'meadowland' quilt

I've got another finish to share this week, my 'meadowland' quilt. I've had it professionally quilted by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi in an edge to edge pattern called 'waterdrops'. I love how these curves add a soft whimsy feel to the sharper angles in this quilt.

As you can see, I've used quite a quirky scrappy selection of fabrics, lots of soft greys, Liberty, Tilda, C&S, and favourite ginghams, along with my hoarded - very few - vintage fabrics and a couple of doilies.

The backing is a wide floral dandelion fabric in 2-tone greys. And, rather than going for the final 'pack a punch' look, I went with a soft mauve AMH print for my binding. The quilt seemed to want a pretty pastel finish. My finished quilt measures 53" x 76". 

Loving my vintage bits & pieces together with just a touch of modern charm here.
Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here
Until next time, Linda

spotted in a crowd ...

I'm working on a couple of things at the moment, including this new project - 

spotted in a crowd . . . oops no, in a field of wildflowers!  

Let me introduce my new favourite WiP just now (= getting all my attention) and features a scrappy selection of floral prints and a very intense colour palette of pinks & gold. My inspiration came mainly from Bari J's ig feed over here - loving the colours in her new modern maximalist master bedroom makeover!

{collage posted with permission}

I've made a few adjustments to the 'quilty stars' pattern. My quilt is smaller, 3 blocks by 3, mainly because I didn't have enough stripe to go any bigger! And I've also altered the size of my sashings & borders slightly.
Unlike the pattern, my center squares are all in assorted bright pinks not white, plus the sashing is stripey instead of white as well.

One thing I have started doing recently, is to liven up my old scraps with a designer treat, and I've been dying to use this AMH animal print somehow. somewhere. It ended up being my background throughout the quilt. {for more pics of "spotted in a crowd" fabric see here.}

Here's a few progress photos . . .

If you've been following me on social media {here} 
you may have seen one of the first blocks I made. 

See here over on ig for lots of other versions of this versatile 'quilty stars' pattern
And, if you love a bit of animal print in your quilts, 
check out Marisa's feed over here for a great 'wedding ring' quilt WiP

Until next time, Linda

bookclub in the garden

This weekend we had bookclub in my daughter's garden.

Oh, and I guess you are wondering about which books I shared . . .

'The Girl on the Page' by John Purcell was one book several of us had read over the past month. It's a behind the scenes look at the world of book publishing.

Amy Winston is a hard-drinking, bed-hopping, hot-shot young book editor on a downward spiral. And you can't help but love her.
In order to save her job, Amy is given the unenviable task of steering literary great Helen Owen back to publication. When Amy meets Helen & her husband they are conducting a silent war of wearing each other down, and Amy is about to meet challenges she has never before had to face.

I didn't want this book to end!

"The Unwanted Guest' by Shari Lapena was a book I'd ordered from the library ages ago, I was 500 out of 700 holds! So I'd waited a lo-o-ong time for this one.
Imagine - it’s winter in the Catskills and Mitchell’s Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing–maybe even romantic–weekend away. Then the weather takes a turn for the worst. And someone is murdered.

This book had a lot of similarities to an Agatha Christie or the cluedo game (the classic mystery game - "a grand mansion … a dastardly murder … a gathering of suspicious characters.WHO, with WHAT weapon and WHERE?").
It was very readable, I got hooked in and read it in no time.

I've also had a little run on easy lighthearted reading lately.
"The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" by Abbi Waxman was witty and whimsical. Nina feels her life is just how it should be. Organized (she had a daily planner), clutter free and filled with everything she enjoys! She works at a bookshop, plays trivia on a team with her friends, and comes home to her faithful cat Phil.

When a lawyer contacts her to tell her that her father has passed away and that she is in his will, Nina is stunned! She never knew her father, not even his name! Suddenly Nina is thrust out of her comfortable shell...

"The Overdue Life of Amy Byler" by Kelly Harms was another lighthearted read, featuring family dynamics, friendships and romance. And again, one that several of us at bookclub had enjoyed.

Overworked and underappreciated, single mom Amy Byler needs a break. So when her guilt-ridden husband, who abandoned her 3yrs ago, shows up and offers to take care of their two kids for the summer, she accepts his offer and trades rural Pennsylvania for New York City.
Usually well balanced, sensible and mild mannered, Amy finally lets her hair down in the city that never sleeps. She discovers a new life filled with culture, sophistication. With a little help from friends, she also has a few blind dates, and ends up facing an impossible decision.

Can't share anymore!

We had a young reader join us too, so sweet.

Until next time, Linda

'little miss sawtooth' quilt

I decided I needed to stop making quilt tops - briefly- and start finishing a few quilts ... so here's one more finish! Those tiny binding fairies were certainly busy around here overnight! My 'little miss sawtooth' quilt is all finished and on my bed for summer.

I do love a stripey binding, don't you? My binding for this quilt is 'Brocade Stripe' by Snow Leopard Designs that I've had in my stash for ages now. It seems to dance around the edges of the quilt, picking up all the colours.

The backing is a large piece of a Kaffe fabric, 'grey stone flower', and I had it professionally quilted by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi in an edge to edge pattern called 'whisper'. The finished quilt measures 60" x 72".

- close up of backing

Linking up with Kelly for 'needle and thread Thursday' here

Until next time, Linda

quilts on the line

Hello, hello, I've finally got a couple of finishes to share today!  Two quilts that have now been quilted and... the binding all done & dusted... real finishes! And I'm loving how they look on our washing line.

You will have seen earlier photos of my progress on both of these quilts, but here's a little catchup and lots of photos. First up, my 'log cabin' quilt.
Karen Lewis' book wabi sabi sewing is full of projects "inspired by the wabi-sabi ethos of finding beauty in the ordinary, repairing rather than discarding, and appreciating simple design".
Inspired by Karen's scrappy log cabin quilt and her ideas of using bits of this & that when we run out, I decided to make another 'log cabin' quilt.

I started out raiding my scrap baskets, using a selection of low volume scraps of mismatched fabrics, mainly in blues, white & creams teamed up with mustard and just a wee 'pop' of coral. And to add to the perfectly (im)perfect vibe, all my centre squares are different sizes.

My finished quilt measures 46" x 58" and is quilted in an edge to edge pattern called '3tours wavy stripe'. I think it’s great that some people are able to do beautiful quilting with their home sewing machine but I’m not one of them, and so I saved up, and had both of these quilts professionally quilted by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi.
My backing is a piece of 'grey stone flower' Kaffe fabric and I chose a cheeky multi-coloured Basic Grey print for my binding, it seems to draw out those warm 'pops' of colour in the quilt really nicely.

- close up of backing

- this quilt has been claimed already! 

Linking up with Wendy for the 'peacock party' here

And my 'modern bertha mitchell' quilt is all finished too. I love the random arrangement of colours in this utility quilt. You can link to my post from back here in June for more details about the pattern I used and about Bertha and her quilt.

It's a scrap friendly quilt, charmingly wonky, in a pretty colour palette of pinks, red, and blues. The simple HST layout works easily and, along with a healthy dose of plaids, I also added in a few solids = always good for contrast, yes?

My finished quilt measures 60" x 73". I pieced together a scrappy floral backing and had it quilted in an edge to edge pattern called 'wacka doodle.' I chose an AMH dusky teal blue fabric to use as my binding.

- close up of scrappy backing

Until next time, Linda