Thanks to everyone who entered my  ‘Chocolate Swirl’ clutch purse giveaway.  The winner is Mich.  Congratulations!  Mich is a talented crafter herself - you can check out her beautiful jewellery here.

The quilt tops are made from vintage sheeting sourced from op shops, family and a Swap-Bot thrifted sheeting FQ swap.  The backing is new fabric - pink for one quilt and yellow for the other one.  I made the binding myself with the help of Amy Karol’s instructions in her book ‘Bend the Rules Sewing‘.  They were reasonably quick to make and would have been completed earlier if I hadn’t been distracted by other projects.

I am so happy with how the quilts turned out.  I’ve got lots more quilt patterns swirling around in my head and my enormous stash of vintage sheeting is beckoning to me again.

The clutch is made from a Seventies print cotton fabric and features a swirling floral pattern in chocolate and white. It is lined with dark brown fabric and is secured with elastic and a vintage button.  The clutch measures about 9 1/2 inches (24cm) wide and 6 1/2 inches (17cm) when folded. It comfortably fits a phone, keys and wallet.

To enter leave me a comment naming your favourite chocolate or sweet.  For extra entries become a fan on facebook or follow me on Twitter.  The winner will be randomally selected and announced on 31st August 2010.

I saw a piece at the end of ABC National News this evening about a charitable organisation that provides blankets and knitted clothing for AIDS orphans in southern Africa.

Did you know that there are an estimated 11.6 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa?  11.6 million!   Many of these children are AIDS orphans or have been abandoned.   Many live in poverty in shanty towns, many without an adult to care for them.

While other children’s charities work hard to provide food and shelter, Knit A Square provides warmth by asking knitters and crocheters from around the world to send 20cm squares to South Africa to be sewn into blankets.  Their website has easy patterns and full instructions for making the squares and getting them to South Africa safely.  Next month the Crafty Coasters are tackling crochet.  I think I’ve found the project that we can work on.

Blue caravan supports independent designers and artisans who create contemporary work that is ethically produced, either here in Australia or overseas.  There is a beautiful selection of goods including clothing, ceramics, accessories, homewares, jewellery and body products (just to name a few).  Be sure to read the profiles of the sellers - there are some inspirational stories of designers who are working hard to develop fair trade businesses.

I’m off to browse the virtual shelves for the next round of birthday gifts….

There will lots of clever and creative BrisStyle sellers at the BiECO so come along and check out a great range of handmade eco goods and vintage treasures on Saturday 10th July 9am - 2pm at St Augustine’s Churchyard, Racecourse Rd, Hamilton, Brisbane.

‘Could you? Would you?’ is written and illustrated by Trudy White, a Melbourne painter-writer-beekeeeper -plant scientist.  It is full of whimsical illustrations and questions designed to get kids imagining and talking and drawing and exploring.  There are questions such as “Could you run an all-night race?” and “Would you eat a meal that a cat had cooked?” and “Could you live in a place where the weather never changed”.  And there are activities like ‘Draw a map of your house’ and ‘Draw a picture of your family’.  It is a simple and fun way to engage with your children.  And to spark your own imagination!

Here is the completed bag all ready to go on sale at The BrisStyle Indie Mother and Child Market this Saturday.

I am having fun with quilts at the moment.  These are made from vintage cotton sheeting, padded with polyester wadding and are backed with snuggly cotton flannelette.  They will be great as lap quilts, kindy quilts or in the cot or toddler bed.

Look forward to seeing you at the market!