Happy Halloween!

Just a quick post to wish you all a safe Halloween!
We are all set here with the pumpkins carved and the sweets by the door.  It is set to be a mild evening so I'm expecting we could get quite a few trick or treaters.



DD2 being a fan of wolves came up with this design...which was easier to carve than I thought it would be.  I place a paper pattern of the wolf on the pumpkin then I used a push pin to mark the outline.  After I removed the paper, I went in with a sharp knife and carved around the markings.



DD1 went for the more classic look of a kitty! I love them both :o)

Until next time....

Just for the girls...

You're going to think I've spent my half term watching Youtube videos...but I haven't. :o)  I have done some sewing too (.. I'll share it with you in a few days)
In the meantime, I am sharing yet another fab video.  If only exercise was always this entertaining!



Until next time,

Dancing Through the Ages...

I like to bring you the very best Youtube clips from time to time...Well I found this one from HERE who found it through HER....Enjoy!



Until next time....

6 Charms Squares = Very Useful Item

What can you make from 6 charm squares?
Well, you can make a very fetching and useful camera strap cover :o)

Randi had a great tutorial on her blog which was really easy to follow and within 20 minutes I had a new cover.  Probably the hardest part was taking the picture of the finished strap cover! LOL  I cropped this picture down as the expression on my face was much like a deer caught in headlights!

Until next time....

More cupcakes....

We've been at it again in the kitchen making cupcakes!  Just like last time we used this fantastic recipe and once again it came out trumps!  I might as well throw out the rest of the recipes in my collection as I honestly don't think I could do better :o)



Until next time....

Oh Cherry Completed!

F
inally what you have all been waiting for....

TA-DA! 

Here it is, the completed Oh Cherry Quilt!  I'm thrilled with the results.  It's quite a fresh looking quilt and the border fabrics which were from a a completely different line of fabrics ended up being a perfect match.

I did free-motion cherries in the large border and had marked them before I basted using Roxanne marking pencils.  They were such fun to do and I think complimented the whimsy of this project.

Thanks for all the lovely comments while I've been sharing the journey of the making of this quilt.  It really spurred me on to get it finished.

Until next time....

Updating the "Bus" schedule...

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to report that there just might be a couple of finishes arriving shortly! :o)  As I mentioned in my previous post, my finishes tend to get completed in batches and currently I've got 4 quilts basted and ready to start the production line of getting them quilted.



Here is a sneaky peak of the Oh Cherry top that I was working on a couple of weeks ago.  I'm thrilled with the results and was even more pleased that Anne at my LQS at the Heart of the Shires had this perfect lime green and stripey fabric for the two borders.



I decided to quilt free motion cherries in the border which I think finishes it off nicely. (You can just see my pencil markings in the border)   This quilt is now getting it's binding sewn down...so stay tune for the final reveal :o)

In other news, the star is now a top and has been based.  And, I'm happy to say, that I'm afraid Madonna has lost out on this colourful bra as it is flat flat flat! Hooray!



Now, if you will excuse me, I'm off to pour a glass of wine, and get sewing that binding, while watching Downton Abbey.

Until next time....

A Lone Star look-a-like...

Another project started...yes I know I haven't finished anything lately, but I'm afraid I work a little like the bus company and all my finishes will come in all at once! :o)

A couple of years ago I won a gorgeous Lollipop jelly roll by Sandy Gervais and I have finally cut into it! (Do you sense a theme?...it's like the Oh Cherry fabrics)

At first I was just going to make a standard Lone Star Quilt as I made one of these many moons ago and really enjoyed the challenge.  But as I was flipping through a really old book I noticed this variation and thought it would make for a new twist.



