.

If you didn't win, don't be sad; come back tomorrow, you might be glad (see what the lack of sleep is doing to me?!).

I'm joining in the Quilter's Gallery Blog Hop Party and I have a great giveaway!!

I have a little finish this week...


I bought a preggy dress (can't squeeze into anything anymore!!) and decided it was calling out for some embellishment. I chose this cute asian flower pattern from Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray.


Love it! I'll be wearing this tomorrow to the festival of quilts - so you should be able to recognise me if you're going!


I've finished a little baby gift for my also pregnant friend Nat, who will be my partner in crime for the day at the festival, but since I want it to be a surprise for her here's just a peek:


I've been working on my friend's quilt for her baby boy. I've just got to put the binding on. I hand quilted it and loved every minute! Here's a shot of the hand quilting from the back:



Now onto some blocks.
First up the Tetris QAL block 5, I'm really sad this one's nearly over, I love playing along each week!


I made three of the pieced star blocks for the How Far Will You Go? QAL:


They went together really well but I goofed the orange one, I'm still not sure whether I can face unpicking and making it right. I'm actually thinking it won't be so bad in the grand scheme of the quilt and I'm more inclined to go with the thought that 'it's good enough'.


I will be adding this picture to the helpful and hilarious Flickr group When Sewing Goes Wrong created by Allegory.

I also didn't do too great with my Vintage Holiday QAL blocks - I won the pattern from the lovely Heidi at Fabric Mutt and have slightly different plans about what I'll be making but it's too much fun not to quilt-a-long! I did these blocks in a bit of a hurry so some of the corners got cut off with my not perfect seam allowance. Again I've decided 'it's not right but it's ok'.



Obviously if I'm making something as a gift or I have lots of time I can make things perfect but I've decided to sometimes give myself a bit of a break and just accept the okayness of a project!


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I have not stopped laughing since my another use for Aurifil post yesterday. Thanks for all the great giggles and comments you left. Thanks as well to Annabella, Lynne and particularly Alex Veronelli for spreading the word about threading as well as putting my ugly mug on the Aurifil facebook page!! Hilarious!

Fits of laughter have prevented me from having any proper finishes this week, although I did manage to complete block 17 of my Rose Star quilt:


If you want to make these gorgeous blocks please visit the fabulous selfsewn for the tutorial as well as great info on English Paper Piecing.

My wonderful friend has given birth to a beautiful baby boy so I'm desperate to get her quilt finished up and sent. I'll be hand quilting some though so I'm not rushing too much. I really want her and her amazing husband to love it! So far, so good... check out how nicely these points match up!! I've been using Lynne's great technique :)







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