March Xmas Ornament

There are so many things wrong with this ornament, that I am reluctant to actually share it. However, if you don't know what it was supposed to look like, then it probably looks OK. It's from the Just Cross Stitch Chirstmas 2007 magazine A good lesson from this one, is that I really should read the instructions before I start a project, not just look at the picture and graph!

Current Projects

This is what I am working on at the moment. 3 more Tumbler Block Quilts in the strip stage.  There are still enough tumbler blocks for another 3-4 quilts I think). Clapotis, in Noro Silk Garden Yarn. This is lovely to work with! I love the colourway. Fancy Silk Socks, by Nancy Bush, from Knitting Vintage Socks. Look how cute the edges are..I have never done this before! (It took me 3 tries before I got it right!)

Irish Wool

We found some wool shops on the way around Ireland. I really wanted to get green hand dyed sock wool spun from Irish Sheep, in Ireland, but to no avail! I did get these gorgeous yarns though! Aran Wool in green, purple and orange. The green and purple screams out to be 2 Clapotis. Orange is enough for a jumper or cardigan..not sure yet. The green sock wool is Araucania, hand dyed in Chile. The bright skein at the front is Collinette Jitterbug "Jewel". I will keep looking for my green Irish sock yarn, and try and order it from the internet...I loved Ireland, and hope to go back again. 

Monkey Socks

I love this pattern, and I love this wool, unfortunately both together don't seem to work. Perhaps it is because I didn't read the pattern properly, and read the chart wrong! I will try this pattern again, this time correctly with sock wool that doesn't have such a distinct colour change. But I still love them, and will wear them heaps! Monkey Socks by Cookie A. Needle 2.5 mm Tausendschön Sockenwolle - Schlangengift

Little Pumpkin Socks

I am really happy with these socks! "Little Pumpkins" Socks by Sabine Ruppert 2.5 mm Needles Tausendschön Sockenwolle - Goldener Oktober

2008 Quilt # 6

The green tumbler quilt is finished today. Here are my 2 helpers! Tricky to photograph when it is really windy outside! The other tumbler quilt and this one I tried some meandering stippling quilting. I really enjoyed doing it. There are no "toe catchers", and I only crossed over a few times! Even though this takes awhile to quilt, and I need to have a break every now and again. I really like the effect, especially on the tumbler quilts! This one is for Anne Allen

2008 Quilt #5

Another quilt from tumbler blocks...I love playing with colours....I have the next one all planned out on EQ5. I hope to start that next week....but first I have the green tumbler to quilt (back to the sewing  machine now) This one is for the BBS Summerfest raffle.

2008 Quilt #4

This Churn Dash quilt was the 4th quilt I managed to complete this week.

I have been collecting these black and white fabrics for many years. I love the variety of the prints.

Both boys need new quilts to take on the plane when we go back to Oz...the quilts that I originally made them 3 years ago are too small. Their legs hang out the end of the quilts (they are warmer than the plane blankets). So I am thinking of doing another churn dash, but maybe with some extra triangles...I need to have a play in EQ5 to see what I think.

edited: darn it, I have just picked up a mistake in my quilt, just by looking at the photo. It's far too late to fix it. I am sure only quilters will see the mistake! (to the quilters who see it...shhh, don't tell anyone, this is a gift for Phil's 10 year old nephew, Ryan!)

2008 Quilt #1 #2 & #3

This disappearing 9 patch quilt is a great way to use up stash. It's a very addictive pattern. This week I set my machine to quilt the 7 tops I have ready to quilt.  I have 2 friends who are due to have babies soon. Both have been told they are having boys. The 3rd one was from the left over blocks I had made. I only needed to make 2 more blocks to complete the smaller quilt. This is a great stashbusting pattern, and I used up lots of "boy" fabric. One is for Liam McLeish, one for my hairdresser's baby, Enno. The question that puzzles me the most is "Why do I have so much chicken fabric in my stash?" I don't like chickens, and I have never bought chicken related fabric...but there is quite a bit of it in my stash.