"Stepping towards Christmas"

 I am very pleased to have this finished;

Can you spot the mistake?

Especially as I am 'unsewing' a quilt at the moment!

My lovely MCM Bee ladies made me 

"Stepping Stone" blocks,

 when I was Queen for July!

A quilt for Christmas is not very useful in a 

Southern Hemisphere summer,

so I decided a table runner was a more practical

                                    make...

and photographed it in the staff common room at 

the school where I live....

 I love the back as much as the front.

I think I need a big table like this one,

so I can really appreciate it!

Happy days!

SUZ

Keeping it real...

Some of my followers may remember this 

quilt from last year...

Shelburne Tartan

It gets an inordinate number of pins on Pinterest!

Go figure?

To say the quilting on it was a failure would be an 

understatement...

It looked a little 'off' before I washed it, but even 

worse after!

A quilting disaster!

And it has been hiding in the cupboard of shame for 

over twelve months!

So yesterday I decided to 'bite the bullet' and start 

over...

This is the result of three hours of 'unsewing'!

I have more entertainment awaiting me tonight!

Have you ever completely unpicked a finished quilt...

Binding and quilting!

Stay tuned for a better finish than what I have here!

(This is where the quilt pattern originally came from, 

in case anyone of those 'pinners' are interested!)

Happy days!

SUZ

Persuasion!

I don't exactly know how it happened...

but when my friend Elizabeth, who blogs at 

Occasional Piece , 

suggested joining the Quilt Along for the 

Chuck Nohara blocks,

I didn't need my arm twisted!

I was able to purchase my book locally, with my 

winnings from a recent Cup sweep!

So we have jumped in and started making these 

adorable 6" blocks!

We are sort of following along on IG...

but we are also picking a couple to do each month,

to keep us moving forward!

I may not have any real life sewing friends,

but it does make me feel closer to people on the 

other side of the world....

which seems kind of important today.

Thank you Elizabeth for suggesting this fun project!

My applique skills are (hopefully) improving too...

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Gift Envelopes

Have you started your Christmas shopping or 

sewing yet?

I have!

I 'pinned' this idea for gifting money which 

I want to use this year.

My son and daughter-in-law are going on a belated honeymoon to New York in mid-December, and I wanted to give them some spending money!

I changed the pattern a little for my own purposes 

which I show here... 

I found an envelope that "fit the bill', teased it open

and traced around it.

I marked the section where it would remain 

unstitched for turning through...

(I know I often forget this and just keep sewing!)

I found it easier to sew the button on before 

stitching the side panels closed.

It's fun finding ribbon and buttons to match!

It's also perfect for a special piece 

of costume jewellery!

Sorted!

As Kate said on IG, wouldn't it be lovely if all our 

mail looked like this?

Happy days!

SUZ

Pinks Charming

is my latest quilt finish.

I saw this quilt on the CrazyMom blog and decided 


this was the perfect use for these 'charming' fabrics

I started with a mini charm pack of

"Color Me Happy"...

adding strips of a Lecien solid in pale mint green.

I then put it aside until I knew whether it would 

go to a girl or boy. 

And now it is finished...

with Gum Leaves from Terra Australis 2

and bound in 

Spinning Gum from Terra Australis 1

Backing was in my stash;

it came from I know not where?

And quilted with my favourite wavy line!

Final measurements:
 35" x 48" approx

Happy days!

SUZ

A struggle...

Today is the day to reveal the last of the Four-In-Art 

"Literature" quilts for 2015.

I admit, I struggled with this one....

A sneaky look at the back...

I had few ideas and nothing seemed to work.

I chose to represent two of my all-time favourite 

books-

"To Kill a Mockingbird" 

and 

"Great Expectations"

And I'll leave it at that...

I'm sure there are some wonderful "Four-in-Art" 

minis for your viewing pleasure here:

Betty

Elizabeth

Jennifer

Nancy

Rachel

Simone

Just click on each name to take in the rest of  

the Art Show!

I guess all artist struggle with inspiration 

sometimes...

SUZ