Christmas craft

I did promise to post some photos of the last-minute crafting I got done while we were staying at my parents' place the week before Christmas. This is the table runner I made for my brother Bill and his partner Kate. They bought this Amy Butler Belle fabric for me last Christmas - you might recognise from the quilt I made for my mum. I still have some of it left too! Here's a close-up of the quilting - random diagonals (click for a larger image if you can't quite make it out here).And here's the back - aqua homespun.I also made a flower brooch each for Kate, my Mum and my other sister-in-law Jacinta. The rosettes are great, because you could wear them as a brooch, or use them to decorate a bag or a hat. I didn't follow a specific tutorial or pattern, but there are loads of tutes that I've read on the 'net, so I guess my brain just smooshed all the instructions together and voila. I handstitched a gathering stitch along an edge-to-edge strip and pulled the thread gently as I sewed to create a curved edge. I then simply wound the fabric on top of itself until I was happy with it, stitched it all in place, sewed a button from my tiny button stash over the centre and added a brooch pin to the back. I love the pinked edges on the pre-cut strips - perfect for this project. The Denyse Schmidt fabric wasn't pinked, so I pulled a couple of threads from the edge of the strip to stop any ravelling. The biggest was made from a 2 1/2" strip - the smallest from a 1" strip.

Sadly, not much crafty stuff has happened since then. It's been too hot, we've been too sick (all better now, thankfully) and I've gone back to work (first four days made me feel like I'd never been away!). I've got lots of projects in mind, it's just a matter of finding the motivation, time and energy - a common complaint around here!

Definitely the last authentically!

Even though I love this fabric range, I think I've seen enough of it for a while. My blog has been taken over with black, grey, white and pistacchio for long enough! So here it is, the second table runner, which we gifted to Rom's Wednesday playschool teacher this morning. She loved it, so that made staying up to midnight last night finishing it all the better! Here's a close-up of the quilting.I was lucky enough to recently win a giveaway of a vintage tablecloth and some dotty fabric over at Beckyetal - it's arrived and I look forward to making it into a skirt for me some time in the New Year :)And last, and by no means least, my Christmas present to myself also arrived! It's a mini art quilt by Victoria aka The Silly Boodilly. This quilt was the inspiration behind Tequila Sunhouse. When I discovered it was for sale in Victoria's Etsy store (and on sale!) I knew I had to have it! It'll go up on my inspiration wall when I finally claim my sewing nook in the spare bedroom in January :)

Authentically twisted

Two more quilty items finished. Woohoo. And in the nick of time too. Table runner #1 is for Romily's Friday playschool teacher Carol. We gifted it to her this afternoon - it was finished just before midnight last night! You can't see from the below photo, but the rail fence blocks are bound in a solid black fabric. As you can see, I used up some more of the Authentic jelly roll I used in the quilt I've been making. You can also see that I used some of the stone colourway, which I omitted from the quilt palette.
Here's a close-up of the quilting. I quilted triangles on one side only, all the way along. Carol was pleased as punch!And today I sewed the lable onto 'Authentic Twist'. It's now on its way to my sister-in-law's dad in Melbourne. I'm really happy with the way this quilt turned out. I am loving the combination of pistachio, black and white. I even like the green border now that it's bound with black. The quilt measures 43" x 55". (Design is from Bonnie Hunter's Strip Twist design)I am also pleased with the backing - it's a repurposed doona cover that had met its use-by date. It goes really well with the quilt. (I also used it to back the table runner - its final use for now will be the second TR, which is also using the Authentic strips.)
Here's a close-up of the loopy quilting I did up and down and across the quilt in a semi-random pattern.Next up is the second table runner, which will go to Romily's Wednesday playschool teacher next week. I can't believe after three years Romily is finishing up at Noah's Ark and heading off to pre-school. Our association with the centre will continue though, as Tristan starts Playgroup there in February :)