Doll Quilt Swap fun!

So another Doll Quilt Swap is done and dusted with only a few people left to receive their quilts.

It was an interesting swap this time with lots of new rules and regulations. One has to be a bit chattier apparently or your partner might think you have disappeared and won't know enough about you to make you a quilt. My partner was missing for most of the swap but for me it was about making her something special from her original preferences email and not worrying about what she was thinking every day.

The swap participant numbers have now reached around the 200 mark so I suppose it's important to make sure everyone is keeping up and communicating. Part of the fun is, after all, getting to know all of the swappers. And of course there is nothing worse than joining in on a swap and not receiving anything in the end because your secret partner has done a runner! Mind you I think most people join swaps with the best of intentions.

One of the ongoing games during the swap was to try and guess who was making you a quilt - or 'sparting'! I really found it hard to pick which one might have been mine this time. There were lots that I really liked and one that particularly jumped out at me but I wouldn't have guessed for a second that it was actually for me.

When I opened the parcel I was really quite overwhelmed. Such gorgeousness!!!



It never ceases to amaze me that someone would go to such trouble to design and make something so lovely for me!



Jill is so clever - she pleated linen for me!! How good is that! This quilt has so many stunning elements that I love completely.



The quilting - fabulous, the colours - perfect, the crochet doily - brilliant, the pleating - stupendous, and to top it off, beautiful grey binding! And then there's the back - wow!! It really is completely fabulous!!



To add to my joy I also found some extra special goodies included.



I just have to make a cushion with the crochet table mat - it's just perfect for my bed!

So thank you, thank you Jill for your cleverness, style and generosity - I LOVE it!!

To make it an even better swap for me I got the best partner to make a quilt for. Here's a little of what she wrote in her preferences to give you an idea of how completely fabulous she is.

so many things that i like… linen, wool felt, gingham, children's drawings, hand embroidery, lots of little handstitching, freshly washed+dried all-puckered up quilts, fairy tales, forests, trees, birds, sweet, but not cutesy with a touch of darkness (think neko case's, fox confessor brings the flood) gatherings at the tea party table, gees bend-ish quilts, making do with what one already has (even though i adore all of the new fabrics out there) with a bit of vintage thrown in for good measure, improvisational quilts, hexagons, dresden plates done in a cool modern way, plus (cross) designs in red + white, heather ross, the unexpected, odd little creatures (anything “the black apple”-ish), aqua+paleyellow+gray, pink+green (always and forever) and colorcolorcolor (just not too fond of purples...but you never know...you may have some awesome purplish fabric that you have been dying to use!)

To say I was inspired and raring to go is an understatement. And anyone who knows my work will know that I love a picture quilt so the thought of a fairy tale was too irresistible. Out came the pencil and sketch pad and I spent ages googling images and pulling out my old children's books. Weirdly some of the images I came up with belong to Jill who sent me my quilt!

Finally I decided and it was mostly because of this guy!



When I posted a progress photo on the swap group it seemed most people thought he was cute! I was a little worried as I thought maybe he was not scary enough but apparently he looked hungry too so I kept going.

This bit was next.



Then this bit.



And this bit.



It got bigger and bigger and I stitched and stitched. And then my wrist decided to give out! So I had to put it down for a few days. But in the end I got there and this is what I sent.



It is now living with the lovely Cathy and her sweet family. Apparently I am 'made of awesome'. I can't tell you how brilliant that makes me feel!

And even better - her littlest sweetie is playing with it and talks to the wolf!! Aaaagh so adorable!!!

You can see all her lovely photos here.

So thanks to the organisers of the Doll Quilt Swap. I know it's a huge undertaking and I really appreciate how hard all the swap parents work. I think to know that you have helped create all sorts of wonderful quilty magic amongst us all must be a reward in itself.

Doll Quilt Swap reveal time again!

Finally finished my quilt for the 8th round of my very favourite swap - the Doll Quilt Swap.

I absolutely LOVE this quilt and it was loads of fun to make too.



I think there will be more dresden plates appearing soon!



