La la la...and a Happy New Year!

:-(    am not allowed to quilt...
well, there has been so much to do yesterday and today in preparation for a little family & friends party and my sister and her boys coming over from Italy that there has been no time for sewing...

BUT, a couple of days ago I managed to make 6 of the houses for my dollies quilt and all the large dollies have hats now!!!

They are soooooo cute:

 and my favourite large dolly so far (although that seems to change daily!!)

I better go any cook my dish for tonight (Mr Whirlygiggles has already finished all his jobs!!!!!)

                                                             HAPPY NEW YEAR

                                                                          Amelie x

It's a Dolly Holiday!

A belated "Merry Christmas" if you are reading my blog now...hope you have had loads of lovely company, food and pressies!!!

One of my best pressies was a Spa voucher from my best friend :-) thank you thank you thank you
and 4 patchwork rulers from my beloved Mr Whirlygiggles (despite the fact that he thinks I am very sad to get so excited over rulers !!!)
 So exciting!!! all the new quilts that can be made!

Anyway, finally managed to finish my HST quilt...I was so worried about the huge variety of Amy Butler fabrics and colours but it turned out very fresh and lovely. It has not been trimmed yet but could not resist putting a photo up:

I know I said I would NOT start anything new until i finish all my current projects BUT these dollies have been my little sirens for a long time and here they are:

These are from the wonderful Material Obsession book and this is a quilt by Sarah Fielke whose work is always amazing...
There are 13 dollies in total. These are the small ones and they are almost ready. I have also finished the large dollies but they have no hat yet and they are far too shy to show themselves to the world without a hat!!!!

                                                                Amelie x

Winter Wonderland!

The view from our balcony today...yesterday there was a huge snowstorm that went on and on...I felt so sorry for people caught in it...

Whilst the weather has been dreadful and I have a cold which I most definately could do without, the quilting activity has peaked!!!

Our 21 year old got back from university completely skinned...a few quick calculations later and I had him doing some fabric cutting!!! This boy is truly amazing and a very gifted cutter; despite the initial worries about us ending up in hospital with a removed finger, he cut 768 squares which measure 1 3/4 without a moan, a winge or any sign of back problems!!! My hero!!! (well it did cost me a few bob but then again I handed that

 over gladly).

Here are the fruits of his labour (the tiny squares of shot cotton).

I am now ready to progress on my snowball quilt that I started with Kaffe Fassett at the V&A. Well, almost ready to start that one, as soon as I finish my first baby quilt which is made up of these cuties:

The owl fabric is extremely gorgeous and yes..I managed to run out of it before doing my borders!!! at the moment waiting for fabric to arrive is excruciating. The snow means that parcels delivered within the UK take almost the same time as coming from the USA!
Anyway, this is what it looks like so far without the 2 borders:

I have also finally completed the 72 HSTs and they are now pressed and ready to be assembled...cannot wait athough I am a little worried about the variety of colours in it...Let's see!

Best go and check on the dinner before all the boys get back home.

Amelie

I am back!!!

I have missed my blog loads...but up until a couple of weeks ago there was no quilting whatsoever!!!
Even Mr Whirlygiggles was getting worried about what I would do with "ALL THAT FABRIC" as he calls it!!!

The reason for my long absence?

I know that it looks like I had one MacDonalds too many but this is my 19 weeks + 2 days little baby bump!!!
Up to week 15 the sickness was too intense for any quilting to take place...

I have promised myself not to let any new siren projects lull me away from completing as many of my UFOs as possible before the baby arrives...having said that, 4 new quilts are being seriously considered at present together with cushions, tablecloths and pillowcases (this must be linked to hormonal changes no?)!!!
Also, how many baby quilts can a baby have?

My return to quilting started with a bang! The challenge of these Sunburst blocks (attached are 2 out of the 4):

The quilt is now finished and it is huge!!! Poor Mr Whirlygiggles could not hold it wide enough from side to side or high enough despite climbing on the lounge furniture!!
It is absolutely beautiful and worth every hour of cutting and sewing that went into it... This week it will be heading to Ferret to be quilted.

Well, I am off to start my weekend sewing!

Amelie

Labour of Love!

I have been in my pjs all day sewing, cutting, arranging and I don't seem to have finished anything!

My latest quilt adventure is certainly turning out to be a true labour of love...160 half square triangles all stitched in place now (yeahhhhh!!!) and so have the 80 nine patch blocks (OMG!)

anyway, all done now, ironed and ready to be sewn into the borders. The last challenge will be the Sunburst Block with the funny little plastic templates...I might lose heart or my mind at this point!!!

The next photo is of one of my Kaffe Fassett quilts that Ferret quilted for me...it is a very luscious yummy quilt and the binding has just be sewn on.....

and that is the backing fabric:

I finally also made a start on a quilt I have been thinking about for a while to cheer me up through the winter and here is a snapshot of it:

It contains some 'out of print' fabric (can you spot the birds? - Summer in the City) and I love all the fabrics on it...it is huge and BRIGHT!!!!

anyway, bedtime now...
Amelie zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Long time, no blog :-(

I have been a bit poorly and very tired and very slow with my quilting....

I did however manage to make it to the Festival of Quilts for 4 hours only and except for the amazing Kaffe Fassett quilts, I saw very little else am afraid.
Having said that, I never cease being amazed by the strength of little old ladies who push and shove and elbow their way through these fairs!!!! and please someone remind me not to buy a rotary mat in the first 30 minutes and have to carry the darn thing through the whole fair!

Anyway, I finally finished cutting my new project and this weekend it has gone up on the design wall...only today I realised how small my design wall is as the last row of blocks was hanging off the edge!
Here is a sneaky preview:

These blocks are really gorgeous and very uplifting but my god, the preperation cutting and the sewing alone has been massive! There are 160 half square triangles in the main part of the quilt.

That is all I had to say to Mr Whirlygiggles who looked at me like I was mad and said.."goodness, give it up"..ha ha not even remotely funny! as if!

ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Amelie

I digress again!

Whilst preparing for a new quilt based on a pattern from the Material Obsession 2 book, using a set of FQs that I have had for almost a year now (Recess by American Jane), I decided to give this a go as I love every part of the panel and the stories behind it!!!!

This is work in progress and still needs a few alterations but I think it is cute, cute, cute!!!

I have a few more of these panel stories and I would be happy to give 2 sets away!!!! (five frames each as per in my quilt)

I think when I reach 20 Followers I will do a lucky draw to celebrate!!!!

Amelie