Life is a rollercoaster...

If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that yesterday had its ups and downs!

It wasn't all gadding about and guesting over at Sara's you know.

I went back to work; 'nuff said, albeit that my day was cut short with a hospital visit; a girly with a hurting hip/leg, which is already pretty much better, but that involved waiting for 3 hours, (even having been referred by our GP!), only to be told to come back if it gets worse... we are not going back!

Yes we have that bloody Mr Chimp again!

And then the arrival of a bundle of gorgeous fabric from Denyse Schmidt...

I say from, as in, it really was from Denyse Schmidt she arranged it and everything, because this is her Hadley collection!!  How bloody thrilled and excited am I!?

We exchanged emails a few weeks back, and now I have the full pre-release in my grabby hands...

Sadly no sunny photo opportunities today; loudest clap of thunder at 6am and then rain pretty much non-stop from then until about an hour ago, so you will have to make do with these; but believe me, I'll be getting more snaps as soon as the sun comes out; I need to capture these for prosperity...

And before you all launch in, I know there is a lot of brown, but Denyse does good brown, rich chocolate, none of that stuff that reminds you of babies or really old ladies!

So I am now thinking on what to make; the prints remind me so much of my 1970s childhood, I may have to go with that and run, and run!

OK, I think I have exhausted my supply of exclamation marks for the day a lifetime, so I better love you and leave you.

Here's to a fun and fabric-filled weekend folks xxx

Mother's Day Eponymous Reveal

Happy Mother's Day for all the mothers celebrating today.  I did very well in the pressie department, lots of handmade things, fudge and vouchers, lunch out and I am off work until Wednesday, so I am happy...

Monet Water Lilies before you ask x

Yesterday we celebrated Mother's Day with my mum, so that meant, um... handmade gifts, chocs, vouchers, lunch out... like mother like daughter!  But I also got to take a secret project and my finished Hadley quilt for a photo shoot in my parent's garden, so everyone was a winner!

So... ta dah!

This quilt has been a long time waiting to be finished; when the top was super speedy and with my concerted effort this week, I could have had it made on about 3 days if I had tried harder!

The colours are a little more vibrant than the end-of-day shots show.  You can just about pick out the straight-line quilting, I stitched corner to corner, then filled in each quarter with parallel chevrons about 1.5" apart.

It really is a rich and grown up looking quilt, and I think the orange binding gives it a little twist...

Thanks goes out again to the Dear Stella team for couriering me the collection after I suggested that they really should, seeing as they had named it after someone with the same name as me!

Full details...
Fabric - Hadley collection - Dear Stella
Pattern - Gypsy Shawl - Jane Brocket - The Gentle Art of Quilt Making
Additional Backing - Klona Rose
Pre-wash 70" x 70"
Piecing - Aurifil 2021 50wt
Quilting - Aurifil 2430 50wt and a little Gutermann to finish.

And this is my last FAL finish this quarter, leaving me only my MATO, so that's a bonus on top of a lovely finish.

Tomorrow is an Inset Day, so we are hoping for some more family fun times, and I am aiming for a little Sizzix action too; you know I'm sure to report back what actually happens xxx

FAL freakout!

There's less that a week until April folks - FAL Q1 2014 is zooming up on us, which brings me two sets of angst.

Getting stuff finished, and then making sure I have something started to put on my Q2 list!  But we'll stick with the former for today.

I have two quilts left on my list, one of them is my Midnight At The Oasis, and that isn't going to be finished any time soon, but I am OK with that.

My Hadley quilt is another story.  The top was finished probably back in October, November time; I even cut the backing, but it has sat waiting for me to get the energy to even contemplate basting it, never-alone quilting it.  But today was the day.

Children safely dispatched to school; no strike action for me to re-organise my life around, thank goodness, and hubby left in bed poorly; I cracked on.

Binding was made, backing pieced and the whole thing basted, all in a couple of hours, then the quilting could begin...

I managed to use up a whole small spool of Aurifil, but before panic could set in, I found a super match in some old Gutermann, so I could get the quilting finished and binding on, all before I went back out to get the kids at 3pm...

The colours are a bit all over the place in those indoor photos, this outdoor shot is truer,

I have begun stitching down the binding already, but I feel like I am paying for my excess, so that's me done for the day.

Hopefully I will have this finished by the weekend - if the weather is fine I have a good photo op on Saturday, so that's my stitchy action sorted for the rest of the week xxx

All kinds of good...

Yesterday I got the 'OK' to rant and rave about the full collection of Dear Stella's Hadley.  It is beautiful; the official photos are so much better at showing off the colours than I'll ever achieve on this grey old day.

I had already cut into some of the fabrics; I was lucky enough to be sent yardage of all the prints a couple of weeks ago, but I got on with cutting the rest and started sewing last night.  I will go into the whys and wherefores of the pattern I chose when it is finished and I present the grand reveal; this morning I finished the top!

To say I am thrilled to bits with how it is looking so far, is an understatement.  The rainy-day backlit photo does it no justice whatsoever, but I wanted to give you a peek at the loveliness to come because I am just so happy with it.

In making the quilt top, rulers were hurt though! 

Fortunately the lovely old-lady sewing shop in the village came to the rescue - I picked up a new Sewline 12.5" square for £17, which is not only a total bargain, but meant it was in my hands instantly; no postal delay, unlike the bloody stuffing!

What I did receive through the mail instead were Cindy's blocks for my LV Stitch Tease Scrap Vomit...

Lovely, fresh from the envelope, creases n' all, oops, sorry!

I also nipped out in the rain and delivered the bunting to my friend's new house and received the grand tour; it's a beautiful place.

And and and...

... I may have made a hotel reservation already!