Espritpatch

The theme of the weekly contest on the Quilting Gallery  is Teddy Bear. So I decided to enter a quilt I made as baby present a few years back. The pattern is from a book called "Patchwork Bears" by Dorthe Jollmann - a must for bear lovers. All the quilts entered in the contest will be visible from tomorrow and you have until Sunday to cast your vote . I have also signed up for the Candle Mat Swap. I thought the pattern was really cute. Do you want to join in as well? Go and register before 5 October. Celine

OK I meant to post this all of last week and never found the time... Last year when I went to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, I ordered a quilting frame for my machine from Freestyles. The frames are made in England by a gentleman who started his business after making a frame for his wife. Anyway, the frame got delivered in October and I was really excited about it and was ready to post how great it was on my blog BUT... it brought me nothing else than frustration and anger unfortunately. Now, this is nothing to do with the frame and I thought it wasn't, I thought it was just me. I had tried the frame at the Festival and it was so easy to quilt on it. Anyway, I spent a few week-ends trying and getting frustrated and annoyed until I decided to concentrate on other projects. The frame stayed in the conservatory for a while (and it was a painful sight really) until it was moved to the garage to make more space. So this year, when I went to the Festival again, I went to see th...

is on 15 October. Go over to Heidi 's blog to sign up. Celine

Millie  is generously giving away a GO! cutter and 3 sets of dies. If you really must, go and enter the competition. Celine

Amy is organising a potholder pass again but on Flickr this time. I joined round 2 during the spring and received 2 beauties from her directly. She is now doing round 5, just in time for Christmas with the little extra of an ornament. Should be fun! So I had to sign up for the swap yesterday evening. Would you like to join? Be quickand go to flickr  to sign up before Saturday. And if you don't want to join make sure to go and browse the photostream of so many lovely potholders created for the first 4 rounds. Celine

We had one of these lovely autumn day yesterday, cold in the morning but with glorious sunshine, very energising for a Saturday. Plus it was the first week-end since the end of July where it was only the 4 of us and no plans at all. I woke up early and went to do the shopping in our newly reopened and bigger supermarket where I bought a few good quality white T-shirts to experiment with. Back home I asked Big Son if he would like to help me paint on some T-shirts for Mummy and Daddy. Of course that was an exciting perspective since it would normally be forbidden. I was even going to allow Baby Girl to help but she refused to wear her apron so she was sent in the garden to help Daddy tidy up. Toddlers can be so stubborn or maybe it's only mine... We started by painting on the back of Daddy's T-shirt  and then placed some cut out letters before leaving to dry in the sun. We then tied Mummy's T-shirt to a piece of wood and painted as well. We left it to dry in the garden...

Well, I didn't do as much as I was initially planning as I couldn't decide what to work on. I first got this kit out that I bought in Birmingham to make a bag but then I wasn't motivated to do it. Shame really as it is a nice bag. Then I thought hard and long of what project I could work on and sat at the computer for a bit too long. Anyway, I decided to decorate my Christmas tree and put it in a nice pot for my framed hexie. It is now ready to be finished off to before I send it over to Australia next week. Celine

Of course I am behind on Dawn's "Frosty Flakes" BOM, which is actually a BOW but I have completed one flake and have 2 other hexie flower ready to be applique and embellished. And here is a peak at my framed hexie for this month, Christmas theme. Tomorrow is Friday Night Sew-In, are you joining the group? Celine

If you stop by now and then, you might remember the Celtic Rose I started in February this year. I wasn't sure which colors bias to use and I finally opted for black. I picked up again last week-end because I decided to finish it as a birthday present for my Auntie's 40th. The birthday party was on Saturday so i just had under one week to finish it. By all mean my best way to stay focused! Anyway, I appliqued the bias on Saturday when I attended our quilting group meeting and did the quilting on Saturday. Finally on Thursday night I cut my hanging sleeve and binding and sew the binding by machine. On the way to work and on the way home on Friday I hand stitched the hanging sleeve and the binding, which I finished on Saturday morning, just in time for the party... And my Auntie loved it, always a bonus! This is also my first OPAM this month! What do you think? Celine

I had disappeared for a while because we were on holidays. Straight after the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham we went to Center Parcs for a couple of days. The kids had a brilliant time and we managed to have some rest! It was really relaxed and peaceful. Mum came with us as well and enjoyed her grand-children for a bit longer as much as they and we enjoyed her company! And at the week-end, it was their Christening which turned out to be a very lovely and enjoyable day. The ceremony was really nice and the rest of the day with the family was really pleasant. We came back home with DH's parents and nephew and niece who stayed with us for just under a week. Big Boy started school full time while they were still there. A full house and chaotic life for a little while but it is back to normal now! I should be able to post a bit more often (that is if I have anything to report of course!) I took potable sewing projects on holidays and I managed to grow my Hexies collection for th...

A new monthly swap has just started over at the Craft Forum and I just had to sign up for it. We swap hexie flowers once a month, all very good for my hexie-mania. I have asked for dotty fabrics for mine and a white centre (like the one we made for the Pot Luck on the GHPA lists last year). I have received my first one from Sandra  and also sent mine to Vicki who asked for green petals and cream centre Celine

Follow me around for a brief tour of the Festival and I'll show you my favourite quilts amongst the 100s on display. A lovely quilt for a baby girl and another one for a Pirate boy! Cathi 's amazing Frugal Jane, which looks much nicer in real life: Close-up on a musical Angel A winner - named Potholes I believe: A bright and colourful tree - Philipa Naylor I guess? A lovely view of London made by a Young Quilter (under 16 I believe), see the map of London used in the pinwheel blocks. So clever! Venetian bag Miniatures: My absolute favourite, hard to believe it is a miniature quilt (probably about 10' square) And the winner of the miniature category - simply amazing: A lovely picture of a cold day of winter, did you notice that the background is made of hexies in different shades of white , cream and blue? A postcard of lovely Denmark: and fina...

next one is scheduled for 17 September. Go and sign up for it on Heidi's blog Celine