It is now flying to its new home far, far away and hopefully that person will love it as much as I do.



Go and have a look at all the stunning quilts in this round. Seriously these just get better and better every swap.

And for all those who like making doll quilts, or any quilt for that matter I will have something special for you in the next couple of days so look out! And yes it does include the word 'giveaway'!!

Oh and did you notice that I have now completed two of those projects I had in my post the other week. That's not bad really. And the third I should be able to finish tomorrow so maybe you will even see that here soon!

Perfect Parcels!

I don't often give a lot of thought to the quilt I am to receive in the doll quilt swaps until they turn up in my letterbox. I find the most fun is in creating something that will be right for my partner and challenging my design and construction skills.

I do occasionally think about it as I check out all the lovely pictures of the quilts as they pop up in Flickr and wonder if it's 'the one'. And of course I have my favourites.

It's always a lovely, big surprise when it arrives and I get to open up the package and reveal the cleverness within.

Today's package confused me for a moment as it was mailed locally. But then I saw the name on the back and tore it open while standing at the letterbox because I knew what was inside......



I just LOVE everything about it. The size, shape, colours and wonderful simplicity. Aren't the birds just gorgeous!



It was designed and beautifully made by the fabulous Tamara who lives down the road from me (kind of).

Thanks again Tamara it will be hung somewhere special because we all love it so much. And hopefully we'll get to meet soon!



So, lucky me, I'm getting quite a collection of little works of art!



Go here and check out all the fabulousness from this swap round.

And just quickly, here's a sneak peek of my latest offering which is finally 'winging' its way to its new home! My wrist is back to normal and now that I have finished the quilt I can try and get back to some more crochet!

Full Reveal

See, time is a problem - it is again some time since I posted! During that time I have suffered a wrist injury and been unable to do much in the way of craft and I have turned 45!

So I don't have a lot to show you except a full reveal of my Four Seasons Quilt Swap 5 Monochromatic quilt which has finally arrived!



And I'll also chuck in a photo of my 45 year old self with my gorgeous new scarf crocheted by the very lovely Cathy.



It is cashmere and silk and just so soft and warm - I LOVE it! I was really spoilt last Friday by my darling family and friends - thanks everyone!

By the way I also have new glasses.



Oh and since this photo was taken at Easter I have finally had a haircut! My usual hairdresser had actually become pregnant AND had her baby since I last went!!

Anyway enough blathering about me. I'm just putting the final stitches into my quilt for the Doll Quilt swap which is now running late as I had to stop for over a week. But it's looking good now and will be off to the post office tomorrow.

And the wrist - well let's hope it wasn't the crochet that caused it!!

It's all about the quilts!

It's Doll Quilt Swap reveal time again. Oh how I love these little quilts - they are so much fun and such a great way to practice all sorts of different styles and ideas.

For my DQS5 quilt I was inspired by a lovely customer at Amitie who brought in a much larger version she had made for her family.



I wanted to do a linen and red quilt. Well actually this is a really great cotton version of linen which I absolutely love using for all sorts of things.



Bit by bit I developed each little section of the quilt. Ideas came from magazines, my creative 8 year old Chloe, the quilt I saw at work and from bits and pieces I had floating about.



I am hugely pleased with the result and hope my partner likes it. This one I had trouble parting with!!







So luckily I was distracted by the arrival of my quilt and WOW it's absolutely beautiful!



The colours are so very pretty and the design and construction just amazing! Thanks so much Lucinda I LOVE it and it will be going up on the wall in my daughters' bedroom after we repaint after Christmas. Go and have a look here at all her other gorgeous quilts.



We have enjoyed putting up the Christmas Tree this week and added some new ornaments. How cute is this!



And look what I picked up last Friday.



And if you are desperate to get started on another little quilt swap, the Four Season's Quilt Swap has popped up again. It's slightly different this time but I can't resist the challenge. Can you?

It's Summer somewhere.

It's time to finally reveal the very last of the Four Seasons Quilt Swap quilts - received and sent.

Last week I got a big surprise and found a squishy parcel jammed into the letterbox. Lo and behold it was my Summer quilt from my friend the superwoman Fiona.

