This little quilt started well before the winter olympics.  As we watched, the more we saw of the costumes and wonderful patterns below. The more we saw, the more this little quilt had to be finished. 

Sochi Olympic pattern from - http://www.graphicart-news.com

January is great time to embark on epic projects.  My friend Christine is one for epic projects and last year was no different.  Christine has just finished showcasing her 2013 project - 365 3x3 inch squares of embellished goodness.  Then at the end of the year she packaged them up and gave them away to a friend - one to open for every day of the year.  Here is just a taster..

You can see more of her wonderful work at What Goes on in the Sheila Shed.

For a brief moment there was a fantail on my couch. I meet up with friends every Monday to sew.  They keep me sane.  Every year we have a Christmas swap and this year it was cushions.  This little chap only just made it to the party.  I was stitching until the minute I left the house.


He's now sitting on the couch at this lovely friend's place. 

Scrap Republic is a book that has me excited about playing with colours* and rediscovering my fabric stash.  I spotted in on a friend's book shelf and have to admit that I have been looking after it for far too long.

In a market where books play one-up-manship, boasting huge number of projects, this book quietly has 8, and focuses instead on the techniques.  The book focuses on gaining confidence in using colour.  Each of the 8 projects is based on using a rainbow spectrum of colours, in order, with different effects.  The projects had me searching through my fabric drawers for a little bit of every colour.  If you haven't a collection of fabrics to choose from each project has a "solace for the scrapless" option.  It would also be great to team up with a friend to swap fabrics to put together a range of different prints.


Of course a book review is not complete without trying out a project.  I chose Beeline, which uses long strips of colour to make a mini quilt, or in this case a giant floor cushion.  I like the way each project can be considered a warm up exercise without always committing to a full bed size quilt.

Format 8 projects starting with short and simple works and gradually becoming larger and complex as the book progresses.  The book begins with a discussion of how to use and sort colour before launching into the projects.

Who would I recommend it to?  This book is best suited to someone who already has a few fabrics to call upon and is looking to use them in a way that makes them sing.  If you prefer muted colours and restricted palette, perhaps try one or two projects, but this book is probably not for you.

Would I buy it? While I won't be buying my own copy, this book is fantastic for quilter who love colour and want to branch out a little.  It would be a great addition to a quilting guild library too.


*excuse me while I insist on using NZ spelling, colour, grey, etc.  The rest of the spelling errors are my very own.

A mere 3 years after buying the fabric, this quilt is finished.  To be fair, the top has been sitting and waiting for me since December 2009.

It's been a while since I finished a quilt. This one drifted to the top of the pile recently.  I had a pair of sheets, one of which was chosen to back this quilt, the other was given away

This quilt is the first I made from park slope fabric.  You can see the second using the leftovers, hanging to the left on the line.  It makes an interesting study in the impact different settings, sashing and boarders can have on the same fabrics.