Sunday Stash & Dash - Finders Keepers

Tonight's stash & dash is brought to you by:

 

A little bundle of Hollywood Sparkle by Riley Blake.  This parcel arrived thanks to Fabricdirect.com.au and will be made in to a couple of yummy cushions as part of my collaboration for the annual "Collaborate For A Cause" Auction on Facebook!

This year, I've teamed up with Lil' Miss, Bubby and Me & Chlothes Line.  We are aiming for a super sparkly and fantabulous collaboration that will hopefully raise lots of money for our chosen charity - St Kilda Mums.

Found this week - a random charm park of Vintage Modern! WHATTTTT?????  See, part of this week's dash is discussing what we don't know we have in our stashes.  In this case, it was not unused for long, and was swiftly made in to 84 HST's.......

 

And today, became this......

Oh my gosh.  I am SOOO in love with this little quilt top!  I rang my trusty Mum for instructions to make the little "peep" border between the white borders.  I'd seen her use them on numerous quilts, and thought it would be perfect for this one.  CORRECT!  I'll share with you this week some time exactly how it's done.

The other great find I didn't know I had.....

In preparation for the Modern Medallion quilt along, I started stewing last night that I wouldn't have enough low volume fabrics, and started trawling online fabric stores for bundles.  But this morning, I decided to shuffle through my stash.  And out popped these 37 - THIRTY FREAKIN SEVEN - fat quarters of low volume perfection!  Who knew?  Not me - obviously!  A good deal of them are from my much coveted Architextures and Botanics bundles.  This is going to be one very special quilt!  

Lastly - THERE IS ONE SPOT LEFT IN THE KATE SPAIN AUSSIE CHARM SWAP!  I REPEAT - ONE SPOT LEFT!  Feel free to contact me if you want it!

And that's it.  I've just returned from serving dinner to a million people at the footy club, and now need to sit on my butt and watch "The Voice" to recover.  Peace out.

I'm linking up - You can too!

{Coming Soon} The Modern Medallion Quilt Along!

The lovely Crystal over at Two Little Aussie Birds is releasing her Modern Medallion pattern very soon!  And to celebrate, she is holding a quilt along in June.  I'm very excited to be a part of the quilt along and will be one of the co-hosts.

If you want to see more beautiful photos of Crystal's finished quilt, you can pop over to her blog and drool!  And then put your thinking hat on and work out which fabrics you will use on yours! ;)

I will be sure to have ALL THE FINER DETAILS for you very soon.  Stay tuned!

W.I.P. Wednesday - Working It Out

If you've visited here the last couple of Wednesdays, you would know my Wavelength quilt top has been a rather big project.  I bought all the fabric for the backing before the top was finished, but then when it came to put it together, I stalled.  Well, yesterday I got my s*it together and had it sorted.....

And whilst I was motivated, I got this baby basted.

As you can see, it's freakin huge!  Our dining table fits four chairs on either side......so if you do the math.......

I'm still completely befuddled about how to quilt it.  So it's all pin basted and rolled up in a log, and is currently living on top of the lounge in the back room.  I'm going to have to psych myself up both mentally and physically for the quilting challenge ahead.  I'm quietly contemplating sending it to a long armer....but am strapped for cash.  We'll see........

If you haven't seen this earlier, I'm hosting The Kate Spain Aussie Charm Swap!  It kicked off yesterday, and I'm happy to say I've already had 38 fabric lovers sign up!  Soooo - 18 spots left for the taking!  Head over HERE for all the details and feel free to share with all your Aussie/Kiwi friends!

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced - You can too!

The Kate Spain Aussie Charm Swap - Now Open!

44 34 22 17 11 ONE SPOT LEFT!

The sign ups are now officially open for the Kate Spain Aussie Charm Swap!  I've had such a great wave of interest through IG, FB and here on the blog - so am looking forward to getting this started and hopefully getting a full house of sign ups!

Here are the details:

1) This swap will be open to 56 participants, me being one of those! All of Kate's fabric lines except for the Christmas/Holiday ones can be included. The included lines are listed below.

