Shop Hop 2019 - Star Light Star Bright

This is my Shop Hop Quilt for 2019.  I have called it Star Light Star Bright.  The wonderful Rayna Clinton of Tui Song Quilting did the amazing quilting.

Registrations have now opened for the 2019 Shop Hop.  This year the theme for the Shop Hop is Stars on Parade.  You can register on line here.

The Shop Hop is on throughout the month of August.  Registrations are $60 and for your $60 you will receive 18 fat eighths of fabric for the project that you have selected, plus a pattern for that project.  You will collect the fabrics as you visit the participating shops, as well as be eligible for a 10% discount on your purchases (there maybe some exceptions).  If you visit all of the shops and get a stamp at each one you will also be in to win one of 9 gift baskets full of lovely sewing goodies.

The participating shops are:

Aimee's Homestead Quilts - Palmerston North

Angels in Gumboots - Ashurst

Busy Bee - Lyall Bay, Wellington

Cherry Pie Bernina - Levin

Crafty Pear - Pahiatua

Fox's Cottage - Foxton

Quilter's Lane - Masterton

Stitchbird - that's us!  - in Kilbirnie, Wellington and

Village Books and Crafts - Palmerston North

Grab a friend or two and join in the fun.  We would love to see you.

Family 21st and a Quilt in a Hurry

My niece Izzy has just had her 21st and I needed to make a quilt in a hurry.  I had been unable to get into my sewing room for a couple of months after I broke my ankle.  Mr S was very good at bringing my sewing machine and current projects upstairs and I took over the dining room.  But without access to my full stash I was not feeling inspired to start something new.

With only 3 weeks until the party, I needed something that was quick and with a modern aesthetic.  A google search led me to the Vast quilt from Jeni Baker's Patchwork Essentials: The Half-Square Triangle.  Just what I needed!  

This quilt fits nicely on a queen size bed.  I used Essex Yarn Dyed Chambray, Lotta Jansdotter's Lemmikki Marja in Pewter, Savannah X-Marks Citrine, Big Sky Dot in Stone, Dear Stella Hearts in Baltic, Firelight Many Moons in Navy from Cotton and Steel and a fabric that was already in my stash.  I used the Matilda's Own Wool/Poly Batting, it has a little more loft than 100% cotton batting so the quilting stands out a bit more.

I used an old napkin from my Mum's embroidered cloths for the label for sentimental reasons, so something of my Mum's (Izzy's Granny) went into her quilt.

Hula Hoops - Repurposed to Floral Hoops / Wreaths

Ok so I dropped off the blogging wagon big time.  But part of my New Year resolutions is to try and do more blog posts.  I am also on Instagram which is my quick on line fix - photos with very little text and if you want to you can follow me there my name is @Stitchbirdnz, I tend to post more because it is instantaneous and when your time challenged it is a quick fix.

One of my love hate relationships is the shop window.  How do I make things pretty and attractive to lure people into the shop.  Sometimes the ideas are just there, but others can be a struggle.  The first window of the year is decorated hoops.

These were made from repurposed Hula Hoops and embroidery hoops.  I wrapped the hoops with batting off cuts, then linen, added some handmade fabric flowers, faux leaves and pom poms.  A little bit time consuming, but lots of fun.