Isn't it just wonderfully summery and gorgeous!



It's beautifully quilted so that it puffs up like little pillows - you really want to touch this quilt.



And the fabrics - so very Fiona - deliciously vintage and super pretty!



And a sweet little label.



Thanks Fiona. I absolutely LOVE it! It will be hung in Daphne's room where it will make us all very cheerful!


And now to the quilt that I have sent far, far away.

I wanted my Summer quilt to have a similar look and feel to my other Four Seasons quilts. I'd like to think that they would look a little like a set if they were all together. I love doing applique and the single image I kept coming back to was 'the summer dress'.



This time I used my machine a bit more and did the applique with the buttonhole stitch.



The dress fabric is one of the stunning new fabrics in Anna Maria Horner's new range 'Garden Party'. It just seemed the perfect colours for a summer dress.



I tried a little bit of free motion quilting, which is not super flash. I wanted it to look like wall paper in a girl's bedroom.

And to finish, a little coat hanger.



And that is the last of the Four Seasons Quilt Swap quilts. Thanks Margaret - it's been fun!!

Playing Catchups

Firstly, thanks for all your lovely comments about the train quilt. It is wonderful to have it finished and be able to get on with the next bunch of projects.

I have so much stuff to post I have been putting it off!  And this week I have been very busy and too tired to do any posting. So here goes - be prepared for a long photo heavy post.

After patiently waiting for several months my gorgeous little Doll Quilt 3 Swap quilt finally turned up last week. Yippy!!  Isn't it absolutely stunning!! Wonderful colours and a lovely design by the very fabulous Laura Jay. I have offered it to my girls for their bedroom wall as we are rearranging things and it will look perfect with all their red and aqua.  

And check out the sweet and very intricate little pin cushion she sent with it.  I LOVE it all! Thanks so very much Laura Jay - you can relax now, all is well.



And how weird is this - my Doll Quilt Swap 4 quilt turned up on the very same day!  This little beauty was made by Ros and is to be hung in Daphne's bedroom.  It is so very pretty and very us. Ros also included some absolutely gorgeous ribbons that are also just the right colours!  Thanks Ros.



And here's more that I haven't had time to photograph and blog about.  I have participated in the Sassy Apron Swap twice now and haven't posted either apron - so sorry!!

First up is my most recent Summer apron from the very lovely Lucy Byrd who runs the Sassy Apron Swap.  It's a great design based on an old pattern and is the first apron I have had in this style.  I really like how it does up and plan to make a few of these myself.  Most people I know request full aprons and this is a lovely version.  Thanks Lucy.



And even more embarrassing, I didn't post this sweet little apron which I received in the Spring round of the Sassy Apron Swap. It is from Suzie and is super cute with the lovely Kristen Doran fabric and little flower appliques. Chloe fell in love with it instantly and as her dreadful mother has never made her an apron - true - she has claimed it as her own. Thanks Suzie and sorry I took so very long to post a picture. Don't worry everyone I did thank all of these people via email when I received them - I'm not that bad!!



And last but by no means least, my little doll quilt from the Lemonade Stand quilt swap. This was made by Mary Whidden (can't find a link) and is her very first attempt at a quilt. Having just completed a two day course in machine quilting, I have to say I'm really impressed with what Mary did without being shown how and how good are her joins. It is now being hauled around and used on various dolly's which is as it should be. Thanks Mary.



I haven't reported in about the lovely little girls class Cathy and I did last week at Amitie. It was a lot of fun and the girls were hilarious and really lovely. A couple of favourite comments were "boys can't multi-task" and "don't you love reading so much that your mum has to get mad at you to stop reading and come and eat your dinner". Gorgeous!

Here they are hard at work.







And proudly displaying the finished product.



Cathy made lovely pink meringues.



And I made pink cupcakes.



We think it was a big success and look forward to doing some more kids classes in the future. Speaking of classes, I attended a two day machine quilting class at Amitie with Deborah Louie. I shall report on that next post, this one should keep you busy for at least a few days!!