Roll Roll Cotton Boll Fabrics

Well I think I can say that I have all the fabric I need for Bonnie's Mystery!

She said a wide variety of neutrals was needed so I had to go through my stash again and pick out almost anything with a white or cream background.

Bonnie's example on her blog had a very varied mix of fabrics. 

Bonnie's other colours are pink (which I'm also using)

Green (I'm using Aqua)

Brown (I'm using purple)

And a constant red fabric (I'm using 2 greens instead).

9 days to go!!  I better make some room in my sewing corner!

Finished for REAL!

I have two finishes to report...and I mean they're really finished - binding and all!

The first is the table mat/topper.

The class was on saturday at Quilter's Bazaar and Lorraine taught us how to make bias binding and how to use the Easy Scallop tool by Darlene Zimmerman.

I'm not thrilled with the colour of the binding but I didn't want to buy anything for this quilt.  I knew it was all to me made either with my arm in plaster or shortly after it came off (I got it off 2 days before the class) so I didn't want to waste good fabric by sewing plastered.

The other thing is the french braid table runner.  I finished hand sewing the binding last night.  Woohoo!

I have Lizzy Mae Class #3 tomorrow and #4 later in the month and 2 quilts which REALLY need to be finished before the weather gets too hot so I need to get cracking.

In other news...the lovely Mezzanines Fabric for my Sleepover bag arrived today!

HELP NEEDED FROM ALL AUSSIES!!

Hi ladies

In the previous post you've read about my fabric dilemma.  I have only 2 metres and I need around 4.5 for Bonnie's Mystery.

Larain suggested I post a pic and see if anyone has it in their stash.  If you do and are happy to part with it I can either swap fabric or magazines for it or buy it from you for whatever you're asking.

I'm not massively fussed if I don't find it.  My back-up plan is not to use it at all in the quilt except maybe as a border.

It's not a "proper" quilting fabric so there is no information on the selvage.  I'm pretty sure it's from Spotlight purchased about 2008 (possibly earlier since it was on clearance via an Ebay seller when I got it).

Thank you for looking! xxx

Fabric Dilemma!

Bonnie Hunter has posted the fabric requirements for her new mystery quilt and my biggest fear has been confirmed - I don't have nearly enough fabric for the "neutral" requirements - at least not of the fabric I hoped to use.  It's not formally quilting fabric and I bought it cheaply on Ebay a few years ago.  This totally disrupts my colour scheme!

I'm pretty sure it was originally a spotlight fabric but I doubt it wo0uld be around anymore.  What do I do?  I had a look on Ebay and it isn't there - not that I expected it to be.  Hmmmm...

Bonnie's quilts are naturally scrappy so I use what I have of the background fabric and add others to it or choose a different neutral altogether.  I have lots of small scale floral-on-whites.

The problem is my original choice for background would have tied in my 4 colours.  Maybe I can use what I have of it and throw some other whites in or do I save it for another quilt?  I have about 2 metres and the instructions call for about 5 yards.

Suggestions anyone?

Not quite as planned...

Last night I didn't end up going to Gisborne Quilters.  My left underarm is really sore.  I have no idea why!  The anaesthetist did mention something about arm block anaesthetics having temporary or permanent complications.  Maybe it's to do with that but after 3 weeks?  Anyway I'll give it a few days.  It's just annoying more than anything.

Then this morning I got an email from Hawthorne Threads saying the fabric I thought I just managed to get enough of is VERY short.  I had to change my order a little but no big deal.  I got a few extra pieces just to be SURE I can get the fabrics to all play together nicely ;-P

I highly recommend Hawthorne Threads.  Wonderful friendly service and great prices too compared to other online stores.  I can't wait til my fabics arrive!!

I have also decided to participate in Bonnie Hunter's newest Mystery Quilt!  Her mysteries lend themselves to stashbusting and scrappiness which I need if I'm going to avoid buying more fabric.

It needs 4 colours and a neutral/background.  I've picked the background which is white with some basic daisy print in various colours.  I'll pick the 4 colours from this print and use it to tie them all together.  I'll work out to be semi-scrappy in that the background will be the same but the rest scrappy.

She will post fabric requirements and yardages on 1 November so my only concern is that I have enough of my background fabric.  There is a good chance I wont and it will mean I have to change my fabric choices.

