Almost seemed like snow.

Weather wise, this week has been pretty miserable! Lots and lots of rain...roads cut by flooding and terrible damage to our roads...potholes that damaged many cars...and all the coastal highway traffic diverted inland to us because of coastal flooding causing even more damage. Whilst it poured outside I finally sewed these old chenille squares together...I am loving them, BUT you should have seen the mess...it looked like there had been a blizzard in my sewing room. It has felt miserable enough for snow!

 On Tuesday I headed down to Maitland for my next instalment of Brigitte Giblin inspiration.

Always fun and now I am getting to know the other ladies in our class at Southern Cross Needlework...really nice! Brigitte is always inspiring as are the other ladies...great to see what they have been up to...and what they have been creating. Brigitte always seems to have "whipped up" something amazing.

I have been working on my 13 panel hexagons... I am hoping I am not too contemporary...I will need to be able to sleep under this!

Cardygirl xx

Flying Cabbages?

Or perhaps Cabbage Geese? However you say it, this little quilt is delightful!

 A surprise from my dear friend Cathy of Cabbage Quilts, this little piece of deliciousness landed at my place this week. Little did I know when I saw it on her blog that it was already on it's way to me! What a wonderful surprise and I just adore it. It will probably live on my mini quilt wall, but at present seems to be following me around the house so I can gaze at it. Thanks Cathy...it is treasured!

Here are some pics of the projects I made last weekend...

a pattern I saw on Molly Flanders and managed to track down (thanks M!)...

more flying geese in a lap quilt for Mum...

beautiful Bliss in a quickie quilt!

It is cool and rainy here...time to clean the pantry & feed my son and some mates from uni.

Hope you are having a good long weekend!

Cardygirl xx

Stitch or bind...hmmmm?

So much secret stitching happening at present...it will be so exciting when we can all see what each other has been doing. My SSCS swap present is finished....just needs wrapping....send a pic to Chookyblue...and post off to.....! Can't spoil the surprise now!!!!!

This tempting pile of Christmas prettiness is grabbing my attention at the moment...it is a newish design from the oh so clever Anni Downs...Christmas Tree Cheer...itching to get at it.

Or should I be good and bind this....made with all my 30's scraps...Puss in a corner blocks...the size was dictated by the amount of background I was able to find. The yardage is a soft green with a white pindot. It is a sweet quilt and I love seeing the scraps come to life again. Probably not the best pic...

 I really enjoyed the cross stitch hop over the weekend...thanks for all your lovely comments...Part 2 will appear next weekend.

Cardygirl xx

Sunny days quilt update...

.... or  the quilt for my Mum. Blocks all done...most of sashing complete...binding prepped & ready to go...backing purchased...booked in at quilters...whew!

Hopefully it will soon be in the post & then on it's way back for binding...deadlines do have their advantages!

Mum purchased a great 2 bed villa about 5 mins from her current home...in an over 55's village...great condition...settled the deal with great speed thanks to great professionals. She is SO excited!

These are all the blocks waiting to go together...more pics soon...great pattern from Geoffs Mum!

Cardygirl xx

This week in review...

...as it is whizzing by so fast! Spring is officially here...the garden is showing signs of life & needing some attention...that will be this weekends job!

Looking for somewhere for Mum to purchase...a sad but necessary move from the home they built as newlyweds...hoping that the quilt will add a smile to a tough time...some more blocks done...five to go!

Some pretty cupcakes made by DD...they always cheer you up!

Chookyblue gave me some of her farm fresh eggs recently...they were beautiful! But look at the amazing colour of theses eggs...this one really is chooky blue!

Cardygirl xx

Not enough stitching...

...but that it is changing! Spent time cutting out the remainder of Mum's quilt...her house has sold & she has 6 wks to find somewhere new! So I need to get her quilt ready...nose to the sewing machine!

Spring is coming...a nice spot to sit when it is not windy...

with little chatty friends...

and my favourite mini daffodils!

Cardygirl xx

The last of Nundle...

...for this year anyway! Now I'm dreaming of next year!

This is my project...a pattern from Geoffs Mom...it is going together beautifully...all in 1930's prints...the plan is to make it for Mum & her new home( hopefully she will sell hers soon)...

...I hope to surprise her with it when she moves...a tahdah moment I hope!

Here is the view from Kerry's cottage...

lunchtime...

Lea's quilt...

Leigh's stunning block...

Bronwyn's gorgeous fun...

the group display...

thanks for sharing our fun!

Cardygirl xx

Weekend snapshot

A pretty quiet weekend here...

a quilt bound & placed on a bed...

time to enjoy the sunshine...

time to teach DD how to make binding & then bind her first quilt.

A good weekend.

Cardygirl xx

9-patch nearly there.

My repro 9 patch is back from the quilters...it was made with blocks from an Australian swap hosted by Christine. It isn't bound yet...everyone knows how much I hate binding...but I plan to at least cut out the binding tomorrow. I was really happy with the layout I used & I love the chocolate sashing.

Thankyou so much to all who joined in the swap & especially Christine for organising it all.

It was one of those glorious days yesterday...calm winter sunshine...lovely to sit outside.

Perfect day for taking a pic of the quilt on my back deck.

Cardygirl xx

Christmas reveals

Here is one of those secret Christmas things....

a quilt for DD...had to surprise her as she lurks on my blog!

Not bound yet...but I will get it done. Truly!