I sewed 2 sets of brown and orange strips and then using the 45º angle on my ruler I made my first cut and then measured 2.5"  from the edge to cut the segments. I cut 8 from each strip set and each segment was paired and sewn in to a "4 patch" diamond.  (I had 8 of these all together)



Now try as I might I could not work out the maths ahead of time to cut the next strip to size which in this case was the blue fabric.  So I decided to wing it and cut it slightly oversized using the "4-patch" diamond as a rough guide. Once sewn I could trim the edges to match the 4-patch diamond.  I worked out very quickly that I would need 8 for each side of my 4 patch diamond shape and that they would be the same size and 1/2 would be the mirror image.  So 8 going one way and 8 going the other.  The best way to achieve this was to leave the jelly roll folded in half so for every cut I was getting two; one of each shape. Clear as mud I'm sure! :o)

The orange diamond at the top was cut from a strip 2.5" in width much like the diamonds at the beginning.



The orange diamonds were sewn to one set of the blue strips first and then added to the unit which had the other blue strip making sure to line up the junction of the seams correctly...probably the hardest part, but once you get a feel for it it gets easier.



Round and round I went, adding yellow and green rounds in the same manner.

And this is as far as I have gotten...8 diamonds ready to be sewn into a star.  I'm afraid I'm going to leave you in suspense until I get this project sewn together with its background pieces!  And I really hope that I end up with a flat star and not something that Madonna would be proud to wear.  I made sure to use lots of  Dylon Easy Iron (a bit like starch) to keep everything flat!

Until next time...

Blocks for a Fellow Quilter...

These 3 blocks should be just about arriving in the States to be added to the blocks that John'aLee is collecting to make quilts for a grieving family.  Earlier this autumn, her daughter's fiancé was killed in Afghanistan and she is making quilts for her daughter and his family.  There is still time to help if you fancy joining in.  She is hoping to have all the blocks by the end of November.  You can read more HERE.

Until next time...

Digital Scrapbooking Software Giveaway....

When Liz from MyMemories contacted me to try out their Digital Scrapbooking Software, I didn't hesitate to say YES!  As you know I love my photography and I love anything that makes showcasing it easier.  Most of the time my editing gets done without a lot of flourish and simply gets shares here on my blog.  Like many of you I don't always get as far as printing my pictures and as result I have most of my collection on the hard drive. 

I was really pleasantly surprise to see how easy it was to download and start using the MyMemories Software.  I was also impressed with how quickly I could go from having pictures on my hard drive to having them inserted into one of the pre-existing templates.  With a click of a button or two the MyMemories software inserted my pictures into an album and with a little bit of tweaking I could be printing those decorated pages off my own printer or even have then printed professionally.

The software made adding backgrounds and frames very easy and one could also add customized text with a drop shadow with a click of a button.
This software isn't limited to creating paper albums but you can use it to create interactive albums for the computer adding video and music or create images to share on your blog.   I even used it to create my new signature for my blog.  (See it there below :o)

The MyMemories software is a complete digital scrapbooking solution that provides a range of creative tools to create your own personalized albums. Its several features are perfect for a beginner right through to the advance designer. There are a range of free papers and embellishments that come with the program to keep you busy, but there is also a selection of free elements on the MyMemories website which you can access through your account.

Here's a great Youtube that explains it in more detail.

My Memories gave me a chance to give one reader a copy of the software and the winner is....

Ariane, Congratulations you are my winner!

If you didn't win you can still take advantage of a great bargain.  My Memories is giving my readers a $10 (USD) discount off the full price of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software, together with a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value all up.
At checkout copy and paste this code: STMMMS97261 into the checkout section to receive these discounts.

Until next time...

Oh Cherry Update...

Thought you'd like to see some pictures of the progress I'm making with my Oh Cherry fabrics.  Armed with a cup of tea and ignoring the messy desk, the squares got sewn into rows.

I like to press to one side to nestle the seams together for easy piecing, but before pressing the final block I pop the few stitches in the centre of the block and open the seam up.  In doing so I reveal the little mini 4 patch and I can then press the seams in a pin-wheel fashion and reduce the bulk in the centre.  This works brilliantly for 4 patches and the like too.



Here are the rows all laid out on the ironing board.  Now all I have to do is get the rows sewn together without muddling the order up!

Until next time...