Meanwhile I really should start my DaChintzy Mystery.  I haven't been peeking at the clues posted on About.com so I should get up-to-date in no time. I haven't been brave enough to try machine piecing with my plaster yet but tomorrow is FNSI and I plan to try then! :-O

Retail Therapy

 I was feeling all miserable and decided it was time to submit the order that's been in the shopping basket at:

I've been a little nervous about it since the range is an old one and has just come in from re-ordering.

I'm so relived I did because I could only get 1.25 yards of a particular fabric that I wanted 1.5 yards of.  Thankfully I only needed 1.25 but it scared me anyway!

I'm ordering fabric from Patty Young's Mezzanine range to make up my Melly and Me Sleepover bag when I do the class early next year.

I'm feeling marginally better. It's been a sucky day.  Just when I think I have a hold on all the stuff that's going on, something came up and set me off again.  This must be why fertility clinics hire counsellors!

Anyway I'm going to Gisborne Quilters again tonight (for the second week in a row) and that will help take my mind off things.  I've been working on Lizzy Mae and she is really coming along!  Maybe I'll post a pic tomorrow depending on tonight's efforts!

It's here!!!

After only 10 days my lovely Aster Manor yardage has arrived from the US!

Draped over the couch

Close up

As usual, click on the pics for a bigger one with more detail!  I'm fairly sure I will FM quilt around the big asters in the outer border.  Lots of selvage to squirrel away too! :-)

New Swap Partner for August

We have a new member joining the Quilt Block Swap and Sue has paired her up with me to do a second swap this month.

I'm really excited.  It's a great morale boost to get a "project" finished so quickly and have that feeling of satisfaction.  A single block takes about an hour only and that's with my extra slow cutting and piecing thanks to the Nemesis.

Linden is happy with any block style in bright purples and oranges.

I've gone stash diving and pulled out this lot:

Now I just have to wait for them to start talking to me.  I've heard the odd murmur but nothing intelligible just yet.

Shopping dramas and a sucky day :-(

Well this weekend's trip to Spotlight did NOT turn out as planned.

We went to what is the biggest one near us and although they have a big range they simply didn't have what I needed.  I got the last of the black and white spotty fabric which meant I got a little bit extra and I found ONE fabric to go with the table runner.  That means another 5 to go!

I managed to convince hubby to make a slight detour and visit another Spotlight on the way home when DS said his tummy hurt.  The pains would come and go and make him cry and we went straight home instead.

Just when the day couldn't get much worse, his symptoms were looking more and more like appendicitis.  Thankfully a trip to the toilet solved everything and no need to go to hospital tonight.

The Nemesis is wreaking all sorts of havoc lately, especially tonight so I'm going back to the surgeon this week.

The final straw was my bobbin running out...

On a slightly happier note, I think someone is trying to tell me to get on with my Dear Jane!

New Fabric Choices...

I've changed my mind about my DaChintzy fabrics in consultation with the mystery host.

Here are my updated choices.

Boy quilt:















Girl quilt:

I haven't got nearly enough black but Spotlight is having a sale and I know they have a black and white spotty print reduced!!

Fabric Choices!

Well I now have fabric for the DaChintzy Mystery...only I bought ALL of it and it's totally different from what I was planning.  More boy than girl for a start! 

In my defense 3 out of 4 of the fabrics were reduced to $7.50 per metre!  The remaining one was $11/m so all in all very reasonable!

They actually look way nicer IRL!  I am still going to do a girl version.  I have rethought my fabric choices and I will only need one additional fabric so I'm hoping I can make 2 quilts simultaneously.  With 2 weeks between each clue, it should be OK.

I'm not 100% sure on the order of #2 and #3 yet.  Will seek the opinion of our Mystery Quilt Hostess!

I can't find pics online anywhere of my feature fabric for a girl but hopefully the camera will be working again soon

Dear Jane gets a mention

But hardly more than that!

I've been meaning to take some pics of my fabrics so I can keep tracks of what I have and what I need more of.

The quality is awful since it had to be done with my phone but here goes.

The browns and tans:

Yellows and Oranges (definitely need more of these!

Blues:

Pinks and Greens:

Reds and Purples (a few more purples I think!)

And lastly the Fabric Inspector pays a visit:

I'm really looking forward to starting this quilt but ideally I'd like to join a group because I know I'll lose my mojo otherwise and I want to hand piece it and would like to finish at least one of my hand pieced UFOs first!

Meanwhile there is still a bit of shopping to be done before I have all my fabrics! ;-P