Monday, 25 November 2013

.: Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap :.

The little package I mailed off to Kristi as part of her Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap has arrived!  


At about the same time as my 'My Heart is Happy' mini was flying from Brisbane to the USA, Kristi and her family were packing up and driving over 3,000 miles to relocate from Seattle, Washington, to Atlanta, Georgia. 


I'm so happy everything has now arrived safe and sound, and that I can now share lots of pics with you.  The 'happy' letters are from the excellent 'Just My Type' paper piecing pattern by Kristy of Quiet Play, and can be found in her Craftsy shop.


I fussy-cut a lot of little details for this mini - all things that I thought both Kristy and her daughter Roo would like and would enjoy finding - kind of like a little eye-spy quilt.


I love being a part of swaps, as you challenge yourself to create something that both you and your partner will love, and you also get to know someone as part of the whole swapping-experience - in fact, one of Kristi's instagram hashtags for this swap, absolutely sums it up -  #makeaquiltmakeafriend.  And I love too, that in the Flickr group, Kristi has been referring to all the swappers as 'Quilters of Awesome' - that's kind of fabulous too! 


On the back of the mini, I used the fun selvedge print from Spotlight, and for the first time EVER!! - sewed up hanging-pockets in the top corners, and also a little quilt-label (my friend Tracy gave me the label, and I added a little border).


This is what I was keeping secret til now!


I added in some extra treats - a 'roo bear for Roo and a tiny kangaroo keyring - and some lollies and Furry Friend chocolates ...


... and also a couple of our Pipsqueak panels, in honour of the real Schnitzel & Boo sausage dogs.


So that's my Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap!  I'll be back soon to share my Down Under Doll Quilt Swap, which has also arrived safe and sound, though much closer to home.  Hope your week is off to a great start.   xoxo cat

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

Hello from Vee. My first web site


Here is a peak at my latest Graphic Design assignment, which has been to create a website for my portfolio.

For too many weeks now I have toiled and cried in vain, shocked and scared my family with my overuse of profanities, you-tubed, poured over my Dreamweaver 'bible', been in and out of 'Lynda tutorials' more times than the wine fridge, worked around a very dodgy internet connection, changed internet providers, gone around in enough circles to circumnavigate the globe and comforted myself with 3kg of sugary treats. (That is what my scales told me this morning!)

Anyway, once my tutor sorts me out and sets me on the straight and narrow (i'm pretty sure my coding skills are going to be marked as 'one hot mess') I shall be building a brand new shiny website for cat and vee.

xxxx vanita

p.s I have decided that I am way too interesting and dynamic to be a back-end web coder……I shall do all the 'glory' design work and give the complicated coding to someone who 'lives for it'……YOU know the type……..










Sunday, 10 November 2013

.: the start of the pressie line-up :.

I can feel a few pressie-posts coming on, since pretty much all my sewing time lately has been spent on pressie-sewing.  Apart from swaps and bees.  

Just a couple of in-progress pics to share with you today.  First up, a cushion-top, with the beyond-fabulous Tula Pink raccoons, from her Acacia line. I don't know what it is about the raccoons, but I love them.  A lot.  As much as I love all things Melody Miller (the awesome telephone in the middle). 

{{what does the raccoon say?}}
And now, the churn-dash-a-thon.  I really can't believe there are only 12, since it feels like I've been sewing them for a very long time.  A few of them are for specific people - which has meant that specific fabrics have been chosen ... the most obvious one is the piano-cats on the top left, which is for the girls' piano teacher.  Who loves the piano.  And cats.  Are you on board with my thought process?  It's hard to keep up, I know.


The churn dashes are all destined to become hot-pads.  I think.  I'm a little worried about the glittery-fabric on a few of them - maybe they're not made for hot-stuff to be sat on them. A Plan B could be in the works ... maybe they'll become zip-pouches, or a panel for a bag, or even sit in the unfinished-projects drawer for several months.  The possibilities are endless.

Hope you've had a happy weekend.  I'll be back in a couple days to share my Down Under Doll Quilt Swap mini - once it's safely in the mail.  'til then, xoxo cat

Saturday, 9 November 2013

.: a little bit of cushion-y love :.

Where have you been?!  We've missed you!  Oh wait, hang on, it's actually us that haven't been here.  Totally not-very-good blogging.  Right.  Back to it. 

My Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap package of goodies is in the mail as I type - quite possibly flying over the Pacific Ocean right now - so I won't share any more pics here til I know it's arrived safe and sound.

My Down Under Doll Quilt Swap mini is finished! - but I need to get a few little goodies together before putting it in the mail and sharing more pics.

So let's share some cushions.  All five - yes, five! - of these upcoming cushions are no longer in my house - they were all for pressies.

First up - Awesomeville! - have we even shared Awesomeville with you yet?  We have five little Awesomeville designs to show you, but let's start with just two - 'Hello Sunshine' and our big-hearted girl.  The little panels (which are in the shop now!) are post-card size, super-sweet and so quick to sew or frame into little pressies.  These two were for the girls' teachers for World Teachers' Day - both teachers sew - yah! - so I figure they'll use them as pincushions.

{{they're so sweet!}}
And now, onto the 40th birthday-pressie-cushions.

First up - a Union Jack for Magic Mike.  No.  Not Channing Tatum.  No.  The REAL, original and best Magic Mike, who lives very close by and who is really English.  Though ... he was born in New Zealand, as I discovered from the fabulous DVD played at his birthday party ... really need to get to the bottom of that one ... 

{{are you loving the Kate + Will mug as a very handy and relevant prop?! It was a pressie from my friend Rachel, who was on holiday in London just before the wedding.  Not that she was in London FOR the wedding ... shame ... }} 

I followed the Union Jack pattern on Dandelion Daydreams' blog and then added a border to make the cushion a little bigger.


The fabulous actual-Union-Jack fabric is by our gorgeous friend Amy, from her Spoonflower shop.  The blue is Lizzy House's Castle Peeps, and the red/pink-spots are by the gorgeous Pam Kitty Morning.  The white - which you can't really see well in these pics - is Lakehouse Dry Goods (I soooo love their white-on-white text, as I get a bit anxious using solids).  And the fun newsprint is from Spotlight!


I used the newsprint, so it would match in with the fabulous cushion that Vee made for Mike - I need to get a pic of it to share here - she had fabric especially printed by Spoonflower, using a newspaper article that Mike was in when he was younger.   And living in England.  As opposed to New Zealand.

{{cheers}}

And now - a cushion duo made for our friend Glen's 40th.  I've wanted to make a plus-cushion (or quilt!) for ages, and followed Katy's pattern in 'Pillow Pop' by Heather Bostic



I asked Vikki (Glen's wife) about colours - and she said neutrals, for a black lounge.  I'm thinking I've stayed pretty close-ish to neutrals ... for me, anyway!  The Alexander Henry owls are for Glen + Vikki's daughter, really, as she likes owls.  I love the owl print so much, I've had it squirreled away for ages. 



The blue castles are Lizzy House (click on her name up there), the measuring tapes are by American Jane, and the orange sprouts are Violet Craft's Madrona Road.  The little crosses on grey are from Rashida Coleman Hale's Koi line, and the text is by Sweetwater.  I'm not sure who the postcards are by.  And the black crosshatch is Timeless Treasures. 


So that's it for cushions-I-have-recently-made.  What have you been making lately?

Hope your last few weeks have been good ones, and that you're currently in the middle of a happy weekend.  'til next time, cat xoxo
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