Coming up for air

Sorry I've been a little quiet of late, dear reader.

My creative voice has been somewhat muffled because I've been buried under a monumental pile of paperwork and admin tasks and a tad too often the sun has set on my day before I've had time to complete all the tasks on my To Do list.

Life's events have slowed down my productivity and the words just haven't flowed as easily. Perhaps you know the feeling?

Let me give you a quick glimpse of what's been keeping me smiling in spite of everything.

I've been...

Having fun…
…making a gingerbread village with the Princess when she came for a sleepover.

Cooking…
…apple slice and other sweet treats for some visitors.

Learning…
…not to leave the leftovers on the coffee table while I go outside to farewell my guests.

I wonder who "tidied up" for me while I was gone? I couldn't be cross with him, though, when he showed me this "sorry" face.

Sewing...
…with my friends at our latest class with Blue Mountains quilter Lyn Alchin.

Their Laurel's Stars quilts are looking so gorgeous, aren't they?

Di B was so keen she's finished her quilt top already - Oh, what a feeling!

Hosting…
…a rather depleted English Quilt Group for the first time in my new home.

Circumstances prevented Gail, Rae, Anne, Robbie and Wendi from being here, but it was fun to catch up with two of our travellers, Lyn and Jill, and hear tales of Mediterranean cruising and travels in Turkey (from Lyn) and traversing Russia via the Trans Siberian Railway (from Jill).

I love visiting exotic destinations vicariously through my adventurous friends!

Jill's making steady progress hand quilting this spectacular Mariner's Compass quilt for her daughter.

For a change from quilting, Lyn was crocheting granny squares in vibrant colours for a rug.

Helping…
…Di B and our friend Jane use safety pins to sandwich the quilt Jane's making for her daughter, another lucky girl.

We introduced her to the nifty Kwik Klip, a finger-saving tool we'd never be without for a job like this.

Growing…
…my little balcony garden.

My lime tree loves its new home and has a healthy crop of fruit, the diplodenias are climbing high, and the petunias, snapdragons, pelargonium and orchid brighten my day with their bold colours.

Being blessed…

…with new readers. My balcony garden's not the only thing that's been growing.

May I extend to you a warm welcome if you're a reader who's started following my blog as a result of seeing Snippets 'n' Scraps featured in October's Down Under Quilts.

The name of my blog says it all. I write about the snippets 'n' scraps of my life - quilts my friends and I are making, the joys of being a grandma, travel, photography, as little cooking as I can get away with, and settling into a new home and the next stage of my life after my husband's sudden death last year. 

Every day I'm conscious of God's blessings to me, but sometimes, when life throws me a curve ball, I can't help asking God "Why?".

I don't think He holds that against me :-)

Look at them! Look at them!

As the {self-appointed} promoter of the work of my talented quilting buddies I’d be falling down on the job if I didn’t show you some of the gorgeousness they’ve been creating lately.

Anne is making progress with “The French General’s Mistress”, a pattern by Australian designer and teacher Lyn Alchin, and I’m loving those clamshells (and admiring Anne’s patience).

 

 

Robbie designed and made this fun cot quilt for her new grandson.

Those elephants’ 3D ears really flapped when they heard that this little fellow was home from hospital, even before his original due date!

 

Rae is our queen of fussy cutting, and these are her latest, to be added to a stunning quilt she’s making as she tries to use up her stash. Ha! As if that will ever happen.

Lyn’s Sue Spargo woollen houses are so vibrant against that background.

Janet’s reproduction sampler positively glows with those rich reds and cheddars. Well worth the handwork she put into making it.

Sue’s Dresden Plates {work in progress} again show what a stunning effect a darker background can produce.

Jean was hand quilting this fresh and simple little quilt she made up from a jelly roll – and I couldn’t help smile when I saw how her blouse co-ordinated with her quilt!

15 abandoned sewing machines? Don’t worry, our St Mark’s Quilters were just taking a breather from making lots and lots of scrappy 12 inch blocks.

We’re going to make them up into several bed sized quilts for victims of the recent bushfires and floods here in Australia.

This is our pattern, from Amanda Jean Nyberg’s book Sunday Morning Quilts. Doesn’t it look bright and cheery?

How could you feel any other way looking at all those creations. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – I have such talented friends!

