Plus 3 Quilt for Mr S

A wee while back Mr S said in a very sad voice that everyone had a quilt except him.  He put together a selection of fabrics and I added a few more and over Anzac weekend I pieced his quilt.  Well finally it is finished.

Mr S and I are originally from Christchurch in Canterbury and red and black are Canterbury's colours.

I used Jeni Baker from In Colour Order's Arithmetic Quilt Pattern.  This quilt is quite big 64 inches by 84 inches.

I thought I would take a photo of the quilt on the outdoor table, but there is a photo bomber in our house.  Ally followed us all outside and thought she would lend her helpful paw.  

I have named this quilt Plus 3, because me and our two children are Mr S's plus 3.  I popped three little pieces of red fabric in the binding to represent each of us.

Tootin' our Own Horn - Top Shop Finalist

An extra special package arrived in the mail today:

Inside the box:

Yep we have been selected as a finalist in the Home and Style category for the Wellington region's Top Shop retail awards.

I said to Diane that the mystery shopper must have come in while she was working, she said no, it must have been when I was in the shop.  Mr S immediately said they must have come in on a Saturday when he was working.  He is such a bloke!

These Whittaker' chocolate (my favourites)  also came in the box, they remain unopened - but not for long.

We will not find out who the winner is until 8 October.  I gather judging is based on another mystery shopper experience.  Let's hope they come in on a Saturday again :)

Happy Thursday!

Tuesday Stack - It's Tilda

Yep the Tilda fabrics are here and I just had to use them in a stack:

I love the softness of the colours:

Annali Dark Grey Dashes from Dashwood Studios

Matches Little Pink Gingham

Porcelaine Cup Blue from Tilda

Mini Star Red from Tilda

Stine Grey Green from Tilda

Kona Candy Pink 

Laura Blue Greyfrom Tilda

Powder Blue Linen Spot from Yuwa

We are also stocking some of the Tilda kits and charm packs.  You can find them here.  Love these so there will be more!

Sunday Sewing - A Quilt Top Finished

Yesterday I had the ultimate treat - a whole day sewing with friends, with a "small break" for a gorgeous lunch at Scopa as part of Wellington on a Plate.  My lunch was divine and the company was great.

I got most of this quilt top finished and just had a bit to do when I got home in the late afternoon. 

Midget (the owner of the feet and the hoodie) has claimed dibs on this quilt (even though she already has one).

The pattern comes from this book, Modern Quilts from the Blogging Universe:  

All the fabrics in the quilts are from my stash, including my scrap bag, apart from the Kona White.  I had a bit of a mid quilt break with this one as the instructions say you only need x number of fabrics, but to get the scrappy look like the quilt in the book you do need a greater number of fabrics.  Hence I now have a lot of left over hst blocks.  I love how this quilt came out and I love the look of half square triangles, but I do not like squaring them up!

Tuesday Stack - Flock of Birds

This week's stack was put together by Diane.

The fabrics from top to bottom are:

Dove in Black from the Copenhagen Print Factory.  An organic cotton.

Dots Low Volume Grey from Stof

Flock of Birds from Kokka

Palm Springs Spot

Kona Pomegranate

Heath Black from Alexander Henry in decor weight or quilting weight 

On top are two new felt colours Rose Petal and Shocking Pink.  The ric rac is Mega Ric Rac White.

The Flock of Birds fabric is simply stunning.

Playing with Fabric - Summer Nights Lights Cushion

Diane (who works with me at Stitchbird) and I did a small combined project.  When we saw this fabric it just had to be done.  I did the quilting and Diane added the yo-yos (using the Clover Yo-Yo Makers, they come in a number of sizes) .

The finished project a cushion, with a gorgeous wool backing.  It is now in the shop.

Tuesday Stack - Fresh and New

Be still my heart!  We have had a number of new fabrics arrive in store yesterday and I am in love with them.  This weeks stack features fabrics from a new manufacturer Dashwood Studios, established in 2013 and based in the UK they have a fresh and modern design aesthetic.  The fabrics themselves have a beautiful hand and drape.  They are just scrummy.  

In this week's stack I have also inserted fabrics from a couple of other designer/manufacturers as well.

So from the top:

Cats from Dashwood Studios

Annali Dark Grey Dashes by Stephanie Thannhauser for Dashwood Studios

Petite Fleur Citron by Carolyn Gavin from Windham fabrics (an organic cotton)

Petite Street Flower by Wendy Kendall for Dashwood Studios

Flurry Pink by Dashwood Studios

Petite Street Clouds by Wendy Kandall for Dashwood Studios

Town and Country by Sally Ablett for Lewis and Irene (another UK based company)

And just because I can here is a bigger picture of the cats...

Tuesday Stack - Cup of Tea?

This week's Tuesday stack:

Sphere Dots by Moda

Flower Sugar Scattered Rosebuds from Lecien

Flower Sugar - White with Blue Spot from Lecien

Kona Buttercup

Teacups Blue 

Flower Sugar Apples from Lecien

French Navy Mini Spot from Kokka

I have brought some of these home to play with.  

Time for a cup of tea now...

From our Garden - Survival of the Fittest

Our garden is a wonderful proof of survival of the fittest.  Unfortunately at this time of year the fittest seem to be the weeds.  My question is how come when everything else struggles to survive the winter, the weeds grow rampantly?  And why didn't the gardening gurus decide that weeds were really wonderful and should be cultivated - bastards!

These are a few of the survivors: