Food!!!!!

When I started this blog it was souly to chat about quilts.....
but we have just had the most tasteist dinner tonight!!  So I thought i would share......

Lamb & Kumara Pizza  (Sophie Gray/ Taste magazine, July 2012).
I used a frozen thin pizza base, which made it oh so quick & simple too!
Onto the  pizza base, spread a combination  of beetroot relish and passata sauce, then add lamb mince on(which was first cooked until browned & crumbly), along with garlic, mint, & roasted diced kumara. Finally top everything with grated tasty cheese & extra mint.
Such a yummy combination!  
And I served it with a green salad.

Oh,  and I have been sewing too........

Finally Finished!!

After alot of playing around on the floor with these simple blocks, I am finally now happy with this quilt!!  
I discovered a few things...
Too many "X " blocks all together did not look good, in fact they look v. confusing & messy!!   So I added in the plain background blocks to calm it down a bit. 
Then I realised that there needed to be something that kinda tied them all together visually. So I added more of the grey solid where ever I could!!!! 
I also alternated pattern backgrounds with the  plain, apart from in two places!!
And, just for fun, I did one block with 2 crosses!!!
Done!

wedding bunting

I'm making some bunting for my daughter's wedding in January - easy job I thought!!!   and I had strict instructions to include "red" which was kinda difficult given that the bridal party was ivory & soft pinks.  We are going for an overall vintage look & I hunted everywhere for something that would work! 
I found this......."Sweetcakes" by Riley Blake ......with pink and red hearts!!!

Hope she likes it!!

Sunday Sewing

Inspiration comes from all sorts of places.....  from books like Freddy Moran & Gwen Marston's "Collaborate Again Quilt Designs".  Red Sticks is their version of  inserting narrow strips into blocks of fabric, and if you look closely you can see that the border is also made of the same but in v. low contrast.





....from other quilters. Our Monday Modern group made these blocks for  Megan a wee while ago, more of the same but slightly different.

.....and of course other blogs  http://www.filminthefridge.com/

I have been playing around with my latest little bundle of fabrics too!!! 

I added in a few extras from  my stash & the 8 1/2 " blocks came together v. quickly & v. easily. I am having fun combining different colours and the addition of solid fabrics is quite a nice change. 
I need to do lots more blocks to make it up to a reasonable size, so it's a work in progress. Nothing too tricky for over the Xmas season!!! 

Just got these lovely new fabrics from Patchwork Passion/ Onehunga. 
What to do next????

binding decisions!!

At our last Monday Modern group we touched briefly on bindings, and how did we all make that final decision.  Helen was all for a final impact statement, and I tend to agree with her!!    But, I guess, its personal peference and really depends on the overall look that you want for that oh -so- nearly completed quilt.
This quilt is one of two that Glenys & I each made.....I signed up for the Material Obsession Block of the Month, getting one block sent over each month from Australia.  When the package, we divided up the fabrics, supplementing our initial choices with fabric from our own stashes, and split the cost between us!!!  
So we now each have a quilt in varying stages of completion, and I have put off making the binding decsion for ages!   I am kinda tending towards a dusky blue ( I always go "blue" 'cos that's what I am comfortable with!!!) Something that will compliment, but, this time, certainly no "zing" !!!! 

Using low volume fabrics

In between shifts at work, I have been re reading my book "Sunday Morning Quilts" by Amanda Jean Nyberg & Cherly Arkison. You do need alot of scrap fabric to sort thru' & store for some of their quilt ideas but, with a passion for fabric,  i love any new ways to diminish my stash!!!!  
So, with a selection of low volume fabrics teamed up with a little bit of white, & along with a wee bit of "zing" , I think the overall effect is still v. soft & light!!!     If I didn't have to go to work tomorrow, I'd get this finished!!!!