Busy Times

Too busy to blog? Surely not..........

It has indeed been a busy week - following my last post, I finished Topsy and here she is in her glory, managed to catch a little late sunshine for the photo shoot.

My week started off rather brilliantly with a surprise package from Australia. Prior to my holiday there this summer, Helen introduced me online to Salley, from Sydney. We made arrangements to meet up at the Sydney quilt show, but due to "technical difficulties" our meeting did not come to pass. I was disappointed and annoyed with myself for missing the opportunity. Salley must have read of my fruitless search for Aboriginal fabrics - see what she sent me -

Such a kind thing to do, thanks again Salley.

It was Zakka week 20 this week and the project was a child's pillowcase with pocket and teddy. I have looked forward to this one as I think little ones would just love their own special ted in a pocket beside them at night. But it's a little bit early for my little'un to have a pillow so I decided to make one for my little nephew - I recently made hi a quick Sesame Street quilt and had a tiny amount of scrap left. 

The size of the pillowcase worried me a bit as it seemed very small so I checked out toddler pillows available at John Lewis and adapted my pillow measurements. Tie was not on my side this week so I dispensed with patchwork diamonds and opted for a quick nine-pact pocket. My very last strip of fabric replaced the piping and the teddy became a sort of Elmo - I used the teddy pattern but traced it with arms included rather than separately and missed out the ears. I am quite happy with the outcome and will make this again, in the future.....

My classes started last week too. On Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, my "Home is Where the Heart is " classes began - I think this is going to develop into a fun and interesting course. All the students have chosen a place that is close to their hearts, and we are going to explore the different elements of design before embarking upon a quilted piece of work, very exciting stuff.

On Thursday afternoon, it was the turn of my new beginners - these ladies are all starting out their quilting journey and by Easter, will have made their first quilt. I love watching them develop their skills and enjoy watching their excitement grow with their quilts.

This next week, I have three more classes all starting my Topsy quilt project and the finished quilt, above, is my new class sample. There is a choice of central blocks available and I have made this cushion as a sample.

I used up my 1001 Peeps scraps for this and have decided to do a few different ones linked by these fabrics -

I also manged to put the finishing touches to my BQS3 swap mini - I don't seem to have taken its photo though so will leave that for another day.

My week finished off with a couple of hours of peaceful sewing today, in the company of Janet,  Katy  & Nikki at our meeting of the West of Scotland Modern Quilters' Guild. We could do with a few more members so if anyone is within cooee of Glasgow for get togethers, why don't you contact Katy for more info.