Before the Embroidenator discovered embroidery and quilting...

...she was potty about pottery.

I love this dish, with its strawberry border. Perfect for serving the real thing! And to think she thought this wasn't very good. Le sigh.

I've been making things!

Things have been a bit quiet around here because I've been flat out on two major projects - Coast to Coast and the DCM craft market at work. Here are some of the things I've made:

 More tea cosies! The one on the right was a commission. My favourite so far is the one in the middle, love the parchment and black thing!

 Bag-in-a-bags, from two different angles:

Now this may not seem like a lot for the time taken, but I have sold three teacosies and had to make a set of pot holders to match one, so the more I try and get enough stock, the more I sell. This is not a bad thing, of course, but I confess a part of me wants to stop anyone buying my stuff! How illogical is that! :)

Flirty at Thirty

Joie de Vivre turns 30 this week and to celebrate, had a bit of a shindig on Saturday night. The occasion definitely called for a cake.

:)

Put 20 November in your diary!

...but only if you live in NZ and quilt ;-)
20 November is Coast to Coast, a two-yearly event for quilters that incorporates a chance to show your work off to others, learn about quilty things, spend money on quilty things, and hang out with similarly daft persons without having to explain yourself. It's heaven! :)
I've set up a blog about it, that I'm updating regularly. If you can't make it then at least you can read about it! :)

My colour wash quilt part 2

My sister tells me that I am making a 'colour wash' quilt and it is "very '90's". HA!!! *tosses hair*.
Hana and Jo, I tried the opposite border thing but I got stuck on what to do next, and was fossicking in my stash when I found this:

As the quilt starts in warm reds and finishes in apricots and browns, I thought this would make a delicious border.

However, light triangles between it and the quilt look stark, so I opted to use a black backgrounded sprig fabric to fill them all in, which will blend into the border:

Half way done...

All done. Now all I have to do is sew the strips together and add that yummy border.

Amelia's First Quilt

My gorgeous and fabulous stepdaughter Amelia, aged 11, has taken to sewing big time.

This is she cutting strips from which to build her first quilt.

Amelia chose all the fabrics herself and has gone for a scrumptious pallet of "fluoro" blues and browns with some black and white and a hint of metallic gold. I love the way she has played within this range of colours.

The block we are doing is a variation on "Pussy in the Corner" which appeals to us as Amelia loves cats.

The reason why we've pinned them into these odd shapes is experimenting with order of colours in each block.  It's so good having a design wall!

Using up bits

Last night at the committee meeting for our quilting club we were talking about 'charity' quilts. Not a term I like but I do like what it means - giving quilts to those who need comfort - the comfort of something physically soft and snuggly, and the comfort of knowing something was made with love. Quilts fulfil both of these types of comfort.
It got me thinking about what I had in my stash that I could whip an emergency quilt with, and I remember the 7,000,000 charm squares I've been hoarding. Yay! A rummage through them for all the florals and a sort into colour values and I came up with this. Finished, it will be a queen size quilt. since taking the pic I've moved a few squares around in the middle.
So, tell me, what am I using as a border? Do I use one fabric, or graduate it through colour values like the squares? I have a bunch of fat q's in a black background, very fine floral that may do it, but ideas are welcome! And lace, is it that kind of quilt? Help me!
It feels good to make a small dent in the charm collection!