Good Things

I put the last stitch in the binding of my Seville quilt yesterday afternoon. I'm not usually conceited about my quilts, in fact quite the reverse. I have so much to learn about quilting and techniques in general but I'm really proud of this quilt because it challenged me to try a lot of new things for the first time.

Among the firsts - I used freezer paper applique, and did free motion quilting. This was also the first time I've used Aurifil thread for quilting and I can honestly say I'm converted.  I've been labouring under a misconception that Aurifil was too pricey to use for all my quilting but I went and priced it and it's no dearer than the Gutterman I have favoured in the past.  This is not an ad for Aurifil I swear , I'm just so happy with the quality and results I got from their product.

I quilted in between all the peels and left the rest of the quilt unquilted - resulting in the peels really standing out with a puffy look. It turned out so much better than I had envisaged.  

Spotty binding finished it off. Originally I was going to do multi coloured binding but when I was rifling through my stash the spots started screaming "Pick me ! Pick ME!" Who am I to ignore the voices in my head? 

I used vintage chenille for the back. It's well documented that I adore chenille and it was perfect for this quilt. I'm keeping this quilt for myself and I spent last night snuggled under it. I used wool batting so it's warm and fluffy. 

All this colour just makes my heart sing. Bonus points for using mostly scraps for the applique peels! 

This is  my first finish from Katy's Finish Along list for this quarter, which leaves me at a loose end. I was faced with a choice between finishing my Holiday Happy Quilt, cutting fabric for my Moroccan Tile quilt, or deciding what to do with the remains of the gingham cushion cover. You can see the original list here.

I spent a lot of the day Facetime sewing with Little Miss Sunshine. I didn't sew ..I cut a rainbow of fabrics for my giveaway winner in between gossiping and holding a competition to see who could come up with the worst swear word for the day .(Little Miss Sunshine definitely won- because even Mr. P was shocked at one she let fly.) While I was cutting fabrics I was folding big bits and putting them back in boxes and chucking scraps in a pile on the floor. When I was finished I glanced over at the pile and this is what I saw...

How can I resist playing with these colours since an idea for a quilt just popped into my head the moment I saw them? So it looks like my next project is sorted - something simple and quick but hopefully very beautiful because along with the idea for the next project came a name of someone that I think will love getting this as a gift. 

Speaking of gifts - It was my Dad's birthday on Saturday. My parents BIG move happened a couple of weeks ago and they are (sort of ) settled into their new house. I am loving having my parents so close to us. Mr. P and I  headed up there for lunch and cake Saturday afternoon and then the whole family trooped out for dinner Saturday night as well. Judging by this photo some people never grow up. Happy Birthday Dad. 

PS.OK my Dad is not a complete freak. Little P was on the opposite side of the table and was massively excited at the cake and the sparklers and my Dad was totally hamming it up for him. And that pile of cream on the cake? Little P did the decorating. I think we can cross cake decorator off his list of future careers.