Garden Snails quilt

Last year I participated in a number of quilt alongs, but my favourite was the snail-paced slow along hosted by Angie of Gnome Angel. During the quilt along we made and shared a single snail block on Sunday (a.k.a. snail day) each week using the Garden Snails pattern by Pen and Paper patterns. I used a layer cake of Grand Canal by Kate Spain to make my snails and had a great time taking pictures of the blocks in various garden settings.

 At the end of November I finally got around to sewing my snails together into a quilt top. I modified the layout of the pattern a little (e.g. by staggering the snails) to make it wide enough to fit our double bed. For the quilting I used a simple stipple because I thought that it resembled snail trails.

The quilt was an instant hit with my snail-loving 5 year old.

These guys didn't seem to mind it either.

It's now a frequent feature on our bed, where it sets the perfect scene for Sunday morning sleep-ins (if only our babies would get the message).

I'm linking up with the 2017 finish-a-long quarter 4 linky party as this quilt was number 8 on my list of proposed finishes for Q4.

Kat

January ARTastic challenge

I'll thrilled to be joining the ARTastic Challenge creative team for another year. I really enjoy this challenge as it is not as prescriptive as other challenges (such as sketch challenges) - we accept ALL forms of papercrafting as entries from traditional paper layouts, mixed media work, project life spreads to digital entries.

As always, the challenge is to create a project inspired by the selected artwork. Our first inspiration for 2018 is this fantastic painting by Arthur Streeton called Beach Scene. Head over to the ARTastic Challenge blog for all the details of the January challenge.

For this challenge I was inspired by the scene in the artwork and the title, to create a project life spread about a recent visit to Bribie Island with my sister and her family.

It's a quick and simple page, but I'm glad to have the memory documented. One of my goals for 2018 is to do more scrapbooking, even if it's just a quick pocket page. I didn't do much papercrafting last year, and on reflection I think it was because I felt intimidated by all the amazing work out there with lots of layering, mixed media and intricate cutting. Perhaps one day I'll have more time to create detailed works of art, but for now I'll just focus on getting memories documented (and perhaps making a dent in my overflowing stash of papers and journalling cards).

I hope you'll be inspired to play along and create a project that captures a memory from one of your vacations.

Kat

Spirit Animal Geode quilt

Today I'm sharing a quilt that I finished last year: a Geode quilt that I made with a FQ bundle of Tula Pink's Spirit Animal and a few prints from one of her older lines.

You might recall that I previously made a Geode quilt earlier last year and be wondering why I would make the same quilt again. The simple reason is that I love this pattern. The block design is perfect for fussy cutting feature prints and it uses the perfect amount of fabric from a fat quarter (enough that you get a good feel for the print, while still leaving good sized scraps to play with later).

For this version I used a single background fabric, a pale sand-coloured star print from the Cloud 9 We Are All Stars collection. I thought it worked really well with the stars in the background of some of the Spirit Animal prints.

I quilted it in an all-over sharp stipple - my current go-to FMQ design. I love the texture that it gives the quilt, and how quick and easy it is to stitch.

I was hoping to get a more glamorous finished quilt shot but it turns out that 'quilts in the wild' shots are a lot more logistically challenging with three young children.

I'm linking up with the 2017 Finish-a-long Q4 linky party as this quilt was on my list of proposed finishes for Q4 (number 26).

Kat

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More Christmas stockings

Just a quick post to share the Christmas stocking I made for the family members I celebrated Christmas with this year. With the help of my husband and little man, I managed to get them done a few days before Christmas.I'm l;

I made them quite a bit larger than the ones a made earlier so that I could fit a few more prezzies in. Here's my little man with his. I'm hoping that we'll get at least a few years use out of them.

I'm linking up with the 2017 finish-a-long as making these stockings was on my list of proposed finishes for this quarter (#34).

Kat

2017 Christmas quilt

Growing up, Christmas Eve night was characterised by the sound of sticky tape being rapidly pulled off the roll, as my Mum wrapped presents for us six kids late into the night. For the second Christmas Eve in a row, our house is filled with the sounds of me frantically finishing a Christmas quilt.

For this quilt I used a layer cake of Kate Spain's Jingle collection to make a bunch of Jacob's Ladder blocks. I'm not usually a fan of the traditional red and green colour palette but I quite like this collection.  

I had originally intended to place the Jacob's Ladder blocks in the usual lattice layout and make it slightly wider with a scrappy border, but my husband suggested inserting a few extra rows in the middle to make a new design. I love how it turned out.

I ended up finishing the quilt on Christmas Day. It made a great couch quilt for our traditional Boxing Day movie marathon (this year we re-watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy).

I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts December One Monthly Goal and the 2017 quarter 4 finish-along as finishing this quilt was my goal for this month and one of my proposed quarter 4 finishes (#33 on my list). Hopefully next year I'll be a bit more timely with the completion of a Christmas quilt.

Merry Christmas.

Kat

A stack of quilted stockings

I'm linking up with the 2017 Elm Street Quilts Bag It sew along for the last time and sharing some quilted stockings I made for a friend and her family.

For these I some Cotton and Steel Christmas prints combined with some plain quilting calico. I love the rustic look that the calico gives.

I also used some felt, heat-n-bond lite and a Sizzix die to make some DIY iron-on felt letters.

I think this weekend's project will be to make some stockings for my own family. Luckily there is still over a week to go!

Kat

December birthday bags

I love to make bags for birthday gifts. Bags can be practical and pretty, which is my favourite combination for handmade items. Bags are also fast to make, which is great for last-minute crafters like myself, who tend to leave birthday crafting until a few days before the deadline. Even more so when the birthdays fall in December, the busiest time of the year.  I thought I'd link up with Elm Street Quilts 2017 Bag It sew along and share some bags that I've made for December birthdays.

First up is my Mum, who celebrates her birthday in a few days. I made my mum a Zip Up Tray Pouch (pattern by Aneela Hoey), after she admired the one I made for myself. I used a single print for this one; a pretty floral pattern that I think she'll like.

Next up is my friend Maree, who celebrates her birthday a few days after Christmas. I made Maree a pretty zipper pouch (pattern by Sotak Handmade) using various scraps, including some turquoise linen leftover from making a bento bag for another friend also named Maree.

I also made a bag for myself, since my birthday falls on the second last day of the year. I used the scraps from making my December bee blocks to make a colour block pouch (a tutorial by Sotak Handmade).

I'm hoping that next year I'll up my bag-making game and have a go at using hardware other than zippers. I've got a lot of bag and wallet patterns ready to go - I just need to find the courage to give it a go.

Kat