My sister has just moved cities so I made her a housewarming gift.  The inspiration came from Denyse Schmidt’s book ‘Quilt’, a recent *cough, cough* investment. 

I find her style very inspiring and the book is full of small projects, like the oven glove, right through to complex quilts for experienced crafters.

The fabric for the oven glove is one of my opp-shop finds.  I think it is intended as curtain fabric although I am struggling to picture metres of it in a room.  I know that my sister will appreciate the kitsch-ness and 70s style though.  The glove was really quick and easy to make, and such a great way to use up fabric scraps and wadding off-cuts.

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This is a quilt that I recently finished for a special little friend.  I am a beginner at patchwork and quilting and this was a great project to try out some new techniques.

The panel is cut from some vintage sheeting.  As you can see I kept the border and back fairly simple but I think the fabrics work so well with the colours of the main piece  .  I hand-quilted circles across the panel and then stitched around the border as a contrast to all the round shapes.  I made my own bias binding to finish it all off. 

This quilt was so much fun that I am keen to try some more, but I think quilting will have to wait as I have lots of work to do to get ready for Mathilda’s Market.

I have just ordered this beautiful necklace by LoveStamp for Mother’s Day.  It is so lovely that I couldn’t resist.  You can find Jo’s other work on both http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6059332  and http://madeit.com.au/storecatalog.asp?userid=571.  Or check out her blog: www.jogirlsjourney.blogspot.com

I found out today that I have been accepted for both the July and November Mathilda’s Market (www.mathildasmarket.com.au) in Brisbane.  Yikes!  I am very excited but a little anxious about the amount of sewing that I need to get done in the next couple of months.  Thankfully I have a few weeks leave from my part-time job and an understanding family