Merry Christmas

I received an early Christmas present and now have to confess that I have already opened it. This year I joined a group called the Southern Cross Crazies. They are a friendly bunch of women who all love crazy quilting and now and again have a swap or round robin to keep everyone motivated and enthused.

This year they decided to have a Christmas Cracker swap. We were given directions on size and content and were secretly given the name of the person that we were to send our cracker to. There was a data base where we could say what colours we prefer and our likes and dislikes. That is a good idea because as anyone who has done any crazy patchwork knows, it takes a long time to complete something and if you are giving it away, you certainly want the recipient to like it.

I dutifully sent off the Christmas Cracker that I made to Alison and she wrote back to me saying how much she loved it. Imagine my surprise when I received my Christmas Cracker and it was from Alison! We both got each others name in the swap. You can see the pictures of the Christmas Cracker that I made for Alison here.

Here is the absolutely beautiful Christmas Cracker that I received from Alison.

Christmas Cracker from Alison

It is larger than it looks in the photo, it measure about 16" long and was beautifully embroidered.
I looked at the cracker for two weeks because it was so beautiful, I wanted to enjoy just looking at it.
Everyone else was opening their crackers and saying how much they loved them and I knew that I had to open mine as well.

I was overwhelmed by all the beautiful goodies inside. It's hard to believe that Alison could pack so much into such a small space.

Christmas Cracker contents

It was filled with laces, fabric, thread, ribbon, buttons, beads and a scissor fob and needle book!
When I opened the cracker I could see the embroidery more clearly.

Cracker opened

Here are some close up photos of the contents.

Silk Fabric

Images

Lace

Needle case and scissor fob

Threads, ribbons and beads

You can see that I was thoroughly spoilt.

It was a lovely finish to the year. Everyone enjoyed it so much that we are going to do it again next year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.
Now is the time to relax and have a break after all the hard work we have done this year. I always look forward to a new year but I think it's also important to look back on the past year and remember all that you have accomplished. Sometimes we are too busy to stop and remember it all.

See you next year!!

Bye for now,
Linda

CQJP 2012 December

It's time to post the last block of the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012 (CQJP 2012). I had a busy year as usual but I managed to keep up with making a crazy quilt block every month this year. My theme was Christmas and here is my December block. It measure 6", so this is one of the smaller ones.

CQJP 2012 December

There are still a couple of charms and beads to sew onto the block but I'll add them after it is quilted.

I have made 12 blocks but I am actually going to make a thirteenth block to tie them all together to make a quilt. I have a vague idea of what the final block will look like but I won't be designing it until after Christmas.

All the Christmas decorations in the shops weren't a surprise this year and I didn't even feel as if they were too early like I usually do because I have been playing around with Christmas all year! I'll be pleased to finish this quilt and start working on something else.

I have decided not to participate in CQJP 2013because I still have this quilt to finish plus all my other plans. It's been a fun experience though and if they run another in 2014 I might join in again.

Bye for now,
Linda

Charm Bracelet

I received an exciting package in the mail last month. I had received a newsletter from the
 Quilted Crow earlier in the year and they mentioned a block of the month that they were running where every 2 months you would receive a little quilt charm that was actually a miniature quilt block and also a pattern and some fabric to make a quilt that matched the charms.

I haven't participated in a block of the month for years and on an impulse I signed up for it. For the past few years I have been busy doing applique and crazy quilting so I haven't done any traditional pieced blocks for a long time and thought it would be fun to some piecing again.

I signed up for this quite a few months ago and I had completely forgotten about it until a package arrived.

It was very exciting to open it and this is what I found.

Pattern, fabric and charm bracelet



Inside the little box were the charm bracelet and the first little charm which is a log cabin block.

Charm bracelet



As you can see from the fabrics it is very traditional and country style but I think it will be fun for a change. The little charm is actually made of fabric and it is a micro miniature block. I don't know how they made them so small.

It is ¾" square.

 

The charms and blocks will arrive every two months. I'll make this block up over the holidays.

 

Bye for now,

Linda

Christmas Cracker

I belong to an on-line group called the Southern Cross Crazies and earlier this year a challenge was put out to the members to participate in a Christmas Cracker Swap.

