Walk in the Park - baby quilt finished

And another ta-da moment :) I actually finished this quilt before the baby was born - there's a first! I'm calling it 'Walk in the Park', as the feature fabric is from the much-loved Park Slope range (Erin McMorris). It measures 39" x 39". To see the inspiration for this quilt design, see this previous post. I chose to do an all-over meander (again), as it's quick, getting easier and very functional for a quilt that's likely to be washed many times.

Zoe was born on my birthday, so this quilt is going to a very special baby indeed! Her mum is one of the loveliest people you'll ever meet and she'll be a great mum. I'm not showing you a close-up of the back - there were a couple of puckers that I didn't notice until I was stitching down the binding. Shhhhh - don't tell the quilt police! The other thing I'm not so thrilled about is the way the pattern in the Park Slope fabric 'walks' off the quilt - I was so careful to cut with the grain - the print is slightly askew. This is a definite downside of strip quilts!
Next under the needle will be the three Pay It Forward gifts I need to make. I have cut all the fabric, now it's a matter of sewing it all together! I received my gift and will blog it as soon as I can retrieve it from Romily!

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And here is a photo of our new friends.Eastern Rosellas are a gorgeous native Australian parrot - my clever father-in-law made us this fabulous bird feeder for Christmas. We finally put it up in about April and it took the birds a few weeks to find it. First we had visitations from some Currajongs, then, a few days later, a pair of Rosellas made some tentative enquiries (sitting on our fence, in the adjacent tree, on the balcony railing) before they decided it was safe enough. They've been back almost every day since. They don't seem bothered by us at all, as long as we're not too close. Today we were even visited by four Magpies! The kids are loving it - it's the closest we'll get to having pets for the foreseeable future...

Cute pram quilt finished

A friend from work had a baby girl in May - another friend had already made a gorgeous play quilt, so I decided to make a little pram quilt! I am super happy with this tiny little quilt :) Measuring 20 x 30", it'll be a perfect fit for keeping a newborn nice and snuggly on the freezing days we're having in Canberra.
I love the innovation (not mine, but a great idea, nonetheless - Milly makes them this way too) of a 'foot muff' for the bubba's feet - click to enlarge the above image - you can see the line of the foot muff/pocket along where the label is stitched). It'll not only keep her a tiny bit warmer, but should stop the quilt from riding up and covering her face.

This tiny quilt didn't really need the full label treatment, so I stitched one of my labels to the muff and voila!

And look at these gorgeous lillies! From my father-in-law to help celebrate my non-birthday this week. Carl, the kids and I have all suffered through gastro on top of a head/chest cold, so it was really a non-event this year!

The House That Jack Built

I've been a member of the Canberra Quilters for about three years now and love getting to the meetings when I can (which hasn't been all that frequently since Tristan's arrival, although I'm getting back in the swing of things now). Each year I promise myself I'll do a quilt for one of their challenges, but each year I get too busy and let it slide. This year was nearly no exception! However, I was determined, and completed this quilt, 'The House That Jack Built', in one night. It measures approx 18" x 15"

(click on image to enlarge)

I posted a while back that I thought I might do some tiny wonky stars for this year's 'Cutting Corners' challenge, but at the last minute changed my mind and did a wonky house instead. I enjoyed making the Tequila Sunhouse mini-quilt for Helen, so I thought I'd have another crack. I decided to go really bright, hoping to make an eye-popping quilt. Sadly I think I discovered that quilts can indeed be 'too bright' - resulting in insufficient contrast. In hindsight, I think I should have stuck to a white background. (Looking at it now, I wish I'd added a turquoise button for a door handle.) Nonetheless, I submitted this mini for the calendar contest - you never know, they might be looking for crazy, bright and quirky! I'm not sure when we'll find out, but regardless of the outcome, both kids like it and it can go on their bedroom wall when I finally get it back from the competition organisers :)
I love the backing/binding fabric - I originally bought it to use in a dress for Romily...that still hasn't been made! I did add a label after this photo was taken - at the meeting where the quilts were handed in. Talk about cutting it fine!