Teddy Bear quilt

I have had this Teddy Bear panel in my stash for years - can't even remember where it came from. 

So, it was time to make it into a Premature baby quilt.

Measures 17" x 23", just the size the local Maternity Hospital requests.

Sunshine Guild April blocks

I have made 4 blocks for the Sunshine Guild's April Lotto draw. The theme was "Boyish".

Hence  the dinosaurs, sheep and little elephants.

I really enjoy making these sets of blocks, nice to have a theme or colour requirement.

                               They will be posted to Tammy the next time I'm in town.

The Magic of Scraps

My lovely blog friend, Jo Butterfield sent me some scraps , some were already sewn into HSTs, all different. I trimmed them all and then cut them across diagonally. I paired them again to make Hourglass units. I worked out I needed 35 of these units so I could make a quilt top, setting them
5 x 7.

I picked  35 units I thought would suit a girl's Premature baby quilt. Then I sewed them up and added a pink spotted fabric border. At that point I ran out of suitable scraps in my stash so had to go shopping for backing and border fabric. I found a lovely pink fabric with a small white spot which nicely complemented the border fabric.


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Then I chose Hourglass units that I thought would be more suitable for a boy's quilt and put a border around them using a new blue (with small white and navy spots)fabric I bought especially on the same shopping expedition and used that for the backing and binding.

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Here they are, side by side. Both measure 23" x 19", just under the maximum size preferred by the hospital.

Strings and Squares

I am finishing off sewing, ready to pack up here in NZ before we fly off on the next part of our trip. 

I managed to make 8 x 10.5" QAYG String blocks for Jan: the ones on the left in more feminine colours, the ones on the right more masculine.

Here are the last 8 crochet Granny squares. I have literally used up every bit of yarn I have here.
I did enjoy popping into the three Charity shops we have in town looking for odds and ends of yarn.
Using all the lovely bright colours, set off against some duller navy, brown and gold colours has been great. Rather like playing with a paint box when I was a little girl. Such fun!

We are shortly going into town so I can mail these to Australia.

Happy sewing and crocheting everyone!,

Gift for my Best Friend

In a few days it will be my Best Friend's birthday - one of those significant ones, ending with a zero.

We have known each other for 45 years, so we have lots to celebrate. I am on holiday at present so I've made her a little gift to pop in the post with her birthday card. The other gift I hope to hand over in person the next time we meet.

I used the pattern gifted by my 103 years old Patchworth friend, Win. The yarn is extremely soft and warm: King Cole Sprite, 100% Acrylic, Shade is Sardinia