Playing with Anna Maria Horner...

No, she didn't come over to my house with her newborn to play with me in my sewing room. I have spent the past couple of days playing with her fabric range Innocent Crush. It's old. I bought it when I was still living in Adelaide in 2010. Not sure why it's taken me this long to use it because I am completely loving it!

Oh! And I'm piecing curves. I am loving feeling so confident with curves. I took an online curves class with Rachel Hauser (Stitched in Color) eighteen months ago and found it really enlightening. Back to the sewing!

Do you like books?

I do. I have always loved to read. Ever since I got the hang of reading in my head (without saying the words aloud) I have loved it. It was such a significant moment for me that I remember it distinctly. I spent most of my spare time in childhood reading. I used it to pass the time, to cheer myself up, and to distract myself from pain and it worked brilliantly for all those things. It was also fun. My brother and sister were regularly sent to their rooms for time out or for a punishment. I never was because my mother recognised that I was never as happy as when I was alone in my room reading. I read everything. Even labels. It was all fascinating to me.

My local Lincraft store has craft books 3 for $20. This is one I bought today.

 I love to look at quilting and craft books. Mostly I don't make anything from them, but I love to look. I guess they are all inspirational. This is one I am looking at tonight. I love the piecing in these blocks. Piecing is one of my favourite parts of the quilting process.

So after today's jaunt to the shops I have three new books to read. All with fantastic photos too! Oh. And an update on the shaggy flannel quilt - I have got it half put together. A little more work tomorrow and then it will just need snipping. I am off to read and then hopefully dream of piecing fabric together!

Machine piecing is my favourite!

Confession.......

I am a topper. Starting is the best part for me. Looking at and choosing fabric is so much fun! I love to start on a quilt - it's so exciting! I even love the piecing. But from there it's all downhill. I really hate basting quilts and quilting........? I'm not sure. I haven't got past the basting stage that often to really know. At the moment I am working on two quilt tops and I thought that I would baste both of them after dinner tonight. As I collected them together I found another two quilt tops floating around.

Pile of three quilts, ready to baste.

That's when I realised that I really am a topper. I have quilt tops just lying around in my sewing room! So, no basting was actually done. (I'll have to do another post entitled "Confession..... I am a procrastinator"!) Instead I collected together and cut out tops, backing and batting for four small quilts. Once I had done that it was really bedtime.

This is the fourth quilt spread out on the table in front of my Bradley. (Lucky we have a huge table! Room for everyone!) It wasn't until I put it on the table that I remembered that I need to piece the back for this quilt. The back is pieced now, so tomorrow morning I will be basting. And basting. And basting. And basting.

Busy, busy!

So, I didn't actually do any tidying today. Just sewing. You know, the tidying was a nice idea, and I'm sure I will do it some time, but not today! Instead I modified a charm pack (above)

Sewed one corner of my red club quilt. (The centre "T" section is going to be "on point" with these triangles in the corners)


And rearranged these leftover moda jelly roll strips into some stripy blocks. Can you tell I had problems concentrating today? I am happy with what I got done though. There may never be another finish in my life again. I may just flit from project to project. This idea has great appeal! Piecing is my favourite part of the quilting process, so this could really work for me!

Sewing day tomorrow at Picklestick's house. Not sure what I will take with me. I have so many projects on the go! I'm looking forward to sewing again tomorrow.