Little Menagerie "Bumble Bubs" Quilt Top

Since the day I went to my first Quilt & Craft Fair a couple of years ago and picked up my first softie pattern from Melly & Me I have been a real fan. So when Melly brought out her book Kaleidoscope in 2009 I was really excited. I have some books on my bookshelf that are beautiful and inspiring but I have never sewn anything from, but this book was different for me.

I have made Bubbles the Unicorn, the Fairytale Toadstool Bag and a couple of Drake the Dragons and I've been waiting for the right fabric to make this cutie, Bumble Bubs .....

Melly has a new range of fabric out called Little Menagerie and if you know of or have made any of her softies you will recognise Phoebe, Magoo and friends. I knew when I got my hands on some that this is what I wanted to make my Bumble Bubs out of .....

 

And here's a close-up of one of the bees. The poor thing looks like it has chicken pox .....

It was so simple and fun to make!

Now for the quilting. I really want to free motion quilt it, but I need a little (okay a lot) more practice before I do. My husband's friends' baby is due within the next 2 weeks, so I better get a move on!

Happy Australia Day and a Giveaway Winner!!

Today is Australia Day.

I love Australia!! I love everything about it .... the land, the lifestyle, the culture, the people, the generosity of spirit, the freedom ... I love it all!

Perhaps Dorothea Mackellar said it best -

My Country

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold -
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

                                                                                              Dorothea Mackellar


So Happy Australia Day to all you Aussie's out there wherever you may be! I hope you have a wonderful day and get to enjoy a pavlova or lamington and some fireworks tonight :)
For those that are doing it tough with "flood and fire and famine" etc
I hope you are "paid .. back threefold" and that things get easier for you soon!

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Now on to our giveaway.... It was amazing to hear and see all of the wonderful contributions to the Queensland Flood Appeal Auctions ... really heartwarming :) 

Thanks to everyone that entered the giveaway too, I wish I had more Pip's to share.

The lucky winner is comment # 5

True Random Number

Generator

Min:

Max:

Result: 5

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations Lexie from Periwinkle Girl! Please send me an email with your mailing address and I'll get the charm pack out to you ASAP.

WOW ... Thank You!

I have really been blown away with all the wonderful people who have made bids on my cushions. So thank you all! I have never made anything for anyone except family and close friends and I must admit when I first started making the cushions I wasn't sure if they were anyone else's style and I feared they might not be bid upon.

Today I had a busy day at work and during my late lunch break I thought I'd check on the auction items and was rendered speechless (tears actually) when I saw a couple of bids from my little sister Ellen. My immediate thought was "I would have made them for her for free", but how wonderful that she was willing to donate to a cause where there is such a great need.

So congratulations Ellen!! You have won both cushions at $100 a piece. I am so happy that they are going to the same home, they didn't want to be separated. Please email me your receipt and address (yes I should remember it, but I don't) and I will get them off to you ASAP.

For those that didn't win the auctions (I wish I had more cushions to send to you but unfortunately I don't), you can still enter my Sherbet Pips giveaway!! It will be drawn at 1200 on Wednesday.

I have been thinking about doing a tutorial on how I make my cushion covers. If you are interested let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Only 9 hours to go ......

There's 9 hours to go for the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal Auctions!

Bidding on auction items finish at 9 pm. Raffles continue until midday Wednesday. So you still have time to get involved. You can find the auction master list here .......

..... and my auction items here and here.

There is still time to enter my Sherbet Pips giveaway here too. I'll keep it open until 12 midday on Wednesday 26th January 2011.

Thanks to everyone who has given their support to the Qld flood appeal! The devastation in some communities has been immense and the rebuilding effort is going to take a very long time and they need our support in which ever small way we can give it!!

Giveaway!!! - CLOSED

Well with all the generosity going on around blogland .... so many fantastic auction/raffle items and so many amazing and generous bids on those aforementioned items ... I really wanted to say thank you to all that have gotten involved in the Qld Flood Appeal Auctions by having a giveaway!!

If you haven't gotten involved yet it is not too late. Auctions and raffles (most raffles are now open until Wed 26th of January) are open until midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.

Click here for more details on the auctions.

So what am I giving away?? ......................

It's a much sought after charm pack of Aneela Hoey's adorable "Sherbet Pips"!!

To enter all you have to do is tell me which item you have bid on, or that you are holding an auction/raffle yourself, or that you are participating in "Quilts For Queensland". You don't necessarily have to bid on my auctions, but if you did it would make my day ;)  (my auctions are now closed).