The top row is folded over the clothesline...

didn't need it to get on the ground as the pic was taken in a break from the rain.

Everything looks so green & fresh...lots of frogs in my garden too.

I got the fabric from Modern Retro Textiles...Heather Ross Far Far Away range,

with some Sue Ross fabric for the sashing...an orange micro dot.

DD loves the Princess & the Pea story...I think the colours of this fabric make it

suitable for a grownup girl's bed!

She likes it. The gauzy fabric was a bit of a challenge though.

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.20

Not many sleeps now until Christmas!

Most of our festivities are organised...but there are thingsthat may not get done.Oh well...no point getting stressed out about it!

Three days of paid employment then a few off....

hopefully might get some stitching done!

A festive quilt from a Lyn Wilson design.

Love the reds & greens.

The leftovers made the Santa sack posted earlier!

do you like this one?

Cardygirl xx

Simple, yet strong

This is a quilt I made for my son a few years ago. He chose the fabrics & I made it from a Thimbleberries pattern- went together in a weekend.

I like the simplicity of the stars & the bold strength of the colours.

Simple, yet strong, a great teenage boy quilt. He likes it.

He is calmly working through his exams.

Cardygirl xx

Summer quilt time

Now the weather is warming up, I tend to change my darker, wintry quilts for lighter, fresher "summer" quilts.

By doing this I tend to get in the "mood" for spring...and also a bit of spring cleaning! The number of blankets are reduced & the bedding aired in the glorious sunshine...don't you love that fresh smell? This quilt was from a pattern called Tag sale by miss Rosie's Quilt Co. DH gave me the pattern & some fat quarters to which I added some more fabrics. I like the faded softness & scrappiness of this quilt...it was peaceful to construct & it always makes me feel fresh!

Cardygirl xx

Dusting off & starting anew!

After a few weeks of not a lot happening in my sewing room, it was nice to have a day to do a little catch-up. There were a few little jobs that needed to be finished, so with a cold wind blowing I had a great excuse for giving the weeds a few more days of life. So I headed off, cleared the cobwebs from the door & dusted off the machine (with the weather here lately this is not an exaggeration!) LOL! First job was to finish the apron that DD had embroidered a pocket for...it is a gift for her friend's 21st birthday. it looks really pretty & she is doing a mug bag to match it.

Then it was time to face the MO BOM- Block 2. I have had it cut out for a couple of weeks but, to be perfectly honest, I was a bit nervous about it. It is a challenging BOM...but it really is helping to expand our skill repertoire. Despite my grumblings I am pleased that I have taken this project on as it is something different & it is nice to share some MO even though I am a few hours from Sydney. It is also great to share our journey on the blog.

Lastly I will share a quilt I made a few years ago. I purchased a starter kit from Timeless Threads at Mittagong as I needed a dramatic quilt for the upper landing in my home. It certainly fits the bill, but doing this month's BOM made me remember that working with bias edges is not an easy thing to do! But every time I look at it I have to smile as I remember all the frustration & then achievement that was the reward of this quilt's journey.

Hope you have some stitching time today!

Cardygirl xx

When did that happen?

As you know, not a lot of time has been spent stitching here....
so today when I went into my sewing room, I had a nasty shock!

It was a terrible mess...stuff thrown everywhere...no sense of order...chaos ruled.

Oops...sadly there is no one to blame but myself...so I decided to take control.

It took some time, but I once again feel that lovely calmness when I walk through the door

...and I have to tidy up as Chookyblue is paying me a visit...yay!

It looks so much better.

I was also lucky enough to win a pattern from Natalie at Cinderberry Stitches...
and I have finished this baby quilt top.

So, a rather productive day...good for the soul...

I hope your day has been a happy one...

Cardygirl xx

Unbelievable!

Those who know me are aware of my binding phobia...I can stich it on post quilting but it can literally take me years to handstitch it down! Shameful!
So to surprise everyone (especially myself) I have nearly finished stitching the binding on DS's funky robot quilt. It feels good & it really wasn't hard once I got started. Doesn't it look nice?

My dear mother is home 7 weeks after her fall...still some issues but at least she is more mobile. After visiting her the other day I stopped at the lovely Quilt-Essentials in Newcastle. Jenny is always a delight & her shop is lovely. This is what I found...

I am in love with chocolate at the moment!

Hope your week has been a happy one...

Cardygirl xx

Lea's quilt

My dear stitching buddy, Lea, has just been over to leave her latest quilt with me. I am going to give it to her daughter when I am in Sydney tomorrow. Lea wanted to do something different for her DD, and we spent some time a few weeks ago brainstorming, and this is what she came up with. Taa daa!I love it & I think her DD will too...fresh & fun.

Cardygirl xx

Doll inspiration

Did you have a Barbie? I had a Sindy & a PJ (Ithink she was a friend of Barbie)...I was never really much of a dolly girl really...had a couple of favourites I but wasn't doll mad! But it was lovely to find this set of doll clothing embellishments recently...we have moved so many times that I am amazed they are still around!

They brought back memories of dolls kept in little suitcases with their clothes & taken to friends places to play. Dad even made me a little white painted wardrobe for my room.

Now I am using some of these treasures to embellish my dolls dress quilt & enjoying making dresses that remind me of long-gone grandmothers, ladies that worked in chocolate shops & my mother when she was young & stylish.

I have started work on a similar project with my boys in mind... it is a little bit harder but fun once you get going.

Cardygirl xx