Sometimes it seems like forever.....

between my posts, particularly when you are waiting on a winner!! Goodness I must be the world's worst blogger at the moment.

I enjoyed reading your lovely comments - looks like we all countdown similar things. We are currently in the countdown phase for daughter number 3's 6th Birthday. Everyday is "how many more sleeps to my Birthday Mummy?" So exciting!! Oh and there has also been the countdown to Grade 6 camp, oh and the countdown to putting the Christmas tree up, and the countdown until school finishes and Christmas day - I can't keep up with it all!

Anyway thanks for your patience and now for a winner!

And the book goes to .................



Well done to you Jo!!! I can even drop this one off as she happens to live up the road!

And now back to the sewing machine. I am working on lots of new projects at the moment including these.......



Blythe doll dresses!! Chloe and I are going to open up a Blythe clothing online shop so stay tuned - we're still trying to come up with a name so any suggestions will be most welcome!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ....... Giveaway!!!

Rather a while ago I made this....



And now it's in this.......



So I am going to do this........ A GIVEAWAY!!!!!



You'll find lots of great countdown projects for Birthdays, Father's day, back to school, Hanukkah and Christmas.









And please go and have a look at all the other fabulous books coming out from Stash, I feel really thrilled to be a part of their design collective. So many great ideas and designers all in one place!!

So if you would like to be in the running to win a copy of Countdown Calendars, just leave me a comment and tell me what you and your family like counting down to.

You have until midnight November 11th so off you go!!

She's apples!

Here's a little sneaky peek of a design I'm doing for this lovely publication.



All I can tell you about it is that it's a cot quilt, I'm only using scraps and I love it so far. You'll have to wait for it to be published to see the rest!!

And there are more Three Dolls designs on the way too.......

Done and Done!!

I am determined to get through the pile of unfinished projects that is looming in the corner.

First off the list is the quilt I gave my brother for Christmas - it just needed to have the handquilting finished. Done!!



This pattern is called Mitali - designed by the very lovely Mitali, my amitie colleague. It's great for using up lots of scraps and having some fun with the perle thread.



And yesterday I finished a cushion for one of Daph's little friends. I went through a lot of changes with this design. First I found a big mark on the white fabric so had to chop it off. Then sudden inspiration hit and I added the row of bunting and another colour. It also meant the bird is standing on something which is good really!



I had extra bits appliqued on it and really wasn't happy. That's why it kept getting put back on the pile. So I simplified it and then went nuts with the quilting - and I love the finished result.



It was given to its new owner yesterday and has apparently been slept on so it is well loved already which makes me very happy!

There is more to come.......

Giveaway!!

For anyone interested in winning a copy of my new pattern plus a few extras just click on the link to Three Dolls on the side bar!

New beginnings!

Hmmm it has been a while. But there is news....

I have finally decided to be brave and go it alone in the world of sewing pattern design. So this week I have launched Three Dolls.



Do they look familiar??

And some of you may have seen my first pattern under the new name at the Craft and Quilt Fair held this weekend in Melbourne.



Meet Peggy Pigtails and Her Picnic! Peggy has been around for a little while but I have always wanted to make her a picnic set. You can make a picnic basket, a picnic rug, a plate, a cupcake, a chocolate biscuit and a juicy red apple.

This is the first of many new patterns and of course I will eventually bring over my existing designs so they are all under the one banner.

But right now I just have to make it through our bathroom renovations. Hmm might do some before and after shots for you!

Quilts for Queensland

I have finally had time to finish my quilt to add to the lovely pile of quilts and blocks being collected for those who suffered devastation in the recent Queensland floods.



It's just a bunch of squares but they're pretty and soft and will hopefully bring some comfort to someone special.



I can't help but feel it's rather insignificant when I think of all the suffering people in QLD and Christchurch and now Japan are facing. But if it brings a smile to one little face then I suppose that's a good thing.



To see more of the lovely quilts being put together pop over to the Quilts for QLD flickr group and have a look.

Legs Eleven

Someone's had a Birthday......



Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

UFOs and other pretty things!

So while I am working on my little doll quilt for the swap I am also trying to get a few ufos off the pile. Some have sat there for a rather long time.

It's the hand quilting that gets me. I always think it's going to take forever but if I actually just got on with it I wouldn't have such a huge pile of unfinished quilts!

A perfect example is this quilt for my little friend Ruby.



Ruby is now two and the quilt was basted waaaaaay back when she was about 7 months old! We spent New Years with Ruby and her family so I decided to get stuck in and finish it off. It took me one week, a broken nail and a few holes in the finger! Not bad.

Mostly it was just lines but I added a few hearts and flowers.



and then some trees for the border.



And of course a little message.



We're both pretty happy!

But you know there's always more than one quilt on the go and I have since added another basted quilt to the pile so it is no lower - just a different colour!

Here's one that was for my brother and his family for Christmas - just finishing off some quilting and the binding.



And this one here is for my bed - finally one of my own!!



I have been collecting a heap of beautiful blue and green fabrics for the last few years starting with that gorgeous Liberty bird fabric. During the holidays I finally found time to jigsaw puzzle them all together. No real plan, just lots of big pieces to show of the patterns and I LOVE it!



It will be very simply quilted with lines using this lovely pale greeny blue Perle 8 thread.



But right now I'm finishing another one that has also languished on the pile for way too long. And I will challenge myself to get it done to show off in my next post because it is for Chloe and it is her 11th Birthday this week.

So enough chatting I'm off to do some quilting!

Don't Faint ....

Yes, ha, ha, it's me!! I've been writing all sorts of posts in my head and just never getting around to doing any of them.

So today I got this in the mail and thought it was time to appear again and share.



Lark have republished some of the Pretty Little series into booklet versions and my mini quilt was selected as one of the 12 designers in our book. Yay!



And guess who I got to meet the other day?



The very amazing Kaffe Fassett! I felt so inspired and wanted to run and pull out my knitting, start a tapestry and ten new quilts all at once. I just love the way he sees things. He is also very witty and relaxed so it was a huge pleasure to sit and listen.



Now what else is there.

Oh this little person started school.



She loves it so far - just a little weary!

And I'm doing the Doll Quilt Swap round 10. I always enjoy this swap and I have a fun partner. Too bad I can't share much with you or she'd pick it immediately!! Here's a little sneaky peak anyway.



Now I think that's enough for today - don't want to overwhelm you!!