The night before

 And so just at the last minute on the night before The Biggest Morning Tea I've sewn the finishing touches on the Dressing Table Centre ready for raffling tomorrow.

 Quite pretty. Another free stitchery pattern from patternbee.com

Two flowers

I don't mind a little bit of pink in our baby quilt, no matter which gender. I just wanted something soft and vintage looking. 

Watch out for the next block!

Starting my baby quilt

I am so excited! I have started my own baby's quilt! This is the Sugar, Flower, Milk fabric roll by Penny Rose Fabrics.

I am loving the 1930s reproduction. I am teeming them with mostly Shadowplay fabrics.

Having pretty much finished the Raffle Prize stitcheries, I am excited to start something for my baby-on-the-way.

I've chosen a lovely cotton 4 ply, as we really don't need anything woollen here in Queensland, Australia.

After unpicking the rows a few times I've decided not to go ahead with the lacy pattern, as I can't concentrate on it, and concentrate on what's going on in Game of Thrones at the same time.

I will unpick the lacy pattern, and knit it plain. The cotton on a lovely variegated, so it should still be fun to knit.

A couple of Raffle Prizes

I've now finished 3 Raffle Prizes for the Biggest Morning Tea event next weekend. One more to finish, photograph and post.

Heat insulated table centre

Heat insulated table centre

Heat insulated table centre

All free stitchery patterns came from this site.

*putting my feet up* now with a cup of tea, and starting to knit a baby cardigan for my baby (which is now 21 weeks along, and measures about 27cm in length) - working on the first project for my baby. I am so excited!

Dance of the Bumble Bees

Ta-da!

Finished the happy, bright baby quilt ready for Cat's Baby Shower this weekend.

Can you see the little bumble bees in the quilting? The rabbit stitchery is from Bronwyn Hayes' book "Little Chicken Feather".

Lots of good practise getting me in the swing of quilting and binding once again, before I make my own baby quilts.

Little Stitcheries

Feeling good! I've given the Blue Willow Mother's Day table runner away (insert photo here).

On the way to having 5 table centres finished for the Morning Tea Raffle prizes.

I love this little heart surrounded by cherries with a bit of ric-rac. 

 This one is a little simpler. A little vintage folk girl stitched in variegated blues. You can find the free stitchery patterns here.

These two centrepieces need quilting. I am working on another three.... let's see what I can finish before my self-imposed deadline of Thursday. After Thursday I will just finish what I've started without starting any more.

Mum has landed 3 weeks early, with my rotary cutter, rulers and mat, as well as various stash enhancers. Woohoo! 

I am happily cutting away. Life is good.

The plan...

Everything seems to be going to plan... the baby girl quilt is pieced and basted. I think I'll free motion bees on it and call it "Dance Of The Bumble Bees".

It's quite bright and lairy. We went to the parents home yesterday and found no particular colour scheme in place, so it might even be the start of a theme.

The table runner is basted and ready to quilt, although it will be a week later for Mother's Day.

I'm very excited as my sister just went shopping for a load of baby gear, and the towels and sheets she bought seem to go with the colour theme I have chosen for the Swedish Baby Quilt. I love it when we sometimes intuit the colours for a person that are perfect.

Look at her with all that shopping! I am looking forward to seeing my little niece or nephew in the nursery.

And for handwork I started a heart stitchery for a little wallhanging or table centre for the Biggest Morning Tea raffle prizes. I'll keep going with the handwork and machine quilting today.

I'm feeling really pleased with the project progress for this year. After this month I will be sewing for my baby, as I am half way now. Time just flies!!!

And Happy Mother's Day to mothers of all kinds here in Australia. 

Just A Little Crazy...

Feeling like my head is going here, there and everywhere. Yesterday I spent the day working on a blue teacup stitchery to make into a table runner for the Biggest Morning Tea raffle, and finished it tonight. You can print the free stitchery pattern from here.

Then yesterday evening I found an invitation to a baby shower that's in 2 1/2 weeks.... Gah! My hands will be sewing everywhere! I thought I had a month to make the Baby Girl Quilt, now I need to finish it before the raffle items. It seems the quilt will have to  be simpler than I first thought.

 This definitely puts the Swedish Baby Quilt on the backburner for a while (sorry Feupie! That's my sister, but she doesn't read this blog).

Isn't it strange that since I started sewing again, I now have all these urgent projects that just weren't there before? Of course, the urgency is all in my own mind. I don't HAVE to make anything. I just like to.

And so before next week at Su's I would like to have the teacup table-runner pieced and quilted, and the Baby Girl Quilt pieced and quilted, so that I can trim them at Su's, then hand stitch the binding on. I wonder if I can stitch another of these blue blocks to make another table runner... I quite like it.

And! Of course...

It's Mother's Day this Sunday, and I've been thinking that my Mum will be on the road, so I haven't posted anything to her.

There's a mother's day stall at the primary school tomorrow so that Rhette can buy some gifts... and yet I had completely forgotten about a gift for the new MIL.

I've had a rummage through the caravan stash and found these that I stitched well over a year ago.

Cinderberry Stitches Pattern "Twelve Red Robins"

They've needed rotary cut squares appliqued on. This is the next step. Then a simple border, quick quilting and binding. I got them out thinking of the raffle prizes, but my Sweetheart has sternly "told me off", saying I am not to give away these with hours of work on them to someone who won't appreciate their value and will use them as a handkerchief. Heh heh. He is such a Darling.

MIL loves blue, and she loves decorating for Christmas. I will finish the blue one for her.

These are the supplies for raffle items I picked up yesterday.

Amazing how quickly it adds up hey? I'll make do with all sorts of things I have here so that I don't have to buy any more supplies. That's it. Kaput. No more spending. I'll just have to be creative.

It's fun to have so many projects to work on! And at the moment, while I'm gestating a new human being, I have time to relax and rest.

Swedish baby quilt update

Just a bit of applique added so far. The outer stem is completely sewn down.

 In this photo you can see the music notes on the stem fabric.

I am particularly fond of the appliqued moose. It looks quite striking in real life. Unfortunately this quilt is not going to photograph well - it is going to look better in real life every time.

I've also stitched a few bits and pieces from the "Little Chicken Feather" book for the Baby Girl Quilt for our friends baby due in 5-6 weeks.

And I've bought some fabrics and found some free redwork patterns at patternbee.com  to make prizes for the Biggest Morning Tea raffle prizes. My new MIL runs a huge morning tea, and her usual raffle prize donor is no longer working due to injury and therefore cannot donate the prizes this year. I have decided to make some stitched heat pads/oven mitts, a tablerunner, and some Christmas banners.

I can see myself quite, quite busy this next month, as the morning tea is now only a couple of weeks away. Oh my! I've done it again!!!