.: catching up on bee blocks :.

Thank goodness for the recent school holidays, as amongst other things, they gave me the chance to catch up (almost!) on bee blocks.  I get itchy and fidgety if I'm ever running behind on bee blocks or swaps - or even if I'm ever running late for anything.  I'm an early to on-time girl, so I'm back to feeling calm and happy about all my bee commitments.

All these blocks are for our Care Circle of doGoodStitches.

First up is Merran's blocks, made from the Tic Tac Toe block tutorial on Alyce's blog.  Merran is going to sew and and donate a quilt to #quiltblockstohealviolence coordinated by Jackie Gillies.  Jackie is creating and coordinating quilts to donate to domestic violence refuges by Christmas.  She has set up a crowd funding page on My Cause to raise money for all the extra bits that are needed to make finished quilts - all the details are here, should you wish to donate.  It's a great cause, and I'm grateful to Jackie for all the work she is doing, and to Merran for enabling our Circle to donate a quilt for it. 

And these gorgeous blocks are for Jodi, from her Squash Blossom tutorial.  Have you read Jodi's blog?  She's a very talented and prolific quilter.  Squash Blossom is one of the blocks in her Red Sky at Night quilt, for which she's been sharing block tutorials over the past few months. 

And lovely Rachel's blocks were created following a tutorial by Jolene at Blue Elephant Stitches.  Love the colours in these blocks.  

And now I'm all caught up - for the Care Circle at least.  It's a wonderful doGoodStitches circle, with some really beautiful quilts being made and donated for various charitable causes.

I am still one set of blocks behind, for my good friend T in our Sew Sisters bee - they'll be next, amidst all my Farmer's Wife-ing.  xoxo cat

.: catching up on bee blocks :.

Term 2 was some kind of crazy frenzy for us, so I fell a little behind on my bee blocks - this is really rare, as I hate being late for anything, ever.  So I spent Monday - the first official day of the school holidays - sewing up my bee blocks. 

For our Care Circle of doGoodStitches, Leanne asked for polka-dot quarter-circles (for May! ...), and emailed us all a template she had created in EQ7.  The polka-dot background could be any polka-dots, any colours.  And the quarter-circles had to be any-colour solids. 

Leanne also had July for our Care Circle (June was a rest-month, thankfully, otherwise I'd be sharing June blocks with you now too!).  These scrappy plus blocks are from this tutorial on the Bernina website, by Faith Jones of Fresh Lemons Quilts.  How cute will both these quilts be?!

And last up are Ocean Waves blocks for Rachel, for our Sew Sisters bee (which is made up of some of the girls from our Care Circle).  Rachel is currently working her way through making all the quilts in Denyse Schmidt's wonderful Modern Quilts Traditional Inspiration - there's an awesome #quiltthebook hashtag going on on Instagram.  Rachel has already made + received quite a few blocks, and the quilt is looking fabulous already. 

OK so that's me caught up until our next Care Circle month in August, and whoever is up next in our Sew Sisters bee for August/September.  Next on my list is finishing my Riley Blake challenge quilt for the MQG's latest fabric challenge.  xoxo cat

.: Auction + Flowers for Eleni :.

After seeing all the wonderful doGoodStitches quilts at QuiltCon, and reflecting on what a significant and far-reaching impact Rachel Hauser has had on the quilting and wider community, it was with such great sadness I read about her beautiful baby Eleni's birth complications.

Rachel and her family have hoped and planned for, and anticipated Eleni's birth with such longing and love.  And now Eleni is here, and she and they need lots of love, care, uplifting and support.

Marika has started the Auction for Eleni - which is being held 4.00 pm EST Saturday 14 March til 4.00 pm EST Sunday 15 March (US time) - which I think is around 6.00 am Sunday 15 March - 6.00 am Monday 16 March in Queensland; and our very own Jodi, from our doGoodStitches Care Circle, has started Flowers for Eleni.  Please click through to read more and if you can, to help.

These are my flowers for Eleni, and they are on their way to Jodi, to stitch into the big, beautiful quilt she is making for Eleni.  Vee and I have given two tote bags to Marika's auction.

This quilting world of ours is huge and diverse, and we are spread out across the world.  But really, at heart, it's not so big.  We are all makers, who express our love of family, friends and community by making, and by sharing what we make.  So please help Rachel, Eleni and their family if you can - keep them in your thoughts and prayers - and share their story, so that others may help too.

'til next time (and oh yes, I do still have one more QuiltCon post to share with you).  xoxo cat

.: Christmas swapping via hashtag :.

Lovely Ros coordinated the Sweet Pouch Swap (#sweetpouchswap) once again this year, and this time with a Christmas theme.  This was a direct swap, with each partner swapping with the other.  I was partnered with Nic, who said that she loved (amongst others) Tula Pink, Anna Maria Horner and text prints.  Here's what I came up with. 

I followed Anna Noodlehead's Open Wide Pouch tutorial for the zipper (but not for any pouch measurements), which results in a very handy open-wide pouch - surprise! 

And here are the goodies I popped in, for the "sweet" part of the Sweet Pouch Swap.

