Susan's Stars Update

I love long weekends - especially when Carl takes the kids of my hands for half a day here and half a day there. I get a lot done when I have the place to myself!

Here is 'Susan's Stars' quilted all over with a medium sized meander. While it's not perfect (I accidentally crossed the lines a couple of times - quilting in white over white-on-white fabric can be tricky!), it's effective and it was quick. So, it will have to do!
Now for some binding. I'm going to raid my stash for a suitable stripe - the back is a very bright Adobe style stripe, so it needs to coordinate or contrast. If I'd been thinking clearly when I bought the backing I would have bought enough to do the binding too. Ah well!

Gasp! There be quilting around these parts

Well there's been some quiltmaking going on around here! A work friend was in a serious car accident two weeks ago - she just happens to be the president of the Canberra Quilters - and a bunch of us at work, who also are quilters, decided a comfort quilt was in order. I wanted to get the quilt to her while she was still convalescing, so I thought a larger version of Bonnie Hunter's Maverick Stars would be a good idea, a la the Bushfire Quilt Project.

Polly, Teena and Ruth made up a bunch of blocks, and I made some too. I made eight, although it turns out I only needed two (leaving me with six for another project!). I originally thought a 5 x 5 layout would work, not realising how quickly 12" blocks would stack up. So I ditched a row and the quilt has finished up with a 4 x 5 layout instead. Now it's a very generous size lap quilt - Susan, the recipient, is vertically challenged, so the quilt will cover her completely when she's lying down.
Carl took the kids off to see the Dora the Explorer concert this morning, so I got busy and pieced the top together, as well as constructing the gorgeous stripy backing. As soon as I finish posting, I'll get started on sandwiching and pin basting - the intent is to spend part of tomorrow and Monday (public holiday here) quilting and attaching the binding to the front. Ruth has kindly offered to help me stitch down the back of the binding at work on Tuesday - a lunchtime quilting bee!

If I have any time spare after finishing the binding part on Monday I'm hoping to get a pencil roll made for a good friend's daughter - I made one for her big sister just over a year ago and the little sister adores it apparently! Meanwhile, the handquilting odyssey on Tristan's VHC quilt continues - I'm almost there!

Finally, here's a photo of my two cuties together. They both had haircuts yesterday - Romily had about 10cm (3") off in length (it was time) and Tristan had his first professional cut (he was remarkably still and well behaved!).

Poor, neglected blog!

This poor little blog, abandoned but not forgotten. Life just keeps getting in the way of crafting and blogging. And I am sorry I have been unable to come visiting with my blogging buddies. My research/studies are taking up a lot of my time, and, in what little free time I have, I am usually too tired from work and looking after kids to pull out the sewing machine/quilting tools.
I have been doing quite a bit of handquilting on Tristan's Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt, which I started way back before he was born, but there's not a lot to show for it (above picture is of the finished top, pre-machine quilting - it looks a bit different now - will post a photo when it's done). We went to Bendigo for Easter and I spent the evenings stitching away (how lovely). I showed the quilt in progress to Tristan, whose reaction was: 'wowowow!' - I think he likes it! He loves the book and is constantly bringing it to me saying: 'Mummy. Story. Cat-pillar. Story.' He's already a man who knows what he wants!

Tristan is 19 months old already. As I keep saying, they grow so fast. Rom will be five in August and is loving preschool. She will definitely be ready for school next year.