This giveaway is open until 12 midday ACST (Australian Central Standard Time) on AUSTRALIA DAY, Wednesday the 26th of January 2011.

The winner will be picked by the trusty random number generator.
Make sure that you can be contacted by email, either through your blog (make sure your status is not set to no-reply blogger) or leave your email address in your comment.

A special THANK YOU to Toni & Carli for getting this all started!!

Queensland Flood Appeal Auction # 2 CLOSED

Introducing .....

Henna Garden Crazy 9-Patch Cushion Cover

Once again, this 18 inch cushion cover (approx. 19 inches including the binding) is made from Sandi Henderson's "Henna Garden" prints from her Farmers Market, Meadowsweet and Meadowsweet 2 ranges.

I have quilted in straight lines which gives it such great texture.

The sashing and backing is made from a linen/cotton quilting fabric and the binding/envelope opening is bound in "Henna Garden" in leaf.
It is machine bound to ensure durability.

Please note: The auction is for the cushion cover only, the cost of sending it through the post with cushion insert is prohibitive.

How this auction works:
1.  Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone. Postage is FREE for all.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight 9pm on Monday 24th January 2011.
6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your cushion cover to you.
7.  Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

As I said with the last auction ... you don't have to buy both of my auction items,

but they sure do look mighty cute together!!

Thank you so much for your support of such a worthy cause!!



& don't forget to go here to see many more auctions!

Queensland Flood Appeal Auction # 1 CLOSED

Introducing  ....

Henna Garden Rainbow Cushion Cover

This 20 inch cushion cover is made from Sandi Henderson's "Henna Garden" prints from her Farmers Market, Meadowsweet and Meadowsweet 2 ranges. I love these fabrics ... so bright and cheery all together.

I have quilted in straight lines which gives it such great texture.

The back is made from a linen/cotton quilting fabric and the envelope opening  is bound in Henna Garden in turquoise.

As I have been making my auction items I have had the TV on in the background with almost non-stop coverage of the floods in Qld and elsewhere in Australia.

Lots of thoughts and prayers have gone into the making of these items. I wanted to make some cheery cushion covers in the hope that they will bring some happiness to the home that they live in and that the money raised will bring some help and hope to those that are suffering!

Thanks for your support of such a worthy cause!!

Please note: The auction is for the cushion cover only, the cost of sending it through the post with cushion insert is prohibitive.

How this auction works:
1.  Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone. Postage is FREE for all.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight 9pm on Monday 24th January 2011.
6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your cushion cover to you.
7.  Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

You certainly don't have to buy both of my auction items,

but they sure do look mighty cute together!!

Don't forget to check out the other auctions here!

Qld Flood Appeal Auctions

It's so hard to hear and see on the television what is going on in Queensland with the floods and not be able to do much to help. Thankfully today I heard that my family in Emerald are safe and that their homes have only sustained minor damage, I am so grateful!

To all of those who are suffering, who have lost loved ones or who may have loved ones missing, who have lost property and have had to flee from your homes, know that we are praying for you and want to do whatever we can to help you.

I was so relieved to see Toni's (Make it Perfect) blog post today on the Qld Flood Appeals Auction. She is looking for people to hold auction's on their blogs and for people to participate in the auctions. So please head over to Toni's blog to find out more and help however you can.

Happy New Year!!

I know I'm about 6 days late but I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year. I hope that 2011 is wonderful for you and your family!!

So I thought I'd share a little about what I've been up to of late.........

I went to Sydney for my brother Matthew and his beautiful new wife Freja's wedding!

Even though it rained and stormed that afternoon when they were having photos, they still had big smiles on their faces and their ceremony was very special.

Here are my parents and siblings and I.

& here are some of my handsome (and very cheeky) nephews.
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I was feeling a little under the weather in early December and so I didn't do a whole lot of sewing but I did manage to get a couple of Christmas presents made for family.

My mother-in-law finally received her "Pine For You" Christmas quilt.

Her favourite colour is purple and so she loved this quilt. I had originally started to hand quilt around each tree but I wasn't happy with my stitches (they seemed to not always go through to the back) so I unpicked it and I was happy with simple stitch in the ditch around the blocks and borders.

I was pretty happy with how I pieced the 2 back panels .... the seam is almost invisible.

I have a few other things to show you but I didn't take photos before I gifted them. So I'll ask the new owner to send me some photos so I can share them with you soon.