Homespun Happiness…..

Before I start my  blog ramblings I must mention all the good-will, kindness and thoughtfulness that happens behind the scenes in Blogland.  First I get a lovely letter from Anna, another Aussie fan, who gave me a link to Tazzie’s Quilts.  She was sure I would love this blog and of course she was right!!  Love, love, love it.  So if you are an Aussie fan too, then check it out.  Also have a gander at Anna’s blog, as good things are happening there too!   Finally I emailed Kim at Kim’s Big Quilting Adventure asking about her Hexagon Quilt (it is stunning and it is calling my name…. check it out-love it!) So Kim emails me back and said to send her my address and she will mail me the pattern!!  I mean really…..how sweet is that!!  So a BIG thank you to all you blogland sweethearts! 

NOW on to Homespun Happiness…..Good morning….There is something about rolling around in homespun flannel that gets the blood going ….especially if they are in fat quarter lengths…ha ha..  Had you going there!  I read in the paper that there was a quilter’s garage sale so OF COURSE I had to check it out.  Now I have gone to other ‘quilter’s’ G.S. and they usually have 5 small pieces of fabric (usually polyester), a package of pins and a ratty pincushion for sale (do you get idea- NOTHING of interest or as I call it CRAP-O-LA!)  So my hopes for this GS were not high.  WELL….let’s just say I started hyperventilating as I glance around at all the stuff (and the word CRAP-O-LA never entered my mind once!…more like MOTHER- LODE and why didn’t I bring more money!!! AND why is my camera not in my purse!!!) Tables and tables and tables of stuff.  GOOD STUFF and very reasonably priced.  I have always had a love for the homespun flannels so I spotted a tableful and made a b-line for it.  I hope the pictures of ‘finds’ do them justice.

Charm packs….$3-$4 each ( in Canada they are usually over $12)

My flannel basket before the sale….

So now my homespun flannel box is over flowing…. and my wallet is VERY empty!!  But that is the way of the quilter…..right!?

Tomorrow I will share my ‘new to me’ books!

Australian raves and waves…..

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these magazines, especially the Stitchery magazine.  They are all from Country Threads which is based in Australia.  I just love the stitcheries and quilts that are coming out of Australia right now.  After much searching, I found a little book shop in Victoria that has a huge selection of these Quilting Magazines, which is great as they are so hard to find!

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Today I took my grand-daughter, Mikayla and her friend to the new Aquatic Centre in town.  And of course you don’t just drop them off, so while they swam I had my nose buried deep in to my new Australian magazines.  So meanwhile…two hours later….I put down the last magazine, came out of my quilting/stitchery stupor…huh… and gathered two rather wrinkled and tired swimmers from the pool. I just had to put in a couple of pictures of the new pool as it really is beautiful. 

Mikayla and her friend are the two little heads underneath the large mushroom, which squirts water when the waves start up (I think they are there waiting to be squirted!)

 

I love the way they put the trees in to separate the kids’ pool from the adults’ pool and the lap pools. Gives a West Coast feel to the place.

Kim’s Challenge- Well today I got one more hexagon sewn onto a square….Big deal…at this rate I will be 102 years old when I get this quilt finished…..…..couldn’t put those magazines down……

GIVE AWAY SIGHTED!!

Heather from Trends and Traditions is having a FANTASTIC blog anniversary Give Away.  She has made two gorgeous quilts that she is giving away plus charm packs and patterns!!  So generous of her!  Heather is a very talented lady- she designs and publishes patterns and has a new book in the works.  Can’t wait to see it!  I’m sure it will be a lovely book as all her work is stunning!  Hurry on over to Heather’s as she is also serving cupcakes!

Finally a BIG thank you to Lizzie!  She sent me links to other sites that she thought I would like to peruse.  Lizzie, they were all so wonderful that I thought I should share the wealth….so here they are:

http://suerossbom.blogspot.com/

http://thelastpiece.typepad.com/the_last_piece/

http://cabbagequilts.blogspot.com/

http://www.treasuredthreadsonline.com/quiltshop/

this shop sells Australian things online. 

http://materialobsession.typepad.com/material_obsession/

ENJOY!  and Happy Quilting!

To hex with the hexagons….?

Kim’s Finish it up in August Challenge continues- Yesterday I completed my 6th unfinished project!  Whoohoo…what to do next?  I have only one more unfinished project left!! I REALLY want to say “To hex with it!” - it is a hexagon quilt that I worked on all winter while we were Snowbirds in Palm Spring.  Hexagons are fun to make when you are travelling or when you can’t get to a sewing machine….  They were great to make while watching TV at night in our 5th wheel.  Hexagons are easy to make – all you need is fabric, paper hexagons and needle and thread.  It got so that I could make them in my sleep….come to think of it, I woke up to a hexagon or two on my pillow on more than one morning…(my TV is in the bedroom!!  Love camping!!)   Here’s what I have done so far…..

These still need to be appliquéd to blocks.  The fabric is called Nature’s Chorus by Moda.

These are done, ready to be trimmed and sewn into a quilt!!

All hand stitched…

Love the colours….oh, to hex with it…Let’s get her done!

GIVE AWAY AT QUILTING ON TURTLE HILL- Yes, Cathy is having a fantastic give away!  She is giving away the book that I have been writing about the last couple of days-MATERIAL OBSESSION and FABRIC to go with it!  So hurry over to Turtle Hill for a look!