Doll Quilts & Dog Coats

I have nearly finished the first doll quilt I have been making, and have made some progress on the Swap quilt. I haven't felt much like sewing the last few days, which is funny as I've been on a real roll lately. I did some more knitting last night on a jumper (pullover) I started for my nephew when I needed something portable to do, but I'm making a real dog's breakfast of it. I can't seem to concentrate on the row counting for increasing and decreasing. I finished a sleeve last night, and it was rather perplexing as when I had finished increasing up the sleeve it said to keep knitting until work measures 38cm. Well it was already 41 cm. So then I had to start decreasing straight away. I don't know - I'll keep going for now, but if it is terrible I won't give it to him.


Simon has really been feeling the cold, so I bought him a cheap jumper at the discount store, which of course was too small for him. He wore it though, and despite not being able to look at the camera for a photo, he seemed to appreciate the warmth. So I made him a rough coat out of flannelette that I had in the stash, and he seems to like it. He has been giving me a bit of extra love and tail wags.

It has been raining here today and is very overcast, but at least the cloud is keeping the temperature up a bit. My tank is full, so I have the hose on one of the trees out the front. I'm sitting here trying to remind myself to go and turn it off, and not empty the tank, which is easy to do if you forget. I woke up in the middle of the night once remembering that I hadn't turned the hose off, but it was too late then.

I just feel like getting into bed with a book and turning the light on, but that is a dangerous plan.

Poor Swampy

Poor Swampy. I feel a bit bad about the photo from last post, as it did make her look a bit like a maniac. Here is another photo to show that she is indeed a nice looking dog. Her Mother is a shaggy black and white Border Collie X Australian Cattle Dog, so all I can say is that Dad (commonly known as The Surfer's Dog) must have been a Staffy X Ridgeback, or something similar. Her working dog instincts are alive and well though, as Simon can confirm. She rounds him up, and generally 'supervises' everything he does. Luckily he is a laid back character who knows his place in the pack - right at the bottom.



My swap partner was in my mailbox this morning, and luckily she likes Civil War fabrics, so the little quilt I had tentatively started is full steam ahead. The identity of your partner is to be kept a secret, but I'm not sure if the quilt is to be a secret. I've noticed that some bloggers are offering hints only, whereas others are posting full photos. I will show this little section only...


In other quilting news there will be an International Sigh of Relief I imagine when I report that the Girl Guide Quilt is finally finished. I'm not a good finisher, as you all know. Anyway it is done.

I have held off on starting the Zig Zag Quilt, so I might try and run with this finishing mood and knock over another UFO. I have been talking to Holly about her QAYG Log Cabin, which brought to mind my Denim Quilt which only needs 2 borders and binding. Maybe I might do it. Can't rush these things.

Super-Generous Swap

Cathi from Crazed Quilter (now Celtic Knots) in Ireland and I had a swap recently, which resulted from a discussion about Civil War fabrics. Cathi has made a Dear Jane Quilt, and I am making the Civil War Diary Quilt, and we both love reproduction fabrics. Cathi offered to send me some of her scraps from her Dear Jane and said she would love an Australian quilt magazine in return. I said I'd send some fabric as well, and an idea was born.

By the way Cathi has renamed and moved her blog so if she has dropped off your bloglines, that's why. But I see that she already has 35 subscribers to her new blog, so lots of people already know.

My parcel arrived today, and Cathi has been so generous. Not only did she send heaps of squares and strips of fabric, but there were also some fat quarters in there too. I mentioned to Cathi that I needed pinks reds and blacks, and look at what I got! Not to mention the Italian sock yarn and the Guinness magnet and chocolate. I went to Ireland when I was in my early 20s, and hardly ate for 2 weeks as I'm convinced that all the 5 food groups are covered in that glass of black magic.

The parcel was a bit squashed when it arrived - someone ought to tell the Postal Services of the World that they need to take more care when there is valuable fabric in the parcel - so I lovingly ironed and sorted all the scraps for the photo. My mind immediately went to the books I recently acquired on doll and little quilts, and I might just have to put some of this fabric to immediate use. It was interesting to see a few fabrics I already have but in different colourways; it makes me realise that I must stop buying green, brown and blue. I have far too much of it. I recently bought some mustard yellows which have nicely filled a gap in the stash.

So as you can tell I'm pretty excited and feel incredibly spoilt. Thanks Cathi. As I buy most of my fabric from the US I have to buy a half yard of each, so you end up with fewer fabrics as a result. This is like Christmas.

Mum liked her scarf, and as it is lightweight I hope she will get some wear out of it in this climate, which is getting hotter by the year. I'm pretty sure Daniel liked his quilt, but it isn't always easy to tell with 8 year old boys. He did agree to have his photo standing in front of it, so that is a good indication. He is getting his first camera for his birthday from his parents, so I have asked for a photo of the quilt on the bed via email. I know he will use it though, as he still uses the quilt I made him when I first started quilting, which isn't very big. This one will cover his bed, so it will look better I hope.

I've had the day off from sewing and knitting today, I've been gardening instead. The weather is beautiful at the moment, if a bit on the warm side for winter.