The idea was to make a 8" x 13" crazy quilt block and wrap it around a 7" paper towel roll and fill the roll with little crazy quilting goodies and fabric. We all had to put our names  on a list and write our likes and dislikes down as well. We were given a name and we had to keep the recipient' name secret so it would be a surprise when they opened them at Christmas.

People have been posting pictures of their finished crackers and they all look wonderful.

Here is a photo of my finished Christmas Cracker.

Christmas Cracker 2012

I decided to use silk fabrics in greens and mauves, so first I got out those fabrics to try and plan the block.

Fabrics for Cracker

I decided to use an underwater theme and thought the colours would suit the look that I was after. I drew the pattern onto calico and foundation pieced the block.

Christmas Cracker base
 

I put some fish in the centre and tried to make the stitches look undersea and watery.

You can see that I added some more fish and a sea horse, squid and some shells.

I filled it with some silk fabric, lace, thread and beads etc.

Cracker contents

It's amazing how much you can fit in a 7" paper towel roll.

We are posting them off this week. I wonder what my Christmas Cracker will look like?

Bye for now,
Linda

CQJP 2013

The Crazy Quilt Journal Project is going to be run again next year. (CQJP 2013). Many people from all over the world participated this year and it was a great success.

The idea is to complete a crazy block that is at least 6" square every month and post it on the CQJP 2013 blog. You must register to be part of the fun and it is open to everyone from beginners to advanced sewers.

Registration is open now and closes on the 12th December 2012. Click on CQJP 2013 to find the rules and to register.




You do not have to have a blog to participate. I enjoyed being part of CQJP 2012 and it was lovely to see everyone's  block every month. There is  also a Facebook group and I found that one of the most enjoyable parts of the challenge because I met some lovely online friends who would post their photos and talk about their blocks.

I haven't decided if I will take part in 2013 yet. I have a busy teaching schedule next year and I also have 2 new quilts to make that are not crazy quilts. I wanted to start them this year but I couldn't find the time. I also have my Waverley Art Quilters group and I'll be in my second year of my Quilt Valuation training. So much to do and so little time!


Bye for now,
Linda

CQJP 2012 November

I actually finished my November Crazy Quilt Journal Project block very early in November but put it aside as I was preparing for my daughter's wedding. My theme is Christmas and this month I made it a bit easier on myself by putting a beautiful tatted wreath in the centre. I added some beads to give it some sparkle.

CQJP Nov 2012 © Linda Steele

I have made the various blocks all different sizes and this is one of the 12 inch blocks.

This is what the block looked like before I added the embroidery.

CQJP Nov 2012 base block

Here's a close up of the tatted wreath. I bought it years ago at a small quilt show and I always found it too big to use. It was perfect for this block though. I bought a book on tatting when I was last in Houston, it's something on my to-do someday list!

I have a couple more close-ups from the block.

Candles

Christmas stocking

The year's flying by and there is only one more month to go in this Crazy Quilt Journal Project. It is going to be run again next year. I'll look up the details and put them in another post for you.

Bye for now,
Linda

Wedding day

It's been a while since I visited my blog because I have been very busy with my daughter's wedding last weekend. It was a wonderful day and everything went to plan and my daughter Bec and her new husband Andrew were so happy. Parents can't ask for more than that!

I took a few photos myself and I can't wait to see the professional photos but they are going to take 6 weeks.

Andrew and Bec
 

Andrew and Bec


 

Here's a photo of me and my daughter Alison who was one of the bridesmaids.

Linda and Alison

I have hardly done any sewing for the last month because of the planning, dress fittings, shopping and organising. I did do a little bit of sewing though, I made a small ring cushion with their initials embroidered inside a heart and I forgot to take a photo of it!

It is now four days after the wedding and the newlyweds are on their honeymoon and my sewing is still packed away. I think I was more tired than I thought. Suddenly the wedding is over and I have to start thinking about Christmas and the end of the year because I have not thought beyond the wedding this year.

I am getting back to sewing next week.

What a wonderful time it was though.

Bye for now,
Linda