2) Each spot is 2 Kate Spain fabrics, 1 yard of each, and I strongly suggest that you purchase at least 1/4 yard more in case of any cutting mistakes you might experience. Michele who organised the last 2 rounds in the US tells me someone bought fabric online and the shop where she ordered it from cut it short so she had a bit of a scramble. Better safe than sorry.

3) Fabric must be new and unwashed and from a smoke free environment.

4) Press your fabric and remove the selvages before cutting. Cut your yardage into 5 inch squares (56 per yard) total = 112 charms. You can follow the great tutorial on how to cut your charms from yardage by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Frannson! found here.

5) Post them out to me by 1st June. Put them in a Ziplock bag and include your 112 charms, an index card with your name, mailing address and email address (in case your envelope opens up, your charms will stay safe and dry and your contact info will get them back to you. I don't know if this has ever happened in real life but again, better safe than sorry). You must also include a SELF ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE/PARCEL POST SATCHEL so that your charms can be mailed back to you. I will not be billing anyone through Paypal. Unfortunately due to the cost and complexity of shipping back internationally, this swap will be for Australian/Kiwi participants only.

***In addition, please triple check that the return envelope or postage satchel you send to me is at least the same amount of postage that is on the envelope posted to me.  That is - for example - if you send your charms to me in a $5 envelope or $8.50 satchel, please send a self addressed $5 envelope or $8.50 satchel for me to return your charms in!

  Once I receive them all I will sort and return a stack of 112 different charms to each participant! You can sign up for more than one spot but to start I will allow only 2 spots per participant to give more the chance to get in on the fun. (2 spots = 224 charms, 56 each of 4 different fabrics). They will be in the mail to you 2-3 weeks later. I will be aiming to have them all in the return post by the end of June - fingers crossed!

6) Very important!!! Please choose fabrics that have not been claimed by another swap member. Please join the KATE SPAIN AUSSIE CHARM SWAP 2014 GROUP and check before purchasing fabrics to see what has already been chosen; we want to avoid duplicates. Once you have chosen your fabrics please post pictures, the Fabric line and specific print/colour information to the Flickr group. I've also added a list post so that it will be easy to see the names and colour ways chosen so far. Once you've chosen your fabrics make sure you add both the photos and the names to the list post.

7) I've also started a Facebook Group HERE if you wish to join!

So who wants to join in on the Kate Spain fabric fun?

Email me:

Your Name

Mailing Address

Email Address

Phone Number (just in case)
Blog address (if you have one)

When I email you and confirm that you are in the swap, I will include my postal address.

Grab the new blog button and leave a comment so I know who is participating. The code is on my side bar.
Feel free to spread the news if you'd like.

Here are all the Kate Spain lines that are included in this swap. Remember, no Christmas/Holiday fabrics. Some of her older lines are a bit hard to find, but Google is your friend!

I'd like to throw a HUGE SHOUT OUT and THANK YOU to Michele @ Quilts From My Crayon Box!  I seriously could not have even dreamed of doing this without your help and allowing me to use all of your rules and regulations!  You're a fabulous human being!  Go and show Michele some love!  And if you're in the USA, keep an eye on her blog for any future swaps!

And lastly - Go ahead and grab a button for your blog if you have one!  And share the love people!

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<a href="http://www.msmidge.com" title="Ms Midge"><img src="http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/u472/Melissa_Gottliebsen/charmswapbutton.jpg" alt="Ms Midge" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Sunday Stash & A Big Announcement!

Anzac Day this year brought another round of the #greataussiedestash on Instagram!  I promised myself I wouldn't look.  In fact, I left my phone in another room on purpose for most of the day!  On the first occasion I picked said phone up and clicked on IG, I happened upon the fabric grab of the century!

This original bundle of Far Far Away by Heather Ross was staring at me and within seconds I had laid my claim!  Wanna know how amazing this deal was?  13 x fat quarters in linen for.......  $40!?!?!?!?  Arm. Twisted.

The second time I clicked on IG, a big bundle of Art Gallery happiness was awaiting me.  Ok then.