 Di

Another Joseph’s Coat finish! (not mine)

Only four of us could make it, but after a break of several months it was great to have at least some of the English Quilt girls back stitching together at Gail’s place last week.

The big excitement was the showing of Gail’s finished Joseph’s Coat quilt, all hand pieced and hand quilted as mine was.

She started with a charm pack of reproduction Liberties from the V & A, a gift from Rae who went across to London for the big exhibition of historic quilts in 2011.

Then Robbie gave her a bag of modern Liberty scraps, which played perfectly together with the older designs and gave the quilt a little more pizzazz with their cleaner colours.

The finished quilt has the definite appearance of an antique quilt because of all the extra quilting Gail did – little leaf shapes in the negative spaces, and 1/4 inch quilting inside every “petal”. Hasn’t she done a wonderful job?

Not one to stand still for long, Gail quickly launched herself into a new applique project, destined to become a decorative wallhanging.

She’s copying and adapting a design she saw on a small postcard, and I can’t wait to see this one finished. As Gail’s a fast worker that might be quite soon.

Lyn was multitasking. With this year’s tinsel barely packed away she was already working on some clever little origami Christmas tree shapes as gifts for Christmas 2013.

And Lyn has joined the latest craze, crocheting. The pretty granny squares she was working on, in fuchsia and violet, co-ordinated perfectly with her fuchsia sundress!

Finally, here’s Jill’s progress on her foundation pieced quilt for her daughter. Nice pointy points, Jill!

Me? I moved inexorably towards finishing my Roebuck quilt, hand quilting the final side of the final border. I’m straining towards that finish line and already casting around for ideas for my next handmade quilt project. Machine projects are all well and good, but we need a hand project to take along and work on when we get together.

I’m leaning towards Robyn Falloon’s “The Blessings Quilt”, a pattern in an Australian Patchwork & Quilting issue from several years ago, but I also have several new metal templates I bought from JoNell at Quiltsmith (USA) that I’m itching to use.

It looks like I could be getting up to a little multitasking myself soon .

 Di

Making plans

Let’s be honest, what passionate quilter isn’t planning her next project even as she’s beavering away on her current one? {Yep. I see you nodding}

When my English Quilt buddies gathered recently several were absolutely bursting with future plans.

Robbie’s about to immerse herself in a glorious heap of applique with these “Aunt Millie’s Garden” blocks by those Piece o’ Cake girls, Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins.

She’s even started putting together her delicious collection of fabrics, and isn’t that one of the BEST parts of planning a new quilt?

She says she’s going to make this cute Paper Dolls Play Book for her granddaughter, but I wonder if it’s really for herself! {Or is that just me???}

I used to love playing with paper dolls as a little girl, dressing and undressing them, and the pocket inside the cover of this book holds a generous enough wardrobe to amuse any little girl (or ‘old girl’!) for hours.

A little further down the track Robbie has dreams of making this stunner as well, and she probably will. And she’ll do all the quilting by hand, mark my words.

 

Jill’s plans involve using these fun nursery fabrics in quilts and cosy wraps for her expected grandbaby. As you can see, she’s going to be well prepared whether this bub is a boy or a girl.

Back from her safari in Botswana, Anne wasted no time picking up her Lynne Alchin-designed quilt again. Love that fussy-cut centre!

Also ‘out of Africa’ was Wendi who’s been away from us for far too long. Ask her what she’s working on and she’ll extoll the virtues of English paper-pieced scrappy stars as a wonderfully soothing pastime and a perfect project to pick up whenever there’s a spare moment. She says she has enough stars finished to make at least three large quilts!

But why stop now?

It might not look exactly like the real thing (photographed on safari by Anne) but don’t you think Lyn’s Sue Spargo woollen giraffe is going to look wonderful on her Folklore quilt?

Because it’s always nice to have a “slow burner” on the go (as my friend Erica has dubbed them) Robbie’s quietly working away piecing tiny scraps of fabric into the jazzy quilt seen here in her photo. When does that girl sleep?

Finally, what was I doing, you ask? Apart from admiring everyone else’s creative efforts and taking the photos, I spent a little time putting the finishing touches to this young fella for the St Luke’s craft stall.

Awww, I know he looks a little sad but trust me, from another angle he’s actually smiling, and I’m sure he’s very happy with his new owner and getting plenty of cuddles in bed on these chilly winter nights.

Di