Sunday Catch-Up

Good morning friends and happy Sunday! Can you believe it's very, nearly, almost May? 

Say 'hello' Chester




The school holidays are practically over and I think everyone is well rested, relaxed and ready to go back to school. This next term will be extra busy with my daughter picking up extra days of activities, my son has his already full schedule, we'll squeeze in a family holiday and I've put my hand up to do some extra community volunteering.

This second week of the autumn school holidays has absolutely flown by. The weather has been glorious, so we've tried to spend a bit of time enjoying the outdoors while it's still nice.

It was ANZAC Day this past week and with my son having joined the Airforce Cadets, he participated in the local services and marches. He's doing really well, is absolutely enjoying it and seems very dedicated, which is great for a 13 year old. 



I've worked a little on my Dreamweaver Quilt this week. I finished the applique leaves. I then basted it with safety pins, started some hand quilting and decided that the pins were getting in the way, so got my needle and thread out to baste it again with great big stitches holding my layers together.





I'm using a combination of 12wt and 8wt cotton threads in a rainbow of colours for the quilting. It's going to take a while, but ultimately, I'm very glad that I decided to hand quilt it. The hand stitches are all very colourful and it adds an extra bit of brightness to the quilt (like it needed any more, right?).

I made another quilt this week, but it's for a secret project in collaboration with the Fat Quarter Shop. I'll show that one to you in a few weeks. 


As I mentioned earlier, we're going away on a family holiday soon so I put the question out on IG as to what small portable projects people like to take with them. The most popular was EPP along with embroidery and crochet. I've been preparing lots of scrappy 1" hexagons, so I think I'll take those along on the trip to create hexie flowers and possibly a variation on the Kingfisher quilt. Or I may take it all along with me on not do any sewing at all!




I also did a little bit of repurposing one afternoon this week. Hubby is re-doing the back wall where a bird bath used to sit. He drilled a few drainage holes in the basin and I filled it with and planted an assortment of succulents in it. I love how this little project turned out and I hope my little succy's like their new home.



31 comments

  1. That quilt is simply gorgeous
    Good on your son for joining the Cadets and participating in ANZAC day
    The bird bath looks great with the succulents

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much. I'm very pleased with it and how it's coming along. I'll have to put it down for the next few weeks while we're in the US so I'm sure I'll be eager to work on it again when we come home.

      Enjoy your week x

      Delete
  2. Hello Chester. Your quilting is progressing nicely. Good luck to you all settling back into "term life" this coming week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Karen. It's going to be busy, busy, busy!

      Delete
  3. Love love the Dreamcatcher quilt, my 10 yo granddaughter would luv it.
    Thanks for mentioning the Kingfisher EPP quilt, I've just researched it, as I also need an EPP project for an upcoming overseas holiday.......it's perfect as I have a pile of 2 1/2" squares already prepped but didn't know what to make. Look forward to seeing your Kingfisher. Take care

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My 11 year old daughter loves this quilt and I think she's hoping that she can have it when I finish.

      The Kingfisher quilt was such fun to make. I made mine very scrappy and enjoyed going through my stash of scraps to make it. This is a great holiday project (well the EPP anyways) and I hope you enjoy it on your trip xx

      Delete
  4. Dreamweaver is just gorgeous--I like the threads you are using--they add a nice touch hugs, Julierose

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks very much! I had been hoarding these threads for a long time, so it was about time I actually used them. No point having them all sitting in a box, right?

      Delete
  5. Your quilt is already stunning! After the quilting it is going to be a show stopper!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for stopping by and for your lovely comment.
      Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

      Delete
  6. I love your very bright and cheerful quilt. Your hand, quilting is really going to make the applique pop. I love the look of hand quilting. Wonderful that your son is loving air cadets. My great nephew ( as in my nephew's son) really excelled and got awards in the air cadets but ended up on a different career path. Taking EPP waway with you is ideal and I am looking forward to seeing what you make. Love your repurposed bird bath. Such a creative gal!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ondrea, thank you! So far it's going well and I'm not "sick" of working on it yet ;-)
      My boy decided on the air cadets because of the planes. Hubby is a pilot, so he's hoping to follow in dad's footsteps. I'm not a fan of flying - I like my feet firmly planted on the ground.

      Delete
  7. I love your quilt and all the work that went into it - it is wonderful, I had not seen that pattern before or your blog I found you through Kathy's Quilts

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by Karen. It's a pattern called Dreamweaver by Michelle McKillop. I'm a real fan of her work and she has lots of beautiful patterns that I'd like to try one day. Enjoy the rest of your weekend x

      Delete
  8. Lovely quilt and I too love succulents. Good job re purposing the container!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sarah. I love how the bird bath looks now and will certainly keep an eye out for other things around the house that I can repurpose (which will give me the excuse to get more plants).

      Delete
  9. Oh my goodness your quilting photos are stunningly gorgeous! Love the colours you are using!
    Thanks for linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching and sharing this project!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kathy. I do love my projects to be bright and happy and as colourful as possible. Enjoy the rest of your weekend x

      Delete
  10. What a wonderful quilt. It looks soft and cuddly. Your hand stitches and the prints really draw your eyes in

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so very much. As our temperatures are dropping here, it is lovely and warm to sit under it while I hand quilt it.

      Delete
  11. Amazing quilt! Just love the brightness of your colors on the background. Very striking in coloration. And you are hand stitching all those leaves and quilting. Good for YOU!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a wonderful week x

      Delete
  12. Dream quilter is gorgeous. It is on my bucket list. You are doing a great job with the quilting, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Jennie. It really is a beautiful pattern but I think really, I'm just a fan of all of Michelle McKillop's patterns :-)

      Delete
  13. Beautiful quilt, love the hand quilting. Hexies are a great holiday sewing project, I took some earlier this year, didn't get much done, but they are good for on the plane. The succulents look great, wonderful to repurpose the bird bath.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Yes I do wonder whether I’ll actually get much crafting time, but it’s best to be safe and have my crafting covered ;-)
      I’m pleased with the bird bath and am going over to mums later to help repurpose hers too.

      have a lovely week x

      Delete
  14. Your quilt is beautiful. Even though we are on opposite ends of the earth as we are entering Spring here, I believe we have the same bird-bath. I like how you've re-purposed it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Cathie. Spring is such a lovely time of year. Enjoy your week x

      Delete
  15. Lovely seeing your quilt come together. :-) And gorgeous repurpose for the succulents!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jenny. It's coming along nicely. I've had a few other things to do this past few days and the quilt is sitting on the side table, tempting me to sneak a few little stitches here and there.

      Delete
  16. "Hello Chester". =) Oh my your Dreamweaver quilt is a fantastical with all that happy pattern and colour. I love the hand quilting in different colours. Isn't Autumn a beautiful season. Down here the trees are showing off with all their glorious hues. I too, love to take oodles of little hexagons along with me when out and about or on holidays. I hope you enjoyed a beautiful time away.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment. I truly appreciate the time you've taken to leave me a message. I will attempt to answer comments via email.