SHOCKING photo via IG, but alas, it's Mother's Day and I can't be stuffed taking another!  All up, nine yards of Bohemian Soul.  Seriously divine!  Please google for the yummy colours!

Now - on to the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Any Kate Spain lovers in Australia?  If you follow Quilts From My Crayon Box, you would know she just ran her second Kate Spain Charm Swap recently!  I really wanted to join in the fun, but being in Australia makes swaps like that just a little bit pricey.  So I came to the conclusion I should just pull my finger out and organise one for all us Aussies (& Kiwis)!

I'm still getting all the details together, and will have a blog post up in the next week with ALL the finer details and sign ups.  So - spread the word and get excited!  I know I am!

I'm linking up - You can too!

Almost Wordless W.I.P. Wednesday & A Winner

247 x 4.5" blocks all sewn together with I think only a handful of points sacrificed.  I'm one very proud human being right now.

 

I got it up to a single bed size.  Just need to baste, quilt and bind.

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced - You can too!

P.S.  The winner of Cornelia's "Every Which Way" pattern is - 

Thanks to everyone who entered!  I shall email you in a tic Quilting Momma!

Giving & Receiving

{GIVING}  Back at the beginning of this year, I made THIS wedding cushion for my brother-in-law and his wife to be.  I had such beautiful feedback from everyone, and one of my bloggy friends in particular - Cornelia.  In her email to me, Cornelia said she wishes she could make something like that for her own wedding.  I said I'd be happy to make her one.  And from there, I got colour scheme, names and date.  Fast forward a few months, and I have finally gotten around to finishing the cushion top and posting it - to Austria!  I didn't make the complete cushion cover, as I was trying to keep the postage costs down (damn you International postage rates!), but Cornelia said she was more than happy to put the actual cushion together.

The feature fabrics are from the Flora range by Lauren & Jessie Jung.  Perfect for the green and yellow theme.  Lots of little Aurifil pebbles in there to make everything pop!  I hope you love it Cornelia!

{RECEIVING}  On Tuesday, whilst minding my own business and checking my mail box, I was VERY excited to see an envelope with an international postage sticker on it, and the sender being "Spain".  I ripped that baby open and found the most delightful little wrapped packages and gift card.....

 

I am always, but shouldn't be, so totally surprised and floored by the generosity of the quilty community!  I feel so special, that Kate not only sent me a little gift, but that she knew it had been my birthday and that I'm heading towards that big number 4-0!  I decided then and there that these mini charms would become a cushion - for me!  And today, with the couple of hours spare time I had, I did just that....

 

How fabulous are those colours??  Drool.....  This new range from Kate is called "Horizon" and will be available in September I believe.  Check out Kate's blog post HERE.

 

This very simple, yet stunning cushion, was put together simply by working out the arrangement of the charms (I am sticking with my gradient colours obsession), then chain piecing myself silly.  Sewing all the rows together and then cross hatch quilting each row diagonally.  I used beautiful turquoise Aurifil #2810 and lengthened my stitch to 3.4 on my machine.  This cushion used two mini charm packs and ended up being 18" square.  Perfecto!

And I backed it with this gorgeous print from Spotlight!  I have only ever made myself a couple of things, which is quite absurd really when you think about it?  But this one?  Well, it's already living on the lounge and being lounged on.

{GIVING}  And lastly tonight, Cornelia has just released her first ever quilt pattern!  It is called "Every Which Way" and is so pretty! 

 Cornelia is giving back, by offering one of MY lucky readers a copy of her pattern for free!  All you have to do is leave me a comment here on the blog, telling me which fabric line you think would work well with "Every Which Way"!  If you follow my blog, leave me an extra comment for an added entry.  And if you follow my Facebook page, another comment for a third possible entry!  Entries close Monday 4pm Melbourne time.  I will announce the lucky winner on the blog Monday night!  You can also grab another chance to win by heading over to Cornelia's blog HERE and entering her giveaway!  Win win!

Happy Happy Friday Everyone! xxx