I've received a very gorgeous pouch + goodies package from Nic, which I will share once I have also received my swap package from the #carecirclechristmasswap - oh, what an awesome segue!

Our Care Circle of doGoodStitches decided to do a little Christmas swap this year.   This time it was anonymous, meaning the person you make for doesn't know you are making for them, and a different person is making for you.   My partner-to-make-for was Merran, and after a little stalking, I went with Ayumi's envelope pattern from her Patchwork Please! book - I made a Christmas envelope and a Liberty envelope, and sewed them into a basic zip pouch.  

My love for Monica's Holiday Happy gnomas is showing no sign of ending.  How sweet does he look with Monica's Winterkist fabric for the envelope!

And I thought Merran would really like this Liberty combo for the other side, I so love that animal print, paired with the gorgeous floral. 

And I popped in a few extra goodies - Aurifil thread and chocolate treats.

I made the lining a Christmas/non-Christmas combo too - with Aneela Hoey's Cherry Christmas and Anna Maria Horner hearts. 

Both my swap packages have safely arrived now, with Nic and Merran.  I'll be back again soon to share what I've received in the swaps.   Enjoy your weekend - we've got out Brisbane MQG Christmas lunch tomorrow - there will be fat quarter swapping and lucky door prizes, as well as a lovely lunch and lots of chat, wahoo!  xoxo cat

.: September doGoodStitches blocks for Leanne :.

I'm nerdishly excited about being able to share my Care Circle doGoodStitches blocks for September already - I ran so late for July and August, I feel like I'm getting back on top of my sewing list at last.   It's ok with me if you're not feeling the excitement, honestly, I totally understand. 

It's Leanne's month, and she chose chose two 12 1/2" star blocks, using white for the background and scrappy colours for the centre squares and HST's.  The centre squares are 3 1/2 ", so they were the perfect reason to cut into my Tula Pink Moonshine deers, bought from TQES.

And I figured some Tula bees, Lizzy House cats, a Robert Kaufman fox and a few Cotton+Steel tigers could join the party in the middle too. 

So that's September done and dusted, and it's only the 8th!  AND I've already sewn bee blocks for Gina, which I'll share tomorrow, and I'm hoping to make a start on (already late) Wee Bee blocks for Elizabeth tonight.  Somebody.  Stop.  Me. 

Hope your week has started well too.  xoxo cat

.: doGoodStitches block for Merran :.

It was Merran's month in our Care Circle of doGoodStitches, and she chose a rainbow star.

Oh my GOSH, I had to concentrate for this one!  - we're talking TWO partial seams! And I've mucked up the rainbow-order, though I figure ROYGVAP is kind of close to ROYGBIV, even when it's going anti-clockwise ... surely ... 

I'm looking forward to seeing Merran's quilt, it'll be gorgeous.  In fact, I really should create and post a mosaic of all the finished Care Circle quilts - the awesome ladies in our circle have created some wonderful quilts. 

Hope your week has been a good one.  xoxo cat

.: the Octagonal Orb :.

Vee and I have a secret squirrel project that we can't share with you just yet - but until very recently it was the major focus of our sewing and computer time - so we haven't had much to share with you here!

But now behold - the Octagonal Orb - Rachel's block for July in our Care Circle of doGoodStitches.

Rachel asked us to use a low volume centre/corner fabric, and then any order of pink, aqua and navy/purple for the three rings.  It was a fab block for someone with a fussy-cutting obsession ... 

The pattern is by Elizabeth Hartman, and the Orb finishes at 17 1/2 inches ... well, mine did anyway ... possibly it was supposed to finish at 17 1/4 inches ... and I'm just right now hoping it wasn't supposed to be 17 3/4 inches, as it's now on the way to Rachel's house! 

The 'owl' triangle is a favourite, as is the 'clothing' triangle with the Kei kerchief girl.   And this is the very first sewing-project where I've used Cotton + Steel, wahoo! - the little pink tiger down there.  

You'll have seen that the centre points don't come anywhere near matching up, but I figured it was more important for the rings to meet up as much as they could ... so I'm choosing to look away from the centre.  

Hope your last couple of weeks have been good ones.  'til next time, xoxo cat

.: how can it be the last day of June?! :.

This year is zooming past, it's way too crazy, how can we be at the end of June already?!  And it's suddenly so cold in Brisbane - which makes it even crazier that we saw our first-ever (and hopefully, only-ever) SNAKE in our backyard last weekend!  I'm shuddering remembering it all over again, just too hideous.

Today I'm sharing my blocks for Gina's month in our Care Circle of do.GoodStitches - made today, in the nick of time, on the very last day of the month!  I so don't like being late for anything, let alone bee blocks.  Gina asked for a colour palette of grey, navy, white and peachy-orange.  Our pattern this month is based on Micro Mod Shake Up by Alexia Abegg.

I was enormously happy to open out these Summersville + Castle Peeps/Lizzy House blocks to discover the house-and-car-lining-up-perfection! - I couldn't have planned it better!  

