New fabric!

I have been very naughty this month, and went a bit crazy online... I am feeling pretty guilty about spending so much on fabric I don't really need (and not telling my husband) but must admit I was still excited when my first parcel arrived today!

Here is what I received:
From top to bottom: Robert Kaufman "On a Whim" and Alexander Henry "Spotted Owls", "2D Zoo", "Starling" and "Yui Kokeshi"



I am obviously on an Alexander Henry streak at the moment! I bought some of the Yui Kokeshi last year on a trip to Melbourne, and just love this fabric. I was excited to find more online. My second favourite is the 'Starling' fabric - I LOVE these little birds!!! (However, I'm sure it is going to be one of those fabrics I'll be to scared to use...) I've seen a lot of the Zoo fabric in a few people's blogs and look forward to using it in a baby quilt myself.

Close-up of Starling:

More scrappy pinwheel blocks

Yesterday was a sewing day, and I managed to get a stack of blocks done for my scrappy pinwheel quilt. To be honest, I am so over pinwheels - having made more than 200 of these (I have lost track of how many are completed... must do a count soon.) I am really bored with making them. That said, I'm still trying to finish this queen size quilt as planned... (But doubt I will ever make another pinwheel after this quilt!!!)

Here is a stack of blocks, in a variety of stages of readiness - half blocks, quarter blocks and initial patterned and white blocks ready to sew and cut.




Chain piecing the squares.



I hate pinning anything, and try to avoid it whenever possible. However, I do pin the half blocks together to make sure I get my points right in the middle of the pinwheel. I just stick a pin straight through the points of both sides like this:




I've found it useful to remove the storage tray on my machine when sewing the half-blocks together. This allows me to sew right up to the vertical pin, keeping the pin nice and straight, and pull it out at the last minute.



Pile of corners cut from the halfsquare triangles - for some reason, I don't throw these away and I have been saving these in a jar...

And finally - yesterday's 32 blocks!


close-up:

Finished quilt

I managed to take some photos of my finished quilt yesterday, and have been trying to learn how to upload them through Flickr. Not as straightforward as I thought it would be!!! But I've finally managed to figure it out.

Here is the front of the quilt


A close-up of the front


The back


The binding - I love this turquoise with the red border



And finally, a picture of my baby R, 7 months old, posing on Krystal's quilt for me.

Killing time...

Wow - It is just toooo easy to waste time looking at blogs!! I am really enjoying reading so many of the crafty / quilty blogs out there, but today I came across one for the first time that has caused me to waste more time than usual! Check out this blog, full of great quilts and beautiful quilting. I am really impressed with her work! (Though I don't know 'her' name...?!?)
http://emptybobbins.wordpress.com

In other news, I've finished Krystal's quilt! I do still have to put the label on, but the binding is now completed. Hope to get a 'finished' photo on soon....