Journeying into 2018

2018 has been around for a few weeks but for me it feels as if it is just starting! We enjoyed a fabulous Christmas with 26 of our wonderful family together. We then decided we would have a bit of a ‘holiday-at-home’, watching cricket, occasionally tennis, sewing, reading, doing as little of the normal housework as possible and generally being lazy. 

But reality is hitting and it's time to start facing the year ahead. We've had some ceiling fans installed to cope with the intense heat and humidity of our Queensland summer, so there's no excuse not to be up and going! 

There's been plenty of 'Thinking Quilting' happening. I have been working on a commissioned quilt with lots of applique and stitching. Then I decided to try to wash my big king size bedroom quilt for the first time. Only problem was, it wouldn’t fit in the washing machine. Tried the laundry tub, and it wouldn’t fit in there either. The final resort was the bath, so I filled it with water, added plenty of Wool-wash, and with lots of pushing and shoving and lifting and dunking, managed to give it a wash. Thankfully, the black fabric didn’t run, and hubby was around to help me lift it onto the clothes line. The quilt came up beautifully and the fabrics are positively glowing – so job done!

It’s stone-fruit season here, so that means it’s preserving time. The prices have been quite high so I’ve been holding off, hoping and waiting for them to drop, which they have done in the last couple of weeks. So now I have four months' supply of peaches preserved and a few packets of frozen diced mango, plus a couple of jars of peach jam. Next on the to-do list are plums!

One of my quilts is on the front cover of Aust Patchwork & Quilting magazine this month, Vol 27 No 11. The quilt called ‘Cottage in the Garden’ is made from the Cottage collection of Tilda fabrics.

It has been very well received on social media so I am quite excited.

I couldn't help but put a cottage in my quilt to follow the fabric collection:

I hope you enjoy seeing all its various components.

If you don't have access to the Australian magazine scene, I plan to put the quilt in my Craftsy Store in a couple of months.

I have placed the quilt on the wall at the front entrance of the house and I’m very pleased with how it looks ... and I can enjoy it every time I walk past!

I have decided not to offer a Block of the Month programme this year, so I have left all the patterns for the 2017 Hand-Picked wardrobe free in my Craftsy Store. I have some ideas for random free patterns this year, so keep on the look-out.

Happy Stitching.

Val