And now for my stars - these are for @marika_makes on instagram - and will soon be on their way to Canada.  Marika is very kindly sewing three quilts for the recently-orphaned daughters of friends of hers.  What a lovely, gentle blessing for those little girls at such a terrible, awful time in their lives.  If you can help by sewing up some stars too, please check out Marika's instagram stream - she has asked for red/yellow/orange/purple stars with grey/black/low volume backgrounds.  

Hope your week has started well.  I'll be back in the next day or two, to share all my pics from yesterday's Social Tote class with the fabulous Lorena!  I just need to stitch down my binding and then take a hundred pics, and I'll be ready to share!  xoxo cat

.: hello sunshine! :.

Oh hi, what's been happening, how have you been, what have we missed?  We've been here all along, really, just not online much at all these last couple weeks.  

Big news to share - Brisbane finally has its very own Modern Quilt Guild!  I went along to the first meeting last Sunday, with a group of fabulous ladies, and we'll very soon be up and running and have a blog button and everything!  So very exciting.  Vee is very kindly creating the designs for our social media headers - wahooo!! 

A couple of sewn-things to share this week.  First up - Vee's cushion made from our 'hello sunshine' pineapple panel, which we've submitted to be considered for QAGOMA's upcoming Harvest/Fallen Fruit exhibition.  Doesn't it look fantastic with the pom-pom trim?  We did a bit of backyard styling this morning with the ever-handy felt-ball garlands, just to fun things up a bit. 

And here's a behind-the scenes pic!  I kept having to duck inside to grab another couple of books to prop the cushion up, and move the cushion to a safe spot each time so it didn't topple over onto the wet grass ... or dog poo - gah!!  All good though, no scary incidents to report, oh the relief.  

And now, my May blocks for Leanne, for our Care Circle of doGoodStitches.  I LOVE these blocks.  the pattern is Nested Churn Dash by the very clever + lovely Jane - who is kicking off a quilt-a-long with this block on the 1st of June.  Jane's full block is 24 inches - which is another whole churn dash beyond the biggest size here.  Leanne asked for a 16.5 inch and a 8.5 inch block.  Jane's pattern is excellent - all the cutting instructions are there, along with great sew-together graphics, so it's really quick to chain-piece and sew together.  

I had a bit of a rabbity theme going on for the middle squares ... not sure why, I just had them both handy and had to use them.  The red one is so sweet, and I just love this little green one, which I just received from the lovely Frances. 

Hope your weekend is a good one.  My oldest daughter's netball team had its first win of the season today - wahooo!! - and now it's finally time to do some quiet pottering about after a really busy week.  'til next time.  xoxo cat

.: March doGoodStitches blocks for Gina :.

Gina is the quilter for March in our Care Circle of doGoodStitches.  I love Gina's block choices, they are always straightforward to make and come together to create a big, fun impact.

This month, Gina chose the Souvenier Star from QuiltersCache, and asked that the star be in the Radiant Orchid  ('Pantone's colour of the year') colour palette, the joining squares be light grey and the background white.  I did a quick search in Pinterest for 'radiant orchid fabric' and Rachel posted this great blog link, which both helped in choosing my purple fabrics.  

This one is Tula Pink's gorgeous Hummingbirds in dusk, from her wonderful Acacia line.  The grey is Flea Market Fancy seeds.

And this one is the gorgeous Bird Dot in orchid from the fabulous Collage line by Carrie Bloomston of Such Designs - I can't wait for Carrie's new line Paint! 

And here they are together.  Gina has asked that if we didn't have radiant orchid fabrics in our stash, to use an aqua for the star.  Looking at the blocks that everyone has made so far, the quilt will be really gorgeous, with plenty of little pops of colour amidst the purple and aqua. 

One more sleep tip the weekend!  Hope your week has been a good one.  xoxo cat

.: bee blocks :.

Helloooo from hot, humid, hiding-in-air-con Brisbane!

Popping in to share a couple of bee blocks with you.  I'm pretty sure that my blogging-slackness over the past few months has meant that there are a few blocks I haven't yet shared ... but these blocks hit the post on Friday and just this morning, so I know I definitely haven't shared them yet!

First up is Jodi's block for our Care Circle of doGoodStitches.  The pattern is Anna Maria Horner's Spinning Stars.  Jodi requested that the middle of the block be scrappy green/teal/aqua, the ring be low volume whites, and the outside bit be alternating yellow and orange.  The block is huge - about 18 1/2 inches.  I love it, and can't wait to see the finished quilt - all the yellows and oranges will come together to make a great secondary pattern.  

And in a fabulous segue into Danielle's blocks for the AusModBee - here are some of them together with Jodi's star! 

Danielle created her own butterfly paper-pieced pattern, inspired by both Kumiko Fujita, and Rita from Red Pepper Quilts.  Each little butterfly is 5 inches square.  

Love them, they are so sweet and will look so fun flying all over the black background on the quilt.

Now that I've posted both sets of blocks, I'm officially caught up on all my bee-sewing!  I really want to now make a few more blocks for the girls' quilts, before I start on anything else.   ' til next time - hope you are avoiding any extreme heat or cold that's going on outside your house!  xoxo cat