New Bags

Wow, here I am again after a long time of silence. Not for any particular reason other than that my head is so full from thoughts of being a new mom. The pregnancy has been going really well and I am feeling good! Today makes 23 weeks, so moving steadily along.

I have been sewing again now since I know the gender of the baby I am a lot more inspired. Still want to keep the sex a surprise for friends and family, but it might be hard. I really didn't have a preference, but it feels good to know. I am definitely someone who prefers to know rather than be surprised. For me, the best fun is the planning...

Here are a couple of photos of the diaper bags I finished recently. The top photo is one I made for a friend of mine who is also having a baby soon using Joel Dewberry's Damask line of fabric. The second photo is a bag I made for myself using the late Laurel Burch's mermaids fabric. I just love how the front pocket turned out with the mermaid with the long hair (mine is as long as hers) holding the baby. It will be fun to use.

My current projects are some teddy bears that I am sewing... I will post of photo soon! I also have plans to sew lots of onesies using natural bamboo fabric. I plan to make a lot of cutsie clothes using Heather Ross fabrics as well and hopefully a Heather Ross quilt too. I just ordered some of her Mendicino line. Can't wait to see it in person!!

Baby!

So tomorrow I am finally 14 weeks along, which I am told is the start of the second trimester! I thought I would post a picture of my first ultrasound that was done this week at 13 weeks and 3 days. My husband went with me to the ultrasound and I think we were both kind of amazed that there is actually a baby in there. So far so good... I was very very tired from about 6-12 weeks, but recently have been feeling a little more energetic and actually feel like eating again. I am so excited about the whole process of being pregnant and am enjoying it. I just am so lucky that I don't have stresses of a job or lots of responsibilities at the moment. It makes it so much more special to just be able to experience this! I'm sure there will be plenty of responsibility and work soon enough!

For some reason I have had absolutely no desire to quilt or sew, but I have been busy knitting garments. I will post some pictures soon of what I have been working on...

A Post About Posting

I thought I would post today to explain why there has been such a lack of posting from me over the last month! I've taken a break from quilting for a while because... I'm finally expecting my first baby after nearly two years of waiting for this to happen! I'm very very happy, but still getting adjusted to all the changes going on in my body right now. Since this will be my first and I am already 36, I have decided to listen to my body and rest as much as possible. I look forward to a burst of energy soon--maybe a couple more weeks??? Hopefully I will then find myself sewing again. At the moment I have just taken up knitting needles again...

A Frosty Winter Morning!

Wow, it was cold last night and we woke up to a huge frost. Brrrrr! I love our cosy woodburning stove during the winter months. Perfect weather on a Saturday morning to eat a breakie of hot oatmeal, read the newspaper and do some sewing. Yesterday I finished sewing the Za Za quilt together, but unfortunately my photo is so dark due to the winter lighting here. It's hard for me to show what the quilt really looks like. Now I need to decide what color I will use for the border... Still not sure. Any opinions?

My next project is going to be using a Miss Rossie pattern called Midwinter. This will be my first time using one of her patterns, so I am quite excited to try. I will be using a fat quarter bundle from last year's Christmas release called Vintage Holiday. I haven't seen too many people use this fabric line and I am quite surprised because I really like it a lot. I think a lot of people used the Roman Holiday line as a favorite last year. I like that one too:)

Working on Za Za

Since I've been back home my latest quilt project I've been working on has been using the latest fabrics from Erin Michael called ZaZa. I wasn't taken with the fabric when I first saw it, but then suddenly I was very excited about it and when I saw it going for a very low price on ebay I had to get it. Has that ever happened to you where you weren't very thrilled about some fabrics at first and then later just fell in love with them? I seem to get that a lot and sometimes the reverse happens where the fabrics I love right away lose my interest suddenly later on. I think fabric must be like therapy at times in that you are drawn to what you need at the moment--like aura soma or something like that.

Anyway, I am nearly finished putting the basic blocks together, so hopefully another post soon with a picture so you can see what it looks like.

Dear Jane Inspired

I just thought I would post today about what I acquired on our trip at one of the quilt shops along the way. Actually, I didn't purchase much, but this book was the main thing I did purchase! Well, I did buy some templates as well... I don't know why I have been suddenly intrigued to start this quilt, but I like how so many people around the world are unitedly inspired to recreate this heirloom piece by Jane A. Stickle. It is so intricate and the blocks are so tiny (4.5 inches) that I think you can't help but improve your sewing skills by trying to recreate it. I had a go and made the first block A1 called Pinwheels Gone Awry. I want to work on this quilt slowly and maybe just do a block a week--we'll see.

Back Home from Camping Trip

We're back home again! It feels good to be back home again even though we had a really great time on our trip. We drove Westward through the Snowies and along the length of the Murray River through to Adelaide (via the Barossa) then back home again along the Great Ocean Road with a stop in Melbourne on the way. I thought I would post a few pictures, it was really fun and peaceful to be out camping underneath the stars again. I saw my first koalas in the wild as well as my first emus. We were able to see the stars reflecting on the Murray River at night, walked through the rain forests and tasted wine at the vineyard cellar doors in the Barossa. Most of the way we drove through country that is really suffering from drought, which at least we don't feel so alone anymore after seeing that it is well widespread.

And of course we stopped at some wonderful quilt stores along the way! Sweet husband is quite understanding about this--he usually would head to the bakery while I was busy browsing! We also looked at the Gammill long arm in Melbourne and I am VERY excited... I can't wait! Soon!

Friends and Flowers Quilt

Yesterday I finished the body of my Mary Engelbreit Friends and Flowers quilt. I really love it and am glad that I spent the time drafting the pattern to suit my fat quarters. I ordered the fabric for the borders and the backing so it will be a little while before I can finish. The border is going to be black. I hope that black isn't too bold, but I do like the little bits of black that are in the line and wanted to accentuate them.

So today I need to get the house in order and pack for tomorrow as we are leaving to go camping for a week! I'm excited! It's a bit cold, but I just look forward to seeing something new. We are heading Westward. Also, on the way home we plan to stop in Melbourne to have a look at the longarm machine I plan to get soon to start my business. I hope to be up and running by September??? I can hardly wait.

More of Mary!

I just thought I would post a picture of my Mary Engelbreit quilt further along in its progress. You can start to see the bigger picture now as I have half of the block borders finished at present. I really do hope I have enough fabric to make this work...

A Little Bit of Mary

Yesterday I started this quilt using Mary Engelbreit's Friends and Flowers fabric. I got the inspiration for the design out of a magazine, but after I got my fat quarter bundle I realized the pattern was not at all fat quarter friendly. So, yesterday morning I spent a bit of time redrafting the pattern and adjusting the size to allow me to use my fat quarters and making the quilt larger too. The only problem is that I have to be Very careful cutting since every quarter inch of fabric counts! Hopefully I'll post again soon and keep you updated. I am happy to be working with this fabric--so bright and cheerful after working with darker fabrics as of late...